Brussels Sprouts: My new favorite vegetable???

They say that Brussels sprouts are one of the top five most hated vegetables in the world. Not so at Haldane Elementary School. Last Wednesday Chef Mark Gandara visited Mrs. Hocker's and Mrs. Walker's 1st grade classes and cooked up two special dishes using brussels sprouts as the main ingredient. In Mrs. Hocker's class they made Braised Brussels Sprouts in apple cider sprinkled with local bacon. In Mrs. Walker's class they made Mashed Brussels Sprouts baked with parmesan and cream. After helping Chef Mark prepare the two dishes, just about every child tried them. And one little girl blurted out, "Brussels sprouts are my new favorite vegetable!"

Better start making them at home moms and dads! Here are the recipes:

MASHED BRUSSELS WITH PARMESAN AND CREAM

Serves 4

1 1/4 lbs Brussels sprouts

A little grated nutmeg

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 cup grated Parmesan

Preheat the oven to 325F. Remove any outer leaves from the sprouts. Cut them in half.  Cook the sprouts in rapidly boiling unsalted water for four minutes. Drain, then put them in a food processor, along with some salt and pepper. Process briefly until  coarsely chopped. Season with a small pinch of nutmeg. Stir in the cream and most of the cheese. Scoop into a baking dish. Scatter with the reserved Parmesan and bake for 25 minutes or so until golden.

                                ****

Master recipe for Braised Brussels Sprouts

Serves 4

1 lb small Brussels Sprouts cut in half and stem trimmed with a knife. Discard outer leaves removed by hand

1/2 tsp salt

Bring the sprouts, 1/2 cup of water, and salt to boil in a 2-quart sauce pan over medium-high heat. Cover and simmer (shaking the pan once or twice to redistribute the sprouts) until a knife tip inserted into the center of a sprout meets no resistance, 8-10 minutes. Drain well and season (with ground black pepper and either olive oil or butter) and use in the below recipe.

BRUSSELS SPROUTS WITH BACON and CIDER

(*note do not use maple-flavored bacon, it will give an unpleasant flavor to this dish. To keep the bacon crisp, add the cooked bacon to the Brussels sprouts immediately before serving)

3 oz (about 3 slices) bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

2 medium cloves garlic minced or pressed

1/2 tsp minced fresh thyme leaves

3/4 cup cider or apple juice

1/8 tsp ground black pepper

1 Recipe brussels sprouts (see above)

1. Cook the bacon in a large skillet over medium-high heat until crisp about 5 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the bacon to a plate lined with paper towels; set aside.

2. Add the garlic and thyme to the rendered bacon fat in the skillet (there should be 2-3 tbsp of fat) and cook until fragrant about 1 minute. Add the cider and pepper and cook until the liquid is reduced by half, about 4 minutes. Add the sprouts and cook until heated through about 1 minute longer. Sprinkle with the reserved bacon and serve immediately.

Mrs. Hocker's 1st grade class

 Mrs. Walker's 1st grade Class

Chef in the Classroom at The Garrison School: Potatoes! Potatoes! Potatoes!

For the month of October, celebrating National Food Day, the Garrison sixth graders had the opportunity to work with Chef Laurie Gershgorn of Healthy Culinary Creations and made four fabulous dishes using locally grown potatoes.

The class was broken up into four groups:
Group 1 made sweet potato muffins
Group 2 made home fries
Group 3 made potato salad
Group 4 made an "experimental" potato mash

Everyone got to measure, mix, cook and best of all taste their creations.

Garrison 6th Graders making sweet potato muffin

Garrison 6th graders making potato veggie home fries

Chef in the Garden: Events herald second year of Farm-to-School activities

Transposing “the proof is in the pudding” to a healthier framework, children at Haldane and Garrison School each participated in a local field trip linking locally grown vegetable and dairy products to a delicious meal made from these ingredients.  They themselves gathered and picked the ingredients from the fields and barns in which they were grown, and thereby were able to make a vivid connection between the plants they pulled up from the soil and the serving of food on their plates a mere hour or so later.


Go to: Philipstown.info Chef in the Garden for the rest of the story.

