Like many American children I attended summer camp when I was growing up. Camp is such an iconic part of our culture, with its canoe rides, counselors randomly bursting into song, and opportunities to make new best friends. It seemed like something I had to try. Maybe I was too young, or too much of a homebody. Maybe it had something to do with developing a terrible rash the week before I went, which meant no swimming and generally feeling terrible. Whatever the reason, I was not really a fan and only went once.
I was lucky to get a second chance at camp later in life, when I spent a summer as the head cook at a camp for girls. For eight weeks I lived in the woods and cooked two meals a day for 80-120 kids. Most days started at 6:30 with breakfast and ended around 9:00 when we finished cleaning up from dinner.
“Cooking” was a misnomer for a lot of what I did at camp. It’s a stretch to call heating tater tots and pre-made sausage patties cooking. I did most of the baking from scratch, though, and would make homemade French toast every other week, using my family’s secret of adding a little vanilla and cinnamon with the usual egg and milk mixture.
My favorite thing to do in the kitchen was make pancakes. There was something very relaxing about standing in front of the griddle for an hour and a half, pouring circles of batter and flipping them over once they were set on top. My least favorite thing was cooking rice. We did it in gigantic pans in the convection oven, and no matter what I did it never came out right.
Camp was where I finally learned to stop following recipes to the letter. Since I had no previous food service experience, my boss planned the menus and ordered the food. The first time macaroni and cheese was on the list I went to her and asked for the recipe. Here’s what I got in return: “a bag of macaroni noodles, a couple scoops of sour cream, one or two pats of butter, some milk, and lots of cheese.” I used my best judgment, and one of the counselors told me later that she liked my version of mac and cheese better. It gave me the confidence to trust myself and try new things.
My biggest adventure at camp came not during a raid from the boy’s side, but while experimenting with new foods. Once a week the campers cooked dinner in their campsites. A group usually invited me to join them so they could cook for me for a change. One night the campers planned to make s’mores for dessert. Not just any old s’mores, however. These were a graham cracker topped with a mix of peanut butter and honey, with chocolate candies and a marshmallow on top. They were delicious. I ate four of them. I haven’t had a sugar high like that since I was in elementary school. I wasn’t so happy the next morning, when I had a major headache, but it was worth it.
I was able to adapt one of my favorite childhood recipes for camp: Tater Tot Casserole. My grandmother used to make this when we went to visit her. It’s a sure winner for any kid except those who “don’t like their food to touch.”
The counselors’ favorite dessert was Pumpkin Cake, which I tinkered with over the summer until I had it perfected. The cake is so moist it doesn’t require frosting. The original recipe called for a quart of vegetable oil. Granted, it served 50 people, but that still seemed like a lot to me. I replaced some of the oil with applesauce, which is a great trick to slim down recipes. I measure the oil and the applesauce together in a liquid measuring cup to ensure I have the right amount of wet ingredients.
If your kids or grandkids are at summer camp this year, I hope preparing these recipes with them will help spark conversations about their experience. Maybe they can also bring back fond memories for you, of days and nights spent cooking around a campfire or playing games under the warm summer sun.
Tater Tot Casserole
1 lb. ground beef
¼ c. chopped onion
1 t. parsley
½ t. seasoning salt
1 14½ ounce can green beans, preferably French-style, drained
1 10½ ounce can cream of mushroom or cream of celery soup
1 12-ounce package tater tots
1 12-ounce package onion rings
In a medium skillet, cook ground beef and onion until beef is brown. Drain grease and add parsley and seasoning salt. Put meat in a 9” square pan. Top with green beans. Spread soup carefully over the top. Arrange tater tots sparingly in a single layer on top, so about half the soup mixture is covered. Add onion rings to fill in blank spaces (you may not use all the tater tots or onion rings in a package). Microwave for six minutes or until tater tots are warm.
Pumpkin Cake
3¼ c. all-purpose flour
2¼ t. baking powder
2¼ t. baking soda
1 t. salt
1 T. cinnamon
1 t. ground ginger
½ t. ground cloves
½ t. ground nutmeg
3 eggs
1¾ c. sugar
½ c. applesauce
¾ c. canola oil
1 15-ounce can pumpkin
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9” x 13” pan. Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl and set aside.
