Food Photography

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BLOG: Tips for Making Your Next Camping Trip Waste-Free for Environment911.org

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Nobody likes having to bring home a big bag of garbage and cans after a long camping trip. Not only does it end up smelling gross, you know it’s totally wasteful. 
So here are some tips on how to reduce your environmental impact and keep your next camping trip completely waste-free. 
 
Reusable Water Jug – You can fill it up at home, and it collapses down when it’s empty for easy storage. This will save you from buying any big plastic water jugs or bottles from the store. 
 
Prep Food at Home & Bring Frozen – If you decide on meals that you can prep at home, it means saving time at the campsite, and if you can freeze them, it helps keep things in the cooler cold while it defrosts. Another bonus is that you can store any leftovers from meals in said jars afterwards. 

Solar Lights – This is a no brainer as there are lots of string and in-ground solar lights that will help you save on lanterns that use batteries or fuel. 

Reusable Plates, Cutlery, Glassware – Yes paper plates might seem easier (and might be if you’re camping when there isn’t a fire ban), but if you bring enough reusable camping dishes, they’re easy to clean, or if it’s a short trip, just rinse them and do the dishes at home. And if you wash some of the mason jars you brought your food in, you can use them as glassware as well. 

Dish Towels vs Paper Towels – Same thing as above – bring a few dish towels instead of letting the paper towels pile up. If you have a clothesline, they’ll dry easily during the day as well. 

Growler Fill & Pre-Mix Drinks – Get growlers filled on the way to the campsite and then you’re not left with piles of cans that you have to deal with the whole time. And if you pre-mix some cocktails in mason jars, you’re also not dealing with juice jugs of all sorts and then all you have to do is add ice. 

Ice Packs vs Bags of Ice – Speaking of ice, ahead of time, make some ice for your drinks in your freezer at home, and just use ice packs (and your frozen food) in the cooler to cool your items. Not only will this prevent you from having a ton of plastic ice bags afterwards, but it’ll save a bunch of money as the ice packs are reusable. (My friends even reuse the ice pack from their meal kit delivery boxes.) 

Invest/Repair/Rent/Borrow/Buy Used Camping Gear – If you don’t have an item that you want for camping, there are lots of places to get it instead of buying something brand new. Sometimes you can find brand new things for sale online, or call up that friend you know that’s an avid camper and ask to borrow an item for your trip. It saves you money, and you can give some gear a second life. 

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RECIPE: Jerky From Scratch for BC Living

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This might seem like a lot of work, but believe me, if you’re a jerky fan, making it from scratch is so much better than anything you’ll by covered in plastic. 
 
Main tips include getting the right cut of meat (here’s a description of possible cuts – I used eye of round, because I might as well if I’m going to the effort), removing any fat, cutting it evenly (the butcher might do this for you if you ask them), and watching it while it’s dehydrating. If you do this, you’ll have a tasty snack that you can take on hikes, camping, vacuum seal for later, or just have on hand when you’re hungry. 
 
The spices in here are optional, maybe try mixing the base and then marinating a few in the spicy bowl, and seeing which you prefer. There’s some trial and error to it all. 
 

INGREDIENTS 
 
- 3 pounds chosen beef cut 
- 1 cup soy sauce (low sodium, I used Bragg’s)  
- 3 tbsp Worcestershire sauce  
- 1 tsp liquid smoke  
- 1 tbsp of brown sugar or honey (optional) 
- 1 tsp onion powder 
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder 
- 2 tsp ground black pepper (coarse) 
- 1 tsp salt  
- 1 tsp smoked paprika (optional) 
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes (optional) 
 
INSTRUCTIONS 
 
After removing and fat, using a very sharp knife, cut the beef into even slices – some can be round-ish and flat, and others can be long, but make sure it’s consistent. You can try freezing the beef for a while to make slicing easier. 
 
Mix the marinade ingredients together in a bowl – with optional spices – until combined and then add the beef and mix well until coated. Cover and place in refrigerator for 12 hours or overnight. 

If you have a dehydrator, follow the instructions on your machine. 
If using your oven, set to 175F, line baking sheets and place an oven proof wire rack over top of them.  
 
Evenly space your jerky, in a single layer. For the oven bake for 3-4 hours, rotating the pans after 2 hours of cook time. If using your dehydrator, the time will vary based on the machine, but might be up to 8 hrs. 
Check often, you want it to be firm, and dry, but still flexible. 
 
Store in a sealed container and it should be good for a week at room temp, a month in the fridge, or vacuum seal it to extend the life even further. 

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RECIPE: Pretzels - From Scratch for BC Living

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Pretzels
From Scratch for BC Living
June 2022 

One of my favorite items to get at the concession stands at sporting events is a soft pretzel. Nothing against their crunchy counterparts, which I also enjoy, but a warm, soft, salty pretzel is the best. 

As luck would have it, they’re pretty easy to make at home too. It might take you some practice to get the knots twisted perfectly (but who cares, because they taste the same). 
 
Throw in some homemade beer cheese to dip on the side, or mustard if you prefer, and this is just an awesome snack. 
 
INGREDIENTS: 

- 1.5 cups warm water  
- 2 ¼  tsp (~7g) dry active dry yeast (this is about one packet) 
- 1 tsp salt  
- 1 tbsp granulated sugar  
- 2 tbsp oil 
- 1 tbsp butter, unsalted, melted  
- 4 cups all-purpose flour (addition for working with the dough)  
- kosher salt or coarse sea salt for sprinkling 
 
-1/3 cup baking soda 
 

INSTRUCTIONS: 
 
In a large mixing bowl, add the water, salt and sugar until combined/dissolved - then mix in the yeast. 
Let this stand for 5-10mins until it becomes bubbly/foamy. 
 
Add 1 tbsp of oil, and then the flour a small amount at a time, mixing with a wooden spoon until the flour has been incorporated. 
Move to a clean, floured surface, and knead until a smooth ball forms. 
 
Coat the bowl with the second tablespoon of oil, and drop the dough back into the bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, and place in a warm area for about an hour until the dough has doubled in size. 
 
In the meantime, preheat the oven to 450 degrees and fill a large pot with water and bring to a low boil, adding 1/3 cup of baking soda. (This improves the texture and the color of the pretzels!) 
 
Cut the dough with a sharp knife into even pieces – I made smaller ones because there were more people to share with, but you can make them whichever size you want, just make sure they’re even. 
 
Roll the cut dough into long ropes, make a circle with ends overlapping, twist and pull across to the opposite end. Pinch the ends down to help keep the shape. (If you can’t figure this out, there are lots of tutorials – just do an internet search. And don’t worry, you’ll get the hang of it.) 
 
Place a silicone mat on a baking sheet, or grease some parchment paper and set aside. 
 
With a slotted spoon, lower 1 or 2 pretzels at a time into the baking soda bath for 30 seconds, flipping over halfway, and then remove with the slotted spoon, allowing the pretzels to drain as much as possible. 
 
Sprinkle the pretzels that just came out of the bath with your coarse salt before moving on to the next so it sticks to them better. 
 
Repeat until all pretzels are on the baking sheet and have been salted. 
 
Bake for 10-15 minutes, watching them after 10 to make sure they don’t burn (especially if they’re on the smaller side). Then remove from oven and using a pastry brush, brush them with the melted butter and add any more salt as desired. 
 
Serve warm with your choice of dip! 
ENJOY! 

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