Monday, December 15, 2014

Next Generation Science Standards

Give the pupils something to do, not something to learn, and the doing is of such a nature as to demand thinking; learning naturally results.
                                -John Dewey


I learned a lot about the Next Generation Science Standards last week, and found a resource that I thought anybody in elementary education (classroom teacher, outdoor educator, professional development facilitator, principal, anybody) would find really beneficial and cool. Paul Anderson, Montana's 2011 Teacher of the Year, a science teacher at Bozeman High School, created a ton of really good science videos for students and teachers. I spent some time checking out his website, bozemanscience.com, and really liked the videos about the Next Generation Science Standards. They're for teachers, under 10 minutes long, and do a great job explaining science in a way that makes teaching it easier. For me, it was a clear, concise refresher on overarching concepts that apply to many specific content areas in science. For teachers with less of a science background, these videos simply explain what we want kids to know and ways to do that at different levels of development.

I learned about these videos at a curriculum planning workshop I got to attend last week.
I felt really fortunate that, although a parent volunteer and not on staff, I was invited to take part in an elementary science curriculum planning session. This particular session built on some visioning that took place in the fall, where teachers painted a picture of what they wanted elementary science to look like in the school district. I learned that the teachers had a vision of student discovery, exploration, and wonder. And that they care about sustainability. But that they wonder about how to realize their vision despite the demands of testing and day-to-day constraints.

The school district's new science facilitator shared his philosophy of science education for the elementary years and how this blends with the Next Generation Science Standards. He talked about the importance of focusing on broad concepts, like teaching kids how to question; the basics of the scientific method; or learning how to recognize patterns, understand cause and effect, and make predictions about systems. He talked about the need to concentrate on these rather than focusing so much on content at this stage. He talked about designing an experience, trusting in children's innate curiosity and purposeful playfullness.

Well, I think this is exciting stuff, to be sure. As one participant remarked during the workshop--almost all educators enter the profession desiring to create learning experiences like the one John Dewey described in the quote at the top. But this can be difficult due to constraints put on teachers, and downright intimidating to some teachers if they don't have a lot of science education themselves. This is where these science videos come in. They turn the 400 page document (nextgenscience.org) containing the entire framework of science standards into easily understood chunks of information. They simplify complex topics, they're engaging, and I think they will quickly increase teachers' comfort level and ability in teaching science. Check them out, and let me know if you think they're as cool as I do!

Stop there, or read on below for some more tidbits about the curriculum meeting I attended.  This meeting gave me hope for both my son who has a few more years in elementary school, and for his teachers who want the freedom to create learning experiences that help kids maintain an attitude of exploration, discovery, and wonder.

Some of the ideas that resonated with me from the workshop:
  • Young kids learn while playing, and their play almost always has a purpose. Educators can design science-related experiences that tap into learning through play. Check out the Periodic Table of Play to see different ways play can be classified...

  • Currently, we generally begin designing an experience with a consideration of content. (Content is what we want kids to learn, i.e. the parts of a plant or the process of the water cycle.) At the elementary level, content is less important than learning to use scientific practices and learning to understand the broad, cross-cutting concepts which encompass the content students should know when they leave high school. Approaching a learning experience this way makes it more likely students will have a sense of wonder, discovery, and exploration. Basically, the science facilitator's message was this: Get kids comfortable with scientific method and argument and help them understand the cross-cutting concepts. Worry about specific content when kids are of an age where the details will begin to stick. 

  • If you want teachers to feel free to design learning experiences that emphasize Practices and Cross-Cutting Concepts, the grading rubric needs to reflect that. We worked on this a bit. Whew. As if I didn't already think teachers jobs were hard...

  • There needs to be some sort of coordination among grade-levels so that the kids' learning in science builds on previous years' learning without too much overlap in content or activities. This is the nitty-gritty, and it will be interesting to see what happens when the planning gets to this stage!


Wednesday, September 10, 2014

Benefits of School Gardening

Denver Urban Gardens, or DUG, compiled some research findings about the benefits of school gardens. This is a great resource for those of us who are school garden advocates. The studies cited were all published between 2002 and 2012, so there is some fairly current stuff in there. If you're not already convinced that school gardens should be widely used in every school, check out the link below.

If you are already an advocate, this paper looks like a great resource to print and share with folks who aren't so sure about the idea of gardening with students. It's short, with bullet points sharing the benefits in the areas of academic achievement, social and emotional health, physical health, and benefits to the school and community at large. For those wanting to know more, it includes a list of the sources cited in the paper. Check it out!

"Benefits of School Gardens" compiled by Denver Urban Gardens

Friday, September 5, 2014

Race and Our Community

So, I live about 20 minutes from Ferguson in a pretty darn white suburb of St. Louis. Since Michael Brown was killed, I can't stop thinking about that whole situation--but even more so just how entrenched this city is in de facto segregation and systemic racism. I've been reluctant to write about it on here, in part because my feelings of sadness and confusion about how to make a difference have impeded any ability I might have to write something cohesive. But also, if I'm honest, because I am nervous about ruffling feathers. I am definitely non-confrontational.

The title of this blog is "Kids, Community, and Food", and I usually write about food or kids growing food. But community is in the title too, and it's it's in there because I believe so strongly in the power of gardening in groups to build healthy communities. And because I believe that we have to have strong, healthy community groups in order to solve the complex social and environmental problems that our children are inheriting. Mike Brown's death highlights just how unhealthy our community here in St. Louis is, and the outrage and sadness that bubbled over in Ferguson has been there a long time because our community is chronically ill with systemic racism.

I still don't know what to say, exactly. But I do know that I don't want things to just calm down and go back the way they were. I want things to change. To be better. I want to live in a city without a redline. I want to live in a city, where when I choose which neighborhood to live in based on the quality of the school district, that school will also be racially diverse. That is not the city I live in today. And I did choose a well-to-do, mostly white school district when we moved back to St. Louis a couple years ago. It's been a long time since I lived in a diverse suburb of St. Louis, studied environmental justice in grad school, and experienced the power of community and school gardening to bridge racial divides.

