This week we explored one of the great pairings in many food cultures around the world, rice and beans! In the kitchen, the first graders prepared aromatics for Jamaican rice and peas, mincing garlic and ginger, slicing green onions, and pulling leaves off of fresh thyme. Everything went into the pot with cooked kidney beans, white rice, and coconut milk. While we waited for the rice to cook, we had a chance to try Jamaican sorrel tea and read a wonderful book by Sandra L. Richards called Rice and Rocks, which took us on a journey to Puerto Rico, New Orleans (where Ms. Webb is originally from and where Louis Armstrong used to sign his name “Red Beans and Ricely Yours”), and to Japan (where Ms. Chie is originally from) to learn about sekihan, a red beans and rice dish from Japan.
It was special to be able to connect the curriculum to our incredible first grade teaching team, whose families have roots in New Orleans and Jamaica, respectively, and to get our chefs thinking about how what they eat might be the same as and different from other kids in their community.
