Camp Delicious Recipes

Don't know what to make for dinner - here are five easy, yummy recipes featured durigng our 2016 summer camp for teens. This collection of recipes by our guest chefs features foods that teens can make by themselves including quesadillas, pasta and even dessert.

CAMP DELICIOUS! ALUMNS: SHARE YOUR RECIPES

Do you have a favorite teen recipe to share? Tell us about your recipe and include a short bio about yourself. If you have an awesome recipe, please share it with the Luminari community. Tell us how you came up with your recipe and share a picture to have your recipe featured in our bi-monthly newsletter “LUMOS!”

GUACAMOLE 
(Recipe courtesy Leah Lizarondo)
Ripe Avocados {2}
Red onion {¼ small, chopped finely}
Garlic {½ clove, minced}
Lime juice {a splash}
Salt and pepper to taste

Pit avocados and spoon the flesh into a bowl. Add onion, garlic, a splash of lime juice and salt and pepper to taste. Serve alongside quesadillas OR with tortilla chips

FRESH SALSA 
(Recipe courtesy Leah Lizarondo)
3 large tomatoes {chopped}
1 green onion {finely chopped}
Cilantro {chopped to taste}
Lime juice {a splash}
Salt and pepper to taste

Chop tomatoes, place in a large bowl, add onion, cilantro, lime juice, salt, pepper and mix well.

QUESADILLAS 
(Recipe courtesy Leah Lizarondo)
Corn and flour tortillas {small}
Shredded cheese
Refried beans
Vegetables of choice:
Spinach
Olives
Zucchini
Peppers

Chop vegetables. Set aside. Spread a thin layer of refried beans on a tortilla, add vegetables and sprinkle on cheese. Place in a skillet and cook about 4 minutes on each side until cheese melts. Serve with guacamole and salsa.

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GOURMET S’MORES
(Recipe courtesy Joe Triebsch)
Graham crackers: regular, cinnamon, or chocolate
Or:
Chocolate chip, lemon or oatmeal cookies; snickerdoodles
Milk or dark chocolate
Caramels
Peanut butter, almond butter, nutella
Marshmallows
Bananas
Strawberries
Raspberry jam

Toast marshmallows and select cookie of choice, add chocolate, add nut butter if desired, top with jam , sprinkles

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MAC & CHEESE 101
(Recipe courtesy Chef Joey Hilty)
Cheese sauce
2 ¼ cups milk
3 Tbsp. butter
3 Tbsp. flour
1 Tsp. salt
Pinch of nutmeg
1 Cup grated cheese, more to
   taste (choose your favorite)

Place milk in a medium saucepan and bring to faint simmer over medium heat. In another medium saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat. Add in flour and whisk until smooth. Cook for 2-3 minutes, whisking constantly, making sure mixture does not turn darker brown. Add heated milk to butter mixture one cup at a time, whisking constantly, until smooth. Continue to cook sauce until thickened slightly, about 5-10 minutes, stirring frequently.  Remove from heat; stir in salt and nutmeg.

MACARONI (Recipe courtesy Chef Joey Hilty)
1 ½  cups macaroni
2 Tbsp. salt
Boiling water

Fill small-medium pot ¾ water. Bring to a boil. When water is boiling add salt, to taste. Cook macaroni for 4 minutes, until tender. Drain.

To Serve: Put cheese sauce in pot, gently warm. Add cooked macaroni, stir to combine. Transfer to bowl, top with bread crumbs, green onion, caramelized onion, or any garnish of your choice.

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CORN SOUP (Recipe courtesy Chef Trevett Hooper) 
4 Tbs butter
1 ¼ lbs corn kernels (from about 12 ears of corn), cobs reserved
6 Oz onions
1 Clove garlic
Pinch tumeric
1 Batch corn cob stock (below)
½  Cup heavy cream
1 ½  Tsp sea salt

Slowly sauté onions in butter with salt until soft. Add garlic and turmeric and cook for 2 minutes. Add corn and cook another 10 minutes until kernels are soft, being very carefully not to let corn brown too much. Cover with corn stock by 1” (you may not need all the stock). Cook for 25 minutes. Puree soup in a blender and pass through a sturdy strainer to remove solids. Add cream and season to taste. Adjust the soup’s consistency with leftover corn stock, if needed.

