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March, 2007
Backcountry Bistro: Importing St. Patrick’s Day on the Trail
By Kathryn Miles
Celebrations of St. Patrick’s Day vary dramatically from one side of the Atlantic Ocean to the other. In Ireland, the holiday—which commemorates the death of St. Patrick in 493 A.D.—has traditionally been a holy day of reflection. Christians in the Emerald Isle celebrated by making pilgrimages to Croagh Patrick, a mountain in County Mayo where St. Patrick fasted for forty days; they also joined together for daily Mass and somber Lenten feasts. In fact, up until the 1970s, all Irish pubs were required by law to close for the holiday. That’s a very different state of affairs than the typical celebration in the United States. Here, we commemorate March 17th with raucous parades, Guinness specials, and copious amounts of green food coloring in everything from donuts to dollar drafts.
Make no mistake about it: St. Patrick’s Day is a big holiday in North America. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, over 34 million American citizens claim Irish ancestry (nearly 10 times the current population in Ireland). And millions of other revelers claim honorary membership this time of year, making it one of the busiest days for many bars and taverns throughout the U.S. It’s no surprise, then, that the holiday has taken on a decidedly American flair across the globe. In fact, in 1995 the Irish government established its own festival of largely-secular merriment, including parades, food fests and, of course, plenty of music and celebration in the country’s legendary pubs.
This infusion of Irish and American culture is at the heart of our March Backcountry Bistro recipes. The first, a classic potato soup recipe, pays tribute to the humble potato. The tuber was imported first from South America to Ireland as part of Queen Elizabeth’s global colonization project, and then from Ireland to Maine, where it currently exists as one of the state’s major (and legal) cash crops. The second recipe updates the ubiquitous Irish soda bread. Brought over by many famine-era immigrants to the Northeast, this bread evolved into the brown bread commonly served in Boston and Northern New England, and it includes ingredients readily available on this side of the Atlantic, including corn meal and raisins. The two dishes can be served independent of one another or together for a backcountry version of a traditional meal. Sláinte!
Potato Soup
Before you go
Mix the following in a sturdy plastic container or re-sealable bag:
½ cup powdered milk
½ cup instant potato flakes
1 crumbled bouillon cube (vegetable or chicken)
Pinch of ground pepper
Seasoning to taste (I like a pinch of garlic powder and dill weed)
At Camp
Sautee one diced potato and one diced carrot in a teaspoon of oil (add more oil if needed to prevent sticking). Once vegetables are tender, add 3 cups (24 oz.) water. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat and add powdered soup mixture. Stir well to mix. Can be served immediately or kept at a low simmer.
Soda Cakes
Before you go
Mix the following in a sturdy plastic container or re-sealable bag:
½ cup yellow cornmeal
½ cup whole wheat flour
½ cup white flour
1 tsp. baking soda
¼ cup powdered buttermilk
1/3 cup brown sugar
½ cup small raisins or currents
Pinch of salt
At Camp
Mix one tablespoon oil and 1 cup water with dry ingredients. Stir lightly and just to moisten. Meanwhile, heat 1 tsp. oil in skillet or camp pan over medium heat. Drop approximately ¼ cup batter into hot pan. Cook approximately 2 minutes per side (cake is ready to flip when it forms small bubbles across its surface). If possible, keep pan covered during cooking to allow for more even cooking.
Do you have a recipe you’d like to convert for the backcountry? Want ideas for haute cuisine that fits into a backpack? Contact No Umbrella’s backcountry chef Kathryn Miles (kmiles@unity.edu).
Email nick [at] noumbrella [dot] com with your questions, comments and concerns.
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