Getting dirty in the kitchen with Maggie & Rose
ummer is a great time to let the garden, and what grows in it, inspire us with our cooking. It’s great to introduce little ones to the concept of where food comes from, the importance of what lives in our gardens and how they help everything grow, at the earliest stage possible.
Maggie & Rose have a special class called ‘Jelly ‘n’ Wellies’ where little ones as young as 18 months dig, plant seeds, get a pet worm and cook up a feast.
‘Jelly ‘n’ Wellies’ is one of their most popular classes; parents love the combination of the outdoors and the kitchen. The kids love solving the ‘mystery’ of where the food comes from.
Maggie & Rose have shared with us a couple of their favourite recipes in the hope that you will take it outdoors this summer; they have all been tried and tested by hundreds of children in the Maggie & Rose Cooking School.
Happy growing and cooking!
Carrot Bread
At Maggie & Rose it’s not always possible to grow all the produce in time for the exact classes so sometimes they cheat a bit and pre plant carrots (make sure you use the ones with the green tops for authenticity). Little ones love nothing better than digging these up and washing them ready for the kitchen. ‘Carrot Bread’ is a delicious and healthy sweet treat after a hard day’s gardening.
WHAT’S IN IT?
• 2 cups of fine cornmeal (polenta)
• 1 cup of millet flakes
• 1 cup of grated carrot
• 3/4 cup of raisins
• Pinch of sea salt
• 1/2 cup of olive oil or rapeseed oil
• 11/2 cups of apple juice
• 11/2 tsps of baking powder
• 2 egg cups of agave syrup
• Some olive oil for greasing the baking dish
HOW TO MAKE THEM
1 Preheat the oven to 180°C.
2 In a large mixing bowl, mix together the cornmeal, the millet flakes and the grated carrot with the raisins, sea salt and the baking powder.
3 Add the olive oil and the apple juice.
4 Mix the wet and dry ingredients together, eventually kneading the mixture into a wet, sloppy dough.
5 Place the dough into a long baking dish, measuring roughly 12"x6".
6 Score the dough into individual pieces – 12 large or 16 small.
7 Place the baking dish in the preheated oven and bake for 45-60mins, or until golden brown on top.
Sweet Cressy Bagels
Buy some cress seeds and make a little cress garden. It’s very simple and quick to grow – you can use dirt or cotton wool and any old container. Make the ‘Cressy Bagels’ when the cress has grown enough to add to the recipe… you will be surprised how much kids love cress too.
WHAT’S IN IT?
• 1/2 juicy apple, grated
• 1 tbsp mayonnaise
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1 tbsp cream cheese or ricotta
• 1/2 carrot, finely grated
• 2 black grapes, quartered and seeded
• 1 carton salad cress
• Bagels
HOW TO MAKE THEM
1 Put the lemon juice over the grated apples to stop them going brown.
2 Add the mayonnaise and cream cheese.
3 Next, add the carrot and grapes and mix together well, so you have a nice creamy spread, add more cheese if needed.
4 Carefully pick the cress and add to the mix.
5 Cut your bagel in half and scoop out insides of one half.
6 Place your cressy mix into the bagel and pop the top back on, then eat your new yummy creation.
Pizzary Ploughman Worms
Maggie & Rose teach children the importance of worms and how they help food grow. Then when washed up, have fun with worm pizza.
WHAT’S IN IT?
• 5 tbsp caramelised onion chutney
• Pre-made pizza dough
• 2 tbsp poppy seeds
• Good dollop olive oil
• 100g grated cheddar cheese
HOW TO MAKE THEM
1 Make up your dough as per the packet instructions.
2 Push your thumb print into your dough to mix in the seeds.
3 Roll out the dough into a sausage shape, then continue to roll so it becomes a worm.
4 Then flatten it (it is not a good idea to do this to a real worm).
5 Mix your chutney with a good dollop of oil and mix to the paste.
6 With a knife spread out your chutney mix so your whole worm is covered.
7 Finally sprinkle with cheese and bake in the oven for 15mins on 200°C.
