Food Media Forum Day Two

Tags

barbaric gulp, copper river salmon, cupcake project, food media forum, St. Louis

Today was the first big day of sessions at this year’s food media forum. We started off the day with a satisfying hearty breakfast from the Culinary Institute of St. Louis.

The sweetest words in the English language may be “breakfast buffet.” I took full advantage of waffles with chocolate chips and pecans. Also, I must say the house made sausages with diced green chiles were a treat.

In the morning session I went to a forum hosted by Kelly from BarbaricGulp.com. It made me ponder three things:

My use of the word perfectly, How someone can love an orange so much (North Dakota is a bleak place), and to take steps to improve my writing in the year ahead.

Afterward, I went to a forum on food presentation and plating. I got to meet Natalie from TheSweetsLife for the first time in person since 1998. It’s a truly small world.

From there we had a morning snack where we experienced the safety and flavor of pasteurized eggs (purchasing this product may result in cookie dough never being baked).

One of the real treats of the day was meeting the rep from Copper River Salmon in Cordova, Alaska. She was super nice, and the Coho salmon for lunch was excellent.

Steph from the Cupcake Project hosted a forum regarding what makes a good blog and it got me thinking about how my blog is formatted and if I need to have more of a theme in my blog.

We’ll see.

The rest of the afternoon was devoted to photography and video…not my main area of interest, but very helpful.

I was feeling a bit down around 3pm, (possible food coma), but rallied in time for the marvelous happy hour hosted by Chipotle. There, we received swag bags and got to have some wonderful food from Chipotle and more great Schlafly beer.

All in all a great day, and I’m looking forward to another tomorrow.

Thanks to Food Media Forum and Chipotle for making this weekend possible for me!

Tastiest Field Trip Ever.

Tags

field trips, fun, India Palace St. Louis, Indian food, middle school

By now you may get tired of me posting about Indian food.  However, in a continued attempt to keep my 1.2 billion Indian* readers happy, I shall press on.

*As I’ve stated before, I love to look at my stats on WordPress.  I’ve reached a lot of people on the Subcontinent.  However, I find it funny that I have not received a single view from the People’s Republic of China.  Is WordPress banned there?  Have I been blacklisted since I mildly mocked Mao Zedong in one of my posts?  I would really like to get a single view from the People’s Republic…

In case you are new to the blog, I am a teacher.  This year I am teaching World Geography this year to my upper grade students (6-8).  We finally reached South Asia a couple of weeks ago, and I made the decision to go on a special field trip with my students.  We would all go out for lunch at India Palace by the airport.

Now, this decision was not made lightly.  We have had several food days in the past with mixed results.  Cheese Day from two years ago was a big hit.  Guacamole day this year was super successful.  However, my hummus holiday was a flop, and Indian food contains a fair amount of chickpeas, so I was curious if the kiddos would like Indian food.

Second, bringing a group of 12-14 year olds to an Indian restaurant is risky.  Generally speaking, this demographic can be prone to rudeness, impatience, and dislike of new things. Also, there is the All You Can Eat factor.  Several years ago, we took students to Ponderosa after a field trip.  One of my students took the ALL YOU CAN EAT too far.  The results of his attempt to join the professional eating circuit were shall we say, disastrous and disgusting.  I’m pretty sure I’ll never go to Ponderosa again.

But, even with all those risk factors at play, I took the risk.  Why?

BECAUSE THIS GROUP OF STUDENTS ARE AWESOME.  They are super polite, open to new things, and are eager to please.  Sure, I was a little concerned if they would like the food, but that was mostly because I wanted them to like what I like.  I had no concerns about their ability to conduct themselves in an appropriate manner, and represent themselves and their school well.

On Wednesday, we discussed some of the vocabulary they would encounter at an Indian restaurant.  They created an Indian food cheat sheet explaining words like basmati, naan, korma, dal, kofta, saag, gulab jamun, and tandoori.  We discussed some rules of buffet etiquette, and I reiterated the point that “All You Can Eat” is not a personal challenge.

So, on Thursday, we headed off to the Best Western by the airport, boarded the elevator, and  went up to the eleventh floor.  The kids were immediately impressed with the restaurant, and we were seated at two tables away from the majority of the restaurant patrons who were there on their lunch break.

