Vegan Black Beans & Corn Over the Fire

Black Beans and Corn is one of my favorite combinations-  low in fat, full of protein, and just makes me happy. I don't really have an exact recipe I follow, but I rarely follow those anyway. It's a super easy combination that I usually make on the stove, but made perfect sense to translate to cooking on the open fire. Plus, the recipe is typically vegan.

Ingredients

• can seasoned black beans (or regular drained black beans)
• can regular corn, drained (or any other can of corn you prefer)
• fresh garlic (because I love it)
• fresh diced red & orange peppers
• fresh diced onion (red or white, I had both pre-cut in my cooler)
• dried veggie soup blend (mine had dried onion, peppers, spinach, & tomatoes)
• seasonings to taste (hot sauce, pepper flakes, chili powder, curry, salt, pepper, etc)
• Hard cider (or any other preferred liquid - cider, beer, veggie broth, tomato juice, water or whatever you choose) - the alcohol cooks out
• Optional - hot peppers; can stewed, canned, or diced tomatoes; fresh tomatoes; cooked rice or any other grain; any other vegetable

I used an olive oil spray in bottom of pre-seasoned cast iron Dutch oven. (This was just for my sense of mine as much as anything.) In the Dutch Oven, I mixed together can of seasoned black beans, can of drained corn, diced fresh peppers, diced fresh onion, fresh garlic, dried vegetable soup blend (optional, of course), seasonings to taste (mine included pepper flakes, hot sauce, pepper, & onion powder) and a splash of hard cider (maybe 1/2 cup).  I mixed everything together with splash of hard cider to taste. I secured the lid and lowered the the entire pot into the fire ring along the coals, ashes, and burning wood. I checked it a couple times and turned the pot to ensure equal heat, cooking about an hour. I moved it further from heat within the fire ring and let keep warm until the rest of dinner was about ready, then let cool outside fire ring about 10 minutes.

Serve plain, with rice, on a tortilla or topped with any preference. I ate mine at the campsite along with a Tofurky brat & foil packet vegetables. I have also eaten in a tortilla with black olives.

Camping With Omnivores: Part III - Cast Iron

Cast Iron - A Heavy Piece of Equipment

I grew up cooking over an open fire and it wasn't something I was ready to give up just because I quit eating meat. It doesn't have to be just for omnivores. Cooking with cast iron has a number of notable benefits, especially when cooking over an open fire in the great outdoors. Cast iron can take a little extra care, but it can be well worth it.It can be great too cook all sorts of things including soups, stews, vegetables, sandwiches, deserts, breads, and just about anything else.

If you're willing to make the investment or lucky enough to find some cheap or already have some, cast iron and camping cooking have a long tradition together.

Pie Irons

My first investment in cast iron for camping was in my own cast iron pie irons (I’ve also heard them called pudgie pies and sandwich makers). I grew up making pizza pockets and desserts in these during camping and cookouts. Purchasing a few of these can be pricey, but well worth the investment if taken care of. Mine were bought at a semi local surplus shop that specialized in military surplus. It has proven a good resource for camping and outdoors needs. Cheaper aluminum ones can be easily found, but don’t hold up like the cast irons ones do. They don’t hold up to the heat and use, and I have seen them melt with use. There are tons of recipes ideas that can be found online and in books, however my favorites include pizza pockets, deserts filled with pie filling, and peanuts butter banana (sometimes I even add a smokey bite with vegan coconut bacon). 

They can be found in square shapes or round shapes, with growing options shaped for burgers, brats, paninis, waffles, and more.

Dutch Ovens

Seasoning Dutch Oven with coconut oil

I recently purchased my own 1 quart Dutch oven, so I can finally cook over the fire with one. My family uses them all the time for roasts, casseroles, stew, chili, and other dishes. For myself I don’t need a regular-sized pan for my typically lone needs. After much searching, I finally found an inexpensive small cast iron Dutch oven, perfect for cooking for one or two. (I couldn’t believe how many of the small ones cost easily twice as much as the regular sized ones I was finding on the same sites.)  I may order a second just to expand my cooking options.

Even my brothers seemed curious about the smaller sized Dutch over and the potential it brings to my outdoor cooking. I’ve been in the process of seasoning it in the over, coating the inside with coconut oil and putting in 450 degree oven for 30 minutes at a time, then cooling and repeating.  This will be done 4-5 times over a few days.

Skillets & Other Pans

If you have them, don’t be afraid to use them. They can be handy for all sorts of yummy things.

Check out tips for seasoning and caring for cast iron online: at Lodge Cast Iron, How to Season, Clean and Care for Cast Iron Like a Pro, or Food Network.

Happy reminder, if using Dutch ovens, cast iron skillets, or pie irons use caution with handling. Fire is hot. I prefer to use grill or oven clothes to protect my hands, as well something like a hook or heavy metal utensil to pull form fire. Use caution always to make things safer and happier.

