Radish Harvest!

The garden is full of excitement and anticipation once things start to really take off and grow to maturity. Today the Garden Club harvested a medley of delicious radishes just as the raindrops started falling on our heads. Radishes are often considered little more than a condiment or something spicy to throw into a salad, a sandwich or a taco. While we love radishes for the crunch and their kick and often enjoy them these ways ourselves, we're hoping to discover some new favorite preparations in our class.

So, we will be sampling radishes three ways in our cooking class on Wednesday: raw, pickled, and roasted. If you've never had a roasted a radish, it's definitely worth the effort (minimal) to taste the remarkable transformation that this tiny little veg undergoes in the bathing warmth of the oven--it actually because kind of rich and sweet, or even "succulent" to borrow the word from a recent New York Times article. Several of the food blogs we read compared a roasted radish to the flavor of a turnip, something the students will be tasting later in the harvest this summer so we'll have to make a mental note and compare the flavors ourselves. We are going to roast the radishes with their greens to add even more nutrients to our little After School snack.

Here are a few of the best recipes circulating around the web for roasted radishes:

• Roasted Radishes with Radish Greens
• Roasted Radish Salad
• Roasted Radishes

Before you can roast a radish you've grown yourself, you have to pick. Be careful of the leaves which can be a little prickly, grab the base of the greens just about the root, wiggle the radish in the soil to loosen it, and then simply pull it up. You'll want to wash these babies off before eating them, but they are great for snacking just as is, or with a sprinkling of salt. Radishes are related to cauliflower and broccoli and are a nutritional powerhouse--despite the fact that they are very low in calories. They are very high in Vitamin C. The greens are also a great source of iron, thiamin and calcium. So, find yourself a radish, eat up and enjoy!

Smart Salads for an Early Summer Heatwave

It's only June 9th and it's supposed to be 100 degrees today! What??? For today's HCZ's Staff Health and Wellness Fair we're preparing two of our favorite summer salads. These salads are smart and savvy for two reasons. First,  they are packed with fresh veggies that are low in calories and tossed with simple, easy-to-make vinaigrette. Second they are quite flexible, allowing you to vary the recipe based on your own whim or what happens to be on hand. Here are the recipes, which are more of a starting place or a general guideline for you to play with. Click through for the full recipes for:

• Orzo Salad
• Carrot, Beet and Broccoli Slaw

Photo of Orzo Salad via Flickr user Three By Sea:  Nicole North Rodriguez
Photo of Carrot and Beet Salad via Chocolate and Zucchini blog.

Carrot, Beet, and Broccoli Slaw Recipe

Carrot, Beet and Broccoli Slaw
Serves 4-6

This recipe is adapted from one of our favorite food blogs Chocolate and Zucchini, whose "optional add-in" ideas we've left untouched. We've added broccoli to our version and a little more vinaigrette. Play with yours and find what you like. Beets and carrots are such flavorful assertive vegetables the addition of broccoli adds a slightly sweet foil. You'll find shredded raw broccoli in most Super Markets these days by the packages of baby spinach and other salad-ready supplies. Ideally combine with the dressing and let sit  for about 30 minutes prior to serving.

You'll need:
2 cups shredded carrots
2 cups shredded beets
2 cups shredded broccoli


For the vinaigrette:

2 cloves garlic
1/4 balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
1/2 cup olive oil
3-4 dashes tabasco sauce
salt
pepper

Optional add-ins:


• Leafy fresh herbs (cilantro, chervil, flat-leaf parsley) chopped

• Toasted nuts (almonds, pine nuts, cashews, peanuts) or seeds (sesame, sunflower seeds)
• Shaved parmesan or cubed feta cheese or crumbled blue cheese

• Baby spinach leaves

• A grated apple or shallot


To make: Trim, peel, and grate the carrots, beets and broccoli stalks if you've not bought prepared versions. If you own a food processor with a grater attachment, this will be quick work! Prepare the vinaigrette and toss with the vegetables until well combined. Add any desired add-ins and toss again.

Photo of Carrot and Beet Salad via Chocolate and Zucchini blog.

Orzo Salad Recipe

Orzo Salad
Serves 6-8

You may recognize some version of this composed salad from the prepared Salad Bar of your local specialty grocery. This version includes plenty of veggies. I make this a lot and like to include something red (tomatoes or sweet peppers), something green (string beans or asparagus), something protein and fiber rich (chickpeas or kidney beans), something for crunch (shallots, red onions, or pine nuts), and something for added flair (like feta cheese, Kalamata olives or fresh mint). If I'm making it for a light supper, I'll dice a roasted chicken breast to make it feel even more substantial. The point? Get creative!

