Couples In Home Cooking Class

I might be weird but I always feel better when the kitchen gets a
a cleaning.... like a good scrub cleaning with vinegar,
baking soda and lemons... Nah, I AM weird. It's ok though because
I admit it..?...
Anyways,  just like the way a good cleaning puts me in a happy place-
so do Cooking Classes, especially the 'In-Home' ones.

We recently did another couples cooking class cooking an Indian menu
that was meat and vegetarian friendly.
This couple was a blast to cook with and so much in... love!
They were smiling and looking at each other almost the whole time!

Zestfully,  Let's Cultivate Food

Carrots were never orange.

What color are carrots?  Did you just say orange?
Did you know that carrots weren't always orange? What!?!

The Dutch are known as the carrot farmers of the world and
some time around the 17th century- they  cultivated carrots
for political and fashion purposes. Yes, carrots for politics and fashion.
Go figure! Carrots were originally purple, red, white and yellow.
The Dutch farmers were asked to cultivate red and white carrots
to make an orange carrot in honor of  "William of Orange"
The people loved the new fashionable hue so much that
the farmers continued to cultivate the orange ones and the
purple, red, white and yellow carrots in a way became phased out.



Just like there are heirloom tomatoes, today the original
carrot colors are considered heirloom carrots.
There are five non-orange colored carrots.

The purple carrots are often a deep but bright purple on the outside
and the flesh on the inside is a yellow-ish orange color.
They are sweet in flavor.

The red ones are often a very bright red, they taste the same as
the orange carrots and are heavily filled with lycopene -
the known good for you antioxidant also found in tomatoes.

The white ones are either  bright white  or a creamy white.
They are pretty mild in flavor unlike their cousin the parsnip.

The yellow ones are sweet as well and have that pretty lemony color.

As I mentioned, these days the non-orange colored carrots are
considered heirloom carrots which kind of means old fashioned
in a way- to put it simply and they can be found in farmers markets
and often the organic section of the supermarket.
They are gorgeous in color.
Naturally sweet colored goodies direct from nature!



Bugs Bunny says - 

"What's up doc",  Let's Cultivate Food

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

Sometimes Sunday afternoons are meant for running weekend errands
that didn't get done on Saturday and some Sunday afternoons are
meant for doing laundry and cleaning and resting from Cooking Classes
and for me this weekend included sterilizing Bumpballs.
I also threw in a little baking this Sunday evening as well.

I made some Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins.
I decided to make the extra large muffins rather than
the mini or regular sized ones.
They turned out delicious and adding a little extra lemon glaze
on top was a great addition. Eating them warm was also a bonus!

Ingredients:
2/3 cups sugar
2 lemons grated
juice 1 lemon
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1.5 teaspoons of vanilla extract
2 tablespoons of poppy seeds
3/4 cup of plain yogurt
2 large eggs
8 tablespoons (1 stick)of unsalted butter (melted at room temperature)
bake on 400 degrees for about 20 minutes (until the toothpick comes out clean)

Glaze:
1 cup of confectioner's sugar
3 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice
mix together and drizzle on when the muffins are done and out of the oven
(I recommend  using the back of a small spoon while they are still warm)

Licking the glaze off my fingers,  Let's Cultivate Food

Which onion should you use?

Onions.  Do onions make you cry?  We talk about onions often during
cooking classes so I've heard many different ways and things that people do
to prevent  themselves from crying.  Years ago I used to joke around saying
that if you are REALLY sensitive to onions -

you could always try swimming goggles. Low and behold- years later

there are goggles now made for cutting onions.  

Let's see,..... some of the things people have shared with me through the years

as far as what they do to prevent from tearing up while cutting onions.

----- chew gum while your are cutting,  bite down on some bread,

freeze the onion for a few minutes to harden it a little bit, 

light a candle so that the flame eats up the gases that are emitted from 

the onions' membranes as we cut into them, buy already cut frozen onions,

have your husband cut them and so many more... 

my most memorable comment and tip on how to prevent crying from onions

was:  " have a man do it because men are not as sensitive as women"

hahaha, the man who said this comment was actually being serious because when 

his wife cut onions - they always make her tear up and they never seem to bother him.

