Earlier this year I shared with you the goals I had for my students. They included a state-of-the-art culinary program, a farm-to-table program, zip gardens, a hydroponics lab and a farm. I’m happy to announce that on Saturday at 1 p.m. we are having the grand opening of the Whaler Café Garden. There will be tours of the garden, the Whaler classroom, the greenhouse and Chuck Mulligan’s environmental science room. I hope to see you there.

Meanwhile, in class, we are practicing for our final exam, which will require the students to make two identical plates each consisting of a protein, starch, vegetable and a sauce in 60 minutes or less. Over the last few weeks we finished up our vegetable section and made some great dishes, including sautéed spinach, broccoli, Asian stir fry, onion rings, sriracha roasted cauliflower, roasted cauliflower steaks and glazed carrots. I was surprised at how willing the students are to try the different dishes I put in front of them.

This year I have had the pleasure of going out and meeting readers and fans of the culinary arts program. I met a lot of you while walking through Shoprite of New London to pick out some of the ingredients for class. ShopRite was a big supporter during our seafood section and donated $500 worth of seafood to us. I also met some of you during the food stroll and the TVCCA Meals on Wheels fundraiser. No matter where we met I was always greeted with kind words and support for the program.

Today, I’ve included some of our vegetable recipes and I hope you enjoy making them as much as we did. 

VEGETABLE STIR FRY

Serves 2

1 tablespoon cornstarch

2 cloves garlic, sliced

2 teaspoons chopped fresh ginger root

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 cup broccoli florets

1/2 cup halved green beans

4 baby carrots sliced thin

1/4 cup chopped onion

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 1/2 tablespoons water

Mix cornstarch, garlic, 1 teaspoon ginger and oil into a small bowl until fully combined. Place the vegetables in a bowl and mix the cornstarch solution on top of them and coat the vegetables. Put a little oil in the sauté pan over medium heat and place the vegetables in and cook for about 2 minutes, constantly stirring. Add the soy sauce, water and second teaspoon of ginger and cook until the sauce is thick. Serve and enjoy!

To make it a little more interesting feel free to add chicken, pork, shrimp or another protein and put the stir fry over a bed of rice. 

ONION RINGS

1 medium onion

1/2 cup all-purpose flour for dredging

1 tablespoon salt 

For the batter:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 egg

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon onion powder

1 cup water or as needed 

Place all batter ingredients into a bowl and mix until it reaches the consistency of pancake batter. You may need to add more water to get the proper consistency. Cut onion into half-inch rounds. Dredge in flour then coat with batter. Deep fry at 350 degrees until golden brown. Salt as needed. 

“From the Whaler Cafe” presents recipes used in the culinary arts program at New London High School, which is helmed by chef instructor Thomas Johnson. Johnson welcomes questions from readers at JohnsonT@newlondon.org.