Today I find myself gardening in groups of mostly white people through my work to integrate sustainability education into the curriculum at Tillman Elementary. Of course, it's great, because community gardening is almost always awesome. While I'm confident we are laying down experiences that will help the kids involved learn to care for the Earth, I don't believe that this will have any impact on dismantling racism unless we make social justice an explicit part of what we teach. There are lots of avenues for this, especially through the lens of environmental justice. I am certain that issues of fair food distribution will come up, because the kids at Tillman are so wonderfully kind-hearted. But will we adults have the courage to take it a step further and examine who is most likely to be "food insecure" in our city? I don't know. I'm hopeful, actually, because my son told us last night that his class wrote cards for kids at Michael Brown's school. That's a step, and one I could learn from.

After several years of living in mostly white neighborhoods, I have noticed a subtle shift toward complacency in my own self. It's just easy not to think about systemic racism, or even my own personal biases, when I live in a neighborhood surrounded by a lot of other folks enjoying white privilege without even having to think about it. I'm not saying we're bad people, I'm just saying we are enjoying the privilege of staying blind to systemic racism if we want to. I don't know how to fix it, I just think we definitely can't fix it if we are afraid to look at it and talk about it. And if we are on the defensive when we do look and talk.

A couple weeks ago, my pastor quoted Cornell West (prominent black thinker/philosopher) addressing a white audience. West had said something like, "If I still have vestiges of white supremacy in me, I'm willing to bet that you do too." For me, this was so comforting. And challenging. Racism is embedded in our culture and communities, so of course it's hiding in us too. It just is. And if we are honest with ourselves and work to change things for the better, then we need not be ashamed. Another thing my pastor said that stuck with me: "Our faith tells us that we are one. If this is true, then we have to see Michael Brown as our child. And we have to see Darren Wilson as our brother." Whoa. Think about that one for a bit.

Well, I already wrote way more than I had planned. I got on here just planning to share three articles that have touched me deeply, or opened my eyes in new ways since everything blew up in Ferguson. Maybe these will have meaning for you too. There are links to them below. Thanks for reading, and thinking, and talking with your friends about how to make our world better for everyone.

Article by Wash U mom (African-American) about her sons
Article by a white mom about her sons
Blog post from a woman in Portland, Or entitled "I am racist, and so are you"

Friday, August 22, 2014

Too Many Zukes?

If you're a gardener or a CSA subscriber, chances are high that you are inundated with zucchini right about now. This summer I've grilled it, hidden it in spaghetti sauce, made zucchini brownies, and frozen gobs of it for use this winter. After all that, I still can't seem to clear my crisper drawers of the stuff!

On the verge of anonymously dumping some on my neighbors' porches, I found a better option: Zucchini Pie. A cheesy, eggy, zukey recipe that calls for 8 cups of zucchini. Yes, 8 cups!!! Besides ridding myself of zucchinis for a couple days, this recipe tastes good too. It made two pies, so I did offload one on a neighbor. That seems so much better for neighbor relations than what I was about to do.


The recipe is from a cookbook called Simply in Season, "commissioned by Mennonite Central Committee to promote the understanding of how the food choices we make affect our lives and the lives of those who produce the food." Published by Herald Press, this cookbook is a great study in how to eat seasonally and reduce food waste. Thank you to my dear friend Rachel Maxwell-Wells for giving me this cookbook! You can find out how to order this book here http://www.heraldpress.com/titles/simplyinseason/.

But here's the recipe for those of you who might want to try before you buy. Enjoy!

Italian Zucchini Pie

Preheat oven to 375.

1/4 c. warm water
1 T. active dry yeast
Mix until yeast dissolves. Set aside.

1/4 c. milk
1 T. olive oil
1 egg, beaten
Combine in a mixing bowl or food processor. Add dissolved yeast and stir.

1/4 c. whole wheat flour
1/4 c. parmesan cheese, grated
1 t. salt
1-2 t. fresh basil, chopped
Blend in.

2 c. bread flour (I added 2 T. vital wheat gluten to regular flour, worth a try with regular flour if you don't have the substitutions.)
Add 1/2 c. at a time to make a smooth but slighly sticky dough. Place in a greased bowl, trne to grease both sides, cover with a damp cloth, and place in a warm place while preparing the zucchini filling.

1/4 c. butter
8 c. zucchini, thinly sliced
1-2 c. chopped onion
Melt butter in a large frypan over medium heat. Add zucchini and onions and saute until soft, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat.

1 clove garlic, minced
1 T. each fresh basil and oregano (chopped; or 1 t. dried)
1 t. each fresh thyme, rosemary, sage, parsley, savory, and marjoram (chopped; or 1/2 t. dried) (Just use what you have, don't worry if you don't have all of these!)
1 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper
Stir in.

5 large eggs, beaten
4 c. shredded mozzarella
 Combine in a separate bowl, then stir in zucchini mixture

Divide dough in half. Place each half on lightly floured surface and roll into a circle 12 inches in diameter. Place each into a lightly greased 10 inch pie dish.

4 t. mustard
1/4 c. parmesan, grated
Spread the pie crusts with mustard. Divide the zuke mixture between the two crusts. Sprinle parmesan cheese on top. Bake 18-20 minutes, until center is set. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. 












Tuesday, July 15, 2014

The Garden Has Gone to the Dogs!



I love this garden almost as much as I love my canines, so I had to let them meet. This spring everything took OFF and looked great here at Tillman. It's now mid-July and things planted on the "heat island" are starting to struggle.



(Except the chard and the kale--is there anything these vegetables can't do?!)

I expected this impact from putting a bunch of raised beds on top of asphalt. This will be a great problem for the kids to solve next school year. Several years ago I learned about urban gardening in Cleveland, using a foot or two of mulch piled atop pavement, with raised beds on top of that. Easy solution. But rather than decide that for the kids, why not let them see for themselves that the plants struggle in extreme heat? It's a perfect project-based learning opportunity! As it stands now, I am just very thankful to all the volunteers who are helping keep things alive in this tough part of the summer. People have been showing up nearly every day to give the thirsty plants a drink. Now if I could just get to work on the thank you's....

