East K-7 Garden Club

Zucchini Chocolate Chip Cookies

2010-07-21T14:14:00.000-07:00

Today our featured vegetable was zucchini. We tried Zucchini Chocolate Chip Cookies and they were a hit! The recipe can be found at animalv egetablemiracle.com. For another yummy zucchini recipe, look on our blog in August 2009, Week 11.

We harvested potatoes, beans, kale and lettuce.

Installing the Signs and Watering Thirsty Flowers

2010-07-06T11:40:00.000-07:00

The Green Drink and Colorful Beans

2010-07-06T11:34:00.000-07:00

A hot day and a refreshing drink! For the recipe, visit the archives, May 2009.

Purple Beans

Dragon Tongue Beans

New Signs for the Garden

2010-06-29T11:26:00.000-07:00

We made signs for the vegetable garden and the butterfly garden.

Today's harvest: onions!

June 29, 2010

2010-06-29T11:20:00.000-07:00

Today's vegetable was mixed greens with poppyseed dressing. For the dressing recipe, check out the 2009 archives under June.

The tomatoes are starting and the snow peas are ending.

Snow Peas

2010-06-16T11:09:00.000-07:00

Sesame Snow Peas

Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add 1 lb. snow peas and cook for 1 minute. Drain and rinse with cold water. Toss with 1-2 tablespoons sesame oil, 1-2 tablespoons sesame seeds and 1-2 teaspoons salt. Enjoy!

Yum!

More! More!

Planting Mexican Gherkins

Radish Fun

2010-06-05T11:05:00.000-07:00

June 5, 2010

2010-06-05T10:46:00.000-07:00

We planted rhubarb and sampled some rhubarb bread, to find a recipe for rhubarb muffins, look in the archives under May.

Check out our radishes!

May 15, 2010

2010-05-15T10:36:00.000-07:00

Today we planted flowers in the butterfly garden and in the planters in front of the school.

Vegetable Survey, will it change by the end of the summer?

Natalie's mom is amazed by how much Natalie loves the asparagus guacamole. To find the recipe, look at the 2009 archives in May.

Garden Slideshow

2010-04-13T03:54:00.001-07:00

East Garden Club in the news!

2009-09-20T11:06:00.000-07:00

At our last garden club meeting, a reporter from the Grand Rapids Press came to check out our garden and meet the members of Garden Club. We are featured in today's (September 20) newspaper. Check it out online http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2009/09/planting_harvesting_eating_par.html

Week 14: Tomatoes and Basil

2009-09-10T07:46:00.000-07:00

Italian Caprese Salad

Slice tomatoes.
Slice a ball of fresh Mozarella.
Arrange the tomatoes and Mozarella on a plate. Drizzle olive oil and Balsamic Vinegar over top. Sprinkle chopped basil on top. Salt and pepper to taste.

Week 14: Kale

2009-09-10T07:37:00.001-07:00

Kale Chips

Remove stems from kale and tear into 2 inch pieces. Place on a cookie sheet. Spray or brush with olive oil. Use your fingers to rub it into each piece. Salt with sea salt or kosher salt. Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes or until crunchy, but not brown. Eat like chips or crumble into soup or on top of pizza.

Week 14: A Celebration Feast

2009-09-10T06:12:00.000-07:00

Wow! What a fun time we had today! Everyone brought treats to share. We had zucchini bread, carrot-raisin cinnamon muffins, applesauce, strawberries, italian caprese salad, salsa, dilly beans and kale chips. We had a delicious feast! Thanks everyone for bringing something to share! Send in your recipes and I'll post them!

Week 13: Believe it or not, beets!

2009-08-28T17:45:00.000-07:00

Beets were a big hit, in the form of chocolate cake that Mrs. Holland-Anderson baked! Mrs. Rettler brought sweet and sour beets. We enjoyed tasting them. Here is the cake recipe as well as another recipe that we enjoy at home.

Beet Chocolate Cake (great topped with cream cheese frosting or hot fudge)
from Asparagus to Zucchini

2 c. sugar
2 c. flour
1/4 c. baking cocoa
1/2 t. salt
2 t. baking powder
1 t. baking soda
1/4 c. oil
3-4 ounces, unsweetened chocolate
4 eggs
3 cups shredded beets

Combine dry ingredients. Melt chocolate slowly over low heat. Allow chocolate to cool, then blend in eggs and oil. Combine flour mixture with chocolate mixture, alternating with the beets. Pour into 2 greased 9 inch cake pans. Bake at 325 degrees for 40-50 minutes or until a fork can be removed from the center cleanly.

