Quick Camp Trip to Santa Cruz

DH and I had been hankering to go camping for quite some time so when this past weekend presented no obligations or invitations, we jumped on the opportunity.

Santa Cruz is arguably the easiest area from the Oakland area for an impromptu camping trip so to be somewhat adventurous, we opted to give Big Basin State Park & Campgrounds in Boulder Creek a shot. 

Big Basin is a gorgeous, redwood-riddled park and the town of Boulder Creek is an adorable town in the mountains just NE of Santa Cruz. Boulder Creek is particularly nostalgic to DH as he spent several summers working at Camp Harmon, an Easter Seals camp for the developmentally and physically handicapped.

DH, dwarfed by the redwoods

The one problem with Big Basin SP is that it is capital C-O-L-D COLD in February. That the weather would be cold camping in Northern California in Winter was a given, but there was no preparing us for how cold it actually was. It was 39 degrees when we arrived just after dark and only got colder from there. For all intents and purposes, it was freezing. And we were miserable.

The next morning, we made the executive decision to move camp. 

After cooking up some Nepenthe pancakes and New Orleans style chicory coffee, we packed the car and headed to New Brighton State Beach & Campgrounds just outside of Santa Cruz. We'd camped there once before and couldn't have been happier to return to bright sunshine and warmer conditions.

After setting up camp, we headed straight for the beach, mere footsteps away, to read and soak up the sun. From there, we headed into town to check out Soif, a wine bar and shop friends had raved about. In fact, Soif's wine list (and pricing) was remarkable. 

We picked up some fresh fish & spinach and headed back to start dinner. After recently preparing Jerusalem's risotto style barley, it struck me as the perfect camping recipe. 

Simply sautee celery & shallots in butter & oil, mix in pearl barley, bay leaf & smoked paprika until coated then add passata, chopped tomato & veggie broth and bring to a boil. Bring the heat down to a simmer, cover the pot and within a half hour, you'll have a delicious barley risotto. While the barley is cooking, dry toast caraway seeds in a pan then mix with feta cheese to top the barley. The feta-caraway adds a lot to this dish.

For the fish, sautee finely sliced lemon & garlic confit (with oil), add in the cod and a bit of white wine e voila!, fish is complete.

Lastly, make a quick lemony-shallot vinaigrette for the spinach and throw cara cara oranges & marcona almonds into the mix for a near perfect salad.

The next morning we opted to explore downtown Santa Cruz in lieu of a lingering breakfast at the campground. After cappucino's at the always outstanding Verve Coffee Roasters and sandwiches at Zuccoli's, we happened upon Well Within, a day spa featuring private rooms with a soaking tub, cedar sauna, shower and lounge space for the same price as a campsite. On a whim, we booked the room for one hour. It was arguably the best hour of the weekend. There is nothing quite like a hot shower after camping for a few days; unless of course you add a hot tub and sauna to the mix, then it's pure bliss!

Beach Camping in Santa Cruz

Harvest has always been a 4 letter word in our house. Come late August through mid November it is understood DH will be, for all intents and purposes out of commission, instead knee deep in wine grapes. Long hours plus heavy manual labor equates to zombie of a partner during harvest. 'Wine Widow' is the playful title coined for the girlfriends and wives of winemakers and harvest workers.

Though this harvest has been DH's most mellow, he is still awake and out the door by 6 am most days and has worked every weekend since mid September. Last Saturday however, he sealed the Pinot Noir and Chardonnay tanks, thereby earning his first 2 days off in 6 weeks.
We decided to celebrate the best way we know how...go camping!

Since our last attempt at camping in Santa Cruz was a wash, so to speak, we figured we'd give it another go. We awoke early Sunday, loaded the car and headed south. The unseasonably warm October temperatures tempted us to try camping beach-side at New Brighton State Beach.

Our first priority though was cappucinos at Verve Coffee Roasters and breakfast burritos from Chill Out Cafe, two beloved institutions on the eastside of San Cruz.

Having only read about New Brighton State Beach, we were delighted to discover the campsite was beautiful and big with breathtaking views of the Pacific...and hot showers to boot!

We were lucky enough to score one of the best campsites on the grounds, surrounded by coastal pines at the edge of the world.

