Ms. Bihari's Class Makes Salsa

Today Ms. Bihari's class made salsa. The students remembered that they'd planted a salsa garden in the spring. One of the chilies in the salsa was from that garden. The rest of the ingredients were donated by Gelson's. The students liked the salsa so much that they wanted seconds but there were none-we'd given them generous servings after they'd done their cutting of tomatoes, chilies, onions; measuring of olive oil and lime juice and pressing of garlic.

Thanks to Laura for assisting!

Recipe

8 tomatoes
1 bunch cilantro-torn into small pieces
3 T. olive oil
3 T. lime juice
1-2 jalapeno chilies-cut
2-3 green onions-cut
2 cloves of garlic-pressed and cut

Basically, cut everything into small pieces and mix together. Wear gloves when cutting peppers. Add salt and pepper to taste if desired (we didn't). The salsa was very colorful due to the colorful heirloom tomatoes. (We discussed the meaning of heirloom and heirloom seeds).

After eating, the children and Ms. Bihari voted for their favorite vegetable. They'll plant seeds of the most popular. Cucumber was the most popular so they can plant that in the spring. Since some students like lettuce and carrots, they'll plant those and also some peas and radishes.

Ms. Gardner's Class in the Garden

Today's Ms. Gardner's 4th grade class visited the Native American Garden, planted some kale seeds and ate kale. In the Native American Garden we discussed how Chumash made flour from the acorns of the coast live oak. The students planted California poppy seeds. They also learned that students who did reports on the native plants last year had their reports linked to the plant signs via QR codes. They'll have the opportunity to do this later this school year.

The students chose between kale smoothies and kale chips for their snack.

Kale Chips

1 bunch of kale
1 T. olive oil
sea salt

Pre-heat oven to 350. Take off center rib of kale and tear remainder in small pieces. Wash kale and dry well. Put in bowl and mix with olive oil and salt. Place on baking sheet that's lined with parchment paper. Cook for 10-15 minutes. Remove from sheet. Add parmesan cheese if desired. Eat!

Kale Smoothie

8 oz. liquid (almond milk, apple juice, orange juice) we used almond milk at school
½ c. frozen mango chunks (or any other frozen fruit)
1 medium banana
1 c. curly leaf or lacinato kale

Blend and serve.

Mr. Jacobs' Class Visits the Garden

Today Mr. Jacobs' 2nd graders visited the garden for their first lesson. We reviewed the parts of plants using a broccoli plant as the model.  They then examined various vegetables, named them and discussed which part of the plant we eat. We eat more than one part in plants, such as green onions, celery, broccoli and beets.

They also voted for their favorite vegetables. The results: potato (4), corn and celery (3), onion and tomato (2), carrot, zucchini and spinach (1).  Perhaps we'll graph the results next time.

After writing about their favorite vegetable (s) or the parts of a plant, the students enjoyed a vegetable salad.

Thanks to Laurie Vander Veen for assisting and to Gelson's for donating the vegetables.

Ms. Farrell's Class Makes Salsa

Last Friday Ms. Farrell's 3rd grade class made salsa. This was a follow-up to the salsa garden that they planted as 2nd graders. The tomatoes and peppers from that plot were harvested over the summer. The ingredients for the salsa were donated by Gelson's. We used heirloom tomatoes and discussed the meaning of heirloom.

Thanks to Grandma Linda for helping!

Salsa Recipe

8 ripe tomatoes
2 green onions
1/2 bunch cilantro
2 cloves garlic
2 jalapeno peppers
3 T. olive oil
3 T. fresh lime juice
salt and pepper to taste

Each group of tables prepared a different ingredient. The ingredients were cut into small pieces with plastic knives and or measured and then combined in a large bowl.  The students that cut the peppers wore gloves to protect their skin ( and were instructed not to rub their eyes)! Other students used a garlic press and a small juice squeezer.

The students were good chefs and the salsa (with the chips) was very tasty!

National Kale Day at Marquez School

Marquez students celebrated National Kale Day and Walk to School Day on October 7. Several students including Sophie, Taylor and Bailey served kale smoothies to parents, students and Councilmember Mike Bonin.  The smoothies were so popular that children even asked for seconds!

Mr. Bonin enjoys smoothies and shared his recipe with us. We'll be making it soon! The ingredients include apple, cucumber, celery, kale, parsley and ginger.

The recipe for today's smoothie:

3-4 leaves of kale torn without stems

1 banana

1\4-1/2 c. frozen mango (or other frozen fruit)

1\2 c. almond milk (can substitute orange juice)

Put all ingredients in a blender. I use a Blentech. If using fresh fruit add ice cubes. Adjust amount of liquid to your taste. Enjoy!!!

Ms. Fein's Class Learns about Vegetables

Today Ms. Fein's 2nd graders reviewed parts of a plant. We discussed what parts we are eating when we eat the following vegetables
- leaves: lettuce, chard and kale;
- stem: celery
- roots: beets, radish, carrots, onions and turnips
- flowers: broccoli
- fruit: tomato, cucumber, peppers, squash (e.g. zucchini)
- seed: corn

The students wrote about or drew the parts of a plant in their Garden & Nutrition Journals. They also completed the sentence "My favorite vegetable is...".

The children enjoyed a vegetable salad consisting of lettuce, corn, celery, tomatoes, beets and broccoli for snack.  The favorite dressings were lemon juice/olive oil and olive oil. Thanks to Gelson's for donating the food.

An upcoming lesson on cool season vegetables will include planting lettuce, carrots or radish.

Alice Waters and National Farm to School Month

October is National Farm to School Month. In honor of that, here's a quote from Alice Waters, the amazing chef behind the Edible Schoolyard and the farm to table movement:

"And we don’t teach farming and cooking, we teach math in the garden and English in the kitchen. We use those food spaces as labs. Every course is connected to the garden, the kitchen or the table in some way. That way it is an interactive pedagogy, so that kids can learn by doing. This is what John Dewey wanted and Maria Montessori preached and what I believe. When kids grow it and cook it, they all want to eat it."

The last sentence represents the goal of the Marquez Edible Garden and how it and other garden programs can work to encourage healthy eating and counteract the obesity epidemic.