More fun with Treehouse for Kids! From February thru June we have monthly classes with Treehouse and our focus with them is a bit of Washington State History through growing and cooking food.
These first classes have been in the kitchen (Madrona Presbyterian is still hosting us here) and included “The Faces and Cultures of Washington State” –touching on what the Black Panthers, the Japanese immigrants, and the Mexican immigrants contributed and also struggled with – we cooked a variety of dishes together including: Pepita and Cilantro Pesto, Sopa de Fuba and Tempura Vegetables (they loved it all). One student however was convinced that everything would send him over the edge and stuck with the buttered noodles brought from home. Thanks to a trusted and thoughtful peer (with a bit of reverse psychology thrown in); within 20 minutes this young man had not only tasted the carrot, cauliflower and sweet potato tempura, but was going back for seconds and packed home a zip lock baggie of the treats to show his family what he had made and eaten that day! SIGH, my life is perfect!
“Wild Things and Native to Washington” was another theme. We mapped out many of the native tribes of Washington on a large map, planted lots of vegetables, greens and herbal “medicines” to start in Jeff’s “home-style” starts-wall, and cooked a fabulous WILD dinner!
Thanks to Wood Stone Corporation and Lummi Island Wild who donated some perfect Wild Chinook Salmon!
Thanks to Discovery Park for 2lbs. of young and tender nettles; and to Jeff (one of our team), for his foraging prowess!
The menu:
Cedar Planked Salmon (a native tradition) with toasted fennel (native food) and lemon (not so native)
Omelets with nettles, local Beacher’s cheese and shallots – they made AMAZING omelets –all for the first time!
Strawberry and Huckleberry Cobbler -strawberries and huckleberries AREN’T IN SEASON, YOU SAY! Correct, however they were both picked at the height of the season and frozen. You know what they say, “everything is in season somewhere” but your own freezer will give you the best of that. A little late summer in late winter!
Hand Whipped Cream –we had a whip-off and it was a toss-up as to which batch was better. But there were definitely a few tired and sore arms at the end.
