On Wednesday, students at Juana Briones learned just how creative salads can be. Chef Christy Wolf, and her 4th-grade daughter Danica, visited two third-grade classrooms and brought with them a wide assortment of greens, vegetables and fruits. Some foods were so unusual that most of the kids had never heard of them before, such as a watermelon radish or arugula. Other foods were very common — like apples and grapes — but the kids had never thought they could be used in a salad. In the end, a salad of red leaf lettuce, arugula, apples, grapes, watermelon radishes, celery, and red pepper had the kids lining up for seconds.

While Chef Christy introduced kids to new and unusual vegetables and fruits, Chef John Bentley met with 4th grade students at Juana Briones and focused on new and unusual ways to prepare artichokes. Steamed artichokes dipped in butter is so yesterday! Chef John showed the kids how easy it is to cut and prepare fresh artichokes. The kids then got to taste the different flavors and textures that are brought out depending upon how the artichokes are prepared — from an artichoke cream soup, to an artichoke and roasted corn salad, to artichoke chips. Those kids will never look at an artichoke in the same way, again.