Chef's Tasting Table 2019 | Pumpkin Butter + Jicima + Pears

Watcha making for your Thanksgiving Table?

How bout something super simple, tasty, versatile and your kids can make it?

Please welcome pumpkin butter to your world - I've never made so much in my life.

You can find pumpkin butter recipes all over the "interweb" and I chose this simple recipe from Half Baked Harvest as my go-to for our food education fun this Fall season; Thank you for the constant cooking inspiration Tiegan Gerard, your food blog is AMAZEBALLS. 

I slightly lowered the pumpkin spice amount and here is what I scooped up for our November school lunch tasting in the lunch room. 

The best part =  kids can make it themselves!

Pumpkin Butter

1 14-16oz can/box of organic pumpkin puree

1/2 c pure maple syrup

1/3 c organic apple cider

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 tsp ground cinnamon

2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1/2 tsp iodized salt

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl and serve as a dip, spread, oatmeal mix in, yogurt parfait...  

or your own pumpkin spice latte!

OH YEA.

The kids loved the tasting and many had NEVER tried jicima ("yambean") before. I brought an uncut, whole jicima so the students could see how weird and brown it looks on the outside and identify it in the grocery during future shopping trips. 

Big thanks to Produce Manager Bob at our local Maple St Jewel for coordinating the massive jicima order and to Chef Myra for cutting them all up for us!! 

I am so thankful to the Diamond Lake School District Administration and Wellness Committee for sharing a passion for food education. It's been a dream to spear head this school lunch room tasting program every month, and I'm simply having a ball brainstorming new "bite sized" initiatives with the committee which are making such a difference in our #d76diamonds community.  

How did we get started? 

4 years ago, I helped the school district apply for the The Chef Ann Foundation Project Produce Grant which was the spark behind our "Chef's Tasting Table."

And speaking of sparks...

HAPPY 10 YEAR ANNIVERSARY CHEF ANN FOUNDATION!! 

Link over to their website and be inspired by how the foundation works tirelessly to inspire and empower school districts to reform school food. 

I am so very honored and excited to celebrate this incredible 10 year milestone with them: 

"One Mom's Mission - Food Educator, chef and mind body wellness coach Lindsey Shifley spearheads big changes in school food for Lake County, Illinois."

Thank you thank you thank you Chef Ann Foundation for leading American school food reform!

It all starts at home plate.

To the Mullies we go...

xoxoL

Chef's Tasting Table Day 14 // Passion Fruit

What an incredible finish to the 2017-2018 school year! To the most fabulous school nurse & fellow wellness committee member, Sue Kruckman, I am so happy and honored to be your partner in crime in running these fabulous Chef's Tasting Table events!!

Dare I say it was one of my most favorite school lunch room tastings yet? I think this video tells it all! And thank you so much to the Jewel Produce Manager Jeff for helping me source these passion fruit beauties! Learn more about this fantastic fruit here.

Video: Chef's Tasting Table - Passion Fruit

Enormous thank you's to the District 76 administration and staff for supporting such fun food education for the students!

I cannot WAIT to be back in the lunchroom next year with all of YOU! Our 3rd year running!

To the Mullies we go...

xoxoL

Chef's Tasting Table Day 13 // Cherries + Cacao

With the Winter Olympics opening ceremony tonight and Valentine's Day around the corner, our Chef's Tasting Table landed with perfect timing yesterday!

I love how it all came together: Sue - my school nurse sidekick - inspired me a few weeks ago when she forwarded me a yogurt and cherry smoothie drink recipe. Then, I remembered how Northwestern Performance Nutrition posted about using tart cherry concentrate with their athletes and also how the Olympic athletes are using tart cherry (and beetroot) concentrate and their performance training (article). Here is a recent instagram post where a Mackenzie Wilson, an NU cross country student athlete topped yogurt and bananas with a drizzle of the tart cherry concentrate - YUM! 

Want to learn more? Here is another great article about cherries and the science behind why tart cherry concentrate has risen to "super endurance food" status (article). We also talked about cherries natural melatonin levels and I was pleasantly surprised how a few students knew about melatonin and how it helps you to sleep! 

In honor of Valentine's Day, I added a little raw cacao powder to the drink and garnished with some cacao nibs. Many students remembered the chocolate avocado pudding I made last year with the cacao powder and I knew I had to bring it back in a different taste context. I wanted them to experience the true bitter and pure dark chocolate taste along with the tart/sour and sweet taste of the cherries. 

A Tart Cherry + Cacao Booster Drink

2 cups milk of choice (I used organic rice milk) or water

1 cup frozen black cherries

1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 Tbsp Tart Cherry Concentrate

1-2 dried pitted dates

1-2 Tbsp raw cacao powder (optional)

1 tsp white chia powder (optional - I did not use this in the school tasting but put it in my drink yesterday!)

Blend all ingredients in a high speed blender. Garnish: Fresh Cherries + raw cacao nibs. 

SO GOOD!!!

I'll see you back in the lunchroom in March for a super fun, GREEN taste:)

To the Mullies we go...

xoxoL

ps
All ingredients were found at Jewel. Thank you Dan for your help sourcing the large amount of cherries!