Is it Camping or Campy?

Thirty-six years ago, four families, including nine children, went camping with actual, (albeit, rented), tents and sleeping bags. The tradition continues. Over the years, we’ve canoed Connecticut’s Housatonic and Vermont’s Battenkill; gone tubing on the Esopus River near Kingston, NY; hiked in Buck’s County, biked in East Hampton and walked through woods all over the place. After a few years, each family bought a tent (and man, what a pain to erect! Once, just after the tents were up, the Park Ranger arrived to make us move as we’d picked an area too close to the water. Much groaning ensued.)

As the four adult female campers were (still are) good cooks, a major feature has always been the meals, lugged in via Coleman coolers and other containers and originally cooked over a tiny Army stove and campfires. Alcohol has always flowed freely, sometimes starting with whiskey sours at breakfast (not for the kiddies.)

After two members of the group had surgery, we switched to spending the weekend at someone’s house. Once we wallowed in real beds and indoor plumbing, we never returned to the wilds but the tradition of great meals and lots of activities carries on.

This year’s “adventure” took place at a house on Lake Waramaug in Litchfield, CT.  The kids haven’t been with us for some time (having better things to do and kids

of their own to tend) but the adults are going strong. We  biked, hiked, watched the US Open and cried at the 9/11 ceremonies. Some of visited the  nearby Hollister House Garden,  a sort of recreation of an 18th century English-style garden with beautiful stonework and numerous garden “rooms.”

 

Sunday, everyone piled into a neighbor’s antique Buick station car (used to collect people arriving via the railroads back when US trains functioned) for a ride around the lake. The car has actual ‘isinglass curtains that can roll right down!”

 

 

And, yes, the meals, still overabundant and terrific. Saturday’s breakfast consisted of every kind of fresh fruit imaginable; a frittata with grilled tomatoes, scallions, sausage mushrooms, red and yellow peppers and cheddar cheese; scones, ham and a fabulous coffee cake. Oh yes, and juices and coffee. Lunch was a choice of gazpacho or cucumber soup, cold, sliced meatloaf with Peter Lugar steak sauce or catsup,  sliced Challah and Asian coleslaw with cookies and watermelon to follow.

 

 

My husband and I handled dinner: our grilled pork and peach dish; roast zucchini, summer squash and red onions and a rice salad with vegetables and fresh herbs followed by lemon cake, lemon sorbet and blueberries. We’ve finally gotten smart enough to not bring Sunday lunch and use the more- than- ample leftovers. The wonderful thing is that despite a few changes in the group mix due to the sturm-und- drang of life like  divorce/remarriage/death, almost all the original group remains in the mix. The kids refer to it as “meals surrounded by activities” which isn’t far off the mark. It’s always fun and I’m incredibly grateful that we’re still able to make it work and enjoy each others’  company.

Here’s the rice salad recipe, adapted from an edition of The Silver Palate:

Be warned: this amount is gargantuan. You can easily decrease it by dividing, starting with the amount of rice.

Rice Salad, sort of from The Silver Palette

8 cups hot cooked long grain rice

2 cups “Our Favorite Vinaigrette” dressing

1 red pepper cut into slivers and slivers into 3 or 4 pieces each

1 green pepper cut same as red

6 scallions, green part only, cleaned and sliced fine

10 oz. frozen peas, lightly cooked so they aren’t mushy

1/2 cup Kalamata olives, pitted and chopped

1/ cup parsley, chopped

1/4 cup fresh dill, chopped

coarse salt and fresh ground pepper to taste.

Transfer hot rice to mixing bowl. Pour 1 1/2 cups of dressing over it and mix well. Cool to room temperature. When ready to serve, add everything else. Mix really well. Taste to see if more salt or pepper is needed, then serve.  (The rice tossed with dressing can be made the day ahead and combined with everything else and mixed again before serving.)

Favorite Vinaigrette (double this to make two cups)

1 T Dijon mustard

4 T red wine vinegar

1 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper

minced parsley  to taste

1/2 c olive oil

Put mustard in bowl. Whisk in vinegar, sugar, salt, pepper and herbs. Continue to whisk while adding oil slowly. Adjust seasoning. Cover until ready to use (I put it in a large jar and shook it up before using.)