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The Camper Van Cookbook: Life on 4 wheels, Cooking on 2 rings
Say goodbye to roughing it. And hello to a new kind of freedom. With over 80 fabulously tasty recipes you can cook on just two rings and a few barbeque feasts and camp fire crackers, this is the dashboard bible for anyone who ever dreamed of hitting the road at the wheel of a classic VW camper. From finding and cooking your own food to passing muster with the surfing set, THE CAMPER VAN COOKBOOK will show you how to make the most of every single moment on the road.
288 pages, Paperback
First published May 27, 2010
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76 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
August 9, 2019
This is UK based, a heads up for GR friends in Britain.
This is old-school. What I love is the spirit that motivated this book, evident on every page. The added interest for me is that this is based on the UK - camping around England (though much of the content is universal, i.e. recipes, picnics, playing guitar, songs, surfing, cooking).
The stories and experiences and places are specifically and enchantingly English.
It is tempting, but I'll resist expanding on personal experience, other than to say how this book recalls memories of our '70s Kombi and the footprint it covered in Australia.
Reading through this book, which includes lots of images, I think what a way to see England. I'm not one for organized tours. And they drive on the right side of the road!
This is old-school. What I love is the spirit that motivated this book, evident on every page. The added interest for me is that this is based on the UK - camping around England (though much of the content is universal, i.e. recipes, picnics, playing guitar, songs, surfing, cooking).
The stories and experiences and places are specifically and enchantingly English.
It is tempting, but I'll resist expanding on personal experience, other than to say how this book recalls memories of our '70s Kombi and the footprint it covered in Australia.
Reading through this book, which includes lots of images, I think what a way to see England. I'm not one for organized tours. And they drive on the right side of the road!
May 24, 2024
Excellent - we never go camping without it and many dishes here have become our staples. It would do with a few more meat-free options but otherwise, it's a pretty complete cookbook
April 22, 2011
I have to admit that I picked this book up for its cover. Long ago, we owned and repaired a VW camper van, but sold it because we were pregnant with TWINS and there were no safety belts in the vehicle... sometimes we kick ourselves for that move, but it was the right thing to do. Now, with those same twins going off to college soon, maybe it's time to find another one.
This book is more about the lifestyle than cooking. With 280 pages, there are only 80 recipes, and most of those fairly simple. However, this is more than a cookbook, it's about living "Life on 4 Wheels." It's about getting OUT there and enjoying your weekends in your VW camper van... or just GETTING OUT THERE! This book is geared a bit towards the UK in that all of the spots and festivals mentioned in the book are found in the UK. I would love to see one for the West Coast, as the sentiment in this book would be perfect for the Coasts found along California, Oregon and Washington.
The pictures are great and there are numerous tips on how to enjoy life on the weekends. Making sure that your camper van is always stocked and ready to go, having a 'Go' bag so that when you get off of work, you just have to grab your family and your clothes and GO! How to forage, what songs to sing around the camp fire, how to be environmentally friendly are just a few of the many items discussed in this book. As I mentioned earlier, this book makes me want to get a Camper Van and enjoy the weekends!
As mentioned, there are fewer recipes and more tips. The recipes, for the most part, are fairly simple, but some create luxurious dishes on "2 rings" or a campfire. The photos for both the recipes and the general photos are very well done. Though many recipes are not to my tastes (not a big seafood fan), they look well-planned and give this cook some good ideas to try, either in a camper van or at home.
If you are looking for a book to make you wistful for communing with Nature, than this is the one for you. It's fun, light-hearted, and helps you get out there. There are even tips of learning how to surf and what to do if you step on a venomous fish barefoot!
This book is more about the lifestyle than cooking. With 280 pages, there are only 80 recipes, and most of those fairly simple. However, this is more than a cookbook, it's about living "Life on 4 Wheels." It's about getting OUT there and enjoying your weekends in your VW camper van... or just GETTING OUT THERE! This book is geared a bit towards the UK in that all of the spots and festivals mentioned in the book are found in the UK. I would love to see one for the West Coast, as the sentiment in this book would be perfect for the Coasts found along California, Oregon and Washington.