CORN STOCK (Recipe courtesy Chef Trevett Hooper) 
12 Leftover corncobs, cut in half
1 Onion, thinly sliced
1 Small bunch thyme
2 Garlic cloves, crushed
1 Bay leaf
2 Qt water

Put all ingredients in a pot and bring to a boil. Turn down to a simmer for about 45 minutes. Strain through a fine strainer.

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HOMEMADE PASTA 
(Recipe courtesy Chef Kevin Watson)
2 Tbsp olive oil
3 Eggs
½ cup semolina

Put into a food processor, blend together and with the machine running slowly add in 1.5 cups flour
Mix until a ball of dough forms. If too dry, add a little water.

Take out of the food processor, knead ten times, cover with plastic wrap and let sit for 30 minutes. Use a pasta machine, or rolling pin to roll the dough out and make the noodles.

Sprinkle the noodles with a little semolina flour to prevent sticking. Put in boiling water for 4 minutes. After cooking the noodles, drain and add a little olive oil

FRESH MOZZARELLA CHEESE (Recipe courtesy Chef Kevin Watson)
Start with fresh mozzarella cheese curd (available at Pennsylvania Macaroni in the Strip District)

Tear into small pieces, like string cheese.
Pour hot water over the curd pieces, stir for 1 minute and let rest for 1 minute and then drain. Form the cheese curd into a ball using the ice water to cool your hands. Let  the cheese ball sit in the ice water for about 20 minutes to cool.
Then slice and enjoy!

Enjoy as is OR with tomatoes and basil
Mixed into pasta with fresh tomatoes, basil, garlic OR add sautéed vegetables, fresh mozzarella, basil and grated parmesan for a delicious meal.

***

CRISPY EGGPLANT (Recipe courtesy Randita’s Café/Randitas.com)
Eggplant cut into ½ inch circles
Soy milk
1 cup bread crumbs
1 Tsp salt
1 Tsp pPepper
1 Tsp garlic powder
Oil for browning (or bake in oven on a
   lightly oiled cookie sheet 425 for 10 min.)

Sprinkle sliced eggplant with salt and let drain for 30 minutes. Mix salt, pepper and garlic with bread crumbs. Dip eggplant in milk then in bread crumbs. Set aside until all eggplant is coated. Heat skillet over medium  high heat.  Brown eggplant on both sides.  Drain on paper towels.

HORSERADISH DIPPING SAUCE/DRESSING
(Recipe courtesy Randita’s Café/Randitas.com)
¼ cup mayo
2 Tbsp ketchup
2 Tbsp worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp dijon mustard
3-4 Tsp prepared horseradish
½ Tsp oregano
1 Tsp agave (sweetener)
½ Tsp salt
¼ Tsp pepper

Mix all ingredients together and whisk until smooth. Store in refridgerator.

CUCUMBERS in SOUR CREAM DRESSING
(Recipe courtesy Randita’s Café/Randitas.com)

½ cup sour cream

3 Tbsp apple cider or white vinegar

1 Tbsp sugar

½ Tsp pepper

½ Tsp salt

4 medium cucumbers thinly sliced

1 small sweet onion thinly sliced  

   and separated into rings

Slice cucumbers and onions and place in bowl. Mix all the other ingredients together and pour over the cucumbers and onions.

Refrigerate for 3-4 hours. Serve with a slotted spoon.

***

Coffee Talks

By Beth Dolinar

They used to be called “coffee klatches”, those informal meetings of several individuals (usually women), who would drink coffee and chat. What comes to mind for me are those 1960s sitcoms in which women would just walk through their neighbors’ back doors and sit at the kitchen table for a visit.