Next to our heat island garden, we have the keyhole bed.
This is my favorite bed in the garden so far. It was built and filled by the Tillman kids--in the rain at Healthy Kids Night--with materials donated by Tillman families. That in itself was magical. But the other cool things are this bed's water holding capability and the compost collector in the center of the bed. The stories we had heard seem to be true: keyhole gardens rock! The flowers are so pretty, but I really want to see food growing in here next. Check out more about keyhole gardens here, they have a neat history!

Sunday, March 30, 2014

Eating for Sustainability: Last One for Awhile

I've been trying to muster up motivation to write more about our weekly meals and grocery costs, but I can't seem to and here's why. Tallying receipts has gotten to be a pain in the rear, and I have bigger fish to fry. Seriously, though, it is a pain. And because it's finally spring and because we are wrapping up this first planning/design phase for Tillman's sustainability committee, my time spent on school gardening is on the rise. And that's just way more compelling than putting my trips to the grocery under the microscope. I'm glad I tried the food experiment, and I plan to keep trying to whittle down my grocery spending while increasing my support of sustainable food systems. But I'm very grateful that I don't have to keep ultra-close tabs on my food expenditures. Maybe down the road our family will try to eat for a week on what someone in poverty might be working with. For  now, though, I'm tired of talllying receipts and I want to have some fun thinking (and writing) about school gardening.

But before I go, here are a few things gleaned from the food experiment.
  • Switching to more local and organic hasn't increased my weekly grocery bills. Minimizing waste saves as much or more money than buying organic has cost me.
  • I like the combined CSA model very much. I base my grocery shopping for the week on what I receive in a CSA allotment. For me, this makes meal planning much easier (not overwhelmed with too much choice) and has made me feel more creative. 
  • Using dried beans is super-economical. Lots of choices too--my favorites are chickpeas and black beans. 
  • Popcorn. Best snack ever (at least for this food experiment). Cheap and easy. We don't have a microwave, so I learned awhile back how to make it on the stovetop. Piece of cake. Anything you can do to reduce the amount of salty bags of snack food in your grocery cart will really make a dent in your bill. Plus you can make popcorn so many different ways, sweet or salty, you don't have to get bored with it!
  • I rely heavily on one piece of  equipment, and I bet a lot of people haven't heard of it.  It's a 3-in-1 rice cooker/crockpot/pressure cooker. We bought it when we moved two years ago into a house with downsized kitchen space. It's an investment but well worth it. I can cook white rice in 6 minutes, and brown rice in under 20 in this thing. Can pressure cook chick peas in about 15 minutes. Love, love, love it.

Thursday, February 20, 2014

Eating for Sustainability: CSAs defined + 6-week recap

For the past 6 weeks, I have been experimenting to see if our family could shift our food consumption to almost all local and/or organic without spending more on groceries than we did at the start. In the beginning, we ate a fair amount of processed food, frequently bought non-organic produce, and wasted more food than I would have thought. I guesstimated that our original weekly grocery spending averaged $200, so my goal is to keep costs at or below that level. I should note that this cost doesn't include eating out (once or twice a week) or the cost of weekday lunches for my husband and oldest kiddo.  After 6 weeks, I'm happy to report that our weekly grocery average is $179. Last week was the first week that I bought organic selections for as many of the items on my grocery list as possible. We'll see if the average goes up or not in the coming weeks...

Several people have asked about the CSA we buy from: what they are and whether we like it. First of all, the simplest way to describe a CSA is a farm subscription. When the concept emerged, folks would pay a particular farmer in advance for a share of that season's harvest. Each week the customer picks up a box of produce, with contents and amounts dictated by what's ripe each week. In this way, the consumer shares the risk with the farmer, because if it's a drought-year or pests decimate a particular crop, they will see the results in diminished boxes. But if it's a bumper-crop year, customers reap the benefits of that as well, sometimes getting enough produce to share or preserve. This model benefits consumers by giving them regular access to fresh, local food, and benefits farmers by essentially helping them bypass (at least partially) asking banks for credit each season. In addition, they are assured payment each season, even in times of crop failure, which means that more small farms can stay in business each year and continue to provide food to the local community.

As the CSA model gained steam, farmers began to pool resources to offer customers more variety each week. This is the model we are currently supporting with our Fair Shares subscription, and I have to say, I really like it. We joined Fair Shares this winter, so I'm not sure what weekly allotments will be like in the growing season. Now in late winter, we receive very little that's "just harvested", but are really enjoying things that have been grown and preserved here locally (like spaghetti sauce and canned peaches). I've been amazed by the flavor of crispness of local apples that have been stored by the CSA since fall. I know I don't have room in my fridge to hold dozens of apples for months, so it's been great to get a few each week. And of course, the fact that this particular CSA includes meat, eggs, and dairy seals the deal that I love it. Here's what we got a couple weeks ago:


There are other things in the "plus" column for me, besides knowing I'm helping support small farms and eating more healthy food. Recipe planning is more fun. Instead of thumbing through a cookbook with no direction or inspiration, I have the ingredients from the weekly CSA box as a starting point for meal planning. I no longer have 30,000 ingredients that I could start with. I have 10 or 15. Much more manageable, and frankly, inspiring. My trips to the grocery store are quicker, as there are fewer items to grab each week. And--very important, I think--we waste A LOT LESS food. In part, this is due to the fact that when the connection to the farmer is shortened, I tend to consciously value their efforts more than I do when picking up something that's pre-packaged and super-easy for me to toss on the table without much thought or effort. Reduced waste could also be due to the fact that I don't want to have to report on here that my grocery bills rise due to this experiment, so I try harder than I used to!

Here's a great how-to link for reducing food waste in your household. http://www.epicurious.com/articlesguides/blogs/editor/2014/01/ways-to-reduce-food-waste-.html  Hope it's helpful!












