Cyber Week 2013 is Here!

It seems like just a few days ago I was planning and creating all the Christmas soapy creations for 2013 and now it is December 1 and Cyber Monday is tomorrow!  YIKES!!!!

New School Cuisine

The time leading up to Christmas seems to have escaped me rapidly as this fall has been a busy one for me, personally.  Over a year ago I was asked to be a participant and contributor of recipes for a cookbook.  As you may or may not know, I am a School Food Service Manager for a K-12 school in rural Vermont.  The cookbook project came about as a partnership between Green Mountain Healthy Kids Challenge, Vermont FEED, School Nutrition Association of Vermont, and the Child Nutrition Team at the Vermont Agency of Education.  Years in the making, when faced with the new USDA meal patterns last school year, it was time to get busy and bring the dream into reality.  Many of the USDA recipes no longer met the new requirement for 50% whole grain rich and/or vegetable subgroup requirements.  What is available in California isn't necessarily available to those of us in rural Vermont.   Using raw ingredients including a lot of local products, fourteen School Food Service professionals (myself included) wrote recipes that were tested on their respective students before submitting them to the project.

I discovered very quickly that my recipes, although easy for me to understand the steps and processes, are not so easily translated to the next person. There is a real art in presenting a standardized recipe to gain uniform results across the board.  Equipment I might have may not be available in smaller schools, and larger schools most likely have more modern equipment to make the cooking process more efficient.  To pull it off, we utilized professional recipe writers for Eating Well magazine, Instructors and students from New England Culinary Institute (NECI), professional food stylists, and nutrition experts.  Each one of us involved donated countless hours to this project above and beyond our normal work load to test, give input, and more.  Thank goodness for those professional recipe writers to pull it all together for us.   In late October I received my copy of the finished cookbook prior to it becoming available publicly.  You can view a digital copy from this page (scroll down to the red box to access).

The very day I received my copy of the cookbook, I also accepted the nomination and was unanimously voted in to serve a two year term on the Executive Board for School Nutrition Association of Vermont.  I have been a member of this association for a number of years, but had no clue the complexities and amount of "behind the scenes" work they accomplish for the benefit of all school food service professionals and children  in our state and nationally.  As a result, needless to say, my time leading up until now has been jam packed with commitments for my full-time job.  :)

Back to School with a Freezer Full of Local Produce

It's that time of year where preparations are well underway for the new school year. No backpacks, notebooks, crayons and pencils for this chick! Managing a Food Service program for a school is a never ending job well after the students leave for the summer and before students return in the fall.

I feel privileged to be among the leaders in this country that are making positive changes for their students that participate in the National School Lunch program. Many Vermont schools are already cooking healthier. Prepared spaghetti sauce from a can? Not in my school kitchen ~ scratch cooking is the thing to do! Not only is it cheaper, but it is healthier for the kids. No concerns over sodium laden sauces, added sugars, dyes, preservatives, etc.

A culmination of planning and efforts between myself, farmers and interested community members is now reality. This year I am extremely excited that we are taking some of the scratch cooking back to the roots and closer to the vines where food grows. Farmers and interested families within the school community have agreed to "grow a row" for the school.
Produce Processing Parties have been planned where volunteers will (under my direction) assist with the washing, peeling, chopping, blanching and freezing the bounty of local produce. Students will enjoy that bounty over the course of the upcoming school year....corn, beans, tomatoes, peppers, onions, squash, root veggies, and more. None of this would be possible without the generosity from within the community and the passion I hold for true cooking from scratch.

Last spring the 3rd grade class planted some heirloom tomatoes along an old flower bed behind the school. Students enrolled in summer programs have been maintaining the garden over the summer. How exciting it will be to have students pick the tomatoes in the morning that will be served on the salad bar for lunch!

Tough Buzzard Not Open for Any New Ladder Tricks

The fog in my head is subsiding, I am able to focus a bit clearer and the headache is beginning to subside...unless I'm getting used to the pain. The stitches on my head are beginning to drive me batty but my kids will tell you I was already batty, so...

