LIFT Class 7/29

Today, Ian had a program in Greene County during the same time as the LIFT class. So Shania (the other intern) and I taught his LIFT class! It was a lot harder than I thought it was going to be! I could never be a fitness instructor! The hardest thing was not the workout, it was keeping people on rhythm so they would actually get a workout and not just be moving random limbs. We rushed the class a little bit and finished a little early, but overall it didn't go too badly. I got some good pictures of our workout, so take a look below! :)

Michie Market Round 2!

Hey there!
So since we did not get out to the Michie Market last week, we went yesterday evening! The thunderstorms waited until after the market, which was perfect! We always look for recipes for our food demonstrations that include local fresh vegetables or fruit. This week, our vegetable focus is fennel.
Although I have seen chefs prepare fennel in different dishes on TV, I am not sure if I've ever actually tried fennel. We went to the grocery store to get ingredients for a recipe I found for Orange and Fennel Salad. We shared this recipe with people so they could learn one way to use fennel since there is so much of it ready around at this time of year!
We got lots of compliments on the fennel salads and I personally liked the version with peaches better than the orange recipe, although they were both good! I was pleasantly surprised with the fennel flavor as well. It smells a lot like licorice, but the flavor was much more mild than I was expecting.

The recipe is pretty simple! I am attaching it below.

Orange and Fennel Salad
Total Time: 10 min
Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients
1 large fennel bulb, trimmed and thinly sliced
2 medium oranges, peeled (or peaches)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons sweetened dried cranberries (or raisins)
(optional) Feta Cheese for topping

Directions
Place the sliced fennel in a salad bowl. Slice oranges to divide flesh sections and add to bowl. Drizzle with olive oil, red wine vinegar, and salt and pepper. Toss, top with sweetened cranberries and serve.

Our Finished Products

Our Table Display

Fennel Salad with Oranges

Fennel Salad with Peaches

Fennel

Serving Samples

Showing what ingredients we used in our dish.

Customers at the Market

Happy Customers :)

We had a good turnout! 

STEAM Workshop at the Boys and Girls Club

We had the opportunity to go to the Boys and Girls Club and introduce the children to some new science concepts! We discussed physical changes and chemical changes as we turned our liquid mixture into a gooey slimy blob, we watched as Mentos were dropped into Diet Coke bottles and we saw the reaction to the Mentos hitting the Coke caused a fountain of soda to go straight up in the air over 10 feet, and we did Bubbleology! With Bubbleology, we made mixtures of dish soaps and water and then put a little of our solution down on the table before putting a straw on the table with the mixture and blowing through the straw to create a bubble. We used three different dish soaps: Palmolive, Dawn, and Gain to see which made the biggest bubbles. Each child did five trials in each solution and documented the diameter of each bubble they blew. Then we averaged the diameters to decide which soap brand makes the largest bubbles. We used the Scientific Method during this experiment. Each child had a hypothesis of which soap brand would make the largest bubbles, and then we did multiple trials using different variables, and then documented our results to prove whether our hypothesis was correct or incorrect.
The kids loved the experiments and had a great time learning all about STEAM!

Bubbles are fun!

Diet Coke and Mentos!

Using Palmolive dish soap to make bubbles!

GAP Preparation

Yesterday, I spent all morning with Ian putting together and organizing a binder with all of the necessary GAP information in it for produce growers. He had a meeting in the afternoon, and I helped him get everything ready for his meeting. He printed off all of the documents and I tried my best to organize them and put them in the correct places in the binder. The table of contents was helpful, but it was numbered incorrectly in one place which made it confusing for me. Luckily Ian helped me figure out how it was supposed to go for the most part, but there are A LOT of rules and regulations for produce production and distribution! I did not know about all that went into growing crops. No wonder it is not done by everyone! It was cool to help with this and learn a little about GAP certification!

