By Assenka Oksiloff
Princeton Regional Schools

Fresh kale with salt and/or lemon, kale chips, kale soup – students at Littlebrook Elementary School sampled some ways to enjoy this earthy-tasting green in the latest series of tastings of the Garden State on Your Plate program.

The event featured recipes of Christopher Albrecht, executive chef of Eno Terra, in Kingston. For Annie Kosek, principal at Littlebrook, it was a way of using positive peer pressure in the opening of young minds – and whetting young appetites – in the discovery of new things. “We have a culturally diverse student body,” she said. “The children are used to seeing each other eat different things. The more they taste, the more they say, ‘this is good!’”

And that is exactly what occurred. Some of the most stalwart of skeptics were won over (in the words of one young taste tester: “The soup looks disgusting, but it actually tastes good”).

Jayme Feldman, a parent volunteer at the event, greeted the reactions with enthusiasm. “Any chance my daughter will try something new, I want to encourage it,” she said.

The tasting also allowed students to learn more about the foods they eat. Chris Turse, farmer at Double Brook Farm in Hopewell, who donated produce for the event, was there to answer questions. For him, the activity is a melding of two favorite pastimes. “I love growing plants, and I love teaching kids,” he said.

The adults learned too. Feldman, who said she had posted spies to observe what was accepted by the students, was eager to try the chef’s recipes at home (see the post directly below for his recipe for Tuscan Kale, Potato and Leek soup).

The Garden State on Your Plate program is funded by a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

If you are a teacher, please join the school gardening community on the edWeb. This is a way for educators, gardeners, parents and community volunteers to come together to share information and resources on how to start and maintain a school garden, integrate it into the curriculum and the life of a school, and troubleshoot garden challenges.

http://www.edweb.net/schoolgardens/

Community Park Elementary School parents are invited to join their children for a lunchtime tasting on Tuesday, March 6, when Christopher Albrecht, executive chef at Terra Momo Restaurant Group (think Eno Terra), cooks up a fresh kale soup. He is using Tuscan (aka Lacinato or Dinosaur) Kale from the restaurants’ Canal Farm, in Kingston and from Whole Earth Center in Princeton (see photo, above), and Red Russian Kale from farmers Andrew Marchese and Chris Turse of Double Brook Farm, in Hopewell.

This tasting is the latest in-school event of PSGC’s Garden State on Your Plate, a program that brings chefs and farmers into schools to connect children to their food and their community. The program is funded by a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Chef Christopher says there are three tips that will set you on the path to success with this hearty soup: First, to ensure that leeks are cleansed of grit, rinse them well under running water, then cut into coins and allow to soak in cold water for a couple of hours, agitating them occasionally. Second, after peeling and dicing potatoes, prevent discoloration by submerging them in cold water until time to add them to the soup. Third, kitchen twine, used to tie the herbs together, is untreated and is available from kitchen supply stores. If labeled kitchen twine is unavailable, simply add herbs to the pot and fish them out later. Do not substitute other twine.

Tuscan Kale, Potato & Leek Soup
Makes 6 quarts, or 24 one-cup servings

1 bay leaf
6 thyme sprigs
¼ cup vegetable oil
1 cup white onion, diced
2 cups leek rounds, ¼-inch thick, white and lightest green part only, cleaned, drained and patted dry
8 cups peeled and diced white potatoes
2 cups heavy cream (substitute half-and-half or milk for a lighter version)
Cold water
6 cups rough-chopped Tuscan kale
Kosher salt
Freshly ground white pepper to taste
Grated Parmesan or cheddar or crumbled gorgonzola) if desired

1.Using 12- to 24-inch length of kitchen twine, tie bay leaf and thyme sprigs together, leaving a tail to tie to the handle of the pot. Set aside.
2.Heat vegetable oil in an 8-quart heavy-bottomed pot. Add onions and leeks to pot with a sprinkle of salt. Cook over medium-low heat until they are soft and sweet but have not developed color.
3.Add potatoes and enough cold water to cover, then increase heat to medium until soup reaches a boil. Reduce heat to simmer and cook until potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes, adding more water to keep potatoes covered.
4.Meanwhile, in microwave or on stovetop, heat cream to steaming, then add to soup, stirring to combine.
5.Heat soup just until it begins to simmer. Remove from heat; discard herbs. Puree in a food mill or blender until smooth. Chill.
6.Reheat soup to steaming, remove from heat, add chopped kale and puree again, leaving some coarseness to the kale. Serve immediately, garnished with cheese, if desired. Refrigerate leftovers.

