Easy Campfire Cooking, Expanded 2nd Edition E-Book

• Herausgeber: Fox Chapel Publishing
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2022

Seitenzahl: 194

Beschreibung

Whether you're planning your next camping trip or inviting friends over for a backyard bonfire, Easy Campfire Cooking, Expanded 2nd Edition is filled with delicious breakfast, lunch, and dinner ideas the whole family will love. Updated with 50 all-new camping recipes to take your camp cuisine to the next level, this must-have cookbook features over 250 recipes for shrimp and vegetable kebabs, fajitas foil packs, Dutch oven soups and stews, and so much more. Also included are helpful tips, campfire safety, and techniques on how to build the perfect cooking fire. Cooking over a fire brings family and friends together in a special and unique way, and this camping cookbook will satisfy everyone's appetite, provide hours of fun, and create a relaxing atmosphere – all outside.

Leseprobe

Photo Credits

Georgia Pellegrini (p. 3): Diane Cu

Catch of the Day, The Stick Way (pp. 12, 18): Carson Morgan

No-Crust Apple Pie (p. 23): Jessica Morris, jessicalynette.com

Basic S’more for 2 (p. 25): Brent Hofacker, via Shutterstock

Skewers and Kebabs (pp. 9, 27): Bonny Turayev, violetssilverlining.blogspot.com

Tropical Shrimp Skewers (pp. 1, 35): Dana DeVolk, thissillygirlskitchen.com

Lemon Chiffon Pie (p. 85): Heather Painchaud, homemadeheather.com

Breakfast Biscuits (p. 91): Tina Butler, mommyskitchen.net

Dutch Oven (p. 109): from Dutch Oven & Cast Iron Cooking, foxchapelpublishing.com

Caramel Apple Crisp (p. 120): Elizabeth Waterson, confessionsofabakingqueen.com

On a Grate (p. 121): BlacksmithCreations, etsy.com/shop/blacksmithcreations

Southwest Chicken (p. 124): Jothan Yeager

Beer Can Chicken (p. 125): Heather Nolan

All other photos: CQ Products, cqbookstore.com

© 2012, 2022 by Fox Chapel Publishing Company, Inc., 903 Square Street, Mount Joy, PA 17552.

Easy Campfire Cooking, 2nd Edition (2022) is a revised edition of Easy Campfire Cooking (2012), published by Fox Chapel Publishing Company, Inc. Revisions include new recipes and photographs.

Recipe selection, design, and book design © Fox Chapel Publishing.Recipes and select photographs as noted above © CQ Products.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission of the copyright holder.

Print ISBN 978-1-4971-0283-5eISBN 978-1-6374-1086-8

Library of Congress Control Number: 2021945339

To learn more about the other great books from Fox Chapel Publishing, or to find a retailer near you, call toll free 800-457-9112 or visit us at www.FoxChapelPublishing.com.

We are always looking for talented authors. To submit an idea, please send a brief inquiry to [email protected].

FOREWORD

BY GEORGIA PELLEGRINI

The best meals I’ve eaten have been around a campfire. In part it was the ingredients—a whole hog, smothered in molasses and draped in bacon, steaming over hot coals for a day until the meat fell from the bone, for example. But in part what made it memorable was the act of lighting that fire and cooking the way our early ancestors did, the act of tapping into our original human instincts. As life becomes ever more fast paced, we seem to drift further away from those original instincts, and it can sometimes be hard to find the way back. Easy Campfire Cooking is a roadmap. Full of handy how-tos, tips, and recipes, it is accessible to everyone, no matter how strapped to city life you are. It is a reminder that the simplicity of campfire cooking is satisfying not only because we are “going back,” but because we are gathering together around the fire among friends.

Food is ultimately about community, about bringing people together. I would argue that the campfire is equally so. No matter the culture or geography, the campfire, like food, draws people in. The fact that we as humans learned how to combine the two is what made us more sophisticated cooks, and more sophisticated minds. We learned that by bringing food back to the tribe and feeding the community around the fire, we were elevating our place in the world. It is safe to say that combining food with fire was the very act that made us the humans we are today.

What is nice to see is that these types of “pioneer skills” are experiencing a renaissance. A renewed demand for books like this is a reflection that society is craving what is real and lasting versus what is fake and manufactured. People are looking for ways both large and small to step off the grid even just once in a while.

