Another great article has been written about one of our Chef’s Meggen Hanna, who currently works at Barstow Memorial School.
Click below to read the whole article at The Rutland Daily Herald.
http://rutlandharvestwatch.wordpress.com/2013/05/22/cooking-with-heart-at-barstow-memorial-school/
Thank you for your great work Meggen!
If you’ve had children in the last 25 years, there is a great likelihood at one time or another they’ve asked for a Lunchable. It seems seductive to purchase, not only would you please a nagging child in a grocery store but if you’re accustomed to packing your child’s lunch, you also wouldn’t have to worry about their lunch for the next day.
But behind the flashy packaging and salivating catch phrases aimed at both parents and children, at $3 a box, are you sure what you are buying your children is really considered lunch-worthy? The intent o this post is not to put down purchasers of this product but rather to reflect on what exactly it is that you’re purchasing.
Lunchables are marketed so that children can build their own mini sandwiches, pizzas, wraps, etc., and though there are upwards of 30+ varieties, the most popular variety usually includes, roughly 8 Ritz crackers, 8 1”X1” pieces of cheese, 8 1”X1” pieces of deli meat, a sugary juice drink such as Capri Sun and a small candy item such as an airhead or Reese’s peanut butter cup.
Not only do Lunchables not offer a very appealing looking product below the packaging, they don’t offer very much nutritional value either. I implore you to take a look at the back of a Lunchables box just to find what exactly is hiding in the seemingly innocent crackers, cheese and meat combo packs with 60+ ingredients.
In Comparison to a school lunch, priced around $2 at the full paid price, Lunchables just don’t stack up.
Lunches served at schools are required by the Federal Government to meet ridged nutrition requirements as a part of a nutritional, well balanced diet. Lunchables are not required and do not meet the federal standards.
Today, every lunch program in the country is required to serve, whole grains, fruits and vegetables with every meal and a limited salt/calorie intake. The Abbey Group always takes it a step further by offering a multitude of offerings, unlimited fruit and vegetables and scratch bake cooking. We pride ourselves on using fresh and local ingredients to make our lunches right on site. Doesn’t make the post picture so appealing, does it?
Another maple sugaring season as arrived here in New England and we’re celebrating this cultural tradition by having real maple syrup in at least one dish a day at lunch from April 15th-19th. This promotion will be taking place in all of our cafeterias from Vermont to New Hampshire.
We will be serving up maple syrup from one of Vermont’s largest and most advanced maple producers, Georgia Mountain Maples out of Milton, Vermont. Take a look at just some of the syrup we corralled for the occasion!
Please check out the Georgia Mountain Maples website for more information about their sugar making processes. http://www.georgiamountainmaples.com/
Last week we whipped up some pizzas with a cauliflower crust in the Abbey test kitchen and the results were amazing! You can barely tell the difference between a bread crust and the cauliflower. We recommend making a few mini pizzas with this recipe or try cooking them a little longer than the recommended time using a pizza stone or a special pizza pan that will really crisp up the bottom. A brown bottom was our biggest issue with the recipe but we think making smaller pizzas or using a grated pan will be an easy fix. If you try the recipe let us know how it goes!
Servings: 2 Small Pizzas
Prep Time: 25 minutes Cook Time: 18min
Ingredients:
CRUST:
TOPPINGS:
Directions:
1. Prepare the crust: Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Spray a cookie sheet or pizza pan with nonstick spray (or use a nonstick surface). Shred the cauliflower into small crumbles. You can use the food processor but be careful not to turn the cauliflower into soup. You’ll need a total of about 2 cups or so of cauliflower crumbles (which is about a large head of cauliflower. Place the cauliflower crumbles in a large bowl and microwave them (dry) for 8 minutes. Give the cauliflower a chance to cool.
In a medium bowl, mix the cauliflower crumbles (about 1 1/2 cups since they shrink after cooking) with the remaining crust ingredients. Pat the “crust” into a 9 to 12-inch round on the prepared pan or two 5” crusts. Spray the crust lightly with nonstick spray and bake for 15 minutes (or until golden). Remove the crust from the oven and turn the heat up to broil.
2. Prepare the pizza: Spread the sauce on top of the baked crust, leaving a 1/2-inch border around the edge. Sprinkle 1/4 cup cheese on top. Add your toppings and, spreading them out around the pizza. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top. Broil the pizza 3 to 4 minutes, or until the toppings are hot and the cheese is melted and bubbly. Cut into 6 slices and serve immediately.
Recipe adopted From: Recipe Girl
