OldScout: Thanks for the "roasting" tip. I'm skeptical I'll convert, but I will definitely try it! I know my daughter will demand to try it when she hears this.

Packman: Yes maybe this one, but I'll bet two dollars you're familiar with it. Potatos! The first time my daughter and I were going to cook potatos, she said she had two scrubbed. I reminded her to wrap them in aluminum foil...but she got sidetracked. When we got to our site (about a mile from home) we realized...no tin foil! You can't really toss unwrapped potatos in the fire, so we buried the taters under the firepit covered by about 1/2" to 3/4" of dirt. After about 45 minutes of a medium sized fire (about 10" - 12" in diam.) we dug them out. Couldn;t really eat the skins, so we used the skins as a "bowl". I agree... everything tastes better "outside".

Next trip, she brought the taters scrubbed and wrapped in foil. Now, I know about cooking wrapped taters in the fire, so I have no excuse as to why I did this (except maybe age-related mental retardation or, ARMR). We buried the alum. wrapped potatos under 1/2" of dirt and let a medium fire cook them for 45 minutes to an hour. Or so we thought. When we dug them up, we realized the foil kept the taters from cooking!!! So dumb..... Don;t you know you've got to put wrapped potatos right in the coals (or on the edge)?

The eggs: if you cook them too long (or too quickly with hotter than necessary coals), the egg white at the bottom will become rubbery. My little girl loves this, but I don't. Cook them slowly and turn often is my motto. Also, anything past medium-boiled is way too done for me.

Next trip: balut!