For our first week together, the second and third graders learned that California is an agricultural powerhouse that produces much of the produce eaten around the country and even the world. In the classroom, we read Before We Eat: From Farm to Table by Pat Brisson and illustrated by Mary Azarian to remind us of and celebrate all the labor that goes into our food system.
In the kitchen, we made a 100% California-grown salad highlighting the autumn season. Our produce came from local organic farms in San Benito, Santa Barbara, San Mateo, Tulare, Monterey, and Santa Cruz Counties. The thyme came from San Francisco County from a pot on my balcony! There was quite a bit of salad spinning, chopping, and emulsifying involved in putting together all the colorful components of our dish. In our closing circle, each chef named their favorite ingredient in the salad. Every ingredient (except for poor fennel) got at least one shoutout. Happy fall!
