Who We Love: Amina Salat
At ChopChop, we love to highlight cool kids (and big kids) who are doing exciting work in the food and health world. We talked to Amina Salat, founder and volunteer of Growing Colorado Kids , an organization that encourages Kids to garden and grow food in their own backyards. Amina also volunteers at SAME Café in Denver Colorado where everyone is served, no matter his or her economic status. People pay whatever they can afford. Amina and her family came to the US from Somalia in 2004.
ChopChop: How did you come up with the idea for Growing Colorado Kids?
Amina: It started in a small group with refugee women. It started as a cooking group. We then had the idea to start growing food.
ChopChop: How did you learn to cook?
Amina: I learned how to cook when I was younger. My mom taught me how to cook. Later on I learned new recipes in cooking groups and from Growing Colorado Kids .
ChopChop: What are some typical Somali foods? What is your favorite?
Amina: We make Somoli traditional food at home. We also make a lot of recipes we learned at Growing Colorado Kids . We like to make sambusa. It’s a fried flour triangle and you can make it with meat or vegetables. It’s really good.
ChopChop: What are some of your favorite things to grow?
Amina: I love everything that I grow. I eat everything that I grow. I know if it comes out of that garden, it is tasty. I like tomatoes, carrots, potatoes, basil, and peppers.
ChopChop: What are some of your favorite things to cook and eat?
Amina: I like to make sambusa and rice a lot. Now that I know were vegetables come from and how they are planted, I use them in all of my meals.
ChopChop: What advice do you have for kids who want to start their own garden?
Amina: I would tell them it’s fun, but first it’s hard work. Never give up. Always be patient about pulling those weeds. At the end you’ll feel proud about what came out of the ground that you planted. At the end, it’s a reward for yourself.
ChopChop: What’s the hardest part about gardening?
Amina: The vine leaves are the worst. It’s not fun to get down there and pull them out. Planting and digging only happens once, but vine leaves: you can pull them out today and they’ll grow back in 5 or 3 days. It’s especially hard in the hot weather.
ChopChop: What are your plans for the future?
Amina: In the future, I want to teach to kids, maybe about health. I want Growing Colorado Kids to grow more. I want kids to learn more and get more support in learning to eat healthy.
Learn more about Growing Colorado Kids at http://www.growingcolorado.org/.
Do you know a cool kid who should be featured? Send us an email at info@chopchopmag.org.