The kids tentatively lined up to the buffet, and after checking their cheat sheets, they generally took small samples of several dishes.  After they returned to their seats, I watched as they anxiously looked at their meals.  One girl said, “I’m a little nervous to try this Indian food.”  I responded by saying, “Do you know what they call this food in India?  Food.”  That brought a couple of laughs and they dug in.

After everyone got their plates, I went through the line and got my plate and returned to see how it was going.  I’ll admit, I was a bit nervous as well.  I did not want to see two tables full of sad, uncomfortable faces, waiting to leave.

Instead, I returned to see 12 adolescents enjoying a new experience, happily digging in to a new experience.  Sure, they all had things they liked, and some they didn’t like, but overall, everyone was enjoying the experience.  Chicken curry was a hit, as well as the beef kofta in aromatic sauce.  Most kids said the tandoori chicken tasted like, well, chicken.  Naan bread was very popular, with one kid wanting to take some home.

Most went back for seconds of the things they liked more.

Interestingly, the kids thought the gulag jamun was too sweet.

My lovely wife met us there for lunch, and she took pictures commemorating my favorite field trip in a long time.

Overall, I left that day with a stomach full of food, and a heart full of pride in my super awesome students who were willing to embrace a new experience.

How do you say “Fiasco” in Chinese?

Tags

Chinese, Cooking, Failure, Pot stickers

Well, today wrapped up the last of this semester’s regularly scheduled cooking club meetings at school.  The theme for today was Chinese food…not authentic, mind you, but close enough for the age 5-10 crowd.  I warned everyone beforehand that I had never attempted any of these dishes before, and with little energy or spare time this week, I don’t think I planned out my plan of attack adequately.  However, a good time was had by all, and no sprinklers were set off.

More on that in a bit.

The menu for today included stir-fried pork with vegetables, lo-mein noodles, and pot-stickers.  I found all three recipes online, and they all seemed to be within my comfort range. However, the timing of these three dishes required precision I was not remotely able to carry out.

Suffice it to say, there will be no restaurant named Crowder’s Lucky Happy Mandarin Wok Dragon 88 coming anytime soon.

Let me just summarize one component of our meal, the pot-stickers.  We browned our pork-cabbage-onion mixture and set it aside.  Next, I gave each kid four wonton wrappers on a paper plate.  My indispensable parent-assistant, Michael, assisted with the younger kids.  I owe him big time for all his help this semester.  Anyway, once everything was in place I began to demonstrate the ancient art of the pot sticker.

I explained it was like a Chinese ravioli.  You would put the filling on the inside, then wet down the edges of the wrapper and fold it into little triangles which you would seal shut.  The website I used suggested crimping the edges with a fork.  I did this with little success, and ended up just pressing down the edges firmly with my fingers.

So, off we went.  Most kids had some pretty good looking pot stickers but there were a few rips or tears here or there.  My son wet his entire wonton wrappers with water…and wanted to eat it like a taco.

Now for the cooking.  The directions say to fry them in oil for 2-3 minutes, before adding water to the pan and letting them boil for an additional 3 minutes or so.

Obviously, being a careful adult, I was going to do this myself, with the kids watching to the side.  So I sent the younger ones out to set the table and then play in the gym while a group of 3rd-5th graders watched my cooking magic.

Frying went well…oohh, brown on the bottom.  Looking good!

Adding water…carefully now…

AND FLAMES LEAP FROM THE GAS COOKTOP!  3rd through 5th graders gawk then in exclaim in amazement!

“Whoooah…”

“Is that supposed to happen?”

“Coooolll!”

“THIS IS THE BEST COOKING CLUB EVER!”

I, meanwhile, am somewhat freaked.  We have a full commercial kitchen and the children are well away from the stove, yet FIRE IS FIRE.  On the other hand, I have their attention.

So we go on to make the second batch of pot stickers…Looking back I should have removed the pan from the burner when adding the water.  But, I didn’t.  So this time, there was another flare up.  One of the astute children commented:

“Mr. Crowder, there’s smoke.”

Yes, yes there was.  Smoke in the kitchen.  Visions of fire alarms going off.  Local volunteer fire department showing up.  Me explaining, “I was just making pot stickers.”  Sprinklers going off all over the gym.  However, another astute student said, “Turn on the fan!”  I had not noticed the switch for the fan above the stove, and promptly switched it on.

Commercial fans are powerful, and crisis was averted.

Overall, it was more adventure than I was up for this week.  When all was said and done, I would say about 25% of our potstickers stayed together.  Many came unglued during cooking…and the kids were not impressed with the taste.

