All posts filed under: Classic Favorites

Strawberry Smiles

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“The strawberries are ready!”  This simple sentence expresses so much joy for all of us at Greensboro Montessori. We weed, water, and wait nearly all year until these gems glisten like rubies every spring. And every spring, we prepare some delicacy to mark the occasion, be it strawberry shortcake, strawberry salad and strawberry dressing, strawberry ice cream… or this year, strawberry lemonade! We prepared this recipe in Primary classes on rainy spring days this April. Everyone LOVED it. It’s a keeper for our cooking curriculum and we hope it is for yours, too. With love, The Montessori Gardens Ingredients: 1 1/2 cups Strawberries, washed 1 1/2 cups Fresh Lemon Juice (from about 5 lemons) 1 to 1 1/2 cups Sugar 3 cups Cold Water Ice Directions: Puree strawberries with 2 tablespoons lemon juice in a blender until smooth. Force strawberry puree through a sieve to remove seeds (optional) Stir together the strawberry puree, remaining lemon juice, 1 cup sugar, and water in a large pitcher until sugar is dissolved. Taste! Add more sugar if desired. Serve over …

Amaranth Candy

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Alegrías, whose name is derived from the Spanish word for “happy,” are made from the highly nutritious, ancient grain amaranth. The recipe calls for amaranth that has already been toasted or “popped.” You can find popped amaranth in grocery stores, or pop the seeds yourself using an non-oiled heated pan on high (a clear lid is recommended for this). Amaranth had been grown by the Aztecs, Incans, Mayans, and several other ancient cultures until the conquistadors banned it from being grown in order to stop their ceremonies. It was nearly wiped from existence, and only brought back through seed saving by those who had retreated to the remote mountains. Today, it has been brought back, and has been found to have important amino acids, protein, minerals, and vitamins that completed the diet of these ancient peoples. Ingredients: • ¼ pound piloncillo or panela (raw unrefined cane sugar in solid molds sold in international food market grocery stores) • 1 cup water • ½ pound amaranth cereal (“popped” amaranth) • a few drops of lime juice …

Chai Tea

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Although these aren’t all local ingredients and herbs, they make a delicious and warming winter tea. This recipe is a favorite with kids and adults because of its sweet spicy flavor. Boil 5 minutes, then steep 10 minutes: 1 Tbsp fennel or anise seed 6 green cardamom pods 12 cloves 1 cinnamon stick 1/4″ ginger root, sliced thin 1/4 tsp black pepper corns 2 bay leaves 7 Cups water Add, bring to a boil, and simmer 5 minutes: 2 Tbsp Darjeeling tea Add:6 Tbsp honey or brown sugar 1 Cup milk or coconut milk

French Onion Soup

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We harvested a lot of yellow onions from the garden in early summer this year and cured them for later use. We decided to use them to make a delicious french onion soup for one of our staff munches in the fall. Here is the recipe we used. Bon Appetit! Ingredients 6 large red or yellow onions, peeled and thinly sliced. Olive oil 1/4 teaspoon of sugar 2 cloves garlic, minced 8 cups of beef stock, chicken stock, or a combination of the two (traditionally the soup is made with beef stock) 1/2 cup of dry vermouth or dry white wine 1 bay leaf 1/4 teaspoon of dry thyme Salt and pepper 8 slices of toasted French bread 1 1/2 cups of grated Swiss Gruyere with a little grated Parmesan cheese Method 1 In a large saucepan, sauté the onions in the olive oil on medium high heat until well browned, but not burned, about 30-40 minutes (or longer). Add the sugar about 10 minutes into the process to help with the carmelization. 2 Add …

Salsa Verde

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Tomatillos are a wonderful and versatile vegetable. The kids enjoyed picking these little “lantern” fruits in the garden and learning about tomatillos and ground cherries this year.  tomatillos are a member of the nightshade family (the same family as tomatoes, eggplant and peppers) and they originated in Mexico. We used our abundant harvest to make a traditional green salsa or “salsa verde.” The first step was to peel the husks off our tomatillos and then wash the sticky coating off of them. We then put a tiny bit of salt, lime juice, garlic, and whole tomatillos in the food processor. Push pulse and – SALSA VERDE! Some methods involve oven roasting the tomatillos, but we opted for the fresh version of this classic.

Gypsy Soup

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For our end of season gardening celebration we decided to take all of our garden produce to make a delicious soup together! We had cured sweet potatoes from our fall harvest, the last of the fresh sweet peppers, curly kale, onions, garlic, and fresh herbs. (We use this recipe often because of the abundance of sweet potatoes we have every year!) GYPSY SOUP! (Recipe from the Moosewood Cookbook) 3-4 tablespoons olive oil 2 cups chopped onion 2 cloves crushed garlic 2 cups chopped, peeled sweet potatoes or winter squash 1/2 cup chopped celery 1 cup chopped fresh tomatoes 3/4 cup chopped sweet peppers 1-1/2 cups cooked chickpeas 3 cups stock or water Dash of cinnamon, dash of cayenne 1 bay leaf 1 tablespoon tamari 2 teaspoon paprika 1 teaspoon turmeric 1 teaspoon basil 1 teaspoon salt In a soup kettle sauté onions, garlic, celery, and sweet potatoes in olive oil for about 5 minutes. Add seasonings, except the tamari, and the stock or water. Simmer, covered for 15 minutes. Add remaining vegetables and cooked chickpeas. …

Spanakopita ~ a Greek spinach pastry

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Yields: About 8 servings         Filling: 2 cups crumbled feta cheese 2 tbsp. flour 1 cup chopped onion 2 cups (1 lb) cottage or pot cheese 3 Tbsp. butter 1 tsp. basil 5 eggs 1/2 tsp. oregano salt & pepper 2 lbs. fresh spinach (FROM THE GARDEN!) Clean stem and chop the spinach. Salt it lightly, and cook, adding no water, for five minutes. Cook the onions in butter, salting lightly. When soft, combine with remaining ingredients and spinach To Assemble: have on hand }      1 lb package defrosted filo pastry 1/2 lb. melted butter Preheat oven to 375 F. Spread butter on a 9 x 13″ baking pan. Place a srüdel leaf in the pan (it will outsize the pan. Let the edges climb the sides) and brush generously with butter. Keep layers of dough coming, one on top of another, brushing each with butter. When you have a pile of 8 leaves, spread on half of the filling. Continue with another stack of 8 or so leaves (don’t …

Cardoon Gratin

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Cardoon’s are the huge pale green plants seen in the Lower and Upper Elementary Gardens.  They are a relative to the Artichoke, only you eat the stems, not the flowers. It takes quite a bit of work to prepare a meal out of the bitter stalks, but they are a fascinating Mediterranean plant, growing 7 to 10 feet tall with striking purple flowers. We harvested the leaves in the Spring to make this dish. You need a huge cardoon to feed four, as you cut away the tops of the plant and pick off the outer ring of stalks, which are always punky and bitter. Look for stalks with a white bloom on them that comes off when you rub it with your fingers. In stores, cardoons are typically pre-cut and trimmed, so you can use whatever you buy. Serves 4-6. Prep Time: 15 minutes Cook Time: 90 minutes Stalks from 1 large cardoon 2 lemons Salt 1/4 cup all-purpose flour 2 tablespoons bacon fat or olive oil 1/2 cup coarsely grated provolone cheese or …