What do you cook on?

[lavenderhoney]

I'm a camping novice ( don't count festivals)

I have a tent which I haven't used for 2 years and then it was in the desert. Hasn't been unpacked since. I have blow up mattresses and a thing for doing so via the car. I have a cool box.

I have 2 dc aged 7 and 5, one who wets beds occasionally.

What do I need? I have no idea what it need to cook on, I'm terrified of gas bottles and I'm very impractical. Anyone near me will be hysterical with laughter. Its just me and the dc.

I would like to camp in Devon or Cornwall for a week or so, near a beach if possible and lots of kids about. Ds might like to learn to surf:)

Lakeland don't do the boil in the bag bags anymore. Well at least they didn't when I asked in there a couple of months ago.

Should have checked before I posted...boil-a-bag. The lady asked another colleague and everything! Well at least now I can get some!

You panicked me for a monment there Bump: we're still hanging onto a roll left from last year. If they stop doing them then I'll have to do proper cooking: much less fun!

I've bought a cooker thing and I have a gas bottle! Nice salesman spent ages doing demo and making me practice fitting the hose. Quite tempted to invite him along:)

I've also bought some astronaught meals and fancy coffee in a bag.

We cheat and have electric hookup and electric hot plate, lights, toaster and kettle! Plus cool box with a fan type thing. But gas is fun - you'll be grand.

I didn't want gas bottles either, seemed scary a lot of hassle. We had the little stove that Pictish suggested and I was very happy with how easy it was to use so we just bought the [[http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEW-PORTABLE-DUAL-BURNER-TWIN-GAS-STOVE-CAMPING-COOKER-FISHING-BBQ-STOVE-/221450251751?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item338f76ade7 double version]]! Works a treat.

Mmm, don't know what happened with my link. It was supposed to be double version

I'm now fully calm and not scared of the gas bottle anymore. A week fiddling with it has made me just fine:) the nice elderly chap who helped me at first ( forgot screwdriver) confessed he'd rather be in Spain in a hotel:)

The tent gave me more hassle, actually- took me 3/4 hr to work out what the little pegs were for where you put the poles. Thank god the campsite was deserted with everyone at the beach for a sunny day.

And whoever can get the tent back into the bag deserves a medal. I gave up in the end. I'm thinking of buying a vac pac Hoover for next time. Oh, and I need a bigger car and a bigger tent. Ds who is 7 said we needed a hotel:) but they thought most of it was awesome:)

Ooh, boil in the bag bags look like perfect camping kit. For the egg in a bag but also freezing stew, re heating it in the pan of boiling water tha could be for veg, or pasta, and having a pan which doesn't need wading up.

We also do campfire cooking. I MUST get a Dutch Oven. My pie iron is also very versatile for campfire cooking.

Wrt tent folding: study the creases from the factory fold. Memorise and the flow this exactly, smoothing and pushing out air pockets, all corners neat and flat. To fold it back to the exact dimensions of the bag is the only way . After it reduced me to tears of frustration on a few hot pack up mornings a maths teacher helped me find the right folds to get it to the right size and it has been easy ever since.