Cabin Cuisine

To the cooler, I pack all my fresh vegetables, 3 frozen protein foods, eggs, buttery spread, frozen (homemade) sourdough waffles and drop biscuits and an open bottle of maple syrup. In a grocery bag, we carry a few potatoes, apples, crackers and my home canned baked beans and applesauce. Along the way we buy some local produce, homemade fudge and seasonal fruit. At the last stop (about 45 minutes from our destination) we add milk, Swiss cheese, deli turkey and frozen corn.

In the 1-room cabin is a fully stocked kitchen complete with china and utensils. I pack one treasured tool for our cabin adventure-the large paella pan I found in the Aldis gadget aisle. In that pan we cook the protein food alongside vegetables over an outdoor wood fire grill. No recipe or sauce needed-the smokey flavor, some salt, pepper and fresh herbs is all it takes.

I bake three potatoes in the cabin oven the afternoon we arrive. (1 for each of the 3 meals).

The wood fire took little time to heat. The park provides the logs, kindling and one fire starter. Dinner Day 1 was steel cup trout (I removed the skin), 1/2 baked potato and an Italian type vegetable mixture with carrots and broccoli (precooked in the microwave) and local zucchini. All pans had shallots, peppers, garlic and assorted  fresh herbs (chives, oregano, parsley and tarragon) to flavor. 

I cook eggs sunny side up on the indoor stove top for breakfasts-served over a waffle or biscuit. Lunch was leftover dinners, deli turkey, cheese, baked beans and crackers.

Dinner Day 2 was chicken tenders and a vegetable blend with diced baked potatoes, corn, yellow squash and celery, along with my first batch of home grown sweet peas (shelled on site and precooked in the microwave).  The fire cooked the meal in little time despite the drizzling rain.

After this meal, we walked to the park restaurant to enjoy a homemade dessert and ice cream. My choice is the Blackberry Cobbler while Bob chooses the Hot Fudge Cake. The baker-caterer is both talented and friendly and sits on the back porch under the hummingbird feeder to rest after a 14 hour day. She let me explore the kitchen one year!

Dinner Day 3 had 1 petite beef fillet, potatoes and assorted vegetables. For dessert I peeled and cut peaches, sprinkled with maple syrup and cooked on the fire in a cast iron skillet while we ate our beef-vegetable platter.

To my delight, the park still has a few of the original state park fiesta-ware china plates. (These treasured collectibles are inventoried when you check out).

Deep in the peaceful hills of West Virginia, we and the wildlife eat well while enjoying every minutes of our stay.