BBQ and Shrimp Boil

Chef Tonya took over the last two day as Chef Corr has left. The kids ate BBQ Monday and Tuesday they boiled shrimps n corn with a few potatoes. All the kids say the food was good and was coming back for seconds.

Solstice Seminar, Thursday, June 21



Nightshade vegetables and herbs for the Summer Solstice!

Click here to view photos of the Parent Seminar with Mrs. Fields and Dr. Johnson!
Many thanks to the parents that came out for the seminar on the evening of Thursday, June 21. We celebrated the longest day of the year by making good use of Mila Berhane's herbs on two easy to prepare vegetable side dishes or appetizers. The parents heard all about their children's adventures in teh foods lab at Pinkie Thrift and got to see their Small Wins books and cooking camp manuals.  Many asked for the recipes or the snacks that were served with fruit flavored waters, so here they are:

Sage Roasted Potatoes
Put a small amount of olive oil on the bottom of a baking casserole.  Sprinkly lightly with Kosher or coarse salt.  Cut tiny potatoes in half and press one sage leave on the cut side of the potato, with the vein pressing into the potato so it sticks better.  Roast at 375 degrees for about 30 minutes--or until done.  Crank up the heat if they are not done in time; you can't hurt them too badly.

Rosemary and Garlic Roasted Tomatoes

Slice small plum (Roma) tomatoes in half and place on a baking sheet with the cut side up. Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper.  Place one fourth teaspoon of minced garlic on each tomato half. (easiest to use a jar of minced garlic for this because you will need a lot of garlic).  Sprinkle 2 to 3 tablespoons minced fresh rosemary over the top and drizzle with olive oil.  ROast in a 375 degree oven for 30-45 minutes until the tomatoes are starting to shrivel up.  Serve each tomato half on a slice of baguette that has been dried out in the oven to make it crisp (One baguette yields about 30 or so thin slices, and they take about 8 minutes to dry out in the oven that you are preheating for the tomatoes.) Place on the toast so the cut side touches the bread and the good juices soak into the bread.  If the tomato skins are tough, peel them off.  Can be garnished with a light dusting of Parmesan cheese, but not necessary.

Bon Appetit!

PIZZA!

The last day for Chef Corr and she rolled out the heavy artillery--PIZZA! The campers were all excited to make their own creations.  Now they know how to Cook Like a Chef! and can take those skills home with them.  At the end of the cooking and eating time, they also learned how to clean up, always a valuable skill to know.

The morning's post camp surveys will let us all find out--did they learn anything?  We shall see!

Choose My Plate

 

Mrs. Fields, director of the camp program, is interviewed by James DeGraauw from WAFB Channel 9

Andrea and Terrion stir the grits, a BIG batch of grits.

Click this link to view the rest of the pictures

Another big media day at Pinkie Thrift! No, Michelle Obama did not come to camp in person today, but her message was heard loud and clear at the USDA ChooseMyPlate website.  We have been learning all about how to make healthy food choices for 3 weeks now, time to do some menu planning and think about how to add some variety to our plates!

The campers learned how to make a healthier omelet for themselves, by leaving out some of the egg yolk when beating up the egg mixture. Two egg whites plus one egg yolk cuts the cholesterol in half with no sacrifice of flavor, especially when you add tasty fillings. Everyone made their own omelet and filled it with a variety of vegetables--onions, peppers, zucchini, summer squash, tomato, green onion--and had the option of adding minced lean ham and cheese.  Soon the omelets were flippin out all over!  We also made other breakfast dishes like Granola with pecans and dried bananas and mango, French Toast--still have that PA maple syrup--and Pancakes, sans fruit for a change. Home Fries seasoned with the local favorite, Tony Chachere's Creole seasoning, and creamy Grits filled out the menu.

Organizing the lab took a chunk of time and each station had to be put back together with just the necessary equipment so that you can find what you need when you are working.  The campers felt stressed out by the task, but their reward was a stress reliever keepsake,  Keep in mind campers--it's not hard to cook your own food and eat much healthier than if you relied on processed food or fast food.  It does take some planning, though, but now you have the skills to help out at home because now you can

Cook Like a Chef!

PROTEIN

Team Rice, led by Blogmaster David Lane Jr. poses for a group photo with Terrion,  DiJaz, Jeremy and Johmel.  

Da'Nethia serves up some Veggie Burgers to Ryan during the tasting.

Proteins, Protiens, ah--however you say it or spell it, PROTEINS are what your body is made of and what you must keep eating to keep your body in good repair.  Proteins consist of building blocks called amino acids and some of those amino acids are essential--we can't make them on our own. Animal sources of proteins are complete; that is, they contain all of the essential amino acids in the right proportion.  But most vegetables are incomplete sources of amino acids, but become complete when you eat them in combination with other incomplete proteins--and that's how we get some of the world's greatest national dishes like rice and beans or humus and pita bread. Soybean is the notable exception because it is a vegetable that is a complete protein--soymilk, edamame beans, tofu and its flavorful cousin tempeh are all soy based and thus complete proteins.

