"Country roads, take me home to the place I belong" - John Denver

This past weekend I got to relive a little of my childhood. When I decided to go to nursing school I made some goals of doing "nursing things" in addition to my day job (i.e. volunteering abroad). However, this goal also included helping out or working anywhere a nurse may be needed locally. This leads us to this past weekend when I went up to my old summer camp to fill-in for the full-time nurse so she could have a break. I've done this for a few years now and it's amazing. The camp literally runs the exact same way it did when I was a camper IT'S JUST DIFFERENT PEOPLE NOW. They've made minor changes to the schedule, but for the most part the lay-out of the day, issues discussed and overall ridiculousness is very much alive up in Street, MD. Amazing!!
However, the one thing that has changed....is the food!!! Oh man, growing up we had people from the local town who worked in our kitchen and made three excellent meals per day. They were your typical camp food expectations - fish sticks on the first day of camp with hot dog buns (because how else do you eat fish sticks), macaroni and croutons (nope, you read that right), and juice that was made in a trash can mixed with a canoe paddle (for our immune systems, obviously). It was classic! We loved it! Well, for the most part. But then, a change happened.
A few years back some counselors who had worked at camp decided they were going to take over the kitchen. Before this takeover we had a hodgepodge of some cooks in the kitchen. The food was decent, but nothing to write home about (literally! we didn't have cellphones back then). So, once the counselors decided to run the kitchen, wow! did the food change. They started actually using the herbs and vegetables grown in the garden that the campers planted and making some incredible dishes. Every Saturday night dinner at camp is pizza. Growing up this was a lot of people's least favorite meal of the week (I'm surprised it didn't ruin pizza for me. Seriously). Now - there is pizza on French bread, there is spinach mixed with cheese toppings, dried tomato, I could go on- it's the same, but so totally incredibly different! The counselors now who run the kitchen have higher expectations, care about the nutrition of the campers and realized that it's definitely possible to make elegant camp cuisine. Nutrition is so important and especially for growing kids who are running around all day talking about gender roles or playing Gaga in the MLC. As a former camper and now nurse I'm so proud of what the counselors have done to make such healthy changes. Of course the famous Bean Crap and Thursday night cook-outs still exist, but if you're looking for some impressive camp food - look no further than your favorite Labor Zionist Sleepaway Summer Camp.

Fancy Salad at lunch circa 2015

Changing Direction

Well, hello!! I last wrote when I was two months into my first nursing job and here I am now...about three plus years into my second job! Apparently I was too busy checking blood sugars and changing wounds to continue writing, sorry! Nevertheless, I decided to return to the world of blogging about nursing. However, this time, I also want to talk about food!! We don't often get to eat lunch during the day, but come the weekend or after work...my nurse friends and I love a good meal. Nurses gotta eat and I'd like to combine my two loves into one blog piece (awwww!).

With that being said I can't hold back anymore. My friends and I went to Philadelphia this weekend and I HAVE to share the highlight! We went for an Italian dinner at Ristorante Aroma and it was out. of. this. world. I know that seems like an exaggeration, but seriously, the food was delizioso! We started with octopus, stuffed eggplant and prosciutto with melon. These sound basic white girl, but damn, it was bangin'! I don't normally go for Italian when picking a restaurant because hey, I know how to boil noodles, but the pasta dishes were incredibile! Seriously, at one point we all put our forks down and just savored the flavors swirling around our palettes. Our dishes ranged from truffles on truffles, to giant lumps of crab meat and salmon, to pumpkin and a Marsala wine sauce to gnocchi so fluffy you could lay your food coma induced head on it like a pillow. That's only a fraction of our pasta compositions.....just stop reading and go there! We of course ordered dessert and it was also ridonk. Canolli, chocolate mousse and gellato. I barely had room left in my stomach, but I pulled through like the champ that I am and savored each bite. OH, and did I mention it's BYOB? But don't order the coffee. It takes too long.

Alright so this wasn't the only meal we had, but it could have been! We had started our weekend with some authentic Mexican at Tequila's Restaurant and before we left we had a perfect brunch at Talula's Garden. I was told Tequila's really felt like Mexico (I've never been, but I'd trust these friends to do CPR on me so...) and Talula's Bloody Mary with spicy green beans hit the spot. It was a much needed relaxing and food fulfilling weekend! Philly was pleasantly surprising in the food scene scene and I would totally go back to visit again. Can you believe we didn't even have one cheesesteak!? So, stop what you're doing and go visit. Walk around Rittenhouse Square when the Farmer's Market is open, spend time in a gourmet grocery store like you haven't eaten in days and sit by the pool and chat it up with a bachelorette party from Jersey. You won't be disappointed.