Wasabina, Daikon and More! Cooking With the Kids from Recipe for Success
by BETTINA ELIAS SIEGEL on FEBRUARY 14, 2012
Last week I volunteered, as I do every month, with Recipe for Success - a comprehensive "seed to plate" instructional program that brings gardens, cooking, nutrition education and celebrity chefs into local schools. I don't always post about my experiences with R4S, but last week's class was so fun I wanted to share.
Instead of meeting my assigned fourth grade class at its elementary school, as we usually do, we all gathered at t'afia, an innovative Houston restaurant which uses only local foods. T'afia is the brainchild of Monica Pope, a much-lauded chef (James Beard nominee, Top Chef Masters contestant, etc.), R4S Board Member and classroom volunteer. Our assignment was to make Monica's Winter Vegetable Slaw which we would then enjoy along with a full meal prepared by the t'afia kitchen.
One of the things I like best about volunteering with R4S is sharing information with kids about food -- exposing them to new produce and herbs, exploring new flavors and then talking about what they like and don't like. But this time around the kids weren't the only ones learning: I encountered a vegetable I'd never even heard of before,"wasabina," a leafy, peppery green with a slight wasabi taste. I also learned how to properly sprout my own grains and seeds, something I've been interested in trying.
Read the rest of Bettina's story on Lunch Tray.
by BETTINA ELIAS SIEGEL on FEBRUARY 14, 2012
Last week I volunteered, as I do every month, with Recipe for Success - a comprehensive "seed to plate" instructional program that brings gardens, cooking, nutrition education and celebrity chefs into local schools. I don't always post about my experiences with R4S, but last week's class was so fun I wanted to share.
Instead of meeting my assigned fourth grade class at its elementary school, as we usually do, we all gathered at t'afia, an innovative Houston restaurant which uses only local foods. T'afia is the brainchild of Monica Pope, a much-lauded chef (James Beard nominee, Top Chef Masters contestant, etc.), R4S Board Member and classroom volunteer. Our assignment was to make Monica's Winter Vegetable Slaw which we would then enjoy along with a full meal prepared by the t'afia kitchen.
One of the things I like best about volunteering with R4S is sharing information with kids about food -- exposing them to new produce and herbs, exploring new flavors and then talking about what they like and don't like. But this time around the kids weren't the only ones learning: I encountered a vegetable I'd never even heard of before,"wasabina," a leafy, peppery green with a slight wasabi taste. I also learned how to properly sprout my own grains and seeds, something I've been interested in trying.
Read the rest of Bettina's story on Lunch Tray.
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