Dinner By FireLight: A Special Guest Post

Welcome to FireLight Camps.

FireLight Camps is a new take on camping up in Ithaca, New York. Guests enjoy safari tents stocked with cozy beds, handcrafted furniture, and above all, warm, seasonal meals to greet them at the end of the day. 

Sure, you might know this kind of experience by another name: glamping. This isn't roughing it by any means. But here at BioLite, we're fans of anyone who tries to share their passion for the outdoors and make it approachable for people to try. The outdoors are a place to relax, recharge, and reconnect with what's important - how you outfit that is up to you. Moreover, we're especially big fans of anyone who can blend our love of the outdoors with our love of cooking.

Cue Emma. 

Emma Frisch is one of the founders of FireLight (and a former Food Network Star finalist!) - she is the owner of Frisch Kitchen, an experiential catering business and food blog with over 500 original recipes. She opened the boutique hotel and restaurant "La Buena Onda" with her husband in Nicaragua and has worked with a variety of non-profits to help build healthier regional food systems. In short - Emma knows food. 

Emma also knows the outdoors, hence her involvement with FireLight. She is responsible for crafting a menu that connects guests with their surroundings and helps them be in sync with nature, rather than at odds. She loves seasonal ingredients and local purveyors, and that care comes out in her food. 

We are proud to share a special guest post from Emma today -- read on to see the delicious, warming meal she prepared entirely on the BioLite Bundle. And if you make it all the way to the end, there's something in it for you. 

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When my friend Will put me in touch with his pal Jonathan Cedar at BioLite, a camping stove company I’d admired from afar, I began to daydream about quicker outdoor culinary possibilities that wouldn’t sacrifice the very ingredient I’d grown to love: wood-burning fire. As a former outdoor guide, and long-time backpacker and rock climber, I had used my fair share of comping stoves. Nearly all of them relied on gas.

We got excited about creating new recipes with a BioLite stove. The CampStove Bundle arrived at my house within days, and I quickly set up my outdoor kitchen on the grounds of Firelight Camps. At home, I had packed the ingredients I needed so that it would require little effort to whip up a meal once I got the stove burning. I’d learned that outdoor cooking always requires preparation so that you can look forward to a gorgeous, nourishing and hearty food that can be made before the sun goes down.

I set out to make the following menu with my BioLite stove, and hope you’ll try making these recipes on your next outdoor adventure:

Grilled Pumpkin with Goat Cheese | Lemon Zest Mushroom & Leek Quinoa Risotto | Aztec Hot Chocolate with Mini Marshmallows

  Grilled Pumpkin with Goat Cheese & Lemon Zest

Yield: About 4 servings
Preparation time: About 10 minutes
Cooking time: About 14 minutes

Ingredients:

1/2 small pumpkin, cut into crescent moons

3 tablespoons maple syrup

1/2 tablespoon pumpkin spice

1/3 cup crumbled, plain goat cheese

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon lemon zest

Preparation:

1. In a large Ziploc bag, shake together the pumpkin slices, maple syrup and pumpkin spice. Pack this in your picnic basket or backpack.
2. In a separate medium Ziploc bag, shake together the goat cheese, sea salt, pepper and lemon zest. Pack this in your picnic basket or backpack.
3. Fire up the BioLite CampStove with the >Portable Grill attachment.
4. Once the grill is hot, use tongs or a fork to lay the pumpkin slices evenly on the grill (reserve extra maple syrup in the Ziploc). Cook for 5-7 minutes on each side, until charred and fork-tender.
5. Transfer the pumpkin to a plate and sprinkle the goat cheese mixture on top. (If you are making the Mushroom & Leek Quinoa Risotto, use the hot grill to prepare the leeks at this time).
6. Go the extra step. Replace the Portable Grill with the KettlePot and heat the reserved spiced maple syrup. This will only take a minute. Pour the warmed syrup over the pumpkin and devour.

Mushroom  & Leek Quinoa Risotto

I love replacing quinoa with traditional risotto rice because it is quicker to make and results in a high-protein dish that’s ideal when you’re expending energy in the outdoors. The trick to creamy, flavorful risotto is coconut milk and reduced stock. By using vegetable bouillon and nixing the parmesan, this dish can be vegan without skimping on substance. As for mushrooms, use whatever dehydrated fungi you fancy – shitake is a great choice!

The ingredients have been organized in groupings that can be packed separately in Ziploc bags to make cooking on at your campsite (or glampground) easier. 

Yield: About 4 servings
Preparation time: About 10 minutes
Cooking time: About 15 minutes

Ingredients:

1 leek, rinsed and cut into matchsticks

1 tablespoon butter

1/4 cup diced onions

1 clove garlic, minced

1 (13.5 ounce) can coconut milk

2 tablespoons water

1 teaspoon vegetable bouillon

1 cup pre-rinsed quinoa (rinsing quinoa removes the bitter coating called saponin)

1/2 cup dehydrated mushrooms

1 bay leaf

1/2 cinnamon stick

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

Preparation:

1. Fire up theBioLite CampStove with the Portable Grill attachment. Once the grill is hot, use tongs or or a fork to grill the leeks until lightly charred. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
2. Replace the Portable Grill with the KettlePot. The KettlePot gets hot fast, so work quickly and use a spoon to stir continuously so the risotto doesn’t burn on the bottom of the pan.
3. Add the butter, onion and garlic, and saute until the onion is translucent.
4. Add the coconut milk, water and bouillon and stir, dissolving the bouillon.
5. Add the quinoa, mushrooms, bay leaf and cinnamon stick. Stir frequently for about 12 minutes, until the quinoa is translucent with white threads around the grains.
6. Stir in the Parmesan cheese and grilled leeks. Transfer the risotto to the BioLite bowl (which comes nestled inside the BioLite KettlePot) and share with your camping party.

Aztec Hot Chocolate with Mini Marshmallows

Yield: About 5 servings
Preparation time: 2 minutes
Cooking time: 2-3 minutes

Before leaving home, mix together the cocoa ingredients in a Ziploc bag, including the mini marshmallows. This recipe is made with warming spices appropriate for nights under starry skies. Mini marshmallows help temper the heat from the cayenne, but the extra punch is of course optional.

Ingredients:

Powdered milk - 2 1/2 cups (replace with powder soy milk)

Confectioners sugar - 2 cups

Unsweetened cocoa mix - 1 cup

Sea salt - 1 teaspoon

Cinnamon - 1 teaspoon

Cayenne (optional) - A pinch

Water - 5 cups

Mini marshmallows - Half a handful per camper

Peppermint sticks - 1 per camper

Instructions:

1. Fire up the BioLite CampStove with the KettlePot attachment.
2. Bring the water to a boil.
3. Fill your mug to the halfway line with cocoa mix. Use a peppermint stick to stir in the water and dissolve the mix, making a luxurious dessert beverage.
4. Garnish with mini marshmallows.

To see more photos of Emma's impressive meal, check out her full blog post here.