Asheville Middle School students create salsa during a FEAST class. Making salsa is a great way to teach children about the texture and taste of different vegetables. / Special to WNC Parent
We have been back to school for a few weeks now, and we are growing accustomed to new teachers, schedules and after-school programs. It is easy to start short-cutting meals, snacks or school lunches. My life seems to get easier and busier at the same time when children are back in school.
By this point, I am wondering what to send to school for lunch or snack, what healthy snacks to have at home for after school and the always burning question of what to make for dinner. The answer to these questions depends on you family and most importantly your child’s taste.
During our cooking classes, FEAST focuses a lot of taste — more specifically what tastes good to you. We often do taste tests of different fruits and vegetables and spend some time describing how the foods taste. It does not matter the age, gender or race of the group; students always disagree about what a food tastes like. A fruit will taste sweet to one student and sour to another.
Ask your child about his or her taste preferences. When you sit down to eat a meal, play a game of describing the food. Children can describe the taste, texture, temperature.
Break up the ingredients and try to pick them out while you are eating. Often students will say they do not like something but it is really just the texture of one ingredient in the meal that they do not like. By taking a little extra time to find out why your child likes and dislikes certain foods you can save the headache of trying to find vegetables they will eat.
Salsa is a fun snack to work with because there are so many variations. This time of year tomatoes are plentiful and inexpensive. If you make a basic salsa recipe, add different beans, fruits, vegetables, herbs and seasonings to find what your kids like.
3 medium sized fresh tomatoes diced, or 1 can diced tomatoes
1 clove crushed garlic (add more if you like garlic)
1/2 to 1 jalapeno, finely chopped (omit for mild salsa)
1/2 yellow or green sweet bell pepper finely chopped
1/4 small onion finely chopped
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1/4 teaspoon salt
Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well, or put all ingredients in a blender or food processor and pulse for a few seconds.
Variations: Add black beans, fresh corn cut off the cob, avocado, apples or roast all veggies prior to chopping.
1 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon warm water
Mix together flour, salt and baking powder.
Work the butter in with your fingers until it looks like lumpy peas.
Slowly add water until a ball is formed.
Kneed for 2 minutes in the bowl, cover with a clean cloth for 20 min.
Divide into 6 sections, form balls, set aside and cover
On a clean surface roll out each ball in a circle, set aside covered.
Heat ungreased griddle to medium high temp and bake until lightly browned on each side. Extra tortillas may be well wrapped and stored in freezer.
3 cups chopped lettuce, spinach or mixed greens
1 cup chopped vegetables (bell peppers, tomatoes, green onion)
1 cup cooked pinto, black or kidney beans, rinsed
1 cup thoroughly cooked beef, chicken, turkey or pork)
1/4 cup shredded cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro and chives
1/2 cup crushed tortilla ships, taco shells or tostada shells
3 tablespoons vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons nonfat Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon water
1/4 teaspoon salt (optional)
1 clove crushed garlic
1/4 teaspoon sugar or honey
Combine dressing ingredients in a jar, cover and shake well for 2 minutes. Combine salad ingredients in a large bowl. Toss salad with dressing, top with chips.
Kate Justen is the program director of FEAST — Fresh Easy Affordable Sustainable Tasty, a program of Slow Food Asheville. Contact her at feast.avl@
gmail.com or visit www.slowfoodasheville.org.