Beaches and Bloody Mary

Is that weird, taking my Louis Vuitton bag camping? -Jessica Simpson

I’ve got some camping advice.
No comment on Jessica and Louis Vuitton, though. I think she said it all.
So, if you pack a flashlight, make sure you use the flashlight.
That’s my advice.
In the late night darkness of the campground when you want to brush your teeth, a flashlight can shed some important light.
Especially as you go fishing about the bottom of your toiletries bag trying to find that elusive travel size tube of toothpaste.
I’m just saying.

Here’s some more advice.

Start a Bucket List. You know; a list of things to do and places to go while still hanging around this lifetime.

Write down, “Visit Jalama Beach”.

Jalama Beach is one of California’s grand little secrets. Nestled in a quiet corner of Santa Barbara County, its campground sits right on the beach.
And its onsite café, The Jalama Beach Store and Grill makes a hamburger that will stamp a memory like no other on your frontal lobes. People from all around the world come here to surf, fish, soak up their share of vitamin D and eat the famous Jalama Burger.

We have been camping here for about 6 years. This year between friends and family, we were about 20 thick. And besides loving the beach and enjoying each other’s marvelous company, we did some fine eating. Here are some highlights and how to’s.

Fried Pancakes
I love the smell of sizzling pancakes in the morning.
One of the joys of eating fried pancakes while you’re camping is that you can because you are camping.

Bisquick Original Pancake and Baking Mix
Olive Oil (or canola if you prefer)
Make the “melt in your mouth” recipe found on the box.
Pour the oil into the bottom of the fry pan
The oil must be hot
Drop in your batter; for small size pancakes and let them sizzle.
Flip and fry to desired crispiness
Add toppings
Some of ours are butter and fruit; butter and powdered sugar; syrup and peanut butter.
Or my favorite; just butter.

Percolated Coffee
This coffee is a throwback to an era that knew Frank Sinatra and Willie Mays. And it was the coffee of our parents and grandparents. It’s Percolated Coffee. Percolated coffee offers a variation in taste; a smooth and rich flavor that is ideal for brisk mornings while camping. We use a stove top percolator pot that is at least 55 years old and holds lots of coffee history. Originally my in law’s coffee pot, it now sits on our soffit like a museum piece until we pull it down for our camping adventures. The pot is comprised of an urn where the water is put. The ground coffee is placed in a metal basket which is suspended above the water level in the percolator pot. Heated water rises through a metal tube above the basket and spills through it.
We make our coffee over a Coleman camp stove and we use Kirkland Dark Roast Columbian Coffee. Oh, don’t forget to pack your favorite creamer.

Fill pot with water to just below the line on the stem where filter basket rests
Add one heaping tablespoon of coffee for each cup of water in the pot.
Fit basket into the pot.
Bring the water to boiling.
The coffee pot lid will have a glass bubble so you can see the coffee being made.
Watch the coffee percolate through the glass bubble. The darker the coffee gets, the stronger the flavor.
Brewing should take about 5 minutes.
Remove the filter basket

Bloody Mary
Our recipe, the Beach Bloody Mary is a little different from others in that there is no straining or shaking. All condiments were added in the glasses after the ice was put in.
This will be the best Bloody Mary you ever had or my name ain’t Ernest Hemingway. What a great way to enjoy a classic drink and get your recommended daily allowance of veggies, too.


Ketel One Vodka (1-2 shots per glass)
Mr. & Mrs. T Bloody Mary Mix
Lefty O’Doul’s San Francisco Original Bloody Mary Mix
Celery stalk
Green Olives
Petite Dill Pickles
Petite Dill Pickles juice
Celery salt
Squeeze of lime
Black pepper
Worcestershire
Tabasco

Fill a glass about ¾ worth of ice
Next put your Vodka, all condiments and seasonings
Fill the glass with your mix (roughly half and half of the two mixes)
Sprinkle with a dash of pepper on the top
Alla Salute!

“Quando il corpo e’ pieno, l’anima canta” Italian Proverb

I could keep writing about our nachos. Or the barbecued ribs. Or the dark chocolate S'mores. Or the Mac and cheese baked over the campfire. Suffice it to say; we ate well.
There’s an Italian proverb that says when the body is full, the soul sings.
That week at Jalama you could hear our chorus of singing souls and laughing hearts.
Good stuff.
Now remember.
If you have a flashlight, use the flashlight.
In the dark, you never know what you might fish out of your toiletries bag.
I thought that I had found the toothpaste.
The cap twisted off the same.
The paste squeezed out and onto my toothbrush the same.
But after several vigorous swipes in and about my teeth, I realized something was definitely not the same.
Just in case you’re wondering, hydrocortisone cream does not taste like toothpaste.
I’m just saying.