The A+ Lunch

 What makes a good school lunch. More what makes a lunch that won't be traded for cupcakes and chips?it takes input from both sides - Mom's and kids. Together they can create something nutritious and non-tradeable.

Children's author and regular contributor  Kevin  Noble Maillard wrote this informative piece in yesterday's New York Times Wednesday Food section. Schools have already started or will start soon after Labor Day The headache is what to feed kids, especially little ones. High schoolers have their own ideas and can make their own lunches. The real dilemma is  what to feed the kindergarten through third grade crowd? The first idea Mr. Maillard suggests is making a list or more specifically a cheat sheet. He follows his grandmother's rhyme -" Vegetable fruit,main and crunch.Add a treat for a healthy lunch". This eliminates morning guess work but it creates a deep and reliable bench of options. Don;t be afraid to create fusion. Think celery bits and cheddar bunny., meatballs and crackers. for something different. Another must do is organize your kitchen like a chef.have everything in a mise en place scheme says Caroline Flynn a chef now in fort Lauderdale but once worked at the famed ABC Kitchen in New York. Desiinate a part of your kitchen for non perishable food items.

The number one must is enlist the kids as sous-chefs. Have them pack the lunch or prepare the sandwiches. You could also pack the night's dinner as their lunch too however make sure it;s something they like. That meat loaf sandwich could easily be traded for a LUnchable pack or just candy. Another idea is listening to your kids and take them weekend shopping with you. Have them be familiar with different veggies and fruits. If they see produce they like - buy it. Mr. Noble also recommends freezing lunch too. if your little one prefers rice or grain then cook these and freeze them in muffin tins lined with plastic wrap. Freeze, remove and restore in a sealed bag or container according to Lindsay Livingston a Westerville Ohio dietitian.reheat individual molds for ninety seconds full power, adding a tablespoon of water per serving.Also add a token of love which makes every lunch special and sure to put a smile on the young students'face.Looks to Asian obento culture for ideas and inspiration. Create sausage octopi or origiri rice balls in the shape of pandas. Sometimes just a note or a Hershey's kiss will do the job too.

Happiness is a good school lunch.It makes for smiles and a full stomach. This is a perfect combination for little scholars.

An Indigenous Sweet Treat

 After all the gooey cakes and chocolates this week, it's nice to find a dessert a bit more natural. This is in the form of grape dumplings , an Indigenous American treat that several East coast and Midwestern tribes make. It may be a centuries old recipe but it still packs a punch.

Kevin Noble Maillard, author of Fry Bread :A Native American Family Story  and a member of the Seminole tribe wrote about this classic indigenous dessert in today's New York Times Food section. They were originally balls of corn mush boiled in the juice of wild grapes. They represent the evolution of Indigenous foodways, along with forced relocation, cultural exchanges and developments in the food system. Modern chefs and cooks are showing a renewed interest in all things Native American along with eating locally grown foods.Earlier tribesmen saw bounties of all sorts of native fruits and veggies according to Cherokee citizen Elise McMullen-Ciotti an NYU graduate student majoring in food studies. The country held an massive amount of grapes. The original recipe calls for a native one called the possum grape. These were smaller than the European ones and had a tangy flavor. They are small and seedy , growing in wild abundance throughout southeastern US. Nowadays, modern Indigenous chefs use either Welch's Concord grape juice or grapes from their local grocery store.

Mr Maillard borrows his mother, Sharmaine's recipe for this recipe. You could use flour or Bisquick but the truest taste belongs to the ones made with cornmeal. They use blue cornmeal but if you can't find that use a medium grind yellow one. Flour is also added  along with one egg for binding  and melted butter. To sweeten it and give it that rich purple color add in a quarter cup Concord grape juice. (Keep in mind that grape juice does settle so you have to shake it before using.) There is also the addition of sweet agave but it can be omitted. The dumplings are made like any other dumpling, sift all the dry ingredients and then make a well in the middle for the liquid ones. Once mixed then roll the dough out into a rectangle after vigorous kneading.It's then cut into rectangles using a knife or pizza cutter.  prick each piece three times with a fork rinesThe sauce is a mix of cornstarch dissolved in cold water and four cups of well shaken grape juice . You also need to add two cups of dark seedless grapes and agave syrup if you want. bring to a roiling boil and carefully add the dumplings to the juice. They should cook for ten minutes. For the juice to turned into a syrup cook it for an additional five minutes on a low-medium heat. Serve with vanilla ice cream and fresh tarragon leaves. You also have them on their own too.

Grape dumplings are a refreshing way to enjoy dessert and honor the Indigenous People. They are a nice way to enjoy natural ingredients without all that sugar .  Make them for a simple but flavorful dessert.

The Legacy Of Frybread

 Indigenous frybread has an interesting legacy. Many Native American families love it and have their own recipes. Yet it does have a controversial and sad past of how it came into being. It represents comfort and sadness, sweetness and bitterness..

Kevin Noble Maillard, a law professor at Syracuse University wrote this fascinating piece in yesterday's New York Times Food section along with being a regular contributor to the newspaper. He is an expert on the subject , belonging to the Seminole Tribe in Oklahoma along with writing the children's book Fry Bread : A Native American Family Story. Every tribal family has a fry bread recipe.it was originally created by the Navajo or Dine tribe.It originated 154 years ago when the US government forced Indians in Arizona to make a three hundred mile walk known as "The Long Walk". They had to relocate to New Mexico where they couldn't easily grow the beans and vegetables needed for their recipes. Native cooks had to adapt using government rationed commodities of powdered, preserved and dry goods. It is a painful reminder of how they were treated yet it became a staple at powwows, family dinners and events. The recipe is a basic one. It's a mix of  flour salt baking powder and oil. Water is the only liquid used to make the dough moist. It's similar to the Mexican sopapilla which is the sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar.

The recipe has been shared by tribal members but it varies from family to family.Ramona Horsechief of the Pawnee Tribe and seven time winner of the National Indian Taco Championship of Pawhuska Oklahoma grows Pawnee blue corn in her garden and mills the flour for a sweeter , denser frybread. Le Etta Osborne-Sampson of the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma uses her grandmother's recipe which has sugar in it. The making of frybread is matriarchal as well. Hope Peshlakai was taught as a child by her grandmother and even follows her grandmother's habit of storing her cast iron skillet in her oven. She also had to deal with her husbands aunts who wanted to see her recipe for the bread. Ms. Horsechief uses her grandmother's 125 year old bread poker which is used to flip the bread.Mr. Maillard includes his recipe, undoubtedly a family one  which is easy to make up. He adds sea salt and raw sugar and uses coconut oil for frying for a healthier alternative.It needs to rise for three hours before frying and then fry to the desired color. It could be a light gold to a deep brown depending on how crispy you want it.

Fry bread is a comfort food with a history. It is delicious bringing back memories for so many indigenous. Yet it also has a past that has to be reckoned with , despite its' soothing flavor.