Thursday, February 6, 2014

One Month In--Eating for Sustainability Pt. 5

This week I spent $150 in groceries, same as last week. I will keep tallying, but I'm feeling more and more confident that my average weekly bill won't exceed $200, even when I've transitioned to all organic or local. However, I am still amazed by the amount of food I am able to cull from the cupboards each week. This week I dug up some old pancake mix, dried cranberries, chocolate chips, and pecans to concoct a dessert that was meant to be a bar cookie but turned into a cake. That was a fun kitchen moment with the kids, and it felt good to reduce waste. I can't help but think that developing creativity in the kitchen is as good for my morale as it is for the environment.

Which leads me to the CSA box this week. Most of it was easy for me to use: ground beef, a nut butter, salsa, bean dip, eggs, mushrooms, yogurt, apples. The one exception that forced me to get creative? Acorn squash. I still had one from a previous week, and they gave us two this week. I definitely don't love winter squash, but I couldn't put off using them any longer. One I baked and pureed. I used the puree in the cookie-turned-cake concoction. The remaining two became "Sausage and Apple Stuffed Acorn Squash" from food.com. It was a heavy meal, but still pretty good. For winter squash, I'll take that.



By the way, I just learned that Fair Shares CSA is offering two-week trial memberships. Find more info at https://fairshares.org/trial-membership. If you decide to try it, please tell them I sent you because I'll get a $5 credit just for you trying it out!

This week, I've realized that it's not that hard for me to follow Michael Pollan's advice to:
  • Eat only food that Grandma would recognize as food.
  • Shop the perimeter of the grocery store, because that's where the least processed food is found.
  • Don't eat food that won't ever rot, and try and keep the number of ingredients in a product at or below five.
  • Eat mostly plants. When you do eat meat, eat meat that's been raised in humane conditions and given good feed.
In fact, our family eats this way a lot. We just needed this "food reset" to make it more consistent.
It does take planning, but it doesn't feel like a burden at all right now. Part of that is due to the easy, from scratch foods that have slowly accumulated in my mental recipe file over the years. (See below for two great recipes from friends.) And part of it is that I can cut vegetables a lot faster than I used to. But part of it is due to the fact that mindfully buying, cooking, and eating has integrated my values and my actions. Eating in a way that promotes the health of my family, the local economy, and the Earth actually lifts a weight rather than creating one. Once again, I'm thankful to have the means and the time to buy well, cook well, and eat well.

Recipes

Hummus

This recipe is from my college roommate, Salwa Rosen. The first time I ate her mama's version of hummus and taboulleh, I thought I'd died and gone to heaven. Mama Rosen's taboulleh was great, but the hummus took so much less time that it was one of the first things I ever consistently made from scratch. Now that I've started cooking my own beans, maybe I will shift from canned chickpeas to dried...

2 cans chickpeas, drained (juice of one can reserved)
3-4 T. tahini, or more to taste (tahini, or sesame seed paste, found in Middle Eastern section of grocer, or at specialty shop--it's a lot easier to find than it used to be!)
Juice of 1-2 lemons, to taste
About 1 t. of salt
2 garlic cloves, minced
A tablespoon or two of olive oil

Puree it all in a food processor or blender. Adust seasonings to taste. If too salty, add more lemon (and vice-versa). If too thick, add some liquid from chickpeas.

That's the basic recipe--so easy, so yummy, and so simple to vary. Have fun!

 

Versatile Vinaigrette (from Moosewood Restaurant's Simple Suppers)

Although this recipe is from a cookbook, I really want to credit my friend Pascale Perraudin (her recipe is very similar to the one below) for teaching me how to make my first vinaigrette. Knowing how to do that literally changed my life. It was so delicious and easy that I hardly ever buy salad dressing anymore (have you looked at those labels?!?!).

1/3 cup vinegar or lemon juice (Pascale got me started off using red wine vinegar)
1/2 t. salt
1 t. Dijon mustard
1 clove garlic, pressed
1/4 t. black pepper
1 c. olive oil

Whisk it all together. It will keep in the refrigerator for week. When cold, the oil tends to partially solidify, so let it sit at room temp for awhile before serving. Variations: Add fresh or dried herbs. Whisk in 1 to 2 T. of minced fresh herbs, or 1/2 to 1 t. dried. Allow dried herbs to steep in vinaigrette for at least half an hour.







Friday, January 31, 2014

Eating for Sustainability: An Experiment Pt. 4

Meals kept truckin' along this week, and I think I'm about out of the woods when it comes to heavily processed foods in my pantry. Super Bowl Sunday should take care of that once and for all, don't you think? As for my grocery bill this week....$150! Yes! And that even included a store-bought carrot cake for Kyle's birthday dinner, because, frankly, presentation just isn't my thing. All in all, I feel good about the food we ate this week.

Our CSA share contained lots of interesting items but the funny thing is, eggs and sprouts were the only totally unprocessed items.
Bread, cheese, eggs

Pesto (local ingredients from summer, frozen), Whole wheat gnocchi (frozen)

Old fashioned bologna, sunflower sprouts, minestrone soup (frozen)



I was really excited to see a frozen soup choice from Saint Louis University (SLU), but the family reported it was bland (it had seemed like the perfect thing to serve on a cold night when I had to leave for a meeting). I will try it myself before passing judgment. I really hope it can be spruced up, because one of the major issues for viable small-scale food systems is processing. The other biggie that I see is packaging. We need processing and packaging operations that accept product from small farms and distribute to local retailers. So, even if nutrition trumped flavor in this instance of locally grown and processed, I'm still glad that SLU has emerged as a leader to fill some gaps in St. Louis's emerging local food system.

 Most of my favorite dishes this week were meatless (as usual), but the carnitas made from a pork roast were divine so I'll include that recipe at the bottom. Another that I've included is Chick Pea Stew--really nice, and very inexpensive. Scroll down for recipes of dishes that turned out much better than this, this...dear God, what is that? Seriously, when I look at the picture below I feel sick (or like laughing hysterically), and I wonder why in the world my family ever requests that I cook more meat. I'm so sorry, cow--I wish I could've done you justice!

 Stuffed shells were much nicer, I must say--in both looks and flavor!


The sides that went with the carnitas were also lovely and delicious. I was very excited to learn that ricotta can be used with Mexican-inspired dishes and not just Italian. We like to mix it up a lot.


