We had a good group of hardworking students!

Such fun cooking with the kids! I went home after club to a fresh, flavorful meal of fish tacos. 

Today is a beautiful spring day and in a little while I will be heading off to do some work for KitchenAid. I'll be cooking and talking to people about KitchenAid products, pretty good. 

This past Thursday was cooking club at the middle school. I can't believe it's been two years already! I checked with my teacher volunteers and we are going to continue the club next year. So glad!

This month I decided to try some Asian inspired recipes for the club. I have to take into account some dietary needs so need to watch dairy, seafood, peanuts, Kosher and vegetarian. I love Thai, but fish sauce makes that a bad idea. 

I decided on two recipes from Nancie McDermott's cookbook 300 Best Stir Fry Recipes which is a great book for quick weeknight meals. I've used it many times with delicious results. 

I chose a chicken and cherry tomato stir fry with a corn and edamame fried rice. I also adapted the stir fry to use tofu so we'd have food for everyone. 

We only had about 17 students at club since some are in drama club also and they are in rehearsals. The students were a little excited because they had just finished several days of standardized testing. They were ready for fun. 

I brought burners, pots, cutting boards, knives, serving pieces and they got to work. 

Colorful tomatoes and onions for the stir fry:

Working on the tofu stir fry:

Corn and edamame for fried rice:

Noodles for the stir fry:

Everyone cooking and having fun:

Lots of work to get done in an hour and still have time to eat, but everyone pitched in and cooked, grated and plated as a team. Even a picture of me, the kids are great photographers too.

This semester we have dairy allergies, peanut allergies, shellfish allergies, one kosher child and some vegetarians. It takes some planning but we can do it! To serve the curd we had pound cake, filo shells, fresh strawberries and fresh blueberries. Good stuff! 

I had 3 groups making the curd, one group slicing pound cake and getting plates prepped. This group needed more to do and were excited to take pictures so I handed over my camera and they went crazy. I try and stay relaxed and calm even when I hear " I didn't break the camera, I didn't break the camera, hey, I really didn't break the camera."

So here we are:

Thursday was the first meeting of the new semester of The Autrey Mill middle school cooking club. We have 27 students again this semester from grades 6, 7 and 8. The first meeting I try to have a pretty simple recipe since we only have an hour and we do have to talk about what the kids want to do in cooking club. 

Thursday I decided broccoli soup would be good. Broccoli is plentiful and delicious now, soup is good for winter, everyone usually likes soup. 

We had a crowd in the science room and they made soup, ate soup and crackers and enjoyed the soup. No comments about not liking broccoli, the only question was "can we have seconds". Of course! 

I cooked with kids again yesterday at The Cook's Warehouse in Decatur. There were only 8 students yesterday but we had a pretty full menu to make. We made Broccoli Soup, Artichoke and Spinach Bread, Stuffed Acorn Squash and Butternut Squash Pie with Gingersnap Crust. 

I asked various kids what they liked the best and they all replied "it was all awesome". High praise from ages 10 to about 14. One girl asked why the class was called Seasonal Cooking and I explained that broccoli was available in Georgia now along with the various kinds of squash. She thought about that for a minute and then said "are there different foods available in the summer, spring and fall seasons?".

I never thought about seasonal cooking and ingredients not being a concept that was familiar. And if you think about it, it makes sense that people might not be aware. Look at the store, things are available always. They don't always have flavor but if that's what you think is normal, you might not know better. So I'll keep teaching and keep trying to use things in season. 

If you are looking forward to the Superbowl this winter season, you might want to try the bread. Everyone agreed it is awesome.

Artichoke and Spinach Bread adapted from The Kitchen Link

1 pound loaf of frozen bread dough, thawed

10 ounces frozen spinach, thawed and drained

1 cup Mozzarella cheese

6 ounces cream cheese, softened

1 clove garlic, chopped

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

6 ounce jar of marinated artichoke hearts, drained and chopped

olive oil to drizzle

1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Roll out dough to make a 9x13 inch rectangle. Drizzle with a little olive oil.
3. In a large bowl, combine spinach, cheeses, garlic and artichoke hearts. Add breadcrumbs and enough olive oil to make spreadable. Blend well.
4. Spread on the dough. Do not spread too close to the edges. Fold over to make a square, seal edges. 
5. Place seam side down on a parchment covered pan. Tuck ends under. Allow to rise for 30 minutes. 
6. Drizzle with a little olive oil. Bake until golden, about 25 minutes. Allow to stand 10 minutes before cutting.

