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Chooks on the run
Wednesday lunchtime we were very shocked to find 2 chickens running around the school oval!!!! We quickly rounded them up and started to investigate.
There was a big gap in the wire that they had dug up as it touched the ground. We found some big wood and boxes to block up the hole. Knowing this wasn’t going to hold up, we got some wire, a drill, hammer and clips to screw the wire to the wooden pole. We wanted to make sure we blocked the hole for good! We were really proud of each other as this was our first time using a hammer, screws and drill.
What a wonderful Winter harvest!
This wonderful Winter harvest from our school garden was put to great use in the Kitchen at the end of Term 2.
We made delicious Pumpkin Gnocchi, Potato and Rosemary Pizza, Broccoli and Herb Frittata, Roast Beetroot, Spinach and Fetta Salad and as an end of term treat, Chocolate Chip Cookies.
These recipes provided a great opportunity to incorporate Maths into our Kitchen lesson as students had to use their maths skills to calculate how to divide their Pizza & Frittata evenly amongst the number of students in their class, as you can see below.
As always, all recipes are available to download on the ‘Recipes’ link above.
Cooking for the Lighthouse Foundation.
Towards the end of Term 2, the Year 4 & 5 students did a wonderful job of cooking warm winter meals and treats for the Lighthouse Foundation. The students made trays of Cheesy Broccoli Pasta Bake, Vegetable Slice, batches of hearty Minestrone soup, Pumpkin and Spinach Pinwheels and Apple and Cinnamon muffins. All the dishes incorporated fresh, seasonal vegetables grown and harvested by the students from our school garden. The students also assisted in packaging the food before it was delivered. The volunteers at Lighthouse were extremely impressed by the quality of the nutritious meals prepared our Year 4 & 5 students and were most appreciative of their very kind donation.
All recipes are available under the ‘Recipe’ link above.
Fun in the garden!!!
We had lots of fun in the garden today. From our bed, number 16, we harvested the craziest carrot we have seen yet. They still taste sweet and more yummy than the shop carrots. When we measured the pH of the soil in our bed it was still neutral, pH =7, so we didn’t add any wood ash.
Still butternut pumpkin to harvest. The pumpkin can last 2-3 months before it has to be eaten. We put them on the window ledge in the kitchen and have been cooking with them since Term 1.
Be inspired, it’s in our nature
CLICK on the below links for more information on the benefits of nature!!!!
Behind the News – National Schools Tree Day
National Tree Day: A Prescription for Health, Happiness and Fulfilment
Each year Bialik takes great pride in being a part of National Schools Tree day to continually extend our Indigenous Garden and provide a safe habitat for local wildlife.
Autumn – a season of change!
Autumn has arrived and students are noticing many changes in the garden! They are turning and nurturing beds, winter veggies are being planted and seeds sown. Students have been harvesting pumpkins, zucchinis, snow peas, silver beet, king purple beans, carrots, onions and of course lettuce.
Our cherry tomatoes have been enjoyed straight from the vine. It has be
en interesting for some children to taste how fantastic and sweet a yellow and orange cherry tomato tastes when picked direct from the vine.
We are starting to create new garden bed signs and build trellis for the broad beans. Making organic pesticide is a must at this time of year!
Happy gardening,
Julie
Our early Autumn harvest inspires Asian flavours in the Kitchen.
Our early Autumn harvest from the Bialik Garden was the inspiration for our Asian-themed Menu this week. As you can see in the photos above, our Harvest Table looked very impressive with an abundance of beautiful, fresh produce all harvested by the students from our Garden!
The Pak Choy was used in an Asian Greens Stir-Fry with Ginger and Soy and also in a delicious Vegetarian Fried Rice. Our zucchini were also used in the Fried Rice and in Vietnamese Rice Paper Rolls. A fresh Garden Salad with Citrus Vinegarette accompanied our mains with deliciously, crispy Roti. It is always so lovely to see the class come together after all their hard work to share & enjoy their dishes.
All recipes are available on our ‘Recipes’ link so please feel free to download a copy.
Science Week in the Kitchen!
During Science Week, the Year 4 & 5 students explored the Science of Taste in the Kitchen. We discussed the 5 main tastes and how the taste of foods relates to their chemical make-up, but also depends on how they are combined and the effect of temperature whilst cooking.
Each group then cooked a recipe based on each of these 5 tastes:
Greek Stuffed Vegetables (Sweet)
Beetroot Borani – Persian Beetroot dip (Sour)
Rosemary Focaccia (Salty)
Vegetarian Samosa (Bitter)
Braised Pumpkin & Silverbeet in Miso (Umani)
These recipes showcased a wide range of tastes & flavours from around the world – Greece, Iran, Italy, India & Japan. When it came to sampling our dishes it was a healthy and exciting eating experience for all and it was so great to see so many students trying new flavour combinations for the very first time!
What a wonderful start to 2017 in the Kitchen!
The Year 4 & 5 students have all had a wonderful start to the Kitchen Program this year!
The Year 4 classes have had an introductory lesson where they learnt about what’s in season in our Garden, they explored the wonderful space they’ll be cooking in and learnt the importance of safe Knife skills.
The Year 5 classes had a refresher course on Knife skills and enthusiastically began cooking their first Menu based on the fresh, seasonal produce from the School Garden. Their first menu consisted of Hummus and Vegetable sticks, Sweet Corn Fritters, Zucchini and Cheese Muffins, Greek Salad and Homemade Tortillas. (All recipes are on the Blog).
It was wonderful to see the students work so cooperatively in their teams and then come together to share and enjoy their dishes with gusto!
A big thank you to all the volunteers who helped us in the Kitchen this week. We look forward to cooking with you all again soon! 🙂