When it comes to integrating an exploration of the history of San Francisco, food education, and a civil rights curriculum, the possibilities are endless. We only have 14 weeks together with the third graders, split between the garden and kitchen classrooms. Each topic we choose to focus on means there are hundreds of other stories we don’t get to tell. Last week we learned that the Gold Rush brought people from all over the world to California. I wish we could spend an entire year cooking and eating our way through the food traditions each immigrant and refugee group contributed to the culinary fabric of our city!
Sometimes a powerful chapter in history pairs nicely with a cooking activity we know kids will enjoy, which is why this week we learned about the role the Presidio of San Francisco played in Japanese incarceration during World War II while making our own sushi. The Presidio simultaneously housed the office of the general who signed the executive order that would exclude persons of enemy ancestry across the West Coast and a secret language school where Japanese-American soldiers were trained as military linguists. In our opening circle, students and educators shared their own experiences of feeling excluded and we all agreed exclusion has a powerful and lasting effect.
We made temaki (literally “hand-roll” in Japanese) with sheets of nori and many colorful plant-based fillings: braised tofu, oshinko (pickled daikon), sunflower sprouts, Japanese cucumber, carrots, furikake (a Japanese rice seasoning), green onion, and pickled ginger. The chefs seemed to most enjoy learning the secret of sealing the final flap of nori with a single grain of sushi rice, which makes an excellent edible glue.
