Green is the Theme

The Garrison School first graders turned into some awesome budding chefs this month. Chef Laurie Gershgorn from Healthy Culinary Creations brought in a basketful of spring greens, asparagus, beets and spinach and put the young chefs to work. Every child had a task to do.

This month's feature was Spinach. But Chef Laurie always has other recipes up her sleeve. On this day, the kids got two for the price of one:

Spinach Frittata and a Spring Greens Salad.

And these were the tasks at hand:

Peeling and grating the beets.

Chopping garlic, removing the stems from the kale, and tearing the beet greens.

Breaking asparagus spears.

Beating the eggs.

Squeezing lemons for the dressing.

And best of all...

Eating their delicious culinary creations!

When we were finishing up, and the last of the frittata was long gone, I heard one boy say, "I wish we could have Chef in the Classroom everyday!"

Now that's a precious moment.

 Click here for the recipe.

I'm Popeye the Sailor Man

I'm strong to the finish,
'cause I eats me spinach,
I'm Popeye the Sailor Man!











In April, Haldane introduced two new chefs from the Culinary Institute of America, Mary Geyer and Nicholas Gonzalez. They are first year students and members of the CIA campus Slow Food chapter. Spinach was the featured vegetable of the month. Did you know that spinach originated in Persia (present day Iran)? Chef Mary and Chef Nick worked with Mr. Peparo's and Mrs. Scrocca's 2nd grade classes. The recipe of the day: A Spinach Egg Scramble.


As the kids chopped onions, one by one their eyes began to burn and tear. Chef Nick explained to the kids why they were experiencing this strong reaction from the onions:
When you cut an onion, you break cells, releasing a volatile sulfur compound that wafts upward toward your eyes. This gas reacts with the water in your tears to form sulfuric acid. The sulfuric acid burns, stimulating your eyes to release more tears to wash the irritant away.


It is a natural defense mechanism developed by the onion plant. Cooking the onion inactivates the enzyme, so while the smell of cooked onions may be strong, it doesn't burn your eyes.








Chef Mary talked to the kids about the origin of Spinach and its nutritional attributes. It's not just Popeye who gets strong from eating spinach.

One cup of fresh spinach is an excellent source of vitamin A and vitamin K, and a good source of vitamin C and folate. Vitamin A is essential for healthy skin and eyes. Vitamin K helps strengthen bone mass and helps with the healing process. Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant which helps the body develop resistance against infections.

Chef Mary talked about kitchen food safety and cross-contamination. It's always important to wash hands after handling raw eggs.










Kids took turns grating the cheddar cheese.















The Spinach Egg Scramble, later named by the kids, Spinach Supreme was a big hit in Mr. Peparo's and Mrs. Scrocca's 2nd grade classes. Of the kids that tried it (all but 5) 85% liked it.

One student remarked: I don't like it... I love it!

Who says kids don't like spinach?

Get some spinach from Madura Farms this weekend at the Cold Spring Farmers' Market and try making Spinach Supreme at home for breakfast this weekend! Your kids will eat it up! Click here for recipe.

A Taste of The Valley included Haldane's Own Beet Soup!

On Saturday, April 22nd Glynwood Farm hosted A Taste of the Valley: A sampling of local cuisine and wine benefitting the Haldane School Foundation. And Haldane's very own Beet Soup was represented alongside many delicious dishes from top restaurants and caterers in the local Hudson Valley.

Haldane's budding young chefs from Mrs. Quick's 4th grade and Mrs. Battersby's 5th grade classes volunteered in the afternoon to make the Beet Soup they made with the CIA chefs in their Chef in the Classroom day in February. Glynwood's culinary director, Jason Wood supervised the four students as they chopped onions, grated beets and followed a recipe that would serve over 150 sample portions of the soup for all to taste that evening. The beets and the onions came from the Cold Spring Farmers' Market vendor, Madura Farms. The heavy cream came from Hudson Valley Fresh.

Truly A Taste of the Valley! 

If you enjoyed the soup at Glynwood and would like to try it yourself, here's the recipe. 

Enjoy!