My sisters, my cousins, and I loved to run the trail around the lake and climb the fire tower. We counted every step and stared out over the trees to see if we could spot a real forest fire. Good thing we never did!
We always visited Lincoln’s boyhood home, swam in the lake, were forced to watch the play about Abe Lincoln because it was educational, and looked forward to seeing musicals, like Oklahoma and The Music Man in the amphitheater. And then, after a long day of fun-filled activities, came the evenings spent around the campfire, telling stories and cooking the most delicious food. We ate the normal camp fare of hot dogs and s’mores, but it was tradition to make hobo packs with my grandparents, something they did with their own kids and with the boy scout and campfire girl troops they used to lead.
During the summer, my mom would often make these on the grill for a quick and easy meal with vegetables from our large garden. She’d hand each of us our own square of tinfoil… and believe me, when you are the oldest of six girls, your own square of anything is practically a miracle. Nothing was off limits to my little sisters; my bed, my favorite clothes, my books, my diary… even my toothbrush! So to have my own foil packet, where I could pick my own vegetables, was a pretty big deal. My mom always gave us a permanent marker to write our names across the top of the packets before we stuck them on the grill or campfire (a lesson learned one day after a huge fight about whose foil packet was whose).
A hobo pack is a Boy Scout camping staple, created with
large squares of tinfoil shaped into a packet. It’s normally stuffed with some
sort of meat and veggies, sealed, and placed over a campfire to cook.
It's an excellent way to use up veggies and the clean-up is ridiculously easy. You just roll up the tinfoil and toss it (or if
you live in a family with six kids or a frugal grandmother, you clean it and
save it for next time).
I make all kinds of versions of these throughout the summer,
but this one is similar to the one from my childhood. These proportions
will make four hobo packs.
Ingredients:
1 lb. smoked sausage chopped into thick chunks
2 ears of corn cut into 2 inch rounds
1 small onion, sliced thinly
1 small pepper, sliced thinly
1 small zucchini, sliced thinly
4 cloves of garlic, smashed
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons of pepper
4 tablespoons of butter
Splash of white wine
You can see from the picture above that we also threw in some beans, tomatoes, and mushrooms. The best thing about these packets is that it's a great way to use up all those extra veggies from the garden or market!
You can see from the picture above that we also threw in some beans, tomatoes, and mushrooms. The best thing about these packets is that it's a great way to use up all those extra veggies from the garden or market!
Fold your four squares of tinfoil into pockets or squares and spray with
cooking spray. Divide and layer the meat and veggies between the four packets . If you are using potatoes, you
can microwave them for five minutes or parboil them to make sure they are
cooked through when you eat them.
Sprinkle the meat and veggies with salt, pepper, and any other of your favorite seasonings. I added fresh tarragon to these ones. Finish it with a drizzle of olive oil or a pat of butter, and for the grown-ups I love to add a splash of white wine. Seal the sides up, write your name on top to be sure you don’t have a major family fight, and put it on the grill over medium/high heat for about 20 minutes.
We eat ours straight from the steaming foil with chunks of
flatbread to soak up the juices!
Chowabunga!