And finally, simple salads and roasted root vegetables (this week, just two kind of taters) have become staples around here. They're just so fast to put together, I like to have the greens, and the kids like the roasted veggies. No mutinies on these yet, so that's a good sign!


So, I'm wondering from those of you who have read this far (thanks!) and already minimize unprocessed food in your diet, what have you used to replace processed snack food like chips or energy bars? Do you have any gems that aren't too time-consuming to make, affordable, and/or purchased but you feel good about? We have been eating a lot of popcorn cooked on the stove, but I'm sure that will get old one of these days.

Thanks for reading, everyone, and I hope your week ahead is full of fun food adventures!

Chickpea and Spinach Stew (from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone  by Deborah Madison)

2 T. extra virgin olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 pinches red pepper flakes
1 t. paprika
1 t. fresh or dried minced rosemary
1/4 c. chopped parsley
1 c. peeped, diced tomatoes, fresh or canned
3 c. cooked chickpeas or 2 15-0z cans, rinsed
salt and pepper
2 bunches spinach, stems removed
garlic mayonnaise (the cookbook calls for making the mayo from scratch but I just mixed about 1/3 cup low-fat mayo with 2 big cloves of garlic that I put through the ringer with my mortar and pestle)

In a wide saute pan, heat the oil over high heat. Add the onion, garlic, red pepper flakes, paprika, rosemary, and half the parsley Saute for 2 minutes, then lower the heat to medium and cook, stirring frequently, until the onion is soft, about 12 minutes. Add the tomatoes and chickpeas, season with salt and pepper, then over and simmer for 15 minutes. Add the spinach to the chickpeas, taste for salt, and season with pepper. Plate it up, add a spoonful of mayonnaise to each dish (this is key, kicks the flavor WAY up, and garnish with remaining parsley (also key, helping tone down the garlic breath!).


Oven-Fried Pork Carnitas with Guacamole and Orange Salsa (from Food & Wine An Entire Year of Recipes 2006)

I made this dish by the recipe, which used a lot of oil to cook the meat. It was good, but next time I will totally throw the pork roast in the slow cooker after marinating. Less fat, and less oil to figure out what to do with when it's all said and done.

1/2 c. tamarind concentrate
2 T. honey
2 T. sherry vinegar (I used white whine vinegar)
2 1/2 c. vegetable oil, plus more for brushing
2 1/2  pounds pork shoulder, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
salt and pepper
1 medium white onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, unpeeled
1 Hass avocado, pitted and peeled
3 T. fresh lime juice
2 navel oranges
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
1/4 c coarsely chopped cilantro
1/2 habanero chile, seeded and finely chopped (I just used a little jalapeno, that's what I had)
1 c. ricotta cheese
1 small plum tomato, chopped (I used up a little canned tomato I had in the fridge, drained)
1 jalapeno or serrano chile, seeded and finely chopped
12 flour tortillas

1. In a large bowl, mix the tamarind concentrate with the honey, sherry vinegar and 1/4 c.  of the vegetable oil. Add the pork shoulder, season with salt and pepper and stir to coat. Let the pork marinate at room temp for 1 hour. Drain the pork and pat dry.
2. Preheat the oven to 375. In a cast-iron skillet, heat 2 T. of the oil. Add half of the pork and cook over moderately high heat, turning occasionally, until the meat is brown all over, about 6 minutes. Transfer to baking dish and repeat with 2 more T. of oil and remaining meat. Add two-thirds o chopped white onion and 2 c oil to the baking dish. Cover with foil and bake for about 2 hours, or until the meat is very tender.
3. Meanwhile, wrap the garlic cloves in foil and bake for 1 hour, or until softened. (This seemed unnecessary--garlic flavor mellowed so much not sure how much it added to the guacamole. Next time, I'll just make my regular old guacamole which just mixes a little minced onion, some lime juice, S&P, and the avocado.) Let cool slightly, then peel the cloves. In a small bowl, mash the avocado with the garlic. Stir in 1 T. of the lime juice and season with salt and pepper.
 4. Using a sharp knife, peel the oranges, removing all the bitter white pith. Working over a bowl, cut in segments. Squeeze the orange membranes to extract the juice. (For this step, I just peeled a few "Cuties", and chopped them up. Much easier than what this step sounded like.) Stir in the red onion, cilantro, and habanero chile and the 2 remaining tablespoons of lime juice. (Again, I changed it up. Didn't use habanero--I want the kids to at least try things!)
5. In a medium bowl, combine the ricotta cheese with the tomato, jalapeno and the remaining one-third of the chopped white onion. Season with salt and pepper.
6. Brush the tortillas lightly with oil, then stack and wrap them in foil. Heat the tortillas in the oven until warm. Drain the pork on paper towels. Pork, ricotta stuff, and guac in the tortillas. Orange salsa on the side. Delish!






Sunday, January 26, 2014

Collecting Kids' Ideas at Tillman

So, I'm hoping this post will give you a snapshot of why I think what the Sustainability Committee at Tillman Elementary is doing is so exciting.  I always say that I am a school gardener, but what I'm a part of is really more holistic than that. My crew and I care about  the health of both people and the planet, we try to include as many perspectives as possible, and we are operating in a school where character education and service learning are huge parts of the school culture. The committee formed less than a year ago, and I feel like we've accomplished a lot already. A lot of that has been planning, and collecting long-term sustainability ideas from parents, teachers, and students. On a recent blustery and cold day in the polar vortex, the sustainability committee hosted a design charrette, in which the opinions collected were the kids'.

How cool! First, that the school administration (thanks, Lisa Greenstein and Maria Stobbe!) was so supportive. They stand firmly behind the idea of teaching the school community about sustainability, and they were ready to let kids venture outdoors in really cold, snowy weather! For those of you that haven't been in the public schools in awhile, this may not seem avant garde at all. However, times have really changed, and kids and schools aren't prepared for outdoor recess in all but the best of weather anymore. Kids often don't have hats, gloves, boots, etc. for cold weather and "blacktop only" days are frequent during the muddy days of spring and fall. So, for even some of the classes to go outside when temps were in the teens was amazing. And those who didn't venture out? The technology support staff created a "virtual tour" of the campus so there was flexibility in how to participate!

