For those who haven’t: in response to a CDC report that cited Huntington, WV as the most unhealthy city in America, British Chef Jamie Oliver decided to kick-off his U.S. food revolution.

He began by addressing the food being served in one Huntington elementary school. He was given a one week trial period by Food Service in which he had to replace the typical school lunch with  healthier, fresh cooked options and get the kids to eat it. He then tackled similar challenges at a high school, college, and with individuals.

Now he has started a petition to improve school food all across America.

If you want to support his efforts and learn more about the work he is doing, you can check it out here.

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This cookbook will come in very handy over the next few months as gleaning and donations bring in a surplus of whatever vegetable happens to be in season. When you find yourself running out of ideas for dishes calling for collard greens, reach for this book and you may find some inspiration.

Unlike other cookbooks, this one allows you to search by ingredient! So long as you know your ABC’s this cookbook will be a breeze! Another fun fact about this book is that it was created by a Madison, Wisconsin CSA (MACSAC), specifically for people who had recently purchased CSA shares. The hope was that it would provide their shareholders with creative ideas for preparing the (sometimes unique) produce that they would receive.

So to jazz up your summer meals, head on over to their website and purchase this cookbook directly from their CSA!

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An article recently posted on the blog, Salon.com, begs to differ. The article entitled “Hipsters on Food Stamps” highlights a group of 20 to 30 somethings who are popularizing a ‘new’ way to use food stamps. This group, containing many self-proclaimed ‘foodies’, have broken the long standing stereotypes that food stamps can only be used for government commodities and are instead using them to buy things like organic veggies and fresh baked bread at places like farmers markets and food co-ops.

Despite the fact that probably none of the clients you serve would fall into the ‘hipster’ category, this article brings up a great point for discussion about what you can and cannot buy with food stamps. The USDA Food and Nutrition Service website provides helpful information about the program, including what foods are eligible for purchase with Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards:

So the next time you are talking with your clients about food choices and healthful eating, remind them that they are not limited to packaged, processed, and frozen foods. Maybe even point out how they can stretch their food stamp dollars by buying fresh foods and cooking from scratch when they have time (and freezing meals for the week).

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Freezing is perhaps the best and easiest method of food preservation because it keeps the flavor and texture of foods better than any other.

When frozen foods fall victim to freezer burn, however, it just causes more waste. The best way to prevent burn is to remove as much air as possible by using vacuum sealers!

Check with your school’s dining services to see if they have a vacuum sealer that you can access. If not, they can be purchased for your Campus Kitchen at a reasonable price. I suggest the FoodSaver brand, which can be found here. You can use a vacuum sealer to freeze anything from fruits and vegetables to meats and prepared foods!

Below are step-by-step directions for freezing sweet potatoes (these are general directions that can be used as a guideline for whatever you are freezing):

1. Cook sweet potatoes in boiling water until they are mildly soft, about 15-20 min.

2. Let them cool and then peel and prepare them to your liking (mash, diced, sliced, halves)

3. To prevent darkening, mix with a little lemon juice. For mash – mix with 2 tbsp lemon juice/quart. For halved or sliced, dip in a mixture of 1/2 cup lemon juice diluted in 1 quart of water.

4. Pack into plastic, vacuum seal-able bags, seal, and freeze

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It is a color-coded list and each item links to a page that provides you with details about nutrient content, recipes, varieties,  and tips for storage. I also found it eye-opening how long some produce can be stored for! (Keep this in mind if you plan on doing any gleaning this summer for your Campus Kitchen.)      Enjoy!

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Owning a pressure canner is your gateway to eating fresh and local, all year round. It is a safe, easy, and fun way to save those bountiful summer harvests and to make sure you’ve always got something in your Campus Kitchen pantry. Here, I will  provide basic, step-by-step instructions for canning tomato sauce when harvests reach their peak and tomatoes are plentiful near the of summer. Come winter, you will be able to crack open these jars to make spaghetti sauce, chili, lasagna, or any other tomato based dish.

With a 23-quart pressure canner, you can fit 7 quart jars at a time (plus several smaller jars).

You will need:

• 23-quart pressure canner ( I recommend Presto 23-qt pressure cooker/canner. About $80)
• 1 large pot (for scalding tomatoes)
• 1 large bowl of ice water
• Jar Funnel (I recommend buying a canning set)
• Jar grabber
• Quart-sized mason jars (Ball or Kerr jars can be found at most grocery stores or dollar stores, like Wal-Mart or Big Lots)
• Large spoons and ladles

Step 1: Pick your Tomatoes! A bushel of tomatoes weighs approximately 53 lbs. and will yield about 12 quarts of sauce.

Step 2: Sterilize the jars and lids. This is most easily done in the dishwasher. Start your dishwasher before you begin anything else, so that it will be done by the time you are ready to fill the jars with sauce. If you don’t have a dishwasher, you can boil a large pot of water and submerge the jars and lids in there.

Step 3: Scald the tomatoes. This is to remove the skins. Submerge the tomatoes, a few at a time in boiling water for 1 minute. Quickly transfer them to a bowl of ice water and then slide the skins off.

Step 4: Drain excess water from tomatoes. Slice them in half and place them in a strainer as you work through the bunch. Draining the water greatly reduces cooking time and results in a thicker sauce.

Step 5: Transfer tomatoes to large pot. Bring to a boil and let simmer until the volume is reduced by about one third (thinner sauce) or one half (thicker sauce). Stir a bit to break up large tomato chunks.

Step 6: Fill jars. Using the funnel and a ladle, transfer sauce to jars, leaving ¼ inch head space. Add 2 tbsp lemon juice/quart jar to help prevent spoilage and to retain color and flavor. Then, using a dry and clean cloth, wipe the rim of the jar before covering with the lid and tightening the ring.

Step 7: Pressure canning! Follow the directions that came with your canner.

Step 8: Finishing up. Once the time is up, remove the jars with the jar grabber, making sure to not bump the other jars. Place them in a cool, draft free place, overnight. As the jars seal you will hear “pop!”. You can check to see that they have all sealed by gently pressing in the center of the each lid. If it pops up and down, it is not sealed.

For helpful tips/questions see my favorite, trustworthy canning website

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Looking for more information about sponsorships and how to go about asking for them? See what DC Central Kitchen’s Special Events Manager, Ann Nix, has to say.

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James is working to make St. Andrew’s our third high school-based Campus Kitchen while simultaneously coordinating a service project for MLK Day.

“St. Andrew’s is the type of school where students and staff alike form a line to serve” says James. “Because they value the benefits of community, the school encourages students to lead lives of responsibility to each other and to the larger community.”

That’s why students and staff at St. Andrews chose to start a Campus Kitchen and conduct a service project in honor of MLK Day 2010.

What makes St. Andrew’s MLK Day project unique? They will be doing a semester-long pilot run of their Kitchen which is set to open in September 2010. On January 18, 2010 the students will gather to carry out a food drive at a local grocery store, make 250 toiletry kits and prepare their first 75 hot and bagged lunches for participants at Bethesda Cares.

After their MLK Day kick-off, students will continue to serve 75 lunches per week to the Bethesda Cares meal program. The students will be involved every step of the way from managing the program to preparing and serving the meals.

“This project is about the St. Andrew’s community being dissatisfied with the famine of food, the famine of dignity and the famine of hope that exists within our region,” says James

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