The Silly Season is once again upon us and we are looking forward to a Christmas lunch of slow roast duck with peas, broad beans, zucchini flowers and pink fir apple potatoes from the garden, dessert will be something using strawberries....and alcohol, so trifle’s probably the go. Anyway this season has seen the extension of plantings into what were previously flower beds. Our gardeners, Rainer and Lee have both been working hard and the results are looking spectacular, we can’t wait to see the resulting mature plants full of corn, cucumbers, tomatoes and pumpkins. All reports are for a warm summer and we must say it’s been trying hard, we have seen some stifling hot days followed by a cool drenching rain which the plants are responding to well. We are coming into what is the most amazing time for the garden so if you’ve been holding off coming I can highly recommend the months of March and April if you want to see and experience the garden at its best.

Herbs have been our latest fascination here at the agrarian kitchen with many new varieties planted both in the polytunnel and in our outside beds. These include herbs such as Epazote, Mexican Hyssop, Lemon Basil, Sacred Basil, Thai Basil, Hyssop, Mexican Tarragon, Goat’s Rue, Meadow Sweet, Sweet Cicely, Liquorice, Bergamot and Absinthe Wormwood. It is amazing the array of herbs available either in seed form from heirloom seed companies or in seedling form through specialist herb sellers such as Lindy of “Island Herbs” who sells at Salamanca market every Saturday.

Those who have been to a class in the last week will know that our goats have returned and we are once again milking in class. We are currently getting around seven litres of milk a day and as you can imagine that adds up, we just attempted our first chèvre with the milk last week and look forward to tackling many more goat’s milk cheeses through the next few months.

We are very excited, after a year in the planning to launch our first classes for children in 2012 “the little agrarian”.  We at the agrarian kitchen are strong believers that as well as educating the minds of our children we must educate their taste-buds in order for them to make informed decisions on the food they consume in the future. Classes will follow a similar theme to our agrarian experience but will be tailored to a younger attention span.

The agrarian kitchen family has also grown with the appointment of Stacey as our new Administration Assistant.

Finally we would like to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and shall all your gardens thrive and fill your tables with bounty and your bellies with cheer.

Rodney & Severine

The Little Agrarian has been created to instill in our future generations an appreciation of where their food comes from and how it gets from the paddock to their plates.

It is an opportunity for children to see, smell, touch and taste their way around the farm, gardens and kitchen, to fully appreciate the flavour of real food - food grown without chemicals and allowed to mature and ripen within its natural timeframe. WARNING: your children may return with an appetite for vegetables.

The day will include a tour of the vegetable gardens and orchards, tasting different heirloom vegetables and fruit while harvesting produce from the garden. Children will collect chicken eggs and feed our rare-breed Wessex saddleback piglets as well as milk our British alpine goats. They will then return to the kitchen to cook themselves lunch from the gathered produce and a sweet treat.

Cost:  $150 per child (aged 6 to 11 years old)

Duration:  10.00am to 2.00pm

Inclusions: Each child receives an agrarian kitchen apron, recipes and lunch

Maximum No. of children per class:  8

What to bring: gumboots, raincoat and sun hat and sunscreen.

We are unable to accommodate dietary restrictions or allergies for this class.

FOR THE PARENTS

While your little agrarians are busy on the farm we recommend passing the time in nearby New Norfolk which offers an array of amazing antique shops, have a quick bite to eat at New Norfolk’s “Cheeky Little Place” cafe or bring your own picnic and head out to the Salmon Ponds.

HOW OFTEN WILL THE LITTLE AGRARIAN EXPERIENCE BE HELD?

We aim to hold the little agrarian classes on certain weekdays during the Tasmanian school holidays.

HOW TO BOOK

Visit the class calendar and book online.

GIFT CERTIFICATES - Perfect for Christmas

If you would like a gift certificate for a little agrarian there are two ways of doing this.

Option 1:  Book and pay for a place in one of “the little agrarian” classes on the calendar.  You will receive an automatic booking confirmation.  Then, send us an email at info@theagrariankitchen.com and let us know that you have just booked a place for a little agrarian and would like a gift certificate mailed to you.

Option 2:  If the dates on our calendar are sold out or if you would like to just offer a child a gift certificate to “the little agrarian” class without actually booking into a class you can order a gift certificate online for the value of $150.00.  This is then valid for 2 years. Click here to order a gift certificate.

the little agrarian

a paddock-to-plate experience for children

aged 6 to 11 years old

Pick up the latest copy of Gourmet Traveller magazine’s Christmas issue out now or give someone a gift subscription for Christmas.

In this issue, enjoy Rodney’s “Prawn Power” feature including recipes on how to make Besan-fried prawns with saffron-braised vegetables, chilled cucumber and prawn soup with crisp prawn heads, Vietnamese prawn cakes, Barbecue prawns, Prawn fennel brioche rolls, Prawn carpaccio and Dry prawn curry. Merry Christmas!

Our gift certificates are a great idea for those who love food or for those who have everything!

All gift certificates are valid for 2 years and will be posted to you with 48 hours of ordering.  They come all wrapped up with ribbon so you don’t have to do a thing! Don’t forget, you can now buy gift certificates for children to attend “the little agrarian”.

Order a gift certificate now.

merry christmas