Teaching Food

Fallen, originally uploaded by nutrigardener.

I’ve just wrapped up another teaching contract with SummerGATE teaching my favorite mix of nutrition, food science and just plain fun cooking classes to some really wonderful groups of middle school-aged students. I’ve had so many return students over the past years that I have had to get really creative with a variety of lessons all looking at the same core subjects. When a friend and I began this project to teach food science and real cooking skills to school-aged students, I had a lot to learn about integrating the science and real skill-building activities with the fun stuff. Now it’s natural and I can really say that the students who participate in the class leave with a lot of excitement about good food, a sense that they can cook even without a recipe and that they understand what’s going on in the process. Good stuff!

Lately I’ve been thinking about what makes these classes a hit. Below is a list of some of my observations over the years.

1. When teaching, allow students to explore their curiosities as much as possible. I try to say YES most of the time.
2. Never make a big deal about students trying/tasting. A little encouragement is OK, but staying neutral on the subject will create a safe place for students to have fun and explore.
3. Always use fresh produce. First impressions mean a lot!
4. Don’t rescue too quickly-even if they’re taking forever to cut up that cucumber! Practice is the only way to learn!
5. Teach the logic of cooking-recipes are great, but if you have not realized that a salad dressing is just a balance of sour, salt and and oil (of course with herbs too), you’ll be stuck if the recipe calls for lemons and all you have is red wine vinegar!
6. Remember that cooking and eating connect to everything. Introduce food to a child with that in mind and you’ll have no problem dealing with whatever reaction you get. You’ll also be giving that child a bit more resilience in life, something we all need as we face the challenges around us!

Funny. All this really applies to adults too. When I’m learning new things, this is exactly what I want a teacher to do-give me space to explore, give me time to learn and try, help me understand the “why” behind things and to present only the best material.

Curious?

Hi again-along the lines of the last post, I thought Beth, who writes My Simpler Life, had a great post about curiosity...

The Life Around Us

never give up 2, originally uploaded by nutrigardener.

Just a quick post. I've been going through my photos and found this from last summer. Here's an ant with a monumental task! I watched him climb this sheer cliff for an hour! I'm amazed what I see when I slow down and look a little closer-a whole other world emerges. I just love to find things like this.

Kate, of the blog The Peony and The Bee has a couple pictures up of a similar sort-a wasp with a very peculiar meal!

Water Drops Golden Gate Park

water drop leaf cropped.jpg, originally uploaded by nutrigardener.

If there is magic on this planet, it is contained in water.

LORAN EISELY, The Immense Journey, 1957

Water is the best of all things.

PINDAR (C. 522-C. 438 B.C.), Olympian Odes

...and it is so so beautiful when beading up on a leaf in the early morning light somewhere in Golden Gate Park..

Salad Lover

Salad Lover, originally uploaded by nutrigardener.

I've been thinking more about the mental processes that lead us to our likes and dislikes, and just had to share this picture. I have had the joy of helping hundereds of children learn they really like vegetables, and I will post my thoughts on the subject soon, but please, add your thoughts and comments-anything work for you? is there a food that you'll never learn to like?

Making Sense of Senses

Although I have yet to read Living Sensationally: Understanding Your Senses (see my list of linked blogs), I thought it an apropriate time to post after reading this Times Online article (link below). Dr. Winnie Dunn explores an area I've often wondered about as I've worked with students in nutrition education-each individual experiences the sensations of their world differently, it shapes how they see food, love, life in general! Wouldn't understanding this be a big help in making the world a better place for us to live? I thought these pictures of my niece discovering the ocean illustrate the point quite well-these were overwhelming new sensations to her, but she was introduced to them in a way that worked for her, and she quickly learned to love the new experience!

http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/body_and_soul/article2694061.ece

For the Love of a Fine Cherry

Cherry Season, originally uploaded by nutrigardener.

Well folks, it’s cherry season again here in California, and I had my first taste a couple days ago; a nicely tart but typically sweet Rainier cherry my friend Heather brought home from the farmer’s market. This week is my turn to abandon my weekend duties and instead visit the markets-I expect to find a good selection from which to taste and choose. For me, part of the fun each year is really tasting and finding the best. This is the kind of picky that really helps you understand and appreciate the wide world of flavors and also, if you strike up a conversation with the farmer, what it takes to grow a flavorful cherry.

The season in the Northwest starts in June, and what a wonderful season it is! People on the roadsides selling big boxes of cherries just bursting with crisp flavor! Dream up a wonderful confection based on cherries and tell me all about it, but do not, under any circumstances, do anything until you have had your fill of the fresh, unadulterated fruit..

Yum.

Different or Just Lucky?

Bucking the Trend or Just Lucky?, originally uploaded by nutrigardener.

I took this photo in the streets of old San Salvador. One way to make your product stand out, eh? Today though it dawned on me that this is how a lot of us feel-like the different one. Funny, this chick feels so left out of the new color trend, but really he was just lucky not to get dipped!

Anyway, just a funny picture to share...enjoy!

To Eat A Coconut

pipa1, originally uploaded by nutrigardener.

Ahh. Travel memories. Every time I return from a trip my mind swirls with the recollection of it all, anchored, so to speak, by the tastes and smells of food. Tasting something similar here takes me back instantly too, which is fun, especially since a great little coffee shop that serves one of these foods (young coconut) is so close. Trouble Coffee, in the Outer Sunset Neighborhood of San Francisco, is a very convenient N-Judah train ride from downtown, and is well worth it for the signature combination of coffee, a young coconut, and a thick slice of perfect cinnamon toast. For me, sipping on the coconut takes me right back to the beaches and sweaty lowland towns of Central America, but even if your coconut frame of reference starts right there at Trouble Coffee, your coffee experience will take on a new dimension; you see, the coconut seems to make the coffee experience better-I leave feeling a bit healthier than I arrived, no jitters, no bitter coffee taste in my mouth..It’s definitely a synergistic combination!

If you don’t feel like heading to San Francisco’s one and only coffee shop with coconuts, get your own coconuts! Lots of international grocery stores have them, all white and wrapped in plastic wrap. I see prices ranging from $1.00 to $2.00 each, and all you’ll need to get inside is a machete. What? You don’t keep a machete ready in the kitchen? Try a heavy kitchen knife combined with a serrated one to finish the job. The coconut in the picture is whole, but you’re more likely to find the ones that have had the outer shell cut off. They’ll be white, with a bit of a cone on one end and a flat spot on the other. Take strong, confident whacks with the knife about ½ way down the cone-you’ll know you’re doing it right when you feel the blade hit an extra hard part. The toughness is highly variable from one coconut to another, but with several strong whacks you should be able to get inside. The liquid is usually completely filling the inside, so have a cup ready to pour the contents in to. You can use the serrated knife to saw the top completely off, making sure to leave a hole large enough to get a long handled spoon in to scrape out the tasty and very nutritious meat inside (the one in the photo was bought in Costa Rica-sip the liquid through the small hole, then the vendor will chop the whole thing in half, which works well too!). In the picture you can see that the coconut photographed had very little meat inside-it was more like pudding. This was an extra young one-the older it gets the tougher it gets, but most young coconuts you’ll find in the markets will have a nice, medium flesh perfect for eating fresh. Enjoy!

pipa2

pipa2, originally uploaded by nutrigardener.

Ahhh nothing like a young coconut!