We’ve gotten away from that sort of thing, just as most of us no longer vacuum in aprons and pearls. But we love our coffee more than ever. We just tend to call it other things (double breve macchiato, anyone?), and we don’t drink it at our next-door neighbor’s kitchen table.

I bring this up because it’s recruiting season for the Luminari camps. Although we’re not long past the fun and success of our 2016 camps (including our new public speaking camp, Speak and Tell), it’s time to look ahead to next summer, when we will once again offer a slate of innovative and exciting programs.

And here’s where the coffee comes in.  During the coming months, I will be hosting a series of “coffee talks” to spread the word about our camps. I will invite the parent of a recent camper to then invite several other parents—as few as 2 or 3 or as many as 6 or 7; we will meet at a coffee shop or someone’s home, to talk about our camps and how they can enrich the lives of teenagers.

The idea is to work face-to-face, taking a personal approach to telling parents about our four camps. The informal setting will allow the alumni parents to share their own children’s experience, and will allow me to answer questions.

We at Luminari begin our recruitment each fall to give families the opportunity to consider their summer plans and to confirm their registrations well before the “spring crunch.”

As coordinator for Luminari, I enjoy getting to know our teen campers as well as their parents. These coffee talks will allow me to do more of that.

If you are the parent of a camper and would like to put together a group for one of our talks, please call or e-mail bdolinar@luminari.org.

And if you’re just learning about Luminari, I’d love to meet with you and your friends, too. These coffee talks are for everyone—parents of teens and friends of teens. Teachers, too.

I’ll be happy to meet all of you.  And the coffee’s on me.

***

Luminari Coordinator, Beth Dolinar brings her talents and experience as a writer, Emmy-award producer, public speaker and deadline driven multi-tasker to our team. She writes a popular column for the Washington "Observer-Reporter." She is a contributing producer of documentary length programming for WQED-TV on a wide range of topics and currently teaches as an adjunct faculty member at Robert Morris University. Beth has a son and a daughter. She is an avid yoga devotee, cyclist and reader. Beth says she types like lightning but reads slowly -- because she likes a really good sentence.

Speak & Tell: I ate the hottest pepper in the world...

This is the text of the personal story Nick told at the closing ceremony for the "Speak & Tell!" Camp on July 8, 2016.


By Nick Ungarino

I ate the hottest pepper in the world…

So it was a normal day at my house. Just me and my brother. Eventually, he told me about a pepper garden that his friend was growing and asked, “do you want to eat the carolina reaper pepper?” Making a not so great decision I accepted his challenge. We soon moved out to prepare. We went to the local grocery store and stocked up on ice cream and milk. After returning home, his friend finally arrived. He was wearing thick gloves holding the pepper, which looked like it was something created by the devil. The pepper was red, shriveled, and had a tail coming off the bottom of it. None the less, I ate the pepper.

Five seconds went by and I felt nothing. The only thing I notice was how gross it tasted. But a few seconds passed and it immediately became the most painful thing I have ever experienced. Everything was burning: my nose, my mouth, and especially my throat. I immediately went for the milk. Half a gallon in I could drink no more. I tried the ice cream but that just made it worse. There was no escaping it now, I just had to sit through it. My face became cherry red, my eyes were watering, and my whole head was beading with sweat, not to mention that every breath of air was like taking a dagger to the throat. I honestly thought I would need to go to the hospital. After fifty minutes of this terror it was finally over, or so I thought…

Soon enough the stomach cramps began. The first one had me laying over a chair to relieve the pain as much as possible. After about ten minutes this one was over. The second one woke me up at two in the morning. This time, I was very close to throwing up. I'm not exactly sure how long this one lasted, but I do remember that I woke up that morning on the bathroom floor. But as you probably know, all things good and bad must come to an end. Just as the pepper had entered it had to make an exit at some point. Now I'm going to keep this part short and simple; it felt like sitting on a burning hot frying pan. Now though I can say that I ate the hottest pepper in the world.

