We were thankful to wake up to clear skies so that we had a greater chance of getting our work done before the campers arrived! 
Dan cooked his traditional french toast breakfast for the crew of leaders and helpers. Everyone loves the special treat!
And then, back to work. . . Pirates of the Caribbean theme this year. . . skull and crossbone flags for the rafts. . .
. . .serious rocket science going on here. . .
This is my fourth year to be the cook at tent camp. While it still qualifies as Extreme Cooking, the job does not scare me as much as it did when I first heard about it. Still, cooking four meals a day for 65 people out in the wilderness with no running water (except for the freezing river nearby), no refrigeration, and only a fire on which to cook, is no easy task. But, with a better understanding of the task at hand, an amazing group of helpers, and encouraging biblical truths on servitude, we accomplished this incredible feat with style! This year was particularly fun because my husband was the work crew boss and THREE of our children were on the work team. So much fun working together!! Jackie was nearby, running part of the camp program, so it was great to get to see her periodically as well.
For the first lunch, we prepared a cold drink, okroshka (kefir-based cold vegetable soup), roasted seasoned chicken (in the kok-tal metal box), and boiled potatoes. This meant a full morning of chopping, peeling, and cutting for the kitchen crew!!
Allison just LOVED coating the raw chicken with the mayonnaise dressing. 
We were so excited when all 80 pieces of chicken fit in the special kok-tal grilling box so we could cook them all in one shift!
Lesson learned - don't get ANYWHERE near this iron grill box while it is cooking!!! Check out that steam. . .
Allison's beloved radishes. . . 
More chopping and grating for okroshka. . .
The leadership team prepared a special surprise for the arriving campers: a variety of special fruit cocktails!!
Daniel took a turn with "mixing" the drinks. . .
A Caribbean tropical paradise - out in the middle of Turgen Valley!
The resulting roasted chicken - YUMMM!
The campers then enjoyed their lunch of okroshka, roasted chicken, and potatoes before continuing with the program.
The "heroes" of the camp were Barbosa and Jack Sparrow, played by our good friends Nastya and Shurik. They were divine and had fabulous and convincing costumes!!!
Jack Sparrow arrived in style, on his own private "yacht". . .
Gotta love it! 
Marina, always stirring up trouble :-)!!!
The campers were then divided into three teams under the leadership of this motley crew: Camelot (yellow), Karill (orange), and Yura (blue).
The teams were given materials and the assignment to build their own rafts!
Tomorrow, we will see how the rafts fare in the raging river!!!
Dan cooked his traditional french toast breakfast for the crew of leaders and helpers. Everyone loves the special treat!
And then, back to work. . . Pirates of the Caribbean theme this year. . . skull and crossbone flags for the rafts. . . treasure maps. . .
. . .serious rocket science going on here. . .This is my fourth year to be the cook at tent camp. While it still qualifies as Extreme Cooking, the job does not scare me as much as it did when I first heard about it. Still, cooking four meals a day for 65 people out in the wilderness with no running water (except for the freezing river nearby), no refrigeration, and only a fire on which to cook, is no easy task. But, with a better understanding of the task at hand, an amazing group of helpers, and encouraging biblical truths on servitude, we accomplished this incredible feat with style! This year was particularly fun because my husband was the work crew boss and THREE of our children were on the work team. So much fun working together!! Jackie was nearby, running part of the camp program, so it was great to get to see her periodically as well.
For the first lunch, we prepared a cold drink, okroshka (kefir-based cold vegetable soup), roasted seasoned chicken (in the kok-tal metal box), and boiled potatoes. This meant a full morning of chopping, peeling, and cutting for the kitchen crew!!Potatoes, potatoes, and more potatoes. . .
Allison just LOVED coating the raw chicken with the mayonnaise dressing. 
We were so excited when all 80 pieces of chicken fit in the special kok-tal grilling box so we could cook them all in one shift!
Lesson learned - don't get ANYWHERE near this iron grill box while it is cooking!!! Check out that steam. . .
Allison's beloved radishes. . . 
More chopping and grating for okroshka. . .
The leadership team prepared a special surprise for the arriving campers: a variety of special fruit cocktails!!
Daniel took a turn with "mixing" the drinks. . . A Caribbean tropical paradise - out in the middle of Turgen Valley!
The resulting roasted chicken - YUMMM!
Unfortunately, as I had the role of camp cook, I was unable to be devoted to camp photography. Thus, crucial moments in the kitchen took priority over crucial moments in the program! The campers were met in pirate style, however, by Barbosa and had their own moment of piracy when they came out with water pistols and doused the leaders before lunch!
The campers then enjoyed their lunch of okroshka, roasted chicken, and potatoes before continuing with the program.
The "heroes" of the camp were Barbosa and Jack Sparrow, played by our good friends Nastya and Shurik. They were divine and had fabulous and convincing costumes!!!
Jack Sparrow arrived in style, on his own private "yacht". . .
Gotta love it! 
Marina, always stirring up trouble :-)!!!
The campers were then divided into three teams under the leadership of this motley crew: Camelot (yellow), Karill (orange), and Yura (blue).
The teams were given materials and the assignment to build their own rafts!
1 comment:
I did get a bit singed trying to move that box off the fire. And it was a lot of fun seeing some of the new guys come to church on Sunday morning, wearing their pirate shirts.
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