I am interested in doing a news story on the slow food movement in New York city. Are there any new events coming up?

On Monday, July 26th we had a jam-packed day, literally! Sandra came as our guest chef and made blueberry/plum/peach jam with the kids. I was so surprised to see each own tying a little red ribbon onto their jar and walking away announcing the lucky recipient of their hard work. That same day, Katherine, our assistant from WATCH high school, led some fun ice-cream making using a simple plastic bag method (produces a little trash, but it was fun and tasty nonetheless), and I helped the kids pickle cucumbers, green beans, and carrots which were generously donated to us from a local CSA. What a blast!

On Tuesday, the 27th we boarded a bus and headed out to the Queens County Farm Museum. It was amazing to listen in on the kids’ conversations as they followed the trail from one animal to the next … petting llamas, chickens, sheep, goats, cows, and more!

On Wednesday the 28th we enjoyed one of our favorite snacks so far — deviled eggs!

The 29th was one of my favorite community meals. We made a grilled corn and peach salad, a recipe we picked up from the Greenmarket on our tour of the previous week. We also made pasta with pesto (always a hit) and a raw Zucchini salad from Sicily — thanks, Kate, for the recipe!

On Monday of last week, August 2nd, Marvin and Stanley (two of our campers) invited their older sister Kimberly to come teach the class how to make empanadas! We made two kinds, one with grated cheese and scallions, the other with wilted spinach. Yum!

On Tuesday the 3rd, Pamela stopped by to give the kids a great lesson on proteins, carbohydrates, and fats. I was a little nervous because we can be a rowdy bunch, but everyone sat attentively and learned a lot! Later that afternoon, we walked over to the famous hotspot Roberta’s, for a great tour of the garden and grounds with the owner, and then some delicious pizza — plain, pepperoni, and arugula! The salad with gorgonzola and walnuts was a little out of the kids’ comfort zones, but they all gave it a try, which is all I can ask.

On Wednesday, Lisa from McLeod came by as our expert dumpling chef, and we made three kinds of dumplings — pork, vegetable, and “green” (a mix of bok choy and other greens). The kids loved folding the dough, and did a great job. We made hundreds!

Finally, on Thursday of last week we had our version of a Mexican fiesta. We made our own tortillas and our own ricotta cheese, and then made spinach and ricotta quesadillas. In retrospect it was a lot of work on one little burner, but we made it through and enjoyed a yummy treat.

This is our last week and I absolutely can’t believe it! Time really does fly when you’re so busy and having fun.

I took it hard, and wasn’t looking forward to Thursday’s lesson. In addition to being disappointed with how camp went on Tuesday, I became preoccupied with stresses from my personal life, and was not optimistic going to work on Thursday. In addition, I was running late, and Lisa was late, and I took the L train without her, so we couldn’t chat and pump each other up on the ride over.

Luckily, I was greeted by Hector and Shamika, our WATCH helpers, standing outside the garden. After scolding me for making them wait (as per usual, since for some reason Hector insists on getting to the garden about an hour before we ask him to be there), they immediately presented me with their plans for the day’s new, improved dish washing station and a list of all the things they were going to start preparing as soon as Lisa got there with the keys. Their enthusiasm was totally contagious, and it infected both me and Lisa, when she arrived a few minutes later.

It was simple. We decided we were going to do the same lesson as Tuesday, but a hundred times better. We were all completely focused while cutting up fruits and veggies and setting out toothpicks and dip for the beginning of camp creature-making snack, getting journals together, preparing ingredients and supplies for the World Foods cooking activity (Lisa’s group made Vietnamese summer rolls with peanut sauce, Hector and Shamika’s group made Italian pesto pasta and raw zucchini salad, and my group made Mexican chicken fajitas with homemade corn tortillas), and of course, setting up the dish washing station.

Needless to say, the day went spectacularly. The only hiccups were a hectic and difficult cleanup after cooking at the end of the day, and the strong breeze blowing out the flame on our propane stove, making it almost impossible to fry the tortillas (although I think I was the only one who got frustrated by this). All in all the day went incredibly smoothly. We were so happy that we actually had a big group hug as soon as the campers left.

We began the week by meeting up with our buddies at the YMCA on Humboldt Street, just around the corner from the garden. Once we were all cozy, with plenty of popcorn to share, we watched a film titled What’s on Your Plate?

This documentary follows two eleven-year-old girls, Safiya and Sadie, as they explore their food system right here in New York City. The girls talk to friends, food activists, farmers, storeowners, and their own families to find out how their food ended up on their plates. They investigate where food is grown, how it travels from the farm, how it’s packaged, and how it is prepared at home, in restaurants, and even their school lunchroom.

When it was over, we discussed the film and developed our own questions about the food we eat in our neighborhood in Williamsburg. The next day, with clipboards and pens in hand, we mapped out all the different places where food is sold or grown, and graphed the different types of stores including fast food or sit-down restaurants, bodegas or grocery stores, and community gardens. By looking at our graphs we discovered that there are a lot of bodegas, and more fast food restaurants than sit-down restaurants.

While we wandered the neighborhood, we had a chance to ask our questions at some of these places. Some asked where their fresh foods came from? Others wondered how the food was delivered? Another wanted to know how they keep the fresh foods fresh, and what happens when they go bad? Everyone enjoyed talking with the shopkeepers, and storeowners were impressed with our questions. They were some pretty great questions!

On Wednesday, we continued to explore our food system by taking a trip to the Union Square Farmer’s Market in Manhattan. There we learned that all the food sold at the market is grown within 300 miles of Union Square. We looked at a map of New York State, showing all the different types of farms that come to sell food at the market. We talked to a lot of farmers about what they grow, and how they grow it.

Marvin most enjoyed talking to the beekeeper about his honeybees and their delicious honey. We also talked to an Ostrich farmer who showed us gigantic ostrich eggs; eggs so big that they are equal to over 20 chicken eggs! That’s a lot of omelets!

We ended the week back in the garden, spending the whole day chopping, dicing, stirring and cooking. Did I forget to mention shaking? After all the ingredients for our Fricassee of Seasonal Vegetables and Greens were prepared and simmering, a few of the kids started to make different flavored butters.

That’s right, we MADE butter from scratch! With a jar, some heavy cream, a bit of salt, and a lot of shaking we ended up with four delicious flavored butters. Christopher is an expert butter shaker, if you happen to need any butter shaking tips. All of the butters were tasty and creamy, but the strawberry butter was a crowd favorite!

We enjoyed a tasty community meal; it was a great way to end the week!