Mon, 21 May 2012 23:09:27 -0800WeeblyMon, 21 May 2012 18:44:52 -0800http://www.sproutscookingclub.org/1/post/2012/05/veggie-enchiladas-with-salsa-verde-recipe-beach-elementary-ase-cooking-class.html_
Hello Parents!

In our class a few weeks ago we made Zucchini, Black Bean & Corn Enchiladas with a Salsa Verde.  We started the class by all saying “salsa verde” together and talking about how verde means green in Spanish.  I then revealed the exotic tomatillo, a sweet & sour cousin to the tomato that is covered in papery husk like a little green lantern (you can buy them at Berkeley Bowl or Whole Foods).  Each student had fun peeling off the papery skins and rinsing off the sticky fruit beneath. 

To make the Salsa Verde, we layed out the whole tomatillos, chopped onion, garlic cloves, and a jalapeno on a baking sheet and roasted them in the oven.  Then we put it all into a food processor along with cumin, salt, lime juice, and cilantro. 

One group started mashing the avocados for our guacamole, while another group prepped the filling.  But making the enchiladas was where the real fun began.  We dipped the tortillas in the salsa verde, spooned the filling inside, and then rolled them up and placed them in a baking dish.  The kids voted against pouring salsa on top of the enchiladas and inside of them because they were afraid of it being too spicy.  So we sprinkled the tops liberally with shredded cheese and baked them in the oven for 15 minutes.

The kids gobbled up the enchiladas, and some were brave enough to spoon more salsa verde on top or mix it in with their guacamole.  On the way out the door one of the younger girls said, “Today was the best class because I challenged myself by trying the spicy salsa, and I kept trying it, it was fun!”

I hope you enjoy making these enchiladas at home!  You can eliminate the jalapeno in the salsa if your kids have trouble with spicy foods, and shredded chicken is delicious added to the filling as well!

Thanks!

Christy



Zucchini, Black Bean & Corn Enchiladas with Salsa Verde  

Makes 16-20 enchiladas


Salsa Verde 1 pound tomatillos, husked

   and rinsed

1 onion, quartered

4 garlic cloves, peeled

1-2 jalapenos, halved, seeds removed

1 Tbsp olive oil

salt for sprinkling

2 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp sea salt

1/2 cup cilantro, chopped

1/2 lime, juiced

 

Enchiladas 2 Tbsp olive oil

3 zucchinis, cut in half-moons

1/2 tsp salt

2 cloves garlic, diced or crushed

1 can black beans, rinsed

1 bag frozen corn

2 cups of shredded Cheddar cheese

16-20 flour tortillas

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. On a baking tray, toss the tomatillos, onion, garlic and jalapenos with the olive oil and a few pinches of salt and roast for 30 minutes. Transfer the roasted vegetables and any juices on the bottom of the tray to a food processor. Add the cumin, salt, cilantro, and lime juice and pulse mixture until smooth.  Transfer to a bowl that is slightly larger than one of your tortillas since you will later be dipping the tortillas into the salsa.

 
2. Coat the bottom of a sauté pan with the olive oil and heat on medium heat.  When the oil is hot enough to make a piece of zucchini sizzle, add all the zucchini and cook until soft.  Add the salt and garlic and stir for a couple minutes.  Then add the black beans and corn and cook until everything is heated through.  Transfer to a bowl.

 

3. Ladle some salsa verde to cover the bottoms of two 9” x 12” baking dishes.  Dip a single tortilla into the bowl of Salsa Verde, coating it on both sides to soften it.  Lay the salsa-coated tortilla inside the baking dish, spoon the veggie filling onto the tortilla in a long strip towards the edge (not in the center).  Spoon more salsa onto the filling, sprinkle with shredded cheese, and roll it up starting on the side with the filling.  Repeat until both baking dishes are full.  Ladle salsa verde on top of the enchiladas, sprinkle with more cheddar cheese, and bake for 15 minutes in the 400 degree oven.