By Assenka Oksiloff
Princeton Regional Schools

Research shows that children’s literacy skills improve when their reading and writing experiences are meaningful to them. At PRS, educators have taken this lesson to heart, designing innovative lessons and programs that make the written word come alive in imaginative – and delicious – ways.

In Jennifer Bazin’s kindergarten class at Riverside Elementary School, 17 students were recently treated to a culinary sampling while reading Maurice Sendak’s classic, “Chicken Soup with Rice,” in a lesson co-taught by Dorothy Mullen, the school’s garden artist-in-residence.

The lesson is part of a winter series on literature and food that Ms. Mullen has designed for the classes of Ms. Bazin and Linda Bruschi, who also teaches kindergarten at Riverside. Using an interactive, inter-disciplinary approach, Mullen packed the lesson full of goodies that included a reading of Sendak’s book, a review of the months of the year and the seasonal cycles, a song, and, of course, the pièce de resistance: chicken soup with rice.

Ms. Mullen’s position is funded by the Riverside PTO, who sought to develop a garden-based education program across all grades. Under her direction, in collaboration with the teachers, the children do garden lessons about 10 – 12 times per year.

During the winter months, they engage in lessons involving literature and food. This year, the kindergarteners have also tasted Stone Soup, Tops and Bottoms Soup, and Black Swallowtail Butterfly Host Plant Soup. “This is a way of bringing the garden into the classroom when we can’t go outside,” Mullen explained.

Before eating the soup, the students took a careful inventory of the ingredients in Sendak’s soup: chicken, rice, broth, carrots, celery and cabbage. They also pledge to honor Mullen’s simple rule: “You don’t have to eat something you don’t like, but no ‘yuck.’

In this case, there was no need for the rule. The soup received an overwhelming thumbs-up, with many requests for seconds. After the tasting, the group discussed plant growth and made plans for spring planting.

For Mullen, the connections between learning, gardening and eating add a nutritional and environmental component to the lesson. “We get our ingredients from our school, which gives a sense of sustainable living,” said Ms. Mullen, who is a founding member of the Princeton School Gardens Cooperative and has taught Master Gardeners of Mercer County how to become school gardeners. “Kids are actively involved when growing peas and carrots, and they are more likely to eat those vegetables when they grow them.”

Based on the data gathered about food preferences at the end of the lesson — almost all enjoyed the carrots, and two-thirds found the celery and cabbage delicious — she is correct.

Princeton University chefs were welcomed as guest chefs for Princeton High School students, teachers and staff during lunchtime on Feb. 2.

This first-ever event was a direct outgrowth of the Garden State On Your Plate program, which brought local chefs into elementary schools to serve dishes made with lusciously fresh local produce. That program, funded by a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation for the Princeton School Gardens Cooperative, served 720 students at Community Park and Littlebrook elementary schools, their parents, and school teachers and administrators.

This event was made possible by the army of volunteers who served the children at the tastings; the chefs, including Stu Orefice, director of dining services at PU, who led this guest-chef effort; Princeton University; the farmers; the videographer, Jerry Tully; the teachers and administrators at PRS; Jim Gillespie and Cindy Hill of Chartwells Food Service; and countless others in our good food community.

For inspiration, a call to arms and gatherings of well-mannered rabblerousers, look no further than the Princeton Environmental Film Festival, which begins January 26 and runs for three consecutive four-day weekends.

Hosted by the Princeton Public Library and now in its sixth year, the event is coordinated by librarian Susan Conlon and other community volunteers.

There's a meal — Sustainable Princeton's Great Ideas Breakfast, Friday, Feb. 10, 8:30 a.m. — and there are several films that are of interest to the good food crowd. If you're unable to attend a screening, no worries, says Ms. Conlon – most of these DVDs are available at the library.

"Shellshocked: Saying Oysters to Save Ourselves," Saturday, Jan. 28, 12:30 p.m. Follows efforts to prevent extinction of wild oyster reefs, which have been declared 'the most severely impacted marine habitat on Earth' and no longer play a role in ocean ecosystems.

"Rescuing the Raritan," Saturday, Jan. 28, 2 p.m. Tells the story of the Raritan River, a source of water for more than a million people in New Jersey, its contamination and how government agencies, corporations, environmentalists, developers, scientists and lawyers have clashed over cleanup. Followed by a Q&A with filmmaker Eric Schultz.

