Tag: camp food

What a Campfire Means to a Summer Camper

September 20th, 2016

weequahic-blog

Camp life may thrive on variety, but the traditional evening campfire has remained constant for as long as anyone can remember. The mere mention of a campfire brings back a flood of memories for many summer campers; memories of friends gained, challenges overcome, and a time when all there was to worry about was playing games and growing stronger. Nothing captures the spirit of the summer camp experience quite like the snap-crackle-pop of the hot fire and the magical smell of freshly split logs waiting to get thrown on the flames.

A day at camp is often hectic and wild, and the evening campfire offers everybody a chance to wind down. Camp simply wouldn’t be the same without it. After all, the traditional evening campfire represents more than just a nice way to stay warm on a brisk night; gathering around the fire represents community, the circle of life, and togetherness with friends new and old.

Tradition

Fire has been a life source for all of recorded history, from the first ancient person to rub two sticks together to the diligent camper wielding flint and tinder. For all that time, friends and family have gathered around the fire to tell stories, play games and enjoy good food. (or s’mores, as the case may be!)

Building a fire with only matches, kindling and elbow grease is a chance to pit your wits against nature and enjoy a connection to “the old days” — before light bulbs, or flashlights, or flashlight apps on your smartphone.

Experiencing a campfire, and perhaps even starting one yourself, is a taste of independence for campers, for whom camp is the one of many steps towards independence and self-sufficiency.

Togetherness

Another thing campfires represent is a time for winding down through songs, skits, and theatrical games. Charades is never as funny as just before bedtime, when your best friend is dancing and gesturing desperately to get everybody to guess the right word. Even if you’re feeling tired after a long day of activities, you can count on this to be true: laughter flows freely by firelight. Just watch out for all the camp-related inside jokes!

And of course no mention of campfires is complete without talking about traditional camp songs, especially the kinds that involve audience participation. (“Hey, Burritos!” anybody?) Legend has it that there are campers out there who know so many verses of “The green grass grows all around” that it would take a whole day just to sing it from start to finish. Even if everybody sings out of tune, the harmony comes from the camp community’s commitment to keeping the traditional melodies alive — even the completely goofy ones.

…And of course we can’t forget s’mores!

One part of the fire nobody wants to miss: s’more time! Crafting the perfect golden-brown marshmallow is an art as old as marshmallows and fires. Like any fine art, roasting a marshmallow to perfection is a tricky task that takes hard work and commitment. (Thankfully, perfection is in the eye of the beholder, and truth be told some folks prefer to let them catch fire for a crispy flavor!)

Whether you prefer a classic graham cracker and hershey’s milk chocolate s’more or have your own special recipe — I for one appreciate homemade chocolate chip cookies — roasting marshmallows on a rip-roaring campfire is something nobody forgets.

Plus, it’s just the right amount of sugar to keep you awake for the closing songs, but not so awake that you have trouble drifting into peaceful dreams after lights out!

EASY CAMP FOOD AT HOME– KIDS PERSPECTIVE

November 30th, 2015

smores-dip-4Ughhhh….Camp is over and of course, NOW summer is over too! This stinks! I mean being back home is kind of a buzz kill. School’s no fun, homework’s lame and dealing with my little bro is like, BRUTAL! All I can think about is how much fun I had away from here, with all my friends and so many awesome things to do!

But the reality is, I’m stuck here for 9 more months, until I can go back to camp. So I asked my Mom, if we could make some real camp food – you know, to bring me back! I figured she’d be game, since she says she needs new ideas and gets tired of making the same stuff over and over again. So we’re bringing camp home YO! How cool is that? Check out the recipes below, for some yummy goodness you can make at home. You gettin’ me? Oh, and no campfire needed!

HOBO DINNERS – makes 4 servings

1 pk. – Ground beef

2 TBS. – Olive oil

Dash – Salt and pepper

3 – Potatoes

2 med. – Red eppers

2 med. – Tomatoes

1 – Yellow Onion

½ c. – Salsa

4-6 – tortillas

Tear off four squares of tin foil, lay each one out and portion out ¼ cup of ground beef, dash of salt and pepper and 1-2 teaspoons of olive oil for each. Then personalize it! Chop up the vegetables and add the ones you like to your Hobo dinner and add a little salsa. Fold up each tin foild square and bake at 350 degrees, on the middle oven rack for 45 minutes. Whala!! Eat it right out of the foil pouch or scoop all the ingredients into a tortilla. Now this is chow! Yum!

TACOS IN A BAG – makes 4 servings

4 – individual bags of tortilla chips

1 lb. pk – grass fed hamburger

¼ c. – taco seasoning mix

1/8 c. – water

½ c. – salsa

½ c. – tofu sour cream

Lettuce

Brown the hamburger until well cooked. Drain. Add in the taco seasoning and water. Simmer for 10 minutes. Crunch each bag of tortilla chips. Add hamburger, salsa lettuce and sour cream to each tortilla chip packet. Crunch with a fork and munch! It’s so easy it’s cray, cray!

SMORES DIP – makes 4 servings

1 pkg. – chocolate chips

1 pkg. – large marshmallows

2 pkgs. – graham crackers for dipping

Pour the chocolate chips in an 8 X 8 pan. Set large marshmallows on end, covering the chocolate chips. Bake at 350 degrees for five minutes or until melted. Serve with graham crackers. Dig in and dip away!

CAMPFIRE CONES – makes 4 servings

4 – waffle or sugar ice cream cones

1 c. – marshmallows

1 – banana

1 c. – chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350. Fill each cone with as much bananas, chocolate chips and marshmallows as you want. Wrap each cone in aluminum foil and bake for 8-10 minutes. Unwrap and grub down!

 

Togetherness at Mealtime

July 9th, 2014

One of best things about camp is all of the unique experiences you have throughout the summer.  Here at Weequahic, mealtime is no different.  You would not be hard pressed to find our campers and staff singing in unison to some of their favorite songs, dancing in their seats, or dressed in silly costumes.  Special themed dinners are also a common occurrence throughout the summer, including Halloween night, Celebrity night & Italian night.  Last night we kicked off our special themed dinners with twin night.  There were twins, triplets, quadruplets, and even entire bunks, that came dressed alike.  It is a fun way for us to come together, as a community, and celebrate.  I mean where else can you enjoy a meal with your best friends while singing at the top of your lungs and dressed in ridiculous costumes?  Meals are more than just that though. Take a glance into our dining hall and you will get a look into our culture here; the spirit of togetherness and inclusion, the value of a positive attitude, and the importance of not taking yourself too seriously.  After all, isn’t that what life is all about?