Winter harvesting of broad beans provided was an enriching experience for students in the garden. Broad beans, also known as fava beans, are resilient cold-season crops that thrive in cooler temperatures. In the process of planting, tending, and harvesting broad beans the students learnt about plant life cycles and the importance of scientific observations. Students witnessed the transformation of broad bean plants from seeds, seedlings to mature plants, fostering a sense of responsibility and connection to the natural world.

In the kitchen, broad beans offer a versatile and nutritious addition to winter recipes. Students prepared delicious meals using their harvested beans. Such and dips and frittatas. These recipes encouraged students to experiment with different cooking techniques.

As part of the Year 4 and 5 Kitchen Garden Program we are very pleased to be supporting FoodFilled; a not-for-profit devoted to combating food wastage and hunger. Students harvested their very tasty fresh produce and used them to cook delicious pumpkin and lentil soup, cheesy broccoli pasta bake, orange cupcakes and basil, pesto and cheese scrolls. The food was given directly to local charities by FoodFilled. Students also brought non-perishable food items to donate with the fresh produce and meals.

Year 4 and 5 students cooked up a delicious Israeli feast to celebrate Yom Ha’Atzmaut (Israel’s Independence day) in Kitchen classes this week. Dishes created in their feast were vibrant and nutritious using fresh produce harvested from our garden. Students made Israeli salad, Shakshuka, Majadra, fresh fluffy pita and Israeli hummus. All recipes can be found under the RECIPES tab above.

We are a passionate group of Year 4 and 5 students. We proudly ran an active Science and Sustainability workshop using the Kids Teaching Kids methodology taught to us by Julie Hart. We represented the school and taught other students from local primary schools about how we protect and enhance local habitats at school. Especially in the Kitchen and Bush Tucker Gardens.

In the afternoon we learnt a lot at the adult-led activities. We especially enjoyed learning about sustainability practices from Darren the Indigenous Educator from the Boon Wurrung Foundation. Testing the lake water to identify macro invertebrates to determine the water quality with the Environmental Educators from the EcoCentre was really interesting and fun. We learnt a lot on the day that we will share with our peers so at school we can all take more action to make a positive difference.

What a wonderful start to 2002 for our Year 4 and 5 students have had in our Kitchen Garden Program. We’ve been fortunate to be able to grow, harvest, prepare and share with minimal disruptions this year. Students have begun understanding the many benefits of cooking with fresh, seasonal produce and our bountiful summer harvest has been used for a variety of delicious dishes.

In the first few lessons of Kitchen, students have focused on the importance of Food Safety and developing safe Knife handling skills. They’ve mastered the bridge, bear claw and rock & chop techniques (shown below). They’ve also developed confidence is using other equipment like graters, peelers and spiralisers to create different textures in their dishes

There are so many skills to learn in Kitchen and many opportunities to incorporate cross circular learning. I look forward to seeing the Year 4 and 5 students grow in confidence in the Kitchen learning space as the year progresses!

If you would like any of the KG recipes made in class, click on the RECIPES tab at the top of this page.

Nate Zukerman and family have an a very fruitful vegetable farm and vineyard. We are incredibly grateful for the large range of summer vegetables that the family donated to the Kitchen Garden Program. The deep red of the tomatoes is blinding and the kids remarked “they taste so flavoursome” “this is so juicy and delicious”. In the next fortnight students will use the zucchini in the variety of dishes they prepare.

To view all of the delicious recipes please click here Recipes | Kitchen Garden (bialik.vic.edu.au).