Update: Cooking With Adolescents

No, the title is not meant to imply that I'm using the adolescents as ingredients, although sometimes allowing them to stew in their own juices is politic during a power struggle.  Just thought I'd post a brief update on my adventures with the cooking elective I've started at my school.

We've had three days of class with no actual cooking yet (I bought some time by insisting that we can't cook until they all bring in aprons).  Alexa (I'm using fabricated names here, since the kids are very protective of their identities -- except on MySpace) brought in a very sexy, tight little apron and is insisting that she wants to wear gloves in order not to ruin her elaborate nail extensions.  Nicqui “can’t boil water,” she claims --  and her friends back her up on that one.  The boys are excited about flouting the school's "no hats" policy, since I've told them they're allowed to wear "do-rags" or caps to keep long hair back.  Elisa informed me that she's taking the class because her grandparents feel that she needs to know how to cook for her future husband.  This generated a discussion of how cooking is a life skill for EVERYONE, boys included -- and that it's a great way for everyone to show others some caring and consideration, as well as a good dating skill.  "Yeah!" Emmanuel said.  "I hear cooking is a good way to get girls!"  Yep.   

Even more encouraging, a number of them expressed a desire to try new things. Rashida wants to learn to cook so that she can have some meal other than “brown stewed chicken” which she claims is served every night at her house.  Quite a few were forthright about wanting to know more about nutrition, which of course thrilled me no end.  Yes, I know I have no life, but these are the kinds of things that get teachers pumped up.  I had forgotten how much fun it is to teach an elective; everyone actually WANTS to be there, instead of teaching to a captive audience.

Today we had a brief lesson on macronutrients, and despite the fact that Marlena seems to think carrots are a protein, they were able to share a fair amount of knowledge about proteins, carbs and fats.  Adriana shared the fact that nuts contain healthy fats.  Shortly thereafter a conversation about meat and meat preparation ensued.  A number of kids postulated the theory that it’s unhealthy to eat beef cooked “partly raw”.  I told them that when I have a choice, I always eat my steak or burgers “bloody”, but that I also try to make sure that most of the meat I eat is organic or grass-fed. This evolved into some lively talk about food safety, including how to avoid salmonella and other forms of food poisoning. 

The interest level is incredibly high, despite the fact that no food has graced our tables yet.  Tomorrow we embark upon preliminary knife safety with sliced apples and a hokey fruit dip made of peanut butter, yogurt and honey.  This may sound strange to some, but I found this recipe printed up by some Greenmarket farmers a few years back, and it turned out to be rather yummy as well as very popular with school kids.

Fruit salad is in our near future, as is a tossed green salad with homemade vinaigrette – or maybe a variety of homemade dressings.  According to their questionnaires, a number of them are interested in making potato salad, which would be fine too, if I bring in potatoes that I pre-cook at home.  Or perhaps we’ll wait until I get the two-burner electric hotplate I’m planning to purchase.  Even so, potato salad will be a multi-day task – boiling potatoes and chopping celery, etc. during one half hour class, peeling and slicing and dressing them the next.  Fresh applesauce will also be possible with the advent of a hotplate, as will homemade cranberry sauce.  It occurred to me that I could bring in my waffle iron; waffles would be pretty do-able in a short time – and not a single one of my students has ever eaten a waffle other than a frozen Eggo, according to a brief poll I took today.  Making yogurt, fresh butter and mayonnaise would all be good lessons in "where food comes from," as well as separately demonstrating fermentation, separation and emulsification. 

