We had such a lively week, we weren’t able to take too many photos of the kids, or the beautiful waffles they made, in action. We promise to do better! (You can catch a glimpse of the finished product in the last image.)
This week we talked about the Bayview-Hunters Point, the history of African-American migration to San Francisco from the South, and the dwindling African-American population in the city over the past 40 years. The breakfast we made, sweet potato waffles, is part of the painful history of our nation. The sweet potato is native to the Americas, but enslaved people from Africa were likely the drivers of culinary innovation with the ingredient, riffing off of traditional African cuisine. The waffle came from Dutch immigrants arriving in colonial America in the early 17th century.
The kitchen smelled like Thanksgiving due to the cinnamon and cloves in our batter. Right before cooking the waffles, students folded whipped egg whites (so stiff they didn’t fall out when the bowl was turned upside down!) into the batter to make the waffles extra fluffy. We ate the warm waffles with fresh Valencia oranges and maple syrup.
