Hello from Thailand--today our culinary campers explored a famous and delicious Thai dish, Pad Thai!But first, SNACK! We received a wonderful donation of fresh, hand-picked peaches from a famous farm in the Central Valley-- Masumoto Farm. What a special treat!Our little chefs were soon nourished by the peaches and ready to get slicing on some veggies for their Pad Thai lunch.We introduced a variety of flavors through taste testing: tamarind, lime juice, garlic, ginger, and soy sauce!

 

View today's tasty Thai recipes, here!

Taking on the task of making Lavash was fun, hard work. Lavash is a flatbread from the Middle East region and we taught our chef-campers how to make it from scratch!After several rounds of kneading, we let the dough rise again in a warm dry spot in our kitchen.Our students thoroughly enjoyed rolling out their lavash dough into a thin disk, before baking off in the oven.Here is a moment-in-action of our fabulous Junior Counselor, "Chef Sage", demonstrating the kneading technique to all the little chefs.Check out that bounty of flatbread-- oh and that adorable smile!This flaky flatbread paired wonderfully with a crisp, crunchy cucumber salad, homemade hummus, and freshly roasted red pepper dip (called Romesco). In the afternoon, we put our hands and thumbs to work, throwing together a simple butter cookie batter for "Thumbprint Cookies!". Thank you Strauss Creamery for the decadent and sustainablely-produced butter!To fill our Thumbprint Cookies, our chef teachers and campers chopped up local, ripe plums to be cooked down in to a sweet, fresh jam. Oh and we had some extra Dulce De Leche on hand, so of course we put that sweet sauce to tasty use!

Check out today's recipes, here!

This morning Chef Andi took us through a sensory lesson about Mission style burritos! We made giant stuffed burritos with seasoned beans and sofrito from scratch, Spanish rice, guacamole, pico de gallo, peach salsa and homemade queso fresco.

In the afternoon, Chef Annie came in to teach the kids all about different types of churros. We made the American version with cinnamon sugar and we baked our churros instead of frying them. The kids made homemade chocolate sauce to their liking with unsweetened chocolate, butter and powdered sugar to dip the churros in once they were done baking. The kids topped off the day by making horchata! A fun festive day for sure.

Miso Soup and Miso Brownies, but first... SUSHI!A new batch of chef-campers were welcomed to the YUM Chefs kitchen this morning-- and got straight to slicing!These students practiced their knife skills by cutting a rainbow of seasonal veggies to roll up into their very own SUSHI ROLL!For lunch, the sushi rolls were paired with a warm bowl of homemade MISO SOUP!...and for dessert, we used MISO PASTE in brownies! What a great "umami" flavor to these decadent chocolate treats.

 

View today's the recipes, here!

Another day in the chemistry kitchen... Yeast proved itself again that it provides the right amount of leavening needed to create FLUFFY BAGELS!The "yummy-scientists" were so impressed on how quickly our bagel dough came together, was boiled and backed, and sliced for veggie fillings-- all within 3 hours!Our chef-teachers loved hearing the praises of the texture, flavor, and accomplishments of this bread recipe.We too thought they deserved praise for their attention to detail and excitement for creating unique bagel sandwiches. Well done!In the afternoon, our camp whipped up a batch of Coconut, Chocolate, Date Truffles, using cocoa powder from Ghirardelli. Such a quick, easy recipe to satisfy that sweet tooth, with minimal amount of added sugar. The sweetness and stickiness of the dates helped with the foundation of making these truffles a perfect dessert and a perfect consistency.Our chef-campers loved using their hands to form and roll out individual truffles to eat on the spot, as well as, take home to their hungry loved ones!

View today's recipes, here!

Today we experimented with the leavening agent known as YEAST!We let the yeast, warm water, and sugar, awaken together in a bowl, whilst mixing the dry ingredients together.Once frothy, the wet mixture was combined with the dry, and a dough was formed. We let it rise in a covered bowl, on top of our refrigeration in the kitchen-- a nice warm, stable spot for the yeast to do its magic.... Oh, and it sure did! Our baguette dough was very fluffy and soft, thanks to the power of this leavening agent.Chef campers had the chance to shape their dough into baguettes and watch them bake in the oven.Once baked, each student prepared and assembled their own sandwich fixings for lunch. This bread was a hit!

You can check out this recipe in Leah's (the Founder of YUM Chefs) in her cookbook, for purchase, here!

Chemistry in the kitchen: both with campers and counselors (aww!) and warmed milk and acid (vinegar).Students spent the morning learning how to create fresh, "ricotta" cheese in the kitchen using only whole milk and an acid (vinegar, in this case). The chef teachers warmed the milk in a pot on the stove. Once warm, the white vinegar was added to the milk and chef-campers watched the milk curdle. The chemical reaction created solid curds and liquid whey! We separated the curds, seasoned with salt... and had fresh ricotta cheese! The cheese was stuff inside freshly prepared empanada dough, alongside a summer succotash salad of corn, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, and avocado.

Check out these delicious, fresh recipes, here!

Today marks the beginning of our first COMBO CAMP: Science and Cooking! Our little chef-scientists joined us in the kitchen for a lesson on baking soda!We prepared an Irish Soda Bread recipe to demonstrate how baking soda reacts with flour and salt. What a DELICIOUS reaction it created!For lunch, our campers paired this hearty bread with a summer-celebration soup. This soup celebrated the ripeness of zucchini, tomatoes, bell peppers, and corn.In the afternoon, our kitchen turned into a "mini" science classroom, exploring the physical composition of popcorn kernels and how they react to heat. Our chef-scientists loved watching, seasoning, and eating a large batch of popcorn made from the stove's conductive heat.

View today's scientific recipes, here!

The final day of Cooking Around the World with Kinder - 2nd Grade little CHEFS:We put our knife skills to the test, slicing, chopping, and dicing a variety of topping and sauce ingredients for PIZZA!Each chef camper made their own personal pizza-- with any shape and combination of toppings they desired.Semolina flour is used as the bottom of the crust to ensure that it can be transferred from counter, to pizza paddle, to the sheet pan in the oven.We often tell students that their pizza dough must past the "wiggle test", ensuring that they have enough semolina flour underneath to prevent sticking to the counter.Nothing like a homemade, fresh-out-of-the-oven personal pizza... to end the amazing week with our littlest chefs. Their sense of wonder and excitement was such a joy to experience in the kitchen this week. We truly hope they continue in their open-mindedness with trying new foods and helping out with cooking at home! Hope to see you soon little ones!

Check out today's recipes, here!

Today we cooked "gigante=giant" burritos, inspired by the Mission neighborhood of SF!We went straight to the chopping block, cut up a rainbow of ingredients for burrito fillings: roasted zucchini, roasted red bell pepper, mango salsa, and fresh guacamole!We even prepared a large batch of rice and black beans, seasoned with a bounty of spices: cumin, paprika, chili powder, coriander, and salt!Chef campers watched with anticipated on how to assemble and roll up their GIANT Mission-style burritos!Now for the rolling!For dessert, we made "churro chips!" First, students cut whole wheat tortillas into chip shapes, coated with coconut oil, and tossed with the iconic churro cinnamon-sugar mixture.Warm out of the oven, these "churro chips" were a hit amongst these littlest of chefs!

View today's recipes, here!