Culinary Camp 2010

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Week 3: June 21-25

Culinary Camp Teen Week 2010: It's definitely more exciting than watching bread rise :)

DAY 1

To begin this Monday's culinary adventures, we took a tour of the herb garden to see our blooming sunflowers and taste some lemon balm, oregano, chamomile, and cinnamon licorice. A volunteer from the Missouri Conservation society spoke to us about Missouri's most common snakes and spiders, told us what to watch out for (brown recluses and black widows) and what not to be afraid of (snakes in general...they are friends of the garden!)

After spending some quality time in the garden, we moved on to baking! The focus this week is... AFRICA! This morning, we made Sweet Corn Bread and learned about the properties of yeast that are needed to make a successful bread.

We also made African Rusks with Currants and worked on our dough rolling and cutting techniques. Check out that professional product!

DAY 2

This morning was FIELD TRIP DAY! The campers went to Kraut Run, an organic farm in Wentzville, MO. There, the campers heard about the importance of composting, practiced growing seeds, and learned the basics of organic farming.

This lucky pig enjoys a more natural lifestyle than the commercial-style farm raised pig, which results in a healthier and happier animal

Rather than using low quality, environmentally destructive plastic planting trays, farmer Chris utilizes reusable wooden trays. When planting new seeds, he uses a special tool to stamp out soil into small blocks that already have an indentation at just the right depth in which to place the seeds. All of the campers were able to try their hand at using the tool and did a great job!

Since Culinary Camp is designed to be as hands-on as possible, the campers also had the opportunity to try some real farm work... they helped position a large, black tarp used for solar soil enrichment and worked as a team to place hay around a garden to help the plants grow big and strong.

When we returned to SLU, we went out to the garden to help welcome the new baby chicks to campus! These chicks will be used to provide eggs for Fresh Gatherings (the delicious Doisy College cafeteria) and to help maintain good soil quality.

An article about the baby chicks can be found on the SLU connection page by clicking on this link: https://www.slu.edu/x37585.xml and a video about the chicks can be found on the St. Louis Post Dispatch website by clicking on this link: http://videos.stltoday.com/p/video?id=15476885

Day 3

Today the campers celebrated our weekly Disabilities Awareness Day in which we learned hands-on how individuals with disabilities cope with challenges in everyday life.

Trying to tie shoes while using a wrist and hand splint

Propelling a wheelchair up an incline is hard work!

Using straight leg splints

After their first night at SLU, the chickens are still doing quite well. One was even friendly enough to socialize for a while!

After spending the morning in the garden, the campers went back up to the kitchen to cook some colorful Ethiopian cuisine.

And of course... the best part of cooking is getting to taste the end result!

Day 4

It's cool at the pool! After a fun morning of preparing food for campus kitchen, the campers took a well-deserved break and spent the afternoon at SLUruba pool on the main campus. The weather was perfect for swimming, sunbathing, volleyball, and enjoying the beautiful outdoor scenery!

Campers enjoy a quick game of Spoons before heading out to the pool

Whitney's pet rabbit, Gigi, even joined us for a while!

DAY 5

Cooking up some delicious Moroccan cuisine was the perfect end to a great week! The sweet Cardamom vanilla ice cream with a poached apricot sauce and the almond crusted tangy Moroccan chicken were definitely the highlights of the menu.

Every good chef knows that tasting everything you make is important!

After working hard in the kitchen all morning, we went outside to play a game of kickball and cool off with a water balloon fight

Pounding chicken allow it to cook more quickly and evenly

Flour isn't just for cooking...

Demonstrating knife skills to the parents

Check out the rest of the pictures at:
http://www2.snapfish.com/snapfish/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=2401333020/a=2492798020_2492798020/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/

Monday, June 14, 2010

Week 2: June 14-18

Day 1

On the first day of camp, the campers took a tour of our herb garden next to our cafeteria. We also learned about garden tools and had a chance to identify the herbs with our sense of smell. Rosemary, oregano, and mint...oh my! :)

After spending time in the garden, we identified the different South American countries, then tried our hand in Brazilian cuisine!

Campers chop Brazil nuts in order to make a tasty "Pe de moleque" which translates into "pavement". This is characteristic of the hard and textured nut brittle we made!

Campers chop Brazil nuts in order to make a tasty "Pe de moleque" which natively translates into "pavement". This is characteristic of the hard and textured nut brittle we made!

Now campers have the expertise to make a sugar sweet block of pavement :) Brazil nuts and almonds really do the trick!

More expert chefs with their Nut Brittle and Brazilian Cheese Bread.

Day 2

Day 2 began with a field trip to Kraut Run Farm where the campers learned about the organic farming lifestyle followed at the farm.

These are the chickens that are moved to different sites every couple of days to eat grass and natural foods. The pigs have hair and were quite a site to see compared to the pink pigs we are accustomed to nowadays.

The campers helped the farmer put hay under his potatoes so they would keep longer and not rot.

Campers then used newspaper and dirt to make seed beds for new plants. They learned that not using a pot helps decrease stress on the plant when it is moved to the ground as a sprout.

Back at SLU we went back to our South American cooking to make baked green plantain chips and grilled chicken with Chimichurri sauce. The campers had fun exploring different ways to make the sauce putting in their own twists.

At the end of the day, we celebrate a camper's birthday with a homemade cake. We are so happy that he wanted to spend his 13th birthday at SLU's Culinary Camp with us!

DAY 3

Wednesday was Disability Awareness Day and the campers were able to experience a variety of disability scenarios. Willie from Paraquad came to talk with the campers about how people adapt to living on a daily basis with a disability. Campers were able to experience using wheelchairs, walk and climb stairs while wearing a leg splint, and cut sweet potatoes with the assistance of adaptive cutting boards and knives while wearing an arm splint.

Throughout the week the campers have been playing soccer during physical activity time in honor of the World Cup soccer tournament. Even the camp counselors participate.

At the end of the day, campers are able to taste test the food they prepared in the afternoon. Here are two campers enjoying the vegetable harvest stew that was made on Wednesday.

Day 4

On Thursday, the campers began the day by planting in the grow tables.

The next project of the day was to prepare food for Campus Kitchen. The campers worked hard to make a delicious beef stir fry, rice and lemon blueberry muffins. After the food was finished, the campers worked together to package the meals.

Before the campers could enjoy time at the pool, they deliver the meals they had prepared to the Campus Kitchen clients. Many of the clients were very glad to receive a home-cooked meal.

Playing at the pool was a great way to cool off and enjoy the sunny weather after a fun day of cooking!

Day 5

On Friday morning, the campers were finally able to spend some time in the garden.

After lunch, the campers headed back to the kitchen to prepare the final touches for this afternoon's parent reception. Everybody was very eager to show off all that they had learned this week!