Lighting a Fire Under Us

  Today it is about fire, magic, and safety.  If you are trying to figure out how this all fits into day three of our 4-H Jr. Chef Day Camp, not to worry we will be happy to explain how it all fits together. 
  Like with most camps we started the day going over what we liked and learned so far.  You would be amazed at how much our day campers have soaked up and are able to talk with us about.  From the parts of a cow, to how meat is cooked, and even their favorite cuts, they are happy to talk with us about all the details involved with BBQ.
  From there we practiced for the big event on Friday.  That is when we will be lighting the grills.  We have three grills that can be lit using a charcoal chimney and either paper, lighter fluid, or a fire starting cube.  Our youth learned first and foremost, they will not be lighting any kind of fire without an adult.  After a successful practice round it was time to split up and head into the kitchen and auditorium for a day of fun and learning.
  In the kitchen our youth made blueberry muffins from scratch.  We used local berries and measured to the nearest t.  When the muffins came out of the oven some were brushed with a lemon glaze and were dipped in sugar.  The others were dipped in a cinnamon sugar.  Both were judged as excellent.
  While some of us were cooking the rest were working on communication skills.  We played a game that stressed the importance of listening.  After all in a kitchen not only do you need to communicated with others about instructions on food but also your location in the kitchen.  It is just as important to listen to others who are communicating with you.  From there were played some brain teasers that made our youth look at things from different angles and start having a little fun figuring out different types of brain teasers.  They all did a great job.
  After lunch we made a magic fruit salad, and worked on taking temperatures and learning what is safe and what is a bacteria inducing haven. 
In between all the learning we took a break to meet Lumberton Assistant Fire Chief Chris West who talked with us about fire safety, especially with the grill.  We know better how to handle a fire, and again he stressed that we don't grill without an adult.     At the end of the day we had learned a lot and were very happy to hit the carpet and play our favorite game, the quiet game.  It gives us a little time to think about what is coming tomorrow.  YUM!

BBQ & The Magic of Mushrooms

  Field trips are always fun.  Definitely anticipated when this is the first field trip of the week for our 4-H Jr. Chef day campers.  Today we are traveling to Benson and Willow Springs to sample some BBQ and mushrooms.  Ok, we admit this may seem an odd thing to do but be patient because we did this day low and slow and it made a world of difference.
  We started the day by trying to stay out of the heat and research our first stop, The Redneck BBQ Lab.  The owner, Jerry Stephens, Jr. has more BBQ awards than we could count on display and has also appeared on the Food Network's Chopped.  When we explained our 4-H members were working on BBQ Bootcamp this week the staff at the restaurant were incredible.  We had seating, and a spread of everything they cook including chicken, ribs, brisket, pulled pork, and sausage.  Our youth picked our sides, BBQ potatoes, potato salad, baked beans, and green beans.  There was enough cornbread to feed an army and it was different than most of our campers were used to, but they seemed to really enjoy it.  A little conversation about saucing the meat and experiencing the different types of sauce our campers got into the whole experience and even had the chance to check it all out on seconds.
  While we were there one of our 4-H advisory members happened by and came by to talk with our 4-H Jr. Chef Members.  Representative Charles Graham was not expecting to run into 20 folks from Robeson County when he stopped in, but that din't stop him from encouraging our youth to follow their dreams, stay in 4-H, and be concerned and caring citizens.
  We headed 20 minutes down the road to willow springs to tour the Carolina Mushroom Farm, which happens to be the largest mushroom farm between Pennsylvania and Florida.  This is a neat niche business that was created by a family that had gotten out of the hog business and transitioned into mushrooms.  Listening to the owner of the business and how it has grown is amazing.  They raise 7 varieties of mushrooms and sell to restaurants, have direct sales, and create their own teas and tinctures.  It was a very interesting tour and our youth were impressed with the power of mushrooms, even if they aren't sure that they want to eat them, however a few said they might just try them.
  Today was so much fun but tomorrow we head back to the heat of the kitchen.  What in the world will we have in front of us?

A Message From United Way

United Way of Robeson County is a major contributor to our 4-H program.  Their funding support allows us to ensure that our no formal youth development program is affordable to residents in Robeson county.  Please click here to see their quarterly newsletter.

