Author produces local cookbook

Camp Sherman is a community founded on good times and sweet memories. The original campers returned year after year, creating a legacy of peaceful and relaxing summer vacations.

Lake Creek Lodge has been part of that legacy since its creation in the 1920s, when it was known as Hansen's Resort. Generations of families have been coming to the Lodge, passing down stories and memories.

Juli Tantum is the daughter of one of those families that has been vacationing at Lake Creek Lodge for over 50 years. She is also a food writer. So it wasn't a stretch for her to act on a suggestion tossed out around a dinner table one summer evening that she write a cookbook of beloved Lake Creek Lodge recipes. Her dining companions missed the old standby menus of their childhoods, and found that as necessary changes occurred at Lake Creek Lodge, their memories of the dinner hour were becoming more and more precious.

Tantum realized that a Lake Creek Lodge experience encompassed much more than food. Traditions, old recipes written by hand on notecards and memories were revealed as she began to track down the recipes. "Oregon Lodge Cooking, Recipes and Memories from Summers at Lake Creek" became a memoir with recipes, history, and photographs.

The book chapters take a reader through a week-long stay at the Lodge, beginning with "Arrival" on a Saturday afternoon and finishing with "Departure" the following Saturday morning. In between, readers learn about the management, activities, and camaraderie created in a week of peaceful yet active vacationing. Recipes include the Lodge's famous Oven Fried Chicken, Creamy Polenta, Popovers, Grilled Salmon with homemade Tartar Sauce, and also the much-loved Ice Cream Cake with "Lake Creek" Chocolate Sauce. The food is simple and comforting. Nothing exotic here. Except perhaps the Curacao liqueur in the Caribbean Fruit Sauce (Day 4: Tuesday.)

The dinners in past years were always served family-style and included in the price of lodging. The dinner bell rang at 7 p.m. each night, and the menu repeated each week, except on Thursday, when a full Thanksgiving turkey dinner alternated with a baked-ham-and-trimmings dinner. According to Tantum, the communal aspect of the dinners was wonderful, adding another layer of meaning to the memories created.

"The whole experience was unique," said Tantum. "The simplicity was, and still is, valued. Our extended family, which now numbers around 20, makes every effort to come each year in August." She added that the only year her immediate family missed occurred when they were living overseas and she was about to give birth to one of her children.

Reading through the book, which can be done in a delightful afternoon, brings to mind the anticipation of family vacations, meeting up with friends and other family members, and the importance of food in creating lasting memories.

"Oregon Lodge Cooking, Recipes and Memories from Summers at Lake Creek" is available at Paulina Springs Books, Camp Sherman Store, and Lake Creek Lodge. It is also available online through Amazon.com.