The pictures are great and there are numerous tips on how to enjoy life on the weekends. Making sure that your camper van is always stocked and ready to go, having a 'Go' bag so that when you get off of work, you just have to grab your family and your clothes and GO! How to forage, what songs to sing around the camp fire, how to be environmentally friendly are just a few of the many items discussed in this book. As I mentioned earlier, this book makes me want to get a Camper Van and enjoy the weekends!
As mentioned, there are fewer recipes and more tips. The recipes, for the most part, are fairly simple, but some create luxurious dishes on "2 rings" or a campfire. The photos for both the recipes and the general photos are very well done. Though many recipes are not to my tastes (not a big seafood fan), they look well-planned and give this cook some good ideas to try, either in a camper van or at home.
If you are looking for a book to make you wistful for communing with Nature, than this is the one for you. It's fun, light-hearted, and helps you get out there. There are even tips of learning how to surf and what to do if you step on a venomous fish barefoot!
November 16, 2021
3.5🌟. My daughter has a camper van and wants me to go on a road trip. I’ve always been a bit reluctant (a lot reluctant actually!) but once we get back to normal I’m going to embrace it. This book has shown me I’m not going to starve and I won’t get bored. Bring in the adventure!
February 19, 2023
Not very relevant in the US
It’s about camping in England and Ireland. Most of the book is not about cooking but about subjects irrelevant in the US
It’s about camping in England and Ireland. Most of the book is not about cooking but about subjects irrelevant in the US
February 12, 2012
Harbouring a love of both VW campers and home-cooked food, this was the first book I gravitated to in the cookery section of the library - and Martin Dorey and Sarah Randall certainly don't disappoint in either area. Dorey's writing reads like an enthusiastic friend talking to you across a campfire, personable without being ingratiating, and he certainly knows his stuff when it comes to surfing, foraging and keeping house in what is basically a tin box on wheels. Randall's recipes are wonderfully simple, clear and don't require many obscure or hard-to-find ingredients - three of the prime requirements for any cookery book in my opinion. Those who prefer to keep inland when travelling in their VWs may find the abundance of seafood recipes a little frustrating, but the terrestrial options are not to be sneezed at either. How does "20-minute chicken and melting cheese quesadillas"(page 112) sound? Pretty good, I'd say. Other than that, I think the only downside to The Camper Van Cookbook that I can see is that it could give rise to wistful daydreams of packing up on Friday evening and wandering around the country for an indeterminate amount of time. As downsides go, that's got to be one of the best.
August 28, 2016
This book inspired me very much to go on a camping holiday again and to just go outside more and experience nature! Some great tips, not just for meals, but for activities to do when camping, tips for storage and maintenance, etc. All the tips and extra info are interspersed nicely between the recipes as the book is set out to take you from Friday evening through to Sunday evening - emanating a weekend away. This makes it quite nice to read all the way through, rather than dip in and out as I would usually do with a cookbook. The book is obviously written with campervan camping in mind, but as someone who only owns a tent I still found this a really useful book - all the recipes can be done on a camping stove, regardless of whether you're cooking out of a van or a tent!
December 16, 2012
Absolutely brilliant - filled with hints and tips for a camping lifestyle, games to play and places to go as well as many easy-to-follow recipes. The only flaw I found was the presumptuous 'free-range egg' dictation in the recipes - I eat free range anyway but don't need a book to demand it of me. A little bit of my petty rage in aid of liberation for you there. :)
Humorous to the end, this book inspired me to nag Roy so much that he has promised we can buy a camper van (or a converted bus - a converted bus would be sooooo amazing!) after the wedding. Wet weekends and silly camp songs here we come! :D
Humorous to the end, this book inspired me to nag Roy so much that he has promised we can buy a camper van (or a converted bus - a converted bus would be sooooo amazing!) after the wedding. Wet weekends and silly camp songs here we come! :D
August 8, 2012
The recipes weren't new but the information about travelling England with a camper was interesting
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews