Foods Over the Fire

For all that a campfire provides us, I have always found it a special privilege to get one started. To be the catalyst for the conjured, wild blaze that keeps gazers warm and cooks nourishing foods is an honor and a gift of humility. Despite being spoiled by using a lighter or matches to start nearly every fire of my past, I have still encountered countless difficult exercises in patience over the years, lacking tinder or poised abundant in wet, snowbound wood. Fighting winds, weather, or wood in building a fire asks the firestarter to be thoughtful, resourceful, and opportunistic. Teaching this craft to children engenders respect and composed perseverance, while equipping them with a lifegiving skill for the future. Building a fire is a sacred skill, uniquely human, and connected to generations upon generations before us. This is all wonderful subject matter for Forest School, and the practice provides participants with a fire, which becomes for them a home base, a place to get warm, to be fed, or to hear stories, connecting them to thousands of generations of ancestors who have tapped into this eternal energy.

We are especially fond of using the outdoor fire for cooking. Opening up a foil pack, pulled directly from the burning coals, and watching it steam in the cold air makes for a special experience, somehow even more vibrantly in tune than with any stovetop preparations. There is truth to the adage that food cooked outside on a fire just tastes better. This time of year, we rely on a simple combination of sweet roasted apples and chestnuts, for a favorite school snack. Make sure to use heavy duty foil when making your bundles.

SWEET ROASTED APPLES

Apples

Handful of Oats

1 TBSP Brown Sugar or Maple Syrup

1 TBSP Melted Butter

Sprinkle of Spice Blend

Spice Blend

(this is what I use to sprinkle on my chai and spice many things throughout the autumn and winter season)

In a spice mill mix the following spices. 

¼ c Cinnamon

2 TBSP Cardamom

2 TBSP Nutmeg

1 TBSP Clove

2 TBSP Allspice

2 TBSP Ginger

Core apple, and stuff center with oats, butter, spices, and sweetener. Wrap in a foil pack. Roast over hot coals. 

ROASTED CHESTNUTS

Slice an X on one side of each chestnut, just penetrating the skin. Place prepared nuts in a foil pack. Roast until the X has started to peel away and they are soft and golden on the inside.