Highfield Hall Cooks!

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)

We're all super excited that Highfield Hall will be hosting a children's cooking and gardening program this summer. Produce from our brand new, 1100 square foot kitchen garden will be incorporated into the curriculum, and while I'm sure we will be able to grow a lot of beautiful herbs and vegetables I know we won't be able to sustain our cooking programs solely on our gardening efforts. That's why I was thrilled to learn that Coonamessett Farm, one of my favorite places on the Cape, has decided to introduce Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) to their farming program this season.

I first learned about CSA back in 1998 when I was doing research for Bitter Harvest (Routledge, 2000), and in the spring/summer of 1999 my husband and I found a farm that allowed us to do a full work share, which meant that if we worked a certain number of hours each week on the organic farm we'd chosen we would get a full share of produce (the value was about $600 for the season) in exchange for our work. It was a great deal back then for two struggling foodies. We worked hard for about eight hours a week and in exchange for our labor we got a delightfully fresh, wide variety of organic produce, some of which we were trying for the first time. That year we were introduced to kabocha squash, garlic scapes, and tatsoi lettuce among other things, and because you don't get to choose your produce, we had to learn to be creative with what we got. We learned some invaluable lessons that year—not the least of which was that organic farming is incredibly labor-intensive and we walked away from that adventure with a much greater respect for farming than we'd ever had.

Luckily for the lazy time-challenged among us, Coonamessett Farm isn't doing work shares, instead, customers buy a share—about 8 pounds of produce plus flowers, herbs, or berries, depending upon availability, each week for 12 weeks (all for $300!) and pick it up on a scheduled day at a scheduled time. Easy! And so popular, the farm's CSA program is already full.

It will be very exciting for us to be growing our own produce *and* enjoying the efforts of Coonamessett Farm. Not only will the children be learning about a wide variety of locally available produce, but they'll be getting to eat it at its peak of flavor, aroma, and natural beauty. I, for one, am looking forward to a fantastic summer season at Highfield Hall!

For more information about our summer programs for children ages 5 to 13, click here. Registrations are being taken now and can be made online.

Did You Know There’s a Clean Up Song?

Sheesh, I didn't! Apparently I missed the memo on that one, but these kids know it and we even used it this week to clean up between making frosting and putting it on the cakes, so to whomever created the Clean Up Song, my hat is off, my gratitude is unbridled. The prep table was spotless. The jimmies were stacked precariously neatly at one end, and I was even asked to move my coffee mug so they could clean under it. Now that's something to write home about!

I love these kids and feel incredibly fortunate that my life path led me to Highfield's door and gave me the opportunity to do this work.  I enjoy going to work and I leave happier than when I went in. These Tots n' Pans had a great time and to celebrate the end of a fun, oftentimes very funny, session we did what any great chef would do, we made cake!

Along the way bowls were licked

Untitled from Highfield Chef on Vimeo.

Hands were washed

(Many times, in fact!)

Conversations were had
Tots n Pans Chit Chat from Highfield Chef on Vimeo.

And jimmies and colored sugar sprinkles were abused in ways that would strike fear in the heart of any parent hoping for a peaceful afternoon.

The cakes were supremely well-executed, don't you think?

The best part of the day was seeing these smiling faces!

Yes! from Highfield Chef on Vimeo.

I'll see you all in a couple of weeks at the start of the next session!

Steak Cake and Baked Potato Ice Cream

"What, who?" you might ask. Well you're not alone because that's pretty much what the kids said too. "Are we making a cake out of meat?! WHAT?! HELP!"

 

No meat cakes here, but cake that was to look like meat. And ice cream made to look like baked potatoes. Why? Because I'm a little nutty like that. And because I let them talk me out of my original plan to make a full meal and sit down to eat it together. Last week when I asked what they wanted to make for the last class of the session they all yelled out, in unison, as if they'd practiced it a thousand and one times, "CAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAKE!" So cake it was, but their penance for not going along with the grand plan was that it had to resemble a meal. Steak cake and baked potato ice cream seemed like a logical choice. In actual fact, although I am a strong proponent of local, organic, sustainable, nutritious foods I'm also a big fan of letting loose a little bit and just having fun sometimes. Kids like cake. There's no reason for them not to enjoy some good, homemade cake every now and then. Will seemed to think it was a fine idea.

To save time I shaped the ice cream the day before and put it in the deep freeze so it wouldn't turn to goo when it was time to roll it in cocoa and powdered sugar. I also made a simple marshmallow fondant in advance because it has to sit overnight before it's rolled out. So when we gathered around the table in the kitchen this week the first order of business was to make cake batter. Once the cakes were in the oven it was time for frosting (you'd think that with fondant the frosting would be unnecessary, but it actually holds the fondant on the cake).

All the cakes looked perfect when they emerged from the hot oven, but they were, not surprisingly, HOT, and we were running short on time, so we cooled them in the refrigerator while we rolled the ice cream in cocoa "dirt."

That whole deep freeze plan worked for the most part, but some of us have smokin' hot chocolate hands!

A couple of the kids had extra energy, so I gave them the job of whipping the cream to put on their potatoes in lieu of sour cream. Guess what?! Whipping cream is hard!

The part where we had to roll the fondant to look like a cooked T-bone steak is where things got a little interesting. Cases in point:

I know, I know, but really, people, it's the journey that counts. And we had a fabulous trip!

