We have some large and very happy kale plants growing in one of the beds of the summer camp/ after school playground. These kale plants survived through the snow and cold of last winter and will likely thrive this fall and winter too. Kale actually tastes better after a frost by converting some of it’s starch into sugar, Mother Nature’s version of antifreeze.

Kale harvesters

I’ve shown the children how to harvest kale by snipping the lower, larger leaves with scissors and letting the smaller ones on the top continue to grow. They are fast becoming expert kale gardeners.

Prepping kale leaves

Once the kale has been harvested, we bring it inside to prep it for kale chips. No knives are needed so this is an easy task for any age. Holding the stem, you rip the leaves off. Stems are put in our compost outside. The leaves are further torn into smaller pieces.

Kale leaves, ready for the oven.

I take the leaves to the kitchen, gently rinse and blot them dry. They are then placed on parchment paper on a large baking tray, a cookie sheet would work nicely at home. Rub the kale leaves down with a small amount of oil, add a sprinkle of salt and put them into a preheated 300 degree oven for 8-10 minutes. They are done when light and crispy, not soggy.

Kale chips are best eaten immediately. When a bowl of kale chips appears in the summer camp classroom fresh out of the oven, it disappears quickly!

Try them at home, they are sure to be a hit! You can also experiment with adding a sprinkle of garlic powder, onion powder or even some smoked paprika.

Purple beans in the Pre-K garden

One day last week, we had one of those days where the timing all fell perfectly into place. Green and purple string beans were plentiful in the PreK and Toddler garden beds. Basil was booming and cucumbers were hanging on the fences, waiting to be picked for lunch.

Research shows that children who are involved with growing food tend to eat more vegetables than those who don’t. The children in toddler, pre-K and summer camp classes all loved this 3 bean salad.

With a recipe like this one, you can add other ingredients and it will still be delicious. It’s as if the recipe is just a suggestion to get you started! Stacey’s Pre-K class added cucumbers and basil freshly picked from their garden beds.

The summer campers had an especially fun time whisking the dressing and adjusting the ingredients to their tastes.

Assembling the 3 bean salad

3 Bean Salad Recipe

2 cups chick peas
2 cups kidney beans
2 cups steamed green beans
1/2 onion
2 stalks celery

Dressing:
1 cup cider vinegar
1 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon ground dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder

We planted cilantro seeds in all of the Toddler garden beds back in May. Cilantro is an easy to grow herb that is one of the dozen that are featured in our new Herb IQ program made possible by an environmental grant from the Rusticus Garden Club.

Harvested toddler cilantro

This morning, we harvested most of the cilantro because it was starting to bolt.Bolting is when a plant shoots up a flowering stem in a natural attempt to make seeds.

Cilantro likes to grow in cooler, moist conditions and will bolt quickly in hot weather, like what we are having now. This a survival mechanism for the cilantro plant. Plants are so smart! Cilantro knows that it will die in hot weather, so it will try to produce seeds as quickly as possible to ensure that the next generation of cilantro will survive and grow. The seeds of the cilantro plant are coriander.

Linda, our kitchen manager, takes the harvested cilantro and makes it into lunch!

The cilantro traveled to the kitchen where Linda and Marla turned it into a wonderful cilantro pesto. This is one of our recipes from the Feed Me Fresh curriculum. The children LOVE this cilantro sauce on their pasta.

Here’s the Cilantro pesto recipe from our curriculum, try it at home!

Cilantro Pesto

Ingredients
3 garlic cloves,
2 cups fresh cilantro, stems and leaves
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
Juice of one lemon
salt and pepper

For lunch at MKCCC: Radiatore pasta with cilantro pesto

Directions:

Gently rinse cilantro in a colander to remove any soil or insects. Drain or blot dry with paper towels.
Place the garlic and cilantro in a food processor.
While the processor is running, slowly add the oils, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Process until smooth.
Pour the pesto over a bowl of pasta, stir to blend. Serve.

George loved the cilantro pesto pasta.