The pork tenderloin stir fry saved the day (Is there anything pork tenderloin and soy sauce can’t do?).

I’m not sure what parents will hear at home, but I will say, I think the kids have at least learned that cooking is interesting, and it can be a learning process for everyone.

So good readers, I’ll ask, what was your biggest misadventure in the kitchen.  Tonight wasn’t my biggest, but it was certainly public.  Let me know!

Xie Xie (Thank you) for reading!

What to do about Turnips?

Tags

food, gardening, recipes, school, turnip recipes, turnips

I lead our Kindergarteners through second graders in the growing of a garden.  We have done this every year for the last three years.  We plant a spring garden and a fall garden.  Now I won’t go into the gardening too much, except to say this:

Spring gardening sucks.  You are battling Japanese beetles, heat, and weeds, weeds, weeds.  I truly hate crabgrass.  Once the school year ends, yours truly is all there is left to take care of the garden, and let’s just say I’m a somewhat neglectful gardener.  I like to compare the spring garden to a rebellious teenager.  We left for a two week vacation over the summer.  Much like leaving a teenager home alone for a while, bad things happen.  The garden was trashed and it took me a while to put it back together in the AWFUL, AWFUL summer heat and humidity.

Fall gardening, on the other hand, is lovely.  We plant some cool weather vegetables during late August, such as lettuce and spinach.  The weeds are virtually nonexistent, and what weeds do show up are promptly attacked by a small army of 5-8 year olds on a weekly basis.  The fall garden is the responsible child who goes to bed early and gets good grades.

Anyway, one of the things we planted this fall was turnips.  To be quite honest, it was one of the few seed packets left on the shelf at our local farm supply store.  Apparently there is little love for these humble root vegetables.  However, turnips are a super versatile and healthy vegetable.  You can eat the turnip greens which are filled with calcium and a host of other vitamins and minerals.  The roots are a long lasting vegetable that has provided for people during the winter months for thousands of years.

However, I have never eaten one.  Nor have I ever heard anyone ever say, “Oh Man!  Turnips!  Awesome!”

So, here’s the deal, I have promised the kiddos I’d make a turnip dish for them with the turnips we picked this weekend.  I have no idea what to do with these guys.  I’ve seen some recipes on the the lovely Internet Cookbook, but if anyone has any suggestions, I’d gladly take them.

So fine reader, tell me what I should do with these guys?

Cooking Class Episode 4: Jamie Oliver’s Spaghetti Revolution

Tags

Bolognese Sauce, Food Revolution, Garlic Bread, Jamie Oliver, Salad, Spaghetti

Jamie Oliver is famous for his food revolution.  He has been advocating that people in the United States and the United Kingdom go back to eating healthy foods.  A big part of his campaign is to change school hot lunch programs, and to teach kids to eat better meals.  Now, I am not setting my goals that high, but I am trying to show kids that making food is something they can do, and that homemade food is even better when you make it yourself.

With all that said, I used his recipe for Bolognese sauce when making spaghetti, garlic bread, and salad with the kids.

We divided into three teams.  Two teams cut carrots and celery as part of the prep work for the recipe.  I had the moms chop the onions for the kiddos(BIG THANKS TO JENNY AND STEPHANIE!!).  I did not want tears.  Or severed fingers.

Meanwhile, my lovely wife supervised the kindergarten team in making garlic bread.  They combined softened butter, olive oil, garlic and salt in a bowl, then spread it on two french loaves from Fazio’s bakery here in St. Louis.

Once the veggies were chopped, the two teams of older kids heated some oil in a frying pan and then added their vegetables to the pan.  They then proceeded to sauté their vegetables, until they became translucent.  Then they added the ground chuck to their pans.  It took a while, but they browned the meat.  Once it was browned, we added the two cans of diced tomatoes.  Finally we added a can full of water to each of the pans and let the sauce simmer.

The only variation I make to Jamie Oliver’s recipe is that I add tomato paste to the sauce to help thicken it.  The original recipe doesn’t call for it, but I think it makes a real difference in the thickness of the sauce.

The kindergarteners triple washed the lettuce, and our dinner was made.  The only thing we needed to do is boil the spaghetti.  This was a flaw in my plan as I had thought the sauce would take longer to make.  While we waited for the water to warm, we showed the kids how to properly set the table and clean the kitchen.  The kitchen was clean, the garlic bread was toasted, and dinner was served.

