Cooking lesson Australian style.

There's lots to love about living here, and yesterday I spent the morning at school helping with a cooking lesson. Not just a cooking in a kitchen lesson  - the whole class were outdoors in the school garden, picking and preparing the ingredients before cooking and eating a meal together. Cooking wasn't like this when I was at school. I'm thinking more stainless steel, stuffy rooms....?

I guess that this is a kind of a reward lesson after learning how to look after the school gardens. The children were certainly excited about the prospect of cooking from scratch...or maybe that was the eating part!

part of the school garden

The edibile garden at school has grown (no pun intended) into a great space for an activity lesson for the kids. It has inspired us to set up a small herb garden at home and to enjoy the pleasure of  picking fresh salad leaves for tea.

Yesterday morning the children worked in small groups identifying and picking the silverbeet, basil and rosemary. Everyone wanted to do everything and I had to keep sharing out the tasks amongst my group of enthusiastic masterchefs!

This was a rare quiet moment listening to the instructions under the rotunda before the mad dash into the garden with their bowls.

First the focaccia bread was made and then it was taken to the pizza oven for cooking.
Bread and pizza tastes so much nicer from a wood burning oven.

 Then the washing and chopping continued to make the tomato salad and the silverbeet balls.

Junior Masterchef has made cooking cool here in Australia and it was so lovely watching them sharing ways of crushing garlic or chopping tomatoes.
"You do it this way..."
No, it's better this way...."

Of course the highlight of the morning was getting to eat the fruits of their labour. After clearing away the preparation mess, each group had to lay the table with plates and cutlery, even a table cloth. They didn't quite make it to sitting down to eat and it all became a bit of a mad dash to pick the biggest bread piece!

After a little coaxing, the washing up was completed and then it was back to class.

Not a bad way to spend a morning with my girl.

This is my 'good life Wednesday', so linking up with Sarah down there on the Sydney beaches.

Recipe for silverbeet balls:

500g Rainbow Silverbeet

2 eggs

100g fresh white breadcrumbs

50g parmesan

1 garlic clove finely minced

pinch of nutmeg

salt and pepper

3 tablespoons of olive oil

Wash, blanch and finely chop the silverbeet.

Combine with breadcrumbs, parmesan, garlic, eggs, salt and pepper and nutmeg, and mix well.

Roll into balls (approximately a teaspoon size)

Cook in a little oil in a frying pan.