 

4. Serve with fresh slices of avocado, sour cream, green onions, or cilantro! 


]]>Wed, 25 Apr 2012 10:57:46 -0800http://www.sproutscookingclub.org/1/post/2012/04/going-greek-moist-falafels-with-creamy-tzatziki-sauce.htmlHello Parents,
We traveled to Greece today at Beach Elementary and made deliciously moist Falafels stuffed inside pita pockets with a creamy Tzatziki sauce drizzled on top with tomatoes and romaine lettuce.  We used lots of herbs (parsley and cilantro in the falafels and mint in the tzatziki) so we started off the class talking about what herbs are: green plants that are packed with flavor and used to make food taste amazing.  We passed around parsley and cilantro leaves for the kids to taste so they could decide which one they liked best and to see if they could learn to tell the difference.  After chopping the herbs, measuring out the baking powder, cumin, coriander, and salt, straining the garbanzo beans, and whirring it all up in the food processor, the kids dug into the big bowl of good-smelling mush and started forming pretty little green balls.  The kids kept saying, " It smells so good!"

We arranged the falafels on a baking dish and baked them for about 20 minutes.  Baking falafels is a much healthier way to prepare them than frying them in oil.  While the falafels baked, one group helped me prepare the tzatziki while another group played a food game with the kitchen assistant: 20 questions (guess that fruit or vegetable!).  Tzatziki is a delicious greek yogurt sauce that can double as a salad dressing.  It typically contains Greek yogurt, olive oil, garlic, onion, cucumber, and mint. To cut the mint leaves and the romaine lettuce, we used the chiffonade technique stacking 3-4 leaves on top of each other, rolling them up, and cutting the rolled up leaves into thin ribbons.  Soon it was time to eat and the kids had fun stuffing the pita with all the fixings.  

These falafels are so easy to make, I hope you have fun making them at home.  The leftovers provide great healthy snacks for the rest of the week that can easily be put in a lunchbox.  I'll be sending off the recipes for the last two classes shortly.  Your kids kindly reminded me that they hadn't received the last few recipes and that they were eager to get them!

Thanks,

Christy

Falafels

Ingredients

2 cans garbanzo beans, strained and rinsed

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 yellow onion, chopped

6 garlic cloves, crushed 

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1 tablespoon ground coriander

2 handfuls parsley, coarsely chopped

1 handful cilantro

1/2 teaspoon salt

olive oil for brushing (optional)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 F.

Add the beans and the rest of the ingredients to a food processor and blend until smooth.  If the falafel mixture is too crumbly and difficult to form balls with, add a bit more olive oil or a tiny bit of water.  Be careful not to let the mixture get TOO smooth, however, or else it will have more of a hummus consistency and it will be nearly impossible to form balls.  The goal is a slightly gritty and chunky mixture that still sticks together.

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.  Roll the falafel mixture into balls the size of ping pong balls, flatten them just slightly, and arrange on the baking sheet spaced evenly apart. Brush the falafels lightly in olive oil, although this is optional.

Bake at 375 for 20 minutes. The falafels should be slightly browned and crusty on the outside but still moist on the inside.

Tzatziki

Ingredients
2 cups Greek yogurt

1 cucumber, peeled, seeded & diced (1 1/2 cup diced cucumber)

2 green onions, diced

2 cloves garlic, crushed

2 T mint, minced

2 T olive oil

salt & pepper to taste

Directions
Mix all the ingredients in a medium sized bowl until well incorporated.  Drizzle in a pita sandwich over falafel, shredded lettuce, and tomato.  Or thin it out with water or olive oil to turn it into salad dressing.  It’s great drizzled over roasted vegetables too, or as a raw veggie dip!]]>Sun, 22 Apr 2012 08:12:10 -0800http://www.sproutscookingclub.org/1/post/2012/04/sprouts-spring-series-bocanova.htmlIt finally felt springy today for our second to last Spring Series class! With the
beautiful (and hot!) weather, we had the perfect class of homemade Mexican popsicles at Bocanova in Oakland.

We were lucky enough to be cooking in the bakery of Bocanova’s next-door
neighbor today – the famous Miette Bakery! The spacious, sunny bakery was filled with the smells of fresh baked cookies, butter, and sugar, but we got ready to make something more refreshing – paletas. Paletas are Mexican popsicles made from fresh fruit that are usually sold at street carts and kiosks, but we were lucky enough to have them right then and there in the bakery. Pastry Chef Paul, from Bocanova, explained how they typically have
some pretty exciting flavor combinations – including everything from coconut and lime, pineapple and chile, or just plain mango. Today, we would be using beautifully ripe, red, organic strawberries to make our frozen treats.