Wrapping Up 4-H Summer Camp 2016

We finally finished unpacking and repacking all of our camp materials and bins, which means 4-H Summer Camp 2016 has officially come to a close. We had a great time and the campers this year were awesome! We look forward to next year with another awesome group of campers!
We were able to offer new classes, make new friends, and even join camp with another county, Cumberland, this year which was a good experience! If you are interested in reading a little about our adventures, feel free to check out this newspaper article that was written about our camp week!
We hope to see you at Albemarle/Charlottesville/Nelson/Cumberland 4-H Summer Camp at Holiday Lake next summer!

http://www.newsadvance.com/nelson_county_times/news/positive-peer-pressure--h-camp-offers-new-experiences-for/article_81010323-9fab-580a-b2eb-9fd03db4aa9b.html

4-H Summer Camp 2016!

Hello!
We're back!
Last week was wild! Everyone was so busy running around and having fun at camp! The wifi was super spotty down at Holiday Lake so I didn't have a chance to do any blog posts during the week. Each morning the campers went to four different classes. A few options: canoeing, fishing, cooking over the campfire, leathercrafts, high ropes, and super sports. There were many more too! The campers loved their classes! We also had recreation time where the campers could hang out with friends, play volleyball, play four square, go swimming, or get covered in sand in the GauGau pit.
We saw some cool animals and bugs (including a Hercules beetle), only got rained on a little bit, and everyone stayed hydrated during the 95+ degree weather! It was a good week! I walked over 33 miles in four and a half days, and when I got home Friday afternoon, I slept for 15 hours straight!
Thanks to everyone who had a part in the planning, preparation, scholarships, and attendance at 4-H summer camp! :) Another successful year in the books!

Enjoy the pictures below!

Teen Pool Party Fun!

We had some great swimmers!

About to Jump Off the Diving Board!

Body And Mind (BAM) activities!

More parachute games!

Teens Talking to the Albemarle/Charlottesville Extension Agent

Afternoon rec time! Anyone up for some volleyball?

Canoeing Class is Always a Blast!

Our Indoor Carnival! The Rain Can't Stop Our Fun! 

Extension Agents Taking a Much Deserved Break!

Splash!

GauGau, anyone?

Nothing Like a Little Dancing at the Evening Pool Party!

Michie Market Fun!

Yesterday was a really fun day! Shania, Ian, and I prepared free food samples for the Michie Market from 5:00-6:30 in Charlottesville. The market is a place where refugees can sell produce that they grow. It is a partnership with the IRC and is a really cool program! Once a month, Ian and VCE takes food samples for people to try, showcasing the vegetables that are in season that the growers will have for sale.
Our featured veggies this week were swiss chard and collards. We prepared these two leafy greens in two ways. We steamed some of each green and then served it warm with a little bit of vinegar (optional). We also served Green Fresh Spring Rolls. (Recipe Below) Everyone liked the fresh veggies and it was really fun to help promote healthy eating and easy recipes that can be repeated at home. And everyone can add their own twists! We thought about adding radishes, mushrooms, or even using cabbage leaves for this recipe! We especially had fun with the people who made their own spring rolls and showed off their skills! We will be back at the market Thursday July 21st! Come out and see us there! But don't forget the market is open every Thursday evening now through October. The produce is AWESOME! Right on Michie Drive by Whole Foods in Charlottesville! :)

Green Fresh Spring Rolls
Ingredients
4 large Swiss chard leaves
3 medium carrots
1 medium zucchini
1/2 large cucumber
1 medium bell pepper
1/2 bunch cilantro
basil leaves
1 cup cooked brown rice or rice noodle

1/3 cup smooth peanut butter, unsalted
1/4 cup orange juice (I juiced 1 medium orange)
2 tbsp Low Sodium Soy Sauce

Directions
Remove ribs from Swiss chard leaves and cut into 3" - 4" long sheets. As long as it's long enough to roll - it's good.
Cut all veggies into long sticks.
Cook rice or noodles.
In a blender or small food processor (bowl and whisk work but sauce won't be as creamy), process until smooth Peanut Sauce ingredients.
To make spring rolls, lay Swiss chard sheet on a flat surface and place on the end close to you a bit of rice/noodle, each veggie and top with a few sprigs of cilantro and basil leaves. Roll and place seam side down in a container or on a board. Repeat with remaining ingredients. Any leftover ingredients can be eaten on their own, rolled in extra leaves, added to salad or soup. Serve cold with dipping sauce on a side.

What we put inside our spring rolls!