On Tuesday evening I taught a class at the Toco HIlls Library. This was a second visit for me, I was invited two years ago to present a program. I love to be asked back. This year the class was Gifts from the Kitchen. Of course there are no pictures because I was by myself and did 4 recipes in one hour. Lots going on.

I demonstrated Cookie Dough Truffles, Pistachio Cranberry Bark, Decadent Cookie Bars and Caramel Sauce. Since the group wanted to also eat the items that I made, the class went over time about 10 minutes. No one complained though.

Yesterday evening was a field trip with the Autrey Mill Cooking Club. Mrs. Purwin contacted the Publix cooking school and set up a cooking class for the group. We were all excited about cooking with real kitchen appliances in a kitchen. I was just a chaperone and only watched the kids cooked. Eighteen of the club members came and made Balsamic Grilled Vegetables, Stuffed Chicken, Rice Pilaf and Strawberry Blueberry Tarts. They did a great job and enjoyed the meal.

Our regular monthly cooking club meeting is this afternoon. Since we cooked yesterday we're doing something different today. I invited a guest, Nan McCulloch who is a food stylist. We're going to make fake ice cream, learn some tricks and have some fun as always. This is the last meeting of the semester. 

Of course we'll still need a snack since it's after school, so I baked cookies this morning. Chocolate chip with oatmeal. And used the new addition to the family. No, not a cat. A new, 7 quart, KitchenAid mixer in Candy Apple Red.

Eight dozen large cookies in a snap! 

The buses start coming around 3:15 and it's a good idea to get into the parking lot before the buses all arrive. It's also good to be safely in the science room before the bell rings for dismissal of 1100 students at 4:05.

We vote in the club and decide what sounds good for each meeting. Last month the majority of students thought Asian sounded good. We had 20 students today, 3 teacher helpers, 1 mom helper and the science teacher (it's his room). 

We made chicken bundles, a vegetarian pasta dish and three kinds of roll ups - shrimp, chicken and tempeh. Everyone could eat something. 

This is the fastest hour ever. I arrive, the kids arrive, Maria takes attendance, we cook and eat. This seems to take seconds but a look at the clock shows it's been an hour. 

I have so much fun and love to hear  "Let's put the shrimp on the blue tray, the tempeh on the green and the chicken on the pink." and "I'm not sure what I like better, shrimp or tempeh".

 "I don't like carrots, but I'll try the pasta salad", "Can I take pasta salad home, I don't want it to be left". 

We have fun, we learn, we taste new things. What could be better?

Once in Cambridge for the conference, we went on the tour of the North End. Then I got immersed in the conference. 

The general session on Sunday morning featured an interview of Barbara Haber who brought "books and cooks to the Schlesinger Library" according to the Harvard Gazette in 2003. She talked about how women's history could be studied using cookbooks to see what was being cooked, what the trends were, why some recipes were created. A fascinating talk that was a good kickoff. 

After that I went to Cheese, Glorious Cheese where I learned about cheese, pairing it with food, pairing it with drinks, and having a good time while learning. Of course there was tasting too.  

After my cheese class I went over to the vendor fair and talked with the sponsors, had lunch and met up with old friends and new.  The Idaho Potato Commission was there. 

Cabot Cheese, Vermont Butter and Cheese Creamery and Roland Foods were there.

My friends Laurey and Ellie with Laurey's Honey Lemonade. Delicious!

And local oyster farmers.

On Sunday in addition to attending classes, I was the presenter for a class to let others know how to get involved with Chefs Move to Schools.  I was on a panel with Monica Thomas, Annmarie Chelius and her daughter Victoria. There was a lot of interest and energy from the attendees. 

