Sloppy Joe's

I personally think I have the best teaching gig.  I don't really have a curriculum that I have to follow. Therefore, I have the ability to be creative.  That is one thing about the direction of education in the last decade, there is hardly no creativity allowed.  Especially at the elementary level- they're teaching what the district tells them and how the district tells them to teach it.  They want consistency.  Remember that when you're complaining about what your kid is learning- the teacher isn't choosing that, the teacher is being directed to do that.  So anyway. . . back to the purpose of this email (that was just a side tangent).  I am supposed to teach my students life lessons, which means we get to cook.  We LOVE to cook!  Last year we cooked weekly.   We got started back this week.  When I asked the kids what they wanted to fix, someone said "Sloppy Joe's!"  and everyone enthusiastically agreed.  I can't remember ever eating a Sloppy Joe, but there's very little, in the way of food, that I dislike.  I asked Mrs. W,one of the assistants, if they were easy to fix (for the record, I LOVE this woman!  She's brilliant, clearly an awesome grandmother, and so kind to the kids).  She looked at me strange.  She said, "Yeah!"  And I said, "What all do we need?  Just the can and buns?"  "Yep- that's it."  So the next day we went to Wal Mart and bought all of the supplies, plus a few new kitchen items.  An electric can opener, new pots and pans, some Pyrex dishes, and junk like that.  The next day, we start cooking lunch.

The whole episode started off badly.  First of all, I have no idea how to use an electric can opener.  I can start a leaf blower and a chain saw by myself (sometimes), but I cannot operate an electric can opener.  Mr. S, (the other assistant) comes to my aid and opens the Manwhich cans.  I notice there's no meat in the cans, but I assume since it's heavier than the sauce, it must have sunk to the bottom.  When the student pours it into the pan, I realize, "Huh.  There's no meat."  So I say, "Mrs. W, was I supposed to buy the meat too?"  I wish I had the words to accurately describe her facial expression.  There was a long pause, while she absorbs my stupidity.  Then she comes back to the stove, and says, "Kate?!!  You didn't buy the meat?!"  I tried to justify myself- I mean you buy Manwhich on the canned meat aisle- but she and Mr. S were laughing hysterically- as they should have.  I dashed across the street and bought some ground beef (and chocolate for the teachers).  We had Sloppy Joe's- which for the record were DELICIOUS!  Throughout the cooking process, Mrs. W and I laughed about the no meat and I told her I don't remember ever having a Sloppy Joe in my life.  She couldn't believe this.

Later I called my mom to tell her my dorky story- because I like to entertain others with my ridiculousness (the lady at the grocery store couldn't stop laughing, so she definitely got a good laugh for the day in).  My mom feels sure she fixed me Sloppy Joe's.  She may have, but they sure don't stick out in my mind.  It occurred to me last night, I don't remember hardly any meals from my childhood (by childhood, I mean elementary years).  Here are the ones I remember: fish sticks, peas, and macaroni and cheese.  Waffles with oatmeal in them and topped with vanilla yogurt (I still love that meal- I love the texture of the oatmeal in the waffles and the creamy yogurt).  These muffins she made from some kind of bran cereal.  Stir fry.  Mostly I remember that because I HATED it!  I HATED snow peas.  They were disgusting (still are).  I also may, or may not, have been acting like a total pain in the rear end one evening when stir fry was fixed, and got sent from the dinner table with no dinner that night.  With that limited memory, perhaps I am not the best person to ask about whether I've eaten Sloppy Joe's before.  Regardless, I have now for sure and I like them and I know you're supposed to buy meat, in addition to the sauce, and buns.