Kids Make Asparagus with Hollandaise

Turning egg yolks into Hollandaise

By Ed Bruske

aka The Slow Cook

France is the birthplace of sauces, so we couldn't very well spend time in France with our food appreciation classes without aquainting ouselves with some of the finer sauces in the French lexicon. But how to incorporate that with the notion of spring?

Why, asparagus, of course. What could be better than a plate of freshly poached asparagus smothered in Hollandaise?

The trick with this sauce is not to scramble the eggs before they become a sauce. They need to be heated, but not cooked. This was not lost on the kids in my classes. "You mean we're going to be eating raw eggs?"

Well, not exactly. As I said, they will be heated, just not cooked through. But that's a brilliant observation nonetheless. Even kids in elementary school seem to know enough not to eat raw eggs. Into beaten eggs yolks clarified butter is incorporated. Our first attempt failed because I did not wait long enough for the clarified butter to cool, and when I urged one third-grader to "drizzle" the butter into the beaten yolks, she sort of dumped it in. The eggs immediately curdled.

Oh, well. Lots more butter and eggs where that came from. But you do need to be very careful with this sauce each step of the way.

First, you can trim your asparagus. I showed the kids how to bend an asparagus from both ends until it snaps at the tender point. Compost the tough ends, then poach the asparagus in water seasoned with salt that forming bubbles but not yet boiling. When cooked through, transfer the asparagus into a bowl of cold water to stop the cooking process. You can do this hours or even a day ahead if you like. Pat the asparagus dry with paper towels.

For the sauce, gently melt a stick of butter (1/2 cup) plus a little more in a small sauce pan. To clarify it, skim off all the milk solids that float to the surface. Pour the liquid fat into a measuring cup until you have 1/2 cup. Set aside to cool.

Separate three eggs, placing the yolks in a glass or stainless mixing bowl. Add 1 1/2 tablespoons cool water and whisk until the yolks are light and frothy. Gently heat the yolks by placing the mixing bowl over a pot of simmering water. Continue whisking until the yolks thicken. Remove from the heat from time to time so the yolks don't cook. Off the heat, whisk the yolks a bit more to cool, then drizzle in some of the clarified butter. Continue whisking and drizzling butter until it is completely incorporated. Then whisk in 2 teaspoons lemon juice and season with salt and white pepper to taste.

Who doesn't like Hollandaise?

You can now arrange the asparagus spears on plates and dress with Hollandaise. This is quite a treat. You might even get kids who normally don't like asparagus to try it.

Now Featured on Jamie Oliver's Blog

Getting kids hooked on sugar

By Ed Bruske

aka The Slow Cook

My first article for Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution blog appears today, a condensed version of a report I published here last week detailing the dairy industry's efforts to create a popular mythology around the notion that kids must have flavored milk available to them in school or else face the possibility of crippling rickets and osteoporosis.

Parents, pediatricians, food service directors--many have fallen under the dairy industry's spell. But a closer look shows that the real reason Big Dairy is campaigning to keep chocolate milk on school lunch trays isn't nutrition, it's the huge losses in sales dairy has suffered in recent decades as Americans abandoned milk as a preferred beverage in favor of cheap, sugary soft drinks.

Dairy organizations such as the National Dairy Council and the Milk Processors Education Program (MilkPEP), a promotional tool mandated by Congress, have very cleverly paid for "research" portraying chocolate milk as the healthy alternative to Coke. Papers written by nutritionists working for Big Dairy get repackaged by professional groups such as the American Heart Assocation and the American Academy of Pediatrics. Dairy interests even buy their way into groups such as the School Nutrition Association, where they can make their case unfiltered to the nation's school food service directors.

The result is a kind of public relations echo chamber that puts a gloss of scientific authority on the industry's scare tactics.

With so many resources at their disposal, dairy interests would appear to be winning the battle over chocolate milk. I think their arguments need to be addressed point by point. But I could be wrong. It could be that the shear force of personality of charismatic chocolate milk foes as Jamie Oliver and Ann Cooper will win this argument. Witness the decision by officials in Los Angeles to discontinue flavored milk in the nation's second-largest school district--or at least bring the issue to the L.A. school board.

This is a fight worth having now. It is so much easier to remove junk foods from schools than to get children to actually eat the kinds of healthier foods advocates envision. Sugar by far is the most dangerous additive kids face in their daily lives. And yet the USDA has never regulated it in school meals. Even the agency's proposed new guidelines, which call for more vegetables and whole grains, fewer French fries and less salt, are silent on all the sugar used to entice children to eat certain products.

Chocolate milk is the poster child for what's wrong with the way we feed kids today. It's becomes a real flashpoint in the discussion over how best to proceed with the school food revolution, and that only works to the dairy industry's advantage. The sooner we get rid of flavored milk, the quicker we can get on with the business of making real progress in improving the food 32 million kids eat in school every day.