This desire to experience food within the outdoors is a wonderful thing because those who spend hours every year pondering and studying nature around them and discussing the events of the day around food and fire are reflecting something that is essential in human nature—it is the purest way of being human on this planet.

If you’re looking for a taste of that, let this book be your guide. Happy cooking!

Georgia Pellegrini is the author of Food Heroes:16 Culinary Artisans Preserving Tradition. Visit her blog at georgiapellegrini.com

Welcome to Easy Campfire Cooking! This book is full of delicious and easy-to-make recipes for your next campfire. Whether you’re a new camper or a seasoned outdoor veteran, you can cook up tasty fare for breakfast, main dishes, sides, and even desserts. With more than 250 recipes to choose from, you can’t go wrong. Try Tropical Seafood Skewers (here), Honey Mustard Chicken Packets (here), Hash Brown Pie (here), Kayak Tuna Mac (here), Starry Night Chili (here), Fireside Pizza (here), and more! Whether your favorite way to cook over a fire is with a stick, skewers and kebabs, foil packets, pie irons, skillets, Dutch ovens, or using a grate, this book has you covered. So build the perfect fire, grab your cooking implements of choice, and get cookin’ in the great outdoors!

CONTENTS

THE JOYS OF CAMPFIRE COOKING

WITH A STICK

Breakfast

Breakfast ’Bobs

Breakfast on a Stick

Breakfast in a Bag

Sausage & Toast on a Stick

Bacon on a Stick

Egg on a Stick

Donut Snakes

Honeyed Fruit

Main Dishes

Simple Burgers

Meatball Subs

Apple-Glazed Pork

Beef Roll-Ups

Catch of the Day, the Stick Way

Simply Hot Dogs

Hawaiian Roasts

Little Weiner Kebabs

Sides

Stick ’Taters

Wheat Dough

Quick Stick Bread

Bread Dough

Desserts

No-Crust Apple Pie

Coconut Cream Pie

Toasted Wacky Taffies

Pineapple Cobblers

Basic S’More for 2

The No-Mess S’More for 2

Shaggy Mallows

Marshmallow Puffs

SKEWERS AND KEBABS

Main Dishes

Build Your Own Kebab

Stuffed Meatballs

Pizza on a Stick

Smoky Chile Pepper Shrimp

Tropical Seafood Skewers

Hot Strip Kebabs

Sweet Steak Bites

Singapore Chicken

Tandoori Chicken

Jerk Pork & Melon

Roasted Korean Pork

Greek-Inspired Lamb Kebabs

Nomadic Venison

Tropical Shrimp Skewers

Cowboy Kebabs

Teriyaki-Chicken Kebabs

Beer Brat Sticks

Pork & Peach Skewers

Glazed Frank Kebabs

Sides

Vegetable Skewers

Toasty Cheese Cubes

Desserts

Strawberry Meringues

FOIL PACKETS HOBO-STYLE

Breakfast

Granola-Stuffed Apples

Wrapped Apples

Sun’s Up Hillbilly Trash

Potatoes & Eggs

Orange-Oatmeal Muffins

Cinnamon Roll Cups

Donut Surprise

Main Dishes

Make Mine Meatloaf

Jungle Jambalaya

Three-Minute Pizza

Hawaiian Ham Delight

Pork Chop Package

Stuffed Green Peppers

Spam Packs

Ham & Sweet Potatoes

Stuffed Onions

Spinach-Mushroom Cheeseburgers

Turkey & Stuffing Pouches

Sweet & Sour Chicken

Chicken & Rice

Lemon Chicken

Fajitas in Foil

Silver Garlic Chicken

Oriental Chicken

Foil-Wrapped Apricot Chicken

Honey Mustard Chicken Packets

Easy Ranch Chicken

Hot Baked Fish

Shrimp Packets

Chili Dogs

Tex-Mex Foil Packs

Fish Pack for One

Basic Hamburger Foil Pack

Basic Chicken Hobo Pack

Ham & Potato Stuffed Peppers

Philly Cheesesteak on French Bread

Tomato & Chicken Tortellini

Brats with Seasoned Sauerkraut

Wrapped Tuna Melts

Sides

Bacon-Wrapped Cabbage

Herbed Snow Peas

Campfire Vidalias

Cheesy Cobs

Grilled Squash

Tomato & Mushroom Pouch

Stuffed ’Tater

Smoky Hobo Mushrooms

Red Onion Roast

Slow-Roasted Vegetables

Onion Carousel

Spiced-Apple Sweet Potatoes

