Lets Go Camping!!

We are very excited to take our first family camping trip this summer. Two dogs and a toddler definitely have caused us to redefine exactly how we camp. We also bought a 1974 Travel Trailer that we are in the process of refurbishing to make our trips a little more comfy for all 5 of us. While we won't be camping until the snow is completely gone in the mountains we are readying ourselves so we are prepared and Sofia can enjoy being in the outdoors as much as we do. I found a great article on Wondertime Magazine online called "The Art of Camping" all about camping as a family that even includes a checklist in order to not forget any essentials that I personally would have never thought about as we embark on our first trip this summer. I will post a little follow up with pics of our camper before & after and our first adventure. Our plan is to start off with some small one night trips and build up to one big week long trip to Yellowstone!! I'm sure their will be a lot of over packing/under packing along the way but camping is all about spending time as a family without any distractions and who couldn't use that from time to time? I also love cooking outside below is one of my favorite gourmet camping recipes. I like to make things I can half prepare ahead of time and finish in the woods. 

Nicole

Asian Short Rib Lettuce Wraps

Marinade Recipe (I usually follow this and make adjustment since some crowd likes it sweeter and some don't...so before you put the meat into the marinade taste to see):

-2 days before
Boil the following to boil and simmer for 10 mins to blend the flavor then sieve and cool the liquid.
4 cups of water
1/2 cup of soy sauce (not light)
1 green onion (coarsely chopped)
1/2 medium yellow onion (coarsely chopped)
3 garlic cloves (crushed and peeled)
1 tablespoon sugar
about a thumb size ginger root (peeled and coarsely chopped)
a pinch of ground pepper

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-The night before or right before you go camping (for about 6-12 hour marinade)
Mix (adjust the portions for the amount of meat you're marinating)
4 Tablespoons of the cooled sauce you made above
4-5 Tablespoons of Pear Puree (use cheese grater) (about 1 pear)
2-3 Tablespoons of Soy Sauce
1 Tablespoon of Yellow Onion Puree (again, use grater)
1 Tablespoon of Mirin or Sake (Mirin will make slightly sweeter sauce)
1 teaspoon of sesame oil
a pinch of ground black pepper

NOTE: if you want really tender meat, use a 1/2 teaspoon of kiwi puree...some people like it really tender. But if you're not going to eat the meat for a while, I suggest not using the kiwi cause it'll break the meat down too much.
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Julienned green onions
Julienned sweet onions
4 Tablespoons of the boiled-then-chilled sauce
Whisk in little bit of sesame oil to the sauce
Then toss salad

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Thinly sliced or julienned jicama or daikon

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Arrange as follows after you cook the meat: Cook the meat on direct fire until cooked through (the rib has a lot of marbled fat so it won't dry out)

Put the lettuce down on the bottom
Cut the bbqed meat into bite-size (for one strip, you should be able to make about 2-3 pieces),
Put the salad mixture on top
Put the jicama

Enjoy!! (The left overs make great sandwiches the next day inside pita bread and wrapped for a hike!)