***

Nick Ungarino, 17, will be a senior at Northgate High School this upcoming school year. Nick was also a participant in Luminari's 2016 I Want to be an Ambassador! camp. 

The Colors of Diplomacy

By Beth Dolinar

        When I reflect back on the three days Luminari’s “I Want to be an Ambassador” camp spent in Washington, D.C. , I see colors—the bright colors of culture and diplomacy and learning and fun.

    It was a busy three days in June for our 14 young ambassadors. While in the nation’s capital, we enjoyed a whirlwind of activities designed to broaden our minds, encourage innovation and understand how the world of diplomacy works.

    The colors were vibrant in the lobby of the State Department that first day. Dozens of flags hung above our heads, announcing the many nations of the world and reflecting their bright hues on the polished marble floor. Our young ambassadors played an impressive game of “Guess the Country.” Peru, anyone? And is that the Cuban flag?

     In a conference room down the hall, we met with Peter Selfridge, the Ambassador for Protocol for President Obama. His is a job of details—of paving the way for productive, respectful meetings between the President, the Secretary of State and other U.S. diplomats, and representatives from other countries.

   “I never thought I would be in charge of so many details,” Selfridge said. Those details include understanding the customs of other cultures, knowing what gifts the President should bring on his visits—and what gifts not to bring. He explained that his staff is in charge of rolling out the red carpet, literally, for President Obama when he visits a foreign country, and of rolling it out when foreign dignitaries visit here.

   The small details can mean the difference between a productive diplomatic meeting and one that is less so, he said.

     The trip brought other bursts of color, from the ornate décor at the Royal Thai Embassy, to the plates of chicken tagine, hummus and paella we shared at our Moroccan dinner.

     We had lunch at Martin’s Tavern in Georgetown, a favorite haunt of presidents, senators, congressmen and Supreme Court justices. Four of our ambassadors ate hamburgers in the exact booth where then-Senator John F. Kennedy proposed marriage to Jacqueline Bouvier.

   At the German Embassy, a military diplomat talked about how much he and his young family love living in the United States. The meeting was just days before voters in Great Britain voted to leave the European Union, a development the diplomat was hoping would not happen. He shared little bags of authentic German gummi bear candies, which we gobbled happily, feeling we deserved them. The meeting was on the 7^th floor, and we did not take an elevator to get there.

     As we said goodbye, we paused to look at the piece of the Berlin Wall on display. The bit of stone was covered in a riot of colorful graffiti, a reminder of a historically remarkable victory of diplomacy.

   And yes, that was the blue, white and red flag of Cuba hanging at the State Department. It was another reminder of the importance of diplomacy, both on the large scale and for the rest of us in our everyday lives. 

***

Luminari Coordinator, Beth Dolinar brings her talents and experience as a writer, Emmy-award producer, public speaker and deadline driven multi-tasker to our team. She writes a popular column for the Washington "Observer-Reporter." She is a contributing producer of documentary length programming for WQED-TV on a wide range of topics and currently teaches as an adjunct faculty member at Robert Morris University. Beth has a son and a daughter. She is an avid yoga devotee, cyclist and reader. Beth says she types like lightning but reads slowly -- because she likes a really good sentence.

Speak & Tell: Boredom is Good

This is the text of the speech Max presented at the closing ceremony for the "Speak & Tell!" Camp on July 8, 2016.

By Max Rosen

I think boredom is pretty cool.

When you are bored your brain tries to find things to fill that mental gap. It boosts your creativity and causes you to think outside the box.

I get bored very easily, and this actually led to me discovering many of my hobbies and interests. One of these is poetry, which has become very important in my life, especially this past year as I made it the focus of my long-term project. I discovered poetry during an English class where we had to write a structured essay, and I wasn't finding it very interesting. I grew bored and my mind wandered to how I would write about the topic if it wasn’t structured. So I began writing poems and it has become a big form of expression for me since then.

Everybody gets bored at some point in the day, whether it's at school, or a meeting or even during this speech.

And these moments are very important.

