4/5 Edible Social Studies: Week 10

For the final lesson of our climate change unit, we watched a short film from the Center for Food Safety called Soil Solutions to Climate Problems narrated by local journalist Michael Pollan. The film reminds us that healthy soil, which we create when we plant more trees and compost, acts as a carbon sink that absorbs carbon from the atmosphere.

In the kitchen classroom we celebrated healthy soil with edible “soil cups” featuring chocolate chia pudding, persimmons, pomegranates, a layer of “compost” made from crushed chocolate cream cookies, edible flowers, and candied citrus peel “worms.” It’s been an incredible six years of Edible Social Studies with some of the fifth grade chefs, who started our program during the Covid pandemic eating together out of takeout boxes on the grass at Eureka Valley Rec Center in 2021. Thank you for trying so many new things and strengthening our community along the way. See you back in the kitchen next year, fourth graders!

TK Edible Social Studies: Month 3

For the month of November, the TK chefs celebrated persimmons, which are famously ripe in the autumn. In the classroom we passed around Fuyu and Hachiya persimmons and observed their shape, color, texture, and aroma. And of course we sang a silly song about persimmons, too (to the tune of Row, Row, Row Your Boat):

Persimmons, persimmons, crunchy or soft; Autumn in a bite.

Chocolate, Fuyu, Hachiya, fill us with delight!

In the kitchen classroom, which was indoors this month due to rainy weather, we practiced slicing Fuyu persimmons and Shinko Asian pears with our wavy knives. Tossed into a colorful salad with kohlrabi, orange juice, crispy chickpeas, and extra-virgin olive oil, the fruit added to a salad that delivered many interesting textures and flavors.

4/5 Edible Social Studies: Week 9

In the classroom this week we watched a Business Insider video about how local company Recology transforms the food waste in San Francisco’s green bins into a soil amendment it then sells to farmers. The fourth and fifth grade chefs learned that San Francisco was the first city in the United States to mandate composting and that Recology’s process now takes about 60 days from collected food scraps to finished compost. The video was a good preview of our upcoming field trip to the Recology transfer station, where we will get up close and personal with our city’s trash, recycling, and food waste!

In the kitchen we made another recipe meant to be flexible enough to turn a wide range of leftover fruits and vegetables into a tasty meal. Students peeled carrots, snipped red cabbage, shredded curly kale, grated potatoes, minced herbs (from our school garden!), and whisked eggs to make a simple savory pancake batter that they then pan fried. We served the vegetable pancakes with a sprinkling of flaky salt and a squeeze of lemon for a surprisingly popular vegetable-forward treat.

4/5 Edible Social Studies: Week 8

In the classroom this week, we learned some surprising statistics about food waste and watched a video about where in the food system food gets wasted and what we can do about it. We discussed cultural and psychological barriers to wasting less food such as consumers not wanting to purchase blemished or oddly-shaped produce or responding only to the illusion of abundance at the grocery store, which forces stores to overbuy products they won’t be able to sell. The fourth and fifth graders learned that both our refrigerators and our plates have grown in size over the last few decades, which often tricks us into buying or ordering more food than we can eat. Food that gets thrown into the landfill produces methane, which contributes to climate change, and all the energy that went into producing food that doesn’t get eaten goes to waste as well.

In the kitchen, we revisited a popular recipe from our first grade Everybody Cooks Rice curriculum because it’s a wonderful way to use up leftover fruit, vegetables, protein, and/or noodles. Wrapped in edible rice paper and paired with a dipping sauce, leftovers transform into a fun meal as salad rolls, especially when they’re made together in community!

4/5 Edible Social Studies: Week 7

In the classroom this week, we shifted our focus from what humans eat to what livestock eat. Beef and dairy cows are largely raised in a system that produces dangerous levels of greenhouse gas emissions. We watched a video from Vox about research out of UC Davis that showed how shifting what we feed to cows—in particular, adding red seaweed from the Asparagopsis genus to their diet—can significantly reduce the methane cows produce when they burp.