Second, first-hand recommendations from a group of kids is always so exciting. Any time that groups work to include many voices in decision-making, it's great. But when kids are asked, their collective insight can be particularly inspiring. This is what I felt when I read my friend, Margaret Sadicarrio's report from her point of view in the charrette. She talked to most of the 550 kids at Tillman as they came through the cafeteria during the charrette, and listened to their ideas about changes to make in the cafeteria that relate to the idea of sustainability. (We had folks positioned all around the school listening for ideas, and we asked teachers to record observations as they facilitated class sustainability discussions as well.)  Below is what Margaret heard, in her words. It's just one volunteer out of many who listened to kids that day, but it is so inspiring and so reminiscent of what I've heard from kids throughout the last few years that I just had to share. I'll post a link to the full results when we compile everything, but for now I hope this gives you a taste of why me and so many others are hooked on outdoor education, school gardens, and changing food systems for the better for kids! And why working with a school that is behind kids' innovation and leadership can fill one with so much hope. I can't wait to tell you more as the "planning phase" ends, and the "doing phase" begins...

Reporting Notes from Design Charrette, from Margaret Hill Sadicario, Tillman Sustainability Committee Volunteer:


First, water was really a big issue.  They want at least a water fountain in the cafeteria...how about a berkey water filtration set up?

http://www.amazon.com/Berkey-BK4X2-BB-Filtration-Filters-Fluoride/dp/B00BWIX1EQ

They were also interested in just more things to drink: mint tea, any tea, OJ, hot chocolate, organic milk.

Electric Juicer?  (bicycle powered juicer? 

http://www.farmtoschool.org/CO/media.htm

Smoothies were also requested, along with MORE fresh fruit, strawberries in particular, which could be be a big project in the garden.

They want round tables.  Assigned seating.

Music.  (Some classes even suggested live music some times on the stage.)

Colorful painted walls.  (They said that the cafeteria has no "life."  Someone even said a red carpet would liven up the room.)  They want plants in the room.

Flowers on the tables. (from the prairie??)

Food:  They wanted soup: Cheddar brocoli, chili, chicken noodle (but good quality, they said that the quality of the food in the kitchen was "fake" and "bad". 
They wanted stir fry, and real mashed potatoes (not the ones from a box, they can tell the difference.)  Homemade pizzas and quesadillas.
Bigger salad bar with (again) more fruit.  They were open to eating more salads.

They really want to eat outside during nice days...this should also be a priority. 

They want the windows to open or at least be uncovered to let the light in.

They all said that they would like to cook in the kitchen and help prepare food.

They want organic and a gluten free option and some said a vegetarian option (time are changing and the cafeteria needs to adapt.)

A switch from white bread to whole wheat - this can be done now.

There was a desire to get rid of the disposable plates and use ones that can be washed and cups that could be washed.  (we would then need to get a dishwasher.  Lori in the kitchen said that there would be room.)

No packaged fruit, but fruit that was fresh.

Posted expectations in the cafeteria. 

Compost that STAYS on campus or comes back at the end of the year.

Recommendations:
The cooking staff needs more education about cooking healthy fruits and vegetables from scratch.
Juicer
Berkey (with real cups for anyone who wants to drink from it.)
Dishwasher
Dishes and cups
Paint and decorations
Coat rack
Overall, the room needs more love, color and life.

Margaret Hill Sadicario





Thursday, January 23, 2014

Eating for Sustainability: An Experiment Pt. 3


This week has been really enlightening. I know what's in my crisper drawers. I'm saving most things before they go to waste. And I'm using up pre-packaged snacks and meals left and right. I certainly don't feel like I've had to spend excessive time cooking, so that's fun. I feel good about getting a lot of highly processed food out of my house. And I created a few meals from scratch. Some of the week's best recipes are at the bottom of the post.

So what did we use up this week? Cheese and crackers? Check. Cans of tuna languishing in the back of the pantry? Gone. Trader Joe's mushroom risotto? Mmmmm, it rounded out an all pre-processed and pre-packaged meal. Spinach mushroom quiche took center stage for an easy, tasty...and mostly local dinner. Jack had the idea to make teeny-tiny little bites of fruit pies using some leftover pie crust and jars of jelly. And a spontaneous potluck with the neighbors resulted in a delicious, nutritious Indian feast. We were so hungry and it looked so good that I forgot to take pictures.

With all this culling of processed food and emptying of crisper drawers, you'd think my food bill would have plummeted. However, this week I spent a whopping $280 on groceries. Whoa!  I knew my earlier estimate of $200 was low, but that smarts. I still think my weekly average will be way below $280 and here's why:
  • I stocked up on lots of things this week: yogurt, milk, butter, Velveeta and Rotel for the Super Bowl ...all the important things. 
  • I factored in the cost of the pizza Kyle ordered one night to supplement a protein-lean dinner. What can I say? I knew when I left for my meeting that the kids were going to eat most of the leftovers before Kyle got home, and I hoped that he would have eaten a big lunch at work that day to tide him over. It's weird, he can eat one big meal and not need to eat for the rest of the day.
  • I brought my kids to the store with me this week (yay for snow days!) and they helped me pick out cereal. Lots and lots of cereal. Three weeks' worth, easy. And yes, I let them each pick out one box of junk. 
 But back to eating better for less...

Here's our share from the CSA this week:


Spicy mustard, canned peaches, spaghetti squash, ground beef, potatoes, tofu, garlic, bread, apples, sundried tomato tapenade, and rice (yes, rice!)
CSA add-ons: pasta sauce, chips, buffalo stick 


We got our share of the hog this week! We bought it from Kami and Jamie, of Brook Cherith Farm about an hour south of St. Louis. I love their philosophy on farming, they model their farm after Joel Salatin's Polyface Farm. Joel Salatin is one of my heroes--he's a very successful farmer and businessman, kind to animals and humans, and a true steward of the land. If you're in St. Louis and looking to buy meat that has had a good life, check out Kami and Jamie's website.


