So he is actually my neighbor now, and we are friends again- after 10 years and lots of life changes. He came to California ready to explore, and had never been to the Sierra, so we jumped at the opportunity to be there for his first experience. I was lucky enough to get us permits to Little Lakes Valley, which is beautiful and (usually) a very accessible hike that too many people are on for me to be interested. There was SOO much snow this time, though, that it kept a lot of the crowds away. Hiking across miles of sun cups (little cups in the snow everywhere that you either have to balance on the rim of or fall into, twisting an ankle) was tiring, but it was gorgeous. We explored the whole basin and camped next to one of the only unfrozen lakes.

We spent the night before the backcountry portion of the trip car camping as usual, and cooked up this quick and easy Italian Orzo Soup. It was a nice warming dish that was very easy to execute after a day of traveling and planning backpacking logistics. I highly recommend it by the campfire.

One little note: the logistics of both car camping and backpacking in the same trip are tricky, especially in bear country. We always think about being minimalist and lightweight with our backpacking food, but are luxurious with car camping food, thinking it doesn’t matter. Our cooler didn’t fit in the bear locker at the trail head this time, so we had to scramble to figure out how to store it all in a bin and bags to fit inside the lockers instead. It is very important not to leave food in the car, so plan accordingly.

This is prime time for Joshua Tree National Park and I have been trying to squeeze in as many weekends there as possible. After going there mostly for climbing in the past 9 years, I also had a luxurious weekend of non-climbing (read all about Emily’s big horn sheep sighting here) and finally took some time to see both well known and lesser known sights in the park.

The first day we went on a two-hour guided walking tour of Keyes Ranch and learned all about Bill Keyes – a shady but very entrepreneurial character. On the second day, we hiked out to Samuelson’s Rock – an off-the-beaten path destination that you can only get to with a little cross-country hiking. There you can see many of John Samuelson’s quotes carved into rocks. It seems he had strong opinions, but maybe not the best grasp on grammar!

This Spicy Asian Penne pasta was really quick and easy – just what we wanted after a day of hiking around in the sun all day. I tend to crave Asian flavors but I wanted something a little heartier than rice or noodles so I decided to try penne pasta.

The portobello mushroom, sweet onion and bell pepper are no fuss vegetables that add a distinct flavor profile to the dish. Throw them into a foil pouch with sauce and put your campfire to work. The vegetables should be cooked and the sauce slightly thickened with some charring happening at the bottom of the pouch.

This dish has a lot of heat, so if you are a little more conservative with your spiciness, I recommend using less chili pepper. If you can’t find fresh peppers, red chili flakes will probably work as well.

The most work involved is thinking about what combination of ingredients you want to put on your Campfire Flatbread Pizza and prepping them. The rest is just assembly and having the patience to wait for it to be ready!

Here’s a breakdown of the basic ingredients.

• Flatbread:
  We like to use naan bread but other options include pita, Lavash, and foccacia bread. If you feel like experimenting, try premade pizza dough – just be sure to cook the dough first, and then add your toppings.
• Sauce:
  The basic version would be with a marinara sauce but if you want to get fancy, go for pesto or even a cream based sauce. For a sauceless alternative drizzle the bread with a nice olive oil and a sprinkle of salt and pepper.
• Cheese:
  You can’t really go wrong here – mozzarella alone is great, or add a stronger cheese like parmesan, sharp cheddar, goat cheese or blue cheese.
• Fresh Toppings:
  Here’s where you open Pandora’s box. No brainer options include sliced tomato, sweet onion, mushroom and bell pepper. Kale, artichoke hearts or even pineapple (not necessarily together) will take your Campfire Flatbread Pizza to another level.
• Meat Toppings:
  Whether you choose good ol’ pepperoni, prosciutto, sliced chicken or crumbled sausage, look for options that are precooked and that will add a nice salty contrast to your fresh vegetable toppings.
• Garnish:
  Fresh herbs, roasted garlic, olives, chili flakes are some of our favorite options.

Bring everything to camp pre-sliced or make a group activity of it. The trick is to start by prepping your campfire so that by the time you are ready to cook your Campfire Flatbread Pizzas, you’ve got a good bed of coals and low to medium sized flames under the grill.

