Kitchen Garden Program

There is now some chance that my suggestion that our school participate in the wonderful School Kitchen Garden Program wont be dismissed! Though it's believed that we don't have the volunteer base in our school of 530+ students and that the garden would become a dilapidated eyesore we have to do something about our large and rubble strewn paddock!

This is a worthy initiative I had originally seen on Gardening Australia. It was initially set up by Stephanie Alexander in Victoria to teach kids how to grow and cook their own food.

There is an expectation that all kids hate vegetables... I can attest that this is not true! If parents introduce vegetables along with all the other staples they accept them just as well. ( I know that many parents will dispute this but how is it possible that this problem doesn't exist across cultures?)

If however, the parent grimaces and makes comments like "eat your greens or you'll get no dessert" then you are doomed to bribing and cajoling them to eat their veggies. Here is an interesting article about other things to avoid when presenting new foods to your kids.

Once kids make up their mind they don't like something it's really hard to change their opinion.

Stephanie Alexander has shown that by planting a seed, looking after a plant and the surprise of that plant providing real food, food you can eat, can sometimes convince picky eaters to try beans, tomatoes and homegrown carrots.



Imagine taking this further and teaching children environmentally aware land care practices, safe kitchen techniques, communication/ social skills, appreciation of other cultures and how to follow recipes. You've got quite a bit of the primary school curriculum covered there in a way the kids enjoy. Getting their hands dirty, actively participating in a class that is tangible and practical. A local school has already done this, visit their blog at : http://ecopond.blogspot.com/

I'd love to do this and will send along an email volunteering my services to any local school that is thinking of applying for this grant.

Olympics overdose

Seems everyone is a sport enthusiast these days. That's all the kids seem to be studying at school: Olympic themed art, research projects and even language (conveniently Chinese + Greek at our school) are all centred around this 2 week event. Lunacy!

This morning as I was going through my usual Tuesday morning ritual of strong coffee before the gym and looking over the SMH I was interrupted by a friendly stranger. He was enquiring whether I'd seen the spectacular results of the 1500m... I had no idea what he was talking about!

Now I know that to a stranger I may look like a sporty type since I am sitting here in my gym outfit but I really don't get the Olympics. But this guy was from Tunisia and he was obviously very proud of his fellow countryman, who I've now worked out must be Oussama Melloulli (who beat Australia's Grant Hacket at the 1500m freestyle event -thanks Google).

A discussion about elite sports and its funding ensued, the Tunisian telling me Oussama was completely self funded. I doubt it.

I'm curious about what it costs countries to fund each medal so I type into Google "cost of Olympic gold medals per capita Australia" and come up with this really interesting article eschewing the bias of medal tally/ capita count. By the tables here Australia comes second to the Bahamas for medals won per capita. But that's not exactly what I'm looking for.
I'm really more interested in how much it costs for Australia to fund these medals and where the money comes from and at the expense of what?

Crickey's James Conner sheds some light:

"Each Olympic gold medal in the last 20 years has cost Australian taxpayers about $40 million...

So the next time an elite athlete whines about it (drugs in sport) not being "fair", ask them how many years of assistance they have got from the Australian public purse, how many coaches, physios and sports scientists helped them, how often they get special high altitude training at Thredbo, how many times their technique has been mapped and analysed at the AIS to micro-manage it. Let’s remember the other athletes, the ones not lucky enough to be born in a wealthy country obsessed with sporting success."

$40 million per medal! Ouch, that's a lot of hospitals and schools.

Spaghetti Meat(less)balls Recipe

Although the kids have never had meatballs, burgers or sausages I know they hold a certain appeal to their visiting friends so I was always on the lookout for a good substitute.
After much experimentation I came up with the following recipe which many kids have pronounced "the best meatballs EVER!". If only they knew...

I made some of these for dinner last night and was hoping to get a photo to put here but they all disappeared. Luckily I'm teaching this to my students on Monday night so I will try and remember to get a shot then!

VEGETARIAN “MEATBALLS”

Serves: 24 medium size meatballs
Preparation: 15 minutes + 30 minutes refrigeration
Cooking Time: 20 minutes

Set oven to 190C

Ingredients:
½ c cheddar cheese, grated
¼ c parmesan cheese, grated
4 eggs, lightly beaten
½ c walnuts, finely chopped in a food processor
1 c breadcrumbs, large crumb
1 tin lentils, well drained
200 gm mushrooms, finely chopped
1 tablespoon mixed herbs
1 garlic clove, crushed (optional)
Salt & Pepper to taste


Method:

1. Using your (clean) hands, mix all ingredients together in a large bowl.
2. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
3. Form into walnut size balls and place on a paper lined baking tray.
4. Spray with canola oil.
5. Bake at 190C for 20 minutes, turning occasionally for an even colour.

At this stage you can add the “meatballs” to your tomato sauce or use it in other recipes.
I serve them on top of the spaghetti and sauce with parmesan cheese.

Variations:
Add tomato paste, chilli or chopped fresh herbs to the mix for a different flavour.

here's the scoop, we're going to Argentina!

I think I've found the solution to our continuing issues at school... and it involves ice cream :-)

An 12 week soujourn in Argentina should be just what the kids need to spur them on to bigger/ better/ broader things! And there's no point in having Spanish classes unless we actually use them after all.

I've always wanted the kids to have the experience of living in Argentina for an extended time. I can't think of a better time to go. The longer we leave it the harder it will be to extricate them from sporting and other commitments.

Amazingly Tony has agreed and will meet us over there for a holiday at some point.
I have a wad of forms to fill in to "request exemption from school", what a joke!
I've looked at the Distance Education School but unfortunately this doesn't apply to us as we wont be gone long enough...

I look forward to taking charge of the kids' education for a while, steering them away from the drill & repetition that seems to have stiffled their love of learning. Surrounded by loving family and amazing opportunities I'm sure they'll get their spring back.

I'm already planning what material to take, there's no way I could hope to carry enough books to feed their reading habits so will have to rely on bookstores/ libraries over in Bs As. Will load the laptop with all our sundry programs (Ultimate Maths Invaders and Kidspiration are current hits) and make sure we have access to Mathletics/ Spellodrome and of course email!

No doubt we will get course work to complete also. After the initial settling in period I'll see if the kids are interested in attending the local school I went to when I was their age.

sleepy sunday

On this sleepy Sunday that confusingly switches between sunshine and rain I begin my first blog post. Now that Jo has one we're guaranteed an audience of 1! There's something about a sleepy Sunday that inspires a new project.

Not that I need any! I've got plenty of quilts unfinished in the studio (known as UFOs or Un Finished Objects) There's even one hanging on the design wall waiting for me to perfect my 1/4" seam on my whizbang machine that does everything but the dishes!

The kids have also got their own projects to work on. Ollie is getting to know his new Lego Robot friend and Sofia is getting messy with the PVA and the make-a-doll Mermaid kit.

Going to try to keep these posts brief so I'll get back to my ho-hum laundry and organising tomorrow's cookery lesson.

The students have asked we cook Chinese tomorrow in honour of the Beijing Olympics. I'm thinking pot sticker dumplings, fried rice, eggplant & snow pea stir fry and almond cookies. I've been playing around with a vegetarian dumpling recipe and Sofia and I are pretty happy with the results :-)

So will try and post pictures and recipes on Tuesday.

Chau for now!