What's Cookin? Tuesday - Creole Green Beans

Kristen Mowers, CalSERVES Nutrition Coordinator

Produce Tips:

• Look for a variety of green beans (e.g., string, snap, Chinese long beans).
• Green beans should look fresh with a bright green color. Make sure the beans are plump and firm, with a velvety feel and don’t have any sign of decay.
• Place green beans in a plastic bag with small holes. Store them in the refrigerator. Green beans will last up to five days.
• Wash green beans and then snap off both ends before cooking. Beans should be well-cooked but firm. It is important not to overcook them because they will losesome of their nutrients.

Creole Green Beans

(Makes 8 servings at ¾ cup each)

Ingredients:

1 pound fresh green beans, ends snapped off

2 small cloves garlic

1 teaspoon vegetable oil

1 cup chopped red bell pepper

1 cup chopped tomatoes

½ cup chopped celery

½ teaspoon hickory salt

¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

Directions:

1. Wash green beans, snap off the ends and cut in half.

2. In a large skillet, sauté garlic in oil over low heat for 1 minute.

3. Add green beans and bell pepper.

4. Increase heat to medium and cook for 5 more minutes.

5. Stir in the rest of the ingredients and cook for another 5 minutes.

Serve warm.

Fun Filled Summer Camp at RL Stevens!!

Katie O'Looney, Supervising Teacher

For the past 4 weeks, both Wright Charter School and RL Stevens Elementary School students have been enjoying the sunshine and activities that our AmeriCorps members have been planning. Each day, the Boys and Girls Club and our students are provided a free nutritious lunch from the Redwood Empire Food Bank. After they eat lunch, they rotate through 4 different centers from 1:30-4:00pm. This year we had a HUGE jump in enrollment up to 100 students. The mentors are doing a wonderful job ending their year of service and the kids are enjoying each and every minute from the water games to the arts and crafts activities.

Summer Fun: Recreation Sensation

Lindsday Rizzo, CalSERVES Program Coordinator

This summer, CalSERVES and the Santa Rosa Recreation and Parks Department are partnering to bring the Recreation Sensation program to three school sites in Santa Rosa. Both CalSERVES and Rec and Park staff members have come together at each site to provide an amazing summer recreation program that provides kids ages 5-13 with a fun, and safe place to be this summer. 

CalSERVES mentors alongside Recreation and Parks staff members trained for a week in June to gear up for this summer's program. They bonded over team-building activities, songs and games to form a united Recreation Sensation staff.

Recreation Sensation is a free program for kids in the surrounding community. The program engages kids in activities and field trips from 9am to 4:30pm each day. Whether it's playing soccer, singing camp songs, getting fancy during salon day or letting loose on the slip-n-slide, the mentors and the kids are having a blast.