farm 2 go
What is Farm 2 Go?
Farm To Go a partnership between Common Roots, Frederick Tuttle Middle School, and the PTO. It is also supported by Healthy Living Food Market, which provides food at a discount.
In this program, middle school students join forces with chefs and food educator Kaitlyn Elias to learn about preparation of local foods and seasonal vegetables. In each week of this 5 week program, participants prepare an entire meal to bring home and share with their family. This program is being offered through the summer of 2012...programs fill up quickly to register soon!
What are the goals of the Farm 2 Go program?
(1) Expand palates; (2) Introduce cooking techniques & recipe reading; (3) Provide an understanding of local agriculture; (4) Encourage healthy eating habits; (5) Support students in bringing home their freshly prepared foods weekly.
Updates from the Farm 2 Go program:
As the winter months have pressed on there have been many wonderful happenings for the Farm to Go program.
In late December, we welcomed a new addition to the F2Gteam. Ben Shafer-Rickles, an informed cook and farmer, supported us with his knowledge and kitchen skills. His enthusiasm and energy for teaching proved to be successful. He and I teamed up to create a menu that featured seasonal produce and meats, which can be challenging in the winter months. We also incorporated root vegetables, which Ben grew, as often as possible. Some of our menu highlights included: chicken pot pie, potato leek soup, grass fed beef with vegetable stir fry, and the brightly colored coleslaw; accented with shredded beets.
This group learned how to roast small birds, known as Cornish Hens, mince, dice, chop, create roux, and mirepiox. These French terms were defined through experience. We stirred butter and flour in a sauce pan to create a crumbly mixture to thicken our gravy, also known as a roux. We diced carrots, onions, and celery together. Then we sweat them in a sauté pan on the stovetop with olive oil to create mirepiox.
I have observed a positive change in the kitchen since the introduction of a male teacher. Each of us possesses our love for cooking in a different way. This shift in teaching styles has given participants the opportunity to see how different people complete cooking processes. Often we see many young females and women interested in cooking. Watching young males strive to be great cooks has been a joy of teaching this program. Equally as important, has been the introduction of a positive male role model. We try our best, when choosing participants, to teach a mixture of males and females. Introducing a male chef has allowed participants to see adult male and females working towards the same goal. This program has slowly begun to shape a real community of cooks in our middle school. We share our experiences, quirky kitchen moments, personal values, traditions, and a sense of adventurousness inside and outside of the kitchen.