BALTIMORE MONTESSORI PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL COOKBOOK a brief program description and recipe collection
INTERVIEWS PAGE xx
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GARDEN PAGE xx
AUTUMN PAGE xx
TABLE OF CONTENTS
WINTER PAGE xx
SUMMER PAGE xx 2
SPRING PAGE xx
INTERVIEWS WITH KATHY HAMEL, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, & DENZEL MITCHELL, HEAD CHEF
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2/24/2012 Kathy: It basically started with Jill Wrigley. Our very first year, we had Friday afternoon specials. Jill offered the Food is Elementary program as a special, and kids were able to prioritize which special they wanted to do, and everyone in the school wanted to do the food, the cooking class. We thought “wow everyone loves to cook, the kids really want to know how to do this.” She was just kind of in the cafeteria piecing it together with no equipment at all… the current kitchen was a closet at that time. Then Denzel (Mitchell) raised his hand and said that—he was an assistant our first year in one of the classrooms—he’d been a chef before, so he raised his hand and said “you know I’d like to see if there’s a class we could offer. Get together small groups of kids, do a nutrition class, and just do some snacks.” We said “yeah, the kids were so interested in this, and it would be a good thing for them to learn about, we
INTERVIEWS
should do it.” We then had to then find the space and I remember Allison (Shecter) and her husband Mike and I went downstairs, and Mike says “this is what I’m thinking of” and he opened the door to this dark closet. It was filled with just rows and rows of these large bookcases that were filled with paint cans and tools, everything we used to clean this place up, all the equipment. He said “I think we can just clean this all out and make a great student kitchen.” Allison and I were looking at each other like “you think so?” and the real reason was that it was right next to the cafeteria and had access to water… that was the key point. So we did that. Cleaned it out. All those bookcases, actually they were shelves, shelving units, they got reused as the beds for the garden. So, parents put those all together. I don’t know if you saw the raised beds that we had for those two years before we got the bigger garden. Think big. It gets bigger and bigger. So those were the raised beds. Then Denzel just got some tables and started working with the kids, and just kept getting more and more ambitious with what the menu might be. Apples and cheese was the first thing we had. And then it became risottos and soups— Rivkah: puréed soups K: (laughs) Yes! So it just kept growing. Even the receptivity of the children changed over time as they were exposed to the cooking class... more of it came back from the classrooms in the beginning. Now the kids are much more adventurous eaters. They will sell what they made to their classmates and market it basically. What’s in it, what they did, sometimes they make menu cards and really you
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“Even the receptivity of the children changed over time as they were exposed to the cooking class... more of it came back from the classrooms in the beginning. Now the kids are much more adventurous eaters.”
know they care about presentation a lot more now and they really want their classmates to enjoy what they made. And I think that ownership has really changed in terms of the adventurousness of other students to try different foods and be interested eaters, and to know what’s in it and all those types of things, so, its changed. R: I have two younger half-sisters that are in fourth and fifth grade that wouldn’t touch half the things that are made here. K: I know! You’d think that they wouldn’t and then kids have become vegetarians, like my son...
INTERVIEWS
*** K: The program has been organic just as the food is… it’s been interesting. It’s just grown without necessarily this steady plan, but just as the kids have gotten more into it, the food has gotten more diverse and complex. Our education has expanded to really teaching kids about sustainable and locally grown food practices. The garden has expanded and types of things we grow has expanded— R: And having the composting system K: Right, and having the rain water collection system. So different people are interested in different parts. And push on different parts so you see it move in one direction and then kind of go a little bit this way its really an interesting thing where there’s not one guiding force. You know lots of parents are involved and volunteer, lots of other chefs in town volunteer, lots of MICA students volunteer, so it’s been really because of those inputs from different people that it moves in different directions that sometimes we didn’t even expect. R: That makes sense with a universal thing like food K: Right. People bring different things to it and especially the chefs, with different recipes. R: I remember being shocked when the chefs from Woodberry Kitchen came and pickled watermelon rinds… I grew up just knowing not to eat that part… and it was delicious!
