Graduation+Project

We started working on these during our junior year. Then we were told we didn't have to do them, so no one worked on them over the summer. Then on the second day of our senior year, we were told we would have to do them. But my beloved english teacher didn't like my idea. So while most people were just reprinting their letter of intent from junior year, I was completely redoing mine. Morgan's rambling and ranting again. What is she talking about? THE GRADUATION PROJECT! (which does have something to do with food, I promise)

My original graduation project had more to do with food. But the graduation project that pleases my english teacher still kind of relates to food. I'm volunteering at the new Edible Schoolyard.

So I get to do fun things like going to the farmer's market. I was going to the farmer's market to buy an [|acorn squash]. But I got distracted and bought a whole lot of other amazing things too. I did buy the acorn squash I needed for the Harvest Day at the Edible Schoolyard. Then I found a garlic farmer. (Which was good because we were out of garlic. Even though my mom went grocery shopping the day before, she didn't get garlic. She just doesn't understand that garlic is truly a necessity.) A whole farm devoted to garlic! Insteed of growing a bunch of different crops, they grow a bunch of different types of garlic. And I saw Coach Shields, who sells nut butters and faux cheeses. I tried his faux [|ricotta cheese], which was made with [|macademia nuts]. I was suprised by how creamy and cheese-like it actually was.

 I went to the Greensboro Children’s Museum to actually volunteer. It was the main part of my senior project. I went in early so I could help Kat set up. First we finished typing up directions for the recipes. Then we went out in the rain to harvest the vegetables before the children came. When the kids came, we gave them a tour of the garden. Then it was time for cooking. We split up into four groups. I was with the group working on roast vegetables. Here's our recipe: __Roasted Winter Vegetables __ 3 sweet potatoes Thyme Carrots Parsley 1 pumpkin Rosemary 1 acorn squash Sage 1 butternut squash Basil Salt Pepper 5 tablespoons olive oil 1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F 2. Wash the sweet potatoes 3. Cut the sweet potatoes into 1 inch chunks 4. In a medium bowl, toss with 1 tablespoon oil, thyme, salt and pepper to taste 5. Place in a baking dish 6. Wash the carrots 7. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Peel the carrots and cut off the stems <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial; msofareastfontfamily: Arial; msolist: Ignore;">8. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Cut the carrots into thick slices <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial; msofareastfontfamily: Arial; msolist: Ignore;">9. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">In a medium bowl, toss with 1 tablespoon oil, parsley, salt and pepper to taste <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial; msofareastfontfamily: Arial; msolist: Ignore;">10. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Place in a baking dish <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial; msofareastfontfamily: Arial; msolist: Ignore;">11. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Wash the pumpkin <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial; msofareastfontfamily: Arial; msolist: Ignore;">12. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Cut the pumpkin in half <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial; msofareastfontfamily: Arial; msolist: Ignore;">13. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Scoop out the guts and seeds (Save the seeds for Perfect Pumpkin Seed Pesto) <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial; msofareastfontfamily: Arial; msolist: Ignore;">14. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Peel the pumpkin <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial; msofareastfontfamily: Arial; msolist: Ignore;">15. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Cut off the stem end of the pumpkin <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial; msofareastfontfamily: Arial; msolist: Ignore;">16. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">First slice each pumpkin half, then cut each slice into chunks <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial; msofareastfontfamily: Arial; msolist: Ignore;">17. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">In a medium bowl, toss with 1 tablespoon oil, rosemary, salt and pepper to taste <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial; msofareastfontfamily: Arial; msolist: Ignore;">18. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Place in a baking dish <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial; msofareastfontfamily: Arial; msolist: Ignore;">19. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Wash the acorn squash <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial; msofareastfontfamily: Arial; msolist: Ignore;">20. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Cut the acorn squash in half <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial; msofareastfontfamily: Arial; msolist: Ignore;">21. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Scoop out the guts and seeds <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial; msofareastfontfamily: Arial; msolist: Ignore;">22. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Peel the acorn squash <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial; msofareastfontfamily: Arial; msolist: Ignore;">23. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Cut off the stem end of the acorn squash <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial; msofareastfontfamily: Arial; msolist: Ignore;">24. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">First slice each squash half, then cut each slice into chunks <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial; msofareastfontfamily: Arial; msolist: Ignore;">25. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">In a medium bowl, toss with 1 tablespoon oil, sage, salt and pepper to taste <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial; msofareastfontfamily: Arial; msolist: Ignore;">26. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Place in a baking dish <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial; msofareastfontfamily: Arial; msolist: Ignore;">27. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Wash the butternut squash <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial; msofareastfontfamily: Arial; msolist: Ignore;">28. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Cut the butternut squash in half <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial; msofareastfontfamily: Arial; msolist: Ignore;">29. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Scoop out the guts and seeds <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial; msofareastfontfamily: Arial; msolist: Ignore;">30. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Peel the butternut squash <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial; msofareastfontfamily: Arial; msolist: Ignore;">31. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Cut off the stem end of the butternut squash <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial; msofareastfontfamily: Arial; msolist: Ignore;">32. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">First slice each squash half, then cut each slice into chunks <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial; msofareastfontfamily: Arial; msolist: Ignore;">33. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">In a medium bowl, toss with 1 tablespoon oil, basil, salt and pepper to taste <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial; msofareastfontfamily: Arial; msolist: Ignore;">34. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Place in a baking dish <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial; msofareastfontfamily: Arial; msolist: Ignore;">35. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Begin to roast the carrots and acorn squash <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial; msofareastfontfamily: Arial; msolist: Ignore;">36. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Ten minutes later, add the pumpkin and butternut squash <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial; msofareastfontfamily: Arial; msolist: Ignore;">37. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Ten minutes later, add the sweet potatoes <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial; msofareastfontfamily: Arial; msolist: Ignore;">38. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Twenty minutes later, begin testing vegetables for doneness by poking with a fork. The vegetables should be tender.

Simplifing it enough for six to nine year olds to understand was pretty intense. And it resulted in a gazillion steps. But our recipe was the longest and hardest. Not to worry, I only scared my group; the rest of the groups had it easy with recipes like salad which had three steps. Then, when all the groups were done cooking, we all sat down and ate together and the kids helped clean up and do the dishes. All in all, not bad for a senior project.