Today in Canada is what is known as “May Long Weekend”, or technically, Victoria Day. To many people, May Long Weekend is the unofficial kick-off to summer. It’s the first weekend of the year people open their cabins, head to the lake, and go camping. Our family never did any camping on May Long Weekend. My parents would instead save all their holidays (3 weeks) for August and take us to the middle of nowhere Manitoba and camp with zero electricity, flushing toilets or running water. Sure, we had a pop-up tent trailer. That was great until it would rain and the canvas would leak water into my bed. Or that since there was no showers at the campground where we would religiously park ourselves at for 3 weeks, I would have to get used to showering once a week, with the remainder of the time “bathing” in the lake.
Contrary to popular belief (especially from me and my brother), my parents were not hippies. They were just minimalists who enjoyed being out in nature building campfires and fishing with their kids. My brother and I were so used to spending each summer like this since we were born, that we truly didn’t know any different. We were always super excited when August rolled around. My favourite part of camping with my parents (besides fishing and swimming) was making S’mores and toast on the campfire with Claudia. I love S’mores, They are this delicious camping comfort food that everyone can relate to. These S’mores Brownies incorporate everything in traditional S’mores – chocolate, marshmallow and graham cracker. They are a great way to relive your camping days while not actually being out in the middle of the woods with no to shower. They are chocolatey, gooey and best served with vanilla ice cream. This recipe was adapted from the wonderful Joy the Baker.