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Becky Parker
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| Posted: June 05 2010 at 6:06pm | IP Logged
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We have a large fire pit that my DH made years ago and we like to have bon fires on Friday or Saturday evenings in the summer and fall. This is always a special time for us as a family. The kids really like to talk as we sit around the fire. We of course roast marshmellows and make s'mores. Sometimes we take hot dogs down and roast our dinner on long forks. But I'm wondering if there are any other fun food traditions for bon fires?
My friend told me that her family doesn't like the mess of marshmellows so they just have a big bag of peanuts in the shell. When they peel the peanuts, the shells get tossed in the fire.
There's also "Jiffy Pop" but we never seem to be able to cook it without burning it!
Anybody do anything different? I'm gathering ideas for our up and coming camping trip, and also for our bon fires here at home. I'd really like to find an alternative to the marshmellows!
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Becky
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Mary K
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How about making little pies? I've seen something at camping supply shops that could be used for that. A website about camping may help you find ideas.
God bless,
Mary-NY
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MaryM
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| Posted: June 05 2010 at 9:41pm | IP Logged
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Not thinking of any food traditions, but I wish we had a fire pit so have St. John's Eve bonfires (or other feast day eve fires).
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Mary M. in Denver
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Paula in MN
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We toast bread on forked sticks. Spread butter on bread, than put 3 orange sections and brown sugar.
I was taught this close to 40 years ago at Camp Fire Girls camp, and the tradition stuck.
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 Paula
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pmeilaen
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We always have a bonfire on St. John's Day when we burn our Christmas tree. I make lots of salads (rice, potato, egg, greenleaf, etc.) and the children roast cheese cubes in the fire. We also have raw vegetables and fresh fruit.
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Becky Parker
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| Posted: June 07 2010 at 7:25am | IP Logged
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I've never heard about the St. John's bon fires. That is really neat!
And I've never heard of toasting cheese?! What type of cheese do you use? Doesn't it melt?
Paula, do you think peaches would work for the toasted bread? That sounds like something my kids would love.
And Mary, we have pie irons that I forgot about. When we discovered our ds couldn't have gluten I think I just decided we wouldn't be using them anymore. But my dh reminded me that GF bread would probably work fine in them.
This is fun ladies! Thanks for all the great ideas!
One more I want to add is for people who might have a cast iron dutch oven. We put peach or apple halves in the bottom and top them with butter, brown sugar and cinnamon then let them cook in the hot ashes. Yum! (It's easy to burn them though so watch them carefully.)
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Becky
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LeeAnn
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| Posted: June 07 2010 at 10:27am | IP Logged
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Toasted cheese means cheese on bread, like an open-face grilled cheese sandwich. Usually you do it on a toasting fork; spear the bread and when the cheese is melted enough to stick, then you can quickly toast the other side. Better to use thicker bread.
You can look up terms like "fireplace cooking" "open fire cooking" "hearth cooking" "campfire cooking" to find more ideas. Lots of fun things from early American history and reenactors.
We've always wanted a fire pit for the St. John's day bonfire too! 
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SuzanneG
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Oh, Becky----we have a Fire Pit too!
::We have several neighbors who play guitar, so that's always fun.
::Charades.
::If it's just us, we like to do our "talent shows" at the fire pit. Little ones sing a couple songs they've learned. The olders "perform" whatever they've been working on.
::We sometimes like to have our poetry parties during a bonfire. Especially in the fall.
::The kids like to have a bit of background music. Me? I prefer quiet and the crackles. But, they like fiddle music and some fun folk music playing to make it festive.
::In the Fall we have hot chocolate and hot apple cider.
::We bobbed for apples one year.
::I like to make a couple loaves of fresh bread during the day and then take the cutting boards and a knife out and cut it at the bonfire. (I don't know WHY they think this is so fun.....but it's a big deal that we're just cutting the bread RIGHT THERE) and serve it with big slices of cheese and cold cuts.
::Popcorn
::Love the Peanuts-Idea!
::Baked Potato Skins
My crazy neighbor always threatens to do this: toss a nice ripe watermelon into the bonfire and after it explodes, you could ask people to scurry around and find the pieces. The person who collects the maximum number of pieces can be given a prize. Wouldn't kids just be in 7th heaven doing that? My husband said it sounds like something he did in college and it's probably dangerous.  He's such a stick-in-the-mud!!!
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chrisv664
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I love the Dutch oven idea. Definitley going to give it a try this summer.
We love to tell a round robin story while toasting our marshmallows. If you strategically seat the adults so that the story doesn't get way off track with younger ones... or too scary if the older ones take over... these can be great fun. The person telling the story holds a flashlight and spins their part of the story leaving it unfinished. When they are done, they pass the flashlight to the next person who picks up the tale and leads it to the next cliffhanger, passing the flashlight to the next storyteller, and so on. We have been doing these for years and some of our stories have become legendary.
My 20yo nephew from FL won't come here to visit unless we promise a campfire complete with storytelling!
Also, its a great way to fuel imaginations and bring shy speakers out of their shells.
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pmeilaen
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Becky Parker wrote:
I've never heard about the St. John's bon fires. That is really neat!
And I've never heard of toasting cheese?! What type of cheese do you use? Doesn't it melt?
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We just use raw cow's milk cheeses, like cheddar, swiss, etc. cut them in cubes and put them on the end of sticks. We then hold them into the flames until they become soft and start to melt. We quickly take them out and eat them off the stick.
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Becky Parker
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| Posted: June 08 2010 at 6:50am | IP Logged
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Suzanne, your fire pit is beautiful! Our's is a bit more rustic but we enjoy it all the same.
I'm taking notes on all these wonderful ideas everyone! Thanks so much. I think we'll pass on the exploding water melon though!
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Becky
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Teachin'Mine2
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Another idea is to wrap baking potatoes in aluminum foil (heavy duty) and put them on the coals to cook. The same can be done for ears of corn. Some people pull the husks down, without breaking them off, remove the silk, and then wrap them back in the husk, soak them in water, and then wrap in the aluminum. They essentially steam this way.
Take your hot dogs, or Smart Dogs, and wrap them with Pillsbury dough - the crescent rolls work well - and heat them over the fire on the long forks.
For popcorn, use an air popper inside and bring it out to the fire ready to enjoy. Hot chocolate is great if it's a cooler night. 
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4Real Forums : Mothering and Family Life
Topic: Bon Fire Traditions?
