June 2008
I recently attended the Fresh Fields for Fantastic Food seminar at the Hagerty Center sponsored by The Michigan Land Institute, Northwest Michigan Council of Governments and the Traverse City Area Chamber of Commerce. It was fantastic to see so many people in our region committed to seeing the "taste the local difference" thrive!
As Michigan's economy is struggling and unemployment rising, current statistics show an increase of 10% in agricultural jobs in our region. That says - our commitment to supporting local farms is working and creating even more jobs. Individuals, families, school food programs, hospitals & care centers are reviewing their menus and making changes in their food purchasing habits.
I am committed to this effort and look forward to continuing my involvement with TLD Farm Network Team. Thank you for supporting The Children's House commitment to ensuring our students a fresh, wholesome lunch and snack.
Over the summer months I will be at the school to harvest and preserve fruits and vegetables for next year's lunches. I will be checking my e-mail regularly and would welcome your thoughts, comments and summer fun news.
Thanks for a great year!
Trish Van Dusen
May 2008
This month we have been working with dough.... bread & pasta! The students have made various types of pasta, by hand and with a pasta machine. Experiencing the differences between handling & cooking fresh pasta versus dried.
We're having fun preparing our raised beds for the seedlings that have been started in the greenhouse. Ask your children what spring vegetables and herbs they've seen sprouting up in our gardens.
Edamame was the plant of the month for April.
Asparagus is the plant of the month for May.
Source of products used in our lunch program:
King Orchards - pears
Friske Orchards - braeburn, fuji, golden & red delicious, macIntosh, jona gold
Meadowlark Farm - garlic, potatoes, squash
Bolt's Farm - pie pumpkin
Miedema Farm - yellow onions
Graceland Fruit- dried cherries, dried blueberries, dried apples
Leelanau Fruit - frozen cherries, frozen peaches, frozen strawberries
March 2008
The upper elementary students really enjoyed Jim Muratzki's workshop on Chocolate. Jim is the owner of Forest Confections and gave our students a look into the history & geography of chocolate, and the process of creating truffles. You can find his products for sale at Oryana Foods and on line.
March 12th I attended the Farm to School conference at NMC's Great Lakes Academy, coordinated by the Michigan Land Institute. Cymbre & I were there with school district representatives from all over northern Michigan, all with the interest in learning how to incorporate local, fresh foods into there programs. I co-presented two workshops in the afternoon with Laura McCain, head dietician and nutritionist from Munson Medical Center. Our topics ranged from organizing menus around fresh seasonal produce, to preparing and preserving fresh foods for later use.
The plant of the month for April - Edamame!
February 2008
Lower elementary students in the kitchen this month researched the health benefits of winter squash and the many ways to prepare it. We end each weekly session with a Q & A game that has us all laughing but also has the students realizing just how much they have learned over the course of the week!
Plant of the Month for March: Fennel
When do we plant it? When do we harvest it? What part of the plant do we eat? What is the history of the plant? What are the health benefits?
March 5th
Upper Elementary students will get to meet Jim Muratzki, founder and head chocolatirer of Forest Confections, LLC of Traverse City. The students will learn about local and fair trade products from around the world that are used in his products and how the business operates.
January 31, 2008
The New Year has started out with gusto! The cold weather outside has had us focusing on warmth and good foods coming from the kitchen.
Broccoli is the "plant of the month". We have been discussing the health benefits from this vegetable as well as the ways to prepare and eat it. Check out the recipes on our website. I'm happy to hear that many of you are seeing the recipes and trying them! It gives the children support and reinforcement that what we're doing here REALLY does make a difference in their health now and in the future.
January 25th we had a guest speaker and presentation on the "tastes of India". Montessori mom, Michele Worden, (who lived and worked in India in the 90's) dazzled our senses with roasted spices, dal, chapati and raita. We will spend this last week of January preparing various Indian dishes.
February's "plant of the month" will be squash. We have kept our fall harvest in "cool" storage and are looking forward to preparing them in several ways!
I look forward to seeing you at the Fitness Festival, February 10th!
Trish
November 29, 2007
Our focus this month has been on root vegetables and winter squash. Some students prepared beets and then used the beet water to dye fabric for a classroom project. They were also able to continue their studies as a science experiment. Mold cultures were placed on slides and looked at through the microscope.
We washed and scrubbed our Russian Blue potatoes from Meadowlark farm. The students were very intrigued by their color (purple). Ask your child if they stay this color after cooking?
Pumpkin Fun Facts:
"Pumpkin" comes from the Greek word for melon - pepon or ‘cooked by the sun' or the French name, potiron, meaning ‘large mushroom', from the Arabic for morel mushrooms. Matthew Bigg's Complete Book of Vegetables
"A pumpkin is the largest vegetable we consume. Hard shelled, firm-fleshed, with fully ripened seeds, it's the caboose of the garden train", Barbara Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle.
November 1, 2007
October 25, 2007
- Apples are the plant of the month.... In the past two weeks we've had a guest baker teach us how to bake German apple cakes; we've made several batches of Paula red applesauce for the freezer and discussed the various types of apples. Ask your child about heirloom and newer apple varieties.
- We have officially finished preparing & freezing the "last" of our eggplant harvested from the garden.
- Sweet potatoes...the children loved them! Here are some sweet potato facts:
- Sweet potatoes are typically grown in warmer climates
- They are loaded with vitamin A as well as potassium & calcium
- The darker the skin of the potato, the sweeter and moister it's flesh
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