It's not always what it seems like.

Today, I wanted to share a poem 

Mashed potatoes on the ceiling.

Green beans on the floor.
Stewed tomatoes in the corner.
Squash upon the door.
Pickled peppers in my pocket.
Spinach up my sleeves.
Mushrooms in my underpants with
leeks and lettuce leaves.
Okra, onions, artichokes,
asparagus and beets;
buried neatly underneath the
cushions of our seats.
All the rest I've hidden in my socks
and down my shirt.
I'm done with all my vegetables.
I'm ready for dessert!

         ---Kenn Nesbitt---

This poem makes me laugh a little

because of the things we don't like to eat

as little kids...

I'd like to share a story of a little boy named M.

When M was little, he did not like certain vegetables

especially PEAS-- almost with a passion.

M wasn't the fastest of eaters but he wasn't the slowest

of eaters either BUT, when peas were presented for dinner 

he would take over an hour to finish eating.

M would somehow take the peas when no one was looking,

and throw them under the table for the family dog to eat and enjoy.

(You know how dogs love leftovers and such right!?!!)

Every time the peas showed up during dinner time--- this became the ritual.
(Throw them under the table for the dog to eat)

Years later, as an adult- M has grown to love all kinds of veggies.

Peas are NOT one of them though. M still doesn't eat peas.

M was reminiscing with his mom a little while back and they both

discovered some interesting things.

M:  Mom, Do you remember how the family dog loved peas.

Mom:  What do you mean the dog liked peas? The dog didn't like peas.

M:  Yes it did. I gave the dog peas under the table ALL the time.

Mom:  (with a burst of laughter)  OH! that makes sense now!

All these years-- M's mom thought that her younger son was

the messiest kid eater because she would notice food

under the table and would have to clean it up.
(realizing later that it was always peas)

M thought that the dog ate them because he would come home from

school and during the next night for dinner would glance under the
table and see that there were no peas under the table.

#Itisnotalwayswhatitseemslike   #hahaha

Zestfully,  Let's Cultivate Food

3 month old baby took an In Home Cooking Class

As I continue to share pictures of cooking classes, I want to share this one also.
This class was with 4 adults (husband and wife) along with 2 of their friends
AND a 3 month old baby. Do you see the chalk board in the background?
"3 months old"   The baby didn't participate on the hands-on part of the class. Haha.

The menu for this In-Home Cooking Class was a custom menu:
Beef sticks, Veggie Dim Sum, Exotic stir-fried rice and General Tso's Chicken.

This group of 4 was enjoyable and they were great learners as well! 

That evening was delightful!  The island counter in the center of the kitchen 

made the space perfect for a cooking class as well!

Zestfully,  Let's Cultivate Food

The BBB Salad

With all the snow we've acquired in the past few weeks-
I recall seeing a AAA truck helping someone who was stuck
in the snow on the side of I-476 the other week
and strangely thinking back at that is what made me
unofficially name this salad the BBB salad.

BBB because the main ingredients are:
Blueberry,  pork Belly and Baby kale.
I know, its a stretch when the 'kale' and 'pork'
are more important than the 'belly' and 'baby' aspect of it.

I think salads can be quite satisfying because we are able to create
so many different combinations and we can use our favorite items-
we can appropriately change the salad pretty much
every time we eat one.  YAY!

Today, for lunch I wanted to make a simple salad but not just
a plain garden salad which is healthy but can be tiring and boring as well.

I started the BBB salad with the base of 4 leaves of Romaine lettuce
and 3 hearty handfuls of Baby kale. I enjoyed the baby kale more than
the mature kale (often associated with kale chips) frankly,
because it was more tender and not as sharp in taste.

The other goodies were:
half a cucumber sliced,
1/4 of an orange bell pepper diced,
1/4 of a pint of blueberries,
about 10 snow peas sliced into small bite sizes,
2 eggs hard boiled,
leftover Chinese take-out noodles,
pork belly sauteed til crispy in soy sauce, pepper paste, sugar and garlic powder,

Oh, and the dressing was Olive oil Italian Dressing. Quite often the best way to have

certain meats is to have them marinaded- and salads can be the same,

if you take a dressing and use either tongs or I like to use those throw away gloves

and toss the dressing with my hand- it ALWAYS tastes better rather than just pouring

the salad dressing on top.  What are some of your favorite things to put in a salad?

In Home Cooking Class Philadelphia area
Trying to stay healthy,  Let's Cultivate Food

Sushi Rolling In-Home Cooking Class

I've encountered so many people who don't eat a certain type of food
because they have never tried it before and they simply "think"
they don't like it... even if they have never tried it!

I think it's pretty important to have kids try all kinds of foods as well.
Too often and sadly, kids end up sometimes with a limited palate
all because their parents had a limited palate and only gave them what they
enjoyed.  I think this happens quite often with certain veggies and seafood
most commonly.

During our Sushi rolling class with S & A... this was not the case
but it often can be with sushi.  I remember the first several times
I tried sushi and sashimi and I certainly DID.NOT.LIKE.IT at all.
I think I tried it at least 3-4 times before starting to enjoy it.
Now, I just can't get enough.

