Nutrition Program
Our Chef and Food Educator derives inspiration from organically grown, local, sustainable produce, student interest and special needs, the work of Alice Waters, and other local farm-to-table chefs to create the Little Owl Preschool weekly menus. The Chef makes lunch, and two snacks daily, using student collaboration whenever possible. Menus are based on local and sustainable, produce, fish, hormone-free dairy, whole grains, and simple recipes to make fresh and flavorful food. Meals are served family style so that students can engage with food and learn skills to become independent. Little Owl Preschool is a peanut-free environment.
Featured recipe:
Click here to see the archive of previous recipes!
Frittata
Frittata is an egg-based dish similar to an omelette or a crustless quiche, enriched with additional ingredients such as meats, cheeses, vegetables (easily made gluten-free) or pasta. It may be flavored with herbs and spices to your liking. Any Little Owl will tell you, please don’t forget the Parmigiano Reggiano! (Rice parm is a great alternative for dairy-free friends).
Just for a little history, the Italian word frittata derives from fritta, the feminine past participle of "to fry" (friggere), and was originally a general term for cooking eggs in a skillet, anywhere on the spectrum from fried egg, through conventional omelette, to an Italian version of the Spanish tortilla de patatas, or the “tortilla espanola” as it is called in Madrid, made with fried potato and onion.
In Italian we say “He/she turned over the frittata” of somebody
(mainly politicians) that changes his or her opinion without any justification. Or, “You don’t even know how to cook a frittata”, we also say to those without any kitchen skills. This is because the most basic form of a frittata is just eggs and olive oil, but the frittata has evolved to a much more sophisticated dish with the reinvention of leftovers and the art of the flip. There are four key differences from a conventional omelette and a frittata:
* There is always at least one optional ingredient (making it ideal for using leftovers) in a frittata. These ingredients are combined with the beaten egg mixture while the eggs are still raw rather than being laid over the mostly-cooked egg mixture before it is folded.
*Eggs for the frittata may be beaten vigorously to incorporate more air than traditional savory omelettes, to allow a deeper filling and a fluffier result. They may also be beaten more lightly to create a more dense dish.
* The mixture is cooked over a very low heat, more slowly than an omelette, for at least 5 minutes,typically 15, until the underside is set but the top is still runny (you will finish it off in the oven).
*The partly cooked frittata is not folded to enclose its contents, like an omelette, but it is instead finished off in the oven, at about 350, and then set to cool for a few minutes before being flipped over in full (see notes on flipping).
Another distinction is that unlike an omelette, which is generally served whole to a single diner, a frittata is usually divided into slices, cut like a pizza pie, and served family style. It may be served hot or cold, accompanied by fresh salads, bread, beans, olives, and whatever else your heart desires.
Pictured here are two types of frittata, one was made using the leftovers of elbow macaroni and raw sauce, and I added zucchini flowers, parmesan cheese, and several Gama farms eggs (I use 2 eggs per person). The other was made using butterfly (or bow tie) pasta & rainbow chard pesto leftovers, with eggs and queso fresco. A frittata can be made of most any combination -- rice, veggie, pasta, meat dishes, any variety of sauces -- be creative!
Basic recipe:
Take your leftovers and any other finds from your garden or local farmer’s market, mix in a few eggs (min 1 per person), and a generous handful of parm or rice parm to coat the pasta. Preheat the oven for 350. Heat olive oil in a cast iron skillet (on the stove, the oven is for later) for a minute and then add the mixture. Allow sides to start to bubble (you'll hear it) and then turn off heat & cover a with a thin layer of parm on top (you can use whatever cheese you like really, melted cheese is always awesome), then transfer to the oven. Bake until cheese is melted, browned and crispy (like lasagna).
Take out of the oven, and let cool for a couple of min. Now here is the magic: Gently but thoroughly scrape the sides with a spatula. Place a dish on top of the skillet (large enough to cover it), then, using hot pad holders FLIP it over!
Buon appetito!
Click here to see the archive of previous recipes!
