'Garden to Plate' Experience!

The Environment Team celebrated the end of the year with a lunch at Cafe at Lewers Emu Plains on 9 November 2016.

As the Year Six Team members will be leaving St Bernadette’s this year, the event was an opportunity to reflect on what has been achieved for the school, as a group and as individuals. The Café has a Kitchen Garden from which the ingredients for the meals were harvested and so the students were able to appreciate and understand what a Garden-to- Plate experience, looks like! The students also took the opportunity to explore the garden and the adjacent Gallery, which proved to be a hit! 
 

 

Families Rise to the Challenge!

The Environment Team at St Bernadette's came up with a great idea to encourage students and their families to prepare and enjoy a fruit or vegetable salad at home and to document the process, visually!

Some families have risen to the challenge and results will be published here soon ... watch this space!

 

 

Fresh Parsley to Eat and Drink!

Herb Bread

Ingredients:

• 3 Garlic cloves - crushed
• 1 tablespoon fresh Basil - chopped
• 2 tablespoons fresh Parsley - chopped
• 1 tablespoon fresh Chives - chopped
• Soft Butter – (salt reduced)
• Cracked Pepper for seasoning
• Crusty Bread - thinly sliced

Method:

1.      Combine the garlic, basil, parsley, chives and butter

2.      Toast the bread

3.      Spread with mixture

4.      Season with pepper

Parsley Tea

Though fresh parsley often shows up as a garnish in soup or casseroles, it does have numerous health benefits. Not only is it an excellent source of vitamins A and K, parsley also supplies small amounts of potassium, iron and fibre. Besides using it as a flavourful herb in your meals, you may use it to make a steaming hot cup of tea that tastes delicious and is good for you. The parsley will infuse the tea with the same nutrients you'd get if you ate it raw. 

Method:

• Boil water in an Electric Jug
• Place several torn parsley leaves in a Plunger
• Leave the water and parsley to steep for 5 minutes
• Pour the Parsley Tea into a mug and enjoy once it reaches a pleasant temperature     
• Discard parsley leaves into a bag for composting.
  
  
      Things You Will Need
  • Water
  • Electric Jug
  • Plunger
  • Fresh parsley
  • Mugs
  • Knife and cutting board(to cut the lemon)
  • Lemon
  • Honey
  Tips
  ·         Let the parsley steep for a longer amount of time if you want a stronger tasting tea. Because parsley leaves can taste bitter, however, you might want to sweeten your tea with a small drizzle of honey. A squirt of lemon juice might improve the flavor, as well. 
   
                     Garden Salad and Dressing

•      Salad was made using sliced snow peas and chives from the garden, plus rocket, parsley, chopped cherry tomatoes, torn iceberg lettuce, and sliced beans
•      The dressing was made using lemon juice, oil, crushed garlic and a dollop of honey

The Environment Team agree that Parsley is a very versatile herb ... why not try these recipes and see for yourself!

From the Garden to the Table!

Environmental Leaders from St Bernadette's attended the Primary Farm Day offered by the Royal Agricultural Society of NSW at Homebush recently and enjoyed a variety of hands-on activities, including a session where they made Rice Paper Rolls from scratch!

Meanwhile back at school 'The Garden to the Table' theme was continued with students harvesting Mint as a garnish for their yummy Strawberry Rice Cake Crush!

 

Grow, Harvest, Prepare, Enjoy!

There is great satisfaction for students when they grow their own herbs and an even greater sense of achievement when they are able to harvest them and use in recipes like Rice Paper Rolls and Tabbouleh ... very fresh and tasty!