Like Kids in a Candy Shop

The beginning of a new school year is never seamless or smooth.  Never.  Especially when you're dealing with a school in a transitional phase -- like the small Bronx public school where I work as a literacy/writing consultant.  We're in our second year of expanding our arts-centric middle school into a middle/high school, which means that our high school has just grown from a single 9th grade class into a 9th and 10th grade.  Our classrooms are crowded and shared; we simply don't have enough space.  But we've all been rolling with the punches, faculty and students alike.  In June of 2009, we'll graduate our first class of seniors. We try to troubleshoot as many situations as possible, but unanticipated happenings always crop up.

As is always the case, the first week has been filled with surprises -- not the least of which was the moment when the principal came up to me and said "You're teaching a high school elective.  What do you want it to be -- cooking or blogging?"  Fortunately or unfortunately, my reputation precedes me, due to the baked goods I bring to staff meetings and my one loyal reader on the faculty, who often mentions to others how much he enjoys this blog.  The problem is that the elective slot is going to be difficult no matter what the subject.  Electives are held for only half an hour, right before lunch.  I couldn't quite see how I would help between 15 and 20 adolescents set up their own blogs in such a limited time space.  Cooking too is problematic.  It's too short a time to actually set up, prep, cook and clean up any dish of substance -- in addition to which, there's no kitchen and no equipment.  The food service staff isn't exactly going to welcome me and my motley crew into their industrial-strength kitchens -- and certainly not in the 1/2 hour before lunch is to be served.  Too bad, because those kitchens might be glad to have real food cooked in them for once, instead of having frozen pizza and hamburgers reheated in the huge ovens, day after endless day. 

Given two impossible choices, I went with cooking.  I made sure that kids knew that we wouldn't actually be cooking every day, that we wouldn't be making things like chocolate chip cookies, since we had no oven, and that nutrition would comprise a large part of the curriculum.  Despite this cold-water reality check, fully a third of the 9th and 10th grade students chose cooking as their preferred elective.  Is it just that food is involved, and they're anticipating lots of snacks?  Or do some of them actually want to learn about what they eat and how to prepare it?  This and the answers to many other questions about how one teaches cooking with no kitchen in 4 weekly slots of 1/2 hour each will eventually be revealed. 

Cooking, interestingly enough, turned out to be by far the most sought-after elective.  Of the 65 students who listed cooking as their first choice (countless others had it second, third or fourth), I chose 17.  I wanted to cap it at 15, since I'm working out of a very small classroom with no real cooking facilities, but I had to let a few more in.  This is one of the few times during the school day when grades actually mix, so I went for a balance of 9th and 10th graders, girls and boys.  I took some of our tougher kids, figuring that this might be a place to grab their interest as we learn a bit, just a bit about chemistry, geography, history, foreign languages, math, literature, and all the other domains that are also ingredients in in the culinary world.

Tomorrow is our first meeting.  I'm creating a little questionnaire, and an introduction/icebreaker activity.  I'm busily making up a sheet of expectations (everyone has to bring their own apron!  Wash your hands before you come to class!) and even homework requirements (bring in a piece of SEASONAL fruit to make fruit salad!  Do you know what fruits are in season right now?).  They get credits for electives, so actual work will be required of them.  Hopefully we'll write a mini-cookbook, complete with anecdotes and reflections from students about what they've made, eaten and tried.   

But what will we actually cook, once we get down to that part of the curriculum?  Well, I've gotten a mini-fridge for my shared office space, so at least I'll be able to store some fresh food.  There's a microwave, and I'm hoping to get one of those electric burner hot-plates, much as I hate cooking on electric stoves.  Years ago, I did quite a lot of cooking with my elementary school students.  But I had them for the whole day, so we could put together a soup and let it simmer on the hotplate while we had other lessons, and then eat our soup at the end of the day.  I could incorporate math lessons and science, reading and writing, geography and language into a unit on Breadmaking.  We made African peanut soup when we studied Nigeria, and did a chemistry lesson with chocolate pudding.  We visited a Greenmarket, and made applesauce with the apples we brought back. 

For now, I'm thinking about salads, both vegetable and fruit, since they will require only chopping boards, knives, bowls and ingredients; possibly salsa and guacamole; sandwich combinations, wraps, and bruschetta. Since I got my new tangerine-colored Waring Blendor at the Broadway Panhandler sale, our old blender can be brought to school to make nutritious smoothies.   Our limitations are not only spatial and monetary, however.  Our kids, for the most part, are not exactly brave tasters.  Many of them eat chips and soda for breakfast, shunning healthier options.  Lunch, as I've said, is almost always frozen pizza or hamburgers, tinned fruits and vegetables that the kids don't even bother with  -- and many of them don't eat lunch at all, unless it's more junky snack foods that they've brought in on their own.  I don't know how many of them actually sit down to a home-cooked family dinner each night, but I doubt the numbers are large.  This will be an opportunity to have them expand their horizons, begin to figure out their own predilections, develop an adventurous palate.  I want them to try new things, venture into new disciplines, learn about places and times outside their experience -- all through a bit of minimal "cold cooking".  I want them to learn to love fruits and vegetables as much as they love candy.  As you well know, I'm certainly not one of those who think that we should completely refrain from an intermittent or even a daily treat.  You will take my sugar and butter from me when you pry it from my cold dead hands.  However, I do believe that a sweet should be a (small) component of a healthy meal.  Far too often our students have candy, soda and junk foods as the entirety of their meals. 

