4/9/10

Dirt Made My Lunch





Dirt made my lunch,
Dirt made my lunch.
Thank you Dirt, thanks a bunch,
For my salad, my sandwich
My milk and my munch 'cause
Dirt, you made my lunch.

Dirt is a word that we often use,
When we're talkin' about the earth beneath our shoes.
It's a place where plants can sink their toes;
In a little while a garden grows.

A farmer's plow will tickle the ground,
You know the earth has laughed when wheat is found.
The grain is taken and flour is ground,
For making a sandwich to munch on down.


A stubby green beard grows upon the land,
Out of the soil the grass will stand.
But under hoof it must bow,
For making milk by way of a cow
.

I learned this song last summer at our Dirt To Dine Summer Camp. Before the kids went onto the farm they sang this song with the farm educators and they loved it. Well, we are getting ready for camp again, this summer we are doing three one week sessions in Napa. We have a new web page describing how it all works right here.


A few weeks ago My partners and I held a one day Dirt to Dine event at Frogs Leap Winery. Here is how it went: The kids got to tour the garden, get fresh eggs, study bees and chickens. They chopped, whipped, squeezed, emulsified, baked and sauteed
while and working with Michael Chiarello and myself in the kitchen. We wound up with a Spanish torta, granola, honey lemonade, herbed homemade mayonnaise and the kids served a huge feast for all the parents.
They also left with fresh eggs, granola and a jar of mayonnaise each.
It was perfect.


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4 comments:

Anonymous said...

How cool that the kids got to cook with Michael Chiarello (and you!).

What's in the little packets with the kids' names on them?

We're moving and I'm so sad to leave our established garden. But I look forward to starting fresh. I'm thinking about the square foot garden method for the net house. That way we can start small and keep adding.

Jennifer Carden said...

Leighann the packets are granola that the kids made when they first arrived. We bagged them so they could take some home to share.
You will have fun with oyur new garden I'm sure.

Unknown said...

Your blog is fantastic! I am sending a link to your blog to my sister who has a two year old.

Anonymous said...

Jen, I'm so jealous of your life in Napa! What an amazing experience for you and the kids (I'm a big fan of Michael Chiarello). My town -- 12 miles west of Boston -- just purchased an 8-acre farm and now the debate is raging over what to do with it. I've joined the LexFarm movement and am lobbying town officials to maintain the land as a community/educational farm. Fingers crossed we can make it happen.
I'll be in Napa the week of June 9th ... maybe we can meet up.