The driftwood-lined beach is a 5 minute walk from the campsites.

The fire rings available on a first come basis would make an ideal setting for a clam bake...this is looking like a promising site for next year's birthday camping weekend!

In an attempt at minimalism, I insisted on packing just one cast iron skillet and try to cook all our meals using only this pan and the heat of the campfire. 
What began as a novelty quickly morphed into a necessity when we discovered only 1 semi-used propane canister in the camping supplies!! (side note: we typically camp with at very least 2 full canisters; 1 for the camping stove and 1 for the lantern) Obviously our priority was light so we would have to do all our cooking on the campfire!

Thankfully, I had already planned to cook with parchment-lined aluminum pouches, placed directly on the fire. I took this idea from Martha Stewart who refers to these as 'hobo bags'. Oh, Martha!

misc meat???

We picked up the grocery goods from New Leaf Market, a local Santa Cruz grocery with a great sustainable fish counter and extensive local produce.

One pouch contained shitake and oyster mushrooms with garlic and lemon and another pouch contained new potatoes with butter beer.

Trout provided the protein of the meal and enabled me to christen my new fish griller! 

Whole fish is such an exceptional taste compared to fillets.

Steamy mushrooms and whole trout paired perfectly with Eric Kent's '09 Sonoma Coast Pinot.

Dessert was an easy and delicious blueberry grunt made simply by throwing some blueberries, sugar and lemon in a skillet to heat then topping with a biscuity, pancake-like batter and cooking it directly on the campfire until batter is solid. This could make a great camping breakfast as well.

The most delicious part of dessert though was in our glasses. DH popped open a bottle of Premier Cru Champagne to celebrate the occasion of opening a Premier Cru Champagne. It was arguably better than you'd (I'd) dreamed, even especially in a camping chair! And yes, in answer to your question, its easy to love a man that loves good champagne!

Miraculously, the propane canister provided light for the entire night and even had enough to fuel the camping stove for coffee the next morning. Thank heavens!
For breakfast, I decided to replicate Amelia's egg dish from the last birthday camp trip. Easy as 1-2-3: simply heat butter in the skillet, add chopped baguette or cibatta, then crack eggs atop the bread cubes and allow to cook on the campfire.

"Its like a deconstructed egg sandwich" DH aptly observed. In fact, this ultra easy, super delicious egg dish would translate beautifully to Christmas brunch.

A one-night camp trip may seem like more harm than its worth to some but for us, it was just what the doctor ordered! Since it was likely the last camping trip and last ocean dip of the year, we savored every moment!

Birthday Campout Cookoff

Los Padres National Forest

For the second year in a row, we loaded up the wagon once more and headed to Los Padres National Forest. The Los Prietos Campground is a lovely, oak-lined spot in the heart of the valley. The campsite is very convenient to LA and slightly less so to East Bay...the 5+ hour drive was well worth it though to be with old friends for my birthday.

two of our best cooks

Because there are so many food-focused friends among the pack of campers we split up the meal duties...and may I say, it could not have been more successful!

Every meal was delicious and delightfully different from the next.

It added a wonderful dimension to the weekend.

yes, that is walnut oil at the campsite!

For a low-key, lovely Thursday night, Satbhajan and Alice fired up some tasty chicken and veggie sausages and brought along homemade potato salad, pickles and pickled red onions to class up the joint.

veggie kilbasa w/ homemade pickled red onions, potato salad & pickles

homemade fixin's

DH and I mixed up some Nepenthe pancakes and slow-cooked scrambled eggs for Friday's breakfast.

Nepenthe pancake batter

our fearless leader, slow-cooking eggs

After a leisurely afternoon of wine tasting and picnicking at Brander Vineyards and Rusack Winery, we headed back to the campsite to swim in the river and greet the bulk of campers arriving Friday afternoon.

Alice, Sbjn & Juno at Brander

Sbjn & Juno at Rusack

Ziggy, in character

Brendan & Amanda at Rusack

Brendan, a.k.a. 2Pac, a.k.a. Paco pulled out all the stops for Friday night's dinner. Rolling 25+ deep, tacos were a fitting choice to feed the many hungry Panthers, ahem, campers! B cooked up an entire pork shoulder in the camping dutch oven using only a few choice spices and the heat of burning coals.