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INTERVIEWS
3/14/2012 Denzel: So the way it happened was— I was a founding staff member of the school, I was a classroom assistant. I came out of teaching high school Social Studies for 6 years, and my oldest son was 7 and my daughter was about to start school, so I needed to find a school for them. And that didn’t work. I didn’t really like being a classroom assistant. So it got to the end of the year and I was looking to do something else, and I was having trouble finding—do you want the whole story? Rivkah: Yeah! D: Okay. So I was having trouble finding other employment as a high school teacher— R: And you had been a chef before D: I had been a chef before. But I wasn’t really interested in cooking in restaurants again. I was actually really just starting to think about doing some larger scale food growing. I wouldn’t have necessarily called it farming then, but definitely larger gardens. R: So did 5 Seeds Farm start at around the same time? D: Yeah it started around the same time. And so, I’m not certified, so I couldn’t get a job teaching at a public high school, and because of the economy, private high schools weren’t hiring teachers anymore. When the school year ended, Allison came up to me and said we want to continue the food education program that we had the first year at the school. The first year, the program was extra-curricular,
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one day a week, and it was taught by Jill Wrigley, who was using the Food is Elementary curriculum. So they asked me if I wanted to do that— they heard I had experience in the kitchen, and interest—I was like yeah ok that’s cool I’ll try it. So this program started year two of the school. The summer of year one they took all the shelves outta that closet, we got some tables from storage in Baltimore city public schools, through a connection at the school, we got some free tables. And then we used the electric woks that Jill had used for her program and got a couple more and I just kinda decided how the room would best be set up for the purposes of what we wanted to do, which was to have an educational program that had some level of snack for the classroom. So previously... the school was always interested in making sure there was enough food in the building for the students, so, the first year, the snack in the classrooms was on a rotating basis through the parents. The parents would basically donate snack and they’d serve it in the classrooms. Well. What we learned the first year, was that everybody’s idea of nutrition was a little different. One week it would be clementines, and the next week it’d be Cheetos. And it was difficult to say to a parent, “Hey...” That was the other catalyst for starting the program. I was in the room with the tables and the woks and a bunch of donated knives and vessels and stuff from people’s houses and attics and garages, and there were a few parents who went combing at thrift stores to acquire stuff. And that’s kind of how we started. The original idea was to use the “Food is Elementary” curriculum, which we did, in the first year of the program, and adapt it so that it fit
INTERVIEWS
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my own personal convictions, which were to eat seasonally, to eat locally, and to support the local agricultural economy. And it was a plant based diet.
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As we continued on with the program, in its infancy, that kind of developed into a culinary education program, really because the kids were asking for it. You know, I’d prepare a lesson and come in and talk with the kids; they were much more interested in actually just cooking and preparing food. So we did a couple of sessions where the kids actually made stuff, and they took home canned applesauce or bottled salad dressings, and they could take it home and share it with their families. But that got to be too much. So I thought it might make more sense for us to prepare larger portions of food so that the kids could serve their classrooms. That was kind of the progression of that. I was already going to the farmers’ market for apples, and pears, from Reid’s Orchard for morning snack every day, so it seemed to make sense that since I was at the farmers’ market anyways I would just purchase produce for the rest of the week. It’s just developed from there. We were able to buy a lot more produce, and we were getting bread donations from Atwaters, and we were going to Restaurant Depot for quite a bit of staple items. So that was kind of the foundation, and from there, I really tried to develop the program so that we’re really leaning more on locally grown produce, more sustainably sourced and produced grains and pastas and oils you know to maintain the integrity of what it is we’re trying to teach the kids, and at the same time using more whole ingredients.
INTERVIEWS
So then the second year of the program, Patrick (Caulfield) came on as an Americorps volunteer. And he kind of splits his time between the kitchen and the garden. And then we also had a volunteer coordinator that year. Were you here, did you meet her? Was that last year? R: Yeah, I remember. Afeke. D: That must have been the third year because Patrick was staff... I don’t remember. No no no. R: No he was Americorps last year— D: And then became staff. Ok so then the first and second year of the program, it was totally volunteers. Most of the time I was in there by myself. But a lot of times maybe 3 sometimes 4 days out of the week there were volunteers who were cooking every day of the week. So I dunno that’s kind of the history.
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R: Great, thanks! Why was it important for you to have this program, or why do you still think it’s important?I know its hard to put into words!
