March 14th - March 20th
March 14th - March 20th
I love camping. I love everything about it. We are now home after spending five nights camping on a little peninsula on Lake Ouachita, Arkansas and I 100% could have stayed for another five nights. Most of our previous camping trips have been on the west side of the country due to us living in California but now that we are in the middle of the country we have driving access to explore the other side. Arkansas was a new one for us. Not somewhere we would want to live but someplace we would visit again for the nature. We quickly learned that the area we were in is known for quarts, crystals, and diamonds. The clay soil is veined with beautiful stones. During our hikes, we spent the whole time looking down at the trail because they were quite literally everywhere.
The peninsula where we set up camp was great for fishing, which Marco did any chance he got. He caught largemouth bass, crappie, and drum but I didn't let him kill any. The second I looked at them on the hook I felt terrible for the little guys and made him release them. Plus we had lots of food and didn't need their sacrifice to nourish us. There was a perfect little beach for us to launch our kayaks into the lake and I was right, sunset cruises really took the camping experience up a notch. The peninsula was not so great for...wind. The south got hit with some severe weather this week and did you know Arkansas is in the south?! We woke up to weather alerts of "damaging winds, large hail, thunderstorms, and possible tornados" on Wednesday. Luckily we were just hit with a few thunderstorms and wind that passed within a few hours. What was really gnarly was the 15-20 mph winds that hit us the following day. Winds where you have to put your fire out because embers are flying everywhere and you are forced to sit in your tent because the constant slapping makes it impossible to do anything outside. A few years ago we scored a Big Agnes Big House Deluxe with an add-on vestibule half off at the REI garage sale. I have always loved our tent but after this experience I 15/10 recommend it. Others around us were flat from the wind and ours didn't budge. The add one space has always been helpful but it provided us a space to cook breakfast and escape the wind. Anyways zero complaints about the weather, it's all part of the experience or as Marco says, camping is about experiencing the "elements."
We ate the same as we do at home and I enjoyed every moment of cooking over an open fire. We have a fire pit in our backyard that I am making plans to cook over it in the future. Rotisserie chicken maybe?! All week I thought a lot about what to tell you guys on how to up your camping cooking but really all you need is a cast-iron skillet and a fish spatula and you can make anything you want. No secret tips! We had tacos, pancakes, salads, grilled chicken, and campfire chili. Some prep was done before we left to make life easier like pre-measuring spices for the chili and making salad dressing at home so I wouldn't have to bring a bunch of bottles with me. A chunk of our day was based around the meals I would make over the fire. It takes time to get things going and to actually cook the meal but with patience, you can truly make anything you want. I would get lost in the therapeutic process plus get some lake views in my hammock during the downtime. Win, win. We made friends with people from Oklahoma City, my patience was tested daily with the number of trips I would have to make to and from the car (walk-in campsite), my wrist finally doesn't hurt after not holding my phone all week, and the batteries are recharged.
This week I have two lists for you: Stuff You Should Read + Recipes to Bookmark. The first list is food-related articles worth checking out. The second is recipes I have bookmarked to try that might inspire you too. Enjoy!
Stuff You Should Read:
Recipes to Bookmark:
Book I'm Cooking Through This Month:
Hot and Hot Fish Club Cookbook, Chris Hastings
Recap + review 3/31
ALSO, it's officially spring! We made it 🥳
See you next week,
Marcella
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