ADVANCE FOR USE MONDAY, MAY 25 -  In this photo taken May 9, 2015, quinoa-stuffed bell peppers, made by Lauren Frisch and Sam Friedman, is displayed during a campsite cookoff  at the Granite Tors campground near Fairbanks, Alaska.  Everything tastes better on a camping trip, but that doesn't mean camp food can't be improved on. (Sam Friedman/The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT

ADVANCE FOR USE MONDAY, MAY 25 - In this photo taken May 9, 2015, quinoa-stuffed bell peppers, made by Lauren Frisch and Sam Friedman, is displayed during a campsite cookoff at the Granite Tors campground near Fairbanks, Alaska. Everything tastes better on a camping trip, but that doesn't mean camp food can't be improved on. (Sam Friedman/The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT

Campsite cookoff: Get inspired with these tasty recipes for a campfire or stove

FAIRBANKS — Everything tastes better on a camping trip, but that doesn’t mean camp food can’t be improved on. After spending last summer in a camp food rut, eating mostly couscous and hummus, I asked friends for inspiration for the 2015 camping season.

We could have done a recipe exchange. Instead, nine friends gathered for a competitive camp cooking contest this weekend. We held it under a tarp on a rainy Saturday night at the Granite Tors campground.

We assembled about a dozen dishes, from hanger steak sandwiches to bean and quinoa stuffed peppers to corn on the cob with butter and spice. All were tasty, but I’ll share the recipes for the most popular, based on our voting.

One suggestion for anyone else who tries to organize a camp food competition like this is to bring lots of tables. The picnic table at our campsite wasn’t easily covered with a rain fly, and workspace was soon in high demand at the three tiny camp tables we had.

Monte Garroutte had the most popular dinner entry: noodles with spicy peanut sauce, adapted from a recipe that appeared 10 years ago in Backpacker Magazine.

Our campsite was just a few miles outside Fairbanks and most people took advantage by bringing ingredients that are too bulky or heavy for backpacking. Monte got points in my book for picking a dish that could easily be made on a backpack trip. The sauce was spicy and rich despite relying on dried peanut butter.

Spicy peanut sauce noodles

1/2 cup peanut butter (chunky or creamy) (Monte used dehydrated)

2 tbs Tamari (Monte’s version skipped this and it tasted great)

4 tsp crushed garlic

3 tbs cider vinegar

2 tsp brown sugar

3/4 tsp dried crushed red pepper

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro or 1 tbs dried cilantro

salt and pepper to taste

12 oz soba noodles or your favorite pasta

At home: Mix together all ingredients in a bowl except noodles. Pack in plastic container or bottle (recipe makes 1 3/4 cups sauce). Note: Sauce will keep for 2 days unrefrigerated; the vinegar in the recipe acts as a preservative.

In camp: Cook noodles or pasta; drain 1/2 cup hot water into measuring cup, and discard the rest. Empty sauce into pot, add hot water, and toss thoroughly. Serves two.

On Sunday morning, Kristin Timm’s Pinterest-inspired muffin recipe got compliments for both taste and the presentation. She hollowed out a half-dozen oranges and used the peels as muffin tins for blueberry muffins. The recipe probably split the dessert vote with Kristin’s husband, Jake, who cooked a Dutch-oven cherry upside-down cake the night before.

The recipe came from the blog www.apronstringsblog.com.

Orange blueberry muffins

6 oranges

1 package blueberry muffin mix (Kristin used Krusteaz)

Cut oranges in half and scoop out insides to be used for orange juice or another recipe. Don’t worry about being too thorough in cleaning out the peels. The orange bits infuse flavor.

Mix muffins according to package directions.

Fill each orange half with prepared muffin mix. Put halves together and cover with aluminum foil. Put oranges in fire for about 10 minutes, rotating occasionally.

The Timm family also placed with their campfire baked potatoes. They tend to do well at contests like this. The potatoes were stuffed with ham, cheese and tomato and cut into bite-sized wedges.

One trick to this recipe was to pre-cook the potatoes, so they needed to re-heat but not cook entirely in the fire.

The recipe came from the blog www.echoesoflaughter.ca.

Potato boats

6 large potatoes (baked or microwaved at home)

6 pieces of bacon, cooked

6 slices of ham

2 medium tomates, sliced

1/2 pound of cheese of your choice, sliced

2 green onions, sliced (for garnish)

1 tiny Tupperware or other container of sour cream (for garnish)

salt and pepper to taste

Cook potatoes at home and cut into about six sections. Cut through the meat of the potato, but leave the bottom and sides of the skin intact. Fill the spaces with stuffings, season with salt and pepper and wrap in aluminum foil.

At camp bake potatoes in fire or campfire for about 20 minutes. Top with sour cream and onions.

Follow Sam Friedman on Twitter: @FDNMoutdoors.

