Mr. Lantos' Class Harvests and Makes a Strawberry Salad

Today Mr. Lantos' class harvested some Tennis Ball Lettuce and a China Rose Radish from the Jeffersonian Garden. We reviewed some basic facts about Thomas Jefferson and his garden including the fact that his plantation was Monticello and it was in Virginia. We also reviewed the meaning of heirloom since we are planting heirloom vegetables.   The strawberries are organic berries grown by Harry's Berries of Oxnard.

Each student made their own salad and chose which ingredients to add. We supplemented the berries with an Asian pear and another pear. We did not add nuts.

Harry's Berries Strawberry Salad

Ingredients for 4 large servings (we used one strawberry per student and some small bites of lettuce):
lettuce (baby lettuce or other)

1 pint strawberries
1/4 c. toasted pecans chopped
1/4 c. toasted almonds sliced
1 T. strawberry preserves
1 T. red wine vinegar
1/4 t. kosher salt
1/8 t. black pepper
2 T. olive oil

Wash lettuce and strawberries. Tear lettuce in small pieces. Cut top off of strawberries and cut them into four pieces. Mix dressing ingredients in separate container and whisk together. If using nuts, toast in dry skillet over medium heat until light brown. Mix salad ingredients together and add dressing. The full recipe makes four servings. *

*We used 1 pint of berries for 22 individual servings.

Ms. Schwartz's Class Makes a Salad

Today Ms. Schwartz's class made a Spinach & Orange Salad that was based upon a Whole Foods recipe that Whole Foods representative Victoria Polakoff gave us. They added grapes and broccoli as well as oranges.  The spinach, oranges, broccoli and ingredients for the salad dressing were donated by Whole Foods. This is a recipe that the kids can do at home and even make for their school lunch.

We reviewed the abbreviations for 1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon and also discussed that 3 teaspoons equal 1 tablespoon.

The students in both classes made their own individual salads by combining spinach, red onion and a mandarin orange to their own salad bowl. They learned how to peel and section an orange in the process.  Thanks to Mimi for volunteering to assist.

The food that wasn't eaten and the orange peels were collected for composting. The plastic utensils were saved to be washed and reused.

Spinach & Orange Salad

Ingredients:
1 bunch fresh baby spinach leaves rinsed and dried
2 mandarin oranges, peeled and sectioned (each child got 1)
1/4 c. slivered or chopped almonds or walnuts (we omitted the nuts due to potential allergies)
1/4 c. red onion finely chopped (each child could get a few small pieces)

Dressing: (we doubled the recipe for the class lesson)
2 T. orange juice
1 T. red wine vinegar
1 T. olive oil
pinch of salt and pepper

Directions: (the Marquez adaption)
1. Place spinach in bowl.
2. Add sections of mandarin orange and other ingredients.
3. Measure dressing ingredients into a small bowl. Whisk or stir to mix.
4. If individual bowl, pour over salad and mix with fork. If large bowl, pour over salad and toss.
5. For a school lunch, pack dressing separately and mix at school to keep spinach from wilting.

Mr. Jacobs' Class Cooks during Fresh Kids Week

Chef Elisa Hunsinker cooked with Mr. Jacobs' 2nd grade class this week. They made kale smoothies and cheesy broccoli bites.  The recipe is from Super Healthy Kids, www.superhealthykids.com. Chef Elisa's children went to Marquez several years ago!

Ingredients
2 cups chopped raw broccoli
2 large of egg
1/2 tsp of salt
1/2 cup crumbs of panko (Japanese bread crumbs)
1/2 cup of parmesan cheese
2 tbsps (T.) of olive oil

Directions
Steam 2 cups of broccoli
Add broccoli, egg, salt, panko or bread crumbs, and parmesan cheese to a food processor.
Blend just till chopped finely.
Using 1 tablespoon at a time, form into balls.
Heat oil in a skillet.  Drop balls of broccoli mixture into pan.  Flatten with a spatula and cook until both sides are crispy.

Ms. Palo's Class Cooks with Kirstin Uhrenholdt

On January 28, as part of Fresh Kids Week, Chef Kirstin Uhrenholdt helped Ms. Palo's 4th graders make a kale salad. Chef Kirstin's message to the students is that you don't always need a recipe. In today's case, the kids were making their salad, so they could add what they wanted to, both today and when they do it at home. (Chef Kirstin wrote the recipes in the cookbooks The Family Cooks and The Family Dinner.

Her instruction was that you need 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1. 1 t. of lemon juice or vinegar, 1 T. of olive oil, 1 handful of greens (in this case curly kale), and then 1 handful or tablespoon of whatever other ingredients.