"Food Stamped," Sunday, Jan. 29, 1 p.m. Follows a couple as they attempt to eat a healthy, well-balanced diet on a food stamp budget. Along the way, they consult with members of Congress, food justice organizations, nutrition experts and people living on food stamps for a deep look at America’s food system. Panel discussion follows, featuring Julia Hicks de Peyster, who attempted to feed her family of five on the allotted food stamp budget for forty days; Crisis Ministry of Princeton and Trenton's Hunger Prevention Director Mark Smith; and moderator Liz Cohen of Yes We CAN! Food Drives, which supports the Crisis Ministry.

"Sola, Louisiana Water Stories," Thursday, Feb. 2, 7 p.m. Water stories from Southern Louisiana (SoLa) which supports the biggest economies in Louisiana – a $63 billion-a-year oil and gas industry and a $200 million-a-year fishing business, in addition to tourism and recreational sports — and is home to some insidious polluters along "Cancer Alley," a 100-mile-long stretch of the Mississippi known as “Cancer Alley," the world’s largest Dead Zone and erosion that is costing the coastline 25 square miles of wetlands a year. Q&A with director Jon Bowmaster will follow.

"Call of Life," Friday, Feb. 3, 4 p.m. Investigates growing threat posed by rapid and massive loss of biodiversity on the planet. Caused by human activity, this contemporary mass extinction, is disrupting and destroying the complex, interconnected biological systems that support life on earth. Its primary drivers are habitat destruction, global warming, pollution, and invasive species, all compounded by the expanding human population and our consumption patterns. Q&A with executive producer David Ulansey to follow.

"The Clean Bin Project," Saturday, Feb. 4, 4 p.m. Jen and Grant compete to see who can produce the least landfill garbage in an year. Their light-hearted contest is set against a darker examination of waste in the U.S. and the large-scale environmental impacts of a throw-away society.

"Mother: Caring for 7 Billion," Sunday, Feb. 5, 4 p.m. Examines population growth, which fuels our most pressing environmental, humanitarian and social crises. Grounded in theories of social scientist Riane Eisler, the film strives to highlight a different path for humanity – one of nurturing rather than conquering, or domination.

"Urban Roots," Friday, Feb. 10, 10:30 a.m. Explores the urban farming phenomenon in Detroit, addressing the epidemic of collapsed industrial towns and the need to forge a sustainable and prosperous future.

"Truck Farm," Saturday, Feb. 11, 4 p.m. Using green-roof technology and heirloom seeds, Ian Cheney plants a vegetable garden on the only land he has: his Granddad’s old pick-up truck. Once the mobile garden begins to sprout, viewers are trucked across New York to see the city’s funkiest urban farms, and to find out if America’s largest city can learn to feed itself. Q&A with director Ian Cheney follows.

Short Films and Talk on Ocean Habitat Conservation, Sunday, Feb. 12, 3 p.m. Stan Waterman, a legendary underwater photographer, filmmaker and diver, and Carrie Manfrino, director of research and conservation for the Central Caribbean Marine Institute, return to the Princeton Environmental Film Festival to discuss their work and share some of their films and stories.

Explore greenhouse gas emissions – minus those from agriculture, transportation or forestry, which are not required to report them in detail, at http://ghgdata.epa.gov/ghgp/main.do. The data, which were drawn from 6,157 sources and are current through 2010, covered nearly 80 percent of the country’s greenhouse gases from large industrial sources.

To understand money’s influence on politics, use the searchable database of Maplight at http://maplight.org/. Search by bills, legislators, interest groups, contributions and companies. It’s interesting to note, for example, that the National Beer Wholesalers Association has contributed $7,108,000 to members of the House and Senate and has taken a position on nine bills before Congress, making it fourth behind the National Association of Realtors, AT&T and Honeywell.

November 10, 2011, 4:30pm

For teachers, administrators, parents and the public at the Princeton Public Library in Princeton, NJ. Various efforts being made by area schools to make lunch a healthier, more responsible and more educational experience will be discussed at this free event. 

The panelists are excellent: 
Gary Giberson,  Founder, Sustainable Fare
Dorothy Mullen, Founder, the Suppers Program
Brian Mochnal, Head Chef, Princeton Day School, FLIK Dining

Teachers can get professional development credits and lovely refreshments will be served courtesy of The Brothers Moon restaurant in Hopewell, NJ.  

Workshop offered by OASIS (Organizing Action on Sustainability In Schools) in partnership with the Princeton Public Library. 

October is National Farm to School Month, so what better way to kick off the month than a family barbeque? Don't miss this special event at Fernbrook Farms on Sunday, October 2 from 12:00-3:00pm. Activities will include hayrides, farm tours, and other kids activities along with Farm to School speeches and delicious food from local businesses. Proceeds will benefit the NJ Farm to School Network. For more information, visit www.njfarmtoschool.org or www.fernbrookfarms.com.