What's for Lunch: Chicken on the Bone

By Ed Bruske

aka The Slow Cook



What happened to chicken nuggets?



They've been replaced by real chicken on the bone. These chicken pieces arrive frozen, then they're roasted in a convection oven. I've tried them, and they're pretty good. The kids also like them. In this case, according to the Chartwell's website, they come "Caribbean jerk seasoned."



A couple of otherwise things on this tray are noteworthy. The broccoli, for instance, is "local," meaning purchases from growers here in the Mid-Atlantic region. And the kitchen seems to be making a more concerted effort not to obliterate the broccoli in the cooking process. I can't vouch for all of the kitchens in all of the District of Columbia's schools, but at least our lunch ladies are taking some care around the vegetables.



Secondly, that brown rice you see in the "bayou rice and beans" is what passes for "brown rice." There's a big push to serve more "whole grains" in the federally-subsidized school meals program. Brown rice happens to be the only grain that's available to schools through the U.S. Department of Agriculture's commodity foods program. Everything else is processed, as in that dinner roll in the photo.



And boy, were the bananas ever green.

What's for Lunch: Tomato & Cheese Sandwich

Ed Bruske
aka The Slow Cook

In stark contrast to the daily litany of processed, re-heated frozen foods we saw last year, D.C. schools and their hired food service management company--Chartwells--are making more food from scratch since the new term began. Here's a case in point: a sandwich made of freshly sliced local tomatoes and grated mozzarella cheese between two slices of whole wheat bread, toasted in the oven.

What a difference from the processed "Hot off the Grill" sandwich kids got for lunch in the past, made in a factory in Los Angeles, shipped frozen, then heated and served while still in its plastic packaging. That seems to be one of the items that got the heave-ho over the summer when Food Services Director Jeffrey Mills and his team tested some 300 products and helped Chartwells write a completely new menu.

Also quite attractive are the peas (from frozen) mixed with tomato chopped fresh in the kitchen. (Chartwells' published menu called for "marinated Mediterranean chick pea salad.") But as if to prove the point that kids have a hard time with vegetables, take a look at the green stuff in the upper left-hand corner. That's what the frozen broccoli looks like after it comes out of the steamer. I've seen even worse--when you can't even recognize it as broccoli any more.

The locally grown nectarine from Crown Orchards in Batesville, Va., was truly delicious.


And here's the alternate cold lunch on Tuesdays these days: "Turkey and cheese whole grain wrap with lettuce and tomato.