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1 envelope strawberry-flavored drink mix
Combine first four ingredients really, really well. Add food coloring, if necessary, and stir. Put in a big pitcher.
Serve over ice if you want it cold. Serve with fleishig sandwiches, either on a picnic table under a shelter (day camp) or at long wooden tables with benches in a room with a screen door leading to a flag circle (overnight camp.)
Drink a toast to happy days in summer camp.
Poster's Notes:
Summer camp season is upon us, and while bug juice isn't peculiar to Jewish summer camps, those of us who attended them have strong memories about this concoction, although not all of them are positive. My husband, who attended distinctly non-Jewish camps, insists it is cherry Kool-Aid and to this day cannot face any kind of cherry-flavored beverage. After several experiments during my youth, however, I came up with the following recipe which successfully mimics the drink as served at a number of the camps I attended; Aaron tasted it and agreed that had they served this at HIS camps, he might have been less disgusted by it.
For those of us who want to re-live a little tiny bit of our Jewish summer camp experience, or for the kids who need to start getting used to it now, I present this recipe.
Posted by Gypsy/Phyllis Wilson
Nutritional Info Per Serving: N/A
1 envelope tropical punch flavored drink mix
3-4 cups sugar (less if you're an adult)
4 quarts water
red food coloring if you feel a little sadistic
ice (optional)
In mid-reminisce about some of the many summer camps I attended as a child, my mother said, "I'll always remember the first time you referred to something as bug juice. It still makes me want to gag!"