Today's salad included kale, strawberries, wild rice, quinoa and carrots. She showed the kids how to make the dressing.  Each student got 2 strawberries, a large handful of kale, a spoonful each of rice and quinoa, 1/2 lemon and some olive oil. Two students wanted garlic for their dressing and went to the edible garden to get chives and onion to add instead. Kirstin's direction for making dressing is to taste as you go to determine if you want more of one ingredient or another. Salt and pepper can be added at the end.

This was a great lesson for both kids and adults. Thanks to the parents who came to assist.

Later that day, the kids wrote thank you notes to Chef Kirstin and also wrote down their own recipes.

Quinoa and kale with dressing

Harvesting chives

A beautiful kale salad

Chef Kirstin making dressing-squeeze lemon through fingers to catch the seeds.

Stirring the rice

Ms. Yoshida's Class and Ms. Connor's Class Make a Spinach & Orange Salad

On January 28, Victoria Polakoff from Whole Foods shared an easy Whole Foods salad recipe with Marquez students.  (This and more recipes are from wholekidsfoundation.com.)

The students in both classes made their own individual salads by combining spinach, red onion and a mandarin orange to their own salad bowl. They learned how to peel and section an orange in the process. Several kids commented on how sticky the orange was!

All of the children were involved in measuring the ingredients for the salad dressing and then adding the dressing to their classmates' salads.  We discussed the meaning and relationship of 1 T. and 1 t.
The students in Ms. Connor's class had just learned about abbreviations so this was good reinforcement!

This is an easy recipe that could be included in a lunch. The salad could be put in one small container and the dressing in another. Your child could be involved in making their lunch!

The classes collected the orange rinds for the garden compost bin. They also saved the forks, knives and plates that will be washed and reused again. Marquez students are learning about recycling and reusing by cooking!

The recipe follows the photos.

Spinach & Orange Salad

Ingredients:
1 bunch fresh baby spinach leaves rinsed and dried
2 mandarin oranges, peeled and sectioned (each child got 1)
1/4 c. slivered or chopped almonds or walnuts (we omitted the nuts due to potential allergies)
1/4 c. red onion finely chopped (each child could get a few small pieces)

Dressing:
2 T. orange juice
1 T. red wine vinegar
1 T. olive oil
pinch of salt and pepper

Directions: (the Marquez adaption)
1. Place spinach in bowl.
2. Add sections of mandarin orange and other ingredients.
3. Measure dressing ingredients into a small bowl. Whisk or stir to mix.
4. If individual bowl, pour over salad and mix with fork. If large bowl, pour over salad and toss.
5. For a school lunch, pack dressing separately and mix at school to keep spinach from wilting.

Ms. Abrams' Class Makes a Salad

This week, Rachel Schultz made an orzo and vegetable salad with Ms. Abrams' 2nd graders as part of Fresh Kids Week at Marquez.

Ingredients

Salad
½ cucumber, chopped
½ cup feta cheese
4 cups chicken broth
1½ cups orzo
1 (15-ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
2 cups red teardrop tomatoes or grape tomatoes, halved
¾ cup red onion, finely chopped
½ cup fresh basil leaves, chopped
¼ cup fresh mint leaves, chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the Red Wine Vinaigrette Dressing
½ cup red wine vinegar
¼ cup fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons honey
1 teaspoons salt
¾ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Instructions
For the salad:
Put broth in a large pot and cover. Bring the broth to a boil over high heat. Stir in orzo.
Cover partially and cook until the orzo is tender (6-8 minutes) stirring frequently.
Drain orzo and place in a large mixing bowl. Let the orzo cool completely.
Mix the orzo with the chickpeas, cucumber, tomatoes, onion, basil and mint.
Add ¼ of the dressing to the salad and mix well. Add salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate until ready to eat.
When ready to eat add remaining dressing and mix well.
To make the dressing:
In a food processor or blender mix the vinegar, lemon juice, honey, salt, and pepper until mixed well.
While the machine is running gradually add in the olive oil. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Mrs. Fein's Class Makes a Kale, Carrot and Avocado Salad

Today Jessica Siegel from Gelson's helped Mrs. Fein's class make a delicious kale salad. The students tore the kale, peeled, cut and grated carrots, cut tomatoes and an avocado, and prepared the salad dressing. After the dressing was added to the salad, they massaged the kale to make it softer. The ingredients for the salad were donated by Gelson's. The children really liked the salad and many asked for seconds! This would be an easy salad to make at home!

As part of the lesson, we discussed what the abbreviations, 1T. , 1t, 1 c and 1/4 c. meant. The children put the vegetable peelings aside in a compost pail that was later added to the garden worm bin.

After the lesson, the students copied the recipe to take home. The recipe follows the photos.