What's for Lunch: Special K Strawberry Bar

By Ed Bruske

aka The Slow Cook

An alert reader identified the Special K product in this photo of a school lunch brought from home here in D.C. as something the Kellogg company calls a "protein bar," which seems to be the popular way to sell "healthy" candy these days.

It's advertised as low-fat, but if you look under the hood, what you find is a highly processed industrial concoction of carbs and food additives coated with sugar.

The strawberry variety, seen here, may be low in fat--just five grams--but it's loaded with sugar, a whopping 15 grams, or a bit less than four teaspoons worth. Since this "protein bar" weighs in at a mere 45 grams, that means sugar constitutes one-third of the ingredients.

A virtual carbohydrate bomb, the interior of rice cereal and wheat gluten is coated with a frosting of sugar and palm oil.

"They're gross--I have a massive sweet tooth, but on the one occasion when I bought one from the vending machine at my office, it was so sweet I could barely finish it," said reader Vanessa. "The strawberry flavor is kind of chemical-tasting, too."

Little wonder. Consider the ingredients:

COATING (SUGAR, PALM KERNEL AND PALM OIL, MILK PROTEIN ISOLATE, YOGURT POWDER [CULTURED WHEY PROTEIN CONCENTRATE, CULTURED SKIM MILK, YOGURT CULTURES; HEAT-TREATED AFTER CULTURING], COLOR ADDED, SOY LECITHIN, NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR), SOY PROTEIN ISOLATE, CORN SYRUP, STRAWBERRY FLAVORED FRUIT PIECES (SUGAR, CRANBERRIES, CITRIC ACID, NATURAL STRAWBERRY FLAVOR WITH OTHER NATURAL FLAVORS, ELDERBERRY JUICE CONCENTRATE FOR COLOR,SUNFLOWER OIL), INULIN, FRUCTOSE, POLYDEXTROSE, SUGAR, RICE STARCH, SOYBEAN AND PALM OIL WITH TBHQ FOR FRESHNESS, RICE CEREAL (RICE, WHEAT GLUTEN, SUGAR, DEFATTED WHEAT GERM, SALT, HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP, WHEY, MALT FLAVORING, REDUCED IRON, NIACINAMIDE, PYRIDOXINE HYDROCHLORIDE [VITAMIN B6], RIBOFLAVIN [VITAMIN B2], THIAMIN HYDROCHLORIDE [VITAMIN B1], FOLIC ACID, VITAMIN B12), CONTAINS TWO PERCENT OR LESS OF DEXTROSE, CALCIUM CARBONATE, GLYCERIN, SORBITOL, NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR, SALT, SOY LECITHIN, ASCORBIC ACID (VITAMIN C), XANTHAN GUM, POLYSORBATE 80, D-ALPHA TOCOPHEROL (VITAMIN E), NIACINAMIDE, ZINC OXIDE, REDUCED IRON, PYRIDOXINE HYDROCHLORIDE (VITAMIN B6), VITAMIN A PALMITATE, RIBOFLAVIN (VITAMIN B2), THIAMIN HYDROCHLORIDE (VITAMIN B1), BHT FOR FRESHNESS, ALMOND FLOUR, PARTIALLY DEFATTED PEANUT FLOUR, WHEAT STARCH, VITAMIN B12, FOLIC ACID, VITAMIN D.

Here's what it looks like at the Special K website:

You'd really be better off skipping the "protein bar" entirely and focus on that fresh strawberry pictured in the background, don't you think?

We're in WAMU Radio's Report on Obesity

This qualifies as a reimbursable school lunch

By Ed Bruske

aka The Slow Cook

A few weeks ago WAMU radio's education reporter, Kavitha Carodoz, interviewed me for a report on childhood obesity and what people are trying to do about it in the
District of Columbia. I appear in part four of the five-part series that aired last week, talking about some of the nastier food D.C. schools have served and how much it has changed in the last year. Now the challenge is getting the kids to actually eat the improved meals (hint: they're not big fans of vegetables or whole grains).

There's a certain freak show aspect to these reports: kids grossly obese, and doctors trying to figure out what to do with them. And the approach hues to crusted-over ideas about obesity: if only we could get kids to eat less and exercise more. Hello! The latest science points to carbs--especially sugary sodas--as the metabolic villain in this epic story. What we really need is a national conversation about insulin, the fat storage hormone, and how we can change our diet to avoid the insulin response to eating too many carbs.

But give our local public radio station credit for devoting resources to expore this important topic. Just a small correction. It's not a soda tax that' funding the city's Healthy Schools Act, which provides extra cash for school meals. That proposal went down in flames--as it does everywhere when the beverage industry sends in its artillery--and was replaced by extending the regular sales tax to cover carbonated beverages, which previously had been treated as food in D.C., meaning not subject to tax.

