the summer foods of my childhood
Part of an ongoing series on the "why" behind The Summer Camp Project. Full story here → Our Story
Bánh Xèo (Vietnamese sizzling crispy stuffed crepe)
Bắp Nướng Mỡ Hành (Vietnamese grilled corn brushed with scallion oil)
Bún Riêu (Vietnamese crab, pork, and tomato noodle soup)
Chè Thái (Vietnamese fruit cocktail dessert)
Roasted chopped peanuts served atop Blue Bell Ice Cream single-serve ice cream cups in combo pack featuring 6 cups of Homemade Vanilla and 6 cups of Dutch Chocolate (Brenham, Texas)
Hot Cheetos (Plano, TX)
Strawberry Shortcake birthday cake (Paris Bakery in Arlington, TX)
Chicken Broccoli Curry Casserole (American, derivative of Chicken Divan in New York City)
Chicken Lettuce Wraps (Homemade derivative of P.F. Chang’s)
Goulash (Midwest USA, originated in the 9th-century on the Great Hungarian Plain)
Living and being embedded in these different cultures was a blessing.
But I didn’t see it this way growing up. As a child, it was a burden to me, to keep track of who I am between these groups. Now I realize it’s better to integrate all the parts of me and bring it to the table.
I belong to a unique sub-segment of Vietnamese refugees called the 1.5 generation or the “camp generation.” I was born at an asylum camp in Bataan, Philippines during transit, so my identity bridges the historical trauma of Vietnam and the resettlement reality in America. I have no lived memory of Vietnam. My earliest environment was ration lines, temporary camp shelters, and ration lines. Add adoption into the mix, and I became a person between cultures.
This would become my superpower. I am a social connector and community builder.
People are food-motivated. I would host friends in my home and introduce them to these foods. If we were lucky, my biological mom would make my favorite Vietnamese dishes for us.
My adopted parents and family set this example of building community to me. If anyone didn’t have a family home to go during the holidays, they knew they were welcome to join the Miner Clan. It became so much the thing to do that other families would join forces and make it a potluck.
For two decades, I also helped lead cooking workshops through Heritage Camps for Adoptive Families, at SEAPI (Southeast Asian Pacific Islander) summer camp in the Colorado Rockies. It was not just outdoor fun, but a crucial space where adopted youth learned to take pride in who they are and where they come from.
Bringing the dishes of my Vietnamese childhood to a workshop setting for adopted students and parents with fellow members of the Board of Directors at ATG Against The Grain Productions will always be a core memory in summer. Always a blast with Carol, Jen, Luwan, Nikki, Tammy and her kids. Some of the students I met when they were in preschool and kindergarten have become camp counselors, workshop leaders, and parents themselves.
Growth isn’t linear. After seeing firsthand the impact of summer camp on hundreds of kids, it was a space where they began to ground their sense of identity, then eventually coming full circle to give back.
The tactile experience of cooking at camp—learning recipes, building confidence, and sharing food with peers. That hands-on discovery is a core philosophy of The Summer Camp Project: empowering youth with choice, independence, and agency over their own summer journeys.
I invite you to help expand this "table" so every child has access to life-changing camp experiences.
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