This year, the girls spent most of their waking hours scootering and biking. We went for a lot of walks. My husband and I went for a run together one morning. We kayaked in the afternoon. We did a lot of reading around the campfire. And we had nightly treats that I normally wouldn't condone, at least not on a consecutive-day basis. But, we did get a fair amount of activity in. It's once a year. I shaved my Food-Nazi mustache off and broke out the boxed brownie mix and pie iron, and shared in the girls' excitement when they heard the ice cream truck making its rounds. Balance.
Friday morning before we headed north, I had made up a double batch of pesto with basil from my tiny garden. Over the weekend, my eldest daughter and I dipped into it with rice crackers and baked tortilla chips, tossed it in rigatoni, and even dolloped it on campfire pizza (multigrain dough, Daiya cheese, marinara, onions, shrooms, the pesto....magnifico!) One morning I had a tofu/pesto/greens breakfast sandwich on oatmeal bread toast. And we still brought some back home with us.
Lemony Pesto (single batch - makes about 3/4 of a cup):
2 cups fresh basil
4 cloves minced garlic
1/4 cup walnuts
2 Tbsp miso
Pepper
1/8 cup water
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
1 Tbsp EVOO
Whiz up in the food processor until desired consistency, and refrigerate.
About 5 miles from the campground is Hartman's Farm Stand, which we'd visit daily for corn and other treats such as blueberries, a giant tomato, lettuce, cantaloupe, and...ground cherries. When I picked one of the little husk-covered things up and questioned the farm-stand lady, she told me what they were and said they tasted like a blend of (insert 5 different fruits here)..."ending with a nutty aftertaste." I really still can't tell you what they do taste like, but they're sweet and benign enough so that my veg/fruit-picky husband approved of them. One website described the flavor as a cross between a cherry tomato and pineapple. Maybe. Upon some research, I realized I've had them dried (golden berries, they were called), and fresh is definitely preferable. The second morning at the campground, I threw some in my oatmeal with sunflower seeds. Yum.
The third and last morning I also made oatmeal:
Campground Oats (amounts estimated due to no proper measuring devices on the premises)
1/2 cup of old-fashioned oatmeal
1+ cup water
1/2 cup pumpkin pie filling (I used Farmer's Market Organic brand)
2 Tbsp sunflower seeds
1/3 cup blueberries
Cook all in a saucepan (I used our propane tabletop stove), stirring frequently, for about 5 minutes, until thick.
Turn off the heat, and mix in about 1/2 a cup of hemp milk. Top off your coffee so it's good and hot alongside.
As I ate my final breakfast this morning, I watched the girls reading in their chairs by the unlit fire ring, took in the fresh air, greens and browns and blues all around, wishing we had at least one more day. It seems it takes me 36 hours just to get into Relax Mode, and then I'm left with only another 24 hours to truly enjoy.
But alas, we had to pack up and head out. We made an impromptu roadside lunch stop in Montpelier. I mentioned Balance, didn't I?
The Dairy Creme.
I became giddy when I realized they offered about 30 soft-serve flavors, and they all could be made NON-DAIRY! So after I devoured my tub of fries smothered in vinegar and ketchup, I ordered up a "white birthday cake"-flavored cremee in a dish.
Healthy? No. Processed-soy and sugar-filled? Surely. Did I care? Hell no.
Ice cream is not something I generally crave anymore. Once in awhile I'll buy a pint of the coconut- or almond-milk variety and swirl in some peanut butter as a bedtime snack. But having something other than sorbet, and so many flavor options to boot, with my kids at an ice cream stand was a fun treat. Hopefully this non-dairy thing will become a new trend in these parts. But then again maybe it's a good thing the Montpelier Dairy Creme is not conveniently close enough to become a habit.
When we got home and mostly unpacked I rushed out to pick all my sungold tomatoes that grow alongside the basil, and wild blackberries from the bushes up on the bank. The dog munched with me as I picked. It's good to be home, to know our other pets made the weekend OK without us. And it will be good to sleep on a real mattress tonight.
Tomorrow morning I'll go for a long run, to sweat out the cremees and fries stuck to my thighs and memory. Then I'll process the six dozen ears of corn we brought home from the farm stand. In January when we're boiling up freezer-fresh cobs, we'll take heart that another long August weekend by the lake....with treats, healthy fun, and campfires...is coming.