The colorful salad

Serving the salad

Kale, Carrot, Tomato and Avocado Salad

Ingredients (for 4)

- 1 bunch kale, stemmed and torn in small pieces
- 2 c. grated carrots
- 1/2 avocado peeled and pitted
- handful of small cherry tomatoes cut in 1/2
- 1/4 c. thinly sliced red onion

Dressing
- 2 T. lemon juice
- 2 T. sesame seeds, toasted (we omitted these)
- 1/2 t. reduced sodium soy sauce
- 1 T. olive oil

Instructions:

Toss all ingredients together in a large bowl. Use hands or back of a spoon to massage kale. (You can leave the salad out at room temperature for 30 minutes to help kale soften).

Ms. Keller's Class Makes Strawberry Salad

On Jan. 23, Ms. Keller's class had their second gardening meeting. We reviewed facts about Thomas Jefferson, observed the vegetables in the 5th grade Jeffersonian Garden, harvested some veggies and made Harry's Berry's Strawberry Salad.

The students reviewed the following facts: Jefferson was the 3rd president, he retired to his plantation (defined this) at Monticello, which was in Virginia. He was an organic gardener.

Students harvested a huge China Rose Winter Radish and a head of Tennis Ball Lettuce.  They also made a trellis for the Prince Albert Peas.  Other students weeded.

To reinforce the meaning of organic, we made a salad using organic berries from Harry's Berries and strawberry preserves from organic berries.  This was supplemented with their radish, lettuce and some lettuce donated by Gelson's.  During the cooking experience, the students relearned that 2 t.s = 1 T.

(We discussed that organic produce is grown without the use of chemical pesticides.)

Here's the recipe: (the kids loved it)!

Ingredients for 4 large servings (we used one strawberry per student and some small bites of lettuce):
lettuce (baby lettuce or other)

1 pint strawberries
1/4 c. toasted pecans chopped
1/4 c. toasted almonds sliced
1 T. strawberry preserves
1 T. red wine vinegar
1/4 t. kosher salt
1/8 t. black pepper
2 T. olive oil

Wash lettuce and strawberries. Tear lettuce in small pieces. Cut top off of strawberries and cut them into four pieces. Mix dressing ingredients in separate container and whisk together. If using nuts, toast in dry skillet over medium heat until light brown. Mix salad ingredients together and add dressing. The full recipe makes four servings. *

*We used 1 pint of berries for 22 individual servings.

Ms. Conn's Class Gardens and Cooks

Today Ms. Conn's 5th graders worked in the 5th grade bed and cooked. Three kids made trellises for the Prince Albert Peas and another one watered.  We saw two small pea pods and many blossoms.

Other students made the Harry's Berries Strawberry Salad. They loved it!

 They used some of the tennis ball lettuce from the 5th grade bed. We reviewed that 2 t. (teaspoons) equal 1 T. (tablespoon) We omitted the nuts in the recipe due to potential allergies.

Harry's Berries Strawberry Salad

Ingredients for 4 large servings (we used one strawberry per child and some small bites of lettuce):
lettuce (baby lettuce or other)

1 pint strawberries
1/4 c. toasted pecans chopped
1/4 c. toasted almonds sliced
1 T. strawberry preserves
1 T. red wine vinegar
1/4 t. kosher salt
1/8 t. black pepper
2 T. olive oil

Wash lettuce and strawberries. Tear lettuce in small pieces. Cut top off of strawberries and cut them into four pieces. Mix dressing ingredients in separate container and wisk together. If using nuts, toast in dry skillet over medium heat until light brown. Mix salad ingredients together and add dressing. The full recipe makes four servings. *

*We used 1 pint of berries for 22 individual servings.

Making a trellis for Prince Albert Peas

Tennis ball lettuce grown from seed 

Ms. Smith's Class Makes a Harry's Berries Strawberry Salad and More

Today Ms. Smith's class reviewed facts about Jefferson the horticulturist and also made a salad with organic berries. We emphasized the fact that Jefferson, the 3rd president, grew organically and liked fruits and vegetables. Organic produce is grown without the addition of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. The scribe noted the changes in the garden from the last garden lesson.

The students made a strawberry salad using organic berries from Harry's Berries that were purchased at the Santa Monica Farmers' Market. We discussed the taste and freshness of produce that comes from Oxnard vs. Chile or Mexico. We also discussed the lack of preservatives in the strawberry preserves that are in the recipe. They used some of the tennis ball lettuce from the 5th grade bed. We reviewed that 2 t. equal 1 T. (we omitted the nuts at school due to potential allergies).

Ingredients for 4 large servings (we used one strawberry per child and some small bites of lettuce):
lettuce (baby lettuce or other)
1 pint strawberries
1/4 c. toasted pecans chopped
1/4 c. toasted almonds sliced
1 T. strawberry preserves
1 T. red wine vinegar
1/4 t. kosher salt
1/8 t. black pepper
2 T. olive oil

Wash lettuce and strawberries. Tear lettuce in small pieces. Cut top off of strawberries and cut them into four pieces. Mix dressing ingredients in separate container and wisk together. If using nuts, toast in dry skillet over medium heat until light brown. Mix salad ingredients together and add dressing. The full recipe makes four servings. *

*We used 1 pint of berries for 22 individual servings.

