El Capitan Camping Trip & a Camp Recipe

Back during the first week of June, we went on a mini vacay to the Central Coast. We stayed the first night in Solvang and then camped two nights at our favorite campground, El Capitan State Beach.

Solvang is the quintessential road trip stop whenever we are traveling on the 101. It is a quant touristy town consisting of Danish restaurants, shops and inns that are decked out in Scandinavian-style architecture. "Little Denmark", as it's known here in Cali, is a must-stop place if you've haven't done so yet.

As a kid, any road trip that ventured anywhere near Solvang, required a stop. We would stroll the main strip of shops, danish in hand, where my mom would find the one knickknack she didn't already have (and NEED) and I would search effortlessly for the shoe. Yes, THE shoe. It's a big wooden shoe that would welcome patrons into the near-by shoe shop. Any child who has been to Solvang has probably had their picture taken in it. The big shoe was one of my favorite parts of a Solvang stop...it still is today as an adult. B & I have been to Solvang together more times than I can count, and EVERY time I have to sit on the shoe and have my picture taken. It's just tradition.

After staying the night in Solvang, we headed to our next stop...El Capitan State Beach Campgrounds. This is our favorite place to camp! It's the best of both worlds...the beach is a short hike away, but camp always feels like you're up in the mountains. Private spots and lots of shade from the oak and eucalyptus trees. 

Cooking is a best-loved pastime of ours while we camp. Taking a recipe we enjoy and preparing it camp-style is so rewarding...food always tastes better when you're out in the wild. On this trip, we did some experimenting in our outdoor camp kitchen. We made one of our tailgating-staples the first night, teriyaki steak kabobs with mushrooms & zucchini. They're always a winner!

Another old faithful is eggs scramble with whatever leftover veggies/meat we have from the trip. We made this on the last morning and unfortunately ran out of propane for our BBQ (Our second propane tank was mis-threaded on the BBQ valve and drained overnight.). Luckily B already had a fire going, so onto the firepit grill the pan went. That's why you never bring the good cookware camping.

A couple of new recipes for us this trip were: grilled french toast with blueberries; BBQ chicken with havarti cheese, sprouts & avocado with grilled potatoes; chocolate & raspberry crepes (not pictured); and Orange Chocolate Cake.

The orange chocolate cake was a Pinterest find. A little messy, but very tasty. Here's the recipe, as we prepared it.

Chocolate Cake Baked in an Orange

A box of cake mix will make approx. 9 oranges.

(Since I only brought 3 oranges with us, I pre-measured 1/3

 of the mix out and brought it in a plastic bag. I also only used 

1/3 of the ingredient quantities, as listed on box.)

1 boxed chocolate cake mix, I used Betty Crocker Devil's Food

Eggs, oil, and water, measured as indicated on cake box

Aluminum foil & long tongs to remove from fire

Mix together cake mix, eggs, oil, and water as indicated on cake box. Cut off top 1/3 of orange. Using spoon, remove all flesh from inside rind of larger half. (We put the orange flesh in a plastic bag and ate with breakfast the next morning.) Spoon in cake batter to 2/3 full. Place orange lid back on and double or triple wrap orange with foil. Be mindful to keep orange upright, as to not spill batter. Place foil-wrapped oranges in hot coals, the lower the flames the better. Let bake for approx. 25-30 min, you will hear sizzling and smell the delicious orangey aroma once it's done. Carefully remove from coals with tongs and place on heat-proof plate. Let cool slightly and pull back foil to check if cooked thoroughly. If not, re-wrap and place back in coals, re-checking every 5-10 min. Once baked completely, enjoy with spoon right out of the orange. 

The smell of these were unbelievable! The sweet orange and decadent chocolate mixture were amazing. We will be making these again, maybe using brownie mix...or instead, lemons and yellow cake mix. Camp Lemon Bars, anyone?

Camping is a rejuvenating experience. Something about be outside exploring, relaxing...throw in a morning run along the beach and some seriously good food...and we're two happy people! Just the promise of a camping trip makes me smile. Luckily, B enjoys it (almost) as much as I do.

The last day of our mini vacay, was spent in Santa Barbara. We explored State Street, eating at a favorite little cafe of ours. We drove on Stearns Wharf Pier for the first time. That's a trip! It's an old wooden pier that creaks and pops as you drive over the boardwalk. We couldn't get over the fact that there were NO side railings along the end of the pier...funny part was every 20 feet there was a wooden ladder leading up from the water, so WHEN someone falls they can just swim over to the ladder and climb back up.

We ended our trip with a stop in Carpinteria. Dinner at The Spot sitting on the windy patio as the sun set was the perfect ending to our mini vacay. I don't know what it is about this place, but every time we eat here I feel like I'm eating a burger for the first time...they are so amazing! The scent of salt in the air, as well as the cypress & palm tree-lined view of the distant beach probably does't hurt either. A couple of IPAs from the local brewery and a new blanket, helped our trip last a little longer once we returned home. 

'Til next year Central Coast....