Behind the Scenes: Where it all started... (aka the last post)

Planting herbs seeds was not the only thing we did on that fine afternoon. We also made tortilla pizzas, ran around my backyard playing "Ring-a-the-Rosie", and took motion pictures. If you're curious, take a look at the following pictures...

A happy face pizza with a mushroom mustache.

Another happy face pizza with mushroom hair.

A sad face pizza?....

Grace jumping for joy.

Again.

Maggie's amazing cartwheeling skills for my photo project.

Where it all starts...

May 16th, 2011 - This is when the real planting began. I had three friends that offered to help me plant the herb seeds after school one day. We planted dill, parsley, cilantro, and basil seeds. My mum was getting worried (like always) that we were planting the seeds way too late, so we had to "hut-to-hut-to," as she likes to say.

Starting from the top row of the picture above is me (yes, I'm wearing a thick coat because it's chilly in our garage), Maggie, and the bottom being Grace, and Maia. My mum loves to garden, so she bought some red (the official lucky color in Chinese) and pink (that's her favorite color) impatiens for our garden. She then decided for us to use the black containers of the pansies to plant our herbs seeds to save money, thanks to my mum's frugal-ness. This picture above shows us four taking the pansies out of the black containers, where the herb seeds will later find a comfortable home.

Next step: place the dirt in the black containers. We used a bag of Miracle Gro: Seed Starting Potting Mix as the soil. We placed about a half-inch of soil into each compartment.

Our dirty hands.

Our cilantro seeds that are soon to be planted. Please pardon my photography skills (or lack thereof I should say..).

Basil seeds.

Parsley seeds...? Hard to tell.

Dill seeds. They're very hard to see since they're so tiny, as you can see. Maggie had to plant these.

Maia concentrating hard on planting the parsley seeds.

Maggie and Grace working hard together to plant the tiny dill seeds and the basil seeds.

Maia beginning to water her clean seeded compartments with the measuring cup.

Me watering my not-so-clean seeded compartments with the measuring cup.

The four of us happily giving our seeds a new home! Thanks so much guys for all of your help!

For more information, check out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTVg4QgHEOs to learn how to grow plants from seeds!

Elawa Farm is awarded with a renowned chef

Mrs. Obama's initiative has only been a step away ever since prominent chef, Gale Gand, joined Elawa Farm as the Chief-In-Residence.

Gand is known for being an executive pastry chef and partner of the restaurant, Tru, located in Chicago, IL. She obtained her Bachelor Degree of Fine Arts from the Rochester Institute of Technology's School for American Craftsmen and also went to a cooking school at La Varenne in Paris, France. In 2001, she received the "Outstanding Pastry Chef" Award from the James Beard Foundation. She opened some cafés and restaurants as well, one being Gale's Coffee Bar in Wheeling, IL. Not only is coffee her specialty, yet she also created her own root beer company called Gale's Root Beer. She has also been the host of the Food Network's show, Sweet Dreams and is currently producing The Heirloom Recipe Project (PBS).

What brings Gale Gand to Elawa Farm, you may ask? Gand has a deep interest in teaching young children how to cook and eat healthy. She is also a strong supporter of sustainable agriculture, eating at local restaurants, and being "green". Being a member of Mrs. Obama's, "Chefs Move To Schools" campaign, she has come to Lake Forest and the neighboring communities to do her part. She cooks pastries, muffins, and breads weekly for Elawa Farm's Garden Market. She has also been teaching monthly Master Classes at Elawa's Kitchen since the beginning of this summer (check out The Garden at Elawa for more info). I hope that I get to meet this local inspiration one of these days, perhaps a casual run-into while I'm tending my garden at Elawa.

For more information on Gale Gand, check out her website at http://www.galegand.com/.

SOURCES:

http://www.galegand.com/galebio/index.asp

http://www.makeitbetter.net/make-a-difference/local-treasures/2847-gale-gand-executive-pastry-chef-and-partner-tru

Hard at Work

May: The April snow slowly melted as May came under way. This was when the hard work began. Thankfully, I had the help from my mum (the English version of "mom"; she likes to be called that). At first, the two beds were covered in weeds, the biggest nuisance being quack grass. After weeding both beds, we had to break down the soil. Next we placed at least five wheelbarrows of compost onto the soil, enriching the soil with nutrients for plant growth. About a day later, we came back and broke down the soil some more and then placed mulch onto the beds. Mulch controls weed growth and maintains soil health. This process was definitely the most hardest, physically. As you can tell, I was gaining some strong arm muscles from scooping the compost onto the soil.

The two beds! Number 1 has compost already laid down, Number 2 patiently waiting for it's turn to be enriched. (please pardon my photography skills, even though this makes a nice motion photo)

Happily weeding some quack grass.

First Glance

April: The first time I visited my future herb beds located at Elawa Farm and yes, there was still snow on the ground in April (we live in Chicago). Each bed is one hundred square feet, which is plenty of space to grow herbs. If you look closely, there is a fake fox to keep away birds from the beds.

Sadly, obese pets really do exist.

If you were busy imagining what a chubby kitty looks like, here is the real thing.

It all started with the First Lady...

The U.S. is known for being a "big" country, physically in terms of people. As in fat people. In fact, obesity has become such a huge problem that it even led to pet obesity. I mean, what's sadder than seeing a chubby, little kitten?

This major issue is due to the lack of healthy food choices. I know that crispy french fries, a juicy Big Mac, and an extra large coke sounds super delicious right now, but all of that translates into one thing: a heart attack. Okay, maybe that was a little overboard. But really, it could lead to a heart attack, if you eat it every single day for breakfast, lunch, and dinner (watch Supersize Me if you're really curious). The reasons people are so attracted to these types of foods are because of their oh-so-good-ness and their cheap prices. Obesity also negatively affects the emotional well-beings of people, such as their confidence. Thankfully, someone was able to step up to the plate.

Mrs. Obama has made child obesity her main initiative very relevant through her "Let's Move!" campaign (check out http://www.letsmove.gov/ for more info.) She is motivated to reverse the childhood obesity epidemic through healthy eating and getting active. She also gets kids involved in helping out with the White House vegetable garden. Now that's interactive.

Inspired by Mrs. Obama's initiative, I've decided to lead a path into the world of healthy eating, through my very own herb garden! Venturing out with a very basic knowledge of gardening and cooking (unless you count the numerous times between me and the rice cooker), I feel that this is the moment to challenge myself into doing something completely different.

I believe that eating healthy should be a unique experience for everyone. It doesn't have to be The Paleo-Diet (a.k.a. hunter-gatherer style) for breakfast, lunch, and dinner; everyone is entitled to their own way of healthy eating. I hope that my experience will be an inspiration for others, just as Mrs. Obama has inspired me. Good luck to all and Bon Appétit Sain (Good Healthy Appetite)!!!