S'more Camping than Glamping

Monday 29 July 2013
We've had three glamping expeditions so far this year, High Seas Hobbit, Gypsy Caravans and a return visit to the Hobbit. The end of July should be safe enough weather wise to give some old style camping a go surely? The sun was shining and the temperature was hot, hot, hot when we headed to Aden Country Park at Mintlaw to spend a Saturday night camping with friends. 
After discovering Rhubarb Vodka on our last glamping trip I'd set about making my own plus some Rhubarb Gin. Strictly speaking neither had been left long enough to infuse but I took the risk of decanting a wee bottle of the Gin to bring along as camping juice. Oh my days it is good. Even better than the vodka version. Goes down far too easy straight and absolutely perfect with tonic and ice.
Base camp established in the glorious sunshine it was time to head off and explore our surroundings. But not before we were suitably refreshed with a glass of Pimm's. Alas we forgot the mint and our foraging couldn't source any. So much to do at Aden. Huge play area with zip slide, treehouse, ruined mansion house, lake, gardens and woodland. The 5 kids were charged with collecting kindling for the campfire on the way back to our tents. Boy went one better and fashioned a rope from grasses to tie up his bundle. 
As per usual we had brought along enough food between us to feed the entire campsite. I had filled up my trusty Tiffin Box with an assortment of salady bits including a tuna and sweetcorn pasta made with some funky coloured bows brought back from Italy. There seemed to be much hilarity with regards to 'Carry On Camping' and my Tiffin Box. Must be some sort of in joke. 
Our meaty goodies included chicken kebabs, vegetable kebabs, sausages, mojito chicken fillets, burgers and ribs. The ribs were a big success. What they lacked in meatiness they more than made up for in flavour. I'd marinaded them the night before in Olive Oil, Maple Syrup, Sweet Smoked Paprika, Grainy Mustard and S&P.
The kids were very excited about the prospect of S'mores cones. This was our first try at making these and would have been much more successful if I hadn't stood on the box of cones in the tent...

S'MORES CONES
Waffle Ice Cream Cones
Mini Marshmallows
Chopped Fruit - Strawberries & Bananas
Chocolate Chips - Milk & White
Mini Fudge Chunks

Fill your cone (must be a waffle one) with you own preference of sweet and sticky ingredients  Anything goes but you really need some marshmallow and chocolate to melt and make everything stick together. Wrap in tinfoil and place on the BBQ. Depending on the heat it should take around 5 minutes for the contents to melt. Unwrap and enjoy.
Alas all good things must come to an end and that was certainly true of the weather on this occasion  Scorching Saturday turned to Soggy Sunday and it soon became apparent that our tent wasn't quite as weatherproof as it should be. Undaunted we still cooked up a hearty breakfast in the rain. Think I might stick to glamping in future. Hobbits and Gypsy Caravans don't leak.

2 comments

  1. Ah, I love wee Aden Park making an appearance on your,blog.

    Those smores cones look amazing -- very creative!

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  2. I love your idea about Rhubarb vodka. My personal favourite is sloe vodka. It goes a lovely pink colour, and as you have to pick the sloes in September its ready for drinking in the spring for the first visit to the campsite... if it lasts through the winter of course!

    Our recipe is here. Thanks for sharing all of yours. http://www.inspiredcamping.com/forage-sloes-when-camping/

    Sarah

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