Campfire Cooking: Fresh Bean and Vegetable Soup with Cheddar Jalapeño Beer Bread

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All summer long we have spent teaching ourselves to try outdoor recipes and cook over an open fire. It was one of my goals this year to try my hand at campfire cooking, and I still have a long ways to go. After we finished cooking this meal and recording it, I told my family that it felt like I was learning to cook all over again. Controlling the temperature of the fire is an art… Then add the skill of creating new recipes to adapt to this type of fuel is an entire hill to climb! But we are doing it and having fun in the process! To be honest, I am really looking forward to campfire cooking now that the weather is beginning to cool down and we head into the fall season. It has been a hot and sweaty summer.

The garden is abundant with fresh vegetables now, and we decided to create a vegetable soup with all of the delicious things we are growing in our garden. Right now, we currently have some gorgeous tomatoes, zucchini, peppers, carrots, potatoes, and fresh shelling beans. I have never grown shelling beans before, so this was a fun experiment for me to make a soup with freshly shelled beans! This recipe features a delicious fresh bean and vegetable soup with a spicy cheddar jalapeno beer bread.

I decided to pair this soup with a quick bread made with light beer. I added in some cheddar cheese and a fresh minced jalapeño from the garden for an added kick. Wow! It was hot! In truth, I am not satisfied with how this bread cooked over the fire. It was delicious, but it needed to be doubled, I think, to truly fill the pan. We also had the fire blazing hot at first, probably over 500° F. Cooking bread over the fire has been a challenge, but I am going to figure it out! For now, this recipe is great, I just failed to cook it correctly for these particular photos and video. Ha!

If you do not want to cook over a fire, both of these recipes can most definitely be cooked over the stove and in an oven. This recipe makes an excellent hearty campfire meal for outdoor dining.

Cheddar Jalapeno Beer Bread REcipe:

Jalapeno Cheddar Beer Bread

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Yield: 6 to 8

Author: Kayla Lobermeier

Prep time: 15 MinCook time: 50 MinTotal time: 1 H & 5 M

Ingredients

• 3 cups (390 g) all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup (60 g) granulated sugar
• 5 tsp (22 g) baking powder
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp dried parsley
• 1/2 tsp dried chives
• 1/2 tsp ground pepper
• 1/2 cup cheddar cheese
• 1 large jalapeno, seeds and veins removed and minced
• 12 oz light beer

Instructions

1. Heat a fire to around 350° F (177° C) and move over hot coals. Season a 12-inch cast iron pan with some oil or a bit of butter. Alternately, preheat an oven to 350° F (177° C) and grease a loaf pan.
2. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, parsley, chives, and pepper. Stir in the cheese and jalapeño. Pour in the beer and whisk together with a bread whisk or wooden spoon. Spread the batter into the prepared pan. If cooking over the fire, place the cast iron pan on the hot coals and cover with a second 12-inch cast iron skillet, flipped upside down, creating a dutch oven. Top the dutch oven with more hot coals and let the bread cook for 45-50 minutes. Check occasionally to make sure there is enough heat or that the bread is not overcooking. If baking in an oven, bake for 50 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

This soup had a lovely smokey flavor from the pine that we burned, and it turned out phenomenal. I was very proud! It was really fun to wander around the farm and pick out the vegetables to be used in this recipe. The best part about making vegetable soup is that you can have a lot of freedom with creating it! You can certainly swap out many ingredients in this soup and make your own recipe. My favorite part about making campfire comfort food is being able to share it with my family and eat outdoors.

This is the Cast Iron Dutch Oven that I use.

My dress is from Little Cottonwood and my apron is from Little Women Atelier.

xoxo Kayla

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fresh bean and vegetable soup recipe:

Campfire Fresh Bean and Vegetable Soup

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Yield: 8

Author: Kayla Lobermeier

Prep time: 30 MinCook time: 40 MinTotal time: 1 H & 10 M

Ingredients

• 6 tbsp (87 g) salted butter
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 red frying pepper, diced
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• 1 large carrot, diced
• 3 stalks celery, diced
• 2 medium baking potatoes, sliced thinly into half moons
• 1 medium zucchini, chopped
• 4 cups fresh tomatoes, diced
• 1 cup fresh shelled beans or 8 oz canned navy beans, drained
• 1 tbsp (2 g) fresh basil, chopped
• 1 tbsp (2 g) fresh sage, chopped
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp ground pepper
• 8 cups beef broth

Instructions

1. To begin making the soup, hang an 8-quart dutch oven with a handle over the fire. The fire should have active flames. Melt the butter in the pot and add the onion, garlic, peppers, carrot, and celery. Cook until softened, about 7-10 minutes. Add the potatoes and zucchini, cooking until lightly softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes and fresh shelled beans. Season with the herbs, salt, and pepper. Alternately, work in the similar fashion on the stove over medium-high heat.
2. Pour in the beef broth and stir to incorporate. Cover the pot with a lid and bring the soup to a boil. Let cook over a moderate fire for about 30-40 minutes. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking and to make sure the liquid has not evaporated too much. Add more broth as necessary, though you should not need more.
3. Serve the soup hot with a fresh slice of beer bread.

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