Día de los muertos Lesson Plan

 Soundtrack:

• Ozomatli Ozomatli featuring Cumbia de Los Muertos
• Santana Supernatural

 

Vocabulary Words

•  Altar, ofrenda. Altar is built and decorated with ofrendas, offerings to the ancestors
• Avocado. Great source of good fats, brown paper bag trick for ripening
• Cilantro. Flavorful herb found in traditional Mexican cooking

STEM

• Science: heat, cooking grains and squash
• Technology: simple presses and equiptment
• Engineering: create a colorful masterpiece taco
• Math: 2 cups rice, 4 cups water. Ratios. What if we wanted 3 cups of rice?

Equipment needed

• Pot for rice, burner
• Oven, pyrex dish or baking sheet for squash
• Citrus press, garlic press
• Knives
• Prep bowls
• Salad bowl
• Serving bowl
• Pastry knife super tool for mashing guac
• Skillet for heating tortillas

Recipes

 Guacamoles: for each 2 avocados, ½ tomato, ½ onion, S&P, 1 lime

1. Mild: 1 clove fresh garlic, pinch of cumin,

2. Basil cucumber: ½ cucumber, 1 T chopped basil

3. Spicy cilantro: 1 jalapeño and 2 T cilantro

Total ingredients: 6 avocados, 2 tomatoes, 2 onions, 3 limes, 1 bunch basil, 1 bunch clantro

 Salad

• 2 romaine hearts
• ¼ red cabbage
• 2 celery stalks
• 4 tomatillos
• 4 radishes
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1 medium onion
• S&P
• 2 T olive o

Total ingredients: 2 romaine hearts, 1 cabbage, 1 head of celery, 4 tomatillos, 4 radishes, 1 lemon, 1 onion

 Tacos

• Stuffed with salad, guacamole, rice, beans, cheese, squash
• Corn tortillas
• 1 butternut squash
• Whole romaine leaves
• Whole cabbage leaves
• Nori wraps for a cross cultural twist
• Total ingredients: 1 romaine heart, 1 cabbage, prepared beans, bag of shredded cheese or cheese to shred, 1 butternut squash, 1 pack nori wraps

 Rice

• 2 cups brown rice
• 4 cups water
• 2 T Spike seasoning
• 2 T olive oil

Total ingredients: 1 bag of rice, spike seasoning, olive oil

•  Beans will be canned/cooked from Trader Joes
• Other ingredients: Olive oil, Spike, cumin, S&P

Procedure

All three recipes will be integrated so the prep is happening together.

1. Cook rice by bringing water to boil, adding rice and Spike. Toss with oil after cooking.

2. Split squash in half, remove seeds, bake at 400 for 20 min, 10 min face down in shallow water, 10 min face up.

3. Chop all veggies: red peppers, radishes, cucumbers, onions, garlic, tomatillos, celery, tomatoes, jalapeño. Place in prep bowls. Additionally prepare some celery sticks for tasking guacamole.

4. First set aside a few whole leaves of cabbage and romaine to be used as alternative taco shells. Wash and chop leafy greens: Cabbage, romaine, cilantro, basil. Combine cabbage and romaine. Place herbs in prep bowls

5. Teach avocado method of ripening, then opening and removing pit. Mash all avocado

6. Combine avocado with tomatoes, onions, lime, S&P to make basic guacamole, taste with celery sticks. Then divide across three bowls and mix in other ingredients to make guac varieties. Press garlic into mild.

7. Combine ingredients for salad and toss.

8. Arrange veggie taco shells, then warm corn tortillas in skillet

9. When rice is done cooking, place in bowl for serving. As squash finishes, remove flesh and place in bowl as taco “meat”

10. Create assembly line for making taco varieties. Some all raw in leaves, some traditional with tortillas and rice, top with guac and cheese of your choosing.

Eat, dance, clean up, reflect

Three Fun Facts

•  Chopping onions that have been in the fridge prevents crying
• Avocados turn ripe in a paper bag
• Herbs help us use less salt to get great flavor