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Katie’s Blog

Ms. Lisa is back!!!!!!!!

3 August 2010
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Ms. Lisa is back!!!! For those of you who don’t know Ms. Lisa is my Master Gardener, my teacher, my mentor, sometimes my math tutor and my friend. We have missed her so much this summer! Yesterday I went to go visit her. The reason we have not been working together recently is because she just had a baby boy, Alexander, and he must be one of the luckiest boys on the planet because he has such an amazing mom. Ms. Lisa is so personable, genuinely nice and so much fun to be around.  She is so excited to get back out into the gardens and get dirty again. We started planning for the fall gardens and they are going to be amazing! I can’t wait to get back out and start working with her again. We are excited to have her expertise back! We missed you Ms. Lisa & we can’t wait for Alexander to come help us plant!!!!

 

 

Papa Stags Italian Eggplant Delish!

30 July 2010
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My friends at Bonnie Plants told me I had to try and grow their Ichiban Japanese Eggplant and they became a big part of my spring gardens. They are so cool. One plant can produce an amazing amount of vegetables. It is one of my new favorite vegetables to grow and eat. Here is a great recipe from my Grandpa Stagliano that my dad, my brother and I have fun cooking and even more fun eating!

Papa Stags Italian Eggplant Delish!

What you will need- 3 pie plates- 1 large skillet, 1 plate covered with paper towels. 3 Ichiban Japanese Eggplant, Wondra, salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, parmesan cheese, 2 eggs, milk, Italian Bread Crumbs, olive oil.

Peel Eggplant and cut into ¼ inch slices, lightly salt eggplant slices.  Prepare the 3 pie plates as follows:

1st pie plate filled with ½ a cup of Wondra, salt, pepper, ½ teaspoon onion & garlic powder

2nd pie plate- 2 eggs, 1/3 cup of milk, 2 tablespoons of parmesan cheese

3rd Pie Plate- 1 and ½ cups of Italian Bread Crumbs

Dip each piece of eggplant in 1st pie plate and coat well, move eggplant piece to 2nd pie plate and coat well, move eggplant to 3rd pie plate and coat fully with breadcrumbs.

Heat oil olive in large skillet over medium heat. Drop coated eggplant in oil and cook about 3 minutes per-side (or until golden brown). Remove eggplant to paper towel coated plate. Be sure to eat while they are hot.

I like to dip the eggplant in a dipping sauce of ½ cup of sour cream, ½ cup of mayonnaise and dried herbs such as dill, scallions, etc. My Papa served this with a marinara sauce. It is delish! I hope you like it!

Not a fan of my eggplant!

Delish!!!!!

 

 

 

Yesterday I met a Prince

25 July 2010
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Yesterday I met a Prince. He may not live in a castle (though not many of us do these days) but he is worth his weight in gold!

Mr. Prince and I met by accident. He was looking for the weather and he found me. Maybe it wasn’t an accident at all. I think we were meant to meet because we both want the same thing…to make sure there are no hungry people!

When Mr. Prince came across an article on-line in our local newspaper about a food drive I was holding (he was looking for the weather) he wrote the following comment:

"How we can we learn from such a child’s action’s?
I know of what it is not to be able to eat for day’s as a Child and now as a disabled adult.I earn $10.00 too much for food stamp’s. How ever I use a medical service dog and well.. he take’s care of me. So I have to make sure he is healthy.I am cursed and blessed.There are no soup kitchen’s out here in Cross or Monks Corner.Nothing.One my be blessed to obtain a small plastic bag of out dated worm infested food.I have became ill once on a bad can.We don’t want to go there. The hospital bill was some thing else.When your hungry. That is that.I am blessed I have very fertile earth and over the 20 better year’s installed irrigation.My fruit tree’s are heavy and the vinyard will soon be full of quater sized grapes.The shame is I have all the tool’s.Picking poles(Wire basket’s with metal finger’s).I’ll contact this young lady’s Mom and Dad.Maybe they can start a winter garden 60’x140′ or just come and pick the fruit when it’s ready.I can only eat so much and it’s going to go to waste. How can we learn from her? Doing! Even I as desitite will be doing some thing. How about you? Roman Prince"

Yesterday I went to his house in Cross to pick those pears with my friends, dad & mom. His tree is loaded! We picked 223.6 pounds of pears and that is just the beginning (check back for the total number harvest from just one tree). There are still so many pears to harvest. As I promised I brought some food from my food drive & Mr. Prince is helping to get that food to his neighbors in Cross that do not have enough to eat. Thank you Mr. Prince, for giving. Thank you Mr. Prince for helping. Thank you Mr. Prince, together we can make a huge difference!