A Recipe for Learning

  Our first day for 4-H Jr. Chef Day Camp and our youth were heating up the kitchen to turn out some "oh so delicious" food.  As with most of our day camps we started our day sort of feeling each other out and setting the rules of the land.  That is especially important this week as our youth spend a great deal of time in the kitchen around sharp and hot objects.  One of the lessons they learned today had to do with food safety.  They learned about e. coli and how that can transfer from meats to other things, and why it is important that we stay away from it at all times.

  Our youth also got to learn about different cuts of meats, where they come from on a cow, and how all of this translates into the Farm to Fork movement.  Reinforcing this last lesson our youth drew, created a story about a cow, and delivered it in front of the group.  So you could say we snuck in a little public speaking, and team building as they supported each other through the process.
  After lunch we had a lesson in glogerm.  This shows our youth how germs spread and why it is important to wash your hands, especially when you are cooking.  They actually put a powder on their hands that glows under a blacklight and then wash their hands, when we checked they still had a lot of glowing going on.  The second time they washed their hands they did much better and had gotten all the glogerms off their hands.

  Afternoon in the kitchen was all sorts of delicious fun as our youth made chicken quesadillas.  They had to read and adjust a recipe to do it.  When we sampled the quesadillas at snack time they were some kind of good.  While half our group was working with cheese and chicken our other half was working on a value added local food, peanut butter.  Who knew that peanuts, oil, sugar, and salt along with some patience on the blender, would offer a creamy peanut butter that made our group so happy.   After serving it up in containers to take home we headed to the carpet to play everyone's favorite game, the quiet game.

  Once we finished sampling everything we talked about the plan for tomorrow, sort of reading through our recipe.  If you are wondering what we are cooking up you might want to stay tuned for the delicious menu that we will uncover.

One Last Look

We had so many great photos from our week with the Jr. Master Gardeners we just couldn't help but make a retrospective movie of our week in review.

A Message from Our 4-H State Officers

Check out what is going on around the state by checking out the State 4-H Council Newsletter.  nc4h.ces.ncsu.edu 

Can't Stop Growing

  Its our last day of 4-H Jr. Master Gardener Day Camp, and we still can't slow down!  We have lots to do before we officially end our day.  What our campers would mostly like is a day on the carpet playing but we need to offer them a little more than that so we can finish.
  To start the day we needed to check on our hypothesis.  Big word?  Yes it is but we are gardening scientist.  We have some daisies that have been in colored water since Wednesday and the theory was that they would change color based on the color water they are in.  What we found was that they had started to change color on the backs of the petals, which was unexpected, and it was not as dramatic as we thought it might be.  However it is still pretty cool.
  We also checked on our vermicomposter and found the worms had seriously displaced their food.  We went ahead and buried some vegetable and salad scraps and we are leaving Mr. Mack and Miss Shea Ann to check on them for us.
  We did another recycling project and made our own paper pulp from scrap paper from the Extension office paper shredder and them made clover shaped seed cards.  When they are dry we can give them as gifts and people can plant them and the paper is biodegradable (which means it will dissolve in the soil), and will become its own mulch protecting the sprouting seeds.  It is sort of the perfect system.
  We do have to admit we did have some time to get a little silly and perhaps Tristan got a new hairdo, and Luke learned about a new YouTube Chanel.  We also went ahead and viewed the dairy via the VR goggles and that lead up to our big surprise.  Today for snack we celebrated our graduation with Ice Cream!  It was an awesome treat.
  After snack we worked with some more seeds, avocado and apple seeds to be specific and each JMG took home seeds to start their own apple and avocado trees.  After all sustaining our environment was a lesson they learned a variety of ways.  We also worked with pineapples and showed our future JMG how to create new pineapple bushes....pretty cool huh?
  Before we would have free time there was one more thing that had to be done, we checked off as many activities as we could as quickly as we could in our JMG handbooks which each camper gets to keep.  We hope their certificates will get approved this week and we will be able to get their certificates mailed to them.  After all they are now officially, Jr. Master Gardeners!  Congratulations to each and everyone of them.