Three Square
Dirty Gourmet: uncomplicated, outdoor-friendly recipes from three friends
French Toast
If you ever speak to someone about following a plant-based diet who’s never considered it, you will likely hear a list of dealbreaker concerns that they couldn’t imagine “living without.” All vegans have gone through that same struggle and had to decide whether to hang on tight to animal products, live without our favorite foods, or figure out how to make a traditional recipe into a plant-based one that is satisfying enough to eat. This recipe satisfies #3 on that list. Chickpea flour takes the place of eggs and is close to a seamless mimic in this context. And substituting for eggs may be easier than figuring out how to take eggs on a camping trip without breaking them. Plant-based recipes are often the most camp-friendly foods, worth considering even if you aren’t basing your whole diet on plants. —Aimee
- 1 cup chickpea flour
- ½ teaspoon salt, or black salt for extra eggy flavor
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1½ cups plant milk
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 to 6 tablespoons plant butter or coconut oil
- 8 to 10 slices thick-sliced bread
- For Serving
- Maple syrup
- Butter
- Fresh fruit, such as berries or banana slices (optional)
- At home (optional): Combine the chickpea flour, salt, and cinnamon in a sealable container.
- At camp: Use a fork to stir together the chickpea flour mixture, milk, maple syrup, and vanilla in a shallow bowl.
- Heat a skillet or griddle over medium-low heat. Melt about a tablespoon of butter in the skillet. Dip both sides of a slice of bread in the batter, then place in the hot skillet.
- Cook for 3 to 4 minutes, then flip the bread over. Cook for another 3 to 4 minutes, or until the batter is completely cooked and the toast is lightly browned.
- Continue dipping and cooking the additional slices of bread, adding more butter to the skillet as needed. Serve hot with butter, maple syrup, and fresh fruit.
Mighty Meal Salad
We’ve long experimented with how to bring fresh vegetables outdoors with us. We’ve had many failures, but have also learned some great lessons about what can work. Under temperate conditions, certain fruits and veggies do really well. We love to bring fresh citrus (whole in its peel) for a nice hit of acid to finish a dish, as we’ve done here. If you enjoy tucking into a nice big salad, kale is essential for your outdoor trips. It is the only green that can hold up for half a day as a predressed salad, and it will get more delicious as it marinates. —Mai-Yan
- 1 bunch kale, stems removed, washed and torn into small pieces
- 2 to 4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 8 ounces seitan or store-bought plant-based chicken, thinly sliced
- 1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- ¼ teaspoon paprika
- ⅓ cup shelled pistachios
- ⅓ cup golden raisins
- ¼ cup sliced green olives (optional)
- Extra squeeze of fresh lemon juice (optional)
- Tahini Dressing
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 tablespoon chopped green olives
- 1 tablespoon olive brine
- ¼ cup tahini
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 to 3 tablespoons water
- Salt and pepper
- Make the tahini dressing: Put the garlic clove and chopped olives on a cutting board and mince very fine, adding a pinch of salt, and continue to mince and press into the cutting board with the flat side of your knife until it forms a paste. Transfer to a small bowl.
- Add the olive brine, tahini, and lemon juice to the garlic-and-olive paste and whisk together to mix well. Add water a tablespoon at a time until the dressing is a bit thinner than the tahini was on its own. Season with salt and pepper.
- Make the salad: Put the kale into a large bowl. Pour the dressing over the kale and massage it well with your hands to fully coat all surfaces of the kale. Set aside.
- Add 1 to 2 tablespoons of the olive oil to a pan. Cook the seitan for 5 to 10 minutes, until it’s lightly browned. Remove the seitan from the pan and set it aside to cool.
- Add another tablespoon of olive oil to the same pan, then the chickpeas. Add the garlic powder, chili powder, and paprika, and stir to coat. Cook over medium heat until the chickpeas begin to brown, 5 to 10 minutes. Set aside to cool.
- Add the seitan, chickpeas, pistachios, raisins, and olives to the bowl of dressed kale. Mix well and pack in a to-go container.
White Bean Chili Verde
Chili is always a welcome and hearty meal to enjoy in the outdoors. It’s thicker than other stews and loves lots of toppings, which is the secret to making soups and stews more interesting. This is a lighter-than-average version that feels fresh and bright thanks to the tangy tomatillos. I make it at home all the time, but the chiles beg to be roasted over the coals of a campfire whenever possible. —Emily
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1 large yellow onion, diced
- 2 Anaheim chiles, fire-roasted and diced
- 2 poblano chiles, fire-roasted and diced
- 6 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 pound tomatillos, husks removed and quartered
- 3 (15-ounce) cans white beans, drained
- 5 teaspoons bouillon powder or bouillon cube equivalent
- Salt and pepper
- Suggested Toppings
- Tortilla chips
- Roasted pepitas
- Hot sauce
- Sliced radishes
- Sliced avocado
- Sour cream
- Heat the olive oil in a pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the onion and sauté until it begins to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the chiles, garlic, cumin, and oregano, and sauté until they are fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Add the tomatillos and continue cooking until they start to soften and break down, 10 to 15 minutes.
- Add the beans and bouillon. Bring the chili to a boil, then turn down the heat to low and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, for another 10 to 15 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Serve with as many toppings as you’d like.
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