There was some resistance to the fish. To me the flounder fillets for the fish tacos looked quite beautiful. To some of our students, they smelled fishy and looked slimy. Yet, surprisingly, the texture and appearance was not an impediment to getting in there, and getting their hands on them.
“I want to feel how squishy it is,” said Sofia.
“I like the feel of it,” said Ivan. “It’s slippery.
None of our six students had tasted fish tacos before, though they had eaten tacos with many different fillings, pork, chicken, beef, even tongue. Jason was not a fan of fish, and did not really want to touch it. But when he got plastic gloves on his hands, he was right in there with the rest of them, slicing the fillets, dipping it in milk and then coating it with breadcrumbs.
How impressive were the knife skills these students had developed in just four weeks of class! And they are so quick about cleaning of their work station before moving onto the next task!
Ivan was the first to dip the fish into the milk and then coat it with breadcrumbs and then he oversaw the others as they each took a turn.
“Be gentle with the fish,” he told his classmates. “Push in the breadcrumbs if they don’t stick.”
Before we got to the fish, there was cabbage to chop, limes to juice and cilantro to chop, for the pickled cabbage that would be a topping for the fish on the taco. How would the texture and taste of the cabbage change after soaking it in sugar, salt and lime juice, the kids were asked.
“Will it become salty and sweet?” asked Elias.
“Exactly!”
Once the cabbage was pickling in the fridge, and all the fish was coated with breadcrumbs and laid out on the sheet pan, ready for the oven, we could move onto the apple and orange salad.
Elias looked at the recipe and thought it sounded weird. “We put the cheese in with the apples and oranges?” he questioned.
“Yes,” piped in Olivia, who was shaving the parmesan cheese and sampling it with slices of apple that Hermione was so carefully julienning. “And I can tell you, it’s really good together!”
The reviews came in strong for both the dishes, once the meal was finished and the kids dug in.
“I love the combination of flavors and the soft and crunchy textures,” said Elias.
“It’s my favorite so far!” said Christopher.
Jason was not converted to eating fish, but he loved the fruit salad and asked for seconds.
Stronger than the reviews for the meal were the reviews for cooking class in general.
“It makes be feel happy, excited and joyful,” said Ivan.
“It makes me feel awesome,” said Jason, “because the food is good and delicious!”
“I’m excited to be learning so many new things,” said Christopher.
“It makes be feel happy,” said Elias, “because I love all the different flavors and colors and it’s interesting to do all the different things.”
“In cooking class, I feel surprised,” said Hermione. “At home, I’m picky and I don’t like to try new things. But here, I try stuff and it’s good. It makes me feel that I like a lot of different things that I didn’t know I would.”