Garrison 5th graders munching on lettuce

Garrison 5th grader harvesting ingredients for their salad

Garrison 5th grader enjoying the salad he helped make

Scarecrows and Herbs

On Monday after school, students got busy stuffing straw into old shirts and jeans and made some scary scarecrows.

We have more straw and clothes, so if you still want to make a scarecrow, come on out this Friday to our:

Family Picnic in the Garden and Film Screening of "What's On Your Plate?"

When: Friday, September 30th
6 pm: Picnic in the garden
7 pm: Film screening

Where: Haldane Sustainable Garden


Bring dinner and a blanket and enjoy the garden. Pick a bouquet of flowers. Taste some fresh herbs.

Then stay for our outdoor screening of the documentary film about kids and food politics.

This event is presented by the Haldane Garden and Farm to School programs and The Cold Spring Film Society.

Haldane's 4th grade class visits Glynwood to kick-off the 2011-12 Chef in the Classroom

On Thursday, September 22nd, Mrs. Hartford's 4th grade class visited Glynwood farm to experience first-hand where their food comes from. This was a special event to kick-off the Chef in the Classroom program for the new school year.

As the students got off the bus, they were greeted by farm educator, Carolyn Llewellyn. She led them into the demonstration garden and pointed out all the different vegetables and herbs that were growing and ready to harvest. With wicker baskets in hand, the students picked cherry tomatoes, chives, purple basil, rosemary and cabbage.

Next, they went into the CSA garden and picked kale and sungold tomatoes. After that, they had the rare opportunity to visit a mobile henhouse where each student was allowed to pick their very own egg.

Unlike a traditional henhouse, a mobile henhouse sits on wheels in an open field. The chickens spend most of their time outdoors – free to roam in a large fenced in area. Every few weeks the henhouse is moved to a different field. This process benefits both the chickens and the fields. The chickens benefit from a diet rich in vegetation and insects. And the fields are fertilized with their manure.

After the students collected all their ingredients, they headed up to the big red barn where Mark and Sunny Gandara had already set up their mobile kitchen. The kids sat on haystacks and helped prepare frittatas made with all the ingredients they had just picked. Everyone got a chance to crack an egg, stir in some herbs or sprinkle on a little cheese. And in under an hour, the kids were devouring their frittatas and begging for more!

Did they like it?? After every Chef in the Classroom program, the students are asked to name their dish. This is what they came up with:

Fabulous, Amazing, Delicious, Scrumptious, Fantastic, Wonderful Frittata!

The cafeteria will be serving this dish next Thursday, October 6th. Mark your calendars. Your kids won't want to miss this one.

Volunteers Needed this Saturday at The Cold Spring Farmers' Market

Come and help publicize the event: 


What's On Your Plate?
Family Picnic and film at Haldane's Sustainable Garden


When: September, 30th
Picnic, 6 pm, Film, 7 pm


Where: Haldane garden and blacktop


Presented by the Cold Spring Film Society and The Haldane PTA


Can you volunteer your time on Saturday, Sept. 17th or Saturday, Sept. 24th to help get the word out?
Email me back at: info@growinghaldane.com

Thanks!

Picnic in the Garden and Special Screening of "What's on Your Plate?"

The Haldane Sustainable Garden and Farm to School programs with the Cold Spring Film Society present:

What's on your Plate?

Where: Haldane's Sustainable Garden

When: Friday, September 30th 

Family picnic at 6 pm, Film at 7 pm

Come and picnic in the garden!

Screening on the Haldane School blacktop in front of the garden.

Free admission, all are welcome
Just bring a blanket and a picnic

Special guests TBA
More info at  coldspringfilm.org and hvfs.org

Presented by the Cold Spring Film Society and The Haldane PTA

Check out the trailer:

What is growing out of my compost!?

I never thought I was very successful composting in my backyard. I would diligently throw all the fruit and vegetable scraps into the compost, turn it once in awhile, but nothing would happen.

Well, something is definitely happening now!

What the heck is it???

Please share your comments and ideas.

Haldane Sustainable Garden photos

I was visiting the garden last week and wanted to share some photos of what is growing now.