Grant F. assisting Brendan with hot coals

an honest to goodness oven! 

an entire pork shoulder

Amanda, his champion sous chef, prepped what must have been kilos of onions, cilantro and cojita cheese. Mike G. covered the vegan/veggie bunch with crispy kale and onions for the taco fixin's . Both taco options were perfectly suited for a lively night.

vegan vs. pork tacos 

amanda, master sous chef

Sally and Farah laid out an incredible spread for Saturday's breakfast. Poached eggs with garden fresh chives, matchstick potatoes with rosemary and buttery grilled bread sound more like high-end brunch menu offerings than camping cooking. Leave it to Sally for that.

Sally poaching, Farah frying

poached eggs w chives, grilled bread, rosemary potatoes & watermelon

Our pack of campers made their way to the river/watering hole up the road to lounge in the icy cold water for the afternoon. DH once aptly said "jumping off something, into something is the height of summer fun." 
Agreed DH, agreed.

Ziggy eyeing the agua

a beautiful day for a dip

A camping trip to the Los Padres National Forest would be incomplete without a proper trip to Cold Springs Tavern. If you've never made your acquaintance to the 'Tavern', make your way there immediately. Housed in an 1860's stagecoach, Cold Springs Tavern heralds icy cold beers, live music and some of the very best Tri-Tip sandwiches in the valley, and that's saying a lot. On any given day, there is a line of serious-as-a-heart-attack Harley bikers, taking a load off from the breathtaking routes of San Marcos Pass.

Cold Springs Tavern 

enjoying tri-tip sandwiches

Tri-Tip with salsa & dijon mustard

Cold Springs sandwiches were the unspoken highlight for most of our meat-eating campers. I am not much of a meat-lover myself and rarely miss it at veggie or vegan meals but when meat is this good, I can't get enough. My only regret of the day...hell!; the entire weekend, was not eating an entire one on my own! Sharing is for suckers when it comes to these sandwiches!

Stuart storytelling

Shannon, Marty & David

While we were all ready for a nap, Brendan insisted instead we venture out to Knapp's Castle instead. Just up the road from the campsite is one of the more extraordinary sites I'd never known existed. Built in 1916 at the edge of the world in the Los Padres Nat'l Forest, Knapp's Castle provides a breathtaking view of the Santa Ynez Valley. The impressive castle was the victim of a forest fire shortly after it was built but the foundations that remain resemble ancient ruins. 

Knapp's was a world better than a nap. ;-)

meghan m. at the edge

DH & matt btwn the walls

mike g.

ballerina amanda

josh b.

emily m. acrobatics in the amphitheater

After a whirlwind day, everyone was ready for a mellow evening cuddled up by the campfire. And what better way to unwind than with Chilean hot dogs made by our fellow Chilean camper, Sebastian. David and Sebastian grilled up traditional, turkey and veggie dogs and topped them with mashed avocado, diced tomato and mayonnaise. So simple and so so delicious.

Chilean completo hot dog

david v. mashing avocados

fresh diced tomatoes

master and creator

For the grand finale, Amelia and Amanda M. made happy campers of us all with the much talked about doughboys. Doughboys, if you haven't had the pleasure of making and eating one, consists of Pillsbury crescent rolls (resist judgement, you'd love it) wrapped around a wooden dowel, toasted over the campfire, then filled with butter, jam, ect. I opted for orange marmalade and dubliner cheese in mine.

Amelia schooling the doughboys

bread & egg dish above; doughboys on the fire below 

finished doughboy

empty inside of the doughboy

orange marmalade & cheese inside

The doughboys were the surprise hit of last year's camping trip and have come up in in concert with camping conversations ever since. The girls made 2 delicious egg dishes and soyrizo with potatoes but let's get real, doughboys are where its at.

Amanda M. working the soyrizo potatoes

bread, egg & tapenade dish

frittata birthday 'cake'

A big thanks to all who came out and cooked their hearts out. It was an incredible birthday and a legendary weekend.
I'll leave you with another DH truism...
'weekends shouldn't be this fun'