What do you think about when you’re bored?

Generally, you think about what could happen or what or what could be accomplished. You don’t usually think about what has happened in the past or how you could have done it differently. I find this very interesting and think it’s just another reason why boredom is so great. It makes you think about the future and problems you can solve. It raises questions that may not be answered yet and makes you wonder what those answers might be. Boredom causes a creative impulse that drives us forward as people. This creativity allows for humanity to continue to break down its barriers.

So I ask you, what are those questions? And can you answer them?

Thank you

***

Max Rosen, 15, is a rising sophomore at Taylor Allderdice High School.

What's That Sound? The Octobass

By Beth Dolinar

We at Luminari love music of all kinds: folk, symphony, hip hop, jazz, blues, country, marches, gospel, rock and roll—we enjoy all of it.

Because our mission is to broaden minds and promote innovation, we think it’s important—and fun—to open our minds to the possibilities of the world beyond our own doorstep. And what better way to do that than to learn about the music of other lands.

In each issue of LUMOS!, we offer a regular series about the unique and unusual (and sometimes downright strange) instruments we’ve never heard. And since we can’t really understand an instrument until we’ve heard it being played, we’ll offer links to sites where you can hear and see a performance.

And so we offer our fourth in a series of unusual instruments: the Octobass

***

If the tallest football player you know were also a musical instrument, he would be an octobass.

The instrument, an extreme version of the double bass, was invented around 1850 in Paris. Like a double bass, it has three strings. But unlike the more conventional versions of the bass, the octobass also has a set of levers and foot pedals.

The instrument is too large for just one player; most performances require two musicians: one to bow or pluck the strings and the other to work the levers and pedals. This makes the octobass unwieldy for most performances. That, along with its size, has limited the number of octobasses in use. There are only a handful of them in existence.

Still, the octobass has had its fans, including composer Hector Berlioz, who suggested the mighty stringed behemoth should become more mainstream. Berlioz also loved the sound of tubas, so it makes sense that he championed the octobass.

The instrument stands six and a half feet tall, and its sound reaches the lowest vibrational frequencies detectable by the human ear. Think very large, croaking frog. Or maybe that string riff in the theme from “Jaws.”

***

Luminari Coordinator, Beth Dolinar brings her talents and experience as a writer, Emmy-award producer, public speaker and deadline driven multi-tasker to our team. She writes a popular column for the Washington "Observer-Reporter." She is a contributing producer of documentary length programming for WQED-TV on a wide range of topics and currently teaches as an adjunct faculty member at Robert Morris University. Beth has a son and a daughter. She is an avid yoga devotee, cyclist and reader. Beth says she types like lightning but reads slowly -- because she likes a really good sentence.

Teen Ambassador: Fearlessness

By Molly Potts

On the first day of camp, when I walked into the Heinz History Center, I was nervous, and I did not know what to expect. Coming out of camp now, I do not feel like I have been totally changed. What I think happened was my brain got a little fuller, and I learned a really important value. That value is fearlessness. Do not be afraid to ask questions and interact because that is the way you will truly learn by questioning, discussing, and seeing different points of view.

The ‘I want to be an Ambassador’ Camp is definitely a camp full of experiences and interesting people. From getting an understanding of the refugee crisis, to learning about cultural traditions and food, to our Cold War Cuban Missile Crisis negotiation simulation, there is so much I have learned. The simple skills we were taught can end up being major. Even from meeting the wise man in the Moroccan restaurant to learning about the positions of diplomats and ambassadors I have gotten a better understanding of what these people are actually doing and the impact their actions have on us. I have also learned from my fellow campers who showed helpfulness and leadership throughout the last week.

I do not know what my future is going to be yet but that's okay. I just want to continue questioning, discussing, experiencing, and expanding upon what I learned right here. And maybe one day, I can have a positive impact on the world in whatever career I choose too. So thank you to everyone who made this camp all that it was.

***

Molly Potts, 13, is a rising Eighth grader at the Campus School of Carlow University.