Food for thought...enjoy a fifteen minute podcast with Carolyn Steel.  She is the author of Hungry City.


"Looking at food networks offers an unusual and illuminating way to explore how cities evolved, architect Carolyn Steel says. While food is a shared necessity, it's also a shared way of thinking."


http://www.npr.org/2012/05/11/152455629/how-does-food-shape-cities

 Here's to a retired CHS teacher and friend who is close to the top of the world!  Base camp on Mt. Everest.  Cheers!

We took a basic parsnip recipe and modified it to make it our own.  Enjoy!  We did!  If you don't want a strong parsnip taste reduce the amount of parsnips in this recipe.

Spiced Parsnip Bread w/ chocolate chip & orange zest

Ingredients (4 loaves)

                         6 cups all-purpose flour

                         3  teaspoons baking powder

                         2  teaspoons ground cinnamon

                         2  teaspoons ground allspice

                         1  teaspoon ground cloves

                         3  teaspoons salt

                         4  cup sugar

                         2  pounds parsnips (about 2 medium), peeled and finely shredded

                         1  cup canola oil

                         4  eggs, lightly beaten

                         2  teaspoon vanilla extract

                         4  cups chocolate chips

                             orange zest from one orange

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly butter a 9 x 5-inch or 8 x 4-inch loaf pan.

2. Stir together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, allspice, cloves and salt in a medium bowl. In a separate bowl, mix together sugar, parsnips, oil, egg and vanilla. Slowly stir parsnip mixture into flour mixture. Stir in chocolate chips & orange zest. Spoon batter into pan.

3. Bake 55 to 65 minutes, until a knife inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from oven; cool in pan on wire rack.

Recipe by David Feder.

Nutritional Info (per serving)

•    Calories 110                      Fat 6g                     Saturated Fat 0.5g                 Polyunsaturated Fat 2.5g

•    Monounsaturated Fat 3g Cholesterol 10mg  Sodium 140mg                       Potassium 90mg

•    Carbohydrates 12g          Fiber 1g                  Sugars 1g                               Protein 3g

http://www.relish.com/recipes/spiced-parsnip-bread/

Students in Foods Class were given the task of modifying a basic Parsnip muffin recipe into four different varieties.  They create blueberry, applesauce, Craisons and chocolate-orange muffins.  After a student and staff vote...chocolate-orange muffins won.  Close behind were the applesauce muffins.  Here are the students preparing the muffins in the school kitchen under the direction of the head school chef.

The new CHS Garden sign was made by a graduating senior. He is off to art school next year.

Today, we harvested the lettuce we grew in the hydroponic garden.  Soon to be... salad!

Check out the root structure.

Finally, we are ready to clean the lettuce.

Our hydroponic garden is clean and ready for next year.

Time to eat.  

Michael Pollan On Cooking As A Spectator Sport

The Food Network draws more viewers than any of the cable news channels, but Americans are actually cooking less than ever.

Michael Pollan's recent cover story in The New York Times Magazine explores America's obsession with cooking as a spectator sport — and why the rise of cooking shows has coincided with the rise of fast food and prepackaged meals.

Click here to listen to the 20 minute interview

Spring Planting

In April, we went to help Paul Mazza's Staff plant seeds.  

Thank you to the staff at P. Mazza's for giving us the opportunity to plant.