Seed to Mouth 6/25/08

Yum! Today was stir fry and noodles day. It was a big hit! And luckily we made a lot of food, because at 5pm, the room was packed with 20 hungry youth, all looking forward to the meal cooked by their friends. Everyone liked what we made, and broccoli was popular! Always a great thing to hear, seconds for veggies. 

Veggie Stir Fry Over Noodles

Ingredients:

• two packages rice noodles
  
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
  
• 1 tablespoon ginger
  
• 1 medium size onion
  
• 5 to 8 garlic cloves
  
• 2 heads broccoli
  
• sweet or snow peas
  
• 4 carrots
  
• 2 bunches bok choi
  
• 4 tablespoons soy sauce
  
• salt and pepper to taste

1. bring a pot of water to boil
   
2. add noodles, stirring occasionally on medium heat until soft
   
3. heat oil, onions, garlic, soy sauce and ginger in a wok on medium heat for 2 minutes
   
4. add carrots and broccoli and cook for another 5 minutes
   
5. last add peas and bok choi and cook for 2 minutes
   
6. add soy sauce, salt and pepper to taste
   
7. serve over hot rice noodles
   

Seed to Mouth

The fabulous chefs of Seed to Mouth cooking class

Seed to Mouth 6/18/08

Today we had a fabulous cooking class making tortillas from scratch, heaped with delicious pinto beans, rice, and fresh-made salsa and guacamole! The youth also made a yummy salad harvested from the garden, so the tacos were full of healthy goodness. Everyone had a great time being in charge of their own element of the dinner, with about 3 people to each cooking team. This gave each group the opportunity to spice their own food, and get full credit and responsibility for their part of the meal, and it was tasty indeed. The extra treat was getting Nora's mom to be our visiting cooking teacher for the evening! She was a great help and inspiration with the tortillas, what a success!

Flour Tortillas

(makes 12)

• 4 cups flour
  
• 2 teaspoons salt
  
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
  
• 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
  
• 1 1/2 cups warm water or more if needed 

1. In a large bowl, stir together flour, salt, and baking powder
   
2. With a fork, gradually work in the oil until it is all mixed
   
3. Add enough warm water to make a soft but not sticky dough
   
4. Turn out onto a lightly floured board and knead for 5 minutes
   
5. Divide the dough into 1/4 cup portions and form them into twelve balls
   
6. Roll each ball flat round about 6 inches in diameter and 1/8 inches thick
   
7. Heat a large heavy skillet over medium high heat
   
8. Place the tortillas one at a time into the dry hot skillet
   
9. Cook until brown on one side, then turn and brown the other side
   
10. Remove from skillet and keep warm wrapped in a cloth towel
    

Seed to Mouth Cooking Classes

Along with cooking at Modern Tea Restaurant at 602 Hayes Street, every Thursday evening for five weeks over the summer, we taught cooking classes in the Community Room at Hayes Valley South. Anyone was welcome to join us for these culinary adventures, and we had anywhere from ten to thirty kids and adults in the class.

We created and then ate biscuits and collard greens, fruit pie, banana bread, zucchini bread, salad, pizza, and marinara sauce.We liked to keep our recipes fruit and vegetable based so that we could harvest ingredients from Koshland Garden directly across the street.

Come join us next summer for some fresh cookin'!

Cooking at Modern Tea

Modern Tea is a beautiful restaurant on the corner of Hayes and Laguna. On top of the restaurant's amazing food and peaceful atmosphere, the folks at Modern Tea are extremely committed to being a positive part of our community.

This summer we partnered with Modern Tea and the Western Addition Beacon Center to offer ten kids cooking classes. Every Monday afternoon we would walk with the kids from John Muir Elementary down to the restaurant to cook. The kids loved it!

We made sushi, strawberry jam, salad, pizza and more! It was an incredible experience to make food in a professional setting with the expertise of the owner, Alice Cravens, and head chef, Alicia Paullin. We are continuing these cooking classes throughout the school year much to the delight of the kids!