Love Recipes by Camp Chef for Camp Recipes

Love Recipes!
"I call these recipes my grandmother's Love Recipes because when she made these tasty candies, we knew she made them with love. These are mostly classic candies that every homemaker made way back when the shortening was in every pantry in American kitchens. Substitute butter or a vegan butter for the shortening below... have fun with these old recipes!"

Chocolate Turtles

2 cups walnuts
36 caramels
3 Tblsp butter
1/2 tsp vanilla
2/3 cup semisweet or milk chocolate
1-1/2 tsp shortening

Cover baking sheet with waxed paper and arrange walnut halves in 28 to 30 clusters.
Keep separated by at least 1-inch apart.

Unwrap caramels and butter and place in top of double boiler set over boiling water.
Heat until caramels are completely melted stirring occasionally.
Remove from heat. Add vanilla and stir until butter and vanilla are thoroughly mixed.
Drop caramel onto center of each walnut cluster making sure that caramel touches all the walnut pieces to hold them together.
Melt chocolate with shortening over hot but not boiling water.
Spread over caramels and candies.
Allow to set before cutting into squares.
Makes 28 to 30 Turtles.


Wrap your Turtles in groups of twos or threes in clear paper.
Tie a red and pink ribbon around the package and give them away as a gift!
Makes a perfect Love gift in the next few weeks for Valentine's Day!


More Love Recipes coming... stay tuned.

Update: just saw the new "Whitewater Cooks" books! A cool book of favorite recipes!


Thanks to all the holiday cooks that submitted recipes!

Sushi, California Style!

I was born and raised in Japan in a traditional Japanese household. The sushi I ate was made beautifully and carefully by a parent who created eye-pleasing art with a reverence for each ingredient.

Then I came to California. OMG! Sushi became an adventure of strange ingredients that I never dreamed of combined with the simple seasoned rice and seaweed. But, it is surprisingly good never the less. Almost everyone in California and the entire West coast has eaten the California Roll. It's a staple in everyone's diet out here!

California Roll

1 cup of cooled cooked small grain white rice (sub a more nutritious brown rice)

small glass bowl

1 Tbsp of seasoned rice wine vinegar (mirin)

small crisp cucumber sliced into long julienne strips

large avocado medium sliced

2 dried seaweed sheets (nori)

optional : thin julienne carrot strips, toasted sesame seeds

optional : crab or imitation crab (ick)

garnish : wasabi mustard with soy sauce, pickled ginger slices

Mix room temperature, cooked rice w/ vinegar (mirin). Do not smash the rice grains. Set aside. Optional: add sesame seeds to your liking and mix in.

On a piece of saran wrap (plastic) or clean kitchen towel, place seaweed sheet down. Add the rice on half the sheet in a thin layer. Add strips of cucumber and avocadoes (add optional carrots).

Roll the rice end of the seaweed tightly and before you roll completely, carefully wet the end of the seaweed w/out rice with a smear of water. Then finish rolling completely. The moisture will "glue" the seaweed to itself so that the roll will not come undone. (How to roll sushi)

With a sharp wet knife, slice the roll into pin wheels. Serve w/ soy sauce flavored with wasabi and serve a side dish of pickled ginger.

Ta da ki mas!