CAULIFLOWER...

AND OTHER GIRLS CAMP ODDITIES!

Noelle was given the *top-dog* assignment as *Chief-Cook-and-Bottle-Washer* just 3 weeks before camp (the previous CC&BW had to back-out unexpectedly) so it was a bit of a scramble to get everything pulled together in time to cooking for and serve 330 bodies X 3-times a day! One of the good ideas Noelle had (and she had many!) was to split up the menu and ask each of us assistants to be responsible for figuring out how much of everything we needed to buy for our 2 meals. (10 meals divided by 5 bodies... see how that works?)

Since all of us were novices it was a bit of a guesstimation game... we all just did the best we could using all of the information we could glean from years of cooking and internet recipes. There was a lot of conferring with one another to determine if we really had the right amounts. (Did I even order beans?)

Some of it we nailed right on and others... well, let's just say that perhaps the *eaters* just didn't consume the recommended daily allotment of...

C-A-U-L-I-F-L-O-W-E-R

Cauliflower made its first debut at Tuesday's salad bar lunch. Holy cow... how much do we have left? We cooked up cauliflower and broccoli for dinner that night. We still have some left? We toted out cauliflower and her little green friend for Wednesday lunch and dinner... AND WE STILL HAD IT COMING OUT OF OUR EARS!

By Thursday morning it had become a running joke *somebody-who-shall-remain-nameless* artfully arranged them on the tables as center pieces and announced to the hungry bodies, "Please only take 3 pieces of cauliflower and broccoli so there will be enough for everyone!" Bwahahahahahaha

Tuesday was a VERY early start! Judy, Carolyn and Colin were all up at 4 am (my clock only has 4 pm!) to start the pot roasts for dinner and french toast with buttermilk syrup for breakfast (oh my Yumminess!) Who couldn't like buttermilk syrup: butter, lots of it, buttermilk, vanilla, sugar!

But with all that sugary sweetness there was a bit of a sticky mess to clean up. I made myself a bucket of soapy water to wipe down the counters, but in my haste I accidentally plunged my cloth into the pot of syrup instead!

Now I ask you... can you tell the difference? I didn't even squeeze my rag in it!  But the majority decided that it was unhygienic! to reuse that syrup and down the drain it went! (sniff... sniff I would have taken it home!)

By after lunch those 4 o'clock ladies needed a nap! Judy came out looking all puffy-eyed but she had the perfect solution! Cucumbers! The plain kind, not the stripedy-kind.

We even had Super-Heros (in costume and out) to help us through our week of cooking and cleaning! This cute Super-Hero's auntie seeded and cut up most of the 20 pounds of tomatoes for pico de gallo. THAT is definite Super-Hero status in my book! (Thank you Heather!)

AFTON- aka the Masked Avenger

I like to say that it was like preparing for Thanksgiving dinner for 4 days straight!

And the oddest of girls camp oddities? I just don't have words!

Vacuum ASS-E-CORIES!

Aprons in Action

Now that I've recuperated from my week at girls camp I have enough energy to blog about it! What a fun AND exhausting experience!

JUDY SUMSION, JOANIE, and our fearless leader, NOELLE SMITH

At our last planning meeting I found out that it was tradition that the cooks did a little song and dance before dinner each night to entertain the girls. Oh Boy! Thank goodness Judy's daughter, Katie, came along! Not only was she an extra set of hands (you can never have too many) but she took on the responsibility of planning our *show* each evening. The first night (photo above) we did a song from Hairspray- hence the ratted and sprayed hair.

The second night we were rocker-chicks... I love Colin's mullet wig!

JOANIE, NOELLE, COLIN, JUDY, TAWNYA, CAROLYN

You notice that I am definitely NOT in the know with hand signs... I'm rockin' *I love you* but that works for me!

My personal favorite was a lunch time treat... Colin and Noelle as sumo dancers!



I had to share this video as well...



At the end of the day Tuesday, our aprons BADLY needed washing and some brainiac (I can't imagine who!) put them into the washer without tying the apron strings! My mom would call this a HARD-BOILED-KNOT! It took Noelle and me five minutes to untangle this mess!



We had a wonderful, big, industrial-sized kitchen to work in but we needed to bring everything we would need to chop, cook, and clean-up. So as I was packing up my laundry basket with favorite knives, bread board, dish clothes and towels it occurred to me that we would have helpers at each meal who might appreciate an apron. Since I have collected quite a few I threw them in... they got put to good use... by not only lots of sisters but some good-natured guys.

BRAD (sorry no last name.  He's in the witness protection program... 

Not really, I just don't remember his last name)

Brad started cooking french toast when it was still dark outside so we were ready for the 7:30 breakfast!

Thursday morning the Stake Presidency always cook breakfast. President Wilding is legendary where pancakes are concerned! Can you tell he was the first helper to arrive at the kitchen? He got my cow apron!  He also stayed after breakfast, our last meal, and cleaned the entire grill, including the hood and filters plus mopping the floors.  Thank you President Wilding... we were exhausted!



Then Judy says to me, "President Monson is outside!" WHAT? HERE AT OUR GIRLS CAMP? I rushed outside to see President Box... apparently I was more sleep deprived than I thought! Bwahahahaha



When President Bird arrived he was a good sport and rocked this pink-girlie apron that Rebekah gave me for Mother's day!



I've considered that this may be my last hurrah to girls camp as a *full-time* resident. (I'm not 30 anymore!) I thoroughly enjoyed being with the other women in the kitchen: we cooked and chopped, laughed and cried (OK, so mostly I cried!) and I loved connecting with the girls. I love this program. I guess that's what happens when you've been involved for over 40 years.

Aprons in Waiting

I mentioned recently that I will be going to Girls Camp as one of five cooks.

And you know what cooks need? 

Aprons-

Since moving to Utah and having our monthly 3rd-Sunday Grammie dinner with the family, which is usually cooked in my Sunday clothes, I've NEEDED aprons! I've made a couple and then for Mother's Day this year Rebekah sent me a darling pink-ruffly one.

But I digress...

I envisioned non-matching aprons in PARTY FABRICS to make our cooking more fun. I have a favorite pattern that I've used before (always a plus in my book) so I knew how much fabric and ric-rac I REALLY NEEDED!

This is the purple one...



I had a couple of pieces of fabric in my stash that I wanted to use but I needed more so I set off to Cotton Shop, they were having a sale!



I pulled bolts of fabric and mixed and matched until I was happy.



As I was cutting them out I knew that I wanted a little embellishment to pin on the bib! Enter the twisted fabric flower.



Then in floated a little hair clip... you never do know when you might have to get your hair pinned back in a hot kitchen!!



I've had fun sewing them this week AND getting out my glue gun (NOT the high temp one... it's E-V-I-L) and learning a new craft- twisted fabric flowers.

Sew So, for now, these 5-little-aprons are aprons in waiting hanging on the front of my sewing room door! (see lead photo)