stir fry at dusk

The Saltwater City Youth Camp (sponsored by the Chinese Canadian Historical Society) made its second visit to the garden on Wednesday evening.  The young campers harvested veggies they planted 3 weeks ago (mustard greens, bok choi, and gai lan) which we stir fried with fresh garlic and ginger under the guidance of one of the camp staffers.  We dragged an extension cord out to the garden to plug in our rice cookers and tea kettles and at sundown we enjoyed a candlelit feast of barbecued pork, duck, chicken, pickled radishes, rice & veggies in ceramic blue & white rice bowls.

The campers also painted signs (in English and Chinese) to label the veggies for future groups.  The discussion for the night centered around the ways in which gardens, farms, and food can connect us to our cultural histories.  Although all of the youth are of Chinese ancestry, many of them spoke of a desire to learn "how to cook Chinese food- my family eats a lot of pasta and bread..."  Hopefully our time spent in the garden inspired an interest to continue discovering the ways in which our many cultures grow and share food.

All of the photos in this post were taken by one young camper who clearly has a passion for photography. Someone get this girl a camera!  Such talent here!

harvesting bok choi

harvesting siu choi

7:30pm

fields of buckwheat

gai lan flowers

sunset

learning plant names

harvest!

our dining room

fresh veggies

preparing gai lan

chopping ginger

learning Chinese characters

painting signs

cleaning greens

outdoor cooking station

stir fry!

setting the table

"it's like camping!"

filling our bowls

a feast