Thank you volunteers! You are doing a fabulous job and the kids will come back to an abundant harvest in the Fall.

Broccoli and tomatoes

Brussel sprouts

Mixed flower bed

Nasturtium

Cucumbers galore

We'll have so many cucumbers. Maybe we can ask Chef Mark to teach the kids how to make pickles!

If anyone has additional photos of the garden, send them to the blog and we'll publish them online.

Happy gardening!

Haldane Receives Gift from First Lady's Let's Move Campaign

Haldane completed the first year of its Farm to School initiative and received a gift from First Lady Michelle Obama’s national Let’s Move campaign. When Haldane partnered with Chef Mark Gandara for the Chef in the Classroom program, a component of the farm to school initiative, Superintendent Dr. Villanti registered Haldane on the Let's Move Campaign/ Chefs Move to Schools national website.

The Chefs Move to Schools program, run through the U.S. Department of Agriculture, helps chefs partner with interested schools in their communities so together they can create healthy meals that meet the schools’ dietary guidelines and budgets, while teaching young people about nutrition and making balanced and healthy choices.

For registering with the national campaign, Haldane received a free cookware demonstration kit from The Partnership for a Healthier America. It is a beautiful kit containing All-Clad pots and pans, cooking utensils, bowls, a portable induction burner and more, valuing over $2,000.

The Partnership for a Healthier America serves as a partner to the First Lady’s Let’s Move Initiative by linking and mobilizing the private sector, foundations, thought leaders, media, and local communities to action and further the goals of curbing childhood obesity within a generation.  

On Monday, June 20^th, Mark and Sunny Gandara presented this gift to Cindy Miozzi, Haldane’s food service director. Cindy has been working with Chef Mark since the beginning of the school year preparing the recipes he develops in the classroom and serving them to the whole school each month. “Farmer’s Choice “ is what Cindy calls the fresh, local vegetable dish she serves in the cafeteria each month.

What is great about Haldane’s Farm to School initiative is what is happening in the cafeteria. Each month, the entire student body is being exposed to new foods. Not only are the kids that buy lunch encouraged to try the new vegetable dish, but anyone who is adventurous enough can ask to try a free sample.

For the final Chef in the Classroom event of the school year, Mrs. Battersby’s 5^th grade class made a “Rhubarb Jumble Crumble” with Chef Mark. It was met with such enthusiasm that when it was served in the cafeteria the following week, the kids were asking for seconds and ultimately it sold out.

Haldane is looking forward to starting up the program with Chef Mark again in the fall and trying out the new cookware and tools they received for participating in the Let’s Move campaign.

Calling All Summer Garden Volunteers!

Summer is near and we are asking for friends and families to help tend our our garden while school is out.

Each volunteer is responsible for tending to the garden for one week. You can bring friends and family members, and you can eat or bring home whatever you harvest. The responsibilities include watering and weeding. You can also plant something if there is an empty bed. Depending on the weather conditions, you should come at least twice during the week. If there has been no rain, you will need to come every day to water the garden. You will receive a reminder a few days before your shift. Please notify us ASAP if you have changed your plans and will not be able to fulfill your week committment. Email any questions at: info@growinghaldane.com.

Here are the available dates:

June 26
July 3
July 10
July 17
July 24
July 31
Aug. 7
Aug. 14
Aug. 21
Aug. 28 Errin Garrett-Metz
Sept. 4

Please sign up and send this back to info@growinghaldane.com

Let's welcome the students back to Haldane next fall with a beautiful, bountiful garden!
Thanks for all your help!

Volunteer Photographer Needed

As we complete our first year of Haldane's Farm to School initiative and the Chef in the Classroom program, we have some great news! When we partnered with Chef Mark Gandara, Haldane registered on Michelle Obama's national Let's Move Campaign/ Chefs Move to Schools website. For registering with the national campaign, Haldane received a free cookware demonstration kit from The Partnership for a Healthier America. It is a beautiful kit containing All-Clad pots and pans, cooking utensils, bowls, an induction hot plate and more, valuing over $2,000.

