Honey, Honey

Monday, June 25th was our second Summer Days in the Garden workshop.  And boy was it buzzy, I mean, busy.

We were fortunate enough to have some special apian friends visit today.  That's right, a bee keeper came to show us his bees and taught us all about them, why they are important to us, and how honey is made.  Mr. Sean led us in some wiggly bee dances that kept us moving and giggling while we learned.  And boy, the honey tasting on the homemade biscuits, what a great way to start the day.

The breakfast of champions.  All fresh, all natural, all delicious.

Minted lamb and beef meatballs with ribbon slaw made for a wonderful lunch that we couldn't get enough of.  Seriously, how many kids our age can say they have not only eaten such fare, but actually made it ?  We are so excited that our lovely garden ladies, Robin and Starla, allow us to try such exquisite delicacies.  AND we know where they come from and how they were made.  No artificial ingredients in this cuisine.

Three chefs hard at work making ribbon slaw.

Learning how to use kitchen tools and developing cooking skills is an essential part of the program.

We even learned how to pick garlic.  We used some of the fresh garlic in our recipes and saved the rest to dry and use later.  A parent was in awe as she never knew what garlic looked like while growing, or how to pick it.  AND garlic is her favorite food.  We are so lucky to know so much at such young ages.

 Speaking of knowing where our food came from, many of us, again, had the opportunity to bike down to the Mighty Mississippi to do a little fishing.  And guess what?  We caught a fish this time!  How fun is that?!  In fact, it was so much fun, we were late getting back to home base.  But man, was it worth it to have a "fish story" of our own.

Our very proud anglers show off their catch. -- photo credit, Cindy Zwicky

 We capped off the day with some refreshing honey lemon ice pops.  Mmmmmmmmm!

Summer Days on Monday Always Cheer Me Up

On Monday, June 18th, our Monday series of Summer Days in the Garden began.  Bright and early, over thirty excited children showed up to learn about herbs, fishing, and cooking scrumptious food.

A tired, but delighted fisherman returns.

A good breakfast of baked eggs with herbs gave us the energy we needed to tackle the tasks at hand.  It was a busy day of harvesting, cooking, and eating. Some of us walked to Ryan Lake to do a little fishing.  Nothing was caught, but we sure had fun.  Who knew that coming to the garden to learn to grow our food we would also learn how to catch some healthy protein to accompany the wonderful veggies on our plates.   

Since there were still MANY cherries to harvest off of our tree, many of us set to that task.  We collected cherries, and then created some incredible rosemary, cherry focaccia bread.  It was so delectable, one little chef got a tummy ache because she couldn't stop eating it.  We washed it down with some refreshing cherry soda we also made.

Betcha can't eat just one.

One happy chef demonstrates how much she loves the focaccia.

And we can't forget that our special friends, our chickens, made a special appearance.  We love holding them, feeding them, and using their eggs.  We are so lucky to have so many ways to see exactly where our food comes from and know what goes into our bodies.

At the end of the day, we couldn't wait until the next week when we would learn about bees and taste some different kinds of honey.

Life is a Bucket of Cherries

One of the first crops to be harvested this summer was the delicious cherries from our wonderful cherry tree.  On Saturday, June 06, Mina and Ophelia came to help.  They had a great time picking the cherries after Robin showed them how to know if they were ripe.  The ripe, juicy cherries just popped off the stem and into their little hands.  Many also got popped into their mouths*.  But don't worry, there were plenty left to pit and freeze to make pies for the pie auction on August 12, 2012.

Mina had so much fun, she wrote a poem about it as her mother, Cheryl, pitted over twenty-five cups of cherries.

Cherries

Mina,age 6

Cherries grow on trees,

Who will pick them?

My friend and me.

Even though there were enough cherries to fill a two gallon bucket, there were still enough on the tree for more harvests, including on the first "Summer Day in the Garden" on  June 18.  But you'll need to read the next post for more on that incredible day.

 *Kids Cook Classroom Garden is an organic garden.  Not only is this better for the environment and our bodies, but also allows for guilt free testing of the crops.  No worry about needing to wash chemicals off of these foods.