I never went to summer camp. Not really. It just wasn’t one of
the things my family did.
Except once when my mom decided it would be good for us to go to
a summer day camp which lasted from 9 a.m. to mid-afternoon at a
local park.
I never went to summer camp. Not really. It just wasn’t one of the things my family did.
Except once when my mom decided it would be good for us to go to a summer day camp which lasted from 9 a.m. to mid-afternoon at a local park. One problem: the camp was based on religion and we had not been exposed to much up to that point.
My sister and I excitedly packed up lunches and mom dropped us off. Five hours later, she picked us up and we greeted her with: “Mom, it’s not a real camp. All we did was talk about God.”
Our visions were a little different: tire swings into lakes, friendship bracelets, hikes and popsicles. Nevertheless, we finished out the week, learned a few Bible stories and managed to fake our way through the religion quizzes at the end of each day. We might have cheated a little bit.
No, our summer camps were different.
My sister and I were the camp leaders. Our fellow campers were cows with names like Sandy and Rusty and sheep named Pepsi, 7-Up and other such sodas. We would teach them and then they were supposed to follow.
It wasn’t a singing round robin or a swim stroke. Instead, we taught them to wear their halters without tossing their heads, to follow where we went instead of running the other way, and to stand still while we washed them, brushed them and blow-dried their hair – every day of summer leading up to the county fair in August, which was more like our idea of summer camp.
At our camp, we listened to the radio at full volume – 102.5 KDON – and sang the national anthem to the animals every day in hopes that someone, someday, would recognize our talent and we would be prepared to go to the Olympics, or Candlestick Park, or wherever someone needed the very best national anthem singers.
Alas, we’ve only had one audience. And they aren’t talking.
Anyway, our camp lasted a long time. All day, in fact. Since we lived on a hill, we’d pack our lunches, kiss our mom goodbye, and walk down to the barns. Usually, we wouldn’t hike back up to the top until about 5 p.m.
Sometimes, mom would stand at the top of the hill and wave, shouting, “How ya’ doing down there.” Sometimes she’d visit us and bring our little sister down with some water or a treat.
Lots of times, though, we wouldn’t see her for hours.
I guess it was her summer camp, too.
• Summer saver: Some summer nights, it’s hard to get dinner on the table. The sun is up so long and then it starts to cool down. You get busy doing who-knows-what. Suddenly, it’s 8 p.m. and you haven’t done anything about dinner.
Here are a few solutions. This first one is a recipe by Vince Cala in the Italian Catholic Federation’s cookbook, Volume II.
Fresh Mushroom and Asparagus Fritatta
1 lb. fresh asparagus tips
1/2 lb. fresh mushrooms
1 bunch green onions
1/4 cup olive oil
5 eggs
Salt and pepper to taste
Cut asparagus into pieces about 1 inch in length. Slice mushrooms. Cut green onions 1/2 inch in length, using green part as well.
Beat eggs, adding salt and pepper. Heat olive oil in a non-stick skillet and add asparagus, mushrooms and green onions. Cook at medium heat until tender. Add eggs; let cook until just a little raw egg shows at the top.
Place pan under broiler and finish cooking. Serves 6 as a side dish; 3 as a main dish.
Note: You can add a little grated cheese to the top just at the end, if desired.
• Broiled tuna in a flash: This tuna recipe was sent to me by “Ma” Brigson of Morgan Hill. She says everyone forgot her name years ago, so Ma will do just fine. Anyway, she’s a food network junkie and grabbed this recipe last year. It’s fast and easy, the fish equivalent of medium-rare steak.
Tuna and Wasabi Sauce
3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons white wine
2 shallots, finely chopped
1 heaping teaspoon wasabi paste
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce or tamari
1 cup unsalted butter, cold and diced into 1/2-inch cubes
Salt and pepper
1 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped
6 tuna fillets, approx. 5 ounces each
Heat broiler or grill for the tuna.
Put vinegar, wine and shallots into a small saucepan and simmer to reduce the liquid to 1-2 tablespoons. Add the wasabi and soy.
Over a gentle heat, whisk in the cubes of cold butter slowly so that the sauce emulsifies (gets thicker). Don’t boil the sauce because it will separate; just make sure one cube is dissolved before you add the next one. When all the butter is whisked in, add salt and pepper to taste and add the chopped cilantro.
Quickly broil or grill the tuna until it reaches your desired state of “done.” This will take only a few minutes per side. Serve the wasabi butter sauce in a pitcher alongside.
Note: I’d serve with white rice and steamed broccoli; those don’t take much time either. A variation that I love is to pat cracked peppercorns into the sides of the tuna before broiling. It gets very black and is very tasty. Also, you can cook the tuna in a frying pan if you want to. Get the pan very hot with just a touch of oil and throw in the tuna. Turn only once.
• Italian easy: In my journal, this pasta dish is called “Pasta con Cavolfiore e Broccoletti” but you can just call it “Pasta with Cauliflower and Broccoli.” I keep track of tasty dishes while I’m on vacation and this recipe came from a small café right next to the Duomo in Florence, Italy.
I ate it on a hot afternoon in summer after we had hiked to the top of the Bell Tower. Quite a feat. Quite an easy, wonderful dish. Add diced cooked chicken if you feel like it. Please try the anchovies. You can’t really taste them in this dish, they just add a deep saltiness to the vegetables.
Pasta with Cauliflower and Broccoli
Salt
1 lb. penne or conchiglie pasta
8 oz. cauliflower, cut into florets
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 clove garlic, peeled
4 anchovy fillets, finely chopped
1/4 cup dried bread crumbs
2 plum tomatoes, diced
Freshly ground pepper
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add salt and pasta and cook for 4 minutes. Add the cauliflower and broccoli florets. Cook another 4 minutes or until pasta is al dente. Drain.
In a large skillet over medium heat, warm 2 tablespoons of the oil. Add the garlic clove and sauté for 1 minute. Remove and discard the garlic and add the anchovies. Saute for 2 minutes. Add the pasta, cauliflower and broccoli to the skillet.
In a small skillet, warm the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil. Add the bread crumbs and sauté until golden brown. Add the bread crumbs to the skillet with the pasta along with the tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper, toss well and serve.
End notes: “He has all the virtues I dislike and none of the vices I admire.”
~ Sir Winston Churchill, 1874-1965
Happy cooking!