See you next session!!

 

 

 

Boo Yah!

Soft granola bars were the day's fare and since there were so many ingredients involved I premeasured everything and lined up the mise en place cups in front of each cutting board. "Which ones are the oats," I asked? Abigail pointed, and I said, "That's exactly right!"  She looked at me in disbelief and then exclaimed, "Boo yah!" (with a full fist pump, I might add!) Abigail is also responsible for "chefsir," which persists to this very day. She's a hoot. They all are, in fact. Just look at them….

…Ella's a messy little granola monster…

…Abigail has taken the "look Ma, no hands!" approach to cutting fruit, and…

…Reilly has this cooking thing down so well she can do it with her eyes closed.

Sean, on the other hand, has got to be up to something, don't you think?!

Our granola bars were made with cranberries and walnuts, were browned to golden perfection, and were highly complimented by several of our self-appointed Highfield tasters. Um yeah, and the kids liked them too! While they were cooking we put together a quick fruit and yogurt parfait. I jazzed up the vanilla yogurt with a little orange and lemon zest and even bruléed some of the parfaits that had bananas on top. The torch is always a big hit with the kids because it's so dramatic.

Here's the final product:

Everyone got to take home three or four sizeable bars and I was left with some beautiful flour drawings and a lovely chorus of "I love yous" from the children.

 

Only one more class in this session, but I'm looking forward to seeing all of these little guys in my next session, beginning right after April vacation.

 

Kids Café Spices it up South of the Border Style

Who would have thought these 12 kids would dive right into tamale making like old pros?  Chicken tamales with roasted poblanos, no less. Well, okay, only two kids actually used the poblanos, but they all used chile powder (in varying amounts) and not one of them flinched when I told them we were wrapping the whole gooey mess in cornhusks. After they wrapped and tied the first one I thought they'd all lose interest and we'd have to move on to the next recipe, but surprisingly, most of them continued filling, wrapping, and tying until they'd completed at least three tamales. When they were all done we gathered them up and put them in the steamer to cook.

While they were cooking we enjoyed making, and drinking, Mexican hot chocolate spiced with cinnamon, vanilla, and a pinch of chile powder. Everyone liked it and a couple of them even said it was the best hot chocolate they'd ever had.

At the end of class we had a little extra time while we waited for the tamales to finish cooking, so we tried our hands at making cornhusk dolls. It was a first for me too, but I think we did a pretty good job!

A Cooking Birthday Party!

We'd been talking about the possibility of doing cooking birthday parties at Highfield for a while when Amy emailed to ask if we would host a party for her daughter, Allison, who is in my Kids Café class. Her timing couldn't have been more perfect so I set about planning the party for the little chef. Each of the partygoers received a personalized hat and apron

and got to make their own hand thrown pizza (everything was made from scratch, from the dough to the sauce) with fresh mozzarella and fresh basil.

The girls ate their pizza in the kitchen.

And then later made frosting and decorated the cakes they'd baked at the beginning of the party.

In the end, Allison said it was the most fun birthday she'd ever had—which was saying something since Saturday she celebrated her 9^th birthday! Happy Birthday Allison!

Note: If you would like more information about children's birthday parties at Highfield Hall please contact Janet Totten.

End of Session: Young Epicureans

I will admit that I was a little nervous about taking on the teenagers every Friday night, but they were honestly a joy to be around. They truly seemed to enjoy the social side of their cooking classes—playfully ribbing each other about things they'd done in school that day; trading stories about bus drivers or teachers; and even gleefully tormenting each other about mistakes they'd made in previous classes (that green tea ice cream kept coming up, much to Henry and Ove's chagrin—and to be fair, it wasn't entirely their fault). It was wonderful to watch them bond the way I bonded with my fellow culinary classmates all those years ago. There's a unique friendship that grows over the kitchen's work tables and behind the line in front of the fire, and that was evident even in my laid back classroom environment here at Highfield.

Last week was so busy in the kitchen that I didn't get a chance to blog the previous week's class. We made a variety of things with Phyllo dough, which is one of my favorite things to work with because the result is almost always beautiful. I gave them four recipes, but most only made it through two. Not surprisingly, everyone managed to make a batch of Banana Pecan Strudel.

Several also did the Spanakopita or the Apple Brie Walnut triangles.

Stephen literally had the focus of a ninja during that class and he broke with his classmates who all began the evening with the strudel by opting to start with the Apple Brie triangles.

At the end of class Stephen and Emily requested Apple Pie and Crème Brulee for their final class, so that's what we did.

Emily was the only one who really knew how Crème Brulee is made, so she did hers first. Everyone else started with apple pie. Consequently, about an hour into class Emily got to burn her Crème Brulee. As soon as the rest of them saw that torch come out they all ran over to see what was going on and immediately asked when they could do theirs. Suddenly there were 10 Crème Brulees in the oven! All in all a great job by everyone this session, and Stephen definitely wins the award for most interesting looking apple pie. Unfortunately I wasn't able to get a picture of it, but to me it looked like an igloo or the top half of a beehive. A very tall pie, indeed.

For all those who have asked, the next session begins right after April vacation and registrations are being taken now. Have a great break and I hope to see you in my next session!