The kids started by carefully cleaning each strawberry by hand with a towel, as Chef Paul explained that washing then can cause the strawberries to absorb water like a sponge and lose their natural flavor. After each strawberry was shiny and dirt-free, the kiddos chopped off the stems until they had eight cups of fresh strawberries. Now it was time for flavorings! After squeezing (and smelling!) some zesty, fresh Meyer lemons, adding a bit of organic sugar, and a touch of homemade rose petal sugar to complement the strawberries,
the kids got to blending. They watched as the beautiful berries turned into a lumpy pink puree, and were careful to leave some chunks to give the popsicles some texture. Part of the puree was strained through a chinois to create a beautiful, velvety puree free of seeds, and then the whole mixture was whisked and poured into the popsicle molds. After carefully
wiggling popsicle sticks into each mold, the popsicles were ready to freeze.

Lucky for us, Chef Paul planned ahead and had already frozen off a batch for
sampling! With a little warm water, the popsicles popped right out of the molds and into the hungry mouths of our young chefs! While some savored their icy treats, others finished them in seconds – but the red and sticky hands and mouths affirmed that all of them loved the fresh, sweet strawberry flavor, and pureed consistency! One of our Sprouts kids affirmed that they taste just like the paletas in Mexico. Thanks again to Bocanova for sharing their secrets of Latin cuisine with us! What a simple, healthy, versatile, and refreshing treat that we can make all summer long!

-Erika Chan, Student Director ]]>Tue, 17 Apr 2012 22:45:51 -0800http://www.sproutscookingclub.org/1/post/2012/04/sprouts-cooking-club-travels-to-greece-thailand.htmlWe continue to travel around the world with our pots and pans.  Two weeks ago, we traveled to Greece.  We made falafel, Greek flat bread and tsaziki, a yogurt and mint dressing.  The kids had a wonderful time rolling out their own dough for the flatbread.  The kids filled their flat bread with the falafel, made this time with red lentils and not garbanzo beans.  The red lentils soften in a jiffy as compared to the garbanzo beans. After processing all the ingredients together in a food processor, the kids made little meatball sized falafel for baking.   Our falafels are also healthier in that they are not fried.  Some cut up tomatoes and lettuce completed the Greek meal!

Yesterday, we traveled to a completely different continent as we made Thai food.  We started our class with a quick game of guessing what flavors/ingredients are used in Thai food.  The kids were great at guessing that lime, cilantro, coconut, lemon grass (though that may have peeked out from under the towel used to hide the ingredients), garlic and chilis all played a part in Thai cuisine.  We made fish wrapped in banana leaves, Thai jasmine rice with ginger and orange zest and a improvisational carrot salad.  The kids were busy at work. When they were not chopping ingredients, stirring the rice or grating carrots, they were cutting the banana leaves in which they packaged their fish.  There was so much banana leaves left over that the kids decorated the dining room table for a beautiful Thai restaurant theme.  I've attached a few photos.

I hope that you all repeat these recipes at home.  Each of our recipes are incredibly nutrient-dense, filled with delicious flavor and fun for the kids to make.


- Chef Marirose Piciucco 

IMPROVISATIONAL CARROT SALAD

Grated Carrots
Handful of chopped cilantro
1 garlic clove, minced
1" ginger, grated (optional)
salt and pepper to taste
olive oil
rice vinegar]]>Sat, 14 Apr 2012 22:50:32 -0800http://www.sproutscookingclub.org/1/post/2012/04/sprouts-at-caf-clem.htmlToday we were some of the first to step foot in La Note’s new café in Downtown Berkeley – Café Clem – which opened earlier this week! We were greeted by glass cases full of fresh pastries and cookies jars brimming with baked goodies. All of the delicious sights and smells got the kids’ appetites going for today’s cooking class.

Head Pastry Chef of La Note, Denise Ravizza, surprised the kids with the lesson plan: springtime cupcakes with a healthy twist! Not only are the cupcakes made with grated carrots, but they include no butter or oil – just applesauce. Although a few of the kids were skeptical, they rolled up their sleeves and pulled out their spatulas and graters to make the nutritious baked creations.