Think of us as we're mucking about with fruit salad and such.  I hope that culinary adventuring will be a window into some brave new worlds.  I hope we'll have as much fun as kids in a candy shop, only instead of tummy-aches and sugar-glut, we'll end up with personal discoveries about tastes and preferences, as well as a few delicious and nourishing dishes.  Knife skills will surely be the scariest part for me, not because our kids will do anything deliberately unsafe, but because we all get cut using knives from time to time.  Since I myself could really use a good knife skills class (Shuna, are you coming to NY any time soon?  In fact, I realize that as I write this, you've just started today's knife skills class in Alameda...sob).  Somehow, I have to figure out how to teach them to use knives safely. 

And so I ask for your help.  Given the limitations I've outlined above, what else can/should I make with my new crop of 15 and 16 year olds?  Give me ideas for dishes that can be made without a kitchen (at moments like these, I like to think of my darling friend Bakerina fermenting sourdough starter and marinating steak in her purse while at the office).  What other kinds of learning do you see as implicit in a high school cooking curriculum?  All replies will be gratefully received. 

The photo above is from Munchies candy store in Sausalito, which has the enlightened policy of allowing shoppers and even browsers to sample as many candies as they wish from the barrels and bins.  You'd think they'd go out of business, but on the two occasions we've visited, we haven't been able to leave the store without dropping at least $20 for bags of our old-time favorite "penny" candies (which we eat in very limited quantities between our fruits and vegetables, of course).  Smart marketing ploy.   

Comments

[Tanna]

A crock pot would make soup - would they want a cup of soup at the end of a school day or the next day.
I always make my hot morning cereal in the crock pot but it takes an hour and seems out of step with a school day.
I think I've seen cakes baked in a crock pot.
A bread machine - needs money.
As a nurse I once had a difficult 6 y/o who wanted to "cook" - we made a graham cracker crust and instant pudding pie.
Somebody will have some bang up ideas.

[Cathy]

Wow Julie - that's quite an undertaking... sounds like it could be lots of fun, though, especially given that the kids want to take the class. I remember making chocolate pudding in my first home ec class, but each group used a different kind of milk (skim, whole, reconstituted evaporated, and something else... maybe reconstituted dry). We then tried each kind to see what, if any, differences we could detect. I'll have to give some thought to no-cook recipes. If I come up with anything I'll send you an email. Good luck!!

[Sucar]

What about granola? Or homemade yogurt? Bean salads (from cans so they can see what concoctions are edible from some processed foods). Ceviche. (This would probably need some dares to get kids to actually eat it) Good luck!

[Melissa]

My hat is off to you - what an undertaking! I'll keep pondering it, but what about making sushi (rice can be made in an electric cooker and you can obviously skip the raw fish in favor of other fillings) or Asian salads where you just have to boil noodles and blend up a peanut sauce? What about tabbouleh or instant couscous or homemade hummus? I'm already envying your students :)

[Bakerina]

Oh, Julie, reading this brought tears to my eyes -- in a good way, of course. Even with sufficient time and facilities, your work for this class would be impressive, and worthy; under the circumstances you and your kids find yourselves, your work is positively heroic.

As far as what to make...well, I don't see anything wrong with culturing a sourdough in class. ;) All kidding aside, I like Sucar's idea about the yogurt, and you could use it to explain the process of fermentation, and how it is key for yogurt, bread, wine, beer and miso. Beer and wine, of course, are right out, but miso soup might be doable with an electric kettle.

Whatever you decide to teach, please do continue sharing it with us. :)

[Tea]

What a challenge--but an exciting one at that. I taught my students in Japan to make deviled eggs, with eggs I pre-boiled. I wanted to do something easy enough that they might make it on their own, with ingredients they likely would have at home. You can do a lot with various bean salads--that brings in a protein source and is veggie in case you have kids who don't eat meat. Can you bring in a toaster oven? That might expand your options.

Good luck, and please do keep us posted. I'm sure you will do great things with this opportunity--your students are lucky!

[Tea]

PS. I used to work in Sausalito and one day went into Muchies at the end of a rough day. When the owner asked how I was doing I told him that my boss had made me cry. He sympathized and when it came time to pay for my candies he refused to take my money. What a nice guy!

[Molly]

Wow, Julie! You are doing a wonderful, wonderful thing. I can't think of anyone better to tackle this sort of challenge. With your enthusiasm and inspired ideas, you're bound to wind up with some budding chefs before the semester is through. I can't wait to hear the next installment...
xo!

[KelliMelli]

(she de-lurks!!!)

I am so impressed -- and jealous! Can I visit your class? =)

How about wraps? PB, apples, and bananas is one of my favorite combos. Also, hummus (which someone mentioned earlier -- how fun would homemade be?) and cucumbers... salsa and cheese... cold cuts... so many quick and easy possibilities!

=) Kelli

[Julie]

Thank you all so much for the suggestions and support. I just love food bloggers. And Kelli, you can certainly come to visit -- maybe you could do a guest cooking stint! An update is being posted even as I type this...

[teri]

how about Paneer or for your group, queso blanco. It's simple enough just requiring whole milk and some vinegar or a lemon, a stock pot and cheese cloths. People are always impressed when you say you can make cheese, until they see how easy it is to make this version. This would help explain how cheese was made, as well you could introduce herbs and spices. Asking each kid to bring in a spice or herb to add to their cheese...

[Joyce]

Vietnamese summer rolls! all you need is hot water to soak the rice noodles and wrappers, all else is cold and they're fun to work with. They never turn out right but what the heck. You could also make pesto with your blender, maybe microwave up some pasta! good luck, this is a noble undertaking.

[Laura F]

A very simple, delicious salad I like to make -- just combine 1 can each of pinto beans, yellow corn and chick peas with cilantro, lime juice, red onion, and salt & pepper to taste. I also sometimes add chopped or cherry tomatoes. If they make at home, the kids can add cooked fish to the dish, such as shrimp or scallops.

[Julie]

Joyce and Laura, thanks for these great ideas!