Camp Food

There are no beans and franks for us on vacation; we feast like kings (and queens) instead. In years past, we have cooked or been treated to a lobster boil, slow-cooked brisket (cooked all day over hot coals), all kinds of grilled seafood, and dozens of hors d'oeuvers and side dishes.

But, the biggest feasts happened when we all pooled our resources. This year's menu included: spaghetti with marinara drenched sausage and beef, marinated beef tips, country ribs, seasoned baked potatoes smothered with olive oil and onions and charred from the campfire, grilled zucchini, and a zesty coleslaw.

Zesty Coleslaw

1 large cabbage, chopped or shredded

1 green pepper, chopped or shredded

1 large onion, chopped or shredded

1 cup vinegar, heated

1 cup sugar

1 tsp. celery seed

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. dry mustard

3/4 cup canola oil (or vegetable)

Combine cabbage, green pepper, and onion. Pour heated vinegar over sugar, celery seed, salt, and dry mustard. Add salad oil and pour all of the wet ingredients over the vegetables while hot. DO NOT STIR. Refrigerate overnight. Keeps for one week. (You could substitute shredded carrots for some of the cabbage and/or mix white and red cabbages together.)

Image scanned from Country Living (?) magazine

Author's Night Out

During my time away, I went to hear author Joan Anderson talk about her adventures at the water's edge, which she chronicled in her memoir, A Year by the Sea. I arrived early (Thanks to my mother who taught me that arriving on time meant you were late.) and got a seat right up front. She was engaging, funny, and very honest about her experiences. This is a woman who clearly has learned from past mistakes, and continues to learn more each and every day.

Her books focus on teaching all women, of all ages, to seek inner peace and control external chaos. In A Year by the Sea, she writes about shedding her traditional roles of wife and mother and escaping to her childhood vacation spot on the Cape. The topic of "escape" has regained popularity since the book was originally published in 1999. (Author Elizabeth Gilbert's memoir, Eat, Pray, Love, comes to mind.) And it is the popularity of this topic - a  woman's search for something more fulfilling in life - that has women flocking to Ms. Anderson's retreats, and reading (and re-reading) her books.

In her subsequent books (An Unfinished Marriage, A Walk On the Beach, A Weekend to Change Your Life, The Second Journey) she explores how she found herself after stepping away from her need and desire to be all things to all people. But it is in her latest book, The Second Journey, in which she talks about coming full circle and relearning the valuable lessons she taught herself all those years ago with fresh determination and renewed vigor.

Although you may only dream of escape, her books will make you sit back and ponder.

Thank you to the Brewster Ladies' Library for hosting this event, and for becoming my second home in the summer.

Photo: capecodonline.com