Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden
SAKGP Garden and Kitchen Programme
News - from the kitchen & garden with Chris and Eve
Our cooking and gardening classes are each Tuesday
We would love to have more volunteers in both the garden and kitchen classes.
No garden or kitchen skills required, enthusiasm to support the students as they learn is all you need.
If you would like to know more, come into the office and see Chris (Principal)
From Eve in the garden:
In garden class this week the prep/1 class showed me their outdoor investigations area and their mud stoves. They are keen to add some garden beds into this area, so together we stepped out and designed the first garden bed. The students then marked out the edge with sticks and used trowels to dig the edge to define the bed and we loosened the compacted soil. We decided that we need stepping stones through the middle of the bed and that we are going to plant it out with hardy native grasses and sedges for weaving, which the kids are very interested in (we can do some simple weaving projects later in the term).
The grade 2/3s had a 'Sensory exploration' into fragrant foliage and the different types of scents of various plants. All of the plants that we looked at are either edible or medicinal including Mint, Oregano, Lavender, Rosemary, Lemon Verbena, Curry Leaf, Winter Tarragon, Passionfruit Marigold, Rue, Parsley, Citrus, Pineapple Sage, Fruit Salad Sage, Chamomile, Agastache, Fennel, Coriander and more. Then, in groups of three the students collected their favourite scented foliage and put them together using a stick loom to create a fragrant artwork. Rui found the fragrances a bit overwhelming (they were pretty strong!) so instead he helped me to get started on the seed saving activity that we'll be doing next week.
The grade 4/5s helped me put together a class playlist that we can use when we are working in the garden by each giving me the names of two songs that they love (no swear words). We then brainstormed what elements our amazing school garden should/can have using old Organic Gardener magazines to cut out pictures and prompt ideas, putting them together on a Dream Board. Some of the suggestions from the students included: Chickens (This was VERY important to a lot of the students - we are getting a small flock in July so I'm happy that there is so much excitement), veggies, LOTS of flowers, an arch with climbers, food for wildlife, pollinator plants, carnivorous plants, indoor plants in classrooms, miniature pigs (um..alas, no!), insect hotels, Strawberries, a Mulberry tree, Watermelons, native plants and more. So many great ideas!
From Chris in the kitchen:
This week in Cooking, Grade 5 and 6 made delicious Pumpkin and Cheese and Spinach Lasagne with Rosemary and Olive Oil Focaccia.
From the garden we used pumpkin, parsley, rosemary, silverbeet and garlic and from the freezer we used silverbeet, steamed pumpkin, and tomato passata.
We divided into groups to make each of the elements of the lasagne.
Levi, Patrick, Andrew and their group chopped the onions and garlic for the silverbeet filling and washed and finely chopped the silverbeet. The white onions were so strong, everyone ended up in tears! They then cooked it together to make the silverbeet layer.
Corny (Chloe), Elsie and Liv used the tomato passata and their secret herbs and spices to make the tomato sauce layer.
Sophia, Lizzy and Grace and their team mixed and kneaded the ingredients for the pasta dough. They then had time to make bread dough and create a delicious Rosemary and Olive Oil Focaccia.
James, Anais, Angel, Dante and their team mashed the pumpkin, grated the cheeses and measured out the spices to create the pumpkin filling.
As we completed each of the tasks, Patrick and Levi and their team worked really well together to rinse and wash and put away the dishes.
After recess we worked in groups to make the lasagne sheets. Everyone worked with their team to knead the pasta dough, shape it into a rectangle, roll it through the pasta maker, and fold and laminate the dough 3 times. Then they cut rolled the pasta through each of the roller settings until it was thin and soft. We made enough lasagne sheets for 2 large trays of lasagne and we made one extra portion of dough and rolled out enough lasagne sheets to freeze for another cooking session. As the lasagne sheets were being rolled out, Scott, Liv, Elsie and their team cooked the lasagne sheets so they would be cool when we put the lasagne together. Taj and his team then layered the lasagne sheets, silverbeet, pumpkin mixture, tomato sauce in the trays, repeating the layers twice and finishing off with the cheese mixture and parmesan. While the lasagne was cooking, everyone cleaned up and set the tables.
Grade 5 and 6 all worked very well in their teams to make 2 delicious Pumpkin, Silverbeet and Cheese Lasagne, with Rosemary Focaccia.
Here’s what Grade 5 and 6 shared about their cooking, while we enjoyed the lasagne and focaccia.
My arms are dead after rolling the pasta! Dante
Looks tasty, smells tasty, is tasty! James
It’s really good, I cooked the silverbeet filling with Andrew and Pat. Levi
I cooked the tomato sauce with Liv and Corny, we added honey, oregano and smoked paprika for extra flavour. Elsie
I made the whole room cry when I cut the onions! Andrew
Well done everyone, it was a great cooking session.
recipe and photos below:
