Professor Lonnie Gamble | ArtisanFoodSlowFood / Jonathans Blog

Back to School: Parents Should Focus on School Lunches

by Lucas Shivers

Healthy food may be the last subject on students' minds by the time lunch arrives. With the demands of school, lunch can sometimes be a matter of grabbing anything edible.

But students require much more, said Sandy Procter, a Kansas State University Research and Extension nutrition educator and registered dietitian. "Lunch is an important part of the day and makes a difference," Procter said. The midday meal typically provides a third or more of the total daily calorie intake for children, she said. Nutrients must also be incorporated into the combination to satisfy requirements.

Procter said packed lunches rarely give the balance of a meal provided by school.

"It is too bad for the kids who do not get a variety, too bad for parents who have to worry about packing it and too bad for schools who count on their numbers," she said.

To help parents gain the full experience of a school lunch, Procter recommends sitting down in the cafeteria for an occasional meal.

"Eat lunch with your kids at school," she said. "Most places will encourage parents coming in for a meal. They can learn to see why things are the way they are. It shines a positive light on food service."

Going through a lunch time first hand allows parents to determine the objectivity of the comments volleyed around school lunches.

"Most of the complaints from kids are not on menu items themselves, but rather the methods of preparation and choices available," Procter said.

"Parents can become informed without being confrontational."

Through the years, many improvements have been made in school lunch programs. "Active, involved people have taken a look at many issues to find ways to do things better," she said. "There are all sorts of cases where a single person has initiated changes - whether the issue has been lowering fat in menus or offering more fresh fruit each day."

Procter encourages parents to find a connection where they can get involved. "We can educate ourselves about the full scope of the situation and hear from the folks working in the system," she said. "Everyone benefits when parents play an active role. Many people work hard to offer nutritional foods to students. It is important for parents to pay some attention to the issue." Most schools print menus each month or week to give students an opportunity to prepare for meals.

"This gives parents a chance to talk with their child to plan ahead of time and talk about alternatives and options," Procter said.

As students grow, schools offer more freedom and choices in their lunchtime meals.

"Early actions set the stage for choices to become ingrained into habits," Procter said. "They will continue even out of school."

http://www.culinary.net/articlesfeatures/nutritionhealth/focusschoollunches.html

I thought a lot of what Lucas Shivers said was right on. However, the points about how th parents should eat with the kids sometimes in the cafeteria is totally absurd. Your average public school cafeteria environment is not conducive to having the parents and the children eat together. Also how many working class parents have the time to come in and eat with there children.

It would be great but most dont have the time nor the desire. I remember my schools lunch and it was a joke. It was the most disgusting crap you could imagine. Dont get me wrong i do think parents can and should be involved. But saying that they eat with them in order to do so is ridiculous. Most Students idea of a cafateria is not a haven for good food, its a haven for bad food and socializing. Bottom line is we need education in the schools about what they are eating and a cafeteria that mirrors that education.

Letter To The Editor-

Teacher Magazine

I decided to read a few of the articles from a magazine called "Teacher Magazine." Many of the articles were about curriculum and the school environment.

Dear Editor,

We all know that finding fun and educational ways for students to learn is no easy feat. In today�s world of faster internet and faster everything it is hard to keep the students attention locked into one thing at a time.

Incorporating a class on slow food is a great way to keep the students attention on a broad variety of subjects with the basis being on food. Now, I know you might be thinking ,�how is talking about slow food going to incorporate history, economics politics etc. into the students daily curriculum.�

In the study of slow food we find a myriad array of subjects all intertwined. By studying slow food the students will not only get education on the different perspectives of food but also how food impacts society and culture as a whole. This is where we find politics, economics and history etc. starting to surface. A lot can be learned about a culture by how they make and process food. Also we can see how food production has brought many cultures together both economically and politically, like the east in earlier times trading spices to Europe.

All in all a course on slow food would help to solve the problem of short attention spans as well as help students become healthier and happier.

Sincerely, Jonathan Clifford

Field Trip Review

The trip to the creamery was very good. I enjoyed the fact that I was able to see a contrast to radiance dairy, and to be honest, radiance dairy was much better. I did not like the fact that they shipped their milk to Wisconsin and then back again to surrounding areas. But overall it was good to see a company that enjoyed and appreciated high quality milk and the production of it.

Next we went to the hen house and that was a little surprising. The stench that radiated from inside those walls was very impressive. I don�t know if I could work in an environment like that and it looked like a normal factory line of people do one monotonous job after another.

The orchard was great. I would love to be able to look out on an orchard like that from my house, the view was incredible. I also enjoyed the couple that ran it. They enjoyable to be with and extremely hospitable. Oh I almost forgot the co-op. that was great I liked the woman who gave us the tour and the selection of food was awesome. And I know were not supposed to say this but the beer selection that I walked through was awesome. It was also great to see that they had their own sourdough starters too.

Book Report

I read a Culinary Journey Through Gascony, by Kate Hill.

The book told the story of a woman who was from California but ended up moving to Europe in order to buy a canal boat to become fully enveloped by all France had to offer; mainly southern France. Her main interests were in the culinary aspect of France. I found so many correlations between what she learned in those 16 years with what i have learned during the duration of this course. A few of the most prevalent ones had to do with eating by the seasons. As she was winding down the canals learning about the food and culture she learned to eat with the seasons. That is when the food is best, obviously. Another point was in the enjoyment of the process of buying the food from local organic growers as well preparing it and serving it. Her experience taught her the experience of food. What i mean by that is the true experience cooking and eating and even gathering food that is good, clean and fair. Now Kate Hill has a restaurant on her ship, the Julia Hoyt, and shares her knowledge of food and culture to anyone who steps on her deck. Her experience enabled her to share all that she learned around a table with friends, family and even strangers while feasting on food that is good, clean and fair.

Entrees

Going to the market is always an adventure and a chance to modify my plans for the day's menu, usually in the form of an entree, the first course. In France, an entree is a starter, a beginning or an entrance to the meal, not the main course. Restaurants use this first course to highlight the cre�ative talents of the chef and turn simple ingredients into culinary fantasies. A single elegant morsel or an abundant platter can serve as the beginning of a meal. This is a great time to showcase a sea�sonal vegetable like asparagus, to be eaten alone, wonderfully pre�sented with no distractions. Or a whole platter of tomatoes with shallots and vinegar that will pass around the table twice. A heap of grated beets with walnuts and dressing, trays of classic crudites, a tourte (covered pastry shell) with leeks and mushrooms, a tomato tart with a mustard-painted crust, little wild mushroom pies in autumn or spring, artichokes sauteed or stuffed, or zucchini sliced, toasted, and served with a dip. This is also the time to present something special like a terrine of foie gras served with oven-roasted coun�try bread, crayfish swimming in Armagnac sauce, spiced sausage stuffed in egg�plant, or escargots in the Southwest style with red wine, mushrooms, and ham. In formal dinners there are often several entrees served in succession or all at once. It is traditional in the Gascon countryside to have at least two cooked meats in a meal. In my long village, I learned that serving only one course for a meal is a lesson in poverty. If all you can offer is the makings for a vegetable stew, then reserve the carrots and make a golden soup to whet the appetite of the diner and broil the tomatoes with herbs to serve separately instead of letting them melt and disappear into the stew. Our eating habits in the United States are spare com�pared to festive French menus and rustic farmhouse fare.