Camping with Omnivores: Part II - Equipment

Equipment

Before a menu can really be decided there are a few questions to be decided. Knowing what equipment you have available makes food and menu planning much easier. I have become unapologetically protective of my camping cookware. My coffee pot and grilling gloves are among the few things I am willing to share. Keeping things separate can feel stressful when all you want to do is relax with friends or family in the great outdoors, but it doesn’t have to be. Plan ahead and let the good times roll. Time by a campfire is well spent and not eating meat shouldn’t make it seem harder than it has to be. We usually take a propane camp stove for backup, but rarely use it, preferring to cook over an open fire. I always back a small hiking style stove as a backup in case of rain, wet wood, or the need to cook without fighting for fire space.

               
Honestly, I hold a little bit of envy for the vegans and vegetarians who camp with others like them. I’ve watched the videos on youtube and seen the plans for couples and families heading to the woods. Occasionally, there will be someone else, but mostly I am planning for one. It creates a few added challenges along the way when planning food and how to prepare or serve that food. I tend to pack small and over the years I have added to my collection to make my trips more efficient and more enjoyable.

A Few Suggestions (things that have made my life easier)

• Aluminum foil – a campfire classic to use to line the grate, make foil packets, or to make clean up easier. Foil packets were a staple growing up as a Girl Scout and can be filled full of just about anything from breakfast to lunch, dinner, and even desert. (I like the heavy duty made for grilling & cooking, but you can always double layer if needed.
• Mess kit – it may bring back memories of scouting days and ideas of backpacking, but when being the only vegetarian or vegan among a bunch of omnivores it can prove to be just enough for one person. If worried about cooking something messy and the clean-up, line the pan with foil. They can be picked for a s low as $10 and perfect for lighting camp cooking.
• Plate, bowl, cup, silverware – my family, and other families often camp with paper plates and plastic silverware that can be easily disposed in fire or trash, but I still pack a single set of enameled dishes – a plate, bowl, cup, and silverware. I don’t like sharing very well. (I keep mine in a mesh bag for storage 
• Saucepan or medium sized skillet- fire safe – a basic and versatile piece of cooking equipment. 
• Can Opener - Everyone forgets how important a hand can opener is until you are sitting there staring at an unopened can. These can be picked up cheap and are helpful at a camp site or during a power outage.
  
• Fire safe coffee pot – for coffee, tea, hot chocolate, or heating hot water for oatmeal, mine gets used by everyone. 
• Heat & fire safe cooking utensils – tongs, spatula, wooden spoon, metal serving spoon for cooking and serving – No one wants to pull a steaming baked potato or foil packet  from the flames with their bare hand or flip veggies with a plastic silverware. 
• Knife and cutting board – I keep a small cutting board and sharp knife in my camp box for cutting and chopping fruits, veggies, or whatever. Keeping things separate and becomes more important when camping and cleaning options more limited than home. 
• Dishpan, soup, sponge or wash rag – It’s good to have a way to clean up before or after a satisfying meal. 
• Oven or grill gloves – Cookware gets hot when cooking over the fire or on a camp stove. Even removing a saucepan or coffee pot after heating needs protection for hands from the heat. Not everyone packs these, but they are handy for anyone camping and cooking in the great outdoors. 
• Cast iron pie iron – I grew up cooking with these and they are definitely not just for the meat-eaters. Pizza pockets, grilled cheese, breakfast, hand pies, and hot grilled peanut butter are just as easy veggie style as not. 
• Small cast iron Dutch oven – it took me awhile to find the right size at a decent price, but I have not need for a regular sized one and not desire to use the one my family used to prepare chili and roasts in. It is definitely not a necessity, but it is a nice bonus for chilly camping weekends. 
• Hot Dog/Marshmallow stick - you can always use a fresh stick, with the end tapered, but I pack my own expandable one to keep it separate from the ones my family uses. Mostly mine is used for the vegan marshmallows and s'mores, a camping tradition, but occasionally used for veggie brats or vegetables.
• Option - food storage containers - I like being able to pre-chop veggies or have a way to have things prepacked for ease of use. I often pack a food storage container with three separate sections as a s'more making kit with vegan marshmallows, white chocolate (I can't have caffeine), and graham crackers. It's very handy to have everything accessible when roasting marshmallows at the campfire by the light of the fire and a lantern.

 
For keeping everything need and orderly I pack my cookware and dishes in a plastic picnic basket, a plastic tub for my dry food stuff & not refrigerated stuff, and a split the rest between the larger family cooler and my own smaller one. Keeping everything separate helps me easily & quickly find what I need, as well as protect it from accidentally being used for meat or meat products.

Everyone has their own preferences for cookware and menu, but being the lone vegetarian or vegan doesn’t mean or should be limited only to a jar pf peanut butter and raw fruits and veggies, unless that’s what you want.