Carrot-Beet Burgers
Farmer John's Cookbook

1/2 c. toasted sesame seeds
1 c. toasted sunflower seeds
2 c. shredded beets
2 c. shredded carrots
1/2 c. minced onion
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 c. cooked brown rice
1 c. shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 c. vegetable oil
1/2 c. finely chopped parsley
3 T. flour
2 T. soy sauce or tamari
1 clove garlic, minced

Combine all ingredients, it works well to use your hands to mix. Shape the mixture into 12 patties and arrange them on a greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Serve alone or on buns.

Harvesting is so much fun!

2009-08-27T17:13:00.000-07:00

Another day of rain, but we were still able to harvest. We found some beautiful tomatoes, onions, potatoes, more beans and peppers, kohlrabi and even a baby eggplant! Everyone enjoyed dividing the harvest to enjoy at home.

Next week is our last summer club meeting. Please bring a treat to share (hopefully made from a seasonal fruit or vegetable). We will plan to meet once in September and October to see the garden and prepare it for winter.

Week 12: Rain

2009-08-20T12:23:00.000-07:00

It was a rainy morning, but a few fearless gardeners came to check out the garden. We found some Asparagus Beans and a good looking tomato. Our corn grew tassels, we can't wait for the mini-corns to grow! Our featured vegetables were cucumbers. Mrs. Rettler brought some spicy refrigerator pickles and dilly beans.

Crunchy Fridge Pickles
from: Steve & Kelly (Wellman)

2 cups white vinegar
5 cups warm water
4 heads dill
4 cloves garlic, halved
2 tsp. alum
1 TBS. pickle spice
1/4 cup pickly salt
2 tsp. Frank's Red Hot
4 jalapenos, halved

Divide equally between 4 quart jars, then fill with sliced cucumbers and cover with the water/vinegar mixture. Ready in about one week.

Dilly Beans
from: Steve & Kelly (Wellman)

2 lb. green beans, divided between 4 pint jars.
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper per pint
1 clove garlic per pint
1 head dill per jar

Boil 2 1/2 cups water. Add 2 1/2 cups white vinegar & 1/4 cup pickling salt. Add to jars. Refrigerate. Ready in about one week.

Week 11: Summer Squash

2009-08-16T10:25:00.000-07:00

This week we discussed summer bounty. We discussed a chapter from the book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barabara Kingsolver. She titled a chapter, Zucchini Larceny, because they had so many zucchinis that they were leaving them in people's mailboxes!

We tried a pasta dish with shredded summer squash and everyone begged for seconds. We got the thyme from the school garden and Mrs. Rettler brought fresh oregano from her own garden. Yum. Click here to find the recipe for Disappearing Zucchini Orzo (we used summer squash) and try these yummy cookies with either zucchinni or summer squash!

Check out the picture of this week's harvest!

Week 10: Purple Beans!

2009-08-03T10:41:00.000-07:00

Under the leaves of our bean plants we found beautiful beans! Purple, Yellow with purple stripes (dragon tongue beans) and long thin green beans! Everyone tasted them and took some home. We trimmed the lettuce for a spicy lettuce salad and harvested a beautiful head of broccoli. We even found a potato bursting through the soil.

Week 9: Field Trip to Groundswell CSA Farm

2009-07-30T10:53:00.000-07:00

We left our small school garden and visited a working CSA Farm, Groundswell Farm. We toured the grounds with the farmers, Anna and Katie. We helped them weed a cabbage patch and we harvested some carrots and washed them on the veggie merry-go-round. What a fun experience!

Directions to Groundswell CSA Farm

2009-07-23T14:11:00.000-07:00

Our field trip is next week, Thursday, 9:30-11 am. Call Mrs. Holland-Anderson or Mrs. Rettler if you are interested in carpooling. See the previous post for information about what to bring.

Groundswell Community Farm

6527 Quincy Street

Zeeland, MI 49464

616-885-7776 Katie

(616) 635-7978 Anna

groundswellfarmer@gmail.com

Week 8: Basil

2009-07-22T14:03:00.000-07:00

This week we tried pesto made with basil. Basil can be found in abundance in gardens and the farmer's market for the next month or so. Pesto can be spread on bread or used as a sauce for pasta. It even tastes great on pizza.

BASIL WALNUT PESTO

1 bunch fresh basil (large handful or 2 cups packed)

1/4 cup romano or parmesan cheese (freshly grated if possible)

1/4 cup walnuts

1 clove garlic, minced

kosher salt to taste - shouldn't need much

3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Process first 4 ingr. in food processor. Drizzle oil while processing. This can also be frozen.