Kami and Jamie of Brook Cherith Farm, so nice of them to deliver so close to home on such a blustery day!
Our share of the hog, excluding bacon and ham (that takes longer due to the curing). So far I've got lots of pork chops, spare ribs, roasts, and sausage. Can't wait to see how much bacon we get!


The cost of the pork averaged out to $5 per pound, and I'm just going to add this cost in each week as I use up the meat from the freezer. I've got a kitchen scale, so that's pretty darn easy. This week we tried only the pork chops, but they were delicious with a glaze made from some pineapple preserves in the fridge. Yeah baby, usin' stuff up! And happy to have a freezer full of happy meat!

This project is already so fun, and I've had lots of moments of gratitude as I prepare and eat good food with my family. I'm thankful to have the time to cook, and the means to eat well. Here's to next week, more good food, and a lower grocery bill!


 White Bean Soup with Pasta and Rosemary Oil

from Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone

The Rosemary Oil 

1/3 c extra virgin olive oil
2 T. finely chopped rosemary or 2 T. dried
2 garlic cloves, sliced

The Soup 

2 cups cannellini, navy beans, or mixture
2 T. olive oil
1 T. chopped rosemary or 2 t. dried
1 onion, finely diced
2 carrots, finely diced
1 celery rib, finely diced
5 garlic cloves, sliced
1/3 c. chopped parsley
1 c. diced tomatoes, fresh or canned, with their juices
salt and pepper
1 c. dried small pasta
Fresh parmesan

Slowly warm the EVOO with 2 T. rosemary and 2 garlic cloves until the garlic begins to color, about 3 minutes. Turn off the heat and set aside until needed. (I didn't use all this on the soup, but it makes a nice dipping oil for bread too.)

Cover the beans with boiling water and set aside while you prepare the rest of the ingredients. (I soaked these overnight instead.)

Heat the oil with 1 T. rosemary in a soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, and celery and cook until the onion is softened and starting to color in places, about 10 minutes. Stir in the garlic and parsley and cook for a few minutes more. Drain the beans and add them to the pot along with the tomatoes and 3 quarts water. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, then simmer, covered, until the beans have begun to soften, about 1 hour. Add 2 t. salt and continue cooking until the beans are completely tender, another 30 minutes or so. 

Puree half the soup to give it some body--or leave it thin. 
Cook the pasta. Strain the rosemary oil. Ladle soup into bowl and add some pasta to each. Drizzle some of the oil over each bowl and add pepper to taste. Cover with shavings of Parmesan. 

Serves 8 to 10 

Simple Egg Curry

from Gourmet Indian in Minutes, by Monisha Bharadwaj 

2 T. sunflower oil
1/2 T. cumin seeds
2 large onions, chopped
1 T. ginger-garlic paste
2 T. tomato paste (I used a little more of each paste, just to get more sauce for the eggs, it's delicious!)
1/2 t turmeric
1/2 t chili powder 
1 t. garam masala
salt, to taste
8 large eggs, hard-boiled (can leave whole or cut in half)
Handful of cilantro, chopped

1. Heat oil in a large pan and add the cumin seeds. As soon a they darken, add the onion and cook to soften.
2. Add the ginger-garlic paste and tomato paste, and stir. Add the spices and salt. (I always have to add water here.) Blend until mushy. (Immersion blender comes in handy for this.)
3. Gently place the eggs in the curry and pour the milk or cream over them. Heat through and serve, sprinkled with cilantro.

Quiche

I think I learned this from epicurious.com, but not totally sure. The best way I've found to make sure you've always got a quiche that sets up well and is totally delicious is to follow two rules:

1. To each egg, add enough dairy to have 1/2 cup of egg + liquid mixture. You can use any combo of: milk, cream, sour cream, yogurt, cream cheese--depending on what you've already got and how rich you want the quiche to be.

2. Cook your vegetables before putting them in the pie to bake. It gets all the water out, so you don't end up with mushy eggy thingy.

I've found that I don't have to blind bake the crust, which saves time if you're in a hurry. Cooking temp and times can vary a little. Sometimes I consult a resource to see what temp to start and finish the quiche at. But this week I just threw it in the oven at 350 and watched it off and on til it looked done, not sure how long. 45 minutes, give or take? Quiche is a great go-to when I want an easy meatless dinner or to clear out my fridge. I just saute a bunch of veggies, mix some eggs with whatever dairy I have, and add any shredded cheeses that I can get my hands on. Then pour it in a crust and bake. Sit back, relax, and let the kids come up with dessert!






Thursday, January 16, 2014

Eating for Sustainability: An Experiment Pt. 2

Last week I embarked on an adventure to track food expenses and cooking habits to see if I can cut costs while increasing consumption of local and organic food. My focus this week has largely been to use up as much perishable food already in my house as possible. Next week, the focus will shift to more accurately tracking expenses.

After some good math and some guessing, $170 is a rough estimate for last week's grocery costs.  That number seems low, and two dinners and a lunch out of the house may have factored into that. But I wonder--did simply declaring publicly my desire to cut food costs lead to less waste? I just read that Americans throw away 40% of their food on average, so I have to think that's possible. One thing's for sure--I dug deep in the crisper drawers this week because I did not want to have to report a higher cost this week than I originally estimated in part one of this series!

