Broccoli Rising and What’s for Lunch
Did you ever dream of being president as a kid? Every American child deserves to keep that dream alive. As we celebrate Presidents’ Day, we should also honor them. Today’s kids are tomorrow’s leaders.
Today’s children will become the women and men who will serve this country, perhaps even holding the highest office in the nation. Maybe that’s what President Truman had in mind in 1946, when he signed the National School Lunch Act, creating a federally-funded program providing nutritious and free or affordable meals to children in public schools.
The program has morphed and sometimes suffered during subsequent administrations, most notably the Reagen-era “ketchup is a vegetable” debacle.
In 2010, the Obama administration gave the National School Lunch program the level-up it needed with the Child Nutrition Reauthorization Act. It gave more families greater access to federally-funded school meals, boosted the nutrition standards, and put more fresh fruits and vegetables on the menu.
Trump put the brakes on the program, putting at risk the 30 million American children who depend on school meals.
President Biden brought the program back. With child poverty rates climbing during the pandemic his administration made sure funding continued, guaranteeing every public school kid had access to free meals. It supported 50 million children and helped lift 30 million families out of food insecurity.
Democrats in Congress want to build on that success with the Universal School Meals Program Act. Republicans want to shut it down, arguing there’s no point in funding a program when some families can afford it. But there’s more to the universal school meals program than slinging hash.
Children today face unbelievable challenges — a flood of inappropriate, harmful social media content leading to body shaming, self-harm, suicidal thoughts, substance abuse, and a spike in depression and other mental health issues. And that’s just online. In the classroom, students face a hailstorm of hate crimes directed mostly towards Blacks, Jews and LGBTQ students, and threat of gun violence. Do we really want to take away one of the few supports and safeguards our children have? It’s not just shameful, it’s unAmerican.
The universal school lunch program costs the government chump change, but its benefits are staggering. It helps kids in the classroom and at home, strengthens local economies and benefits us as a nation. Hungry children do not thrive, let alone grow up to govern the country.
Our children are America’s greatest asset. By nourishing them, we nourish our future, not to mention our future president. Keep that in mind in this election year.
Your vote matters. Not registered to vote? Do it online now.
Okay, off the soapbox and into the kitchen, to make Hoecakes for Presidents’ Day.
George Washington was fond of hoecakes, Abraham Lincoln liked them too. He knew them as corncakes. They also go by johnnycakes, journeycakes, cornpone, corn dodgers and a half a dozen other names. Call ‘em what you will, they’re simple cornmeal cakes. How simple? The most basic recipe is no more than cornmeal, boiling water, salt and little oil. As with all things corn, credit goes to the Indigenous People of the Americas.
Despite internet lore, hoecakes did not get their name because field hands cooked them over fires on the business end of a hoe. Honey, you try it. Best made in a cast iron skillet, hoecakes are crispy on the outside, tender on the inside. They’re not fluffy, they’re not fritters, they’re not fancy. They’re not meant to be. And yet Henry David Thoreau writes with quiet rapture about cooking and eating them in Walden. In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain writes, “there ain’t nothing in the world so good when it’s cooked right.”
Beloved by America’s presidents and literary lights alike, hoecakes are a good way to celebrate Presidents’ Day and a good thing to offer on the menu as part universal school lunch program.
They’re pennywise (just like the universal school lunch program). They’re vegan, too.
There are more hoecake recipes than there are hoes, including elaborate vegan versions and decidedly nonvegan versions.
But I like hoecakes at their elemental best.
Best hot and right out of the skillet, they’re nice with salsa, black beans, wilted greens, as an accompaniment to hominy, beans and green chili stew, or with vegan butter and syrup.
Hoecakes
1 cup cornmeal like Bob’s Red Mill (I’ll always love Bob.)
pinch sea salt
3/4 cup boiling water
1-2 tablespoons olive oil or grapeseed oil
Combine cornmeal and salt in a medium-size mixing bowl,
Slowly pour in boiling water in a stream, stirring constantly until batter is thick but without lumps. It’ll look a little like scrambled eggs.
Set aside for at least 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat a skillet over high heat until hot. Pour in one tablespoon of oil. When it starts to shimmer, drop in dollops of hoecake batter and spread to make 4-inch rounds.
Cook 2 to 3 minutes, then flip and cook for another few minutes. Hoecakes should be golden brown, crispy, and a little lacy at the edges.
If needed, add more oil to the skillet for the remaining batter.
Get ‘em while they’re hot, and you’ll agree with Huckleberry Finn, “there ain’t nothing in the world so good when it’s cooked right.”
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