Field Trip to Groundswell CSA July 30

2009-07-21T14:51:00.000-07:00

We have the opportunity to visit a real working CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) Farm. Plan to arrive there by 9:30. Directions can be found at Groundwell's website. We will be there until 11.

Come dressed to get DIRTY (boots, old clothes)! Bring:

a sun hat
a water bottle
sunscreen
a snack

We will have a tour of the farm and hear from the farmers. We will do some work in the fields and have a great time.

Parents are welcome! Please call Mrs. Holland-Anderson or Mrs. Rettler if you need a ride or have any questions.

Sunflowers

2009-07-21T12:40:00.001-07:00

Look at the progression of the sunflowers as they grow. It is interesting to see each step. We also took a group photo next to them. Watch future posts to see how much the flowers grow.

Week 7: Radishes

2009-07-20T04:55:00.000-07:00

This week we tried radishes. We tried a delicious sandwich that we found at http://24boxes.blogspot.com/2009/05/radish-chive-sandwich-with-cream-cheese.html

Everyone agreed that it was quite delicious. This is a first for me (Mrs. Holland-Anderson) because even though I have tried many times, I have not found a recipe that I like. I even thought it was delicious and made it several times at home! It is also good with cucumbers.

Week 7: Look at our beautiful sandwiches!

2009-07-09T12:39:00.000-07:00

Week 6: Fresh Fruit

2009-07-02T13:58:00.000-07:00

Today we encouraged everyone to bring something from their garden or to find something from the farmer's market. Everyone brought delicious fruit! We made our own creations and topped them off with yogurt or whipped cream. YUM!

Week 5: Adding a butterfly garden

2009-06-25T12:18:00.000-07:00

We added some plants to the garden at the front of the school. We chose butterfly friendly plants to encourage butterflies to visit. It is fun to find worms in the soil. Look how dirty our hands are!

Week 5: Tending the Garden

2009-06-25T12:10:00.000-07:00

This week we weeded the vegetable garden, turned the soil and added manure.

Week 5: Kohrabi and Sweet Peas

2009-06-25T11:59:00.000-07:00

Today we tried two new veggies.

Kohlrabi, a bulb-like stem from the cabbage family. It tastes a little more mild and sweeter than a broccoli stem. We peeled and sliced it and ate it raw with lime and salt.

Sweet Peas
Again, Mrs. Rettler harvested some peas from her garden and we all munched on them raw. They were so tender and sweet after being freshly picked!

Week 4: Tending the Garden

2009-06-16T11:48:00.000-07:00

Week 4: Mixed Greens

2009-06-16T11:13:00.000-07:00

Our featured vegetable this week was Mixed Greens. Mrs. Rettler harvested some salad greens from her garden the morning of Garden Club. We mixed them with some homemade poppyseed dressing.

Poppyseed Dressing Recipe

1 c. vegetable oil
1/2 c. honey
1/2 c. white vinegar
4 oz. silken tofu (we used plain yogurt)
2 T. poppy seeds
1 1/2 t. dry mustard
1 1/4 t. salt
2 T. minced onion

Place oil through salt in a blender or food processor. Process
until smooth. Transfer to a bowl and stir in onions.

Garden Club News

2009-06-15T19:33:00.000-07:00

East K-8 Garden Club News

NOTE: Day change

Due to some conflicts we will be changing the garden club to Thursday mornings, same time, 9-10 am.

Farmer’s Market Challenge:

We encourage you to visit the Farmer’s Market on Wednesdays and find a local product (veggies, fruit, eggs, cheese). Use it in a recipe and bring it to garden club on Thursdays to share. Please copy the recipe as well to share with club members. We will also post the recipe on the blog.

Ottawa County Fair

Anyone can enter home-grown produce in the Ottawa County Fair. We would love for garden club members to try to grow something at home and enter it in the fair. They offer cash prizes! What a fun experience. The fair is in July so the best vegetables to grow in that time frame are spinach, lettuce, onions and radish. Just find a spot in your yard to dig up or even a large pot with some soil!

Butterfly Garden

In the next few weeks, we will create a butterfly garden in one of the existing gardens at the school. We welcome plants. Watch for close-outs in the stores. We are looking for butterfly-friendly plants, such as zinnias, cosmos, petunias and sweet william. You could also ask a garden expert at the store for other plants that butterflies love.

Tomato Cages and Trellis

We need some tomato cages and a trellis-like support for our squash plant. We are looking for some creative ideas that anyone might have for creating these structures. Does anyone have any scraps around that could be used to build something? Does anyone have any building expertise?

http://eastgardenclub.blogspot.com/

Don’t forget to check the blog for updates, pictures, recipes and other garden club news.

