September 19, 2025
Salsa Sampling Day

Today, students had the opportunity to taste six different salsas. The purpose was to get a sense of the different ingredients that can be used to create a salsa. We tried: Mrs. Renfro’s, Pace, Chi-Chi’s, 505 Southwestern, Authentic Dessert Pepper Trading Company, and Clint’s Texas Salsa. These salsas included some traditional ingredients and some added things like mangos, blackberry, pineapple and citrus juice. 

The students took notes on flavor, texture, color and aroma. They will now use this information as they prepare to make their own homemade salsa next week. Groups will need to create a recipe, write the directions, create a name and logo and then an advertisement to sell their salsa. The teaching staff will help vote on a winning salsa and they have the chance to purchase these one of a kind salsas.

August 29, 2025
Homemade French Fries
Did someone say FRIDAY? BA DA BA BA BA....
Today, the botany/ culinary arts students had the opportunity to taste 'the fruits of their labor.' Last spring, the students planted Purple Viking, German Butterball and Blackberry potatoes. They studied planting directly into the ground as well as using special growing bags. They planted 10 bags of potatoes and let them grow over the summer. This week the students dumped the bags to find hundreds of potatoes ready to eat, sell and donate.
We decided to make our own homemade French fries to see if we liked them better than store bought fries or even better than the famous French fry restaurant.
The students used a slice to chop the different potatoes. We then decided to use our oil fryers to cook them until they were nice and crispy. Once out of the oil, students were able to add different seasonings. By the end of the day we served over 100 students and surprised over 50 teachers with a french fry delivery. Many of the students said that they liked them better than the fries they get when they go out to eat. This was just another lesson on how growing locally makes food taste fresh and delicious.


August 22, 2025
Homemade Alfredo Pasta
Today the botany/culinary arts students had the opportunity to make their first homemade sauce of the year. Pasta iis a very popular choice, so we decided to learn how to make our own cream Alfredo sauce. Students followed a recipe and had to make sure they used the correct measurements as well as the correct measuring spoons. We know that mistakes happen, so when they do, we move forward to see how those mistakes affect what we  cook. We learn from these mistakes and call them 'teachable moments.' 
The results was some amazing pasta Alfredo that the students thoroughly enjoyed. We were able to share with over 25 staff in the building. The students have already requested to add chicken and other vegetables.





AUGUST 15, 2025
Greenhouse Smoothies

Today was the first cooking class of the school year. The students had the opportunity to create their own smoothies in class. Smoothies can be a great way to introduce fresh fruits and vegetables into your diet in a fun and yummy way.
Today, the students were required to use spinach in all the smoothies they made. At first, there were many 'eeeews' and 'no ways', but after tasting, they realized that you couldn't even taste the spinach. Now they are starting to learn ways to incorporate very healthy items into foods they already like to make them even more nutritious.