It's Quesadilla Time!

On Friday we had our fourth and final Project Chef session in the "Project Chef" kitchen.  On our final day, we had many things to do including chopping and preparing vegetables for homemade salsa, preparing cheese, making guacamole, and preparing and cooking quesadillas.  We also learned about healthy foods and that it is so important that we know the ingredients in the foods that we eat.  On Friday's meal, we knew them all!  Here are some photos from our Friday session.



While quesadillas are often seen as snack food, for many of us they were a delicious meal.  Have you ever made them in your home?

Project Chef Day 3 - A Balanced Meal

Yesterday was our third day in the Project Chef Kitchen at our school. The focus of this day was to look at what makes up a balanced meal. Having this important information we got down to work making dough for homemade tortillas and making "Make You Strong" salad.  As we made our salad we tasted each ingredient. We really liked some of the ingredients.  Here are some photos from our morning of cooking.

A Visit with Lori Snyder

Today was quite a fabulous day because not only did we have Project Chef in the morning, we also had a visit with Lori Snyder this afternoon.  She spent some time talking with us in the classroom before we headed outside to look for and learn about important plants that are native to this part of Canada. Many of the plants she shared with us had important healing properties.

Lori is talking to us about her history.

This is Yarrow. Indigenous people have used this to help stop bleeds.   Yarrow oil has medicinal properties. 

This is Licorice Fern.  The roots have special medicinal properties too.

We tried some fennel seeds.  They tasted a bit like black licorice.  They are good to have when your tummy is upset.

We also saw a Ginko Biloba Tree and learned that its leaves (when they are green) can be used to make a tea that is good for the eyes and the brain.

These are just a few of the plants we learned about with Lori and the coolest part is that they grow right on our school grounds.  You'll have to have Lori visit your area so she can teach you about your plants. 

Do you know about the local plants in your area? What do you do to keep them safe and growing?  Remember it's always important to ask an adult before you try a fruit or plant growing in the wild.  Healthy food is usually food you've grown yourself.

Project Chef Day Two - Breakfast!

Wow, today sure was another busy day in the Project Chef kitchen. The focus of today's meal was breakfast. We learned many things about healthy grains and breakfasts.  On the cooking agenda were Whole-Grain Pancakes with Very Berry Blueberry Sauce.  Take a peek...

Can you tell by our faces that our pancakes and blueberry sauce were delicious?  Apparently, many of us had nice big blueberry smiles.  Have you ever made pancakes at home? What tips and tricks do you have for us?

Project Chef Official Day One

Today it was finally our turn to have the Project Chef experience in the school's "Project Chef Kitchen" and boy we weren't disappointed.  We learned so many new things today and if you asked us we'd each probably tell you something different.  The highlight, however, was preparing and eating a delicious friendship fruit salad.  Here are some photos from day one.

And yes, of course, we did the dishes too! 

Indigenous Culture Projects

For the past few weeks, we have been working in groups of one, two, or three learning about different Indigenous cultures.  Today half of our class presented our final products to our classmates.  Here are three of the presentations shared today.

After each group presented the audience provided written feedback to the presenters.  This included filling in the following prompts:

I like how you...

I wish you would have...

Next time think about...

Some of the feedback given included...

I like how you...

• drew animals that look nice
• had extra facts about your topic
• made fun facts
• volume was good
• spoke with pride
• spoke clearly
• had a lot of writing and vibrant pictures

I wish you would have...

• spoke more clearly
• spoke louder
• spoke slower
• written more clearly
• stood to the side
• looked at us
• told the location
• not stood in front of your poster

Next time think about...

• adding more
• do more fun facts
• adding their beliefs
• speaking more clearly
• not blocking the poster
• drawing more pictures
• speak louder

Ms. Lirenman was quite impressed with our first presentations and the feedback we gave to each other.  She says there will be a lot more presentations this year.  Have you ever had to give a presentation in front of your entire class?