Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden 

Sonia Nista  

Kitchen Specialist

Bianca Tondo

Garden Specialist

News from the patch

It’s been a wonderful week in the garden. The weather has been ideal with a light breeze and the warm sun on our backs. 

We have started each lesson with the Habit of Mind of Responding with wonderment and awe. This Habit of mind is about having fun figuring it out! It is about finding the world awesome, mysterious, and being intrigued with its phenomena and beauty. 

While clearing out some garden beds we have noticed the bugs on the plants, worms in the soil, how the soil feels and looks in our hands, and what that might mean. We have been amazed at how the amount of effort required to pull out a rosemary bush to create space to plant some more herbs. We have also been intrigued by what a small seed could turn into, and how a small seedling will grow into a vegetable plant in a matter of weeks. Even tasks like weeding have been surprisingly enjoyable for the students this week because they have been noticing all the beauty in the world around them. 

Of course, we can never forget our chickens. Two new hens have been introduced to the flock. Collecting the eggs is a highlight of every class. Students are amazed at the different sizes and colors of the eggs.  They are also mystified as to why the girls are always so eager to get out!

Sizable zucchinis and squash have been harvested in the last two weeks. Students have found delight in finding such huge vegetables amongst the big leafy plants and have been astonished at the size of their find. 

Happy Gardening Kingswood!

News from The Patch Café

After receiving their knife licences, the students are once again slicing, dicing, preparing and sharing in The Stephanie Alexander Kitchen. The students are now displaying their knife skills and confidence as they master the Bridge and Bear claw techniques as well as the Rock n Chop, you may start hearing this terminology at home. We use the Bridge technique to cut a round or wobbly fruit or vegetable to give us a flat surface, then the bear claw to then slice and chop. The Rock n Chop is mostly used when we roughly chop herbs and soft leaf greens.

 At each menu, we are exploring different cuisines as we celebrate food around the world. This week our taste buds lead us to Greece where the students prepared a delicious Greek inspired menu using fresh eggs from our chickens and a wonderful summer harvest consisting of Zucchini, Yellow Squash, cucumbers, tomatoes and some fragrant herbs. Many of the students were familiar with these flavours, whilst for some, it was quite new, most being surprised at how much they enjoyed the different flavour combinations.

This week we prepared:

• Zucchini and Squash fritters
• Greek yoghurt dipping sauce
• Greek salad

Nóstimo!

The Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden program relies heavily on volunteers, without them we wouldn’t be able to run the amazing program that we do. Kitchen/Garden classes run on Mondays for years 3 and 4 students and Tuesdays for years 5 and 6. So far I have had some responses to my call out for helpers, but we desperately need more, especially for our year 3 and 4 classes.

We welcome mums, dads, grandparents, or friends within our local community. Volunteers must hold a current Working With Children Check (WWCC) and complete our Classroom Helper Training program.

For more information, please email me, or pop into the kitchen after school on a Monday