Thankfully there are no broken or fractured bones to speak of. I've been told my bone density is excellent for my age, which is reassuring. Or perhaps that means I'm just a tough buzzard? The pain in my hip persists and I'm looking at physical therapy but I've chosen to at least hold off until the stitches are removed on Monday(hoping the pain will let up).

Did I mention there won't be any more WWE ladder tricks for this chick? If I can't reach it from the floor, it ain't gonna be reached! And that doesn't lend much distance considering I'm 5' 2"! Someone taller and/or much braver than I can do the ladder tricks.

Fortunately I was able to bring paperwork home to make final preparations for the new school year. Much quieter at home, less distractions, anyway. The Intenet is a wonderful tool linking home to work in a matter of a few clicks. Amazing!

The menu planning for the first month of school took longer than normal as more of the 2005 dietary guidelines are implemented and taken into consideration ~ lower fat, sodium, sugar and higher consumption of fresh fruits, veggies and whole grains AND targeting specific nutrients and vitamins to ensure they are being served the appropriate number of times per week. I spent two days earlier last week in training classes to help create this menu. This menu will be compared to the menu I had planned for September 2007 to see how well I have "changed" my menu planning techniques. More time and thought was put into this menu plan but now that it is finished I will be able to copy and paste (for the most part) and eventually put these daily items into a "cycle" menu in a creative way so it doesn't appear to be as such.

I Will Never Bake the Same....

I had the pleasure of baking alongside the most interesting lady today. Her name is Susan Miller, and she is in charge of the Baking School at King Arthur Flour. I learned so much valuable information about baking with whole wheat flour and whole grains. Good bye hockey pucks and door stop wheat breads, and hello tender and fluffy wheat breads. I'm kinda short on time today but I promise I'll blog about the experience in more detail with tips I took away from the experience. Today's class has inspired me to experiment and bake with whole wheat flour and whole grains with renewed techniques and interest.

30 Recipes ~ 2 1/2 Day - Part 3

This is the last of the highlights from the Healthy Cuisine For Kids Class. If you missed Part 1 & 2 - You can find Veggies here and Meats here.


Asian Sesame Noodle Salad made with whole grain pasta. This one had some kick to it...I think there was a bit of measuring issues with the red pepper flakes, actually.



This dough is amazing. It is a yeast dough that is thick and pourable. It can be used to make pizza crust, or baked into focaccia bread. This one was made with half whole wheat flour, with herbs and garlic granules added to the dough and topped with olive oil and low fat mozzarella cheese. It is so delish that I make this one at home.



Tabouleh salad is my favorite! The flavor combination is fabulous! I find this does not go over well with the majority of students at my school when offered as a choice with the main meal, but it is a huge hit with my vegetarian eaters who frequent the salad bar.



These whole wheat sugar cookies are the bomb! The wheat flour lends a nutty flavor and if you get the right type of wheat flour where you find bits of the grain you can deceive everyone to think there are nuts in the cookies. I'm not a fan of nutmeg, but I can tolerate it in these cookies.

FYI - The Culinary Institute of America writes, reviews, and updates the recipes that the USDA gives all schools as standardized recipes. All of the recipes I have featured between the three blog posts are available to every school that participates in the National School Lunch Program.

30 Recipes ~ 2 1/2 Day - Part 2

More Highlights from the Healthy Cuisine For Kids Class. If you missed Part 1 - Veggies - you can find it here.

Chicken Salad

Beef Stirfry

Taco Bake (made with ground turkey)

Breads and Grains will be next, so keep watching for those delicious treats! OH...and my Birthday is coming right up so I feel another blog contest coming on.....

30 Recipes ~ 2 1/2 Days - Part 1

Some food highlights from the Healthy Cuisine For Kids class this past week. Veggie Wraps
Broccoli Salad (made with lowfat mayo)
Veggie Lasagna (with fresh garden salad)