By Chloe Marshall and Livia Kam
On Wednesday, March 26, Low and Slow started the day off strong by uncovering the barbacoa pit and unloading eight large pieces of pork that had been marinating underground all night. A group then began filling the pit. Inside, the lamb meat was hand-pulled and re-packaged for lunch later that day.
Also inside, Jade and Emmie prepared roasted tomato and roasted tomatillo (like a green tart tomato) salsa. They ground, oiled, and blackened the ingredients before blending them all together.
Meanwhile, Chloe, Ben, and Grace carefully followed the first steps of Mr. Sussman’s fancy biscuit recipe so they could be ready for Thursday’s annual Low and Slow faculty and staff appreciation meal. The biscuit recipe called for grated frozen butter to be mixed in with the dry ingredients without melting, so the group worked outside in the chilly morning weather to keep everything cool.
At each station, groups took turns playing music, which made for a very lively morning.
For lunch, the group busted out the tortillas from yesterday and made tacos with the salsa, guac, and pork that slow cooked overnight. Mary Anne also taught a lesson on how to make jicama, a sweet drink made with dried hibiscus flowers.
After lunch, groups took turns returning bricks and firewood to the basement, where it was stacked along with other tools for next year’s IL. They also prepared pork butt shoulder to smoke overnight.
Zev and Shabd also worked to prepare the homemade baked mac and cheese, which will be baked for the faculty and staff appreciation lunch tomorrow.
At around 8:30 p.m., the group returned to campus to spend the night at Van Meter Hall to take turns watching over the smoker outside. After setting up an ambient green and blue light and music, we set up our sleeping forts. Jade, Chloe, and Mr. Sussman also made homemade chocolate chip cookies and ice cream.
Finally, the group had three rounds of the infamous Low and Slow hide and seek, where kids hid behind the fridge, squeezed in closets, and stood in plain sight. Mr. Sussman won the first round, hiding behind propped up folding tables outside of the kitchen. Livia, Shabd, and Zev won the second round hiding in the hall closet together. Shabd won the third round, strategically hiding in between the wall and refrigerator where people were unknowingly walking by. Shabd’s hiding spot was so good that Mr. Sussman forgot about him and started to give bedtime announcements.
Everyone (except the teachers) stayed up playing games and chatting late into the night.