In the kitchen, we cooked with a red seaweed called dulse (from the genus Palmaria) to see what how we would find the flavor and texture when it’s added to our food! The fourth and fifth grade chefs added three different kinds of seaweed to soba noodles; made a simple Japanese-style dressing of rice wine vinegar, soy, ginger, toasted sesame oil, sugar, and lime juice; and thinly sliced carrots, purple daikon, and green onion. We didn’t measure any post-meal burps, but many of the chefs had seconds and thirds and were generally happy to consume the seaweed, just like the research subjects in the UC Davis study.

4/5 Edible Social Studies: Week 6

In the classroom this week we watched an animated video from Vox about the carbon cycle and the role human beings have played in disrupting it. We saw how animal and plant life dies and can eventually turn into fossil fuels, how humans have dug up carbon that used to be stored in the ground, and how humans are trying to reduce the enormous amount of carbon now in the atmosphere.

In the spirit of putting less carbon into the environment to begin with, we made a vegan low-carbon dish with roots in Morocco. Couscous with seven vegetables is traditionally enjoyed at Rosh Hashanah. Many students were surprised to learn that couscous is basically a pasta and that it cooks in just five minutes. This recipe showcased the fourth and fifth graders’ skill in the kitchen - they chopped, peeled, and minced like pros.

For our closing circle, we went around and shared which ingredient in the dish each chef felt was the luckiest.

TK Edible Social Studies: Month 2

For the month of October, the TK chefs explored all things squash. We learned about five varieties of winter squash, all with hard peels that sound like wood when you knock on them: acorn, butternut, red kabocha, koginut (a hybrid of kabocha and butternut), and sugar pie pumpkin.

In the classroom we sang a silly song about our harvest of the month (to the tune of Row, Row, Row Your Boat):

Squash, squash, the colors of fall, Every shape and size. Acorn, butternut, kabocha, pumpkin: A party for our eyes!

In the kitchen we made a salad with the roasted squash, black lentils, and native-to-North-America ingredients such as cranberries, pumpkin seeds, and maple syrup. We are proud of all the students and hope everyone had the opportunity to try something new in class!

4/5 Edible Social Studies: Week 5

This week we explored plant-based meat created by scientists and backed by venture funding. In the kitchen classroom, we watched an ad for the latest product from California-based company Beyond Meat, Beyond IV. Students noticed the high-quality visuals, the arresting orchestral and choral music, and the naming of the product like a new iPhone release, but felt the video didn’t give much information about how the meat is made or how its adoption would actually impact the environment. We read the ingredients of Beyond IV and agreed that most of the ingredients were things we had heard of as food (e.g. water, pea, avocado, brown rice, red lentil, fava bean, apple, pomegranate, vinegar, beet).

In the kitchen we made Beyond sliders with pretzel buns and a seasonal side salad. The burger meat had a paler color than beef and smelled like tuna, even though it does not contain fish. After the meat was seared in a skillet and encased in a toasted bun with condiments, lettuce, tomato, and red onion, many fourth and fifth grade chefs enjoyed the taste and said they would choose a Beyond burger-type product at least some of the time over a beef burger!

4/5 Edible Social Studies: Week 4

In the classroom this week we watched a TED-Ed video about plant-based meats and their impact on our health and the environment. Some plant-based meats, such as products from Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat, are made in labs; others, like our recipe for coconut bacon this week, can be prepared by any home chef. The research is clear that food from plants uses less land and water and emits less pollution than food from animals, but large structural barriers remain to change our diets en masse.

In the kitchen we made a Cobb salad but replaced the traditional bacon with coconut bacon, a recipe that includes ingredients to deliver a similar smoky, savory, fatty, and sweet experience. The fourth and fifth grade chefs demonstrated their comfort and skill with a variety of kitchen tools. The end result was both stunning visually and tasty. In our closing circle, students shared what they would add if they made this salad again. Cheese, nuts, cucumbers, and croutons were popular responses.

