Camp Natoma Week 6: Rainbow Meatloaf

 Session 5 Theme at Camp Natoma: International Celebration

Campers: 65

Staff: 19

Cooking for 84 people seemed so easy compared to last week's 136.  However, this week was incredibly hot with most days surpassing 100º.  Getting produce out of the walk-in fridge never felt so good!

Last week, I brought back a couple bottles of honey-strawberry kefir from the food bank.  Kefir (essentially drinkable yogurt, but with both bacteria and yeast) was new to most everyone and several staff took a huge liking to it.  This week, there were two whole cases of plain kefir at the food bank, which made the kefir lovers very pleased.  

Probiotics are a hot topic in the nutrition world, and researchers are discovering how important it is for people to get their fill via diet.  Acquiring kefir from the food bank was a great conversation starter about why probiotics are so good for our digestive system and overall health.

We came a long way in terms of our food service skills. Cooking for 18 people seemed daunting during staff week, but during staff post-camp, making a taco fiesta lunch was a breeze.  One counselor said she liked watching how we all moved around the kitchen, as if in a choreographed dance, and noticed that we were more fluid compared to week 1.  I think the above photo captures the essence of her observation.

Almost every night,  I went on an after-dinner hike with one or all of the cooks.  One night, the four of us saw incredible sunset-tinted clouds at the top of a hill after a trek through Boulders, a dry creekbed with lots of rocks, big and small.  Escaping into nature brought me much happiness and peace this summer.  I hope to do some paintings featuring skies inspired by my photos taken at different times of day.

One of the staff donated a flat of fresh, organic strawberries for us to use in any way we wanted for a staff dessert.  Emily suggested strawberry shortcakes, so I made the scones since Sophie was at her UC Santa Cruz orientation, and Emily took care of the berries and cream.  People loved the dessert—some even ate it before their main meal because they were so excited!

One of the popular entrées that I added to the 2014 Natoma menu was Rainbow Meatloaf.  It's not your average meatloaf and is fun to make because the raw ingredients are so colorful.  

Making meatloaf muffins is ideal for smaller settings, but baking the mixture in hotel pans is much more efficient for larger audiences.  We added bacon to the top for a little extra umami, and served the meatloaf with salad, roasted potatoes, crudités, and homemade hummus.

Rainbow Meatloaf

Printable Recipe

This is a delicious meatloaf packed with veggies and adapted from a Cooking Light recipe.  It was a crowd favorite! 

1 tsp olive oil

1 c finely chopped red onion

1/2 c finely grated carrot (essential for flavor)

1 tsp dried oregano

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 c ketchup (plus extra for topping)

1 1/2 lbs. ground beef or turkey (we used gr. turkey)

1 c fine whole wheat bread crumbs

2 T mustard

1 tsp soy sauce

1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

2 large eggs

Preheat oven to 350º. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, carrot, oregano, garlic; sauté 2 minutes. 

Combine onion mixture, ketchup, and the remaining ingredients in a large bowl.  Spoon meat mixture into 12 muffin cups coated with cooking spray or a smallish baking pan (around 9x9 size). Spread with ketchup. Bake muffins for ~25 minutes or until thermometer registers 160º. Serve with some crudités and salad for textural contrast.

Note: I haven't yet tested making the above "normal" amount of the meatloaf muffins.  Making a Factor 3 amount was the smallest we got at camp.