Camp Natoma Week 1: Caprese Stacks

My first week as head cook at Camp Natoma in Paso Robles was a success.  This was Camp Natoma's staff training week and the cooks' chance to get familiar with the equipment and test out recipes.  I interned at Camp Natoma two summers ago and returned this summer to be Head Cook with the assistance of 3 kitchen interns: two Cal Poly Nutrition majors and one UCSC Environmental Science major.

It has been an adjustment getting used to cooking for 18, and I'm so thankful for my wonderful sous chefs.  We have gotten lots of positive feedback from the staff who have told us that this has been the best camp food yet!

The oven is the most difficult piece of equipment to use because the small side runs 100º high and the big side runs about 75º low.  Lifeskill of the week = flexibility.

 Every Monday, I drive with one of the camp directors to the food bank to supplement Camp Natoma's food supply. Stores donate food that has expired (but is still perfectly edible) or has damaged packaging and in turn, the food bank sells the canned products for just $0.14/lb and the produce and bread are free of charge.  It's a great resource for non-profit organizations and low income families who have limited budgets.

There is a huge variety of canned food in the hodge-podge bins, so I decided to focus on getting a stock-pile of canned pumpkin and diced tomatoes for chili, beets for red velvet cupcakes, and coconut milk for curries.  

You can never anticipate what kind of dairy and produce will be available at the food bank, but this week we hit the jack pot! We came out with 4 heads of green cauliflower, several containers of strawberries, 6 quarts of milk, 8 balls of fresh mozzarella, 4 blocks of Tillamook Monterey Jack cheese, 2 cases of spring mix, 3 fresh salsa tubs, 6 packages of sliced portobello mushrooms, and a few containers of fresh basil.

Our Italian Meal
Ground turkey-grilled zucchini lasagna 
Grilled portobello-zucchini lasagna
Caprese Stacks (inspired by the food bank finds) 
Strawberry Field salad (spring mix, garbanzos, raw green cauliflower florets, sunflower seeds, balsamic dressing)

Dessert
Salted Chocolate Brownies & 
 Chocolate Chip Brownies 
with freshly whipped cream and strawberries 

Caprese Stacks

Printable Recipe

18 tomatoes

1 bunch fresh basil, julienned

1 ball fresh mozzarella

 Marinade

1/2 c balsamic vinegar

1/2 c olive oil

1 T freshly ground pepper

1 T salt

toasted sliced baguette, opt.

Cut the tomatoes into thinnish slices. Spread out the slices on a tray (e.g. cookie sheet) to maximize surface area for absorbing marinade. Pour marinade over tomatoes and let sit at least an hour.  

If your tomatoes are bland like the ones I was using, the marinade completely transforms them into something very delicious.  Reserve the marinade and you'll have a vinaigrette for your next green salad.

Make sure your basil is dry before julienning so it doesn't clump.

To stack: 1 tomato slice+ 1 small slice of mozzarella+a sprinkle of julienned basil+1 tomato slice

Alternative presentation: 1 baguette slice + 1 tomato slice + mozzarella slice+ leaf of basil