All posts tagged: Seed to Table

All Things Persimmon!

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Several factors have contributed to our harvest of a bumper crop of persimmons this year. One of those is most likely the honey bees on campus have been working hard to pollinate our many crops and they apparently did a thorough job on the persimmons, which are an early bloomer and good source of food for them in spring. We also prevented any “pre-harvesting,” which led to higher yields. We have been busy in gardening classes and with the middle school farm team (part of the MS micro-economy) finding creative ways to eat and preserve the HUNDREDS we harvested this year. Hopefully you’ve already heard about a few of these from your children or purchased some of the jam, chips, or whole persimmons in the front office See some of our creations below! In addition to the persimmon salad, fruit roll ups, pancakes and 5 spice persimmon jam we also made persimmon salad dressing and ate a lot of fresh persimmons. Look for some of these products at Marketplace on December 16th!  

Strawberry Smiles

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Last week was a riotous affair in the GMS Gardening classes! A crop of strawberries presented the best opportunity for eating in some weeks! Every class made the most of a beautiful bounty of lettuce and strawberries with a delicious salad (topped with fresh strawberries and strawberry dressing) and strawberry ice cream. We divided into two groups to create the menu: Aubrey’s group led the salad making, carefully placing fresh berries from our garden on a bed of colorful, crunchy lettuce. My group made the ice cream, filling the ice cream bucket with ice and rock salt and watching intently as the motor turned the cream slowly, but surely, into a deliciously sweet treat. There’s only a few more weeks of strawberry season left, so follow the recipes below to try some at home today! Strawberry Ice Cream Ingredients: 1 pound strawberries 2 cups heavy cream 1 cup whole milk 2/3 cup sugar Directions Place 1 small bowl strawberries in a food processor and puree. Combine cream, milk, and sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat …

Moroccan Spiced Oranges

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This week for Farm to Fork we had a great meal and made this great light fruity dessert to accompany it. Fruit is scarce to non existent in the gardens right now, and even so, we can’t grow most citrus plants here, but everyone needs a boost of vitamin C in the winter! Ingredients: 2 1/2 cups orange sections, cut into 1/2 inch pieces 1 tbsp. powdered sugar 1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon extra ground cinnamon and grated orange peel – optional fresh peppermint leaves for garnish (optional)  

January 2015

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When I tell parents, teachers, or friends that I’m a garden teacher, they inevitably ask: “So, what do you do in the winter?” My answer? “We pour over seed catalogs, cook with vegetables we stored in the fall, learn bird songs and make corn husk dolls. It’s true—there is less to do in the gardens in the winter, but we slow down and appreciate the larger, seasonal environment where we work and play.” As the temperatures dropped, we’ve moved most of our gardening classes indoors. This summer and fall we were blessed with particularly bountiful crops of sweet potatoes, popcorn, and Blue Hopi corn. Last week’s Primary classes made popcorn together, from the dry-stored crop we harvested in October. In anticipation of this tasty treat, we each transformed into popcorn kernels. Inside each of us was a tiny drop of water. When Jenny placed us in the pot with a little oil and salt, the water inside started to heat up and before we knew it…POP! We were ready to eat! Lower and Upper Elementary …

Dirty Rice

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White rice Andouille Sausage Onions Bacon Green Bell Peppers Garlic Thyme Cayenne Bay Leaves Black Pepper Salt Parboil Andouille sausage. Cut on the diagonal to form rounds of sausage, then cook them on the stove until brown. In a separate pan, sauté chopped onions, peppers, and garlic. In yet another pan, cook the bacon until crispy.  Measure water for the rice, put washed rice in water, then add vegetables and meat and seasonings, bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook until rice is tender.

Latkes

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2 cups Potatoes 1 Tbsp. Onions 3 Eggs 2 tbsp. All Purpose Flour 1 ½ tsp. salt Oil for frying Sour Cream Chives Applesauce Grate peeled potatoes and onions, squeezing out excess liquid (do not skip this step or they will fall apart while cooking!) Beat eggs, add to potatoes and onions, along with flour and salt. Form latkes into 4 inch patties. Lightly fry in vegetable, peanut, or olive oil oil until both sides are golden brown. Serve with a traditional side of sour cream and chives, and/ or applesauce.

Pasta Primavera

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(makes 6 servings) 1 (12 ounce) package wide old fashioned pasta 1 yellow squash, chopped 1 zucchini, chopped 1 carrot, julienned 1/2 red bell pepper, julienned 1/2 pint grape tomatoes 1/4 cup olive oil, divided 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper 1 tablespoon butter 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced 1/3 cup chopped fresh basil leaves Thyme Oregano 1/2 cup grated Romano cheese Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add penne pasta and cook for 10 to 12 minutes or until al dente; drain. In a bowl, toss squash, zucchini, carrot, red bell pepper, tomatoes, with 2 tablespoons olive oil, salt, pepper. Sauté vegetables until tender. Add sautéed vegetables to cooked pasta. Garnish with fresh herbs and finely grated cheese.

Muscadine and Crab Apple Dump Cake

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1 cup prepared grapes 1 cup crab apples 1/2 stick butter 1 cup self-rising flour 1 cup milk 1 cup sugar To prepare grapes, remove pulp, then cook the pulp until seeds loosen, then press through sieve to remove seeds. Add pulp to skins and cook until tender. Cook crab apples until soft, and run through foley mill to extract pulp. This will add a nice tartness to the cake. Add sugar to taste, some grated lemon peel and a sprinkle of apple pie spice. Melt butter in glass pie plate. Mix flour, sugar and milk in another bowl. Pour flour mixture over butter. Carefully pour prepared grapes over the top. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes. Do not open oven until baking time is up. Cake should be brown on top. This recipe make 8 servings (1 cake)

Cheesecake

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Crust: Graham Crackers Butter Brown Sugar Cinnamon Make graham cracker crumb crust with graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, brown sugar, and a dash of cinnamon. Pat into bottom of greased springform pan and bake at 350° for about five minutes. Remove from oven and let cool while making filling. Filling: 2 eggs 2/3 cup sugar 3 tsp. vanilla 2 tablespoons cornstarch 1/8 tsp. salt 1 lb. (2 cups) cottage cheese OR ricotta cheese 8 oz. cream cheese 1 cup sour cream Put eggs, sugar , vanilla, cornstarch, and salt in blender and spin for a few seconds. Add cottage/ricotta cheese and blend until smooth. Add sour cream and spin until blended. Finally, add cream cheese and blend until all ingredients are combined and completely smooth. Pour filling into spring form pan. Bake at 325° for about one hour. Cheesecake will puff up around edges to near the center and may slightly brown. Do not overcook! Cheese Cake Topping 1 cup sour cream 1 tsp. vanilla 2 tbsp. sugar Remove from oven and cover with sour …

Chocolate Peppermint Mousse

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We call this “mousse” but it is not a true mousse. It is more like whipped cream with flavorful additions… 1 pint Organic Heavy Whipping Cream 4 Tbsp. Cocoa Powder 6 Tbsp. Sugar 1 tsp. Peppermint Oil Fresh Mint (from the garden)   Pour chilled cream into a large bowl and whip on high speed until the cream thickens forming little peaks. Be careful not to whip too far, or it will turn into butter! Add cocoa powder, sugar, and peppermint oil, and whip until well mixed. Garnish with Fresh Mint Leaf.