Chili Cheese Fries

Basil Loaf

Basic Potato Pack

Desserts

Orange Slice Delights

Banana Boats

Pears in Caramel Sauce

PIE IRON

Breakfast

Toasty Bacon & Egg Sandwich

Hash Brown Pie

Fired-Up Frittata

French Toasties

Cinnamon or Garlic Biscuits

Pudgie Pop-Tarts

Breakfast Egg & Sausage Muffins

Belgian Pie

Hash & Eggs

Fried Eggs

Little Waffle Casserole

Applesauce Pancakes

Potato-Bacon Pancakes

Main Dishes

Reuben Pie

Taco Tents

Pot Pie

BBQ Chicken Pie

Meat & Cheese Melts

Mexican Pie

Grilled Roast Beef

Camp Ravioli & Garlic Toast

Pizza Pockets

Hot Ham & Swiss on Rye

Salmon Patties

Tuna Melts

Hillbilly Burrito

Second-Hand ’Wiches

Grilled Cheese Perfection

Sides

Easy Tots

Veggie Medley

Portabella Melt

Cornbread Pizzazz

Stuffed Cornbread

Onion Puffs

Desserts

Lemon Chiffon Pie

Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

Apple or Cherry Turnovers

Peanut Butter Chocolate Treats

Sweet Peach Pocket

Banana Rafts

Dream Pies

Caramel Apple Angel Pies

SKILLET

Breakfast

Apple-Raisin Pancakes

Corn Fritters

Sweet Cereal Slices

Breakfast Biscuits

Flapjacks

Orange-Blueberry Oatmeal

Breakfast Burritos

Egg Crackle

Early Bird Nests

Iced Cinnamon Swirl Pancakes

Main Dishes

Mexicali Sally

Baked Beans & Sausage

Old-Fashioned Beef Stew

Basic Mulligan Stew

Fireside Fondue

Kayak Tuna Mac

Wild & Sloppy Joes

Beer-Battered Fish

Cowboy Casserole

Chicken Fajitas

Walking Tacos

Creole Campout

Quick & Easy Tomato Casserole

Beans & Texas Toast

Hungry Man’s Polish Sausage Dinner

Pork Chop Dinner

Sides

Jacked-Up Corn Cakes

Cast Iron Nachos

Corn Hash

White Bean Bake

Campfire Green Beans

Calico Beans

Baked Beans

Ranch-Style Veggies

Desserts

Banana Brownies

Grilled Berry Crumble

Fruity Grill

Fry Brownies

Chocolate Coins

Burst Vanilla Apples

Cast Iron Cookie

DUTCH OVEN

Breakfast

Fruit-Filled Breakfast Bread

Breakfast Pizza

Soups & Stews

Ham & Cabbage Stew

Five-Can Soup

Fiesta Chicken Soup

Hobo Stew

Big Pond Soup

Starry Night Chili

Main Dishes

Pasta Dogs

One-Pot Lasagna

Campsketti

Coca-Cola Chicken

Chicken Pot Pie

Campout Cornbread

Fiesta Taco Bake with Cornbread

Stuffed Sausage Boats

Desserts

The Camper’s Cobbler

Black Forest Cobbler

Fruit & Rice Pudding

Caramel Apple Crisp

ON A GRATE

Main Dishes

Stuffed Frankfurters

Cheese-Stuffed Brats

Carne Asada

Honey Garlic Pork Chops

Salmon on the Barbie

Southwest Chicken

Beer Can Chicken

Fireside Pizza

Classic Chicken

Our Favorite Cheddar Burger

Big Ranch Burgers

The All-American Burger

Grilled Surf & Turf

Spinach Alfredo Pizza

Inside-Out Cheeseburgers & Sweet Corn

Quick Bacon-Avocado Pizzas

Citrus Salmon Skewers

Roll Over Big Dogs

Sides

Stuffed Mushrooms

Toasted Pesto Rounds

Potato Wedges

Corn on the Cob

Campfire French Fries

Tender Carrot Slices

Grapefruit Egg Custard

Stuffed Cheese Bread

Cheesy Roasted Red Pepper Bread

Fruit Kebabs

Bacon-Wrapped Asparagus

Bacon & Corn Stuffed Peppers

Atomic Poppers

Almost Stir-Fry Rice

BRING ALONGS

Snacks & Drinks

Rocky Trail Hiking Mix

Cran-Gorp

Camping Crunch

Cafe Bavarian Mint Mix

Swiss Mocha Mix

Fireside Granola

Wide-Eyed Cold Brew

THE JOYS OF CAMPFIRE COOKING

What’s not to love about cooking over a fire in the great outdoors? Whether you’re miles away in the wilderness or as close as your own backyard, you can enjoy a beautiful sunny day or a gorgeous starry night while you cook and eat your meal outside. Best of all, cooking over a fire brings together family and friends to enjoy food and fun in a relaxing atmosphere.