Split into teams, our young chefs worked together, cracking eggs, grating mounds of carrots, and carefully measuring out dry ingredients. The kids started getting excited, with the smells of vanilla and cinnamon in the air. Once the batter all came together – being carful not to over-mix which can produce tough cakes, as advised by Chef Denise – the orange-flecked batter was loaded into cupcake pans and headed off to the oven.

Lucky, Chef Denise had prepared cupcakes ahead of time that had cooled for the kids to decorate. Armed with fresh fruit, homemade cream cheese frosting, popsicle sticks, sprinkles galore, and some other fun treats, the kids got to decorating their springtime cupcakes.  Strawberries were transformed into butterflies, cantaloupe into flowers, and chocolate covered raisins were used to dot the eyes of some adorable edible insects! The kids got creative, building some quirky, colorful cupcakes to sample on the spot, or take home to their families.  

Best of all, the cupcakes were a hit! Some of the kids forgot they had put carrots in the batter in the first place, and the applesauce added a fluffiness and natural sweetness so that nobody missed the butter. Chef Denise even suggested using boxed mix at home, but substituting applesauce for oil and adding shredded veggies (carrots, zucchini, butternut squash – you name it!) Who knew cupcakes could be healthy and delicious?!

It was another great class in our Spring Series. Thanks to Denise and Dorothee Mitrani Bell, owner of La Note and Café Clem, for welcoming us into their new café and treating us to a deliciously, nutritiously, sweet afternoon!

]]>Sun, 08 Apr 2012 23:07:29 -0800http://www.sproutscookingclub.org/1/post/2012/04/sprouts-spring-series-the-terrace-room.htmlThis week, our Spring Series brought us to The Terrace Room at Lake Merritt in Oakland. With springtime weather finally here, excitement was clearly in the air for today’s cooking class. “Do you guys know what we’re making today?!”, I asked as the kids formed a circle around head chef Devon Boisen. “Sausage!!”, they all exclaimed and eagerly rushed into the kitchen.

After giving the kids a quick but thorough run-down of kitchen safety, Chef Boisen pulled out the star of the day – several large slabs or pork butt that would soon be transformed into homemade sausage. Luckily, we had no vegetarians in the crowd as the kids enthusiastically attacked their allotted piece of meat, carefully cubing it into sizeable chunks. Next, the kids got a short lesson on sausage 411. Chef Boisen explained that while you can make practically any combination of meat and spices into sausage, we would be making a simple but flavorful Italian sausage. He played a game of ‘mystery spice’ having the kids sniff, feel, and taste (we have some brave young chefs) all of the spices – including the red chili peppers and fresh garlic! In the end, the sausage was flavored with only six simple ingredients – salt, black pepper, red chili flakes, fennel, thyme, and garlic, but Chef Boisen encouraged the kids to season their sausage at home with anything that strikes their taste buds. 

Next came the fun part – grinding the sausage. After assembling the strange metal pieces (with even stranger names!) like a puzzle to construct the meat grinder, the kids got to grinding the marinated meat. Chef Boisen let them in on the secret to perfect sausage – making sure the equipment is cold, and adding ice to the meat to ensure it is tender and juicy. The kids took turns showing off their muscle and grinding the meat to just the right consistency.
As the meat rested, Chef Boisen’s sous chef, Jessie, entertained the kids by dying Easter eggs. Several (dozen) rubberbands, hard-boiled eggs, and purple fingers later, the kids had quite an array of beautifully colored eggs – tye-died, striped, and multicolored – to be displayed at The Terrace Room for Easter Brunch the following day. 

All of that egg-dying really worked up an appetite! Just in time, Chef Boisen brought freshly roasted sausage patties out of the oven for tasting, and kids dug into the steaming crumbly goodness. All of their hard work, detective seasoning skills, and patience paid off with some of the best, freshest sausage they’ve ever tasted.  It was the perfect, savory end to another hard days’ work in the kitchen!

Thanks to Chef Boisen for hosting us today at The Terrace Room for a unique lesson in homemade sausage! With a few tricks of the trade, who would’ve known making sausage can be so easy? We hope the guests enjoy our hand-dyed eggs at Easter brunch, and Happy Easter!]]>Thu, 15 Mar 2012 00:19:15 -0800http://www.sproutscookingclub.org/1/post/2012/03/taste-of-the-bay-xolo-taqueria.htmlDoes cooking alongside real chefs in real kitchens sound like the way you’d like to spend your afternoon? Well, unless you’re age 7-14, you’re out of luck! These classes are reserved just for the kids!

