Summer Camp Memories
9-28-2009
   
One of the coolest things I got to do this summer was to teach kids about food at a small camp called Camp Self Discovery. The director, Luci, emailed me out of the blue one day and I jumped at the chance.
  
The Kids were all between the ages of 4-10 and were some of the most interesting kids I have ever met. We did everything outside starting around a big table as I showed them all the different things I brought in my magic chef bag. Purple spinach, baby carrots, pattypans, arugula, basil, crookneck squash, black tomatoes, and other such goodies fresh picked from my garden that morning.
  
We made pizzas and rolled out tortillas and cooked everything off in a little wood-fired oven the camp built in the backyard. I would grab a ripe heirloom tomato and crush it in my hand and say “look…we now have tomato sauce for the pizzas.” It was back to basics cooking without electricity or fancy equipment and I loved every second of it.
  
Another highlight was walking with everyone to a park across the street and picking wild blackberries. We tossed some in balsamic vinegar and I wrapped them up in tatsoi leaves and made what I called blackberry salad tacos. Then we lit a fire on a grill and made crepes and filled them with blackberries right off the vines. I remember walking through the park surrounded by kids with my chef bag and a big crepe pan and loving the fact I was doing something original.
We would end the camp everyday with a closing circle and I would try my best to fold my 6’4” frame into the Lotus position as we made our observations and feelings of the day. For me, I felt hopeful, grateful, inspired and happy…

  Chef and Father, Greg Johnson
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