To make your time outside even more enjoyable, be sure you have all your cooking supplies when you leave the house. If you carry everything in a basket or large tray, it makes transporting much easier. You may even want to restock the basket or tray after each outing so all you have to do the next time is grab and go.

Campfire cooking is something the whole family can enjoy and help with. Kids will learn the difference between a big bonfire and a cooking fire, and everyone will enjoy cooking their own food. When you’re done cooking, add some extra firewood to make a roaring campfire for another great outdoor experience.

With a little imagination and some simple over-a-fire cooking tools, you’ll be well on your way to creating a lot of outdoor fun for the whole family!

CAMPFIRE SAFETY

■ Be sure it is legal to build a fire in your location.

■ Use a fire pit, if available. Otherwise, build your fire on rock or dirt.

■ Build your fire at least 8’ from flammable objects.

■ Never leave a fire unattended.

■ Don’t build a fire if it’s windy. Sparks can cause an unintended fire.

■ Extinguish the fire by dousing it with plenty of water. Be sure all the coals, embers and wood are wet and cool.

■ Protect hands with leather gloves or heavy oven mitts and use long tongs to prevent burns.

TERMS

■Tinder: fallen pine needles, dry grass, wood shavings or tiny twigs

■Kindling: small dry sticks, larger than tinder

■Firewood: dry logs that are gathered, split and used for fuel

■Hot coals: chunks of burning firewood used for cooking, low or no flames

■Embers: glowing ash-covered coals

WHAT’S WOOD GOT TO DO WITH IT?

In a word—everything! You’ll only get a nice cooking fire if you use the right kind of firewood. Use split logs since they produce the best heat and are easiest to ignite. Hard woods such as maple, walnut, oak or apple are best; they burn slowly and produce wonderful cooking coals.

BUILDING THE PERFECT COOKING FIRE

■ Fill a bucket with water. Keep it near the fire to douse flare-ups.

■ If there isn’t a fire pit available, construct a U-shaped perimeter with large rocks.

■ Pile up tinder in the cooking area; light with a match. When tinder is burning well, place kindling loosely on top, adding more as needed. Once kindling is burning nicely, carefully add split firewood, teepee-style, over the burning kindling.

■ When the flames die down, white hot coals remain. Use a metal fire poker or long stick to distribute the coals for cooking, as needed.

■ Never use gas or kerosene on a fire as they are dangerous and pose a serious risk of explosion!

GRATE IDEAS

Sometimes it’s more convenient to cook food on a metal grate resting over a fire instead of cooking directly on hot coals. This offers more control over the cooking temperature. Place the grate higher for a lower cooking temperature or move it closer to the fire to increase the temperature.

If a grill is available, use it like a fire pit, building your fire inside the base. Place skewers of food, cooking pots or foil packs on top of the grate. Allow extra cooking time for this method.

If you don’t have access to a grill grate, use a wire cooling rack or rack from your oven and prop it over a fire ring with rocks or empty soup cans. Set the rack at just the right height for the desired cooking temperatures.

DETERMINING THE TEMPERATURE OF A FIRE

A rule of thumb is to hold your hand palm-side down above the fire near the height the food will be cooked. The number of seconds you are able to hold your hand there determines how hot it is.

