Fast and Simple Garden Supper

Here is an easy weeknight step-by-step. First I picked a ripe yellow squash from the garden.

The I sliced it and sauteed it in a bit of olive oil.
Then I plucked an handful of costuluto tomatoes from the vine.
And I chopped them up along with a a bit of garlic and chili
Heat up a saute pan with a nice glug of olive oil...
A splash of white wine,
The chopped tomatoes and a fragrant handful of basil off the deck...
and dinner is served!
Buon Appetito.

Packing a More Healthful School Lunch Box

Most of the children at OCS bring their lunches to school. Which means, most parents at OCS face the daily dilemma of what to pack in their child's lunch sack. Children, like adults, get bored with eating the same thing over and over again and sleepy moms and dads have a hard time getting their creative juices going early in the morning. Tara Parker-Pope, a columnist with The New York Times and a mom of young children turned to nutritionist Martha Rose Shulman for some lunch box advice. Here is her report:

"At my house, the biggest challenge of back-to-school time isn’t getting up early or tackling homework. It is the snack bag. I want to pack healthful snacks, but my daughter gets tired of eating fruit and yogurt every day. I recently asked Martha Rose Shulman her suggestions for packing a tasty and more healthful lunchbox. Here are her suggestions:

Savory Cheese muffins: These have the appeal of both a muffin and a grilled cheese sandwich.

Mixed grain and blueberry muffins: Children want something sweet in their lunchboxes, and these muffins give them fruit and grains in one tasty treat.

Chicken and vegetable wrap: Much of the pleasure of eating this wrap comes from the crunchy textures of the lettuce and the shredded vegetables.

Hummus wrap: Hummus might not sound like a child-friendly food, but you may be surprised how quickly they will gobble it up.

Nut butter and jelly packet: A simple way to make a fun version of the classic sandwich.

For more ideas, be sure to check out Martha’s NYT column “Recipes for Health; Kids Edition" where she offers twelve recipes for child-friendly foods."

Update on Making Cheese

Dear OCS families,

I wanted to share a comment on the cheesemaking post below. Johanna Brandvik shared her source for raw milk. It's from Steve Plog's "Our Little Market" in Pasadena. Mr. Plog sells raw milk, butter and cheese, as well as bison, eggs honey and veggies each Wednesday from 11AM to 1PM at the intersection of Hill/Elizabeth in Pasadena. You must order raw products ahead of time at the following site: www.ourlittlemarket.org

Check out the whole comment from Johanna by going to the original post below and clicking on the comment button.

Important Contacts for Arts, Food and Garden

Dear Odyssey Families,

Welcome. We are so excited to start our new year. The Beanstalk is expanding its focus to include all our wonderful arts activities, connecting our community through art, music, food and our 'green school' efforts. In the past parents have been generous in donating their expertise to help enrich school life and we expect this year will be no different. As always, your first contact at the school is:

OCS Director Lauren O'Neill at LaurenO@ocsmail.org

Community Outreach Coordinator Carlos Garcia at CarlosG@ocsmail.org

Parents whom you can also reach out to with your ideas, questions and concerns are:

Parent Food Committee Coordinator Susan Ruffins at susan.ruffins@gmail.com

Parent Arts Committee Coordinator Paula Solano at pwsolano@sbcglobal.net

Parent Garden Coordinator Ilse Ackerman at ilse@meenophoto.com

Parent Grant Helper Jayme Filippini at jaymefilippini@sbcglobal.net

Parent Arts Helper Karen Merchant at elpho@sbcglobal.net

Parent Arts Helper Elizabeth Rainey at erainey@sbcglobal.net

Parent Arts Helper Mary Linda Moss at imarylinda@aol.com

OPPG President Cari Dawson at carid@mac.com

Odyssey Parent Representative Jexy Wadle at jexywadle@gmail.com

Odyssey Parent Representative Rhonda Graham at kimikog@msn.com

Beanstalk webmistress Elizabeth Burrill at liz@momohead.com

Please let us know how you would like to be involved. Our past activities range from creating an "arts in the classroom" template for arts instruction to nutrition programs with portable cooking carts to planting a citrus garden and vegetable beds, establishing composting bins, creating our website and supporting the children's arts efforts in the Charity Marketplace annual fundraiser. There is much more we can do but as always, we need helping hands! Come join us.

Something to do while you are sitting at home watching the ashes fall

OK, everyone will agree it's no fun out there right now. Plus, kids are getting bored being inside and anxious about when school will (if) start.

So, what to do? Well I always find that making cheese clears the head and concentrates the mind. Check out this wonderful new book, The Home Creamery. It's pretty awesome and is simple and clear. There are no photos but that isn't a big deal. I got the tip on this book from a great craft website called Angry Chicken www.angrychicken.typepad.com. There are recipes for creme fraiche (which is dead easy), yogurt (also easy), sour cream, butter, buttermilk, yogurt cheese, and paneer, all foolproof and in one handy tome. Also, the trouble-shooting guide is helpful, detailed, and offers alternate methods. Try making your own mozzarella and ricotta. It's not hard, but you do have to start with great milk. I like Strauss Family milk available at Whole Foods, which comes in totally cool, reusable glass containers. They even sell raw milk in small quantities. Can anyone out there recommend great pasteurized or raw milk purveyors?

Great quote from Brillat-Savarin about cheese. "Cheese is milk's leap toward immortality" Make some today!

The beanstalk is growing!

Since we launched the beanstalk in early 2009 our focus has been to chronicle the food and garden activities at OCS and give students and parents information about interesting progressive food/garden efforts around the globe. We've posted some pretty tasty recipes too as well as lots of great pics of our students and community. Now we are expanding our blog to include all the arts at Odyssey and hope to turn our blog into an interactive meeting place and central hub of arts ideas, information and fun activities.

With our broader focus, we welcome members of our school community (teachers, students, and parents) to participate and share their artistic talents with the group. Send a note, post a photo, share a thought or alert us to upcoming events. Our goal is to create a blog that really connects with our community in the garden, the art room, the classroom, or in the kitchen.

The change should happen the first week of September, so stay tuned.

Farmers Markets We Love

Some pics of two great farmers markets; the local pasadena farmers market with its wonderful community vibe and the world class San Francisco farmers market in the restored Ferry Plaza building. Visiting your local market can be a great family tradition at the start of each weekend. Plus you'll bring home plenty of goodies to keep everyone happily munching through the week.