The Fork

Let's FORK!

Santa Fe public schools start next Wednesday! Which is either a great or terrible thing, depending on your perspective. This brings up the specter of school lunches. This was always a fraught subject for me—I was a picky kid and would not eat much. There are a lot of great ways around this.

Santa Fe Public Schools has a great free lunch program. You can sign your child up HERE. Even better, free meals are provided for ALL students at the following schools: Academy at Larragoite, Aspen, Capital High, Cesar Chavez, Early College Opportunities, El Camino Real, Kearny, Nava, Nina Otero, Nye, Ortiz, Ramirez Thomas, Salazar, Sweeney, and Tesuque.

But what about making your kids their lunches, if you have the time and resources? There have been tons of examples of parents going the extra mile, from cartoon character bento boxes to $80 lunches. The idea of being a "perfect" parent has become not only an Instagrammable game of one-up manship, it's become big business. But do you need to worry like this?

As long as you know what your child likes and discuss it with them, it will get eaten. THIS article might be a helpful way to remind yourself that fancy, flashy, and over the top are not necessarily "better."

Over at Bon Appetit there's a longer LIST of 41 recipes. While most of it seems doable, some of the recipes do look a bit involved for a parent who doesn't have hours to prepare a lunch every day. The classic cream cheese sandwiches are my personal favorite of this batch.

Speaking of fancy and the end of summer. James Beard published a great recipe for Strawberry Gazpacho created by Philadelphia chef Jon Chichon. Get that HERE. If you make it, report back to us. There's just enough time to get a seasonal recipe in before produce switches over to fall.

STOP THE PRESSES. There is some big breaking news that we literally JUST saw on Facebook: There is a BAKED POTATO CART in the Big Jo True Value parking lot (that's 1311 Siler Road) today, and maybe forever. This is not a drill.

From 11 am-3 pm, go to Roque's Papas and get a spud (regular or sweet) with the usual (butter, sour cream, cheese, bacon) or with green or red chile or pico.

Good luck getting everyone back to the fall routine! Have a great week!

Have a great week!
Michael

Santa Fe Reporter