Time Flies By When You're having fun...and Working for Extension!!

Hello July!  We are almost into the 3rd week of this blazing hot month and I feel like we just started.  I have decided that it takes a good month or so to get into the swing of things in extension.  The Farmer's Market is in full swing, the day camps and night classes have begun, and 4-H Camp is just around the corner!   I will briefly catch you up on these past few weeks that have given me much perspective of extension and of my community.

The second class of A Place at the Table was last Monday and these chefs were all-stars! We made stuffed peppers, watermelon and tomato salad, a cucumber dill dip, and a watermelon breeze summer drink.  To say the least, they were very proud of their meal, as was I.  We had a few setbacks, but they overcame each obstacle and each made a beautiful dish, as you can see...

 That following Tuesday, I hosted a pilot class of Foods with Friends at my house, just to see how it would do if I opened it up to the community.  My parents' friends all came and had a wonderful time.  I don't have any pictures from that week, but here are some from this past Tuesday night where we made mini quiche, fritatta, and strata along with a healthy fruit pizza!  All turned out fantastic and the group had a great time.  As you can see, there was a range of ages and all worked very well together.  My grandparents and dad came as well.  My grandpa was extremely proud of his fruit pizza and quiche that he had me post a picture of his masterpiece of facebook.  HA!  We will have one more week of the class and then I am off to 4-H camp! 

My dad and Leslie's daughter, Paige

Grandpa's creative fruit pizza

My grandparents

Making new friends while making good food--what the class is all about.

This past Wednesday was the first Farmer's Market cooking demo.  What a success!  We made corn, cucumber, and bean salsa with fresh ingredients from the market.  The purpose of this cooking demo is to provide the consumers with a tangible product they can make using the commodities they purchase.  Hopefully, tasting the delicious, easy recipe will encourage the consumers to do just that.  After many people left my table, I watched with much excitement as they walked from farmer to farmer picking out the ingredients to make the salsa! Cha-ching...we did it!

 Along with tending to the Farmer's Market on Wednesday, we also had our first YMCA summer camp class with the 5-13 year olds.  It was quite the experience. You would be amazed at home many children don't know the difference between a fruit and a vegetable.  As unfortunate as that may seem, it gives me a purpose to the nutrition classes we offer.  We are there to teach these young children who will ultimately teach their parents and one day their own children.  We really enforced healthy snacks such as fruit, vegetables, and yogurt because their zebra cakes and white powdered doughnuts did not appear to be satisfying their appetite :/  Good things come to those who wait, right?  We will see improvement in this group, I have no doubt! 


 Here are a few pictures of this past Monday's A Place at the Table making their menu of stuffed mushrooms, lasagna roll-ups, and nappa cabbage honey-lime vinaigrette slaw!  This week was a bit stressful considering we had a lot to get done in a relatively short amount of time, but again, this group knows how to complete the job efficiently with an outstanding product.  I have learned that next time, we need to explain in-depth the steps to each recipe before starting :)

More to follow!  Until then, have a wonderful next two weeks and God bless!