come on baby, light my fire …

everybody loves a bonfire, right?  what’s not to love?  the circle formed around the fire conjures up a sense of community and fellowship, which our human need for is too often underestimated.  they are warm, comfortable, and oh so mesmerizing.  I don’t know of anyone who can help but stare into the flames as they flicker shades of orange, red, & pink, with occasional bursts of blues and greens. 

now, I know that with a fire, comes smoke.  and smoke is no fun for the ol’ eye balls.  but sometimes, on nights of near perfection, the air rests still, providing the smoke with a completely vertical channel of escape.  and on those nights, bonfires are that much more inspiring. 

they nearly always seem to generate rich conversation from the bodies huddled around it’s warmth, with spurts of laughter sprinkled amidst the flames.  there is something so beautiful … romantic, even … about the peaceful nature that surrounds the experience created around the fire pit.  stories are shared, retold, and written.  the memories made are based on the entire sensory experience … the sounds of the flickering fire & the voices surrounding it, the warmth of it’s flames, the smells of it’s progress, the sight of the glittering embers and the golden glow reflecting off loved one’s faces. 

to me, bonfires are extraordinary.  any opportunity we can, we light up that fire.  even if it’s just the two of us.  I call those sweet opportunities, our fire-pit-date-nights.  they are the night when we make our entire dinner {dessert included} over the fire.  and on those nights, the same extraordinary experiences that happen when with dear friends, happens between the two of us.  they are beautiful additions to our relationship and marriage … and we will continue these warm traditions for the rest of our lives …

now, to explain the fantastic nature of our fire-pit dinner … well, they are awesome.  you just have to like veggies and bacon.  I’m sure you can go without one or the other, but who would want to do that? {notice my lack of vegetarianism.  sorry.}

we took a couple of long, extendable marshmallow skewers … the kind with two prongs.  erik separated the prongs where they were welded together, in order to give us more room for our brightly colored feasts.  the only prep for these dates is the chopping of the veggies {we use vibrant colored bell peppers and red onions} and a glass of wine. 

to assemble our masterpieces, we just alternate the veggies on the skewer with the bacon.  the strips of bacon are gently wrapped around the vegetable of choice, and then poked with the skewer.  {I realize that was not a very good description … sorry about that}.  the end result looks something like a ribbon candy on a long skewer, but only this time, the candy is bacon.  winner in my book.

see:

sprinkle with some seasonings {garlic salt, steak seasoning, etc}

THEN, you cook it.  over the fire.  {talk about no dishes to clean} you have to talk while you cook it.  while else would you be sitting around a fire pit if not to engage with your fellow food-cooker-slash-fire-enjoyer.

all that’s left is the buns {sourdough, hot dog, whichever you prefer – we butter ours first}!  and slide the juicy delight into the bun when cooked to your liking.  top with a condiment of choice {erik: mustard; julie: ranch} if desired and enjoy.

dinner is always finished off with the makings of some s’mores {those ingredients are permanent fixtures in our pantry}. 

see, our fire-pit-dinner-dates are nights of near perfection. 

try it sometime.  I dare you. you memory bank and your belly will not be disappointed.