For me, I always rinse them in cold water and that seems to always help me.

If I'm cutting pounds and pounds of them for a catering gig, I have them sit in a 

bowl of cold water with their skin on as I cut one at a time. 

I'm assuming you already know that there are different types of onions  

but do you know which one is good for using when?

Here is a basic breakdown of what's what in the onion world.

The most common onion is the yellow onion. 

They are the best all-around onion, good for sauces, soups, stews, 

meat roasts and braised dishes.

Next, there is the sweet onion, this onion looks similar to the yellow onions

but often are lighter in color and the skin isn't as thick as the yellow onion.

They are best for frying, making onion rings, creating gratins and roasting veggies.

The white onion is the crunchiest of them all and has the sharpest zing.

They are good for putting them in salsas, chutneys and stir-fry dishes.

The red onion is best for eating raw especially in sandwiches, salads,

pickled dishes and using when making guacamole.

The last type of onion I'd like to share today are the shallots.

Shallots are the smallest and just like their size- they are milder and more subtle.

They are good when used for vinaigrettes, garnishes and egg casseroles. 

Zestfully,  Let's Cultivate Food

Mother and Daughter Cooking Classes

Mother and daughter classes are extra special because of the
special bond that they share!

Today, I wanted to share 3 of my favorite mother-daughter classes.
We have mother and daughter, step daughter - mother and 
daughter and mother-in-law classes.

"Mothers are the people who love us for no good reason. 
And those of us who are mothers know it's the 
most exquisite love of all."     Maggie Gallagher

"Some mothers are kissing mothers and some are scolding mothers, 
but it is love just the same, and most mothers kiss 
and scold together."         Pearl S. Buck 

"All women become like their mothers. That is their tragedy. 
No man does. That's his."       Oscar Wilde

"Being a full-time mother is one of the highest salaried jobs in my field, 
since the payment is pure love."    Mildred B. Vermont

"A mother's love is patient and forgiving when all others are forsaking, 
it never fails or falters, even though the heart is breaking."     Helen Rice

Zestfully,  Let's Cultivate Food

Personal Chef Dinners

Personal Chef Dinners
served to you right in your home!
by a current restaurant consultant, flavor creating goddess & 
former co-owner of a restaurant

How does it work?

1. First, you fill out the basic form with which menu you are interested in eating.

    (number of people, what town you live in, which day etc..) 

    (form is @ bottom of page or top tab titled  "FORM/Menus")

2. Once a day and time is scheduled---
     My sous chef and I will come to your location with all the fresh ingredients.

     (but we'll use your pots, pans, cutting board, plates, silverware etc... 
     you know-  so we don't have to lug everything)

3. We’ll cook the exotic feast and then the best part, you EAT!

     I'll cook/prepare the appetizer and my sous chef will serve and entertain
     your group with some interesting food trivia!  (If you prefer no-trivia... that's ok too!)

4.  To make the fairy-tale complete, while you and your friends/family are discussing 

     who’s the fullest and who answered the most trivia questions correctly...

     we’ll be cleaning and getting the place back to sparkling clean!

So you are thinking, "What does it cost?"

Great question! 

The prices for a Personal Chef Dinner is $45.00 per person.

This includes us purchasing ALL of the fresh ingredients, (often at multiple shops)

the prep, the cooking / making / serving / cleaning and for us driving to & from you.
(if there are highway tolls, bridge tolls or special parking fees...
those are extra) 

Each person will be served a FOUR-course meal. 

Each menu is customized with a fruit infused drink, often 2 appetizers

or 1 appetizer and a side, a main entree and a dessert.

Can I invite others to join us and if so...
how many people can I invite?

You betcha! The sweet spot is 4-6 adults, though you can go as 
small or as large as you want.  The number of people however, 
should be limited to how many people can comfortably sit 
in your eating space / area.

What should we wear?

Whatever you have that brings out your happiness!  

Who does the cleaning?

We do! Though........... we promise 
not to complain if you want to help!

