Summer Camping and Cooking at Illahee State Park

Every summer, my parents and I like to take a trip to unwind and be one with nature (well, they do--I tag along for the campground experience). The past two years, my partner Mark has been joining us.

This year, we researched for campgrounds near Silverdale, Washington and came up with our first choice of Illahee State Park. You can't make reservations at Illahee ahead of time, and there is a total of 20 campsites available, so we were lucky to find a spot. Our camp neighbors were friendly and it was a fun experience.

I usually sit around, play card/board games and well, be bored. This year, I made it my biggest goal to cook each meal for our three-day camping adventure, and not only cook, but cook elaborate meals that would typically be prepared in a home.

I came up with this food itinerary:
Sunday Night Dinner - Baked Salmon with Artichoke and Dill.

Along with Baked Potatoes with Garlic.

Dessert all days - Chocolate Fondue and Fruit Skewers.

Monday Breakfast - Greek Yogurt with Honey and Nut Mixture.

Along with Traditional French Toast.

Monday Dinner - Garden Burgers made from scratch.

Tuesday Breakfast - Smoked Salmon Scrambled Eggs with Dill on Baguettes.

Of course for lunches we ate bagels, sandwiches and whatnot, but it was so exciting to experiment with such elaborate, yet easy recipes for my first time cooking in "the wild", as I like to call it (anything foreign from a computer screen is earth-shaking for me. Kidding).

The recipe book I snagged these ideas out of is a gem I discovered at Barnes & Noble called: The Camping Cookbook, which isn't released to have any particular author, but has a pretty modern look to it. To see full recipes and make them yourself, check out my channel and search for "Easy 'Gourmet' Camp Foods".