Overall, the kids enjoyed the spaghetti, with several asking for seconds.  Everyone loved the garlic bread, and the kids even ate most of the salad.

We’re about halfway through the cooking club this semester, and overall, I think it’s gone well so far.  Hope you’ve enjoyed reading about it.  Have a good week!

REVOLUTIONARY SANDWICHES FOR THE PROLETARIAT! (Plus thoughts on the importance of geography)

Tags

apple, cuba, cuban sandwich, ham, iOS 6, maps, miami, pork, salami, tampa

I teach geography.  As a matter of fact, I’m pretty obsessed with geography.  Last Saturday, my iphone informed me that I could update to iOS6.  I immediately thought, “Update good.  Phone better.  Apple trustworthy.”  So, I did it.  Later that afternoon, I took the kids on the apple picking adventure I blogged about earlier.  I had never been to this apple orchard, and put it into my trusty Maps application.

What the….?

Why are there these big green signs?

Why does it show me a horse farm in Massachusetts?

Once I got back home that day, I read Apple was making maps.  Bad maps.  You know, accuracy is pretty much the most important thing on a map.  I really harp on this point with my students, and this screenshot gave me the perfect opportunity to discuss the importance of maps, accuracy, and why their knowledge of geography will enable them to be less dependent on machines.

What do you notice is wrong about this map?  Look closely for ten seconds:

Now we live in a rural area, and it’s not like there are tons of roads to label out here.  Was the Apple Genius/Cartographer just lazy?  Did they think I wouldn’t notice?  Which Highway 94 do you take?  What about the people who live on Highway H?  Are people not able to get to their homes?  Second, Notice there are also two towns with the same name on this map: Portage Des Sioux.

Colloquially known as “Portage”, this town has been located along the Mississippi River since the 18th century.  As a matter of fact, an important treaty between the US Government and a plethora of Native American tribes was signed there in 1815 that basically said that these tribes would get the heck out of Missouri permanently.  It’s a nice little town that has risen and fallen with the Mississippi Rver many times throughout its history.  But, to the Geniuses/Cartographers at Apple, it’s not too important, so they put its location in a farmer’s field in addition to the actual location just to cover their bases.

At this point, you may be asking yourself again, “Why is he talking about this?”  Well, I’ll tell you…

GEOGRAPHY MATTERS.  And getting kids to care about geography is my job.  How do you do that?

With delicious pork filled sandwiches.  Recently, we were studying the geography of Latin America.  The kids made Power Point presentations with their laptops about different Latin American countries.  One requirement I had was to include a recipe native to their country.  There were a lot of interesting recipes, including sweet potato popsicles from the Dominican Republic, fried plantains from the Bahamas, and a papaya drink from Panama.  One of my students did a presentation on Cuba.

I’m fascinated by Cuba.  It’s so tantalizingly close to the US, but so far away due to our political differences.*  I’d totally love to go there.  An island full of baseball, beaches, cigars, and beautiful scenery sounds wonderful.  On top of this, they make one fantastic sandwich.

*How are these two men still running a large country?

If you are wearing jumpsuits in public, your global credibility generally deteriorates.  By the way, what is the deal with Communists and their jumpsuits?  Kim Jong Il had his brown North Korean jumpsuit and Mao Zedong had the blue Mao Suit…Something about equality among the people I guess.   Back to sandwiches!

A Cuban Sandwich is made by layering ham, roasted pork, swiss cheese, pickles, and mustard between Cuban bread, then pressing it on a hot grill, letting all the flavors meld together into a mass of meaty goodness.

So, after all the presentations we decided we would have a Latin American Lunch on Friday.  Some students brought in dishes for bonus points, and I promised we would make Cuban sandwiches as a class.

Now, this did mean some prep on my part.  The biggest thing was roasting some pork.  I found a recipe for Cuban roasted pork on the interwebs, and stayed up until well past Midnight on Thursday making it.  The key is adobo seasoning.  If you want a recipe for adobo, click here.  It’s super good, and I’m looking forward to using it again.

The next morning I was getting my ingredients together to bring to school, and what should I behold in the back of the fridge, but an unopened package of salami.  Apparently, there is some disagreement in the Cuban communities of Florida, about what is the TRUE Cuban sandwich.  In Miami, they prefer just ham and pork.  In Tampa, they like ham, pork, AND salami.

I will not argue with the good people of Miami, but three meats beats two any day.