Week 3: Sorrel

2009-06-09T10:57:00.000-07:00

Things are just beginning to sprout in the garden. It will be exciting to see how things grow!

Today we tried Sorrel, an herb with a lemony flavor. It came from our CSA, Groundswell Community Farm. Check out this link for more information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sorrel.

Sorrel Recipe:
Spread cream cheese on your favorite crackers and top with a sorrel leaf. It also tastes great in salads and on sandwiches.

Reactions to the "Green Drink"

2009-06-02T10:10:00.001-07:00

I wish that I had brought my camera or, even better, my video camera! I introduced Spinach as the vegetable of the week. We passed around a leaf and each child pulled off a little piece to try. They were surprised as we began putting the spinach leaves in the blender. They heaved a sigh of relief when we added sweeter things, pineapple juice and banana. One group of students in particular makes me smile. Each student was so hesitant that they would only try a taste, certainly not a full cup. They all waited until each one was holding a cup, at the count of three they all tasted it. You should have seen their faces! Oh, for the video camera! They smiled, licked their lips and begged for full cups of the cool, green, frothy drink. Every student in the group loved the green drink! Mission accomplished, our garden club members are trying local seasonal vegetables, and telling their families about it. Hopefully next week's vegetable goes over just as well.

Week 2: Vegetable of the Week

2009-05-31T18:39:00.001-07:00

Our featured vegetable this week is Spinach. Try this smoothie at home!

Green Drink

2-3 cups of spinach, washed
1 banana
1-2 cups of pineapple juice
6 ice cubes

Place all ingredients in a blender, blend until very smooth.

You can also add flax seed and/or coconut milk. If you don't like to drink something green, try adding frozen blueberries, strawberries or raspberries. Yummy!

[Photo credit: Nickster2000 on Flickr]

The First Garden Club Meeting

2009-05-31T18:24:00.000-07:00

On our first day we began to loosen the hard-packed soil. We usesd rakes, hoes, "The Claw," spades and our hands! It was so fun to get dirty. We also tried two recipes with the vegetables of the week, asparagus and rhubarb. See the previous entry for the recipes.

Great First Day!

2009-05-18T18:01:00.000-07:00

We had 24 members for our first meeting. Our club members came in with energy and excitement. They willingly tried the Asparagus Guacamole and the Rhubarb Muffins and were begging for more! They attacked the hard-packed soil with gusto. It was so great to see all 24 kids digging and playing in the dirt. We planted a few marigolds for a bit of color. At our next meeting we will rake in some manure and begin planting our veggies.

First Vegetables of the Season

2009-05-18T15:23:00.000-07:00

This week's featured vegetables are rhubarb and asparagus. Head to the Holland Farmer's Market on Wednesday or Saturday to try them!

Here are the recipes for the muffins and guacamole we tried at our first garden club meeting.

Rhurbarb-Sour Cream Muffins with Brown Sugar Topping (adapted from Cooking Light)

Muffins:
3 1/2 c. rhubarb, finely chopped
2 T. flour
1 1/2 c. brown sugar, packed
5 T. butter, softened
2 eggs
1 c. sour cream or plain yogurt
2 t. vanilla
1 1/2 c. whole wheat pastry flour
1 c. flour
1 t. baking soda
1 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. salt

Topping:
1/4 c. brown sugar, packed
1/2 t. cinnamon
2 T. butter, chilled and cut into small pieces

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Muffins: Combine rhubarb and 2 T. flour. Set aside. Place brown sugar and 5 T. butter in a large bowl. Beat at medium until fluffy. Add eggs and beat well. Add sour cream or yogurt and vanilla. Beat well. In another bowl, mix flours, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Add slowly to butter mixture, beating until just moistened. Stir in rhubarb. Fill greased muffin tins 2/3 full.
Topping: Combine brown sugar and cinnamon. Cut in butter with a pastry blender or 2 forks (this can also be done in a food processor) until crumbly. Sprinkle evenly over muffins. Bake at 375 degrees or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Asparagus Guacamole (adapted from Food for Thought)

10.5 oz. fresh asparagus, cooked and drained
1 clove garlic, peeled
2 t. lime juice
1 jalapeno pepper, minced
1 T. onion, chopped
2 t. tomato paste
1/8 t. salt
1/4 t. cumin

Add all ingredients to a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth. Serve with tortilla chips, crackers or vegetables.

[Photo credits: Rhubarb by frangrit on Flickr; asparagus by itsjustanalias on Flickr.]

Introducing the Garden Club

2009-05-16T12:53:00.000-07:00

Here are some photos of the 2008 season. The highlight was growing potatoes. After the potatoes were harvested, several families used them to make potato salad for the back-to-school picnic. Yum!