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D: Yeah, um, that’s a good question. Well there’s multiple different reasons why I think its important, I can get into that in a second, but I think what’s more important than what I want… its really interesting that the families at this school the administration and the staff are really dedicated to what I would consider proper food education. That they really firmly believe that kids should be given access to as much wholesome food that they can stuff into their bodies, which they can stuff quite a bit, that they be fully educated on where food comes from, and what are the choices around food, what are the best choices around food, theres a lot of conversation, we get into a lot of contrary continuous conversation about teaching kids what’s good to eat, what’s not. To me, it’s a no brainer, and one of the good things about the school is that’s a no brainer there’s no discussion right now because a child doesn’t know what to eat because theres so much garbage in the food system. So, teaching kids what to eat, when to eat, how to eat, how to eat as a community. R: And I’m assuming that the garden and chickens and rain catchment system are all an extension of that. D: All an extension of that. So I should back up. The two programs kinda started at the same time, obviously they’re connected, you know we always had that vision, but there was really nobody else to really do it here at the school here at the school who had the skills or insanity, or ability, or whatever other than me. So Jill has been instrumental throughout the whole process, but she had always
INTERVIEWS
“What we learned the first year, was that everybody’s idea of nutrition was a little different. One week it would be clementines, and the next week it’d be Cheetos.”
been a volunteer and a parent... who had connections and skills and the ability but in terms of someone being on staff it was me. So we got some a landscape architect to draw up the plans for the yard. I don’t know who actually was behind writing the grant or working through the grant to get the asphalt pulled up but they pulled that together and then I kinda got involved more as the execution manager to make it all happen. So the fruit trees, from my position, definitely the fruit trees, were a huuge part of that and I saw an opportunity for us to get an orchard for free. we had chickens personally at home and it made sense to have chickens here, the yard was big enough and it’s fenced in obviously theres still a lot of weaknesses to work out with that. But anyway the point is we want chickens at the school, so we took some chickens from our flock and broguth them here and the same things with the bees. I’m a beekeeper and im here every day so it made sense to have bees at the school. There were a lot of growing pains around all that. R: Right, with people being concerned like how are you just going to have bees in the yard. D: Yeah I remember I had to write an open letter in the newsletter to the entire parent community about the chickens, and try to think up any questions that any person would have; it was pretty interesting. So we put that out, all said though, the biggest factor in this, is that Allison has been totally supportive of everything. I mean, questioning, in a good way, obviously, but totally supportive.
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BALTIMORE MONTESSORI GARDEN PROGRAM
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The Baltimore Montessori Public Charter School is home to a 10,000 square foot vegetable, herb, and native perennial garden that functions as a living classroom for elementary school students grades K through 7. The Purple Potato Garden—which takes its name from a favorite ingredient in the BMPCS cooking program—is a hands on learning environment where students learn to plant, water, maintain, and harvest their own fruits and vegetables. Following with the Montessori emphasis on working directly with materials, many of the lessons of the garden are taught through the senses, as students touch, smell and taste the edible plants that are part of their recess area. As students navigate the vegetable plots on “tasting-tours,” the ever-changing natural systems in the garden become the living examples of science lessons learned in the classroom textbook. The phenomenon of urban ecology complicates traditional textbook material on natural systems as we navigate a new environment we have
GARDEN
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created in our schoolyard, so students are encouraged to ask questions and explore, sharing discoveries on insects, plants, and animals that share the space with us.
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In addition to the large vegetable garden, BMPCS also addresses issues of urban ecology with a large bioswale drainage area, which incorporates native trees, shrubs, and flowers into the school landscape while removing silt and pollution from surface runoff water. The bioswale also serves as a nutritious habitat for the school’s two hens, who the students help care for. The eggs laid in the chicken coop are harvested daily by students and incorporated into the menu of the student kitchen program. The BMPCS green space also houses a beehive, which provides honey for student micro-economy projects. Last year’s honey supply (90 pounds) sold out the first day students put up a farm-stand in the school office. About twenty fruit trees make up the final tier of green-space. Dotted within the recess yard as well as along the perimeter of the school in street planters, the young fruit trees will one day provide fresh apples, pears, and peaches to the neighborhood and school. Patrick Caulfield
GARDEN
“...the ever-changing natural systems in the garden become the living examples of science lessons learned in the classroom textbook...�
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AUTUMN RECIPES
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APPLE GALETTE
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Galette Dough, page 23 1½–2lbs apples, peeled, cored, and halved juice of 1 lemon ¼ cup sugar ½ tsp cinnamon 2 tbsp butter, melted
Make the dough, roll it into a large circle, inch thick. and set it on the back of a sheet pan or on a cookie sheet without sides. Preheat the oven to 400º.
