i'm going to post today on methods of cooking with the leaves of banana tree and the husk leaves of corn.
baking:
When i'm spending time in areas where ground fires are permitted i like to bake in corn husks. i will start by building a fire up and burning it down to a good base of embers. this can be a fairly small fire.
while that is preparing i will either soak dried corn husks in warmed water for an hour or i will gently wilt the husks over a flame if they are green. either way, the purpose is to make them pliable enough to wrap them closely or tightly around your food without their tearing along the ridges.
i then lay out the leaves in a fan-like arrangement so that the tips are together and the leaves all overlap about an inch with enough leaves to wrap 1.5-2 times around the food i'll be cooking. i will place my food, be it potato halves, chicken thighs, duck breast, etc. onto the center of the leaves and fold the top, broad end over the top of the food. i will then roll the leaves up around the food, forming a sort of cone, being sure it's tight enough to fit the food closely. i proceed to fold the bottom end of the cone up over the side and tie it off with a length of twine, strip torn from the edge of one of the leaves, etc.
the embers of the fire are scooped back to one side of the fire, down 6" or so and the packets set inside, close against one another and the embers are spread back over the top. i like to ensure good heat retention while cooking, so i then cover those embers with a good layer of the fine ash to exclude air and hold the heat, sort of like banking a fire. these embers can thus be made to stay hot or a full day or more.
When i have them on hand, i like to use banana leaves aswell, and they're just fine for this type of baking. these are best used fresh and should be wilted gently over a flame aswell. if they have been warm and you have been out several days, this may not be needed. banana leaves add a unique flavor to foods cooked in them. they should be wrapped several layers thick.
Other common leaves that can be used and can be large enough are ediblewater lilies, the basal leaves of burdock, mustard, etc. common store bought or garden raised leaves which work well also include collard greens, chard and cabbage.
frying and steaming:
i have had good luck with fast cooking food on such leaves as banana by placing the leaves, folded several layers thick over the burned down embers of a fire and using it as a frying surface. if formed over a depression in the embers and filled with water, you can steam or briefly boil food in this manner aswell. for steaming, cover over the top of it all with a layer of leaf and cover that with ash.
these methods eliminate the need to actualy dig a pit.
