We are excited to start looking toward a busy fall of programs here in the Culinary Literacy Center, including some fan favorites like A Taste of African Heritage and Knife Skills, plus some new treats like Odds & Ends, which will blend poetry and meals with Philly's Poet Laureate, and The Mighty Mushroom, which will celebrate a seasonal favorite of the market. 

In addition to the smell of delicious food in the air, we also detect a hint of freshly sharpened pencils! As school begins again, we are getting ready for our third year of Nourishing Literacy. Over the past two years we have worked with schools across the city and cooked with thousands of students in the Culinary Literacy Center. In the 2016-2017 school year, the Nourishing Literacy program will offer opportunities for students to make deeper connections between cooking, literacy, food, and nutrition. 

The Nourishing Literacy team has created curricula for Kindergarten, third, and sixth grades featuring an assortment of math, science, social studies, and critical thinking concepts, in addition to reading and writing. Our lessons weave Common Core standards through in-classroom activities and hands-on CLC kitchen classes. Food educator Shayna Marmar of Honeypie Cooking works with the Culinary Literacy Center's librarians to provide students with engaging, meaningful exposure to everything from food systems to storytelling. 

Each Nourishing Literacy unit includes three elements: a lesson teachers can use in the classroom, a hands-on lesson as a field trip to the CLC, and follow up activities and lessons for students to use both in the classroom and at home. 

We hope to expand the program to reach even more students this school year, exposing a wide range of children to new tastes, tools, and ideas. 

To find out more about how classes can participate in this year's Nourishing Literacy program, please begin the process remotely by filling out this form.

We look forward to seeing you all in the Culinary Literacy Center soon!

1.  Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease 24 muffin cups with butter, or, if you have paper liners on hand, line the muffin cups.
2. Cut off the round end of the zucchini (which is a little tough), keeping the stem to use as a handhold. Shred the zucchini with a box grater into a large bowl, stopping before you get to the stem. Measure out 2 cups of shredded zucchini, saving any leftover for another use.
3. Dump the flour, oats, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt, and, if using, cinnamon and chocolate chips into a medium bowl. Mix the eggs, yogurt, and grated zucchini in a separate large bowl. Add in the dry ingredients, mixing until just combined.
4. With a spoon, dollop the batter into the muffin tins until each cup is about three-quarters full. Transfer to the oven and bake for 20 minutes. Pull the muffins out and poke them in the middle with a toothpick or knife. If it comes out wet, bake the muffins for 5 more minutes. If it comes out clean, they're done.
5. Let the muffins cool in their tins for 20 to 30 minutes, then eat warm!