Sprouts Cooking Club is a non-profit organization located in the East Bay and San Francisco, California, where we strive to teach kids of all socio-economic backgrounds how to cook, hands-on with real chefs, using real ingredients, in real restaurants whenever possible.  We have been so lucky to be supported by nearby vendors and restaurants that donate their time, skills, and love for food to teach our young chefs how to turn fresh, sustainable, and local ingredients into healthy homemade meals! We have been welcomed into the kitchens of some of the most well-known restaurants in the area, including the Slanted Door, Tartine Bakery, Flour + Water, and more! 

Whether through individual cooking classes at restaurants, benefits to support our scholarship fund, nutritious cooking classes at local elementary schools, or teaching culinary skills at troubled youth centers, Sprouts always has the best interest of the community in mind. That’s why I think it’s so great that 10% of our class budget is always reserved for scholarships, which allows kids of all socioeconomic backgrounds the chance to get in the kitchen and learn, hands-on, how to prepare nutritious and delicious foods!

For the first time, we are excited to have our ‘Taste of the Bay’ Spring Series underway! This is a 10 week series, where each week the kids get to visit the kitchen of a different restaurant in the East Bay to cook with local chefs! They will learn everything from sushi to pastries to homemade sausage – but this week it was a Latin-themed class at Xolo Taqueria in Oakland, CA.

Located in uptown Oakland, Xolo is a eclectic taqueria complete with turquoise paint, an open kitchen, and boars’ head on the wall.  The restaurant is closed on Sundays so our 15 young chefs had the whole space to themselves to get their hands dirty (and trust me, they weren’t shy!) with head chef Matthew Ridgeway.

The kids’ eyes lit up as Chef Ridgeway explained the plan of the day: homemade chile verde chicken tamales and herby chile rellenos.  After our introduction, it was a whirwind in the kitchen of cilantro, tomatillos, masa, and corn husks! Chef Ridgeway started with a demonstration of how to properly cut an onion (no fingers were lost!), and then the kids broke up into groups to slice and dice the ‘mirepoix’ that would be the base for the tamale filling. Further down the line, a couple young chefs helped Chef Ridgeway neatly align tomatillos, jalapenos, garlic, and onions on a sheet pan for roasting, which would later become a thick and spicy salsa to fill the tamales. Under the watchful eye of our enthusiastic Sprouts counselors, a few kiddos skillfully sautéed the veggies and chicken in a pan which would later be the stuffing for the tamales. Armed with tongs, those brave enough helped char the fresh poblano chiles on an open grill, which we would later carefully peel and stuff with an herby blend of Monterey jack cheese.

Between the chopping, peeling, roasting, and sautéing, there was never a dull moment in the kitchen! Every once in a while, Chef Ridgeway would gather all of the eager chefs together to demonstrate how to fold a tamale, using fresh masa and corn husks, or how to properly stuff a chile relleno (he somehow made both tasks look much easier than they turned out to be!), then each kiddo got to practice on their own.

One by one, they finished their creations and lined up as Chef Ridgeway loaded their stuffed poblano peppers and tamales filled with chicken, tomatillo salsa, and veggies into a steamer. He explained how chile rellenos are usually battered and fried, but steaming them is a healthier, neater, and delicious alternative! 

After a lot of patience, and a little clean-up, our delicious creations were finally ready! Chef Ridgway served both the tamales and chiles on a green pool of the freshly-made salsa, and kids dug in. Judging by the gooey cheese dripping from the forks (and mouths!) of the kids, the second helpings, and the silence besides chewing mouths, the dishes were truly a hit! Thanks to Chef Ridgeway for welcoming Sprouts into his kitchen, and showing us how to make some delicious, nutritious, and authentic Latin specialties!

-Erika Chan, Student Director ]]>Tue, 13 Mar 2012 23:02:20 -0800http://www.sproutscookingclub.org/1/post/2012/03/out-of-the-box-recap.htmlHi Everyone!

