Is This Really Good, or Am I Just Starved?: Rhonda Ghent's Camp Recipes [Paperback]

Sharolett Koenig (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 2003

This delightful collection of recipes, adapted for campfire cooking, is based on Plight of the Children, the first book in the young adult mystery series starring Tim MacCulfsky and Rhonda Ghent. Young and old, at home or on the road, the recipes and tips in this unique cookbook will show you how to be a safe and savvy outdoor chef.

Follow the 14-day, mix-and-match, meal-planner format to incorporate the four basic food groups, utilize leftovers, and have energy when you most need it. Each day is planned around a theme and includes and age-appropriate nature activity. Rainy days are not a problem. Camping excursions are more relaxed when the meals are planned ahead of time.

Is This Really Good, Or Am I Just Starved? makes the planning stage as much fun as the actual outdoor experience. Plan the meals, execute them with finesse, clean up afterwards, know how to wile away a cloudy day, really enjoy nature and learn while you do it.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Sharolett Koenig, a graduate of The Institute of Children's Literature, is a freelance writer whose work has appeared in several magazines. She is a member of the American Christian Writers Association, Mystery Writers of America, and Romance Writers of America. She has begun a series of young adult mystery novels the first of which is Plight of the Children.

Sharolett writes about her experiences while homeschooling her five children. She lives with her family in a small Midwest town where she enjoys her bonsai collection and camping.

Product Details

• Paperback: 200 pages
• Publisher: Koenisha Pubns (September 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0970045824
• ISBN-13: 978-0970045829
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,629,246 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good advice and good recipes for the novice camper, January 15, 2004

By 

Harold McFarland (Florida) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Is This Really Good, or Am I Just Starved?: Rhonda Ghent's Camp Recipes (Paperback)

The first thing that I should do is describe what this book is and is not as it is not entirely clear from the title. First you have to understand the Rhonda Ghent is a character in a young adult mystery titled "Plight of the Children". So, since the book is supposedly from her it is focused on easier recipes, cooking, and activities for adolescents. The information in the book is most appropriate for what we used to call "Cadillac camping", or camping where you have a cooler, multiple pots and pans, etc. It does not contain information or recipes of value to the backpacker or true wilderness camper. That having been said, it is one of the best books for the novice camper.

If you are going to go camping with the family for the first time in a State Park or commercial campground or some similar situation you will find this to be a very valuable book. As a person who does do a lot of wilderness camping I appreciate the fact that it provides a lot of good tips and details that the inexperienced camper might want to know in order to have a positive experience.

If you have a Dutch Oven (a very versatile cooking device and recommended for this type of camping) you need to make sure you read the section on seasoning the oven. A lot of people don't season their cast iron items and as a result ruin them after only a couple of trips. The book contains so much more than just recipes. It includes advice on what to take and what not to take, lots of ideas for getting children involved and helping them have an enjoyable trip, and even critically important things to be aware of when camping. For example, make sure children do not throw logs that have poison ivy on them into the fire. The irritating oils can become airborne and can even be breathed in to create an irritation in the lungs.

One of the things that I did not like was some of the advice was common twenty years ago but frowned on today. For example, building a keyhole fire with a foot deep circular pit. Digging a fire pit is against the rules in most parks and generally frowned upon by most campers today due to the effects it tends to have on erosion and other factors. Here in Florida if you dig a fire pit of any kind in a State Park you can be fined and asked to leave.

What I did like about the book was not only the vast amount of advice for first time campers but also that that meals were typically easy to make and very age appropriate for an adolescent. This is important because cooking over an open fire is not the same as cooking on a stove. These recipes are pretty much foolproof and sure to make the trip a positive experience for everyone. If you are new to camping and want to make it a family event there is a lot of experience and good advice packed into this book.