The campers were on their best behavior today.  The marched in with aprons and took their seats in an orderly fashion. All hands were on deck,. which made the day go very smoothly during the cooking time.  The SU staff photographer, John Oubre, was taking photos to go on Southern's website and Facebook page. Travis Spradling is the staff photographer from The Advocate and he was shooting for the local paper.  Both seemed to enjoy what was going on and the campers and David, Blogmaster, enjoyed the dueling cameras.

Preparations proceeded flawlessly and dishes appeared on the front buffet table at exactly the right time:  Farfalle Pasta Primavera with Turkey Sausage and lots of fresh herbs and vegetables, Chili vs. Chili, with both sides being winners and accompanied by delicate corn sticks and corn muffins. Veggie Burgers were made from toasted walnuts, cooked brown rice and sauteed onions and garlic with bacon bits (apologies to the real vegetarians:  these burgers contained actual minced bacon and not the Bacos which are a soy product.  Seems the Bacos disappeared at the baked potato bar last week.) Lettuce and tomato topped them on buns and barbecue sauce was served on the side. the appetizer du jour on the tables was Humus, made by Chef Nate, whose adventurous palate was curious.  He served olive oil brushed and herb dusted pita triangles on the side.

Sad news: it seemed that the 'frig suffered a raid last night and a Key Lime Pie proved too much temptation for someone.  It was missing in the morning.  A second attempt at another pie failed, but the campers were happy with the Peanut Butter Bars, a high protein dessert or snack cake and there's more for tomorrow--with Key Lime Pie as well.

DAIRY

The milk tasting included whole, 2% and skim milks as well as non-dairy alternatives.

Todays topic Dairy! Dairy foods are of special interest to our campers today, as they learn how many they need to consume to build strong bones to last them a lifetime.  Build that bone bank now!  and you can avoid having weak bones later in life.  Between the ages of 9 and 18 you need the most calcium that you will ever need in all your life--1300 mg or 3 cups a day. And don't forget the Vitamin D, which is often added to milk to guarantee that you are able to absorb the mineral calcium. Vitamin D comes from sunlight too--and there's plenty of that here in Louisiana! And if are lactose intolerant or just don't like to drink that much milk, remember that there are other ways to get your calcium--eat lots of greens and broccoli and choose soy, almond or rice milks that are fortified.  Even some orange juices are fortified with calcium and Vitamin D these days--it's that important to include in your diet.


First order of the day was to strain off the curds and the whey that Hannah had started to turn into cheese the day before when she added white vinegar to hot milk. After resting in a cheesecloth lined strainer a while, we had ricotta cheese for Manicotti! Next Chef Corr demonstarted how to make a Bechamel sauce, starting with a roux. But not a Louisiana roux! This one was light and the flour cooked just lightly in the hot butter before the milk was poured on.  We had Bechamel sauces in two of our recipes today--Tomato Soup had a thin white sauce and the Macaroni and Cheese had a medium white sauce. Other dairy recipes included Grilled Cheese sandwiches to go with the Tomato Soup, Chicken Tikka, which was first marinated in yogurt and Indian spices, and then served with a Cucumber Yogurt Sauce on the side. Buttermilk Catfish Fillets with Corn Relish--yum! And the Manicotti disappeared in a flash.  The Key Lime Pies will chill until tomorrow, but the big hit was the homemade Vanilla Ice Cream served on yesterday's fruit pies--Blueberry, Peach and Blackberry.  What a way to build your bone bank!

FATS

Oils, sweets, and fats--our topic of the day!  Fat is something that can be good for your diet--if you make the right choice and don't over do it.  Our body needs to consume about 2 tablespoons of fat each day in order for the fat soluble vitamins--A, D, E, K--to do their thing, so don't skip the Fat category entirely.  Just choose oils that are healthy when you can, and the best ones are the monounsaturated oils, olive and canola.  The polyunsaturated oils--soybean (aka vegetable oil), sunflower, peanut, safflower, corn oil--all those are ok too.  Just watch how much butter and other solid fats like lard, vegetable shorthening (aka Crisco) and coconut oil you consume because they are not as healthy for you.  The campers got to sample oils by dipping bread cubes in them.  Many had no taste at all!  but they add lots and lots of flavor to foods, which is why people sometimes overdo it in the Fats category.  And sweets--use moderation.  They are so easy to eat.  Watch out for those Tea Cakes!  They are so good!

The campers made Guacamole with toasted flour tortillas, Tilapia with Pecan Crust, Roasted Sweet Potatoes, Sesame Baked Chicken, Coconut Triangles, and Pina Coladas.  The rice team stepped up and made Home Fried Potatoes and seasoned then with the Louisiana favorite Tony Cachere Cajun seasoning.  Three beautiful pies were too warm to cut so we will sample those tomorrow--with ice cream!

Thanks to the visitors from the tour who stayed to help out.  We hope we see them again.