ROOT VEGGIE CAKES !?!?

 One of the items that I added to our STEAM program was the farm to table aspect of our school garden!  I work with our amazing physical education teacher.  We each have our important roles in this process.

My favorite activity is doing farm to table lessons with my students...including squash pasta, zucchini bread, cauliflower pizza, and more!  It is a LABOR of love!!!  But often these lessons are big memories for the students.

Gardens grow during the summer and school is not in session.  So I have to freeze and preserve as much as possible in the summer or share with our food pantry!  Or I get crazy creative and make root vegetable cakes - yes this is a new adventure!

This week was ROOT veggie fun.  On Friday, I picked the root vegetables.  I started by checking the carrots.  The seed starter pods constricted the way that they grew making tangled skinny carrots but so many bright colors!

Fun crazy carrots

Then I moved to the beets.  They were also ready!  Plus the radishes.  Honestly, I left with two piles - carrots and mystery items.  I tried to process root vegetables last year and it was one of my first fails. I am not sure what it was but boiling it made my house stink and they were not appetizing to look at or taste.  I am a bit nervous to adventure into other root veggies to be 100% honest.  But they are in the garden and now on my table...so here we go!

1 turnip
long skinny radishes
bulb shaped beets

On Sunday, I started by peeling processing the crazy carrots.  This was a labor of love.  Usually, I have a tribe of helpers but this was not feasible with these carrots.  What a metaphor for life - no matter the color on the outside - most were still orange on the inside!  

Next, I tackled my mystery red root veggies.  I cut the end off a little one and it was a beet.  I thought that the rest might be beets despite not being beet shaped.  The leaves were all similar.

I researched beet and carrot recipe since when I was done peeling and trimming my carrot pile was no long so impressive or enough for a carrot cake.  I learned how to process the beets and decided to start peeling those. 

Quickly, I realized that they were a mix of radishes and beets.  So next I divided the beets and radishes.  I peeled the beets and added those to the bowl of carrots.  It was so pretty and vibrant!  I took a picture when we were almost done shredding the carrots and beets.

Peeled carrots

So step 1 - peel the carrots and peel the beets!  Next shred - I use a food processor.  Finally, make the cake.  I only had 2 eggs and was apprehensive.  So I split the recipe for round 1.

The mixture was a pinky color with veggie flecks.  It was like nature's confetti!  I took a picture.  

Batter ready for the oven

It cooked and it was delicious!! It will freeze until Back to School night for families to sample!!!

ALL DONE!!

I have bought more eggs and ready to try the chocolate radish cake tomorrow!  This one is a bit more of a challenge...I usually compare and contrast multiple recipes and this is only one that I can find.  There is a Chinese turnip dish with a similar name.  But we shall see!

Here is the recipe link - Carrot and Beet Cake

The radish recipe to try tomorrow - Radish cake ?!?!?

Look for updates on the root veggie cakes and reviews from families! Plus I have 1 pesky turnip to address as well.  Not sure what to do with that YET!

Projects!

I see teachers who are reading stacks of books, going on epic adventures, hanging out with girl friends, and finding lots of family fun.  I have read one graphic novel, seen a few friends, and gone on a few adventures...but projects are the focus of this summer so far.

My summer  feels like a series of home projects and a BIG work project.  Not a bad place to be but not the same ;)

What are some of my some home projects?
First I want to re-do the area for my picnic table.  First I dug up ALL of the rocks, then the old grass/weeds!  Then a neighbor rototilled it to make it easier to level and rake.  This was in May.  

My next steps are raking it flat, laying down landscape fabric, then replacing the large stone pavers.  Ben is going to help me re-do the picnic table for his family life merit badge.  Taking it apart, replace the rotten boards, spray painting the metal, and then re-assembling.  I hope that Sunday is a productive work day for this project.

Here are some before/mid project...YES it is way over grown and a mess.  The table is not much better!

Another series of projects is cleaning up the house.  I started on the basement last week. I need to make a trip to a consignment store then maybe switch some of my summer/winter clothes out and maybe thin them down.  I really can't do too much any day...but inch by inch it will be a cinch ;)  CLEANING UP my kitchen counters, my kids rooms, etc... are all on the goal/wish list.  We shall see.  
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IF YOU TEACH AT WAMS DISCLAIMER! 
Cleaning up a library collection is a lot like cleaning out a closet.  It has to be done.  There has not been official librarian at WAMS in 8 years!!!!

The big daunting work project is a complete overhaul of the middle school library in a summer.  Last year was the high school media center.

Without a librarian, there were over stuffed shelves, a library missing critical books in series, and not 100% safe.  The first goal was to remove non-fiction that is out of date.  

Our goal was to eliminate most non-fiction before 2000.  This leaves books that are 22 years old.  Sports, technology, space, and many other topics are out of date after 22 years, but it is a starting point.

Next, we wanted to pull EVERYTHING off the top and bottom shelves to make them in line with ADA recommendations.  

Another goal was to remove large numbers of duplicates.  Pulling off the books is step 1.  7 copies of one older Newbery book like "Crispin" is a bit excessive.  1-2 books of each title is PLENTY!!!

The next step is to then re-arrange the remaining books to make sense, be user friendly, and follow the ADA guidelines above.  The goal was to leave the fiction and non-fiction about the same.  The biographies were completely re-located to be easier to find and be closer to the non-fiction.  Classics and Newbery award winning books were put in their own section to honor these older books.  Finally, all of the series were put together is an accessible area. 

The books are no longer on LOW shelves around the 'teaching pit'.  Yes...there is a pit area.  The books are no longer on the very top and bottom shelves, and ready for signage.  Plus the shelves are no longer over stuffed.  After summer cleaning, we hope to make some dynamic shelving displays (where you put a book at the end to draw attention to that shelf!)

Are we done yet?  NOPE....

Then these books have to be discarded from the computer system, sent to the school board for approval, then each book's barcode needs to be "blacked" out and the book stamped discard.  

Finally, books are distributed to staff and students.  Any left will be re-located to the elementary for storage or another book buying company.  None will go to the trash.  

Another step is to add labels, complete a full inventory, and eventually order new books to fill in gaps in series, non-fiction, etc...

It is a daunting process.  About 5,500 books are being removed.  A large box is going to the high school with old back stock which are more appropriate at the high school.  Finally a few will replace copies at the elementary center.  

Here is some of the progress photos!  I do not have many BEFORE pictures...but the after counts ;)

Some of the series of books especially if they have multiple authors.

Non-fiction (first half)

Fiction shelves with less on them!

New space for biographies and Who Was series.

Here is a before and after of non-fiction:

BEFORE!!! See the super tall and low shelves stuffed FULL!  Not ideal for a modern library. 
Quality over quantity :)

AFTER!!!  Same wall - just more of an over view but see the open spaces on the shelves, less books shoved in, and none at the top or  bottom.

I would love a week of no projects, no planned activities, etc... We shall see!  Plus we are upgrading wiring at our house to be safer and might keep working on the barn project like the concrete floor.  I am whooped from the middle school projects.  So working 7:30-1:30 leaves me ready for a nap not a home project ;)