I’m also contemplating some foods for Hispanic Heritage Month, which begins on Friday.  I’m sure that kids want to bring in some recipes from home, so I think we’ll have a great time with that too. Quesadillas, various kinds of salsas, fried plantains, guacamole and my favorite rice and bean dish, Nicaraguan Gallo Pinto, are contenders.  Dejanira, whose family hails from Mexico, apparently has a great taco recipe, and I found out that Rafa’s family is Chilean and he’d like to share some Chilean foods with us. We also have Puerto Rican and Dominican students, as well as African-American, so we’ll have a good number of traditions to draw from throughout the year – as well as making and tasting food from some less familiar cuisine.  The fact that cookies and brownies are unlikely without an oven elicits groans and sighs on an ongoing basis, sadly. I try to explain that even if we had a toaster oven, making quantities suitable for 16 of us within a half-hour period simply isn’t feasible.  I have come up with one halfway measure, so to speak:  we could conceivably make cookie dough and portion it into packets for students to bring home and bake on their own.

Tomorrow we take out the knives (not very good ones, either – rejects culled from various kitchens), even if it’s just for slicing apples.  Keep us in your thoughts.   

Kudos go out to Tanna, Cathy, Sucar, Melissa, Bakerina, Tea, Molly and Kelli for their supportive comments as well as a wealth of great suggestions.  Thank you all so much.

Comments

[Ivonne]

It's been a long time since I've stopped by and I too would like to extend my support to you! What an incredible undertaking! I look forward to reading your updates about how the cooking elective goes.

[Lea]

I want to be in your class, please! I love what you're doing, Julie.

Lea xoxo

[Duane]

Sounds like fun. How about tamales for hispanic heritage month?

[Lea]

All of those wonderful recipes would make a great class recipe book that students could keep and refer to. I'm sure this crossed your mind. :-))

I made a list of the things you'll be making, so I can teach Jack. Think I'll start with the applesauce and waffles.

Thank you for the inspiration!

Lea xo

[Joe C]

This is so wonderful -- one of your most exciting posts ever. If there is any way I can help please let me know.
Back when I worked at Details magazine as editor at large, James Truman (who later became the editorial director at Conde Nast) asked me to write about learning cooking to "get girls." His point, which applies to boys and girls alike, no matter who they're trying to get, was that when someone you like accepts an invitation to dinner chez vous, he/she will be in your apartment at the end of the evening. And of course he was right.
That may not be an appropriate topic for high school students, however. Best perhaps to focus on recipes and nutrition, eh?

[Julie]

Ivonne, you can't imagine how much fun we're having -- if only we had an actual kitchen, and enough equipment for all the students...

Oh Lea -- after the dinner I had at your house, there's no doubt in my mind that I'd like to be a student in YOUR class. I wish you could come do a guest stint of fantastic Italian classics -- like my favorite, your Gramma Orlandi's tomato sauce...I had thought about the book, and then before I could even mention it, the kids brought it up. I think waffles and applesauce are great ways to start with Jack. Some great childhood memories revolve around making those two foods with my mom.

Thanks for stopping by, Duane. Someday, perhaps, we'll make tamales. Sadly,authentic tamales are at least a two-day undertaking in a fully-equipped kitchen. I have a feeling that in merely four 1/2-hour sessions a week with just a hotplate, tamales are not in my students' near future. However, we have lots of other yummy options, I think, thanks to you and other readers.

Actually, we've already touched on the romance factor, brother dear. Since I referred to it as a "good dating skill", Amber asked the salient question, "but what if you cook a lousy meal for your date?" "Well," I responded, "In that case, the romance probably doesn't go so well..." I'd love to have your help. Want to come up to the Bronx and do a guest stint?

[Joe C]

Don't know that I'd have much to show the students that you couldn't do a lot better. But we can discuss.

[nani]

Hi, Julie-
You might be able to get funding to buy supplies for your class on donorschoose.com. Also, I wonder if you could get donations from a housewares store or a supermarket... any plans for a greenmarket field trip in the future or a behind the scenes look at a restaurant kitchen? That would be fun!
Also, since the Food Network tapes right here in NYC, I would write to some of the celebs and ask them to come visit!

[Caroline]

Believe me, adolescents are not very tasty. A bit too tough and chewy for my liking. And they don't taste at all like chicken. LOL.

