Camping: Hobo Breakfast! [Guest Post]

Camping:   Hobo Breakfast!

Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.”

John 21:2a(NIV)

My idea of ‘camping’ is a night at the hotel chain where they’ll “leave the lights on for ya!” I actually much prefer an extended stay at The Lanesborough in London – or at any of the several other lovely establishments around the world where I have been privileged to spend time on occasion in my past.

But – there are a few happy childhood memories, which I have carried with me through the years and have even modified to make things more convenient to my ‘indoor-living-style’ preferences.

When I close my eyes on an early summer morning, I am transported – by the singing of birds, the gently lifting mist on the lake, the scent of pine and grilling smoke, the chill air slowly warming up by the sun-glints peeking through the towering forest glade, the crackling sound of bacon cooking accompanied by its enticing aroma wafting all around – making a tiny, empty tummy growl with hunger and anticipation…

Each summer from the time I was 9 until I was 16, I made the long trip from Grand Rapids, MI up North - over the Mackinac Bridge and farther beyond to the forests outside of Marquette.  Various parents and grandparents from our church took turns driving carloads of children embarking on a week of exciting activities, learning and sharing at our denomination’s Upper Peninsula Bible Camp.

One of the Highlights of the week was an early morning Hobo Breakfast – cooked by us while seated on real railroad tracks (no longer in use!) that ran past the camp property! We would pair up, line up and receive a paper bag filled with the makings of our breakfast and our **Buddy Burner on which to cook it. We’d make our way to the tracks, pick a place to sit, cook and eat.

•    Three half-strips of bacon cooked first, on both sides -

•    Then the egg on the bacon, all flipped over when it’s ‘solidified’ –

•    Place a slice of bread on it, flip it over to get some bacon grease on the bread, then another slice on top, flip it again to allow some grease on that side, too –

•    Continue to grill the sandwich to golden brown, flipping as necessary – Enjoy!

As an adult and a Pastor’s wife, I made **Buddy Burners and we’d have our church Youth Groups over on a summer morning for Hobos on our patio. Later, I did it with my children and grandchildren and they still comment on it! I also make them regularly in a pan on the kitchen stove and have

‘branched out’ to use various types of ham or turkey lunch meat and I usually add a slice or two of various cheeses to them.  It’s still my favorite quick and easy breakfast!

**Buddy Burners: Learn how to make them here:     http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRJiVvdfLLU I offer one suggestion to this good tutorial:  Cut the cardboard in the other direction, across the corrugations, making it easier to roll into a smooth circle, and all of the holes will face up.

Here is a blog with good photos and how-to descriptions, also:

http://bryceandkate.blogspot.com/2011/05/how-i-made-my-buddy-burner.html

You can also buy them here: http://www.buddy-burner.com

I recently made this card for a friend who goes ‘real’ camping on a regular basis.

What childhood Camping Memories do you have? Do you continue them?  Do you Scrapbook them? Would you like me to Scrapbook them – or make a card for you? Come visit me on my blog: http://aneleganttouch-lynden.blogspot.com