Thanksgiving is easily my favorite holiday. I love fall foods, spending hours in the kitchen preparing for a special meal for family and friends, and the excuse to splurge on butter, cream, and sugar. I'm ordinarily not much of a dessert person, but I love a slice of a well-made pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving. And it recently occurred to me that this dessert delight could surely be enjoyed on trail as well as at the dinner table. Earlier this fall, I acquired a copy of Chef Glenn McAllister's Recipes for Adventure. His website, BackpackingChef.com, is a resource I've been returning to again and again, and I decided it was about time to check out his printed cookbook as well. One recipe that immediately caught my eye was for Pumpkin Pie Bark. Chef Glenn suggests rehydrating the bark into a simple pudding, which sounded tasty enough, but what I really wanted was to recreate the flavor of a real pumpkin pie in a backpacker-friendly way. This recipe takes a little work, both at home and in camp, but is very well worth it, especially if you're hiking around the holidays and want to treat yourself and your hiking partners to an unexpected treat. A stove that has an adjustable flame is essential here to ensure you don't scorch the custard while it thickens. See below for the recipe. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! Backcountry Pumpkin Pie
Note 1: Follow the link below for Chef Glenn's recipe for pumpkin pie bark. I made two tweaks: First, I roasted my own squash (I prefer kabocha squash to pie pumpkin) and then pureed it. I also found the spice level to be a tad high. I'd reduce to 1 1/2 tsp of pie spice per 2 cups of pumpkin. I also added in a grating of fresh nutmeg. This recipe makes 1 generous serving of pumpkin custard. Note 2: To make your life easier on trail, you could throw the pumpkin bark in the food processor to grind it up and ensure a smoother result. Ingredients: 1/2 cup pumpkin bark 1 TBSP + 2 tsp powdered whole milk (I like Peak Dry Whole Milk Powder) 1 TBSP powdered eggs (I've been impressed by OvaEasy Whole Egg Crystals) 2 tsp sugar 3/4 cup water small handful granola of choice At home: combine the dry ingredients in a ziploc. Make sure you have a 3/4 cup measuring line marked on your trusty Talenti cup (or otherwise can measure approximately this much water). To prepare the custard: start by combining the dry ingredients with the water. If you have a watertight screw top container, it's helpful to be able to vigorously shake the custard mix to help get rid of any lumps. Otherwise a little elbow grease and your spork should do the trick. When the egg and milk powders have dissolved, pour the mixture into your cooking pot and cook over a low flame, stirring constantly, until the custard thickens. Add a splash of water if it gets too thick. Turn off your stove and let the custard cool. Top with granola and enjoy your backcountry pumpkin pie!
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