Winter Garden

My diet includes copious amounts of fruits and vegetables and I am constantly searching for ways to entice my children to share in this habit. It’s not going well, but this is one of our success stories. Every year, though my girls are getting older they still want to do a "winter garden" project for part of their science class and I thought I better post this before it is officially spring. It’s very simple, as we just purchase any available root vegetables locally such as turnips, parsnips, carrots, yams and rutabagas.

We gather clear glass bowls, toothpicks and cut off the tops of the vegetables. Next they get placed in the separate bowls using the toothpicks to hold them up level with the water underneath. We observe the changes of green foliage sprouting upward and those that take root downward into the water. It’s interesting to note the differences and some years we really feel like they are over taking our windowsill like a jungle, they grow so fast. I have the girls draw and report their observations for 3-4 weeks.

As to not waste any remaining vegetables, we always peel, cut and wash the rest and roast them for dinner. It’s interesting how when kids are involved in the project they seem to be a bit more likely to eat them. We sprinkle the vegetables with a good amount of olive oil, sea salt, dill and parsley. Any seasonings you wish would work and we bake at 400 degrees for about 45 minutes. I usually add a few white potatoes to the mix to mellow out the stronger tasting vegetables.