Mark and Sunny are going to present this gift to Cindy in the kitchen next Monday at 1:30. Dr. Villanti will be there and I believe Maggie Davis and Julia as well.

I was wondering if there are any professional photographers out there who would like to come and take pictures. I will be sending the photo and a press release to the local papers. Let me know if anyone might be available. It will only take a few minutes.

Last Farmer's Choice Day

Don't forget, tomorrow is our last Farmer's Choice of the year. Mrs. Battersby's 5th grade class made a Rhubarb Crumble with Chef Mark. It was so delicious that everyone tried it, and most had seconds and still wanted more!

Make sure you tell your kids to buy lunch tomorrow. It's pizza day anyway.

For those concerned about the ingredients, here they are:

rhubarb
oranges
brown sugar
ground ginger
rolled oats
white flour
salt

PS We are hoping to expand our Farm to School program next year. Anyone interested in learning more and helping out, please come to our next Wellness meeting on Monday, June 6th at 3:30 in room B1. Hope to see some of you there!

Rhubarb Day With 5th Grade Class

Haldane's first year of Chef in the Classroom finishes with a big hit! Mrs. Battersby's 5th grade class got a visit from Chef Mark today. The vegetable the students chose was Rhubarb.

While Mark set up his kitchen and laid out all the ingredients, Sunny told some interesting facts about rhubarb. For example: only the stalk of the rhubarb plant is good to eat. The leaves are toxic and should be discarded. Rhubarb grows in cold climates like Norway where Sunny is from. They even grow in Alaska! Rhubarb is a great source of vitamin C.

After some lively discussion about what you can make with rhubarb, they decided on Rhubarb crumble. There was a lot of excitement as the students gathered around. All were eager to help with the preparation of the dish. First, they prepared the crumble with granola, brown sugar, flour, ground ginger, and butter. Chef Mark blended it all up in a food processor. Then he cut the rhubarb and put it in a pan to cook. He added fresh ginger, orange zest, brown sugar, and juice of the orange. And finally, he added pieces of fresh orange. As the ingredients cooked, and the sweet aroma filled the classroom, the students got very excited to try it.

Once the rhubarb softened and the juices got syrupy, Chef Mark poured it into a pie tin and sprinkled the crumble on top. Then he popped it into the oven to cook. (Lucky for the students he had one ready to eat waiting in the warming oven.) Well, I don't need to tell you how everyone liked it. Not only did everyone try it. Most clamored for seconds! This might be our biggest success to date!

Thank you Chef Mark and Sunny Gandara for finishing up our year with a bang. Cindy is planning on serving this dish in the cafeteria next Friday, June 3rd. Believe me, this one is not to be missed!

Farmer's Choice Sweet Potatoes

Sorry for the late notice folks.

If you get this in time, ask your kids to buy lunch tomorrow. They will be serving Sweet Potato Salad made with sweet potatoes from Madura Farm and eggs from Glynwood. It's mighty tasty!

Eco Night Family Cooking Event

Please come to Eco Night this Friday and join our Chefs Mark and Sunny Gandara for a family cooking demo. They will be making dishes using local mushrooms and spinach from Madura Farms. The event starts promptly at 6:30 in the Home Ec. room. Seating is limited.

Find out what your kids have been talking about!

If any of you are able to bring in small finger foods made with local farm to table ingredients, we will have two tables set up in front of the Home Ec. room.

Thanks for your participation. We look forward to seeing you there!

Eco Night

We are getting ready for Eco Night, Friday, April 8th. It's going to be an exciting evening! I hope you received Dr. Villanti's flyer with all the fun activities that will be going on that evening.

In addition to the activities listed on the flyer, we are asking parents if they can make small "farm to table" finger food (not desserts –the PTA volunteers will take care of that).

We will have a Farm to School table set up in front of the Home Ec. room where our Chef Mark will be doing a family cooking demo. Please let me know who can bring a small dish to share made with local ingredients from the farmers' market.

Some suggestions might be:

Raw veggies and dip platter
Bite size quiches
Small soup samplings
Apple/Carrot slaw
mini muffins (apple, carrot, zucchini, etc)
Any other ideas???