Anyway, after listening to the series you can watch some video of the reporters being interviewed about what they took away from this endeavor.

This Week in School Food News

Is it possible the federal government will actually do something about the way the food industry markets junk to kids?

Citing an epidemic of childhood obesity, the Federal Trade Commission proposed sweeping guidelines that for the first time would curb industry's shameless use of various media to peddle food-like substances loaded with sugar, salt and fat.

A prime target would be favorite food characters like Toucan Sam, the brightly colored Froot Loops pitchman, who appears in television commercials and online games as well as on cereal boxes.

Federal regulators are telling corporate food interests they have a choice: make products healthier, or stop selling them to kids.

“Toucan Sam can sell healthy food or junk food,” said Dale Kunkel, a communications professor at the University of Arizona who studies the marketing of children’s food. “This forces Toucan Sam to be associated with healthier products.”

Marketing junk to kids has become an industry unto itself, reaching into children's minds using a vast network of communication tools, encompassing not just product packaging and the usual ads on television, but web sites, online games that act as camouflaged advertisements, social media, product placements in movies, the use of movie characters in cross-promotions and fast-food children’s meals.

"The inclusion of digital media, such as product-based games, represents one of the government’s strongest efforts so far to address the extension of children’s advertising into the online world, which children’s health advocates say is a growing problem," reports the New York Times.

The guidelines suggest a darker side to cuddly figures like Cap’n Crunch, the Keebler elves. Could they go the same way as Joe Camel, the cartoon figure used to promote Camel cigarettes that was phased out amid allegations that it was meant to entice children to smoke?

“Our proposal really covers all forms of marketing to kids, and the product packaging and the images and themes on the cereal boxes have tremendous appeal to kids,” said Michelle K. Rusk, a lawyer with the trade commission. “The goal is to encourage children to eat more healthy foods because obesity is a huge health crisis.”

The food industry, which hates any kind of government regulation, says it's working on the problem voluntarily. Watch this space to see them crank their lobbying apparatus into high gear. This is serious.

*****

So here's a school in Detroit that seemed to be doing all the right things, teaching pregnant girls to stay engaged through gardening. But apparently it couldn't last. Detroit being broke, officials decided to close the Catharine Ferguson Academy and when the girls protested, police were sent in to arrest them.

Sounds like a bad movie. But that apparently is where we are today in America: tax breaks for the rich, crack down on kids who garden.

The school describes itself as schooling young mothers-to-be in a core curriculum of English, math, science, and social studies in a family-like, accepting environment. Along with the academics, there is 'real life' learning about raising a child and how to function as a knowledgeable, independent, and productive adult. "The responsibility of providing food, shelter, and other basic needs in life should not be stressful. They have the right to look forward to a rewarding life and we help them achieve it."

On April 15, protesters gathered outside the Catherine Ferguson Academy, chanting, picketing and holding signs -- a show of solidarity against the proposed closing. While they were outside, about a dozen others were inside holed up in the library. When they wouldn't come out, Detroit police went in after them.

At least a dozen people were arrested, including two moms who had their small kids with them.

Shades of the Haymarket riots. The story made national news Rachel Maddow took it up and posted about it on her blog, including video of the incident.

Detroit likes to bill itself as the wave of the future where sustainability and urban agriculture are concerned. Is this really what city fathers have in mind?

*****

Kids don't eat better because they grow up in a toxic food environment. That means they are constantly exposed to messages urging them to eat junk (see above), and when they walk into a store, what they typically see on the shelves is more junk.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and prevention recently ranked all of the states according to the availability of healthful food in stores. The CDC system gives a score of zero where there are no food retailers selling healthy food, and 100 where there are only food retailers that sell healthy food.

On that basis, the national average score was 10. (Remember, that's out of a possible 100.) The highest-scoring states were Montana and Maine, with scores of 16 and 15, respectively. Rhode Island and the District of Columbia ranked at the bottom of the index with scores of 5 and 4, respectively.

Hear that, Michelle Obama? The city right outside your door is one of the unhealthiest in the whole country.

“To feed their children healthy food at home, parents must have ready access to stores that sell affordable, healthy food,” says William Dietz, MD, PhD, director of CDC's division of nutrition, physical activity, and obesity, in a news release.

You can see how all the states ranked here.

*****

Meanwhile, New York City thinks school gardens are part of the answer (maybe not like Detroit.)

The city just awarded grants to 29 public schools to establish or expand school gardens, adding to the 300-ish gardens currently in operation. The goal, according to director of garden-boosting nonprofit GrowNYC, is "to have a garden or access to a garden in every public school in the city." They've got a ways to go -- there are 1,600 schools -- but NYC mayor Bloomberg says he's committed to the initiative.