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1. Preheat oven to 400�F (200�C). 2. Slice the top off each tomato and set aside. Scoop a well from the center of the fruit using a tablespoon. Leave enough meat (about 3/4 inch; 2 cm) around the skin so that the tomato holds together. Sprinkle with salt and turn upside down. 3. In a bowl, combine the sausage meat, shallots, garlic, and parsley. 4. Break up the bread in a little bowl and wet with enough milk so that you can squeeze the pieces like a sponge and the damp mixture holds together easily. Squeeze out excess milk if need be and discard. 5. Beat the egg into the bread mixture and add salt and pepper generously. Season the bread mixture with herbs as desired. 6. Combine the bread mixture with the sausage meat. 7. Stuff the tomatoes with the mixture. 8. Place the tomatoes in a casserole dish that has been brushed with the oil. Replace the tomato lids with the help of a toothpick and bake for 30 to 40 minutes.

Crepes de Courgettes

Serves 4

ZUCCHINI CREPES I n the middle of summer when French gardens are overflowing their neatly trimmed borders, I am always offered a panier of tomatoes, a sac of sweet peas, or a boite of young tender zucchini. Picked when small, courgettes have a sweetness that is easily masked and too often cooked out. This simple recipe allows the flavor of the zucchini to perfume the crepe batter and shows off their slightly firm texture. As a companion to a fan of sliced duck breasts or to a slice of grilled ham served with shallots and vinegar, these green-speckled crepes are at their best served hot and dusted with a couple of grinds of fresh pepper.

4 small zucchini (courgettes), coarsely grated (including skin) i/4 cup (1^/4 oz/35 g) all-purpose flour 2 eggs 1 tablespoon oil 1/4 teaspoon salt freshly ground pepper 1. Squeeze out some of the excess mois� ture by placing the grated zucchini (courgettes) in a few paper towels. Roll up the towels and press until most of the moisture is absorbed. 2. In a medium bowl, combine the flour and eggs. Beat furiously with a wooden spoon until you have a thick, smooth paste. Beat in the oil and salt. Stir in the grated zucchini until all is mixed together well and the zucchini is coated with the batter mixture. 3. Heat a heavy-bottomed skillet or griddle over medium-high heat and brush with a light coat of oil to keep the crepes from sticking. Drop large spoonfuls of the batter on the griddle and cook until lightly browned, then turn and brown the other side. 4. Remove the crepes as they are done to a warm platter and keep them hot in a warm oven until ready to serve. Sprinkle them with freshly ground pepper before serving.

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Day five: Damazan, Vianne, and Buzet

Lapin aux Pruneaux d'Agen

Serves 4

RABBIT COOKED WITH PRUNES OF AGEN

 remember my first Easter in Gascony and the first stay at the port in Agen with the/u//a Hoyt. I was preparing to offer a special Sunday dinner meal for my bargemates, a sort of culinary joke�an Easter rabbit dinner. The joke was on me as well, since I had never pre�pared rabbit before. I walked from the old port to the marche convert (the covered market) and screwed up my courage to buy a fresh rabbit from the poultry stall. There among the chickens, turkeys, guinea hens, and quail were whole rabbits, half rabbits, and rabbit pieces already skinned, cleaned, and ready to cook. But how? f put my purchase in my bas�ket and looked around for a wise soul. There, behind a counter heaped with carrots, celery, parsley, lettuces, and other vegetables, was someone's kindly grandmother, sorting through the wooden boxes of mushrooms.

"Excusez-moi, Madame .. . "I fished in my basket, hauled up the rabbit by the legs and asked in my very limited French, "How would you prepare this for dinner?" Without

so much as a smile at my very foreign accent, she flew around the counter and started to list the ingredients as she popped them one at a time into a paper bag. "Two small onions, a handful of shallots, a few car�rots ..." Plop, plop, plop, into the bag. A small bunch of thyme, two stalks of celery, and some parsley. A small sack of prunes from the wooden dry�ing rack were placed in my basket. Then, grabbing my hand, she led me across the market floor to the wine merchant and requested from him a half bottle of modest white wine. When he placed a small square plastic bottle the size of a soft drink on the counter and said "Deux francs et soixante-quinze centimes" (the equiva�lent of 50 cents or so), f began to protest that I could certainly afford a full bottle (and a better one at that!). Madame the Greengrocer looked me square in the eye and said, "ft's for

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