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Fajitas in the Mist

It was somewhere north of Lodi that the idea began to take shape. As golden California sunshine poured out upon glittering apricot groves in the central valley, I daydreamed about my campsite dinner.  Fajitas, lightly browned on the Coleman stove, using the new griddle I’d snapped up the other day. Maybe a little fire to heat the tortillas: it was going to be perfect. 

Behind me in the cooler I had a fine fat breast of chicken, finally thawed to perfection. At a rest stop I slathered it with herbs, olive oil and salt, wrapped it in plastic, and nestled it back into place beside the mondo hunk of ice. Later, when I came off the highway for a break, I found a little Mexican grocery where I got a medley of zucchini, onion and red pepper and some of Mrs. Renfrew’s salsa. Sizzling visions danced in my head. By the time I found the access road at Manteca and headed east across the Sonoran desert, I could already taste my dinner. 

Evening sunlight plays upon rock formations in the Yosemite Valley

 But in midafternoon, still two hours or more from Yosemite, my food fantasy began to fade. First, the man at the Tuolumne visitor’s center lifted his hat and scratched back his white hair when I mentioned camping in the park. He shook his head, but had the grace not to laugh out loud. Then, outside the park entrance I looked in at a dirt-covered BLM campsite where a sign told me that any open fire, even one from a Coleman stove, had to be permitted. To get a permit, I was told farther on at the park gate, I had to drive back a ways. Instead, I gritted my teeth and drove on through.    

So began a brief interlude in the playground of the gods. The Yosemite Valley at any time is beautiful, but evening is the best. Low clear sunlight plays on the massive stone walls and waterfalls, bringing into focus every feature. For an hour or more, I followed the light, stopping with the crowds to stand in awed silence, the muted click of our cameras and the occasional sigh the only counterpoint to the distant sound of water and the ribbons of heavy night air that danced around in the valley. 

And then began the mad rush. As light faded, a thousand cars headed for the south exit all at once. At each turnoff the same story was told: no room here; move on. Beside the parking lot at one crowded RV spot a frantic young couple was setting a small tent in the dusty glare of 30 headlights. I couldn’t believe this. I scrambled back onto the dark road heading toward the rest of California. 

I woke the next morning to the sound of water spray and the cool feel of billowed grass under the tent floor. A bird was singing from branches that lazily threw shadows onto the thin fabric above me. I looked out onto a green landscape. Through a sleepy haze I tugged at the edges of the dream I’d been having.  

After another splendid day, this one not nearly so hectic or fraught, I came back and made the meal I had imagined – all except for the fire. And later, my appetite well and truly sated, I fell asleep in the green green grass and dreamed of those elusive fajitas. Fajitas in the mist.

Fajitas in the Mist  

  

2 pounds of skinless boneless whole chicken breast 

1 pound of zucchini 

1 large red bell pepper 

1 medium-sized onion 

4 Tablespoons olive oil, divided 

2 Tablespoons of dried thyme, leaves only 

1 teaspoon of salt 

Optional: ground cumin, chili powder and/or oregano to taste 

  

1 jar of salsa 

1 package of 10” flour tortillas 

Camping Notes: This is a great recipe for car camping, where the added weight of a cast-iron griddle for your Coleman stove is no big deal. After marinating the chicken and wrapping it in plastic, you’ll want to put it inside Tupperware to keep it from mixing with the water at the bottom of the cooler. 

Chicken all dressed and ready to rock and roll

Marinate the chicken: Leave breasts whole. Place the meat on a sheet of plastic wrap. Distribute dried thyme leaves and ½ teaspoon of the salt evenly over the chicken, and drizzle on half of the olive oil. Add extra cumin, chili powder or oregano on as well if desired. Now wrap the plastic tightly around the chicken and refrigerate for a minimum of 2 hours. 

Prepare the veggies: Top and tail the zucchini, slice them lengthwise and cut diagonally into 1/2” pieces. Core the pepper, remove seeds and white inner ribs and cut it into thin strips. Peel the onion and slice it lengthwise. Arrange veggies on a plate, drizzle on some olive oil and sprinkle with ½ teaspoon of salt. Add cumin, chili powder and oregano if desired. 

20 minutes before dinner: Heat a heavy frying pan over a medium-high flame and, after 2 minutes, pour in 1 Tablespoon of oil. Put in the chicken breast and heat quickly, turning after every 3 or 4 minutes as it browns. 

15 minutes before dinner: Heat a second frying pan or a 10” griddle over medium-high flame for 2 minutes and then coat with 1 Tablespoon of oil. Put on the veggies and, keeping the heat as high as you can without the oil smoking, toss the veggies with a spatula as they cook. The veggies will be done in 10 or 12 minutes. 

A few minutes before dinner: Slice the chicken crosswise on a plate. Return to the frying pan any pieces of chicken that are pink in the middle. Chicken will be perfectly cooked at the moment that pink turns white. No need to overcook it! 

Bring the Fajitas to the picnic table hot and sizzling to serve with salsa and warm tortillas. 

Oh, and if you happen to have a little fire nearby with a hot stone on which to warm your tortillas, I say go for it! 

My campsite beside the old blacksmith shop at Mariposa Fairgrounds 40 miles west of Yosemite

8 comments to Fajitas in the Mist

  • Beautiful pictures. What a gourmet meal for camping? I love fajitas.

  • Lovely post! And great idea for camping food-even though it didn’t quite work out this time around. I’ll be keeping this recipe on hand for when we head out to the San Juan’s this summer!

  • Hey Don,
    One thing I miss about cooking is the great outdoors campfire! Nothing beats putting together a nourishing meal after a full day outdoors, there is something about camping out that makes your food taste better, and the appreciation level seems to jump ten-fold. When the long shadows of sunlight rays are glistening off a lake or stream and mountain peaks towering over your head, and then settling into your chair dining on campers stew, or fajitas on the stovetop griddle.

    Bon appetit!
    CCR
    =:~)

  • Can you believe that I’ve only ever been camping in my friend’s backyard?!? And the only cooking that we did was s’mores-making! 😀

  • Oh wow, that looks so good! Those photos are beautiful…as always!

  • There is a romance to camping and cooking outside – with fire – in a beautiful setting. I gave up because I never camped in the sun – it always rained. But rain or shine, the fajitas please and nourish and satisfy.

  • What a lovely mental imagine you made me have. It sounds wonderful, and the fajitas look so perfect. Now if only I could get over my fear of camping and the great outdoors 🙂

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A sample text widget

Etiam pulvinar consectetur dolor sed malesuada. Ut convallis euismod dolor nec pretium. Nunc ut tristique massa.

Nam sodales mi vitae dolor ullamcorper et vulputate enim accumsan. Morbi orci magna, tincidunt vitae molestie nec, molestie at mi. Nulla nulla lorem, suscipit in posuere in, interdum non magna.