Posts Tagged ‘cooking at summer camp’

Cooking with Upper Inter Boys

Thursday, June 28th, 2012

Cooking is one of the most popular programs here at Camp Starlight and today was no exception.  We popped in on the Upper Inter Boys in Cooking today.  They were making chocolate dipped Oreo balls.  Each summer, campers spend several periods in our cooking studio learning how to make their own fun snacks.  Sometimes the focus is on healthy foods, like salsa, while sweet treats are the buzz all over camp on other days.  Judging by the yummy aroma that emanates from the cooking studio virtually all day long, we have some budding chefs here at Camp Starlight.  And judging by the smiling faces of all of the campers who come away from cooking still talking about how delicious their latest creations were, the Cooking program here at Camp Starlight will remain one of the most popular activities here on campus for a very long time.

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Recipe of the day 07.26.11

Tuesday, July 26th, 2011

This recipe has been a real hit with the campers and we can use some of the delicious fresh herbs from our garden to make the sauce.  Yum!

 

Pizza

For the dough:

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour

2 ¾ teaspoon baking powder

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 cup water

For the sauce:

4 cups tomato sauce

2 cloves garlic, minced

¼ onion, chopped

¼ cup grated parmesan

¼ cup olive oil

½ chopped red bell pepper

Fresh basil, chopped

Fresh oregano, chopped

To make the dough, simply mix all the ingredients together in a bowl until you have the correct consistency.  Add more flour if the dough is too sticky.  Then roll it out on a floured surface.

For the sauce, brown the onion, bell pepper and garlic in a saucepan with the olive oil and then cook for 15-20 minutes on a low heat.  Then add the tomato sauce and let it simmer for 15-20 more minutes.  Add the parmesan, salt, fresh ground pepper and herbs and let it simmer for another 15 minutes.  After this time all the flavors will have infused and you will be left with a thick, rich sauce.

Spread as much of the sauce as is to your liking onto the rolled pizza dough.  Top with cheese and your favorite toppings and then bake at 400 degrees until the edges are just brown.

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Recipe of the day 07.19.11

Tuesday, July 19th, 2011

Tuxedo Tarts

This recipe uses the same ingredients for the cases as our quiche recipe but add in ½ cup sugar at the same time as the flour for a sweeter pastry.  They will then be filled with a rich custard filling.

To make them you will need:

Part-baked tart cases based on quiche recipe (no filling!)

1/3 cup flour

½ cup sugar

2 cups milk

2 beaten eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Mix the sugar, flour and salt in a saucepan.  Stir in the milk and vanilla extract and cook over a medium heat until it reaches boiling point.  Boil it for one minute and then remove from the heat.  Stir in half of the mixture into the eggs, then the other half and blend into a hot mixture in the saucepan.  Return the pan to the heat and bring to the boil again.

Place some chocolate chips in the bottom of the tart cases and then pour the custard mixture on top.  Place fresh fruit on the top to decorate – strawberries or grapes work well.  These can be served hot or cold and keep very well in the refrigerator.

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Recipe of the day – 07.15.11

Friday, July 15th, 2011

 

New this year at camp is our garden, full of fresh vegetables and herbs for use in cooking class.  Not only are our campers using all this home-grown produce, but they are visiting the garden, learning about all the plants and picking it for use in their class.  There’s nothing like using fresh herbs in cooking and we’re very excited for the time when the tomatoes are fully ripe and can be eaten.  This quiche recipe has been used today to take advantage of the wonderful produce available to us.

Mini Quiches

Crust

1 stick butter

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

¼ teaspoon salt

4 tablespoons iced water

Filling

6 eggs

½ cup to 1 cup shredded cheese

Finely chopped scallions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees and spray a muffin pan with PAM.

Mix the flour and salt and cut in the butter until it’s all pea size.  Add the water until blended together to form a dough.

Roll out the dough thinly and cut out large circle shapes to fill the shapes in the muffin pan.  Place them in the individual sections, ensuring you press down into the corners to form a nice “cup” for the filling.  Bake for 8 minutes.

Whilst the crusts are cooking, beat the eggs in a bowl.  Once the time is up, remove the crusts from the oven and pour the beaten eggs into them.  Sprinkle the cheese and scallions on top and return to the oven for a further 15 to 20 minutes until the eggs have cooked through.

You can add many other things to the top of your quiches – try chopped chives or fresh spinach for a real savory treat.

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Recipe of the day – 07.14.11

Thursday, July 14th, 2011

Our cooking classes have been using this cookie recipe to make mini tart shells which they are then filling with banana and caramel sauce and cooking as below.  Use your imagination and experiment when cooking, sometimes you discover something so unbelievably, deliciously good!