For the salad, you'll need:
1 1/2 cups uncooked orzo pasta
1 can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1 1/2 cups chopped cherry tomatoes
1 1/2 cups green beans, blanched and cut into thirds
1/2 cup pitted Kalamata olives, roughly chopped
3 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted
1/2 cup chopped shallots
1/2 cup chopped scallions
1/2 chopped fresh mint
1/2 cup feta cheese
Salt and Pepper to taste

1. In a large saucepan bring 4 cups salted water to a boil over high heat. Stir in orzo and cook until tender but firm, about 8 minutes. Meanwhile make the vinaigrette. When the orzo is cooked, drain in a strainer. Transfer to a large mixing bowl and add half of the vinaigrette. Stir until well coated and set aside.
2. Prepare the vegetables starting with blanching (boiling in salted water) the green beans. While they cook, chop the tomatoes (into halves or quarters) and toss them with the remaining dressing. Drain and rinse the garbanzo beans and add them to the tomatoes. Dice the Kalamata olives roughly into quarters. When the green beans are crisp-tender (about 3 1/2 minutes) drain and rinse with cold water until cool (this stops them from continuing to cook). Chop them into thirds. Set aside.
3. Dice the shallots and scallions. Chop the fresh mint.
4. Add all the elements together in the bowl with the orzo. Stir to combine well. Crumble the feta cheese in at the end, as the last step, so that it doesn't get lost. Adjust salt and pepper to taste.

For the vinaigrette, you'll need:
1/2 cup sherry vinegar
2 tbsp dijon mustard
Juice of 1 lemon
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup hummus
salt and pepper to taste

Combine the vinegar and the mustard and whisk together until smooth. Add the lemon juice. Slowly pour the olive oil in, whisking to emulsify. Add the hummus. Taste. Adjust salt and pepper to your taste.

Photo of Orzo Salad via Flickr user Three By Sea:  Nicole North Rodriguez

What's for lunch? June 9th 2011

Today Chef Jimmie created a menu for the day. His menu is comprised of Brown Stewed Chicken, Curried Rice, Braised Cabbage with Carrots. This will replace the regular menu for today. Every week one of our HCZ chefs will feature a menu for their choice. Last week, Chef Kim featured Lemon Herb Pollock, Coconut Rice, Coleslaw.
Enjoy.

Health & Wellness Fair for Full Time Staff

At HCZ, we place a high value on the health and wellness of children, families and our staff. The growing number of preventable health issues, such as obesity, heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure (hypertension) and high cholesterol in our community is cause for action.

Full-time Staff are invited to join us at this educational and interactive event

Date: Thursday, June 9, 2011
Time:  3:00pm — 7:00pm
Location: In the HCZ Gymnasium & Blue Room at 35 East 125th Street

Over 30 participating exhibitors to include; Biometric Screening*; BMI (body mass index) testing; Healthy cooking demonstrations and sampling; Cholesterol screening; Wii fit challenge; Fitness/Life style coaching and Financial planning advisors to name a few…

Give-A-Ways :
Pedometers & Advice on The Walk America Program for first 100 employees who attend.

Raffle Prizes:
Orthotics, Electric Tooth Brushes, Acupuncture Gift, Holistic Health Session, Fitness
Gift, Holistic Health Consultation, Trial Yoga Membership, & Dance Video.

*Full-time staff only. Sign-up is highly recommended to ensure your testing, however, walk-ups are welcomed. Please RSVP to Kenyatta Nobles at 212-234-6200 to sign–up for Biometric Screening or any questions.

We're parched!

Summer has unofficially arrived and with it the characteristic heat! During Garden Club in the summer we maximize our time in the shade and the sun and we make sure to keep plenty of water on hand. Yesterday several of the girls in Garden Club started talking about how grateful they were for ICE water and how lucky we are to have it! In my humble opinion, this is one of the most brilliant things children can remind us of--how to notice and take pleasure in the simple things. And there are so many simple triumphs and marvels in our garden everyday.

We knew our plants were THIRSTY, too, so we spend most of the day watering and also carefully hand weeding some of the beds. We wanted to update you on the growth of our beautiful pumpkin plant which is really thriving and has a bunch of buds that will eventually turn into pumpkins! The excitement continues out in the garden, come join us one of these days!