ADVANCE FOR USE MONDAY, MAY 25 -  In this photo taken May 9, 2015, asparagus and potatoes cook on a grill during a camp cooking competition at the Granite Tors campground near Fairbanks, Alaska.  Everything tastes better on a camping trip, but that doesn't mean camp food can't be improved on. (Sam Friedman/The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT

ADVANCE FOR USE MONDAY, MAY 25 – In this photo taken May 9, 2015, asparagus and potatoes cook on a grill during a camp cooking competition at the Granite Tors campground near Fairbanks, Alaska. Everything tastes better on a camping trip, but that doesn’t mean camp food can’t be improved on. (Sam Friedman/The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT

ADVANCE FOR USE MONDAY, MAY 25 -  In this photo taken May 10, 2015, a blueberry muffin mix stuffed orange peel is unwrapped after cooking it on a campfire at the Granite Tors campground near Fairbanks, Alaska.  Everything tastes better on a camping trip, but that doesn't mean camp food can't be improved on. (Sam Friedman/The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT

ADVANCE FOR USE MONDAY, MAY 25 – In this photo taken May 10, 2015, a blueberry muffin mix stuffed orange peel is unwrapped after cooking it on a campfire at the Granite Tors campground near Fairbanks, Alaska. Everything tastes better on a camping trip, but that doesn’t mean camp food can’t be improved on. (Sam Friedman/The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT

ADVANCE FOR USE MONDAY, MAY 25 -  In this photo taken May 9, 2015, a smorgasbord of dishes are displayed on a table during a campsite cooking competition at the Granite Tors campground near Fairbanks, Alaska.  Everything tastes better on a camping trip, but that doesn't mean camp food can't be improved on. (Sam Friedman/The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT

ADVANCE FOR USE MONDAY, MAY 25 – In this photo taken May 9, 2015, a smorgasbord of dishes are displayed on a table during a campsite cooking competition at the Granite Tors campground near Fairbanks, Alaska. Everything tastes better on a camping trip, but that doesn’t mean camp food can’t be improved on. (Sam Friedman/The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT

More in Life

This Korean rice porridge, called dak juk, is easy to digest but hearty and nutritious, perfect for when you’re learning how to eat. (Photo by Tressa Dale/Peninsula Clarion)
A comforting meal for new beginnings

Rice porridge is a common first solid meal for many, many babies around the world

file
Minister’s Message: The sound of God’s voice

In all my desperate prayers, I sometimes forget that God has spoken definitively already

Rivers and Ice by Susan Pope. (Promotional photo)
KPC Showcase to feature discussion with Alaska author Susan Pope

Pope will discuss her memoir “Rivers and Ice: A Woman’s Journey Toward Family and Forgiveness”

Promotional photo courtesy Sony Pictures
Carrie Coon, Paul Rudd, Finn Wolfhard, Mckenna Grace and Celeste O’Connor appear in “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire.”
On the Screen: New ‘Ghostbusters’ struggles to balance original ideas and nostalgia

“Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire” picks up right where “Afterlife” left off, and it also succumbs to a lot of the same problems

document from ancestry.com
William Raymond “W.R.” Benson’s draft-registration card from 1942 reveals that he was 52 years old, living in Seward and self-employed. His wife, Mable, is listed as a person who will always know his address.
Hometown Booster: The W.R. Benson Story — Part 2

W.R. Benson was a mover and a shaker throughout his life, but particularly so in Alaska

Terri Zopf-Schoessler and Donna Shirnberg rehearse “The Odd Couple: The Female Version” at the Kenai Performers’ Theater near Soldotna, Alaska, on Tuesday, March 19, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
‘Iconic, classic comedy’

Kenai Performers debuts “The Odd Couple: The Female Version”

Photo provided by Sara Hondel
Sara Hondel stands with a leprechaun during Sweeney’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Soldotna on Sunday. Green, leprechauns and Nugget the Moose poured down the streets for the 34th annual parade hosted by the Soldotna Chamber of Commerce. Under cloudy skies — but fortunately no precipitation — a procession of viridescent celebrants representing businesses and organizations brought festivities to an array of attendees lining Redoubt Avenue.
Go green or go home

Soldotna turns out for St. Patrick’s Day parade

Eggplants, garlic, lemon juice and tahini make up this recipe for baba ghanouj. (Photo by Tressa Dale/Peninsula Clarion)
When making a good example is hard to swallow

Preparing baba ghanouj despite a dislike of eggplant

William Raymond “W.R.” Benson (front row, far right) poses along with the rest of the Sigma Nu fraternity at Albion College in Michigan in about 1908. Despite a lifetime spent in the public eye, Benson was apparently seldom captured on film. This image is one of the few photos of him known to exist. (photo from the 1908 Albion College yearbook via ancestry.com)
Hometown Booster: The W.R. Benson Story — Part 1

W.R. Benson was a man almost constantly in motion

Most Read