■ 6 seconds ∼ low heat (300°F)

■ 5 seconds ∼ medium-low heat (325°F)

■ 4 seconds ∼ medium heat (350°F)

■ 3 seconds ∼ medium-hot heat (375°F)

■ 2 seconds ∼ hot heat (400°F)

WHAT ELSE DO I NEED TO KNOW?

Cooking over a fire takes time. You don’t want burned food. The best heat comes from those glowing embers. It’s like a little oven in there, so find a nice spot without a lot of flame but with lots of red-hot heat.

Experiment with the heat. If you have your food too close to the fire, it will burn on the outside and be raw on the inside. Typically, keep larger food items a little further away from the heat so they cook more slowly and evenly.

Do the shuffle. Not a dance step, but the way to keep the heat evenly distributed around your food. Turn your food (but don’t wave it around in the flames) and keep your stick consistently by the coals. If the “hot spot” dies down, simply move your food to another spot.

Words of wisdom. Be sure kids (and certain adults—you know who you are!) don’t run with pointed sticks or use them to chase their siblings. Because a cooking stick gets hot, don’t touch the cooking end immediately after it has been in the fire. Simple enough, but worth saying.

No matter which you prefer of the seven cooking methods presented in this book, one thing is for sure—there’s nothing like cooking your own food in the great outdoors over a well-built fire.

WITH A STICK

So, what’s the deal with food on a stick? Likely the way our ancestors cooked a long, long time ago, cooking over a fire—with the use of a stick—was what made sense in their day. Today it’s just plain fun, and food cooked over a fire tastes delicious!

A cooking stick can be, quite simply, a stick you find outdoors. You’re looking for a fresh stick that has some flexibility, but is strong enough to support the weight of your food. Look for something relatively long (3’ to 4’) to keep you safely away from the heat—singed eyebrows are not attractive!

Cooking with a stick can be as simple (s’mores and hot dogs) or as complex (entire meals) as you want it to be. Make sure you enjoy the experience, but branch out and try new and different things, too. Experiment and have fun! Remember, cooking in the great outdoors is more enjoyable and has more variety than you can shake a stick at.

If you’re using a plain ol’ stick, wash it with soap and water. Then use a pocket knife to carefully remove at least 6″ of the bark at one end and trim that end to a point. Spray with nonstick cooking spray or rub a little vegetable oil over the trimmed cooking end of the stick before spearing your food. Cooking sticks can be tossed in the fire after your meal. No dirty dishes!

Wooden skewers need to be soaked in water for 30 minutes prior to each use to eliminate the chance of them going up in flames. Since wooden and metal skewers are too short to hold over the fire, spread the cooking coals in an even layer, then lay several large pieces of aluminum foil sprayed heavily with nonstick cooking spray over the coals and place the skewers on the foil to cook. This is where you’ll need those tongs and gloves mentioned in Campfire Safety on here.

Breakfast

BREAKFAST ’BOBS

Ingredients

2 oranges

2 potatoes

1 green bell pepper, seeded

1 (8 oz.) can pineapple chunks, drained

1 (7 oz.) pkg. brown-and-serve sausage links

Fruit preserves, such as orange or pineapple, warmed

Directions

Cut each unpeeled orange into six wedges. Cut potatoes and bell peppers into 1″ chunks. On a stick, alternately place an orange wedge, potato, pepper, pineapple chunk and a sausage link.

Cook over hot coals for 10 to 12 minutes or until sausages are hot and vegetables are tender, brushing with preserves and turning occasionally. Serve with remaining preserves.

BREAKFAST ON A STICK

Ingredients

1 C. biscuit baking mix

1 T. sugar

⅓ C. milk

1 egg

½ tsp. vanilla extract

1 (14 oz.) pkg. precooked smoked sausage ring

Warm maple syrup

Directions

In a large bowl, stir together baking mix, sugar, milk, egg and vanilla until well blended. Cut the sausage into seven equal pieces. Pierce a stick through one end of a sausage piece and out the other. Dip sausage in batter until thoroughly coated.

Cook above hot coals until golden brown and sausage is heated through.

Serve with maple syrup. Makes enough for seven sticks.

BREAKFAST IN A BAG

Ingredients

1 to 2 strips bacon

1 C. frozen hash browns, thawed

1 to 2 eggs

Directions

Lay bacon strips in the bottom of a lunch-size brown paper bag. Add hash browns and eggs. Fold over the top of bag, leaving a 3″ space above the food. Insert stick through folded part of bag.

