The Sacred Campfire

I understand and respect the need to protect our forests and open areas. It means the guttering flame of a small camp stove may become more symbolic of experiences for some than the smells of wood smoke and the glowing embers of a campfire. Hopefully, we will be able to enjoy campfires most places we take in on treks we take in the future.
I like to keep my campfires small. It's easier to find adequate wood for a small fire, uses less of it, and you can huddle over, or near, a small fire to cook or warm up. I think small fires are less likely to get away from a camper and ignite a forest fire. On many hikes and cross-country ski runs, I've built a small fire to heat water for tea or soup. With small, dead twigs, it's easy to build a quick fire, and just as easy to handle the remains when finished.
I understand fire was (and probably still is) considered a sacred gift to Native Americans. It's hard to think of a more valuable one. I've been camping in wet, snow-slushy weather trying to get damp wood to provide a campfire and down to one match. Not often-but it happened once. That fire was greatly appreciated when I achieved it. Which brings me to thoughts about fire-building materials.
I grew up using wooden matches that would ignite when struck on almost anything, including my jeans. I learned to dip the heads in my mother's clear fingernail polish to make the waterproof. The polish also the matchsticks a little extra zip. Now there are propane torches for lighting barbecues. I wonder how often they are also taken into the back country to start a fire? I have one of those survival bars you can scrape with a knife blade to produce a generous shower of sparks for starting fires. You can also use the knife to shave off bits of magnesium to use as tender. It works well. At the very least, it's a terrific backup.
You know what also works well for tender? The cotton wads you can find in medicine bottles ignites very readily with a spark. Cotton is certainly light and packs down easily. I think it's another must for backup fire-making material. If you are familiar with milkweed, the dried pods and fluff ignite extremely well from a spark. Of course, the cotton or milkweed pod is pretty much part of an ignition system. For the rest, you need slivers and small sticks of wood, of course, and if you're in an area with birch trees, the resinous bark of birches is fabulous as starting tender.
I love the smell of birch wood burning, but I love the smell of cedar even more. I have many memories of evenings cooking on a campfire, and hours spent staring into the glowing embers while talking with a companion. I look forward to my next campfire, and hope you share my love for them. Thanks for visiting my blog. I'm sorry not to have any photos to share. I have been have been unable to insert them into my blog for some reason.

Savory Sourdough Impossible Spinach Pie

Savory Sourdough Impossible Spinach Pie I talked about making an Impossible Coconut Custard pie in a previous blog. This time I want to do a savory pie, impossibly easy style, with sourdough. It’s super easy to make, can be used for lunch or dinner, and can be done at home or on the road as long as you have some means of baking. Since I made this dish as a meal for one, or a shared appetizer for two, I used a tart pan. To me, it looks like a miniature pie pan, about five inches across, and is just the right size for camping. Rub the interior of the pan with butter. Flour the pan by putting a teaspoon of flour onto the buttered surface, then tilt the pan and tap it while rotating the pan until the flour has adhered to the greased surface. Dump the excess flour out. Heat a frying pan with a half teaspoon of olive oil and add the spinach and diced onions. Season with salt and pepper and a half teaspoon of Herbes de Provence. Turn the spinach as it cooks to keep it from burning until the spinach is cooked and reduced. Set aside and let cool while you get the custard part of the dish ready. Put a quarter cup of sourdough starter in a bowl and add a half cup of milk, one egg, a quarter teaspoon of baking soda and salt and pepper to taste. Beat with a fork until everything is combined into a thin batter. Mix in a quarter cup of Parmesan cheese. Spoon the cooked spinach and onion onto the bottom of the prepared pie pan (tart pan) and pour the custard batter over the top. Bake it at 350⁰ until a knife blade stuck into the pie comes out clean (about fifteen to twenty minutes). Let cool a little, then run a thin knife blade beneath the crust around edge of the pan. Place a dish over the pie and invert it over another dish or clean work space. You may have to gently pry the edge of the pie loose to allow it to loosen. When it drops out, turn it over and lift the pie onto a bed of greens, such as arugula dressed with an herbed vinaigrette dressing. A little olive oil and balsamic vinegar will work just fine as well. You have to admit, this a pretty fancy dish for camping, but it’s impressive, tastes good and is really easy to make. Hope you give it a try. Savory Sourdough Impossible Spinach Pie For the custard: ¼ cup sourdough starter 1 egg ½ cup milk ¼ teaspoon baking soda Salt and pepper to taste 1-2 cups fresh spinach ¼ cup diced onion ½ teaspoon olive oil ½ teaspoon Herbes de Provence Grease and flour 4 inch tart pan with ¼ teaspoon butter 1 teaspoon flour

 

Impossible Coconut Custard Pie

You don’t have to settle for a melted, messy candy bar if you discover you have a craving for something sweet and you’re all settled-in at your campsite. You can indulge that sweet tooth with a piece of coconut custard pie. What could be better?

Actually, the way this pie is made offers a real plus to campers that makes it even better. You don’t have to roll out a pie dough on the picnic table with a beverage container, or what have you. You don’t have to roll out a dough at all. This amazing pie does all that for you. It’s called the impossible pie for good reason. All you do is throw the ingredients into a bowl, beat them into a smooth batter and pour the contents into a greased and floured pan. Stick the pan into whatever you have to simulate a 350⁰ oven and bake it for about a half hour, or until you can stick a knife blade into it and the blade comes out clean. Believe it or not, the pie makes its own crust and custard filling.

The recipe below is intended for camping, and is appropriate for a pan about six inches in diameter, like the pan in a traditional Boy Scout mess kit. To grease and flour the pan, rub the sides and bottom with butter, place a spoonful of flour in the pan, then tip it and tap the edges while rotating the pan. The flour will coat the sides and bottom as you tap and rotate the pan. Dump out whatever is left over when you see the inside is coated. Hopefully, your camp cooking gear includes a short whisk, since you probably don’t have a hand mixer with you. I find a short whisk can be handy from time to time and doesn’t weigh much or take up much room. I suppose you could use a fork if you really did so vigorously, but I haven’t tried that yet. To make the batter come together readily, melt the butter before you add it to the other ingredients, but don’t pour it in while it’s hot.



Impossible Coconut Custard Pie

This can be a fun thing to throw together, and the resulting pie tastes really good. You should give it a try. Maybe you're already familiar with impossible pies. Let me know, and thanks for visiting my blog.

 

 Ingredients:

1 cup milk
½ cup shredded coconut
2 eggs
½ teaspoon vanilla
2 Tablespoons butter
¼ cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg.