Inspired all over again....

Unable to resist the lure of the southern hemisphere, I returned to Australia...the place where my interest and fascination with kitchen gardening blossomed this past summer. Admittedly, my return to the northern beaches was mainly to enjoy a bit of Australia's summer. However, I was more than happy to catch up with Diane from Bondi to stroll along the beach while chattering about our programs. With the reverse in seasons, students at Bondi are using tomatoes to make pizza sauce for individual pizzas, strawberry granita and enjoying tons of garden fresh veggies. Facing the cold winter months, Diane shared suggestions for soups, chili and stews that are both warming and filling. Hmmm....looks like my holiday just turned into a working holiday as I'm now off in search of new recipes to try!

Winter Crop....Spaghetti Squash

While our own garden is hibernating for the season, off-site, late harvest crops offer a plethora of winter squash options. I decided to introduce Tonia's class to spaghetti squash - a yellow, football shaped squash that has stringy "noodle" type pulp. The slimy texture was a challenge for most of the students, but they were troopers and stuck with the process of scraping the pulp with a fork. While we made our "noodles," Mia's beloved tomatoes, garlic and onion simmered away on the stove. Admittedly a messy recipe, the final product was a colorful display -- yellow squash noodles topped with garlic, onions, tomatoes, olives, basil and feta. Although initially skeptical, Imad, Gregory, Eric and Mia slowly but surely picked through their bowls, finding that it was indeed tasty. I love ending my week in Room 108 - the students show such interest and engagement, are willing to try new tasks and tastes, and rise to every challenge that I present!

White Snow, Bright Snow

December has arrived, Christmas is just around the corner and a layer of snow is blanketing the school garden. We took a detour from our usual kitchen and garden lesson today...we didn't use vegetables in our recipe. Although I felt a bit guilty for this slip, Kerry's students did have quite a bit of fun making it "snow" inside the classroom. After honing our cutting skills by making glittery paper snowflakes, we turned our scissors toward tortillas. Tortillas and indoor snow, you ask? We made sweet tortilla snowflakes: folded a tortilla into triangles, cut it (as if you were making a paper snowflake), brushed it with a bit of oil and popped it into the toaster oven. After just a few minutes in the oven, the tortillas were crisp and ready for "snow." Powdered sugar in a flour sifter makes for a wonderful, indoor snowfall!

Winter Gardening....moving indoors

December is upon us, ushering in shorter daylight hours, colder temperatures, frost and the anticipation (or dread) of the season's first snowfall. With this inescapable Midwest transition to winter, we began our first indoor crop - pole beans. After listening to the classic fairytale of Jack and the Beanstalk, Kerry's class planted beans (not magic, but the Kentucky pole variety) and built a structure for eventual climbing. I must say, this is the first time that we have had full, active participation by each and every student in the class. I was thrilled to see such engagement and enthusiasm: Robert and Amanda were in awe of the worms that were wiggling through the soil, Geraldo and Sara took their shoveling duties very seriously and Ben was excited about building with the wooden poles. Continuing with the day's bean theme, the class made green beans with bread crumbs and parmesan. While the overall recipe wasn't a big hit, the process had two highlights: learning to use the mortar and pestle and snipping the ends off the beans with kitchen scissors. I'll keep reminding myself...it's the process, not the product...someday we'll find a recipe that's a unanimous hit!