This week was an extremely exciting week at the Hub. We got two huge boxes of fresh produce, including some ingredients that neither I, nor the the students had ever used before! This was a little daunting at first, but I’d say that we handled all the ingredients deliciously, and produced one of our best lunches yet!

We started with a few appetizer dishes, including a sweet, honey-cinnamon-nutmeg crostini, and a fresh garlic bread drizzled with olive oil and mozzarella cheese. The students got busy slicing baguettes, preheating the oven, and mincing the garlic right away! These crunchy bites brought a ton of texture to our lunch!

Next, we decided to make a fruit salad with clementines slices, d’anjou pears, and gala apples, all incorporated with a honey-grapefruit dressing. It was a refreshing and crowd pleasing dessert!

As usual, we chopped up romaine lettuces for our weekly salad. This week, we decided to create a whole new dressing! Instead of a vinaigrette, the students whipped up their own honey and dijon mustard dressing. With a bit of experimentation and taste-testing, they were able to create a delicious dressing to change up the scene! We even doubled the batch at the last minute because the dressing was so popular!

While all of this was going on, we were still on our toes trying to think about what we wanted to do with the less familiar ingredients: beets, leeks, and “that funky looking” Romanesco broccoli.

It was down to crunch time when we decided to do a quick saute of some chard and the beet greens. Everyone hurried on to washing, chopping, and taking turns at the burner to saute the veggies! In a separate dish, we diced beet roots, tossed it with some lemon juice and zest and topping it on our sauteed lemon leeks. The whole kitchen smelled amazing, as a crowd of Hub workers eagerly gathered around the kitchenette, waiting for lunch time!

But we were not done! Our last challenge was to find a use for the super cool spiral broccoli! Taking another look at our pantry items and kitchen equipment, we decided to do something we’ve never done before-- quesadillas and panini sandwiches!

We quickly stir-fried the filling, which was a scrumptious mix of the broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, celery, and mozzarella cheese. Once a batch of the veggies came off the burner, a little assembly line formed on the counter tops, with one student scooping in brown rice, another the veggies, and a third manning the panini press, making sure that each sandwich and wrap was grilled to perfection! Last, but not least, one more student was in charge of taking the sandwiches off the press and cutting them into triangles. Taste and presentation-- That’s what being a Sprouts trooper is all about :]

With not a minute to spare, we presented the results of this week’s hard work to a snaking line on the ground floor of the Hub!

What an invigorating week! Hope to see you all next time!

- Jenn Lee ]]>Sat, 10 Mar 2012 12:01:11 -0800http://www.sproutscookingclub.org/1/post/2012/03/taste-of-the-bay-series-bocanova.htmlThis week brought another exciting Latin style cooking class at the Sprouts Cooking Club ‘Taste of the Bay’ cooking series at Bocanova in Oakland, CA!


It was off to Bocanova and their Pan-American style cuisine on Saturday. Head chef Rick Hackett welcomed us into a private dining room, where he set up 3 stations for the kids to get slicing, mixing, crushing, and showing off their culinary skills! The bountiful tables of beets, exotic spices, funny colored potatoes, piles of herbs, and some strange kitchen tools made for some curious looks on the kids faces which were telling of how exciting the class would soon be!


Chef Hackett first described to the kiddos the plan of attack. He had three salsas to create, which can be used for dip, or as a fresh condiment to any tacos, tamales, or dish of your liking. These salsas are traditionally from different parts of Latin America, although of course had Chef Hackett’s personal twist on each one! He taught the kids the importance of being able to improvise measurements and alter quantities add according to taste – a skill that many of our young chefs are great at!


Who doesn’t love avocados?! Their soft green insides are creamy, refreshing, 
and full of healthy fats! As soon as Chef Hackett mentioned avocados in one of the salsas, one group of kids attacked the Guasaca Sauce - a spicy twist on guacamole, with added mustard and horseradish. Eager to start, the kids scanned the recipe, unsheathed their knives, and began a chopping frenzy of onion, garlic, avocado, and herbs. Chef Hackett even taught the kids how to concasse a tomato, and the young chefs became pros at peeling off the delicate skin.


