Nonutensil Cooking

(From Roughing It Easy by Dian Thomas)

Outdoor cooking on an open fire without messy, black pots and pans is a camper’s dream. And, happily, there are methods and means that make this possible. These methods are not only unique and convenient but also fun for patio and backyard parties and short excursions as well as camping.

Cakes and Muffins Baked in an Orange Shell

Cut the top quarter portion from an orange and remove or eat the edible fruit. Try not to damage the bowl-shaped peeling. Fill this orange peeling or shell almost full with cake or muffin batter or bread dough. Leave room for it to rise. Set it on about a ten-inch square sheet of tinfoil, bring the foil up around the orange peeling and twist at the top. Place in hot coals from the fire or charcoal briquettes and bake for 15 to 20 minutes.

Charcoal briquettes should never be used in an enclosed place as a toxic substance is given off.

Banana Boat

Cut a lengthwise wedge-shaped section out of a banana, shaping it like a boat. Eat the part removed and fill in the empty wedge with marshmallows and milk chocolate chips or pieces of milk chocolate. Replace the peeling that was cut away and wrap the banana with foil. Keep the banana boat upright, place it in hot coals from the fire, and bake it for about five minutes or until the chocolate and marshmallows melt.

Meat in Onion (Cannon Balls)

Cut an onion in half and remove the center from both halves. Fill the onion shell with seasoned hamburger, place it in a piece of foil, seal it, and bake. This is done by cutting the foil in squares twice the circumference of the onion, placing the meat-filled onion in the center, bringing opposite sides of the foil together, and turning the foil down in about 1/4-inch folds until tight. Fold both ends of the package in tightly and seal the foil. Place it on hot coals from the fire or on charcoal briquettes or bury and bake it in the hot coals for 15 to 20 minutes.

Stuffed Peppers

Place seasoned hamburger in the center of a green pepper from which the top has been removed and the insides cleaned out. Cover it with the lid or top, wrap it in the same way you would wrap the meat in onions, and bake.