As we looked over the recipe for this week’s class, many of the these fifth-graders didn’t know what lentils were and had never tasted them.

“I’ve actually never tasted anything that we cook in here,” said Sofia “Kitty” Gutierez.

But she was quite fond of what we were making to accompany the soup: “I love corn muffins,” she gushed.

“They’re like the healthiest type of muffin,” Amir “Prince” Leon put in.

Even if they are unfamiliar with what we are making, these kids have gotten so good at getting right to work, with Kitty and Cassandra Callazo chopping the onions and Jason “Magic” Mora,  Kevin Peralte and Prince making short work of chopping the celery and peeling and chopping the carrots.

As the onions went into a pot with olive oil to be sautéed, Prince stirred the pot, swiveled his hips and broke into a free-style rap: “That sizzle is the gift we call cooking… That sizzle is what gives cooking life.”

Kitty brought the carrots and celery to add to the pot and danced right along to the rap.

As we added more ingredients, the chicken stock, the lentils, bay leaves, diced tomatoes and chick peas, Prince stirred and rapped on: “It’s like a witch’s cauldron. Little by little it’s getting made.”

“It smells amazing!” Kitty said as she took over stirring for a turn.

As we moved onto the corn muffins, the boys measured out the ingredients carefully. “Is this right,” Magic asked as he checked to make sure it was a ¼ cup of sugar. Prince, dumping the sugar into the corn muffins, said: “I’m sure that’s enough. I don’t want type 2 diabetes.” Once the eggs were cracked, and added and all the other ingredients mixed in, Kevin and Prince took pains to make sure the batter was ladled evenly into each one of the muffin cups before they were popped into the oven.

As the soup simmered away, we had the kids taste it to check the seasonings. A pinch more salt and pepper was added. Kitty took a taste of soup: “It’s soooooo good!”

Soon the muffins were done and the soup was ladled into bowls and topped with a sprinkling of grated Parmesan cheese.

Kitty, the dancer, skipped from stove to table as she carried her bowl of soup: “I’m so excited to eat this yummy soup.”

Everyone loved the corn muffins. While Kitty and Kevin loved the soup, Prince said he had to admit it was good, but it wasn’t his favorite. Cassy was hesitant to even try it. She said a prayer before she brought the spoon to her lips. She didn’t hate it, but she didn’t love it either. Magic was sitting between to giant steel refrigerators in a chair, looking sad, unwilling to even take a taste. But he wanted a corn muffin, and that got him to give it a try. He was not a fan.

When Kitty’s mother came to pick her up, she tried the soup. Her verdict: “So frickin good. Ten out of ten.” She then took photos of both the soup and muffin recipes to make at home. We divided up the leftovers. Kitty’s portion would be saved for her dad’s for lunch the next day.

Even if they won’t try eating it, the children love preparing it. They love cutting and chopping and sautéing and measuring. They love the smells and the textures and the whole creative process. In a world of chicken fingers and junk food, it can be a lot, I suppose, to ask 10-year old American kids to eat lentil soup with carrots and celery and onions and tomatoes and chick peas. But that’s the whole point. When they do try it, if they do, they are often surprised, or at least they understand by its warmth and heartiness and the ingredients that they chopped themselves, how good it is for them. And they learn the joy of cooking – laughing, singing, dancing and even rapping along the way.