I wrote this Thursday morning, but just as I was about to publish it, my computer lost juice. It does that sometimes when it's perniciously hot. So let's see if I can make this make sense.
Wednesday was a wild combination of ups and downs. Amy came in early and I was able to go over to Sam's and get some of the things we've been needing for a while. One of the things I wanted to look for were disposable plate ware. I noticed that our plate waste has been too high. The kids had stopped eating and I was concerned, so I got to go over to shop Wednesday morning, and I got some little cups to separated what we are serving. This makes the children interested in what's in the little cup, and they actually eat a lot more. That makes their afternoons so much better.
I'm sure most of our children are not used to being given a home baked turkey lunch at noon. Wednesday, we had a turkey breast, potatoes, strawberries, pears and French bread. This is part of our curriculum to teach the children to eat. Some children go home to little at night because of economics. Some children just don't eat after 4:00 p.m. In addition, some families don't cook, so the balance of nutrients is limited. Some children live in fast food restaurants. So our commitment is to offer children every nutrient they need during their day with us. They receive three cups of milk plus; they get four servings of fruit and vegetables; they get three or more whole or enriched grain products; they get one or more protein servings.
Lately, they have been refusing everything, and with this new approach of offering a tiny cup of several kinds of things, they are actually eating.
One of the lunches we served this week was a huge success. It's called Piggy Pie. It's adapted from a Medieval cookbook I have that speaks of boiling meat in sugar to preserve it. I think it was called "Raptured Lark" or something.
The recipe sounds absolutely awful, but it's the best stuff, and men love it. You start with baking pork - chops, roast, blade, loin, whatever, at 350 degrees until the fat is cooked off. Break up the meat into bite sized pieces and put into a pot with equal amounts of ketchup ( not available in the middle ages because tomatoes are an American discovery) brown sugar and fruit juice.
For a family of four, bake six pork chops, use a cup of ketchup, a cup of brown sugar and a cup of fruit juice and boil mix a few minutes until the sugar caramelizes. Serve over noodles. The kids LOVED this.
And Thursday's menu was homemade pizza! Today, I believe we will be enjoying fish sticks.
OK so back tot he story about Wednesday: When I came in from Sam's, I got a call that Molly was going to the hospital and could I watch the boys. I was able to leave school and fly because we have the absolute best staff on earth. Molly had a horrible reaction to a medication she was given. She had all the pertinent tests and is fine, but was so sick from the wrong medication, she thought she was going to die. She bounced back Thursday, so it was quite a relief. No matter how big they get, they are still your child, and when they are sick, the world turns upside down.
Being at school this year is like being at home. It's like I'm leaving home to go play with family.
And Wednesday was my 37th wedding anniversary. So it was a day.
I hope everyone took notice of the Scholastic book order forms that were sent home today. You can make a child happy with a fifty cent book. These are great books and they last and last. There are great books for parents sometimes.
Today it will be over 100 degrees, so we will be staying in most, if not all, of the day.
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