Earth Day is coming soon, and this week the kindergarteners discussed what we can do to help keep the planet healthy. In the classroom we read Todd Parr’s book I Love the Earth and Melanie Walsh’s book 10 Things I Can Do to Help My World. In addition to turning off the lights when we’re not using them and doing our best to conserve water, what we eat also has a huge impact on the environment. We will explore diet and climate change more with our fifth grade Edible Social Studies unit, but this year our focus is simple. It takes less energy and water to produce plant protein like beans than animal protein like beef, and there’s no more stunning sign of spring than the fava bean. Fava beans are not only fun to work with in the kitchen when there are many friends around to pitch in, but also planting them nourishes the soil.
With the backdrop of the tall fava plants the second graders started growing from seeds only in February, the kindergarteners got to work shelling the beans from their velvety pods. A big two-pound stack yielded a small bowlful of raw fava beans, which we then blanched in salted boiling water for about a minute. After shocking the cooked beans in cold water, we peeled them again, removing the outer layer of the seed coat to reveal the bright green beans underneath.
The peeled and cooked beans went into a food processor with tahini, lemon juice, garlic, dill, and olive oil. We enjoyed our homemade fava bean hummus with crackers and slices of rainbow carrot and cucumber. Room 111’s class was interrupted by rain (hooray!), but everyone cheerfully moved indoors for a special treat at their desks. We love the earth and we love fava bean hummus!
