Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden (SAKG)

IN THE KITCHEN

Last week we continued our journey through the decades in Back in Time for Dinner. The 1960s saw the ever-growing popularity of Chinese cuisine. My husband remembers walking around to the Chinese restaurant in High Street Rd, Glen Waverley, saucepan in hand to pick up their takeaway order of fried rice... no plastic take away containers back in the 1970s! 

We enjoyed a Chinese menu of vegetarian wontons, fried rice and an Asian coleslaw, using fresh produce from our garden - cabbage, celery, carrots and herbs. The expert chopstick users in our group shared some helpful tips for those not so confident! 

IN THE GARDEN

Last week we continued the mulching, weeding and pruning of the older fruit trees. The new fruit trees are coming into blossom and looking as though they have adjusted to their new spots. Hopefully the old fruit trees will produce a good crop of fruit this year which can be used in the kitchen. 

SOMETHING DIFFERENT!

What a day we had on Tuesday! The 5/6s began their SAKG session with a brainstorm of what they knew about "composting." Their knowledge was very varied and quite detailed in some cases. Next we watched some videos about how to make a compost bin, what to put in it and what not to put in it, how to layer the different components along with how to maintain one. Then the fun began! Each SAKG group had 2x large soft drink bottles and we went outside and started putting the different layers in the bottles to make a mini composter. Into the bottles went soil, fruit and vegie peelings, grass clippings/leaves, shredded newspaper, coffee grinds and a little water, The tops that had been cut off were taped back on the bottles and then the mini composters were put in a warm area of the Art room. Depending on conditions in 3-6 weeks they should see changes in both the level and appearance of the contents. Many thanks to Jen Coles and Megumi for their help. We couldn't have done it without them. A fun time was had by everyone!