We made it through one of the driest springs I can remember, with a relatively good looking garden at Primavera Montessori, thanks to the hard work of a bunch of kids and a few dedicated parents. The garden is looking good and will hopefully stay that way, due to summer camp taking care of it over break. Next year should be even better–we’re expanding our garden area and are starting up a small chicken operation. Stay tuned for details on a workday. Right now I’m off school for the summer working on my home garden and some children’s books, so this may be my last post for awhile.

However, I’ve promised multiple parents some recipes before I’m done. We had quite a few converts to squash and broccoli on cooking days this year, which is always exciting. I don’t know if its the fact that they know where the food came from or if it’s peer pressure, but it works. Here are a couple of simple recipes the kids liked that you can try at home. Pardon the rough measurements, but I’m fond of free-styling in the kitchen. Trust your instincts.

Asian Style Veggies
As an incentive for discussion of basic botany, I cook up a parts of the plant dish including the roots (carrot), stem (celery), leaves (kale or spinach), flowers (broccoli), and fruit (squash or sweet bell pepper). For a simpler dish, just go with one part of the plant like broccoli. It’s a great veggie for kids because it has an interesting texture and is great for soaking up tasty sauces. This dish is also good over steamed rice or soba noodles.

Ingredients:
6 cloves of garlic
1-2in cube of fresh ginger
canola or peanut oil
sesame oil and toasted sesame seed(optional)
soy sauce
hot sauce (optional)
1/2 large onion
bunch of veggies

Mince the garlic and ginger and dice the onion. Chop your vegetables into small pieces. Heat a large pan or wok to medium high and add approx 3-5 tbsp of canola or peanut oil–enough to lightly glaze the whole pan. The peanut oil will give it a richer taste, but isn’t safe at our school. Add onion, garlic and then ginger to the pan. Cook until the onions clarify then add the vegetables. Make sure to put the crunchier ingredients in first (carrots and celery) and then adding the softer ones–leaves being last. It is a bit of an art to time the cooking so that all of the vegetables come out perfectly at the same time. The ideal is not crunchy but not soft. Raw vegetables aren’t pleasant to have in a dish, but overcooked mush is worse. When the veggies are looking done, reduce the heat, add 1 tbsp of toasted sesame seed oil and a healthy shake of sesame seeds. Add soy sauce and hot sauce to to taste. Cool off a bit and eat.

Sage Squash
Sage squash came about spontaneously. I wanted to cook up a feast to celebrate the end of the school year, a ton of yellow squash was donated to the school, and the most prolific herb in our garden was culinary sage. The kids loved it–some were even eating the squash raw. Throw in sliced mushrooms with the squash and add marinara sauce at the end if you want to serve it over spaghetti.

Ingredients:
olive oil
6 cloves Garlic
1/2 large onion
6 sage leaves
2 sprigs of thyme (optional)
3-6 Yellow Squash, Patty Pan Squash or Zucchini
black pepper
salt

Mince the garlic and sage leaves. I tell the kids you can never really have too much garlic so don’t hold back if you want more. Now dice the onion. Slice the squash lengthwise into circles and cut circles in half. Heat a large pan over medium heat. Add 4-6tbsp of olive oil-enough to lightly glaze the whole pan. Add the onions, then garlic, then sage (and thyme). When the onions have clarified add the squash and salt+fresh black pepper to taste. Like the last dish, the key is to get the squash not crunchy but not soft. Let it cool and enjoy when the squash is done.

Thanks guys!