These friends- Crystal and Mike- happen to be some of Dirty Gourmet’s biggest fans. They admitted to making Camping Nachos on almost every trip last year, having never thought to try nachos camping before. They are also big fans of the Almond Flax Granola and have given me a new recipe idea for it which is now on our testing list. It’s really awesome that the Internet has been able to keep me in touch with these lovely people and many others like them. Thank you Dirty Gourmet (and Facebook).

We love to watch peoples’ faces when we walk past lugging our refrigerator-sized crash pads on our backs while bouldering. Mike said he tells gawkers that we are “professional picnickers” to explain why we carry them. Today, for our Red Rock Professional Picnic lunch, we made ourselves sandwiches. We had to carry a big bulky plastic storage container that barely fit into our backpack to keep them from getting squashed, which is what always happens. I hate eating squashed sandwiches. Aimee came up with a pressed sandwich that would have solved all my problems if I had only thought to make it. She uses a bread that is tough on the outside, but soft on the inside, and then guts the bread a bit to create a little ingredient-holding pocket. The beauty of it is the pressed part, which is only aided by the squashing from the backpack. It can be filled with any ingredients you like, and is especially conducive to vegetables that would normally squirm their way out. Aimee’s version is full of Mediterranean flavor as well as squirminess. It’s a sandwich I would otherwise say you couldn’t easily take in a backpack, so I highly recommend this full recipe. Enjoy your own professional picnicking trip.

During one of our discussions about Italian food, I asked Rosella to teach me to make something that she grew up eating. When she learned that Kismat and I don’t eat meat, she was briefly at a loss for what to make, but after a few moments, she said “Zucchini Pasta!”.

So we met one afternoon at the big Stockmann department store in downtown Helsinki that has a fantastic grocery store in it. When Rosella saw the zucchini that were available at the market, she almost decided against making it—they were really big zucchini, and she liked to use smaller ones for this dish. (It was the middle of winter in Finland. The fact that you could even get zucchini was impressive.) We bought the zucchini anyway, along with an onion, spaghetti, extra virgin olive oil, a block of Parmesan, and milk. With the ingredients for our meal in hand, we hopped on the tram to go back to my house.

After a couple of glasses of wine and some pasta cooking lessons, we sat down for dinner. Rosella tasted the Zucchini Pasta first and said “It’s ok.” Kismat and I tasted it next and were blown away. Wow, how can those few ingredients come together to become this? And how could Rosella say “It’s ok”? It was incredibly delicious.

Now, every time I even mention that I might make it, Kismat goes a little crazy. Zucchini Pasta doesn’t sound all that impressive, but I’ve yet to meet a person who hasn’t liked it. It’s a great recipe for camping because it’s not fussy at all, and only requires a few ingredients and tools. And if you’re like anyone I know who has a garden, you’ll probably have more zucchini than you know what to do with at some point this summer (and if you do have a garden, don’t throw out those zucchini blossoms—chop them up and add them along with the zucchini).

Sadly, after she moved back to Italy, I lost contact with Rosella. Maybe our paths will cross again someday. For now, at least I have her Zucchini Pasta.

A couple of months ago, I went camping at Portal Forebay campground in Central Sierra Nevada. It was the last weekend to get up there before the snow and we were excited to squeeze in one more easy weekend getaway. The power company is the area’s primary user, so the campground is surprisingly well-established for its location. There are paved roads through parts of the wilderness you would never expect to see, barely wide enough for one vehicle, that snuggle right up against cliff edges and go up and down steep mountainsides. Few others were around to share the spot, and for good reason — it was cold! That weekend, I tried a version of lasagna with fresh baby spinach and sliced cremini mushrooms. It was the meal everyone craves on a frigid night out in the wild.

For the recipe we are featuring here, we combined two Dirty Girls favorites and created a hearty ground beef and vegetable lasagna that can easily be customized to your taste. Substitute your favorite vegetables instead of the spinach and mushrooms, and omit the meat if that’s not your thing. If you can’t find no-boil noodles, use the regular ones, and cook them first.

We will soon be releasing a dirty version of this recipe for those who like to travel light. Once again, focus on the concept, and be creative with the specifics. This skillet lasagna will become one of your staple one-pot meals. If your friends are anything like ours, they’ll be in awe that you created such a delicious recipe and didn’t need an oven.