What's been happening in the garden?

Well, that would be a really great question! Or a better question might be what has happened to our garden blog?? It really is amazing that McKinley has such a great garden and it's because we have really great volunteers. This is the 4th or 5th year of the garden and most of our volunteers have kids that will be leaving McKinley soon. So now is the time to get in on the outdoor fun! 

And it's not just outdoor fun. There has been a lot of cooking going on for our monthly tasting tables. Kids got to try squash in October and cranberries in January. Some kids in the after-school SKEF program have been really big helpers prepping things for the rest of the school to sample. Here's a little of their handy work:

Separating squash seeds from the stringy goop is messy work.

First things first, always wash your veggies.  These squash came from Minto Island Growers.

As you can see, we had delicata squash, which you don't have to peel, and butternut squash, which you do have to peel.

This squash is ready to be roasted!

Guess what's next to taste in February? 

      BEETS!     

A lovely, vibrant red vegetable for Valentine's Day. Yes, the next tasting table will be Friday, February 14th. So come have lunch with your child and try one of the prettiest root vegetable around!

The tasting tables will be the 2nd Friday of every month. We feature an Oregon product, grown as close to home as possible. To learn more about these products, check out the  Oregon Harvest for Schools. (just scroll down to see the cool posters)