I love what you're doing for the kids, and you're combining the two things you do the most (and I'm sure you do best);teaching and cooking.
What a trouper!

creaturecomforts

[Bakerina]

You know, of course, that I think you do heroic work every single day. But every time I read about your classes, and what you are trying to impart to your kids, and compare it to the work I'm doing right now, I am filled with renewed admiration, to a degree I would not have thought possible. You really are an inspiration, Julie.

Incidentally, I have a little souvenir for you that I brought back from jury duty. (Well, not exactly from jury duty, but from a shop down the street from Borough Hall in Kew Gardens.) I will get it to you with all possible speed.

[Bakerina]

Erm...that last comment was badly phrased. It's not that I don't find it possible to admire you -- I absolutely do -- but I never thought I could admire you even more than I already do, because that's a lot of admiration with which to begin. Sheesh, I am a silly people.

(I'm trying not to break into a chorus of "More Today than Yesterday," here...;)

[Julie]

Hey nani, thanks for all your great suggestions. I've thought of donorschoose, and getting Broadway Panhandler or something like that to make donations. One of my big problems is that I don't even have a real classroom where I'm teaching this -- it's a makeshift room with no storage space. So I don't even really have room for equipment, were I to get it. Right now I have something of a food budget -- the principal is going to reimburse me for weekly expenditures, since I've promised to make an actual dish only once a week.

Class trips would be great fun. I'm going to try to organize a day where we take kids out for an "elective" themed trip -- otherwise, with only half an hour, trips are out of the picture. The same problem with a celeb visit -- it's just too short a period of time.

Hey there Caroline! It's so nice to see/hear from you again. Thanks for your support -- I'm actually having a lot of fun with the kids on this one...

Awww, Bakerina, you is an adorable people. No misinterpretation here. And your admiration is returned exponentially, as you well know. I do have to say, I feel a little sheepish that people seem to think this is such an act of heroism -- I'm just having fun with the kids. Today we talked about how, despite their evil rap in the press, carbs are actually a necessary part of a balanced diet -- especially if you eat the right ones. This is all in preparation for this week's fruit salad, which I'm promoting as a carb-based snack but much better for us than our beloved candy bars...tomorrow we keep preparing for the adventure with a leetle talk about seasonal fruits...

[Ellen]

You can make quesadillas (I know I spelled THAT wrong) on a George Foreman grill. Also, instead of an electric hot plate, could you use a butane one, like JoyCook? It would cook faster. Tabouleh (also spelled wrong!) is easy: soak the bulgar in boiling water while you chop tomatoes, parsley & onion. Add lemon juice & olive oil. Drain bulgar and mix it all up. Salt to taste. Yum.

[Joe Bellacero]

It sounds like you're really having fun. That's great.
By the way, recently I was passing a book store near LaGuardia C.C. and in the window was a hand-lettered sign, "Student Dissection Kits On Sale." You might want to get one, it will make cooking with adolescents that much easier. (Yeah, I noticed the disclaimer you began with, but I wasn't fooled.
Joe

[Julie]

Ellen, I don't have a Foreman grill, but I think I'm going to get a hotplate I saw last weekend, that has cast iron plates above an electric element. I'm hoping these will diffuse heat better than just the electric coils. I'm concerned about using butane or any liquid flammable substance in the classroom -- we're in a very small, unventilated space. Tabouleh's a great idea, too.

Joe, you should come visit one day, and help me cook the kids -- I mean cook WITH the kids...

[Gina]

Congrats, Julie! Your class sounds wonderful! And I sure hope that you will be sharing those ethnic heritage recipes from your students and their families!

But I disagree about the toaster oven. I think you could make 16 cookies, especially if you prepare the dough one day and bake them off the next class (slice and bake icebox cookies would be optimal here).

Just a thought. Keep up the good work, teach! --Gina (www.lindseysluscious.blogspot.com)