Camping is a great way to get out of town, away from electronic devices, and relax. This time, we found a new-but-old car camping site on the Guthega River, in Australia’s Snowy Mountains. It was a beautiful little site, and perfect after our afternoon walk to Blue Lake.
We set up the campsite right beside the river:
A sign warned of sudden fluctuations in water level, so we set the tent up a bit further back to avoid watery surprises in the middle of the night. The river level is controlled by Guthega Pondage, and a large release could have spelled trouble. As it turned out, the water had dropped by about a metre the next morning , so we really had nothing to fear.
We have a few standard car-camping meals, and the tuna, tomato and basil pasta is one of them. It tastes great, it can be cooked in a trangia (or over a campfire, but not in summer, alas), and it needs very little preparation. It’s also very healthy and full of calories, which is important when there’s another day of walking to come.
Tuna, tomato and basil pasta
Ingredients
- lots of garlic (at least 2 cloves, and preferably 6–8)
- 1 onion (finely diced)
- 1 large tin of tomatoes (800 grams)
- 2 tablespoons of tomato paste
- 1 tin of tuna
- 2 tablespoons of fresh basil
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 500-gram packet of penne pasta
Directions
- Boil the pasta in a large pot of salted water.
- In a separate pot, saute the onion and garlic in a little olive oil. Add in the other ingredients and simmer until you’re ready to eat it.
- Serve and enjoy
Notes
Source: Adapted from Sandra Cabot’s Liver Cleansing Diet, 1996.
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what a great camping dish! Thanks for sharing at FF49!
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Thank you Mr Fitz. I wouldn’t have thought this would have enough meat in it for you (meat and camping aren’t always a good mix), so I’ll take it as a real compliment!
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You are right.. Not quite enough meat..!! Though it does look cool.. Credit where credit is due!
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This meal looks great. All of the color and flavors you have going on sound delicious.
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Thank you.
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All my faorite ingredients. Yummy.
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So glad you like it. Thanks.
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Thank you so much for bringing your camping experience and pasta dish to the fiesta this week! I love how you get so many colors into a camping dish. Frequently the camping dishes I see are bland or bar-like. This looks absolutely delicious. And, happy 2015! 🙂
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You’re so right. It can be a challenge to beautify the camping experience, but we have a long tradition of trying to go as gourmet as you can with a backpack. Car camping is real luxury. The setting helped here, too!
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The setting is lovely, what a wonderful spot for swimming when the weather is hot. I can just feel that cool water after a long hike. The pasta dish looks so beautiful with the red tomatoes, looks like it would be equally good cold as well.
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Thank you. It was indeed a great camping spot, but a little cold for swimming because of a cold change. One person did go in the water, but it wasn’t planned.
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