Our Menu
Little Owl is a proponent of the culinary philosophy that maintains cooking should be based on the finest and freshest seasonal ingredients that are produced sustainably and locally. The Little Owl kitchen advocates for a food economy that is "good, clean, and fair." We collaborate with a community of local farmers whose dedication to sustainable agriculture assures our kitchen a weekly supply of fresh and delicious ingredients.
In September 2012 Little Owl Preschool became part of The Edible Schoolyard Project http://edibleschoolyard.org/program/little-owl-preschool. Our teachers engage students in an “eco-gastronomic” curriculum. By actively involving students in all aspects of the food cycle, The Little Owl Edible Schoolyard is an education program that instills the knowledge and values needed to build a humane and sustainable future. Little Owl Preschool integrates gardening, cooking, and sharing meals and snacks into the core curriculum. We use food traditions to teach, nurture, and empower preschool students.
The following principles are used for menu planning guidelines:
- Appropriate portion sizes for each required meal component set by U.S. Department of Agriculture guidelines of the Child and Adult Care Food Program.
- Consideration of students food allergies and special needs.
- Local, seasonal, and sustainable produce.
- Collaboration with the curriculum and planning of the Little Owl Preschool teaching staff and students.
- Guidelines and menu ideas from farmtopreschool.org
- Using Alice Water's Edible Schoolyard Project as a model.
- Recipes, experiences, and thoughts from "The Languages of Food", by Reggio Children, "The Art of Simple Food" and " Edible Schoolyard", by Alice Waters.
- Ideas and recipes from local farm-to-table chefs and farmers.
Some of the ways in which we involve our students in food preparation, learning, and enjoyment: :
- Engage the senses: smell the aromas, notice the colors, feel, compare & contrast textures
- Discuss presentation
- Discuss seasonality
- Cultivating, planting, harvesting
- Prepare ingredients, organize components of a recipe, meis en plas
- Practice safe and healthy food preparation habits
- Combine ingredients together
- Add spices to taste
- Set the table together, present the dish
- Practice closure of a meal by cleaning up and practicing gratitude and reflecting on the food
- And so much more -- the combination of possibilities are endless!
Our Reggio-inspired kitchen is a place of symbolic and cultural significance, expressing care, attention to our community, and the value of differences in customs and traditions. Our kitchen is open to students, teachers, and families. Several of our parents volunteer to help the chef in preparation, clean-up, and facilitating student involvement, thus opening the rich, fragrant, and delicate dialogue between children and the kitchen to their families and home kitchens as well.
| Breakfast: 8:30 AM | Morning Snack: 10:30 AM | Lunch: 11:45 AM | Afternoon Snack: 2:30 PM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Monday: |
|
|
|
|
Tuesday: |
|
|
|
|
Wednesday: |
|
|
|
|
Thursday: |
|
|
|
|
Friday: |
|
|
|
|
| Breakfast: 8:30 AM | Morning Snack: 10:30 AM | Lunch: 11:45 AM | Afternoon Snack: 2:30 PM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Monday: |
|
|
|
|
Tuesday: |
|
|
|
|
Wednesday: |
|
|
|
|
Thursday: |
|
|
|
|
Friday: |
|
|
|
|
Accommodations/food substitutions will be made for dietary restrictions when applicable.
Some vegetables, & herbs organically grown on site.
Subject to change with availability of ingredients, please see kitchen white board for updates!
What We're Cooking This Season!
|
 |
Navel orange |
|---|---|---|
 |
Fuji Apple |
|
 |
Ruby Grapefruit |
|
 |
Nantes Carrot |
|
 |
Broccoli |
|
 |
Green Leaf Lettuce |
|
 |
Lacinato / Dino Kale |
|
 |
Red Radish |
|
 |
White Cauliflower |
|
 |
Red Beets |
|
 |
Bulb Fennel |
|
 |
Satsuma Mandarin Orange |
|
 |
Fresh Kiwi |
|
 |
Cara Cara Orange |