Our Saturday Dinner Menu:
- A hearty minestrone soup made with carrots, tomatoes, onions, garlic, squash, potatoes, basil and peppers all from the Chewonki Farm. The only non-farm ingredients were oil, salt, pepper and dried kidney beans.
- Rustic homemade whole wheat bread.
- Salad with greens, tomatoes and sweet onions all from our farm.
- Zucchini-Chocolate chip bread for dessert. The zucchini, but not the chocolate chips, were from the farm.
What a fantastic first meal we cooked together! After a long Saturday which involved climbing imaginary mountains as part of a group values exercise, playing together in cabin groups, and spending a beautiful afternoon exploring Chewonki’s pristine 400 acres in canoes and on foot, ten students and two teachers met in the kitchen to prepare our evening dinner. With some advance planning and prep help from our talented kitchen staff, we were able to turn out a superb, fresh, healthy dinner in just a couple of hours.
Both food and farming are passions for Megan Phillips, Chewonki’s Farm Educator, and me. We both spend long hours in our own gardens and kitchens growing, cooking and preserving food. Working at Chewonki provides us with an outlet to share this passion with young people.
For this meal, Eloise and Laura made the delicious zucchini bread and then completely cleaned up without us even asking. Noah, Eric and Meghan all prepped vegetables and helped make the soup. Abby and Lily tackled the salad. Ashlee and Rachel’s first task was to head to the barn to retrieve several heads of farm garlic that were drying there. After her walk, she joined in with the soup crew.
Chewonki is blessed with good soil, warm sunshine and lots of compost for our gardens. Further, we are fortunate to have so many engaged students who are willing to volunteer their late afternoon to cook, even after a long day of activities.
-Bill Hinkley, Head of School
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