Making the strawberry dressing

Whole Foods Participates in Fresh Kids Week

Victoria Polakoff, the Marketing Team leader at the Whole Foods located at 5th and Wilshire, grew up in the Palisades and is participating in Fresh Kids Week. She and her forager, Stacey Calvin, will talk at the morning assembly. She is also cooking with two classes later that morning.

Check out the Whole Foods page on this blog, or www.wholefoodsfoundation.org for activities to do with your kids and healthy recipes.

Great healthy recipe ideas: www.wholekidsfoundation.org/kids-activities/better-bites. We're using some of these recipes during Fresh Kids Week.

Ms. Wilkinson's Class Plants in the Native American Garden

Today Ms. Wilkinson's class visited the Native American Garden. They reviewed some of the plants used by the Chumash and Tongva that they had learned about last year. We looked at Cleveland sage, hummingbird sage and black sage in the garden. Then the children planted hummingbird sage seedlings and island alum root seedlings. In addition, some children raked leaves and weeded.  The class historian took photos for an end-of-the-year project.

Ms. Chaides' Class Plants More Native Plants

On January 16 Ms. Chaides' class planted again in the Native American Garden. They worked quickly and efficiently! They planted black sage from which the Chumash made sun tea and put on painful areas; hummingbird sage which was used to make tea and monkey flower which was made into a paste and put on wounds.  In addition they planted Cleveland sage, bush anemone and pink flowering currant. The students also weeded.

Planting monkey flower

Good teamwork!

Ms. Abram's Class learns how to compost

This week Ms. Abram's class had an introduction to composting. We read from the book, "Kids Can Compost", by Wen-Chia Parker, and also looked at examples of the food waste and garden waste that can be placed in the compost bin and the worm composting bin. The kids then wrote about composting in their journals and drew an illustration of a compost bin with greens and browns (the two categories of materials) inside. Greens include food waste such as coffee grinds, apple cores, banana peels, etc. Browns include paper, toilet paper rolls, leaves and twigs. It's important to make the items small when adding them to the bins. The children planted seedlings, and composted and watered after writing in their journals. Thanks to parent volunteers Rachel and Sharon.

On January 14, Ms. Fein's 2nd graders had an introduction to composting. Composting is food for the soil. It consists of browns (most of the items come from trees) and greens (most are vegetable and fruit scraps). I read to them from "Kids Can Compost" by Wen-Chia Parker. The children learned that the 5 ingredients for compost are greens, browns, water, air and heat. The children looked at greens (food waste) including apple cores, banana peels, lettuce, kale, potatoes, bread, pasta, tea bags, egg shells, and coffee grinds. They also looked at browns including toilet paper rolls, paper towels, paper, twigs. They wrote in their journals and drew an illustration of a compost bin with some of the above contents. At the conclusion of the garden session they were able to give an example of something that could be composted.

The children also planted seeds and seedlings and added material to the compost bin.

Vocabulary for the lesson: compost, seedling, illustration, moist.

Adding veggie scraps to the worm bin.

Planting broccoli seedlings

Watering seeds

Ms. Conner's Class Composts and Plants Seedlings

Today Ms. Connor's students learned about composting. They also planted some seedlings.

I read excerpts from Kids Can Compost by Wen Chia Parker, a parent from Mar Vista. Compost is food for the soil.  It is also a great way to reuse and recycle items that would otherwise go into the trash. The basic requirements for composting are greens, browns, water, air and heat. Greens include veggie and fruit scraps, coffee grounds and tea bags. Browns include items such as soy ink paper, cardboard, paper towels, newspaper, leaves and wood chips.

The children wrote in their journals and drew illustrations. Then they composted some of the sample materials and added water to keep the pile moist.

Each child also planted a seedling.

New words: moist, composting. Reviewed words: seedling, trowel.

Adding leaves to the compost bin.

Ms. Yoshida's class learns about composting and plants seedlings

Today's lesson focused on composting. We also reviewed the definition of seedling since the children we planted kale and arugula seedlings. After the lesson the children wrote in their journals and drew an illustration of a compost bin with some contents.

The children listed to excerpts from the book, Kids Can Compost by Wen-Chia Parker. To compost, one needs: greens, browns, water, air and heat. The greens include items such as veggie and fruit scraps, coffee grounds, tea bags, and fresh grass clippings. The browns include leaves, paper products, cardboard, wood chips, egg shells and dry grass clippings.

We have both a worm bin and a compost bin in the school garden.

Kale seedlings

Planting kale seedlings