Farm To School & Garden News

It's been a couple of months since my last update, and I wanted to let you in on some fun events coming up this Spring as well as updates on our monthly Chef in the Classroom and Farmer's Choice vegetable in the cafeteria.

First the updates:
Unfortunately, we had to cancel our Chef in the Classroom program for the months of January, February and March. It's not clear why. I was told it was a budget issue. But when I was offered an anonymous emergency donation to keep the program going, Maggie Davis said it was more of a scheduling conflict rather than a financial constraint. It's disappointing, I know, but we will be in full swing again beginning April.

Some good news: Our cafeteria will be getting a salad bar! Food service director, Cindy Miozzi filled out a grant application and won! We were very excited to hear this wonderful news at the Wellness meeting on Monday. We should be expecting it any day now. With our new salad bar, I am hoping that next year we will be able to fill it with lots of local vegetables!

Chocolate milk controversy: A couple of weeks ago, I was alerted to the fact that the chocolate milk our children are drinking in school contains high fructose corn syrup. This was shocking news to many parents, especially those of children who drink two or more a day. We all know how foods high in sugars affect children's behavior and ability to concentrate. And the consumption of high fructose corn syrup is attributed to the rising epidemic of childhood obesity.

I brought this issue up at the Wellness meeting on Monday, and Maggie Davis asked Cindy to call the school's milk distributor and ask them to switch to a different brand of chocolate milk that doesn't contain HFCS. I have no idea if we will be able to make the change immediately (we may have to wait until the contract expires at the end of the school year). However, if enough parents come out and voice their concerns to Maggie Davis or Dr. Villanti, there will be swifter action. Make your voices heard and start calling!

Have you read the most recent edition of Horizons Newsletter? The front page article is all about our Farm to School program. Please check it out!

Now for the fun stuff to come:
The week of April 4th is Haldane's Eco Week. This week will be filled with activities related to outdoor exploration, recycling, composting, gardening and farm to school. Dr. Villanti hopes that sometime during this week will see the official "ribbon cutting" ceremony of Haldane's new Garden. We are currently looking into getting some local farmers to come to the school and help the teachers get started in the garden.

Eco Night will be on Friday, April 8th, and it will have a Farm to Table theme. Our chef Mark Gandara and his wife Sunny will be giving two 45 minute cooking sessions in the Home Ec room. The theme will be cooking local and in season. It will be a surprise what they will come up with. The Cold Spring Farmers' Market will also be present that evening. We will have tables set up at the entrance to the Home Ec room with samples from the market and a digital frame displaying photos of Madura Farms where all of our Farmer's Choice vegetables are grown. We will be asking families to bring in light, finger foods and small tastings of recipes using local ingredients for people to sample. (Think apples, eggs, milk, cheese, carrots, greens, etc.)

If anyone is interested in being part of the planning of these events, you can come to the next Environmental meeting on Wednesday, March 16th at 3:15 in the Merritt building.

That's all for now.

***Don't forget to come to the Garden meeting at the Butterfield Library next Wednesday, February 16th at 6 pm. Learn about the progress that has been made and the plans that lay ahead. We will be serving homemade soups and babysitting will be available.

Farmer's Choice This Thursday

With the snow coming down and school closing at least once a week due to stormy weather, it's hard to believe that anything is growing around these parts. Well, it's amazing but true – vegetables are still growing in our neighboring farms. At least they are at Madura Farms in Middletown, NY.

Last Saturday, I went to the Cold Spring Farmers Market and picked up 15 pounds of fresh carrots from Madura farms. I delivered them on Monday to Cindy Miozzi, our food service director. This month, we did not have the budget to pay for a Chef in the Classroom event, but Cindy wanted to continue the Farmer's Choice monthly program regardless. So this month it will be "Cindy's Choice." And she chose to make yummy "Glazed Carrots."

So... tomorrow, hoping that there will be school, the lunch in the cafeteria will include fresh local carrots with butter, honey and brown sugar. Sounds yummy, right? Please ask your kids to buy lunch tomorrow and continue to support this great program.