Thinly slice half of the apples crosswise and toss them with the lemon juice, 4 tsp of the sugar, and the cinnamon. Finely chop the remaining apples, then toss them with 4 tsp sugar. Mound them in the center of the dough, forming a 7-inch circle, and arrange the sliced apples over the top. Add the juice from the bowl. Fold the edges of the dough over the fruit, pleating it as you go, partially covering the apples. Brush with the melted butter and sprinkle with the remaining sugar. Pour any extra butter over the apples. Bake until the crust is richly glazed and the apples are tender, about 45 minutes. Serve warm with tangy whipped cream.
AUTUMN
GALETTE DOUGH
2 cups all-purpose flour ½ tspn salt 1 tbsp sugar 12 tbsp cold, unsalted butter, cut into small pieces to ½ cup ice water as needed
Mix the flour, salt, and sugar together in a bowl. Cut in the butter by hand, leaving some pea-sized chunks. Sprinkle the ice water over the top by the tablespoon and toss it with the flour mixture until you can bring the dough into a ball.
To form a galette, roll it out on a lightly floured counter into 14-inch irregular circle about inch thick. Fold into quarters and transfer it to the back of a sheet pan or a cookie sheet without sides. Unfold it. It will be larger than the pan. Add the fruit according to the recipe, leaving a border 2 to 4 inches wide. Fold the edges of the dough over the fruit, overlapping them as you go. Depending on how much of an edge you have left, the galette will be partially or completely covered, almost like a two-crust pie. Brush the top with melted butter—it will take about a tablespoon—or an egg beaten with a little milk or cream. Sprinkle it heavily with sugar— using about 2 tablespoons—then bake according to the recipe instructions.
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CREAMY PUMPKIN PASTA
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1 small onion, finely chopped 2 garlic cloves, minced 2 tbsp butter 2 cups pumpkin purée 2 cups vegetable broth (p. 40) ¼ cup heavy cream ½ cup sour cream ¼ tsp nutmeg 1 tsp salt ¼ tsp white pepper 2 tbsp fresh parsley, minced
¼ cup Pecorino Romano cheese, shredded 1 lb penne or 1 lb rotini pasta
In a large skillet, sauté the onion and garlic in butter, over medium heat, until soft, not brown. Whisk in the pumpkin, broth, creams and seasonings to taste. Simmer 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, boil the pasta in salted water until al dente. Drain pasta and stir into pumpkin, simmering 2–3 minutes more until thick. Stir in parsley and garnish with Pecorino Romano, more parsley, and pumpkin seeds if desired.
AUTUMN
ROASTED SWEET POTATO FRIES 3–4 sweet potatoes (or enough to fill a large sheet pan) 1 tsp cumin 1 tsp smoked paprika 2 tsp chili powder ¼ cup maple syrup ¼ cup olive oil
Preheat oven to 375º. Rinse and chop sweet potatoes into large fries, set aside. Combine remaining ingredients (except paprika) in a large mixing bowl, whisk together. Toss fries into bowl and coat well. Spread fries on sheet pan and sprinkle with paprika. Bake 20–30 minutes or until brown and crispy.
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DRIED FRUIT AND OAT COOKIES
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Preheat oven to 350°. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper. Using an electric mixer, beat the butter in a bowl until light and fluffy. Add both sugars, salt, and vanilla, and beat until well mixed, about 3 minutes. Stir in eggs, one at a time. Sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove in a separate bowl. Add the flour mixture to the butter at low speed. Stir in the oats, apple, and dried fruit. Drop the dough, by the tablespoon, onto the cookie sheet and bake for 10–12 minutes or until golden. Remove from the oven and cool the cookies on a rack.
8 tbsp butter ½ cup sugar 1 cup brown sugar 1 tsp salt 1 tsp vanilla extract 2 eggs 1½ cups flour 1 tsp baking soda ½ tsp cinnamon ¼ tsp nutmeg tsp clove 1 cup oats 1 apple, thinly sliced into ½–inch pieces ½ cup dried fruit: cherries, dates, etc.
