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I bet the flavored milk isn't just a taste issue. My school district recently got in trouble (the kind where they withhold lots of money) with the federal government for not offering two milk choices. Due to calorie requirements, the only two options we have are nonfat chocolate milk and low-fat white milk. So federal lunch policy is requiring us to offer extra simple carbohydrates. Many students at my school are also lactose-intolerant, but they are still required to take a milk carton. The cost of milk eats up a lot of the (extremely limited) budget for school lunches.

In short: Dairy Lobby, 1; School Children: 0.

When I read Flanagan's piece I was struck by how hard she worked to ignore the clear, concise and obvious connections between school gardens and California K-12 content standards. I'm positive that my Kindergarten students are mastering their science and social studies objectives by hands-on inquiry in the garden.

And while she has plenty of energy for vacuous allegations of racism against educators, she doesn't bother to think about social justice and school gardens. My school, like many in California, is in a food desert. My students, many of whose families struggle with chronic food insecurity, have extremely limited access to fresh produce. Our garden, which is not funded through the Edible Schoolyard program but is the hard work of students, teachers, and all of our families, is one way to increase access.

Since I think schools are charged to help students become creative, critical thinkers, gardens in schools like mine get kids thinking about issues like access and equity - and demonstrate the power they have to advocate for and create change. Flanagan appears to be more in favor of students who are good at taking tests.

Besides which, does Flanagan feel so strongly about gardens in private schools? They're very popular in expensive day academies.

I roasted a 23 pound turkey this year for Thanksgiving, using this recipe (I made about 1.5 times the rosemary maple butter). The turkey cooks very fast (two and a half hours this year, about two for a 19 pound turkey last year. The turkey comes out wonderfully and it's a very low-maintenance recipe.

Source:

I recommend checking your oven dimensions/pan fit, though. I had to get a bigger roaster this year and with the roasting rack the oven clearance was a very tight squeeze.

I love this place. So worth driving down from SF to visit.

Hesser's suggestion was also pretty sexist. Evidently, all women and all mothers should love to cook, and Hesser suggests (perhaps not intentionally) that there's something wrong with a woman who doesn't.

Also, I think she's making an Alice Waters mistake here. Many people I know don't cook because they don't have access to fresh groceries (no time may be saved with a jar of sauce, but corner stores have it), or because their schedules don't permit it. Hesser could have implored Ms. Obama to fight for subsidies for grocery stores in urban neighborhoods (some kind of stimulus package), highlight organizations like Peoples Grocery in Oakland, or for stronger protections for all workers allowing more time at home.

I'm with engmcmuffin's mom! Making butter is a really good class cooking project. It's fast and the students enjoy it. We make a bunch of little jars of butter and then mix each one with a different herb or spice and do a tasting with bread.

I second the Sentinel. If you don't mind a bit of a walk from Union Square you could hit Saigon Sandwiches on Larkin. Personally, I'm not a big fan of Taylor's Automatic Refresher. At the Ferry Building, I'd rather get a sandwich at Boccalone and follow it up with some decent gelato at Ciao Bella.

No trip to LA is complete without hitting as many of the Ethiopian joints on South Fairfax as possible. Some have a Peace Corps vibe, some are white tablecloth, some have Ethiopian-style seating and coffee ceremonies, but they're all pretty good.

Shortly after I started dating my husband, we went for a somewhat-hungover, somewhat-lovestruck brunch at a coffee shop in the Mission.

On the menu? "Bacon, $11.00". Under main dishes.

He ordered it and out it came: a big blue plate piled high with bacon and half a lemon for garnish. I knew he was a keeper, though, when he finished the whole thing.