Hello, again! School's starting soon, if it hasn't already where you live, but there's still plenty of time and good weather left for camping and RVing with the kids. This Opinionated Cook column deals with some food ideas and recipes that kids can take part in and enjoy, and that are also not a lot of work for the parents, grandparents, and other adults who often end up in the role of "entertainers"! Even older "kids" - those in the slouching, eye-rolling, heavy sighing and exasperated-impatience-at-the-stupidity-of-parents /adults in general stage of studied "coolness" often find themselves actually having fun on a family camping trip when able to put together their own food and cook it over a bed of coals. A few of the ideas have been around for a long time - memories of summer camp and long-ago family camping trips - but all still "work" with kids - of all ages.
These first "recipes" need coals, not flames - allow the fire to burn down before cooking - and a grill of whatever size you need to accomodate the number of people to be fed. (The foil packs can be cooked right on the coals, but watch for burning; turn these every 5 minutes or less if placed directly on coals instead of on a grill.) For safety, younger children will need help/supervision with food preparation/cooking., especially with cutting food and putting food on/ taking it off the fire.
"FOILED AGAIN....."?(Very "flexible" recipes for cooking in heavy-duty foil...)
General Instructions - Use regular width heavy duty foil ( two sheets of regular foil works OK, but the heavy-duty is easier to handle) and tear off as many pieces needed - each piece should be about 12"-15". Food should be placed on the shiny side of the foil. To close packets after food to be cooked is placed on foil, use a "drugstore wrap" - bring longer edges of foil together over food and fold over and down several times, almost to the "level" of the food. Fold ends over about 1/2 inch or so at a time until the folds reach the food. Place the packets on the grill - seam side up first and about 6"-8" over the coals - and cook for about 15 minutes. Turn over packet and cook another 15 minutes. This is not an "exact science" - cooking times sometimes have to be adjusted for variations, e.g., too-full packets, too-thick ingredients, etc. If in doubt, take a packet off the fire, open and check; re-seal carefully if it needs more cooking. Food foil packs can be cooked in your RV's (or any) oven, of course, but campfire cooking - fire-building, food preparation and cooking - can interest and occupy even the whiny, "I-wanna-go-home-and-play-video-games" kid; at least, that's the idea!
All-In-One Meal (Kids like to assemble their own "packs" and can help with cutting the vegetables if they're "sharp-object ready". And, mark each packet with its owner's initials before cooking; black magic marker works well.)
Make a patty of about 1/4 pound lean hamburger. (Some older kids, especially high school-age boys, and more than a few girls, can eat two or more packs.) Place patty on "square" of heavy-duty foil. Put one or more of the following "seasoning" options on the meat patty, if desired:
?- A couple tablespoons of catsup or chili sauce; mix with a little mustard if desired.
?- Two-three tablespoons tomato sauce with herbs or any other variety - comes in an 8 oz. can.
?- Two-three tablespoons salsa
?- About a tablespoon of dry onion soup mix - stir up the "powder" and the "flakes" together and ? sprinkle over the patty; the moisture from the vegetables/meat will moisten this.
?- A little salt, pepper, and worcestershire sauce.
On top of the meat patty, layer (overlapping like "fish scales") 4- 6 thin slices of potato, then about the same amount of thinly-sliced carrot on top of the potato. ( 4 or 5 thin slices of zucchini can also be "layered"on top of the carrot, if you like.) Put a little chopped or very thinly-sliced onion - some kids don't like this and will leave it out - over the top of the other vegetables, close up the packet and place over hot coals. When food is done, add any other seasonings desired, and eat from the foil packet - no plates required!
Variations...use kielbasa, andouille (may be too "spicy" for some kids), or other fully cooked sausage instead of the hamburger. Slice sausage diagonally into pieces of about 1/2 inch, and use about 6 pieces per packet.
Desserts in Foil
These can be put together at the same time as the dinner packs and put on to cook while you're eating the hamburger/vegetables. Or, if the coals are still good after cooking all the dinner packets, have kids put together their desserts after they eat. (Use same sizes of foil for dessert packs as for dinner packs.)
"Spiced" Apples or Peaches
Peel and core tart apples or peel fresh peaches - use 1/2 apple or peach for younger children. Slice fruit thinly, and put slices in center of foil piece. Sprinkle fruit with about 2-3 tablespoons brown sugar and a little cinnamon. Add a handful of raisins and some chopped walnuts or pecans if desired. Close packs and put on grill for about 10-15 minutes each side. Eat from the packet, and be sure to lick the foil clean when done!
"Banana Boats"
These set my teeth on edge, but kids -and a lot of adults - love them. Peel bananas and cut in half lengthwise - cut each lengthwise "half" in two before assembling to make the packets smaller, if you like. (Little ones will usually eat about a half a banana or less; I suggest cutting the finished "banana boat" in pieces and "sharing it out" so as to avoid sugar overload!) Lay one half of the banana on the foil, cut side up. Put a few small "dollops" of peanut butter along the banana, then press chocolate chips into the peanut butter. (You can leave the peanut butter out, but then press the chips into the banana a bit.) Yes, you can add a few miniature marshmallows, too, but the kids' teeth will probably fall right out of their heads. Put other half of the banana on top of this - cut side down - and wrap in foil. Cook about 10-15 minutes per side. (This is a "foil-licker", too, from what I've observed.) Expect a run on the water supplies.