When and how do I pay?

There are 3 ways of payment.
~ Credit card  
~ Paypal
~ Cash 
(payment needs to be prior to the arrival of class)
(If you prefer to pay by cash--- it is due at arrival)

What if I don't like any of the menu choices?

Simply choose "other" on the form and enter the dishes, 
ethnic type or ingredient, etc. you are interested in learning and 
as long as it fits within my skill set I will be super excited to create 
a personal menu for you!  

I've mastered many things over the years of  teaching cooking classes,
cooking Personal Chef Dinners and throwing food parties... 
so I’m well prepared if you choose to take this route!

so.... are you ready to feel like a rock star and have 
a personal chef dinner served to you!?!

to view menus and for booking -->  FORM  <---click

Bibimbap --- dolsot style

Have you ever eaten Korean Food?
Many people are familiar with Kimchi- which is fermented cabbage and
Korean BBQ, especially the cook at the table style and the side veggies called banchan

One of MY favorite and my bf's favorite dish is 'bibimbap'.
Not just any ordinary bibimbap but dolsot style.

Bibimbap is a Korean word meaning mix & rice.
Bibim means mixed and the bap translates to rice.
The breakdown of dolsot is dol meaning rock and sot translates to pot -- aka: a rock bowl.
The rice gets mixed with all the side veggies in a bowl in this case a rock bowl.

This by far is hands down the BEST way to eat bibimbap.
The rock bowl comes in handy because the rice gets slightly burnt and crispy with
brushed sesame oil on the bottom as you finish the rice off on the stove.

The side veggies are your choice. Some the the standard banchans
I add are usually spinach, shredded carrots, shredded zucchini or squash, cabbage,
sliced bell peppers and typically a protein either tofu or beef.
Some other items you can add are shredded lettuce, blanched sprouts, fern stems,
shredded radish and pickled cucumber just to name a few.

                 

For the spinach- simply blanch it in hot water for about a minute. Strain the water and mix

with 2 tsp of sesame oil. Sprinkle some sesame seeds on top as well (the roasted ones)

I usually use the throw away gloves to simply toss it with my hand or you can use tongs.

  

For the shredded carrots (you can just buy already shredded or shred it yourself)

You can blanch the carrots or saute them in a drizzle of sesame oil. Again, top with

sesame seeds and a sprinkle of salt (to taste)

For the zucchini/squash you can lightly saute them while adding a sprinkle of salt (to taste).

                     

The same can be done for bell peppers - saute with drizzle of oil and top with sesame seeds and salt.

If you are using cabbage or lettuce - you want to keep that raw and no seasonings on it.

For the tofu, cut into a shape that you favor and saute with 

a drizzle of both sesame oil and soy sauce. (about a TBSP of soy sauce for 1/2 a brick of tofu)

Traditionally, the rice would get cooked in the rock bowl from the beginning. 

I like to save time and make it easier by cooking the rice in a rice cooker, then simply 

brushing sesame oil on the bottom of the rock bowl and then lining the bowl with rice. 

(For every 2 people you want about 1.5 cup of rice)

These little bowls are perfect as one size servings and are super cheap. $5.00

They conveniently fit on a burner whether gas or electric. 

They will work on a ceramic stove also.

Cook the rice on low to medium low for about 15-20 minutes until the rice is crispy 

and almost burnt.  Once the rice is done, you want to add all the veggies (banchan) 

and then top it all with an over easy egg... or for those yolk- not popped fanatics-- 

you can simply just fry it. You want to line up the veggies separately on top of the rice

because it looks pretty with all the natural colors of the veggies and part of this dish 

is to mix it and eat it with a spoon. It's called bibimp (mixed) for a reason.

The sauce you mix on top is a pepper paste sauce. The easiest way of making it is..

take 1 TBSP (per person) of pepper paste and add about a teaspoon of soy sauce 

to dilute and to add as the salt flavor while adding a teaspoon of rice vinegar and 

a sprinkle of sugar.  (the sugar is optional)

We like to LOAD the veggies on! Super tasty and healthy.

Zestfully,  Let's Cultivate Food