When I was a kid I went away to sleep-away camp in a lovely, rural part of Connecticut. The cabins were rustic and the lake shimmered in the morning sun. There was rock climbing, horseback riding, sailing and more. The sounds of kids rushing from activity to activity filled the air.  We ate meals together in the mess hall and the bug juice flowed with reckless abandon. (This was, of course, before the assault on juice!) My very favorite part of camp was our one a week overnight camping trip where we’d pack our sleeping bags and venture out into the woods to pitch tents.

When we arrived at our site, we’d do sets of trust exercises (not joking!) and work together to make dinner the highlight of which was putting a slop of ingredients – hamburger meat, onions, carrots, potatoes and lots of ketchup – in a aluminum foil pouch and cooking it directly on the flames.

After working hard to build the fire, pitch our tents, arrange our site the sun would drop and we’d finally get the chance to eat. The carrots and potatoes were always undercooked, but we ate them anyway swearing up and down that we’d get it right the next time. (We never did.)  I haven’t really cooked anything in a pouch on open flames since then, but today it struck me that if done right, this could be a brilliant way to make veggies while the meat-a-cookin’ on the grill.

On a hunch we tried it… and wow were we blown away!  Move over corn, you aren’t the only grilled veggie in town anymore. These grilled green beans and carrots provide even more proof that there’s absolutely no reason to turn on the oven in this heat.

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