In a mixing bowl beat eggs and sugar. Mix in applesauce and oil. Add dry ingredients alternately with pumpkin, starting and ending with dry ingredients. Pour into prepared pan. Cook for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.
Monday, July 27, 2009
Monday, July 13, 2009
Berries Signal Start of Summer
There are lots of things that remind me of summer: cotton skirts and dresses; the colors red, white and blue; lazy afternoons in the backyard; baseball games; and concerts in the park. The two things that stick out in my mind the most, however, are the Fourth of July and berries.
Growing up in Oregon, my memory is that it rained from the beginning of November to the 4th of July. I’m willing to concede that my youthful mind may have exaggerated that a little. Still, it wasn’t until after the last fireworks had gone off that it felt like the grey rain clouds took a much-needed vacation and it finally got hot outside.
Every year on the Fourth we would have a picnic at home. We were often joined by my grandparents or neighbors from down the street whose children were the same age as my siblings and I. After dinner we would set off fireworks in our driveway. We could hardly wait until dusk to start spinning and twirling with sparklers in our hands. These were followed by smaller fireworks, ending with one or two big fountains as a grand finale.
No Fourth of July picnic would be complete without salads, and Mustard Potato Salad is one of my favorites. Dijon mustard adds richness and snipped dill adds an incredible fresh taste. To make the salad even more appropriate for the Fourth of July, see if you can find red and blue skinned potatoes. This salad is delicious served warm or cold and is quite easy to make. I learned recently that you should put potatoes in a pot of cold water then heat them, rather than dropping potatoes into a pot of boiling water. Placing them in cold water ensures even cooking.
The best thing about Oregon in the summertime is the berries. Oregon has some of the best berries in the world, owing to acidic soils, plenty of rain, and mild weather. Most years my family would pile in the car and go to a nearby farm to pick berries. If we got lucky my grandfather would pick them for us. He would pull into the driveway with a bucket full of blueberries or raspberries in the bed of his blue pickup, and we would pile in the back and eat them as fast as we could. We always froze berries and made freezer jam so we could enjoy their sweet goodness all year long.
Maybe it’s because they’re the first to ripen, but there is something particularly magical about strawberries. My favorite ways to eat them are with strawberry shortcake, whole-wheat pecan waffles, strawberry biscuits cooked with a sprinkling of sugar on top, and Strawberry Pie. This recipe calls for a pie crust, strawberry gelatin made from scratch, and a pile of ripe, shiny berries. The general consensus is that it’s best eaten with both whipped cream and ice cream. Then again, what isn’t?
Both of these recipes would be perfect additions as you gather friends and family around the picnic table this 4th of July. Start the season out right with these recipes and any others that scream “summer!” and remind you of all the good things to come.
Mustard Potato Salad
2 lbs. potatoes
½ c. low-fat mayonnaise
¼ c. Dijon mustard
½ small red onion, finely chopped
1 celery stalk, diced
1 T. snipped fresh dill or 1 t. dried dill weed
½ t. salt
½ t. pepper
½ t. lemon juice
2 green onions, white and light green parts sliced
3 hard-boiled eggs, sliced
Cut up potatoes and put in a pan of cold water. Place pan on stove and bring water to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and cook until potatoes can be easily pierced with a fork.
In the meantime, combine mayonnaise, mustard, onion, celery, dill, salt, pepper and lemon juice in a large bowl.
Drain potatoes and add to bowl with mayonnaise mixture. Stir well. Sprinkle chopped green onions over the top and place sliced eggs in the center. Serve warm or cold.
Strawberry Pie
1 8-inch pie shell
3 pints fresh strawberries
2 envelopes unflavored gelatin
¾ c. sugar
Vanilla ice cream, optional
Whipped cream, optional
Cook pie shell according to package directions. Cool completely on a wire rack. In the meantime, wash and slice strawberries.
Put ½ c. of cold water in a small bowl. Add gelatin and let sit at least 5 minutes to soften.
Place 1 c. of berries in a small saucepan. Add sugar and ½ c. of water. Bring mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, and cook until sugar has melted and berries are very soft, about five minutes. Place a colander over a large bowl and pour strawberry mixture into it. Press on berries with the back of a spoon to drain out as much liquid as possible. Discard berries and transfer liquid to a glass measuring cup. Add additional warm water if needed to equal 1 cup. Add softened gelatin and stir until it has dissolved. Put gelatin in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes or until it starts to thicken.
