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Kitchen Garden Cooking with Kids Kitchen Garden Cooking with Kids, ISBN 9781920989491 and books by Stephanie Alexander on sale at thebookshelf.co.nz Stephanie Alexanders philosophy is that there is no such thing as special food for children: if food is good, everyone will enjoy it regardless of age. Here are 120 recipes with simple instructions, a colourful layout and lots of fast, fun facts. And while these recipes can be made by a couple of eight–year–olds in aprons – with a bit of adult supervision – the dishes are anything but standard kids fare: alongside the muffins and slices are homemade pastas, Indian curries, Asian tea eggs and vegetable–rich winter soups. About the AuthorStephanie Alexander is one of Australias most highly regarded food writers. Stephanie has written eleven books, including Stephanies Menu for Food Lovers, Stephanies Seasons and Stephanie Alexander & Maggie Beers Tuscan Cookbook (co–author). Her signature publication, The Cooks Companion, has established itself as the kitchen bible in nearly 400,000 homes. A second edition of The Cooks Companion was published in 2004.Stephanie Alexanders philosophy is that there is no such thing as special food for children, if food is good, everyone will enjoy it regardless of age. In her latest publication Kitchen Garden Cooking with Kids, published in 2006, tells the story behind the recipes of the Kitchen Garden at Collingwood College, which Stephanie set up in 2001 in the grounds of a large inner–city school. It includes plans, activities and lists that together make up a blueprint that other schools may wish to follow. The program has given hundreds of primary–school children the opportunity to plant, grow, harvest, cook and eat the very best kind of food – freshly grown, organic, unprocessed and delicious. ExtractINTRODUCTIONWhat is a kitchen garden? A kitchen garden is a garden created to provide edible, aromatic and beautiful resources for a kitchen. This book tells the story of one garden established in a particular place at a particular time. It does not provide a complete or precise blueprint for making other school gardens. What I do hope is that this story will provide inspiration, motivation and perhaps the underpinnings of a broad philosophy for the teachers, principals and parents setting out to establish kitchen gardens in their own schools, community sites and even private homes. Just as each kitchen garden is different, each kitchen garden teacher will design their classes accordingly. Six such teachers have participated in the program at Collingwood College at various stages and each has brought with them their own vision of how best to organise the classes. Much of the practical information presented in the following chapters is a synthesis of these individual contributions. While it is impossible for anyone kitchen garden, and therefore kitchen garden class, to be seen as a template for another, we have worked with children in non–classroom settings now for five years and we know what they respond to and like doing, and the sorts of things that help them learn. Scattered throughout these pages are class plans, ideas for activities and games, and basic equipment lists – information that other schools will be able to use as a starting point for their own class planning. This is a book about a garden, but it is not a gardening book. You won"t find specific information here on, say, the parts of a plant. But it is very much a cookbook, one with plenty of information on seasonal availability of garden produce and recipes that describe how to turn produce into dishes that children will love to cook as well as eat. In all, the book contains around 120 recipes, grouped into thirty–two menus – one for almost every week of the school year. The recipes have been written to be read and cooked by children. All have been tried and tested at Collingwood College, and are equally suitable for children cooking at home with adult supervision. The cooking program at Collingwood College has never underestimated what children can achieve and what kind of food they will enjoy eating. I have worked as a kitchen volunteer at Collingwood College almost every week for five years. During that time I have watched with delight as small hands have chopped, mixed, rolled, stuffed, shaped and baked an impressive array of ingredients, including produce grown by the children in the garden. And every week, as I have looked at the children arrange their lovely dishes with such pride and care, it has made me sad to realise that so few parents, teachers and policymakers get to see and appreciate what young children are capable of when it comes to the preparation and enjoyment of good food. Many, many people and organisations have been involved with the Kitchen Garden at Collingwood College, and each has brought with them enormous insight, energy, skills and enthusiasm. My former personal assistant and co–author Anna Dollard has been there from the beginning. There would be no Kitchen Garden at Collingwood College were it not for Anna. She has been far more than my right–hand person. She has challenged, she has researched, she has refined submissions, she has listened, she has collated and recorded, she has carted manure, she has provided the thermos and, most importantly of all, she has believed in the project from the very first day and has been a loving friend throughout this enormous adventure. There are a number of other people, and one important organisation, whose contributions have been of such significance that it is hard to imagine how the project could have come together without them. They are: community garden activist Basil Natoli – principal Frances Laurino – vice–principal Stanley Pamieta – school teachers Mary–Ann De Carlo, Ken Watson and Kevin Conroy – garden and kitchen teachers at Collingwood College, Peta Christensen, Liz Moore, Heidi Sanghvi, Peta Heine, Karen Yann and Desley Insall – parent and architect Freda Thornton – gardener Shane Quinn – mother, volunteer and major donor Barbara Heine – the not–for–profit organisation Cultivating Community – and the tirelessly committed volunteer team. The contributions of these people and many, many others are outlined in the following chapters. But from the beginning the children have been at the heart of the program, and their enthusiastic responses have determined the program"s direction more forcefully than anything else. The children have given us the strength and motivation to overcome the numerous obstacles we have faced along the way, including the perennial threat of funding shortfalls and the ongoing quest for more resources. About the AuthorStephanie Alexander is one of Australia"s most highly regarded food writers. Stephanie has written eleven books, including Stephanie"s Menu for Food Lovers, Stephanie"s Seasons and Stephanie Alexander & Maggie Beer"s Tuscan Cookbook (co–author). Her signature publication, The Cook"s Companion, has established itself as the kitchen bible in nearly 400,000 homes. A second edition of The Cook"s Companion was published in 2004.Stephanie Alexander"s philosophy is that there is no such thing as special food for children: if food is good, everyone will enjoy it regardless of age. In her latest publication Kitchen Garden Cooking with Kids, published in 2006, tells the story behind the recipes of the Kitchen Garden at Collingwood College, which Stephanie set up in 2001 in the grounds of a large inner–city school. It includes plans, activities and lists that together make up a blueprint that other schools may wish to follow. The program has given hundreds of primary–school children the opportunity to plant, grow, harvest, cook and eat the very best kind of food – freshly grown, organic, unprocessed and delicious.
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 "Kitchen Garden Cooking with Kids")