CHERAW - The Cheraw Arts Commission held its annual summer Kids in the Kitchen Camp this week at The Wine Factory Restaurant.

Assisting the young chefs were Joyce McGirt-Hickey, owner of The Wine Factory and board member of the Cheraw Arts Commission, Cleo Lewis, volunteer chef, and Cheraw Arts Commission Director, Lindsey Bennett.

The three-day camp taught participants different ways to make healthy and seasonal foods in the kitchen. A few of the dishes that the group created using summer produce included watermelon soup, crepes with fresh blueberries and strawberries, and cucumber “boats” filled with chicken and tuna salad.

“For our annual Kids in the Kitchen Camp, we focused on cool summer dishes that were healthy and required little or no cooking. The campers can now prepare the dishes themselves with some adult supervision. The utilization of fresh, seasonal produce was also emphasized in the recipes,” said Lindsey Bennett, director of the Cheraw Arts Commission.

The three-day camp ended with an outing to Marshall and Connie Kline’s garden in Cheraw.

“We wanted the kids to see where some of the ingredients they used were coming from, to let them see how food is grown,” said Joyce McGirt-Hickey.

Campers gathered vegetables from the garden and then presented a picnic for parents and guests. These young chefs are really into cooking, as they all enjoy watching cooking shows,” said Bennett.

Campers also received their own ingredients of olive oil and homemade herbed vinegar to create salad dressing at home.

The recipe the kids learned

Watermelon and Rosemary Soup

Serves 4 / Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

1/2 cup sugar

2 sprigs fresh rosemary- chopped

2 pounds ripe watermelon, rind and seeds removed

3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon or lime juice

1 teaspoon grated lemon or lime zest

Directions:

Simple Syrup - Put the sugar in a small bowl with 1/2-cup water and stir to dissolve the sugar. When the sugar dissolves, add the rosemary stems.

Cut enough of the watermelon into 1⁄2-inch cubes to measure 2 cups. Put the watermelon in a blender or mash with a fork; add the lemon juice, and the rosemary syrup. Puree until liquefied, adding a little water if needed to keep the machine running. Divide the watermelon soup among 4 bowls.

Great as a frozen Popsicle- pour watermelon soup in small cups, insert wooden stick and freeze overnight. Ready to serve- push on bottom of cup and remove Popsicle.