So, after a riveting game of “LABEL THAT CANADIAN LOCATION” (We’ve moved on in Geography) we went down to the kitchen to assemble the sandwiches.  I had four loaves of french bread that I split between four groups of students.  The kids followed directions and assembled their sandwiches, with the boys (of course) using the most meat.

I don’t have a grill press at school (Imagine that!)  Instead, I used two electric skillets as my sandwich press.*

*I STRONGLY EMPHASIZED TO MY STUDENTS AND TO YOU DEAR READERS TO NOT DO THIS AT HOME…

but it totally worked…

Anyway, we sliced into our pressed sandwiches and enjoyed their wonderful flavor.  Interestingly many people commented it was the pickles that really brought the sandwich all together, and I would have to agree.  In addition to the sandwiches we also had fried plantains, papaya drink and sweet potato popsicles.  (There was also lemon meringue pie and three layer dip, offering an American flavor to the festivities).  The sandwiches were a HUGE hit.  Overall, I think the kids got a greater appreciation of the many flavors that make up the cuisine of our many neighbors south of the border.

Any favorite Caribbean or Central American dishes to share?  Let me know!

Viva Mexico! Viva Avocados!

Tags

avocados, Aztecs, guacamole, Mexican Independence Day, salsa

Today is Mexican Independence Day, which is dieciséis de Septiembre in Spanish.  Some of you may be asking, “Hey, isn’t Cinco de Mayo Mexican Independence Day?”

No.

Cinco de Mayo commemorates the defeat of the French army at the Battle of Puebla in 1862 by a much smaller and poorly equipped Mexican force.  Although the Mexicans won the battle they eventually lost the war and were briefly ruled by a German speaking man (the Emperor Maximilian) in charge of a Spanish speaking country, which was truly under French control.

Today Cinco de Mayo is mostly an American holiday celebrating the 99 cent margarita.  Interestingly, it is not a major holiday in Mexico.  I think this is due to the fact it is easier to say, “Happy Cinco de Mayo,” than, “Happy dieciséis de Septiembre!”

Back on the morning September 16th, 1810 Father Miguel Hidalgo ordered the church bells rung, and announced that the war for Mexico’s independence from Spain had begun.  That began a 11 year war for Mexican independence.

Right now my upper grade geography students are studying Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean.  I actually adjusted my curriculum this year so we would be studying this area at this time to talk about Mexican Independence Day.  On Friday we spent some time in the classroom talking about September 16th, and how it is celebrated in Mexico.  Obviously food is part of that equation.  So, as a class we made a native Mexican food in a relatively American fashion: Guacamole.

First, a few facts about the avocado and guacamole.  Avocados originated in Mexico and were eaten by the Aztecs.  The Aztecs called avocados ahuacatl.  What does that mean you ask?

Testicles.  (Commence middle school giggling here)

Well, the Spanish decided that they couldn’t pronounce ahuacatl (or they were too embarrassed to say it), so they called it the agobado (which means lawyer).  Anyway, in English we feel uncomfortable with both testicles and lawyers, so we just call it the avocado…which I think means fantastic green fruit.

The Aztecs also made guacamole (ahuaca-mulli) which basically translated into avocado sauce.  Apparently, they mashed them up and sometimes added tomatoes and onions.

So after discussing the history of avocados as well (including the Aztec meaning of avocados), I brought all the kids into the kitchen on Friday to make guacamole.  I separated the kids into three groups, and each student had their own avocado which they were to cube (using a table knife) and spoon into their bowls.

By the way, I took out the pits for the kiddos with my large chef’s knife, impressing everyone, and not hurting myself or others.  I told the students to NOT try that at home.

Once we had all the avocados in the bowls, the kids mashed them up with forks.  I will say, they were AGGRESSIVE mashers.  Take that avocados!

Once we had the avocados mashed, we added our extra ingredients to make three varieties of guac.

Variety 1: Avocado, salsa, and salt.  I really didn’t have time to chop onions, tomatoes, cilantro etc. so the girls added some delicious Garden Fresh Salsa from Costco.

Variety 2: Avocados, mayo, onions, chili powder and salt.  You may be curious about the mayo in guacamole, but that’s the way my lovely wife’s family makes their guacamole, and it is fantastic.  It has a wonderful creamy texture, and adds some more fatty goodness.

Variety 3: Avocados, mayo, salsa, chili powder, and salt.  Some of the kids wanted to try the guacamole with everything, so I let them try it.  It was good.

