This week the fourth and fifth graders explored what would happen if everyone ate beans instead of beef. It turns out it could make quite a difference in our fight against climate change!
In the kitchen students made a centuries-old Middle Eastern savory dish featuring beans, hummus. The recipe we used incorporated traditional hummus ingredients such as garlic, sesame, and lemon while also adding in parsley for a bright flavor and beautiful color. Some chefs worked on building the hummus in the food processor, then pulsing the ingredients while drizzling in olive oil. Other chefs worked on making za’atar, a spice mixture common in the cuisine of many countries in the Middle East, grinding a total of 10 ingredients in the mortar and pestle. The fourth and fifth graders loved the za’atar, and we sprinkled it on the hummus, on our plates, and ate it straight when we ran out of pita. Leftover za’atar is great with scrambled eggs, yogurt, flatbread, grilled vegetables, and whatever else suits your fancy.