4/5 Edible Social Studies: Week 3

In the classroom this week we watched a short video from the BBC about the magic of beans. Last week we turned garbanzo beans into a parsley hummus. This week we worked with pinto beans, making a refried recipe with loads of flavor from cumin, chipotle, and epazote, a Mexican herb that contains compounds that help humans digest fiber-rich foods like beans and make us less gassy when we eat them.

The fourth and fifth grade chefs worked on their knife skills preparing many garnishes including red onion, radish, avocado, and lime. When the beans reached a good mashed consistency, we enjoyed them with Sabor Mexicano tortilla chips, queso fresco, cilantro, and many customizable options for complementing both the beans’ flavor and heat. Our closing circle question was: “Would you ever substitute beans for beef?”

4/5 Edible Social Studies: Week 2

In the classroom this week, we watched a TED-Ed video about what would happen to our planet if the entire animals-as-food system disappeared with a wave of a magic wand. We discussed the potential impact on cultural traditions, the economy, food costs, and the environment. A lot of resources go into producing food from animals and that includes non-meat products like milk and cheese.

In the kitchen, we learned how to make a simple, satisfying vegan meal that doesn’t have many ingredients and features products that are affordable and easy to find. The fourth and fifth grade chefs made cucumber and carrot coins, cut up locally made Arabic bread, ground za’atar in a mortar and pestle, and transformed chick peas, parsley, garlic, lemon juice, and olive oil into something much more beautiful than the sum of its parts, hummus!

4/5 Edible Social Studies: Week 1

We started our exploration of the food system and climate change this year with a discussion about the power of culture. Scientists have determined that social comparison is the most effective way to get people to change their behavior—more powerful than education or monetary levers such as fines, coupons, or tax credits.

In the classroom we watched a video about local edible insect company Don Bugito, which is bringing back a food tradition that dates back thousands of years as we grapple with changing the way we produce protein in the United States. Don Bugito produces protein using far less land and water and generates far less waste than the production of cows, chickens, and pigs.

In the kitchen we took a pancake recipe from the fourth grade Edible Social Studies curriculum that highlights native plants such as strawberry and acorn and swapped in cricket flour for the acorn. At first, there was a lot of hesitation amongst the chefs to eat insects, but once the pancakes were beautifully browned and drizzled with maple syrup, they were very popular! Students also had the opportunity to try other treats from Don Bugito: toasted mealworms, chocolate covered crickets with amaranth, and coconut brittle “bugitos.” Seeing our friends around the table trying something different made it easier for all of us to experiment with a new way of cooking and eating.

TK Edible Social Studies: Month 1

Our first salad of the year celebrated the waning weeks of summer and all things melon. In the classroom we learned the names of five varieties of melon: black watermelon, Charentais, Goddess, Sharlyn, and Ha’Ogen. We passed around the Sharlyn melon to experience its aroma and we wondered what color each of the melons would be when we cut them open.

We sang a silly song about melons to the tune of Row, Row, Row Your Boat:

Melon, melon, you’re so sweet, Full of vitamin C! Green and yellow, orange and red, Makes our bellies happy.

In the kitchen, we discovered a rainbow of melon and got to work using our crinkle cutters to cut melon wedges into bite-sized pieces. We dressed the salad with fresh lime juice and zest and mint ribbons, which made for a refreshing treat on a warm, sunny afternoon. Happy melon season!

1st Grade Edible Social Studies: Field Trip

For the culminating field trip of our Everybody Cooks Rice Unit the first grade chefs took MUNI to Hayes Valley and visited the Buoy cafe, which makes desserts using Korean rice flour.

The cafe had reserved a long table for all of us and everyone got to try the black sesame brownie and the raspberry roll cake. After our cafe visit, we walked to the Helen Diller Civic Center playground for lunch and free play. What a great rice-filled way to end our time together. Thank you to all the chaperones who helped make it possible. Can’t wait to cook together again next year!