Sushi is a popular menu choice for Let's Cultivate Food's
In-Home Cooking Classes AND also for Personal Chef dinners.

Below are a few pics of one of many In-Home Classes we have completed.
S & A were such a great couple. They were so eager and excited
to learn how to roll and make sushi. It was a blast to share an evening
with them! I start with a demo with the fresh ingredients I bring to your residence.

Eager learners really do learn SO quickly... they start rolling their own rolls in minutes!

We try to do a variety of different kinds because... the more the better! RIGHT!?!

'S' learned the trick of how to evenly cut the roll pieces.  Pretty easy trick

once you know- often that's how it is- it always seems easy once we know

how to do something!

'A' rolling out the 'sushi' rice evenly out onto the nori.  (Sushi rice is different than 

regular long grain rice) Many people don't realize that sushi rice is different

AND that some premium pieces of nori are $4-7 a sheet! WHAT!?!

Regular and inside out (aka: naked rolls) So many combinations can be fun!

Tada!  S & A made their first EVER tray of a variety of sushi and veggie rolls!

Zestfully,  Let's Cultivate Food

Greek Yogurt - the basics

When someone says Greek Yogurt-- what pops into your mind?
Healthy? Super-food? Good protein? Good bacteria? Nutritious?
Makes you 'regular'?  Are you running through all the different
brands of Greek Yogurt right now in your head?

In a nut shell, Greek yogurt is made by straining yogurt to
get rid of the whey; (whey is the liquid after milk has curdled)

I think that most of us think that all Greek yogurts are good for us.
Every brand has a different recipe which means the nutritional value
is different as well, especially when it comes to the amount of sugar,
corn starch, actual bacteria and other added ingredients.

The FDA has regulations on just regular yogurt...
so what that basically means is that it can be regular yogurt with
the label simply marked as "Greek yogurt" which still isn't horrible
BUT you will be paying a lot more since the Greek is more expensive.

Some things to look for in true Greek yogurt; with any product-
just read the label. The main ingredients should simply be milk
and the active cultures; what I like to call the "good bacteria".
Stay away from things such as: "added whey cultures, modified corn starch."

Greek yogurt gets its thickness from the straining process, however,
some companies like to skip the straining process and they just add
a thickener like corn starch to mimic the thick richness we favor in
Greek yogurt. Sometimes even a gelatin is added to give it a slippery
looking texture.  Anything to make it more appealing to our eyes right!?

Last bit of fact just for fyi purposes: yogurt (any kind) and frozen yogurt
are not made from the same recipe; so frozen yogurt is not
made simply by freezing regular refrigerated yogurt, but that's a whole
other post with more info!

Zestfully,  Let's Cultivate Food

Buffalo Wild Wings, Chipotle and Panera Bread

The 3  restaurant chains to watch in 2014.

These 3 restaurants are the leaders when it comes to casual restaurant chains.
Buffalo Wild Wings was started by 2 guys over 30 years ago.
They have been consistently growing and currently have 959 locations in 49 states.
Buffalo Wild Wings is planning to serve Pepsi rather than Coca Cola to help
spice up their menu (Doritos).

Chipotle Mexican Grill started in 1993 and currently has  1539 locations globally.
They recently started selling tofu along with their other proteins.
Chipotle also has made a pizza partnership where the pizzas are made to order
and baked in 2 minutes.

Panera Bread started their journey back in 1981 with the original being Au Bon Pain Co.
In 1993, Au Bon Pain purchased the St. Louis Bread Company and renovated them
into Panera Bread. There are currently about 1500 Panera Bread locations  in 40 states.

Enjoy all 3 chains,  Let's Cultivate Food

French Toast Rolls

I've always been found of wraps... especially lettuce wraps.
I also love rolls. I even have a whole board dedicated to wraps and rolls on Pinterest.

I also love taking everyday foods and changing them up a little
just to make it different. I unfortunately don't get to eat brunch too often
BUT lucky for me- french toast can be eaten any time of the day.
I think most breakfast foods can be devoured at any time of the day...
or is it simply the thought that it's breakfast food and eating it at a different time
of day makes it more special?  Hmm, I wonder.

I was grabbing lunch at Chilis Restaurant for lunch the other day and I remember
this mom saying to her 2  young sons that this lunch was special but their dinner
was going to be even more special simply because they went out for lunch.
She told them that they were going to have 3 different types of cereal for dinner.
I'm not sure if this was a save money tactic or a just being clever tactic.
Either way... a cereal buffet could be fun!

To make french toast rolls:
Simply take some sliced bread and cut the crust off on all 4 sides.
Add some cream cheese or Nutella and add your choice of fruit.
(berries or banana are most divine)

Roll them up almost like sushi and then dip them in some egg
like the way you would for regular french toast.
(having the egg on a plate vs a bowl for these rolls will be a little easier)

Fry them in a pan (again just like the way you normally would regular french toast)
Once the rolls have cooked and browned-- while still warm roll them in
a sugar and cinnamon mixture, again on a plate will be easiest!

quite divine and delish,   Let's Cultivate Food