Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

A brief tribute to the chief lunchlady at my school from grade 4-12. Mrs. Harwell fed about a hundred hungry kids every day. (towards the middle seventies she supervised two locations)

Almost all of the food was prepared onsite from fresh ingredients. NO surplus cheese or bunk food. Our school district was very small and had the benefit of being well funded. We paid a nominal fee for lunch.( I think it was fifty cents my senior year -1976). Potatoes arrived in a sack, were peeled and cooked from scratch.

In her kitchen the only thing that came out of can was condiments. She would come out into the lunchroom with a big pot under her arm of whatever was leftover about 20 minutes after everyone was seated and got many takers. The food was simple wholesome and fresh.

Pinto beans and cornbread from her kitchen was a feast I still remember.

My sister is a serious soy hot cocoa drinker. She used to go to Starbucks and get one every morning on the way to work. Then they changed soy. Ugh! Out of desperation I went online and got this at Williams-Sonoma, for $79.95. First, the instructions were unclear. Second, it was loud. Third, it was difficult to clean. Most importantly, after using it on a more or less daily basis for LESS THAN SIX MONTHS, it died. Since Wiliams-Sonoma does not offer it year round, I went to Amazon and ordered a Mr. Coffee Cocomotion for $22.95. No it doesn't froth as much, and it's not as stylish, but for a little more than a quarter the cost of the Bialetti it makes great cocoa. Don't waste your money on the Bialetti. Get the Cocomotion instead.

You will soon be able to find this product again; Bialetti will bring it back and it will be available mid summer 2009.
I am currently testing one and I have to say: forget everything you have in your kitchen to make milk froth or hot chocolate.
I know double boiler work for this and the microwave might too; but this is really something everyone, who enjoys frothed milk on top of a cappuccino or hot chocolate or even cold mixed drinks, should have one.
I use dutch cocoa powder and a splash of honey to make really good hot chocolate and I use only soy milk. Soy milk works the best as it frothes like crazy!
Bialettishop.com will have this item available later this year.
My neigbor went bananas when she heard about the hot chocolate maker by Bialetti and she is delighted to see this item coming back- is she is looking for an easier way to prepare hot chocolate for her kids.
I think it is worth the money..........since I use it every day for my cappuccino!

Aw man, elementary school, now that's going back. We had tatertots with smilies cut into them. I also remember a hot turkey sandwich with mashed potatoes and gravy, all on texas toast. I remember asking the lunch lady for another slice of bread so I could have a real sandwich. Mmm, that was where I learned to make mashed potato and gravy sandwiches!

Every single day I ate 6 sugar cookies & a strawberry shortcake ice cream on a stick --- Oh so delicious but oh so terrible for me! Like I cared back then!

Pizza (square or Italian bread "surfboard" options) on Wednesdays. The tater tots were neon, the jell-o stuck to everything (kids would often put a piece on skin and let it sit there until it fell off who knows how long later), and there were always canned peaches or "fruit cup." The burgers were grey and tasted like... grey. I always liked hoagie days (few and far between) because I could load of on fresh veggies from the toppings table, and I developed a fondness for canned green beans and peas that lasts to this day.

Thursdays were pizza day in middle school - and I'd take $2.00 instead of $1.00 so that i coudl get TWO pizzas. To me, that was the best pizza in the world and Thursdays were the ray of sunshine in my teen-angst-ridden week.

Other delicacies I remember actually enjoying in middle school included the beefaroni, the triangluar shaped "popsicle" in a squeeze packet, and the carrot cake.

In high school I went to a small private school where lunch was prepared by two old ladies in their homes, and then they came and sold it to us. Being that most of our student body was Cuban, we often had cuban sandwiches, "pan con croquetas" and "media noche" sandwiches. We also had guava or meat empanadas, and really bad pizza.

I walked home for lunch every day until I was in the 5th grade--I was terrified of being forced to eat beans or tuna (food I still detest). But I discovered it was wonderful food there--nothing was pre-made. Everything from scratch, this was in the 70's. My favorite was turkey dinner-- real turkey, real mashed potatoes, etc. They had peanut butter bars for dessert sometimes that were to die for-- and I've tried zillions of recipes trying to find its duplicate. No luck. Chewy peanut butter bars with thick milk chocolate frosting.
Junior high and high school food was a different matter, though. They managed to even make french fries taste industrial.

"Other Excellent Uses

Creamed chicken and mushrooms, chicken ala king, fricassee or serve cold just as chicken comes from the can."

Ye gods.

I am 36yrs old and remember a few favorites from school lunches. Elem. school was the best. In high school french fries was an every day item. But there are two items that really stick out in my mind. They are fiestada pizza(octogan shaped,sharp cheddar cheese,tomato based sauce,spicy meat similar to meat for tacos) and vegetable sticks(breaded, fried on the outside,corn a couple of other vegetables inside) those were my favorites. I always wondered if anyone remembers these items and if you know where I could buy them. I have seen the vegetable sticks on chinese lunch buffets. About 12 yrs ago when my mom was a daycare supervisor and they ordered their food through a food distributor(PYA) I was able to order both items. So, does anyone here know where I can purchase these items? Also another favorite of mine was fried chicken with rice/gravy.

Thanks

Winner? Builder's Breakfast!

It is. I try to ride to work at least twice a week, weather and schedule permitting.

Ed, congratulations on week 65! I discovered SE just before you started losing weight...can't believe it's been 65 weeks! I enjoy SE and especially your comments.