Hold stick so bag hangs 4″ to 5″ above hot coals and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until eggs are cooked, watching closely so the bag doesn’t catch on fire.

Fold down bag and eat directly from bag.

SAUSAGE & TOAST ON A STICK

Ingredients

1 (12 ct.) pkg. refrigerated breadsticks

1 (10 ct.) pkg. brown-and-serve sausage links

Directions

Insert a stick through the entire length of a sausage link, leaving about 1″ of pointed end of stick exposed. Wrap the breadstick around the sausage link, sealing the ends of breadstick by pinching them around the stick at both ends of sausage.

Cook over embers, turning stick occasionally until breadstick is toasty brown and sausage is hot.

BACON ON A STICK

Insert a stick into one end of a strip of bacon and push onto stick about 6″. Wrap bacon around stick, poking the end of the stick through the other end of the bacon. Cook above hot coals until crisp.

EGG ON A STICK

Use the tip of a skewer or sharpened stick to carefully make a small hole in each end of a whole egg. Slowly slide the sharpened stick into the hole in the wide end and out the hole in the narrow end, making sure there is about 1″ of stick showing outside the narrow end.

Hold stick parallel to the ground while placing the small end of egg in the heat until some of the egg white leaks out and solidifies on the end. Cook above hot coals, turning often, until no uncooked egg white leaks from either hole. Cook about 6 to 7 minutes for a soft-cooked egg; cook a couple more minutes if you want your egg hard-cooked.

To check for doneness, hold stick and egg over a plate and use an oven mitt to tug gently on the top side of egg. If there is a little resistance, the egg is soft-cooked. When the egg is very hard to remove from stick, it’s hard-cooked.

DONUT SNAKES

Ingredients

1 tube of 8 refrigerated biscuits

¼ C. butter, melted

Cinnamon and sugar mixture

Directions

Build a campfire. Unroll each biscuit and shape into a long strip. Wrap each biscuit around a long clean stick or long metal skewer. Hold sticks so biscuits are about 6″ to 10″ above hot coals. When biscuits are browned, push biscuits off sticks and onto a plate. Brush biscuits with melted butter and sprinkle generously with cinnamon and sugar mixture.

HONEYED FRUIT

Ingredients

½ C. honey

1 tsp. lemon juice

Assorted fruit such as pineapple, peaches or apricots (fresh, canned or dried)

Directions

In a small bowl, stir together honey and lemon juice. Cut fruit into even-sized pieces and place each piece on the end of a stick. If using dried fruits like apricots, soak in water until plump. Brush fruit with honey mixture.

Cook above the coals until heated through. Serve with remaining honey mixture, if desired.

Common Types of Tracks

Main Dishes

SIMPLE BURGERS

Ingredients

1 lb. ground beef

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Simply shape ground beef into about six small round or oblong patties. Insert a stick into one side and almost through the other side of each. Squeeze patty tightly around stick. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Cook above hot coals until patties are brown on the outside and cooked to desired doneness.

MEATBALL SUBS

Ingredients

1 lb. ground beef

½ C. dry bread crumbs

4 eggs

½ C. milk

¾ C. grated Romano cheese

1 tsp. onion salt

1 clove garlic, minced

¼ C. finely chopped fresh parsley

¼ C. finely chopped fresh basil

1 C. spaghetti sauce

4 sub buns or hot dog buns

Directions

In a large bowl, mix together ground beef, bread crumbs, eggs, milk, Romano cheese, onion salt, garlic, parsley and basil until well combined. Add more bread crumbs if the mixture is too wet; add an extra egg if it’s too dry. Roll mixture into 1½″ balls, and place several meatballs on the end of each stick.

Cook above hot coals until meatballs are cooked to desired doneness.

Drizzle about 1 tablespoon spaghetti sauce on each meatball and hold over the fire for a few seconds until sauce is hot.

Remove meatballs from stick and place on buns.

Quick Tip:

“When choosing a kitchen area [at your campsite], you’ll want to make sure you’re satisfying as many aesthetical and functional factors as possible. These factors include: a good view, comfortable lounging, easy to tarp if the weather is inclement, close to water, and not too far from the tents.” (from Canoe Camping