Ode to the Lunch Ladies...

Okay. So you know those ladies behind the big glass window at lunchtime from your childhood ages of 5 through 17? They are such an enigma. Wearing the hairnets just so. The coordination of the polyester pants with the pink pinstripe aprons (that's what color they were at my elementary school). Creating the good and evil of school lunches around the country every day in the trenches of a smoltering kitchen without air conditioning. Those times have changed, my friend.

I briefly worked at an elementary school and encountered what they call school lunch. I was in shock. Nothing is cooked anymore. Everything is pre-packaged and processed beyond recognition. They slap a "salad bar" in the middle of the floor after you pick up your preservatives (which they call food). They leave it up to the 6-11 year olds to dish up their own vegetables. Yeah. Those wilted scraps weren't going anywhere. Most of the meals I saw entering the mouths (and minds) of our beloved future were thawed versions of Smuckers Uncrustables. (Yeah, because we don't want to even offer our kids the inconvenience of crust.) Virtually nothing is cooked anymore. Just taken out of boxes and thrown on a styrofoam plate. Literally. No cooking. No joy. No mystery.

In homage to those days lost, here is an actual school recipe for cookies. Chocolate chip. Real chocolate. Real eggs. Real sugar. Real yum.

Ingredients:

1.5 cups vegetable shortening (Crisco)
1 cup brown sugar
2 cups granulated sugar
5 eggs
4.5 cups flour
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons baking soda
4 teaspoons vanilla
1 12 ounce bag semi sweet chocolate chips (I like to add a little extra, to make them more chocolately.)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350'. Cream shortening and sugars together. (This is where I really enjoy my Kitchenaid mixer.) Add vanilla and eggs and mix thoroughly. Sift flour, salt, and baking soda in medium bowl. Gradually mix in flour mixture until blended. Add chocolate chips.

Make small balls the size of walnuts and place sparaingly on cookie sheet. (I fit one dozen per sheet. I also use my small ice cream scooper to keep them uniform.) Bake at 350' for 14-16 minutes, depending on how dark you like them. Enjoy!

CAUTION: YEILDS 5 DOZ! (proof that this really is a school lunch recipe.)