It’s Thanksgiving. You are in Death Valley. You are vegan. You have only a very small and very expensive general store to shop at. What do you do? Well, our answer was stuffed mild Mexican peppers. While Dan's mom's stuffing is undoubtedly the best in the US, this stuffing is not too shabby either. Especially towards the end of the trips, we like to re-purpose everything in the car that’s left to minimize waste. The key to this recipe is browning the torn bread slices first in plenty of oil before adding the other ingredients so you get that wonderful mix of crunchy, soggy, salty, sweet goodness to compliment the slightly spicy peppers.

1/2 Medium onion, sliced

2 Slices of bread, roughly shredded, ideally soft

2 Large peppers such as poblano or Anaheim, not too spicy

1 Splash of olive or other oil

2 Cloves of minced garlic or garlic powder

1 Big shake of smoked paprika and any other spices you have handy

1 Handful of trail mix with cranberries or nuts

1) Slice the tops off of both peppers and remove seeds (if spicy). Boil or pour very hot water over the peppers to soften while you cook the filling

2) Toast the toast! Add olive oil to a non-stick or other pan and put camp stove on medium. tear the bread into bite sized pieces and toss in pan. stir occasionally until well browned

3) Add the onions and sauté until slightly softened, then add in garlic and other spices. Toss in trail mix if using

4) Remove the bread vegetable mixture from the heat and, once cooled, stuff into the peppers being careful not to rip or tear too much

5) Add the peppers and more oil into the pan and cook on medium until charred in places and softened (can take 10+ minutes depending on your heat)

6) Serve with mashed sweet potatoes if using. We precooked in cubes in our motel room microwave the day before and then heated and mashed with salt and a touch of margarine or oat milk