“I liked the cookies because it was different & it was really good!!!” —Kalaya
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WINTER RECIPES
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ROASTED VEGETABLE MEDLEY
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4 carrots (multiple varieties) 6–8 Jerusalem artichokes 3 beets 2 turnips (or any root vegetables) ¼ cup olive oil salt pepper sprig of oregano
Preheat oven to 375º. Cut root veggetables into medium-sized chunks and toss well with olive oil, salt, pepper to taste. Arrange with space between on large pan or baking dish. Bake until crisp/brown on outside and soft to a fork in center (approx. 30 minutes.) Serve with freshly cut herbs. “It’s very colorful! The oregano is from our garden. It smells great.” —Zion
WINTER VEGETABLE CHOWDER
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THE MILK 2 cups whole milk 3 large parsley branches ½ tsp dried thyme 2 bay leaves ½ onion, sliced 10 peppercorns, lightly crushed THE SOUP 2 tbsp butter 2 large leeks, white parts plus an inch of the greens, chopped 4 cups chopped turnips,
carrots, celery or celery root, rutabagas, a little parsnip 3 boiling potatoes peeled and diced 2 small bay leaves 2 tbsp chopped parsley salt and fresh pepper 2 tbsp flour 4–6 slices sourdough, toasted grated Gruyère or Parmesan chopped parsley
Put everything for the milk in a saucepan, bring it to a boil, then turn off the heat. Cover and set aside while you prepare the vegetables. Melt the butter in a soup pot over low heat. Add the vegetables, bay leaves, parsley, and 1½ tsp salt. Cover and cook for 10 minutes. Stir in the flour and add 5 cups water; bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer, partially covered, until the vegetables are tender, about 25 minutes. Pour the milk through a strainer right into the soup. Taste for salt and season with pepper. To serve, lay a piece of toast in each bowl, cover it with grated cheese, ladle the soup on top, and sprinkle with parsley.
WINTER
HOMEMADE CRACKERS
1 cup flour 1 tsp salt 1 tsp mustard 2 tbsp butter 2 eggs 2 tbsp assortment of caraway, sesame, sunflower seeds
Combine flour and salt in a food processor and pulse several times to distribute salt. Add remaining ingredients and pulse until dough forms. Pull dough out of food processor and form into 2 equal balls, allowing them to rest for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 425º. Roll out dough as thinly as possible on floured work surface. Sprinkle with seeds and roll again with rolling pin to press seeds lightly into dough. Cut into desired shapes. Bake for 8–10 minutes (or until light brown.)
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SPRING RECIPES
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FENNEL RAINBOW ROTINI
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8–10 cremini mushrooms 2 cups rainbow rotini 1 clove garlic 1 onion 1 medium-sized fennel bulb with fronds
½ cup vegetable stock (p.40) salt pepper
Put vegetable stock on to boil. Add pasta when stock boils. Cook al dente. Dice onions, fennel bulb; mince garlic, quarter creminis. Sauté onions and fennel bulb in olive oil until translucent. Add mushrooms, cook until tender. Strain pasta (saving stock), and add to pan of fennel mixture. Bring to high heat, add garlic and fennel fronds for a minute.
“I loved it a lot!”
—Aisha
GERMAN CABBAGE AND ROASTED BEET CASSEROLE
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1 tbsp olive oil 1 green cabbage 1 red cabbage 1 large beet 1 onion 1 apple 1 lemon, juiced
1 bay leaf 1 tsp each: thyme, rosemary, caraway seeds 2 green onions salt and pepper to taste 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
Chop beet into small cubes and roast in oven at 375º (15–20 minutes). Sauté finely diced onion in olive oil at medium heat for 5–10 minutes. Add finely sliced spring onions, bay leaf, thyme, rosemary, salt, and cook for 3 more minutes. Add sliced cabbage strips and cook down (10-15 minutes, adding peeled apple wedges and roasted beets for the last 6–7 minutes of cooking.) Add a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar, turn down heat, and spritz with lemon juice, tossing final hot dish together and arranging on plate.