So...what did we eat this week?  Well, here's what we received from the CSA, and a good portion of it is gone already.
Acorn squash, blueberry jam, bagels, onions, mushrooms, eggs, popcorn, carrots, breakfast sausage, and chevre
Our meals broke down like this--

Breakfasts: Cereal, toast, oatmeal (nothing organic 'cept the milk, but all pretty healthy)

Lunches:
  • Weekdays I eat leftovers and bits of whatever is in the fridge. I pack my youngest kiddo's lunches most days (sandwiches, yogurt parfaits, or leftover soups generally). I don't even want to think about what my high schooler eats everyday at school. Last I checked, it was toasted ravioli. Every. Day. Awesome. And my husband? I am pretty sure he eats lunch most days.
  • This weekend for lunch we just snacked. Cheese, salami, fruit, peanut butter...can't remember but I know I didn't cook. It was great.
Dinners:
  • A traditional lasagna, conventional in every way, including the ground beef. It was already cooked and half-eaten when the intention to eat better on less was declared. It stinks that the kids' favorite meal of the week is the one that I'm sort of embarrassed to record.
  • Breakfast for dinner--95% of items from the CSA. 
    Spinach mushroom frittata
  •  Spinach salad  + roasted root vegetables from the CSA. That was so yum. Except for the radishes--roasting was a last-ditch attempt to enjoy eating a radish. Still no luck. I really wish I thought to take a pic of this dinner. Much prettier than the breakfast!
  • White Bean and Rosemary Soup and Homemade Whole Wheat Bread. The soup was a surprise hit--the kids even chose it on leftover night over quesadillas! The bread tasted great, but it cost about $4 to make. I thought homemade bread would be so much cheaper. Next recipe, please. On leftover night, we concocted a dessert that encapsulates the way we eat right now--a blend of hyper-local and completely conventional. We made apple-pear turnovers using store-bought pie crust filled with homemade apple-pear butter from my friend's bumper crop this summer. 
So there you have it. Week one of the experiment is over. I'm happy to report that we ate well, wasted little, and I know the contents of my refrigerator better than I have in a long time.


Friday, January 10, 2014

Planning Success and Engineering Fail: Winter Update for Tillman Elementary

It's January. Wow. Winter is in full swing, but spring will be here before we know it. Various member of the Tillman Sustainability Committee have met a few times since I last posted about planning and progress: A Vision is Taking Shape. Most of my efforts over the last few months have been in one one one conversations with folks who are involved or interested. And taking care of the beds that are trying not to stay covered this winter. Lesson learned: I am a people organizer, a gardener, and possibly even an educator--but not a builder or engineer. I was so so confident my low-tech low-tunnel would work with just some bricks and clips to secure the plastic to the frame. (Jenny Grabner, I miss your practical knowledge and skills so much right about now!!)


It held through one round of strong wind and light snow.

These binder clips do really work well. I think it's the fact that the plastic isn't taut on frame and more secure at bottom that is causing the problem.
Calling all engineering people....help!!
We need a version 2.0. 1.0 was no match for Snowpocalypse.


But on to the planning, which seems to go much better for me...

Just prior to Christmas, our committee met, planned a super-ambitious all-school project, and divvied up tasks. Part of my job was to get the word out to parents, and below you will see the two communications that are going out ahead of the Sustainability Design Charrette next week, which will glean ideas from all the students in the school as they walk and talk with the teachers around the school and campus.

Here's how it will work:
Buddy Groups (upper grade classes paired up with younger ones, a mentoring arrangement, they meet monthly) gather to tour 12 stations around the campus and in building to discuss ways to implement sustainability practices at Tillman
  • ipads will be used to capture pictures, video, and audio 
  • pen and paper will be used to take notes as well
  • volunteers at each station will record any themes that emerged repeatedly throughout the activity from the different groups rotating through
 Here's the communication sent out to parents:

E-Newsletter pre-Christmas:

Over the last decade or so, schools across this country have begun to think about sustainability: what it means and what it might look like to integrate this concept into a school’s culture and curriculum. Initiatives and projects are as varied as the U.S. landscape. Many have started with gardens or changes in cafeteria purchasing practices, while others have looked at changes to the curriculum and even building design.


At Tillman, the idea of integrating sustainability practices into school culture has been percolating for several years now. We think the first champion for sustainability at Tillman may have been a recent Tillman grad who dreamed of a greenhouse on the school grounds and worked to get composting started at the school. Or was it a couple of teachers who have long held a vision for a prairie patch at the school? Or perhaps the parents who converse about the complex world their kids will inherit and the skills they hope their kids will have in order to rise to the challenge? No matter who was first, the ideas are flowing, momentum is growing, and we’re ready to take the next step.


Landscape architect Nancy Nafe is volunteering her time and expertise to draw up the Tillman community’s vision for sustainability. She will be gathering ideas from the students and staff at Tillman, and we want you to be a part of this as well. On Friday, January 17, please join us for a sustainability design charrette from 10-11:30 am. More details to follow but for now, please SAVE THE DATE!


If you are unable to join the fun in January, please send your thoughts about sustainability and what it might look like at Tillman to tillmansustainability@gmail.com. We look forward to hearing from you!

Parent communication just after Christmas Break--sent out 3 ways to ensure maximum awareness

Sustainability Design Charrette for the Green Schools Quest

****Rain, Snow, or Shine

Friday, January 17 from 10-11:30 am


9:30 Sustainability Design Charrette: A Brainstorming Tour of the Campus and Building
    **The kids will be going outside for this activity--no matter the weather. Please send appropriate outdoor gear for this activity: hats, gloves, boots. Please send in extra gloves to share with classmates if you are able!


Parents welcome, and volunteers are needed. Please email tillmansustainability@gmail.org or text/call Lesli Moylan at 314-368-0500 if interested in helping.


What is sustainability? In a nutshell, it’s prioritizing the health of the planet, its people, and its communities when making decisions. It’s thinking about how what we do today will impact those living seven generations down the road--and how to balance the needs of the future with the needs of today.


What is a charrette? Literally, it means “cart” in French, and in the design world it means an activity to collect ideas from many people for a specific project. Our design charrette will collect tons of ideas from Tillman students about changes to make our campus and building that contribute to the idea of sustainability.


What is the Green Schools Quest? This is a contest created by the Gateway (St. Louis) Chapter of the Green Building Council, challenging schools in the region to devise and implement sustainable practices for their schools. Our mentor and landscape architect, Nancy Nafe, will take the student ideas from this design charrette and create a landscape design for Tillman. This long-range plan will be a great visual for the community, and will be a great reminder of student interests and priorities as we move forward with outdoor and indoor sustainability efforts over the next few years.


I'm really excited about the charrette, it'll be interesting to see how it turns out. It's so neat to be in a school that truly is committed to student input, and with more than 500 kids churning out ideas next week....who knows what wacky and ingenius idea may be born! One week from today....