The greenhouse and gardens of Woodward Academy, maintained by WA Grows and the numerous students who volunteer on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons during the school year, are known for their fresh produce. The fruits and vegetables grown serve many at Family Life Ministries, an organization WA Grows sponsors that distributes fresh produce to those in need in the College Park community. However, when there’s an excess of produce or a new type, the garden’s efforts manifest in a cooking tradition among the staff. Faced with an abundance of quickly ripening fresh figs, Ms. Laura Campbell and Mrs. Melissa Lawhon participated in this tradition by making a fig torte.
“We give most of our produce directly to Family Life Ministries, but there are some things that we experiment with,” Mrs. Lawhon said. “Like, if we’re trying to grow something new that we’ve never done before, we will take some, hold some aside, and make a recipe to try it, and that way we can share it with the community.”
Additionally, if there’s excess produce that cannot be donated, the WA Grows staff may use it in cooking or baking.
“Other times, too, when we’ve had so many things, we’ve each taken enough to make a cake, but it’s good to experiment and to show… other people what they can do,” said Ms. Campbell.
This summer, Ms. Campbell experimented with a fig torte, inspired by the New York Times’ famous plum torte.
“I adapted this really famous New York Times recipe for a Plum Torte, but I used figs from our garden to make it,” Ms. Campbell said. “It’s a really easy recipe that you can use, [and] can adapt with, like, lots of fruit and berries.”
The figs were also a prime choice for baking because of their abundance and tendency for a short shelf life.
“Yes, we had so many figs,” Mrs. Lawhon said. “And figs have a very short shelf life, so when you pick them, like they’re ripe, like, right then… They really don’t, like, sit in the refrigerator long, and Family Life Ministries could not come to get them. So Ms. Campbell took some home, [and] I took some home.”
Mrs. Lawhon also took this opportunity to try her own recipe for the fig tortes.
“So she (Ms. Campbell) made a torte, which is a traditional… Italian-style cake,” Mrs. Lawhon said. “And then I was so inspired by it, I did the same, but a different recipe, and then we just kind of shared our thoughts on it, and it was amazing.”
Aside from the tortes, Woodward’s staff has also tried a few other notable recipes. (Tip: don’t read this if you’re hungry.) Both Ms. Campbell and Mrs. Lawhon have created recipes with basil, a favorite crop in the garden.
“We always grow a lot of basil because it’s good for the garden,” Mrs. Lawhon said. “It attracts bees and other pollinators, and I grew a little more this year than Family Life Ministries needed, so we made some homemade pesto sauce.”
“I make this basil dressing, and we have basil in our garden, but I didn’t do it this year; but last year I did use basil from our garden, and it’s just like a salad dressing. But I think it’s good on everything,” Ms. Campbell said. “It’s a good marinade.”
WA Grows also plants seeds and crops from around the world. This year, the garden grew tomatoes from Italy and had the opportunity to bring some into the kitchen as well.
“We grew Italian tomatoes this year,” Ms. Lawhon recalled. “The seeds were from Italy. We started them in the greenhouse, and they’re called San Marzano, and both Ms. Campbell and myself took some home… and my husband, Mr. Lawhon, who’s an amazing cook, turned ours into some pizza sauce and made a hand-tossed pizza.”
Sometimes, the kitchen experimentation and WA Grows’ produce donation is able to come together.
“We’ve grown 1000s and 1000s and 1000s of pounds of produce of various kinds, and taken them to Family Life,” Mrs. Lawhon said. “And it’s been a tradition of baking. When we had extra squash, we made zucchini bread, squash bread, and gave it to people during the Pandemic.”
At the heart of the garden is its giving, and that manifests in the food staff and students grow, as well as the cooking tradition they’ve preserved. David Epstein ‘26 is proud of the work done at the garden and how it impacts others.
“I just like contributing to growing the plants and just helping prep the garden for new plants, tending to the plants, just doing garden stuff,” David said. “I just really love the whole idea of being able to make this food for people that are underprivileged, and to be able to help give them a supply of food. It means a lot to me.”
WA Grows touches many lives with the produce it creates, and the students and staff cherish the impact it brings.
“It’s truly amazing that the work that we do, the work that the kids do, and the work that Family Life Ministry does,” Ms. Lawhon said.
Link to adapted recipe: https://unpeeledjournal.com/recipe-nytimes-plum-cake-torte/
(You can substitute a different type of fruit for the plums)