Spiced Wreaths

1 cup margarine

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 ½ cups packed brown sugar

2 eggs

2 tablespoons baking powder

½ teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon cloves

1/8 teaspoon salt

In a large bowl beat the margarine with an electric mixer on medium high for about 30 seconds or until soft.  Add one cup of flour, the brown sugar, eggs, baking powder, spices and salt.  Beat until well combined.  Beat or stir in the remaining flour to make a dough and divide in half.

Lightly flour a surface and roll each half to 1/8 inch thick.  Use a large round cookie cutter to cut the outside of the wreath, and a smaller one to cut out the center.  Place the wreaths one inch apart on an un-greased cookie sheet.

Bake at 375 degrees for 6-8 minutes and allow to cool on a wire tray.  Sprinkle the wreaths with powdered sugar or ice them when totally cool.

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Recipe of the day – 07.13.11

Wednesday, July 13th, 2011

Chocolate Scones (makes 12 3-inch scones)

1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tablespoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

1/3 cup margarine or butter

½ cup small chocolate chips

2 beaten eggs

¼ cup milk

Powdered sugar

In a large mixing bowl stir together flour, brown sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt.  Using a pastry blender, cut in margarine or butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Add the chocolate chips then toss till mixed.  Make a well in the center of the dry mixture.

In a small mixing bowl stir together beaten eggs and milk.  The add the mixture all at once to the dry mixture.  Using a fork, stir just till moistened.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface.  Quickly knead the dough by gently folding and pressing the dough for 10 to 12 strokes or till nearly smooth.  Pat or lightly roll dough to ½ inch thickness.  Cut the dough with cookie cutters, dipping the cutter into flour between cuts.

Place the scones 1 inch apart on an un-greased baking sheet and bake at 375 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes.  Cool scones on the baking sheet for 5 minutes and then transfer them onto a wire rack to cool.  Sift powdered sugar over the tops of the scones and serve warm.

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Recipe of the day – 07.10.11

Sunday, July 10th, 2011

Puff Pastry Turnovers (makes 4)

This is a very simple recipe which you can personally adapt in many ways.  Here we used chocolate chips to make something very similar to pain-au-chocolat but you could substitute them with fruit, chunky applesauce or even a mixture of cheese, tomato and fresh basil.  Let your imagination run riot!

Sheet puff pastry

Filling – ¼ cup chocolate chips

Grease a baking tray and heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Roll out the puff pastry until about 1/8 inch thick and cut it into two squares.  Cut each square diagonally in half so you have four triangles.

Fill half of each triangle with chocolate chips, fold over the other half and pinch the sides to make little sealed turnovers.

Place on the baking tray and bake for 8-12 minutes.  For an extra special treat, sprinkle them with powdered sugar and eat whilst still warm.

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Recipe of the day – 07.08.11

Friday, July 8th, 2011

The Cottage has today been smelling of that all-time favourite – brownies!!  Here’s the recipe if you want to share the taste:

Brownies (makes 16)

½ cup butter

½ cup sugar

½ cup firmly packed brown sugar

½ cup unsweetened cocoa

2 eggs

½ cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

½ cup small marshmallows

Heat the oven to 350 degrees and grease or foil line an 8 inch square baking pan.

In a mixing bowl beat the butter, sugars and cocoa until well blended.  Beat in the eggs, one at a time.

In a small bowl, mix the flour and baking powder together.  Stir into the cocoa mixture.  Stir in the vanilla and marshmallows.

Pour the mixture into the greased pan and bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until a cake tester / toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cool completely.  Cut into 2-inch squares and serve.

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Recipe of the Day – 07.07.11

Thursday, July 7th, 2011

Hannah G from Girls Bunk 15 wrote about cooking in her blogging class today.  It’s the perfect introduction for today’s recipe. 

What do I smell cooking in The Cottage?  I think I smell chocolate chip cookies! Yay!  I have cooking next period.  Cooking is everyone’s favorite activity!  Who knows what we’ll make?  I’m in the mood for ginger snaps.  Or maybe chocolate chip cookies.  Everything that we make is so delicious!  Where do they come up with these recipes?  I can’t wait until my cottage sleepover so I can make brownies.  Whenever a bunk has cooking they fill with joy.

 

Blueberry Oat Muffins (makes 36)

1 and 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

¾ cup rolled oats

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon salt

1 beaten egg

¾ cup milk

½ cup packed brown sugar

¼ cup cooking oil

½ teaspoon vanilla

½ cup blueberries

Grease muffin pan.  Stir together the flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda and salt and make a well in the middle of the dry mixture.

In a separate bowl combine the egg, milk, brown sugar, oil and vanilla and then add to the dry mixture.  Stir all the ingredients until just moistened and then fold in the fruit.

Put the mixture into a muffin tin, making sure each section is only half full as they will rise, and then bake at 400 degrees for 16-18 minutes.

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