Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden
Pleasurable Food Education in Action
As term one comes to an end we reflect on how much our students have learnt across the term. It has been wonderful to see their confidence grow in using equipment, learning new skills and most importantly trying new tastes and foods they may not have been brave enough to previously try.
The children in Grade 1/2 Wells have really enjoyed learning about healthy alternatives to sandwiches in their lunchbox.
They have learnt many new skills in the kitchen. These include grating, slicing and dicing. They have also learnt how to work cooperatively in a team which has been a challenge for some but I am glad to say they have mastered this skill. The result is shown by the quality of food they have prepared each week.
Last week the children made a selection of sweet and savoury dips. They worked in individual groups to create a “dip and dippers”. They then presented them on platters to share. An amazing effort that showed how much they have learnt and the pleasure involved in creating a platter to share.
Each week the children have been given a copy of their recipes to take home. I hope you have had a chance to try some.
Last week the children in grades 5/6 discovered cooking without a set menu and recipe. Due to the unforeseen circumstances at the moment many items were not available in our weekly top up order from the supermarkets.
In the event of this situation we checked what we had in the pantry, refrigerator and our school garden. We then created a meal with what was available to us.
We created a selection of tasty flat breads using the flour and yeast from the pantry. We topped it off with a selection of herbs, salt, garlic and some parmesan cheese from the freezer. YUM!
We accompanied this with a salad using the methods we have previously learnt whilst making a “Salad of the Imagination”. We used left over fruit and onions from our stocks, collected some fresh assorted greens and tomatoes from the garden. We then created a yoghurt based salad dressing.
The children really enjoyed being “Master Chefs” and putting their knowledge to the test and creating a meal with what we had available.
On the last day of term we harvested the last of our apples. We collected a massive total of 838 apples just from one tree! It was decided that the children should enjoy the apples so we sent each family home a bag of 10 apples. We hope you enjoy them.
Thanks everyone, stay safe and enjoy your break.
Mrs O’Mealley and Mrs Mitilineos