Kindergarten Edible Social Studies: Field Trip

For a culminating celebration of our healthy bodies, healthy communities Edible Social Studies unit this year, the kindergarteners walked from school to the Dearborn Community Garden in the Mission. They were tasked with finding plants to represent all the colors of the rainbow, they tasted some fresh rainbow chard, they spoke with one of the community gardeners who handed out California poppies, and they enjoyed strawberry popsicles on a bright sunny day while hanging out together in urban nature. It was such a fun year - thank you to everyone who made it possible. We can’t wait to see all of our chefs again in first grade next spring.

1st Grade Edible Social Studies: Week 10

For our final class of the year, we read The Mochi Makers by Sharon Fujimoto-Johnson. In the book, a child and her grandmother make the Japanese treat made from pounded glutinous rice.

In the kitchen, we made dango, which is similar to mochi but dango are made from glutinous rice flour, not from the rice itself. We used a special Japanese flour called shiratamako and flavored the dango with matcha powder. Our Japanese sundaes featured vanilla ice cream, sweet adzuki bean, black sesame seeds, kinako (toasted soybean flour), condensed milk, kuromitsu (a Japanese sugar syrup), our homemade dango, and local organic strawberries donated by our friend Lorraine Walker, the farmer at Eatwell Farm in Dixon. It was a sweet and happy ending to a wonderful 10 weeks together.

Kindergarten Edible Social Studies: Week 10

In the classroom this week we read the book Sweet Justice about Georgia Gilmore, a woman who fed the Montgomery bus boycott and changed the world through her food and cooking.

Georgia was famous for her pies, so in the kitchen we made our own chocolate strawberry cream pies featuring beautiful fruit donated by our friend Lorraine Walker at Eatwell Farm in Dixon. Everyone enjoyed slicing strawberries, whipping cream, shaving chocolate, and sharing jokes and laughter around the table for our final lesson. No doubt all of our chefs will grow up to change the world with their cooking someday, too!

1st Grade Edible Social Studies: Week 9

In the classroom this week we read Bowl of A’s: An Italian-American Tale about Italian students in Rome who are having a potluck with their American teacher. Silly misunderstandings ensue when construction noises make it hard for the teacher to hear the names of popular Italian dishes the children will bring.

In the kitchen we made risi e bisi, a Venetian classic featuring short-grain Italian rice and peas. This is a perfect dish to make in the spring, as we used locally grown organic sugar snap peas, shelling peas, and pea shoots. The recipe was popular, and we learned an Italian phrase from the book that came in handy at the end of class: “Tutta buon!”

Kindergarten Edible Social Studies: Week 9

In the classroom this week we read Where We Come From by Diane Wilson, Sun Yung Shin, Shannon Gibney, and John Coy and illustrated by Dion MBD. The authors talk about the stories, cultures, and places that have shaped their identities.

In the kitchen classroom we learned how to make green onion pancakes, a staple of my own family’s Taiwanese American food culture. The kindergarten chefs rolled out a simple dough made of wheat and water, painted the dough with oil, salt, and sliced green onions, then rolled, twisted, and rolled again before frying the pancakes in a hot skillet. Human palates tend to respond to anything greasy and salty, and this recipe was no different. We had a lot of smiles at the end of class!

1st Grade Edible Social Studies: Week 8

In the classroom this week we read Sankofa: A Culinary Story of Resilience and Belonging. The book is about a child named Kofi who learns pride in his Ghanaian American culture through sharing food with his school community.

In the kitchen we made a vegan version of jollof rice, a fragrant West African dish made with tomatoes, chiles, and spices. The first grade chefs made a puree of peppers and tomatoes, then sautéd spices in coconut oil before cooking the rice in the spicy red liquid. While the jollof rice simmered, we made a simple slaw with cabbage, carrots, lemon juice, and mayonnaise, which provides a crunchy, cooling counterpoint to the hot rice.