Camp -- Home and Rested

As I said last year, "I'm showered, rested ...." We delayed our trip home by one day with a stopover in San Jose to see the grandchildren. The nice thing is that I don't have to return to work until Tuesday!

Blog posting got a little thin by the end of the week. Working long days leaves little mental energy to process photos and write blogs.

This is an exhilarating scene to any cook -- a battery of pots lined up on the 12-burner range. A mire poix browns in my newly re-seasoned 14-inch cast iron skillet. It flavored the stock for gravy in the stainless steel pot to the left. The two tall stockpots contained water for mashed potatoes, and a mushroom sauce slowly simmered in the second stainless steel pot. I later used the 17-cast iron skillet to saute chicken breasts for the senior banquet.

Each year we serve a nice dinner to the senior campers on Thursday night. Disco was the theme this year. Some of the high school aged campers wore clothing that I would've been embarrassed to wear in the 1970s. The seniors had a good time. My son -- the official banquet taster -- said that he enjoyed the sauteed chicken breast with mushroom sauce and mashed potatoes. "Dad, I ate it all," was the report. The roasted baby carrots with thyme didn't appeal to him.