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!

Cooking from 'My Nepenthe'

Cookbooks are among my favorite gifts to receive. It might come as a surprise to learn however, that it is a rare occasion I receive a cookbook a gift. It must be the same reason DH almost never receives wine as a gift. People must assume we have all we could ever need or want in these categories. That or it can be intimidating...but I sure hope not!
I really do love receiving a new cookbook, particularly in an age of epicurious.com, food network and google recipes. Working within the confines of a cookbook's pages can be a rewarding challenge.
And, as with all books given as gifts, cookbooks reflect the giver as much as the recipient. For a recent birthday, a close friend gave me the beautiful My Nepenthe cookbook. 
Nepenthe, the restaurant is arguably one of the most famous spots in all of Big Sur and quite possibly the oldest. With a sprawling, panoramic patio and floor-to-ceiling glass-walled interior, Nepenthe is easily the best bar and restaurant to take in the view. And the food is pretty great too.

our personal favorite at the restaurant! 

When we are fortunate to find ourselves in Big Sur, an outdoor seat at Nepenthe combined with an order of Ambrosia burgers (meat or veggie), a basket of fries and a pitcher of beer makes for a near perfect moment.

Big Sur

Part historical memoir, part cookbook; My Nepenthe weaves together mouthwatering recipes, from the restaurant and from the family's private repertoire along with the family history of Bill and Lolly Fasset, co-founders of the Nepenthe. Each recipe is tied into a story all its own and the order follows a stream of consciousness rather than a conventional cookbook layout.

shooting 'The Sandpiper' at Nepenthe

It's easy to get caught up in all the beautiful pictures and nostalgic stories of Nepenthe's salad days; from the bohemian 50's and 60's to the filming of 'The Sandpiper' with Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, but the real highlight of the book are the recipes.
In the months since receiving this cookbook, I have enjoyed preparing My Nepenthe recipes for large parties, close friends and for just the two of us.

their version

our version

Lamb brochettes with mint pesto and oven-baked rice provided the menu for DH's sis, Casey's Hastings Law School Graduation Party.

their version

our version

Lolly's famous hotcakes are now our go-to pancake batter, particularly when camping.

Marinated fresh sardines and roast corn with chipotle butter have become some of our favorite things to eat at home.

components of the rustic tart

sprinkle sweet dough w. sugar & almonds

stack up sliced pluots & strawberries

dot with butter

messy but good

And for a recent 18 reasons volunteer potluck, I made the plum and raspberry rustic tart. I swapped flavor king pluots for the plums and strawberries for raspberries since that's what looked (and tasted) best at the Berkeley Farmer's Market.

'Californian Hippy' cuisine

All the recipes have a distinctly 'Californian Hippy' feel to them. 'Californian Hippy' is by no means an official cuisine but can be defined by heaps of nuts and seeds, wheat germ, avocados, sprouts, ect. sprinkling every recipe. 
It is a cuisine and a lifestyle I have nothing but love, loyalty and nostalgia for and Nepenthe restaurant, for all intents and purposes, invented it!
I'd recommend the restaurant and the cookbook to anyone.