Fun with Flan

Recently, I had the pleasure of sponsoring (on behalf of SUDIA) the Greensboro District Dietetic Association meeting.  This was a wonderful meeting because it took place in the Greensboro Children’s Museum Edible School Yard and incorporated a food demonstration (using nutrient-rich dairy of course)!

 The Edible School Yard is not a new concept; it was founded 40 years ago by Alice Waters. However, with recent emphasis on improving access to nutritious, affordable food and eating healthier, many communities’ across the country are beginning to seek out similar programs to empower children and families to connect with the food they eat. This connection develops while growing fruits and vegetables and through cooking.  This particular edible school yard has a half-acre teaching garden and a kitchen classroom. It offers hands-on education through field trips, gardening clinics, cooking classes, summer camps and more.  After our tour of the gardens we came into the teaching kitchen for a cooking demonstration by local blogger, Cecelia Thompson.

Since the holidays are fast approaching, Cecelia demonstrated an elegant and easy dessert: Flan.  Flan is baked custard quite popular in Latin American countries, but its origin is French.  Cecelia chose flan because it is an easy, yet impressive dessert, while being delicious and versatile.  The most difficult part of the baking process is getting the flan out of the pan unscathed (it may take several tries to perfect- at least it did for me!). Although we made a traditional flan, you can add spices and flavor to this creamy custard to make it more holiday friendly.  Click here for Cecelia’s recipe for Fall Pumpkin Flan.  I plan on wowing my family with this scrumptious version this Thanksgiving.  Give it a try!

What is your elegant but easy go to recipe?

Laura Buxenbaum, MPH, RD, LDN