Cookin' on the Road

My co-op placement at the Boys and Girls Club has been an incredible experience already - and I've only been there two days! I've been welcomed with such warm, open arms there that regardless of the fact that I'm one of the only few white people there I feel part of the family. When we do our rounds at the different sites our Club serves - all in high-violence areas - I do feel slightly awkward though, since I know that I'm definitely the only one without any experience with living paycheque to paycheque or who's had to worry about what dangers lurked around the corner. It's been an amazing experience in learning as much as I'm teaching! In 7 short hours today, for example, during out "Cooking on the Road" segment of the March Break camps the Club runs, I've been able to experience a world of personas:

• Teacher
• Student
• "Big Bad Boss" (I wouldn't let the kids on facebook - Club rules)
• Maid
• Dishwasher
• Chef
• Best friend
• Secret-keeper
• Inventor
• Proud "parent" of the kids
• Writer
• Lobbyist
• ...and I'm sure a gazillion other things!

Today, for our site visit / cooking lessons, I had the privilege of coming up with a recipe that would fit their theme of "Food Guide Eating", specifically increasing the fruits and veggies the kids ate in the lower-income area we were working in. These sweet, fluffy and substantial pancakes were a total hit - no doubt in part to the fact that they taste like warm carrot cake.

The fact that the kids not only asked for seconds (and thirds) of them was both heartwarming and heartbreaking - for most of them, the three pancakes or so (along with one of the apples we brought, so kindly donated by the awesome Second Harvest) were all they had for lunch today.

Boys and Girls Apple - Carrot Pancakes
Serves 6 kids
2 1/2 cups flour
4 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2/3 cup brown sugar
2 cups whole milk
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups finely grated carrots (about 2 large)
1 cup finely grated apples (about 1 large)

1. Preheat a griddle pan, grease with PAM.
2. In a bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.
3. In another bowl, whisk together eggs, brown sugar, milk and vanilla.
4. Stir the wet mixture into the dry ingredients, then add carrots and apples.
5. Mix just until moistened - a few lumps are okay.
6. Pour batter by 1/4 cupfuls onto the greased griddle.
7. Flip when bubbles appear on the top of the pancakes, finish cooking on the other side.

Amount Per Serving
Calories: 407.4
Total Fat: 5.5 g
Cholesterol: 79.0 mg
Sodium: 89.5 mg
Total Carbs: 77.9 g
Dietary Fiber: 3.4 g
Protein: 11.9 g