Of course there was a reception and awards gala Sunday night. Of course it was wonderful and delicious.  And fun!

Monday morning the general session was about story telling with Lydia Shire, Susan Samson, Barbara Lynch. Fascinating! I then went to a class about New England Seafood, learned about the history, the sustainability, and yes had a taste. And conference was over for another year. Next year Chicago!

We left Cambridge Tuesday morning headed to Doyleston, PA and the Moravian Tile works.  We toured the home and now museum of Henry Chapman Mercer. He built a concrete castle and decorated it with his tiles. It is so interesting and there is so much to see. 

While at the castle we learned about the tool museum Henry had also created so decided to stay and see that the next day. All I can say is go.  Tools are arranged by use - glass blowing, medicine, woodworking, cooking, fishing, etc. It is huge and there are items (tools) hanging in the common area - a conestoga wagon, a sleigh, a stagecoach, cider presses, so much more. 

Some of my favorite tools:

And a tile.

And we got home Thursday for dinner.  Angel hair with meat sauce from the freezer. Now it's back to the real world and back to work. I'm ready though. I had a great vacation!

This year we had 40 kids sign up for club and this semester have 27. We'll get the others in next semester.  We do have some students from last year that signed up again this year. I love that some kids returned.

We cook and we eat and of course that's great.  Cooking club does so much more though.  

The teachers pointed out that all grades were interacting with each other.  No one cared who was in 6th grade or 7th grade or 8th grade.  We all like to cook. Also we have some vegetarians, some who eat kosher, some who only eat whipped cream but we are all learning about each other. 

Students shared knowledge. Everyone could not make crepes at once. We took turns and the ones that started showed the others how to do it. They showed them how with consideration and caring. Some groups made fillings, some made whipped cream and then walked through the process with the rest of the group. 

We did math after school. Some of the recipes needed to be doubled. We did science. We needed to cool the peach filling quickly using an ice bath. We learn time management and organization. We have 1 hour for club and we can't fill crepes if either crepes or filling are not done.

We learn respect for other's property. We are guests in the science room so we need to make sure to leave it clean and neat. We all work together to do that. 

Think about getting involved with kids. It's so much fun and they aren't the only ones learning.  

A few things are the same - Mrs. Purwin, Mrs. Chereck, Mrs. Keurer, the science room for meeting.  A few things are different - the French teacher is joining us, the science teacher is new but happy to loan his room, there is a new principal.  

We also have some of the same kids and lots of new.  We had 40 students sign up for club so Mrs Purwin held another lottery.  We feel 25 is a good number of students for the club.  We'll do two sessions of camp again so we can let everyone experience club.

I chose an easy recipe for the first meeting so we could talk about future meetings and also eat.  The students are pretty hungry at 4:00.  They've had a long day at school. 

I brought one burner and we have an induction burner donated by All Clad to The Chefs Move to Schools program.  I brought pots, pans, groceries and we started.  Some of the kids made the salsa.

While I talked with the students we started cooking.  I had students saute and stir while we met.  Love our burners! 

So, Border Pork Roll-ups for 30.  Coming right up! Here is the recipe for 4 servings.

Border Pork Roll-ups adapted from Pillsbury Fast and Healthy

• 8 ounces crushed pineapple
• 3/4 cup salsa
• 1 pound pork tenderloin, trimmed
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
• 1 medium onion, sliced
• 1 green bell pepper, sliced in strips
• 4 flour tortillas, 6 inch

1. In a small bowl, combine pineapple and salsa, mix well, set aside. 
2. Cut pork in half lengthwise and cut into 1/2 inch thick slices.
3. In a medium bowl combine the brown sugar, chili powder, and vinegar. Mix well. Add pork, toss to coat.  Let stand at room temperature 15 minutes to marinate.
4. Spray large nonstick skillet with cooking spray.  Heat over medium high heat until hot.  Add pork mixture, cook and stir 3 minutes. 
5. Add onion and pepper, cook and stir 2 to 4 minutes until pork is cooked and vegetables are soft.
6. Roll in tortilla, top with salsa.