Labor Day weekend is the last weekend that can feel like summer, and I like to spend as much of it outdoors as possible. There are several beaches within an hour of my house, and my dog loves to hike the many trails outside of Boston, so we keep busy. The cool breeze that’s been blowing all day feels chilly once the sun sets, so my husband fires up the grill as I grab a sweater and the hobo packets that I had made earlier that morning for dinner.

I love grilling meals, it’s so quick and easy, and there’s not much to it. I picked up some chicken thighs from the Natick Farmers Market, chopped up a ton of vegetables that I had in the fridge from my last Stearns Farm CSA pickup, and made hobo packets to toss on the grill. Hobo packets are an easy way to grill fish, meat, vegetables, fruit, or pretty much anything else you have on hand. You chop everything up, wrap it in tin foil with salt and pepper and herbs, and toss it on the grill. There’s no clean up since the juices are all contained in the packets, which means the flavor stays sealed inside and soaks into the food while it cooks. The best part is that I actually found a way to cook hakurei that tastes great, unlike last time. Along with the hakurei, I chopped up carrots, sweet peppers, onions, and garlic for grilling.

Grilled Chicken with Carrot, Hakurei and Sweet Pepper Hobo Packets

Hobo packets are also a great way to make food ahead. I tossed two packets of vegetables onto the grill, but only opened one for dinner last night. The other packet can be easily stored in the fridge until I’m ready to eat it, since it’s already wrapped up and sealed off. The only thing that was missing from my meal was a delicious beverage. There was a mini watermelon in my CSA share last week, and I cut two slices to eat immediately. Unfortunately, I left the majority of it out overnight and it got super mushy and gross. I was looking forward to making Watermelon Agua Fresca, but I sadly had to throw it out. Maybe I’ll try to pick one up at the farmers market next week and try again, if they’re not all gone.

Alice Kathryn Richardson is a new media photojournalist and creator of The Clean Food Club. She previously spent two years working on Deserts in the District, a series of short-form documentaries exploring food access and hunger in Washington, DC. She is committed to supporting local and sustainable food businesses by telling their stories with photo and video. Follow her on Twitter @AKR_Pictures.