Looking at items we can add to our camping stuff, only started camping last year so quite new to it all.
My main concern is eating/food. I don't want to live off burgers &hot dogs! Looking at maybe getting an halogen oven, for cooking lasagnes/mini pizzas ect. Does anyone use one? Or got a good alternative?
I have one at home, but it's quite bulky and so I've not brought it camping. This is what we do.
Day 1 to 3 will be a pre-made and frozen curries, stews or chilli, served with pitta pockets or crusty bread. Upside is it helps keep the coolbox nice and cold and it's not much effort to heat up.
Day 4 onwards, alternate barbecues(on good days)with assembly jobs such as fresh egg pasta with a dolmio stir in sauce, or crusty french breads filled with deli meats and salad, or a takeaway.
That might not suit you, but it's a few ideas anyway.
I have never tried a halogen oven although thinking of buying one for home use mainly.
For camping I used to use a mini oven. I think I bought mine from Argos for about £30. They come in different sizes so it depends how many dinners you need to cook. Some have hotplates on the top but be careful you are not overloading the campsite electricity supply. Some have a fan but that is not really necessary on a small oven.
I liked the mini oven because it is heated by an element at the top and another at the bottom. For baking/warming use both elements and for toasting just use the top element. Things like peas and beans can be heated alongside other things in a foil dish, so there isn't a lot that can't be done in a mini oven.
Thanks for the advice, like the idea of frozen meals, never thought of that, kids love spag Bol & meat balls in pasata sauce so that can be an easy meal.they also love curry.
Am I right in thinking that potatoes in foil on a fire are nice!?
I would love to go away one week maybe more if weather is nice but with two young kids don't want to feed them burgers all time.
I'd love to take microwave too. Need a caravan hahaha!
We use a cadac safari chef. We was in the same boat but since we got one of these we have cooked load of homely means ... You can use the cadac as a oven or even use it with a roasting pan, pizza stone griddle, hot plate, BBQ you name it, it can do it .. Yes we do have another cooker with us ( campingaz chef) what we use to boil the kettle do toast,pea ect ect ... but you could do all that on the cadac we only like to take the camping chef as it has got 2 rings and a grill..but like I said the cadac can do it all if you wanted it to
All I have is a small barbecue and a single burner stove. I mainly do one pot dishes, or assembly jobs. If I need to cook pasta or rice I just swap pots over on my single stove. I'm on my holidays so don't want to slave over food.
If you get a halogen oven I found the andrew james one from amazon my best bet as it comes with replaceble elements.
On most of the halogen ovens when the element packs up I have had to dump them.
John
I bought a small halogen oven from Ebay because the usual size in the shops is miles too big for me. It's 1300 watt and 7 litres with an extending ring. £25 including postage.
I have to say, though, that I've cooked everything I can in it since I got it and haven't found anything that cooks either quicker or better than using a normal cooker.
I took my halogen oven, so I could do a roast dinner for New years day. Mine is 1300w I checked, it should have been fine. Problem is,sharing the power with your neighbour. This will reduce amount of current you can use. I had to ask for an extension lead, so I could have a post to myself.
Heath63
------------- New Year: Hesketh Bank
Feb/March: Red Squirrel
March: lakes
June: Morecambe
Aug: Lake District(not camping camping)
October: Red Squirrel
We use a halogen oven - great for bacon, sausages, baked potatoes (lovely in a halogen), pizza, meats etc.. They do have loads of uses and we would not go without one - before you buy google them - we have the Andrew James one - it comes with a cookbook and more importantly a lid stand.
For our first meal we use something from frozen e.g. curry or spag bol and for the second day we let another meal defrost. We always take our cooker for more 2-3 nights but for less there's no need as we EHU for the kettle and we have the halogen or if there's no EHU we just take the cooker and gas kettle.
Don't think that campers eat just hot dogs and burgers - far from it - most of us eat pretty well and just as good as at home!
------------- May - Dorset
July - Saundersfoot
September - S. Wales
October - S. Wales
Being in a motorhome, we work on its 2 ring gas and an electric kettle. (Tenting, our cooking is on 2 ring gas only.) Rarely use the gas oven, don't miss toast. Don't have room for another oven, have considered an electric hob but we're short of counter top space for it. First meal is always a casserole cooked the night before while we're packing, means the pan is packed (it travels in the oven) already full. Done with Ainsley's cous cous (water boiled in electric kettle). While we travel round, we will "buy local" on principle, and meals are the same as at home - meat 'n' 2 veg, casseroles. Sometimes a site (like Bunchrew) has a hot food trailer - we treated ourselves to its chips to go with the steak we'd bought at Beauly. And some places you just have to have the local fish & chips as they're famous prize-winners (like Anstruther).
I just have a two ring gas cooker, no oven, and an electric kettle when on EHU.
I use a three tier steamer to cook a meal on one ring, (or at least all the veg, and the other ring to slow cook meat to go with it) and also pre-cook and freeze a few meals which defrost along the way, ready to cook the next day. I also have a two-pan oven which sits on the gas ring to warm up pies, etc. This is called a double skillet, but they are pretty hard to get hold of at the moment. double skillet