Bonfire and Corn Bread

A fire pit is one of the great memories that brings me back to my summer camp days.   In camp, the days were hot, but nights were freezing.  The temperature outside, on this particular November night this year, brought back those nostalgic memories.  The smell of the cold air lent itself to the aroma and feel of the warm and crackling fire pit. As we were all sitting around the fire chatting and feeling the cool breeze and the contrasting warmth from the fire, an epiphany came to us that no fire pit is complete without utilizing the heat source for cooking!  We had marshmallows and definitely went through a bag of those, but we wanted to be more adventurousness   My friends had just purchased cast iron skillets for the fire pit.  We whipped up a batch of corn bread (passed down to me from a dear friend, John Flemming) and tried it out in the fire.  We added a bit of cheese to give it a nice gooey texture.  The first few came up either raw or burnt, but once we got a hang of the timing and the proximity we needed to put the cast irons in the fire, the corn bread turned out delicious!

For those who don't have the privilege of using a fire pit, I created an easier and home friendly version! I added pumpkin seeds to the loaf of corn bread, but feel free to add in whatever you like. Corn bread is very versatile in flavor and can interchangeably switch from sweet to savory.

Shifra and Aron Srolovitz (owners of the fire pit) and me and my fiance, Matan 

Corn Bread
1-1/4 C. Milk

2 Eggs
1/2 C. Flour
1-1/2 C. Corn Meal
1/2 C. Sugar
1-1/2 t. Baking Power
1 t. Salt
4 T. Butter

Melt butter on bottom of loaf pan.  Preheat oven to 350.  Mix all ingredients together and pour into pan with melted butter.  Bake for 45 min till toothpick comes out clean.