 

 

Food Drive a Success

20 July 2010
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My food drives were a big success. With the help of the generous people of the lowcountry, I collected 535 pounds of food that will help feed people at Tri County Family Ministries, The Palmetto House, Homeless Veterans, and the people of Cross (I just learned that there is no soup kitchen or food bank in Cross).  I am happy to say that 110 pounds of that was fresh vegetables! I want to thank everyone who donated even one can of food or an ear of corn. Your donations mean the hungry people in the Lowcountry will have something to eat.  I want to personally thank Aura Lee’s, Children’s Orchard, The Summerville Y, my friends, Lydia, Kaeli, Marina, Chloe, Arrington and everyone who donated. I recieved beautiful watermelons and even a special gift from a nice lady to thank me! I couldn’t do my project without everyone’s help and support!

282 Pounds of Pear

8 July 2010
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What a great day! We picked 282 pounds of pears to donate to the soup kitchens from the garden! Thanks to my friends for helping me. I know it was hot and sticky but I couldn’t have done it without you! Everything is always better with friends and I have some of the best!

 

 

Thanks!

5 July 2010
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I want to thank everyone out there for voting for me! I really appreciate everyone’s votes and support! Every vote helps me reach closer to my  goal of two new  vegetable gardens to feed people in need! I couldn’t do Katie’s Krops without everyone’s support! Thank you for voting daily for me!

 

http://www.kidswhogive.com/katie_stagliano.php

The face of homelessness

24 June 2010
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I don’t know what I used to think homelessness looked like but I know what I didn’t think it looked like. I didn’t think that homelessness looked like families just like mine but it does. I know homeless people. They are my friends and my supporters. I don’t think any of these people thought they would be homeless but so often bad things happen to good people. I have met children and their families that don’t have a place to call home. It is such a blessing that there are places like the Palmetto House where they can go, eat and live until their situation changes. Next time you see a homeless shelter, think of the people, the families just like yours. If you have any old toys, clothes, shoes, soaps and of course food and vegetables please donate them to your local shelter and you can help people, people just like you and me.

Thank You Sodexo!

11 June 2010
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A lot of times, you don’t realize what you’ve done or what a difference you’ve made until someone tells you.  On Thursday (June 10) I had the privilege of going to Washington DC to be honored by the Sodexo Foundation and receive the STOP Hunger Grant/Scholarship.  The trip introduced me to so many amazing people. I met employees from Sodexo and four other scholarship recipients, who just like me, have a goal to end hunger. While there, Sodexo made two generous donations, one for Katie’s Krops and another for my education.  I also fit in some sight-seeing, going to the Washington, Lincoln, and World War II memorials as well as a quick trip to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History. While I was in D. C I thought of some new fresh ideas and now I’m ready to start taking words into action and start on new projects.  I look forward to working with my new friends and try new strategies to fight hunger.  Thank you Sodexo it is a huge honor to be selected as a Sodexo Scholar and I promise I will make you proud!!!!

The Right Tool for the Job… Thanks Troy-Bilt

17 May 2010
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My dad always said, “You need the right tool for the job. It will make your work easier and you will work more efficiently.” Well, I had no clue what he was talking about until this spring. In the past we had borrowed tillers from lots of different people to till my gardens. It was a huge challenge to pick them up and move them to where we needed them.   Often they didn’t work all that well. One time the tiller we borrowed broke within the first five minutes of using it. It would take us days to prep just 5 rows for planting.

All of that changed this spring. Troy-Bilt gave me an amazing gift of a shiny red new tiller and a fantastic cultivator. WOW what a difference they have made. We were able to till 12 new rows and guess what it didn’t take days it took just a couple of hours.  Planting was so much easier this spring because the dirt was so loose. I have already noticed a huge difference in the plants. They are growing so much faster and taller. My Master Gardener Ms. Lisa explained that because the Troy-Bilt tiller did such a good job tilling the plants are having an easier time spreading their roots therefore they are growing faster because they don’t have to fight tight packed soil to spread their roots.

To all of my friends at Troy-Bilt, a huge thank you. Your gift has made a huge impact on my gardens and will for years to come. I now understand what my dad was talking about; I now have the right tools for the job all thanks to the wonderful people at Troy-Bilt.