When all was said and done, the kids mixed up their guacamole and began the tasting.

Many of the kids had never had guacamole alone before, and most liked it.  We also shared with other teachers and students at school, and overall it was a big hit.  So, I hope everyone has a happy September 16th, and maybe consider celebrating with your own guacamole this week.

Finally, I’ll ask two questions.  How do you make guacamole?  Second, what else do you like to do with avocados?  Have a great week.

Cooking Class Episode 2: The French Breakfast Club

Tags

eggs, french toast, julia child, maple syrup, quebec, scrambled eggs

I didn’t realize it when I put the cooking club together over the summer, but this was a very French themed lesson.  The true theme was breakfast, but there was a definite French flair to the entire afternoon.

Before I go any further, I will say that I would not have been able to do it without the help of Jenny and Michael, two parents who graciously volunteered their time and helped me make sure that little fingers remained attached and burn free for a second week.  I truly couldn’t have done it without their help.

What is so French about this lesson you ask?

We made French toast using French bread (purchased from le Walmart).

Our scrambled egg recipe was from Julia Child’s book Mastering the Art of French Cooking.

The maple syrup came from Vermont (French for Green Mountains)  Also, Quebec produces most of the world’s maple syrup…*and what do they speak there?  French!

Voila!  There you have it, we taught a group of 5-10 year olds French cuisine.

*I love that Canada has a strategic Maple Syrup reserve.  We hoard oil here in the US.  Canadians NEED syrup, just in case.  I also wonder how one steals $30 million in syrup.  First, what is your motivation?  Second, what is your plan once you have the syrup?  I suspect lumberjacks.

If I had to pick a second theme for the day, it is that eggs are amazing.  I’ve been doing some egg-speriments in science this year with the kids, and they’ve all been big hits in the classroom.

The eggs were an even bigger hit in the kitchen.

We started out the class by making scrambled eggs.  This seems like a pretty easy, straightforward dish, but so often we get giant, dry clumps of eggs, or a vast yellow mat of egg.  Really good scrambled eggs are neither.  A really good scrambled egg is made up of small, soft, moist lumps of egg that still has a little liquid in-between.  If you get a chance, check out this video of Julia Child and Jaques Pepin making scrambled eggs on their PBS show.  

I did use her recipe for cooking class.  First, we had the kids crack the eggs.  The recipe called for eight eggs, so I gave each lower grade student one egg to crack, and my middle grade students got two eggs to crack.  We talked about how an egg should be cracked on a flat surface, and not the edge of the bowl, and then proceeded to crack our eggs into the bowl.

It was fun to watch the kids try to crack eggs.  Some would tap their egg on the counter so gently, as if it was a yolky grenade ready to blow.  The middle graders could all crack the egg into the bowl pretty easily.  Kindergarteners really like to smash the halves of their shells together rather than splitting their hands apart.  My wonderful son and several other kindergarteners would put their thumbs together, split the yolk and then immediately smash the halves of the eggshell together after the contents had dropped into the bowl.  We fished out a few shells from the bowl from time to time.

After adding milk, and a pinch of salt, we were ready to whisk.  Everyone took turns holding the bowl and whisking, and in a bit our batter was ready to go to the frying pan.

The key to good scrambled eggs is LOW AND SLOW.

We put those pans on low and had the kids constantly stir the eggs, waiting for the little lumps to form.  It took a while, but the eggs eventually formed little lumps and within minutes, we were ready to plate the eggs.

I did have lofty ambitions of going truly gourmet and sprinkling chopped parsley over the eggs, but the kids seemed to have little interest in leafy garnish.

We placed the eggs into an oven set to warm and then got the french toast ready.  Round two of egg cracking went well, we added flour, milk, vanilla, and cinnamon.  More whisking commenced, and soon our batter was ready to go.  Meanwhile, I had our middle graders chop strawberries and slice the French bread  into thick slices.

Finally, we dipped the bread and put it on the griddles to cook.  I left the middle grade boys with the task of flipping the toast when one side was brown.  They did an awesome job.

Meanwhile, lower graders set the table.  I will say, I have forgotten to get drinks for the kids the last two weeks.  (What is breakfast without orange juice?)  NO DRINKS FOR YOU HARD WORKING KIDS!  Just kidding.  We had water.  Next class, I’m going to bring in something for them to drink.

Soon enough, we all sat down to enjoy our hard work.  Each kid got scrambled eggs and two slices of French toast.  And the reaction?

