In July Jeremy had a fantastic idea that I supported wholeheartedly. In an effort to discover backpacking foods that our children would deign to allow past their picky palates, we agreed to devote one night a week to trying out back county cooking. And, since we all know (don't we?) that back country food is never better than in the back country, we knew that we would conduct this experiment in the outdoors. We originally planned that we would spend every Tuesday night in American Fork Canyon, our favorite local place to explore and for the sake of setting this activity up as an enduring family tradition, we would title this activity "Go and Grub." Unfortunately, we didn't think about the reality of our busy calendars, most notably that Jeremy was about to leave on a Chicago/China trip for the next two weeks. We have only been out cooking in the woods once, but what a great night it was!
The day before we were to go I did some looking around at the various blogs and websites devoted to back country cooking and found some very promising possibilities. I settled on Gnocchi with Sage Butter Parmesan and Bacon (origin unknown, recipe posted below)
Gnocchi with Sage Butter Parmesan and Bacon
Serves 2
Shelf stable gnocchi can be found at Trader Joe's and some supermarkets. (I found mine at Super Target)
1 package prepared gnocchi
½ cup Parmesan cheese, shredded
2 individual packages butter
1 teaspoon dried sage
1 teaspoont garlic powder
3 tablespoons shelf stable bacon crumbles
¼ teaspoon black pepper
At home: Combine the Parmesan cheese, sage, garlic powder and black pepper in a
zip-locking plastic bag. Carry the bacon in a second bag. You can re-package the
gnocchi into a baggie if you’d like to save room in your pack.
In camp: bring a pan of water to a boil. Add the gnocchi and cook for about 2 minutes.
The gnocchi will float to the surface when it is done. Drain. Add the Parmesan and spices.
Stir. Add the bacon and stir again. Serve!
We liked this recipe for the most part. It was very salty with both bacon and parmesan cheese in the recipe--make sure you have extra water if you're going to make this one! Also, I used ground sage instead of dried sage, and I think that made a huge difference. Next time I would not use ground sage, or I would reduce the amount drastically. This was very sage-y. Finally, since we were only going up the canyon 20 minutes from home, I used bacon that I cooked at home instead of shelf stable bacon crumbles. That was delicious, but hardly an option if you're planning on taking this recipe on a backpacking trip. All in all I would give this recipe 3 out of 5 stars. It could have been better--but that is most likely a function of my substitutions, and not the recipe itself.
As for the kids, it was not a hit at all. I think it was too strongly flavored. Or it could have been that we provided them with a safety net--Jimmy John's sandwiches.
I know, this isn't exactly the best way to conquer their picky eating habits, but I can't stand it when my kids are cranky, and hunger always makes them cranky.
Other than the food just being average, we had a wonderful night together as a family. Alex is always at his best in the outdoors, where running and yelling and talking up a storm are never frowned upon. He is a boy who needs room to be himself. He has all that he needs in the woods.
Kaitlin, who has recently turned into a reluctant hiker, also couldn't help but give into the pure bliss that can only be found when one is in nature. For her, this usually manifests itself in extreme silliness.
Our evening adventure was enhanced by some amazing wildlife encounters. First we saw a deer. This is not too uncommon in our canyon, but this deer didn't immediately bound off for a quieter locale when she heard us coming. She simply remained still and watched us.
We also saw a much more elusive moose.
It's always beautiful to see animals in their homes, even if it's an animal that you've seen dozens of times. Just listen to a child driving across Wyoming exclaiming about the herds of pronghorns that are as prevalent as ants. It simply never gets old.
Now that Jeremy is home from his travels for a while, we are about to leave for a family vacation in Yellowstone National Park. We are all so excited to have more time together doing the things that we love. Yellowstone is almost an annual pilgrimage for us. In the 12 years that Jeremy and I have been married I think we have only missed three years. This trip is different. We're getting off the beaten path and going into the backcountry for two days. This summer it's been very apparent that life comes at us more quickly than we'd like. This vacation is a chance to slow down, and of course, try some new backcountry recipes.
