Contributed by Parties That Cook’s Shanti Wilson

August 3, 2008 – We went camping for our son Henry’s first birthday party. We packed up the entire family: Nona, grandpa Jim, aunts, uncles and cousins, and headed up to Hendy Woods State Park in the Anderson Valley. Upon arrival we set up all our tents, unloaded the food and settled in for a nice lunch of sandwiches and salads.

While the kids played in the huge tent we borrowed from a friend, we set up the campfire and broke out the cast iron skillets and pans for dinner. On the menu was Chicken Chili Verde with sour cream, guacamole, brown rice and fresh salsa, stovetop macaroni and cheese, and s’mores. I made the chili the night before so the flavors had time to settle and develop – the added smokiness from reheating over the fire was a nice finishing touch. I put the mac-n-cheese on the menu for the kids, but I think the adults enjoyed it even more! We capped the night off with s’mores made with raspberries, candied ginger, black cherries, and of course good old Hershey’s with almonds. Needless to say, we all went to bed early and slept well.

Early the next morning, the first order of business was stoking the fire and getting the coffee percolating. The great debate was what brews a better cup of coffee: the French press or an old-fashioned camp coffee percolator? The French press coffee was fantastically rich and smooth, but the percolated coffee won out. People liked it because you could serve it hotter and stronger, and strong, hot coffee is the only way to start off of morning when camping!

With our motors running, we cooked up pancakes with fresh fruit, peppered turkey bacon, cheesy scrambled eggs and wild sockeye salmon. It was quite a feast had by all. We enjoyed the rest of the morning hanging out at the camp. The kids had fun running around on the scavenger hunt set up for them, and the adults enjoyed relaxing by the fire.

Later on that day, the entire family went for a nice hike in Hendy Woods. After the hike, we set up a picnic under an old live oak tree. On the menu was a faro salad with dried cherries, toasted walnuts and green onions, breakfast leftovers, wheat-free brownie bites and a boysenberry and nectarine tart for the birthday boy. It was a great Parties That Camp weekend getaway, and a wonderful way to celebrate our first year with sweet Henry!