August in the Gardens
By Jane S. Hirschi
I am surprised to say how much I think of sushi when reflecting back on the 2017 Summer Program. This winter we delved into the CitySprouts Summer
Cookbook to add new dishes that are more "kid driven."
This summer CitySprouts interns made three sauces that were engineered by kids in the CitySprouts winter clubs; Taki Sauce (RAUC), Spicy Mayo (VLUS), and Guaki Waki (VLUS). To better reflect what many interns eat at home we also added Ethiopian Collard Greens, Channa with Garden Vegetables (India), and Tatales (Ghana).
However, the most popular new dish appears to be the Veggie Sushi Rolls. Who knew it was so easy to make veggie sushi in the gardens? The sushi-making really tests the interns' knife safety and fine slicing skills. It turns out that veggies from the garden taste delicious between sticky rice and nori!
Keep a lookout for a short video of interviews with kids coming soon. In the meantime you can read some of their thoughts below.
Happy Summer!
What the kids are saying
With summer quickly wrapping up and only one week of the middle school program left to go, we turn to the interns for their reflections on CitySprouts.
Through a series of interviews with students at each summer program site, we have collected stories about the highs, the lows, the challenges and the joys of the summer program - here is some of what they have to say...
"Definitely the cooking! It's cool because you have a lot of freedom and it's cool to get to work with other kids instead of with an adult telling you exactly what to do, and we get to make a lot of things I didn't think I would like." (Rury, rising 7th grader, CSUS Session 1)
"What makes it different every year are pretty much the staff and the people - it's always fun to work with new people because then you get to know about them more and make new friends every year!" (Tyler, rising 8th grader, CSUS Session 1)
And finally, for anyone not yet convinced about all the reasons to do the CitySprouts summer program - here are some words of encouragement from rising 6th grader and VLUS intern, Medhanit!
"It's a really adventurous thing when you have to try everything, and sometimes, let me just tell you - I don't like it...but I have really liked the zucchini fritters and the salsa!" (Prova, rising 8th grader, Holmes Boston Session)
"If you're not doing CitySprouts you should - it's amazing!" You get to garden, you get to make your own lunch, you don't have to make sandwiches, who wants sandwiches?"
Jane Hirschi is Executive Director of CitySprouts. If you desire further information about this innovative program, please contact her at jhirschi@citysprouts.org.