“It is sooo good! It is sour, and really red. I just ate it. —Ie’sharia
(any season)
ROASTED VEGETABLE STOCK
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Âź cup extra virgin olive oil 2 well-washed leeks, cut into chunks, or 2 large onions, quartered 4 carrots, cut into chunks 2 celery stalks, cut into chunks 2 whole onions, chopped into chunks 1 parsnip, cut into chunks (optional)
2 potatoes, quartered 6 cloves garlic 15–20 crimini mushrooms, halved or sliced bunch of parsley leaves bunch of fresh thyme 10 black peppercorns salt and freshly ground black pepper
Put oil in a large stockpot and bring up to mediumhigh heat. When hot, add the carrots, onion, leek, potato, celery, garlic, and mushrooms. Cook without stirring for about 5 minutes, then stir once or twice and cook until the vegetables begin to brown. Add the parsley, pepper, salt, and enough water to cover everything in the pot (adding more liquid if you desire more stock). Bring to a boil, and then lower heat to simmer. Cook for about 45 minutes, until vegetables are very tender (longer is better). Strain and discard vegetables, then taste the liquid stock and adjust the seasoning before using or storing. Use instead of water for any soup recipe.
SPRING
IMPROMPTU ARUGULA SALAD WITH CITY RANCH
Allow 1½–2 cups arugula per person. Carefully sort through the leaves, then wash and dry them well. Tear any large leaves in half or thirds, put them all in a spacious bowl. Dress with Ranch (p. 42.) Serve the leaves heaped into a high, light pile.
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MONTESSORI CITY RANCH DRESSING
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2 cups cultured buttermilk 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar 2 cups organic olive oil mayonnaise 2 cups sour cream (or plain yogurt) 4 tbsp assorted fresh chopped herbs (dill, chives, basil, tarragon) ½ cup chopped parsley 2 bunches green onions, chopped (in season) 1½ tbsp horseradish
1 tbsp Tabasco sauce 3 tbsp whole-grain brown mustard 2 cloves finely chopped garlic 2 tsp salt 2 tsp pepper 1 tbsp salad supreme* *romano cheese, salt, sesame seed, poppy seed, paprika, celery seed, garlic, black pepper, red pepper
In large bowl, whisk or blend together all ingredients, and refrigerate.
“The city ranch dressing is organic and healthy with the ingredients like spices and vegetables!” —Silvana
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SUMMER RECIPES
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CORN CHOWDER WITH NEW POTATOES, GOLDEN PEPPERS, AND BASIL
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1 quart vegetable stock or water 1 large leek, white part plus an inch of the green, sliced into thin rounds Kernels from 6 ears corn, about 4 cups 1 lb new potatoes, peeled and neatly diced 2 braches basil, 8 leaves plucked, stems reserved 2 tbsp plus 2 tbsp butter or oil
1 large onion, finely diced 1 bay leaf 4 thyme sprigs or 1/4 tsp dried salt and freshly milled white pepper 1 large yellow bell pepper, diced 2 cups milk or additional stock finely snipped chives
SUMMER
Melt 2 tbsp butter in a soup pot and add the onion, leek, bay leaf, and thyme. Cook over low heat until the onion is soft, 10–12 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the potatoes, strained stock, 1½ tsp salt, and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer, partially covered, until the potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes. While the soup is simmering, stew the pepper in the remaining butter and a few tbsp water in a small skillet until tender, about 10 minutes. Press some of the potatoes against the side of the pot to break them up; then add the corn and milk. Simmer until the soup is heated through and the corn is tender, about 5 minutes. Thinly slice the basil leaves. Add the stewed peppers to the soup and serve with white pepper, basil, and chives sprinkled over each bowl.
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TOMATO SALAD OF MANY COLORS
Several varieties of tomato, sliced
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Choice of herbs: dill, yellow dill flowers, marjoram, chives, purple chive blossoms, various thymes, blue star-shaped borage flowers, violet rosemary blossoms, purple sage, tarragon
Today an exotic variety of tomatoes is being grown—bright green striped Zebras, tiny currantsized ones, bright yellow, matte gold, and orange as well as red. A mélange of tomatoes with basil, the classic tomato herb—or one of the other herbs just listed—is truly spectacular fare. Slice a colorful array and lay them on a platter. Add torn or thinly sliced basil leaves, using the classing Italian basil or opal basil. Drizzle with a thread of extra virgin olive oil and add a few drops of balsamic vinegar, a pinch or salt, and fresly milled pepper. Add thinly sliced fresh mozzarella if you wish.
BALTIMORE MONTESSORI PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL COOKBOOK 50 pages Printed in Baltimore, MD on Strathmore drawing 400 series paper, 100% wood pulp, acid free. May 2012 Images and design by Rivkah Khanin Recipes by Baltimore Montessori Public Charter School