KABOBS
The combination of kids and cooking on skewers does require some vigilance and anticipation of what other uses a kid's imagination can come up with for a 24" sharp thing; use your own judgement as to whether this cooking method is appropriate for your situation!
You'll need:
24" (or longer if you can find them) skewers - stainless steel are best. "Double" skewers - 2-skewers in one - can be useful to help prevent the food from "turning" on the skewer. Avoid skewers with wooden or plastic handles for outdoor cooking.
A good bed of coals - no flames - and some kind of support for both ends of the skewers, e.g., rocks aligned in the fire pit, etc.
Potholders or mitts to turn the skewers - this should be done by adults or older kids. Turning once should be enough.
Pieces of meat and vegetables in pieces/chunks no larger than 1" square; larger pieces don't cook evenly, and usually break off and end up in the fire.
Some foods for "kid kabobs"... (I think it's a lot less hassle to prepare meat and vegetable pieces of foods your kids like in advance - especially those that should be pre-cooked a little before going on the skewers - then have kids put together their choices on their skewer - with washed hands, of course. Don't overload the skewers; there should be plenty of room at both ends to fit all the food on the skewer over the fire and turn the skewer comfortably. About 8 inches or so of "chunks" is plenty for each skewer, and be sure chicken, turkey and pork are thoroughly cooked.) Assembly is messy; some hand-washing facilities and paper towels are necessary. Serve the kabobs with rice and a green salad. (Some people like to put a little rice in a flour tortilla, then strip the skewer into the tortilla, adding a little salsa or heated marinade; whatever you like.)
Meats - Chicken breast, pork, beef (I like to use sirloin, but what's on sale can work, too, if the pieces are small. Tougher cuts of beef also benefit from a marinade.), prawns (peeled), turkey (use like chicken breast if your market carries this).
Vegetables/Fruits - Onion, red pepper, mushrooms*, cherry tomatoes, zucchini or "summer" squash (yellow or green), sweet potato /red-skinned potato, carrot (microwave sweet potato chunks in covered dish 1minute [or just a bit more, depending on the sweet potato type; see what works for you.] and red potato or carrot "chunks" 2 minutes, before threading on skewers), eggplant (not a kid favorite, but adults have to eat, too.), pineapple -canned or fresh - and fresh pear (good with pork).
(*Raw mushrooms split when put on skewers; you can pre-cook these by arranging them in the bottom of a skillet, covering the skillet, and "sweating" them over low heat for about 5-10 minutes. Or, zap them in a covered dish for about 2 minutes in the microwave. Threading the mushrooms onto the skewers through their sides also reduces turning and falling off.)
Try a simple marinade of a little olive oil, crushed garlic, fresh lemon juice, a little fresh or dried rosemary or thyme, salt and pepper for chicken, turkey, pork or prawns. The best beef marinades use red wine as a base, but you can also use a little red wine vinegar or balsamic vinegar as a substitute. Alcohol does dissipate somewhat when heated, but contrary to popular "wisdom", a good amount of alcohol can remain in a cooked dish depending on how - and how long - the food is cooked, and the source of the alcohol. I have no idea how much alcohol would still be present after cooking if wine was used as a marinade for the meats used in skewer cooking, but if this bothers you in any way, use a vinegar-based marinade. Combine 1/2 cup red wine OR 1/4 cup red wine vinegar or balsamic vinegar, 1/4 cup olive oil, juice of 1/2 lemon, a little chopped parsley, finely sliced green onion ( or crushed garlic), and pepper. I cut up the meat, mix the marinade in a bowl, then for camping or traveling, put the meat in a zip-lock bag, pour the marinade over, and refrigerate it. Turn the bag over or "smoosh" it around a couple of times - about an hour in the marinade is plenty for small pieces of meat. Remove the meat, drain the marinade into a saucepan and heat to boiling, then use it to baste the skewers.
CHILI IN A NEST (Basic recipe serves 3-4, depending on appetites; multiply and adjust as needed.)
1 pound of lean - 7-12% fat - ground beef
1 15 oz. can chili with beans (I use Dennison's - use whatever you like, but "mild" versions will probably be more to kids' tastes than "hot" versions.)
1 small red or other mild onion, peeled and chopped
2-3 fresh tomatoes, peeled and chopped
2-3 cups grated cheddar cheese
1 10.5 oz. bag of "original" Fritos (small strips)
Sour cream
1 avocado, peeled and cut into small pieces ( if you can get them without having to take out a loan; small Hass avocados are $1.79 apiece in the local markets right now, and this is CA!)
Prepare onion, cheese, tomatoes, avocado, and put on paper plates, small bowls, whatever. Set out container of sour cream. (Put spoons for serving in each bowl - no hands in the common "pots".) Brown ground beef (and the onion if your kids don't like raw onion; otherwise, the onion is sprinkled over the top of the chili, cheese, etc.) and add chili; cook until chili is hot. Put a handful of Fritos on each plate, then spoon some chili over the top; some of the corn chips should still be visible - that's the "nest". Each person adds his/her own cheese, tomato, onion - if not cooked with the hamburger - sour cream and avocado. Give kids - and adults - fresh fruit and cookies for dessert. (The recipe can be multiplied to serve as many as you need to, but don't crowd the pan when browning the beef; it will "stew" insted of brown.)
I wish you good food and great memories to re-live and pass on.