Happy Year of the OX!

 

Did you have your jiaozi last night?

  Here's a how to from Cooking in the Children's House

Jiaozi (Chinese New Year Dumplings)

1 pack (30) dumpling wrapper 1 lb. ground pork (optional)
1 Chinese cabbage, chopped
4 carrots, peeled and chopped
6 fresh shiitake mushrooms
4 water chestnuts (optional)
1 clove garlic or 1 slice ginger, finely chopped
2 T. vegetable oil

Sauce
3 tablespoons light soy sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoons cornstarch
6 tablespoons water
½ teaspoon sesame oil
pepper, to taste

To prepare filling
Mix all the sauce ingredients in a bowl and set aside.
Heat oil in a wok. Add the garlic or ginger and fry till golden brown. Add in all the vegetables and stir-fry until tender. Stir in the sauce mixture and fry until dry.
To wrap dumpling
Place some of filling in the middle of wrapper and use finger to wet the edge with water. Fold up. Work from right to left, press and shape the dumpling.
To cook dumpling
Bring water to a boil in a pot or wok. Add the dumplings and return to the boil. Remove the dumplings with a slotted spoon when they float to the surface. Jiaozi can also be fried in a skillet or wok.

 

From the vault: Jolly Goblin!

 

I would rather sit on a pumpkin, and have it all to myself, than be crowded on a velvet cushion.”

—Henry David Thoreau

From the vault: Honeybees!

Bzzz!

From the vault: Peanut Butter!

From the vault: Quesadillas!

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Perspective

I am writing a non fiction book for children about, wait for it...tea. Sound a bit insipid? After a few hours this morning I took a little break and my mind wandered back to the stark reality of the present. April 15, 2020.

Question to self: "Is what your doing helping?" I let it sink in for a while. Chewed on it, swallowed, and saw a child reading about camel caravans on the Silk Road and about the Boston Tea Party. Perhaps for the first time encountering the terms "colonization" or "fair trade". History can sometimes be a hard thing for kids to understand. It seems like fiction but it isn't. It doesn't feel real but it evokes real empathy. The history of something as everyday humdrum as tea may appear not to address anything important. Or does it?

As a Montessorian I am steeped in the philosophy that my task is not to fix things, but rather to create an environment ripe for understanding. Real understanding - of history, and perhaps even an awareness that it is history we are living right now. Time can be relative - especially when one is immersed in a book or learning something new. Even if it's something about a boring old cup of tea. Learning about history kids can see their place on the continuum and ultimately make decisions with an expanded perspective. That, my chamomile friends, is knowledge.

A Decade of Learning

We hold things in our hands for just so long. They slip away or are replaced by new things to touch and explore. The dream of a beautiful school for young children began much earlier than ten years ago. We have just been holding it close for that long here in this place. What a golden time we have had with memories that we will never let go. May it be so for many years to come and offer something lovely for children to hold onto forever. 

Thank you!