*****

Following Congress' recent re-authorization of the nation's child nutrition law, the USDA announced a new rule encouraging schools to source more of their produce from local farms.

That could help local farm economies and get more fresh foods on kids plates. Now, schools just need to learn how to cook that fresh produce so that kids will actually eat it. Or maybe we need to work more with kids, who normally aren't so wild about vegetables.

*****

Unfortunately, many schools facing budget cuts are moving in the opposite direction. Instead of learning how to cook food from scratch, they're outsourcing their cafeteria operations to big food service companies that specialize in feeding kids processed convenience foods.

A bill has been introduced in the Michigan state legislature that would require all public schools there to privatize basic services like school meals, custodial work and bus fleets.

A case study in how this happens is playing out in the Dallastown School District near York, Pa., where the school board recently voted 5-2 in favor of contracting with food-service provider Chartwells. Officials say the deal will save the schools nearly $1 million over the next five years.

"It's really a no-brainer," said Supt. Stewart Weinberg. "We as a school district need to look at reducing costs."

With states across the nation slashing funding for education, could this be the future of school food? But we thought it was supposed to be getting better....

Holy Cassoulet! Kids Make a Simpler Version

This cassoulet doesn't take three days

You can't get more authentic southwest France than cassoulet, but the classic version--with duck confit, sausage, and various iterations of pork--takes so long to make I had no hope of introducing it to my food appreciation classes. Plus, duck confit is not a standard item at our local grocery. But our friend Kate Hill, who lives and cooks in Gascony, urged us to try a faux version, a simple pork and beans stew. That brought to mindmy own short-cut cassoulet, an improvisation using a particularly meaty variety of lima bean we grew in the garden.

Put it all together and you get the quick cassoulet we made in our classes this week. You can make it even quicker if you use canned beans. But I made of point of searching the bulk aisle at Whole Foods for a dried cannellini bean (or white kidney bean) that I prepared ahead. Add some bacon and lamb and you're almost home.

I recommend starting with dried beans for flavor and texture, which means beginning your cassouleta day ahead. You'll need 2 cups of cooked beans, which translates as somewhat less than 1 cup of dried beans. Soak these overnight in plenty of water, then cook until just tender in a pot of water with 1 onion, cut into quarters, and 1 bunch thyme plus 1 bay leaf tied in a bundle. Set aside.

Cut 2 thick strips of smokey bacon into 1/4-inch strips and saute these in a heavy skillet until almost crisp. Remove the bacon and in the rendered fat brown 4 ounces lamb stew meat, cut into medium dice and seasoned with salt and pepper. Place the bacon and lamb in a mixing bowl along with any pan juices.

In the same skillet, saute in 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (or bacon grease) 1/2 medium onion cut into small dice. When the onion begins to soften, add 2 cloves garlic, chopped fine. Cook until onion begins to brown. Scrape onion and garlic into mixing bowl with meat. Add 2 cups cooked beans and 1/2 14-0unce can diced tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper to taste and toss well.

Pour the cassoulet mix into a small casserole. Pour in just enough chicken stock to rise to the top of the bean mix, then top with fresh bread crumbs. For these, I purchased a large, round loaf of pain au Levain at Whole Foods, but any sturdy, country-style bread would do. We used three thick slices, separating the bread from the crust and cutting it into small pieces. The kids ate the crust, and the crumbs we toasted lightly in a 350 degree oven, or just until they were dry. (Please, do not use canned bread crumbs for this.)

Cover the casserole with foil and place in a 350-degree oven for about 1 1/2 hours, or until most of the liquid has been absorbed. Remove the foil and use a spoon or spatula to mix the bread crumbs into the bean mix. Return casserole to the oven and bake another 20 minutes, or until a new crust begins to form.

I have to say, some kids were put off by the look of this rustic stew. Maybe they just don't like beans. But the others loved it. And why not? The flavors will take you all the way to Toulouse.

Lunch from Home: Pasta & Processed Stuff

By Ed Bruske

aka The Slow Cook

At first glance this looks like a pretty healthy lunch--pasta in a thermos and a fresh apple. But on the side we have the processed stuff.

That four-ounce container of Yoplait Whips!--key lime pie-flavored yogurt "snack"--contains a whopping 21 grams of sugar, or five teaspoons worth in the form of high-fructose corn syrup. That's almost twice as much sugar, ounce-for-ounce, as in chocolate milk.

Then there's some kind of Special K bar. Unfortunately, I didn't get a good look at it and can't read the label from the photo. Maybe one of our readers recognizes it and can fill us in.

Need we repeat? Sometimes the lunch from home is worse--sometimes much worse--than what the schools are serving.