Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden

Kitchen and Garden Update

The students have been talking about the job of the plants root system and have made viewing pots out of paper cups, with a “window” cut into the side. When the bean grows they will be able to open the little window and see what’s happening below the surface, as well as above.

The kitchen garden space continues to look like an oasis.  With a little rain each week and milder days, most things are growing really well.  Unfortunately an unknown predator ate five of the six bean seedlings that were started from seed a month ago in the green house, and planted out into the garden last week.  Very disappointing- but that’s gardening! We’ll start again and next time try using some barriers such as netting or mini green houses to keep nibbling predators away!

Making the most of fresh and preserved ingredients

Last week in the kitchen, we discussed different ways of preserving food which can be particularly useful when you have a glut of something and can't eat it all at once! Over the past few months we have preserved some of our fresh produce by freezing, dehydrating, bottling fruits in sugar syrup, preserving in oil and by making chutneys, relishes and jams. All of these methods prolong the life of various fruits and vegetables and allow us to enjoy them months after harvesting. 

In our vegetable fritter recipe we used fresh ingredients from the garden including silver beet and cauliflower together with frozen pumpkin. Our broad bean and apple salad used frozen broad beans which were boiled, then the outer skins removed to reveal the sweet and nutty inner part of the bean. Combined with fresh apple and toasted nuts and seeds, this made a delicious salad to accompany our fritters.

Recipes