Put remaining berries in pie shell and carefully pour gelatin mixture over the top. Refrigerate for at least three hours or until gelatin is firm. Serve with ice cream and/or whipped cream if desired. Store leftovers in refrigerator.
Growing up in Oregon, my memory is that it rained from the beginning of November to the 4th of July. I’m willing to concede that my youthful mind may have exaggerated that a little. Still, it wasn’t until after the last fireworks had gone off that it felt like the grey rain clouds took a much-needed vacation and it finally got hot outside.
Every year on the Fourth we would have a picnic at home. We were often joined by my grandparents or neighbors from down the street whose children were the same age as my siblings and I. After dinner we would set off fireworks in our driveway. We could hardly wait until dusk to start spinning and twirling with sparklers in our hands. These were followed by smaller fireworks, ending with one or two big fountains as a grand finale.
No Fourth of July picnic would be complete without salads, and Mustard Potato Salad is one of my favorites. Dijon mustard adds richness and snipped dill adds an incredible fresh taste. To make the salad even more appropriate for the Fourth of July, see if you can find red and blue skinned potatoes. This salad is delicious served warm or cold and is quite easy to make. I learned recently that you should put potatoes in a pot of cold water then heat them, rather than dropping potatoes into a pot of boiling water. Placing them in cold water ensures even cooking.
The best thing about Oregon in the summertime is the berries. Oregon has some of the best berries in the world, owing to acidic soils, plenty of rain, and mild weather. Most years my family would pile in the car and go to a nearby farm to pick berries. If we got lucky my grandfather would pick them for us. He would pull into the driveway with a bucket full of blueberries or raspberries in the bed of his blue pickup, and we would pile in the back and eat them as fast as we could. We always froze berries and made freezer jam so we could enjoy their sweet goodness all year long.
Maybe it’s because they’re the first to ripen, but there is something particularly magical about strawberries. My favorite ways to eat them are with strawberry shortcake, whole-wheat pecan waffles, strawberry biscuits cooked with a sprinkling of sugar on top, and Strawberry Pie. This recipe calls for a pie crust, strawberry gelatin made from scratch, and a pile of ripe, shiny berries. The general consensus is that it’s best eaten with both whipped cream and ice cream. Then again, what isn’t?
Both of these recipes would be perfect additions as you gather friends and family around the picnic table this 4th of July. Start the season out right with these recipes and any others that scream “summer!” and remind you of all the good things to come.
Mustard Potato Salad
2 lbs. potatoes
½ c. low-fat mayonnaise
¼ c. Dijon mustard
½ small red onion, finely chopped
1 celery stalk, diced
1 T. snipped fresh dill or 1 t. dried dill weed
½ t. salt
½ t. pepper
½ t. lemon juice
2 green onions, white and light green parts sliced
3 hard-boiled eggs, sliced
Cut up potatoes and put in a pan of cold water. Place pan on stove and bring water to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and cook until potatoes can be easily pierced with a fork.
In the meantime, combine mayonnaise, mustard, onion, celery, dill, salt, pepper and lemon juice in a large bowl.
Drain potatoes and add to bowl with mayonnaise mixture. Stir well. Sprinkle chopped green onions over the top and place sliced eggs in the center. Serve warm or cold.
Strawberry Pie
1 8-inch pie shell
3 pints fresh strawberries
2 envelopes unflavored gelatin
¾ c. sugar
Vanilla ice cream, optional
Whipped cream, optional
Cook pie shell according to package directions. Cool completely on a wire rack. In the meantime, wash and slice strawberries.
Put ½ c. of cold water in a small bowl. Add gelatin and let sit at least 5 minutes to soften.
Place 1 c. of berries in a small saucepan. Add sugar and ½ c. of water. Bring mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, and cook until sugar has melted and berries are very soft, about five minutes. Place a colander over a large bowl and pour strawberry mixture into it. Press on berries with the back of a spoon to drain out as much liquid as possible. Discard berries and transfer liquid to a glass measuring cup. Add additional warm water if needed to equal 1 cup. Add softened gelatin and stir until it has dissolved. Put gelatin in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes or until it starts to thicken.
Put remaining berries in pie shell and carefully pour gelatin mixture over the top. Refrigerate for at least three hours or until gelatin is firm. Serve with ice cream and/or whipped cream if desired. Store leftovers in refrigerator.
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