“BEST SCRAMBLED EGGS EVER!”

“I LOVE THIS FRENCH TOAST!” (Said Brendan, my son)

“THIS MAPLE SYRUP IS SO GOOD!”

Overall, the truest measure of our success was that there were no leftovers.  My daughter had the two extra slices of French toast, and told her brother he did a good job making it.

I’m enjoying the class so far, and we’ll see what happens next week when we do a lunch themed class.

Finally, how do you all like your eggs?  Let me know!

Cooking Class: Episode 1

Tags

blueberries, cooking with kids, following directions, fruit pizza, history of pizza, homemade pizza, mozzarella, Naples, pepperoni, pineapple, pizza, safety, strawberries, washing hands

First off, I’d like to happily report that there was NO BLOOD in the first installment of cooking class this year.

Huzzah!

All kidding aside, things went very well.  Last Friday, 13 kids gathered in our school kitchen to make pizzas.  They ranged in ages 5-11, and in general, I would say they had very little cooking experience.  Our menu consisted of two things, pizza and fruit pizza.

The first thing I did was to line up the kiddos and give them a firm lecture on the one rule of cooking class:

FOLLOW DIRECTIONS!

I reasoned that cooking is all about following directions, If you put things together in the wrong order, they won’t come out right in the end.  Also, I did mention that the kitchen can be dangerous, and that safety is important!

(I did not say that I don’t want to clean up blood….but that is true as well).

Then, after mandatory hand-washing, we began.

Before I go any further, cooking class would not have worked without the amazing assistance of my saintly mother-in-law.  The biggest lesson I learned was that Mr. Crowder needs more help next time.

For the fruit pizzas, there were two teams: the mixing team and the cutting team.  The younger students mixed cream cheese, vanilla, and sugar together to make the “sauce”.  All the kindergarteners and first graders took turns mixing, and although there was some conflict over allotted stirring time, “IT’S MYYYY TUUUURRRRRRRRRRRNNNNNNNNNNNNN TO STIRRRRR”, they did wonderfully.

The older kids were taught to use a knife to cut up fruit.  I always find it funny that we teachers are always so vastly outnumbered by students.  I’ve said before, that the kids could revolt at any time and overpower me, but fortunately, kids usually can’t organize themselves to do such things.  Now I’m teaching them to use knives.

All joking aside, they are AWESOME students, and I trust them completely (plus, in case of a student revolt, I’d like to think my daughter would be on my side.)

Anyway, they skillfully chopped strawberries and pineapple chunks into bite size pieces.

Finally, we all took turns assembling our pizzas and refrigerated them.  You can see our masterpieces of pastry pizza below:

After that it was on to the regular pizzas.  For this, I divided the kids into four teams.  Each team was to make one pizza.  I tried to divide the teams up with kids of various ages on each team.  We talked a little about the history of pizza (thanks Neapolitans!), and got to work.

For this task, I gave the students a list of steps they had to follow.  Overall, there were 10 steps including clean up.  Each team assembled their pizzas according to instructions.  I made them measure out pizza sauce and the cheeses, to give them experience with using measuring cups.  I also gave kids a choice of toppings.  I had pepperoni, browned hamburger, and olives available.  Two of the groups just stuck with pepperoni, but the all-male group added copious hamburger and pepperoni (because they’re men!), and my daughter made a deluxe with hamburger, olives, and pepperoni.  My son had a minor meltdown when we put the toppings on before the cheese…but I somewhat calmly explained that we do that to keep the toppings from sliding off.

Anyway, we topped the pizzas with mozzarella and colby-jack cheese, and then I placed them in the oven.  Ten minutes later, SUCCESS!  Pizzas were oozing with meaty, cheesy goodness.

When the kids left at about 5:30, I was pretty wiped out.  I thought things went alright, but wondered if it was worth all the effort.  Then Sunday morning…I received sweet affirmation that the kids learned.  One of my students was sitting in front of us at church.  Her mom turned around and told me that her daughter loved the class and that they were making homemade pizzas that night.  She even showed her mom how to hold her knife (in a non-threatening way…I hope…).  Overall, her comments really made my morning, and I’m looking forward to the next class two weeks from now, when we’ll be tackling breakfast at 3:30 in the afternoon.  If you are curious about our kitchen adventures, check out my semester plan in this earlier blog post. 

Finally, I’ll ask my readers, what do you first remember cooking as a kid?