S'mores turn up in unlikely places

In Baghdad, the aid workers had the campfire, marshmallows, chocolate, and graham crackers – a perfect recipe for s'mores, right? Well, maybe not.

By Jessica Morse

from the April 11, 2007 edition

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I was an American living and working in Baghdad for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). And because no one would remove the massive pile of wooden shipping pallets and crates from our compound, evening campfires became a tradition, a central location where people could gather and relax in the evening after a long day of work.

The fire would start small and then get hotter and hotter. Scooting my government-issued camping chair the optimal distance from the fire became an art – far enough away to not singe my eyebrows, but not so far that the cool desert air gave me the shivers.

One evening in December, 15 people from different walks of life were sitting below an open sky, quietly chatting.

Tim had found some old marshmallows, and I had chocolate bars and graham crackers from a recent care package from my sister. Just what we needed to make that old campfire favorite, s'mores. Sean and I untwisted some hangers, and we were in business.

The fire burned hot, and the hanger wasn't long enough to let me get close to the embers, but I discovered that a golden-brown marshmallow was possible at a far corner of the fire.

Being an international bunch, most of my companions had never had a s'more before. So my treat delighted only the handful of Americans around the fire.

Mona from Egypt thought the prospect of "charred sugar on a cracker" looked disgusting. Silvey from Madagascar and Julliet from El Salvador politely declined a taste, but Ben from Nigeria was eager to try one.

I made Ben the most creamy and crisp marshmallow you've ever seen. Everyone watched in anticipation as he crunched into the graham cracker, marshmallow oozing over the sides. His eyebrows furrowed. "It's interesting," he said politely.

Realizing that s'mores were never going to be a large international export, I offered my roasting services to the US expats.

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