Fire Cooked

I have already enticed you with the description of the peanut & coconut curry/stew, and mind you it was even better the second time around when I replaced pork with requested shrimp. But, I'm here to tell you more about the cool nights (and warm days) spent around fiery embers.

Cue in Sunday Brunch, every person's favorite meal. I asked myself what I could do with the ingredients on hand and it went like this.

In an empty dutch oven add:

• 1 layer corn chips
• 1 layer can of chili
• 1 layer sharp garlic cheddar cheese
• 1 layer corn chips
• 1 layer pickled jalapenos
• 1 layer monterey jack cheese
  

Throw the lid on that baby, place it in red-hot embers leftover from the fire you warmed your fingers with, and let it all heat through. Once the cheese is melted take it off-- don't leave it too long. Dutch Oven Nachos! The chips softened a bit but still had crunch, and by no means were they soggy. Add sour cream and black bean & corn salsa, and wait for the applause that goes something like this: "Mmmyummmyummm, thismmmissoooogood." Fingers licked. "Ohmymmmmmmmthisiskiller. Youcouldwinawardswiththis."

Other successful meals:

• 6 potatoes
• 1 pack ground beef (optional)
• 1 head cauliflower
• 1 onion
• LOTS of garlic
• + Seasoning Salt (Mesquite Style)

Cook it all together, serve with tortillas, crumbled cheese and hot sauce or ketchup. Dinner Burritos. Eat the leftovers for breakfast and call it breakfast burritos!

Or, try this for another version of Breakfast Burrito:

On top of 2 layers of tinfoil, add:

• Chopped potatoes
• Olive Oil
• Onion
• Garlic
• Cumin seed
• Seasoning Salt (Cajun Style)
• (optional, sweet peppers, tomato, etc)

Add another layer of tinfoil, roll the sides in, and place the package (or multiple packages in our case) on top of hot coals. Give it time and eventually it will be done, but don't let it burn. Good luck with that part. While the potatoes are cooking, remove the paper label from a can of vegetarian refried beans (the lack of lard is delicious!), open with a can opener but don't fully remove lid, and heat this can over the fire too!

Enlist some help if you are feeling overwhelmed, but chop:

• Fresh Tomato
• Avocado
• Onion
• Bell Pepper
  

Then, grab those beans, the potatoes, and heap all the toppings onto a tortilla and call everyone over for a tasty breakfast. An even easier version involves spreading beans and cheese on a tortilla, rolling up the burrito in tinfoil and placing the single serving in the fire. Great idea for backpacking.

And finally,

Vegetable Medley! In a dutch oven, add:

• 1 head cauliflower, broken into bits
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 5 carrots, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• cumin seeds
• seasoning salt
• cinnamon
• 1/4 cup water

Serve with clearanced crusty garlic bread from your local grocer.

Happy Camping! Our small commune has moved out of Green Canyon to a place along the river in Logan Canyon, where the sound of the river overshadows the sound of traffic. The 14 day limit was observed in our last place and we were sure to leave our original camp cleaner than we found it. We recommend you do the same.

PS. I'm considering going into the dutch oven/fire cooking business. I rock this shit!