I'm playing matchmaker here and directing you to two separate articles from the San Francisco Chronicle and ReadyMade Magazine on something I only have basic knowledge of: Northern California camping and what to eat when Northern California camping.

My camping experience (in—you guessed it—Northern California) is limited to the sites at Butano (beautiful and intimate), Big Basin (too numerous), Pfeiffer Big Sur (full of screaming kids) and Grover Hot Springs (laid-back, but not gorgeous). This SFGate article reveals so many more (scroll down one-third of the way until you reach the heading "Bay Area Camping")! Choose one that's right for you, make a reservation, and then start planning the gastronomy.

While I'd rather not whip up anything from scratch when I go camping (my sustenance comes from noshing on trail mix and pouring boiling water into dehydrated food for an instant meal--in fact, I love the Mountain Home macaroni and cheese so much I've been tempted to rehydrate a bag for dinner at home in San Francisco), my cohorts over at ReadyMade have tested a few easy, rustic recipes that even I could pull off, if I wanted to. (And, while you're on the site, view my RM design column, here.)