Meanwhile, another group got to smashing and mashing with a traditional mortar and pestle. Peanuts in salsa? The toasty aroma of peanuts filled the area as the kids got to roasting peanuts, and fresh veggies which they would eventually smash together by flexing their culinary (and literal!) muscles to create a chunky, crunchy, and spicy Roasted Tomato and Peanut salsa.
The third group blended a colorful mix of pumpkin seeds, tomatillos, and spices to create a Pipian Salsa. With the smoky mix of Chef Hackett’s chile powders, the tart flavor of tomatillos, and the fresh zing of epazote, the kids got to smell, taste, and explore some traditional Latin flavors!


To top it all off, the kids even learned how to make a healthy alternative to tortilla chips - homemade veggie chips! Carefully using mandolins, the kiddos sliced a colorful array of beets, plantains, carrots, and sweet potatoes to make homemade veggie chips that were the perfect, healthy vessel for their tangy salsas! 
Once the salsas were proudly garnished and the chips were crisp, the young chefs dug into their creations. Every kiddo had a different favorite (or more than one!) – but one thing is for sure, they can all handle the heat! Not even the spicy chipotle or fresh chiles could stop these kids from munching on their fresh, zesty salsas, and crisp veggie chips!


A huge thanks to Chef Rick Hackett for introducing us to some Latin flavors and letting us have a salsa fiesta at Bocanova!


- Erika Chan, Taste of the Bay Director ]]>Tue, 06 Mar 2012 17:00:52 -0800http://www.sproutscookingclub.org/1/post/2012/03/cooking-out-of-the-box.htmlOut of the Box Cooking Series at The Hub
A Blog Entry By Jennifer Lee

Hey! My name is Jennifer, and I'm a 'cooking referee' at Sprouts’ Out of the Box Cooking Series at The Hub. I started working with Sprouts Cooking Club because their mission is right up my alley: Sprouts is a non-profit that brings professional chefs, parents, and teachers together in order to teach kids about lifelong, balanced eating habits and sustainable food education through cooking classes! But not in a boring way. In a hands-on cooking, side-by-side real chefs, do-it-yourself sort-of-way. Sprouts has lots of different cooking classes (and scholarships) that they offer to kids from all socio-economic backgrounds: after-school classes, in-restaurant classes, and garden-to-table classes, for example.

But I gotta say, the class that I oversee is the coolest. Every Tuesday, I get to play referee for a group of 4-8 young chefs that trek into downtown San Francisco to cook for an office space of 70+ social-oriented entrepreneurs. The kids are on a very special culinary mission: to feed this of community movers and shakers a delicious, organic, seasonal, colorful, flavorful, and nutritious lunch using nothing else but a CSA box of fruits and veggies, a few pantry items, and a single induction burner. No recipes, and no time to be shy. When the kids show up, a CSA box full of colorful fruit and veggies is waiting to be transformed: broccoli, Chard, Brussels sprouts, cantaloupe -- you name it, we've cooked with it. We also have some pantry basics like grains and oils, spices and fresh herbs. The kids have to come up with their own recipes, and I'm not allowed to help. I'm just there to make sure the kiddos are using safe cooking techniques and keeping on schedule. As I said, I'm just the referee. (And a very entertained spectator)


So this past Tuesday, I gave the kids get 5 minutes to sort through the produce, where they began to pow-wow and come up with a plan of attack. After 4 minutes, they were already off and chopping. Charles and Veronica started to de-stem the kale for vegetarian sushi wraps. Roberto began to cut the Pink Lady apples and Navel oranges for fruit kebabs. Kate and Bianca pulled out the blender to make a cilantro-walnut pesto. It was pretty rad to see. (I mean, I have to say, I didn't even know you could make a pesto without basil.)


Zzzz. Grrr. Brrrrroommm. Tac. Ah! Bam, whomp, thump. Swoosh, and wham -- Times up! Lunch is ready! The kids raced through the various offices, letting everyone know that ' Lunnnncchhh is readddyyy!' And within minutes, the kitchen was transformed from a buzzing, chopping, clacking culinary lab into a social corridor of munching, talking, laughing adults oh-so-tickled with their colorful lunch prepared with a sizeable douse of love and a generous wallop of innovation.


The kids beamed as people come up to them to congratulate them on another delicious lunch. Of course, there are always a few that try to pry the recipes out of the students. But our culinary warriors always smile shake their head and explain that there are no recipes! It was all improvised!
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