Kids BIRTHDAY Cooking Class

We certainly do a bountiful amount of Adult Cooking Classes
but did you know that we also do Kids Cooking Classes as well !?!

Adult classes tend to have a sizzling array of occasions
whereas kids cooking classes tend to always be birthdays.

During this birthday party class- the magic number was 10.
Ten 10 year old girls.  They each took turns in having some
hands-on time with helping in cooking food.



As you can see... they were extremely eager to participate.

The menu consisted of simple mashed potatoes placed into
cookie cutters just to make it a little more fun,
along with nachos,  a chocolate chip cookie dough dip with crackers,
pretzels, strawberries and bananas and personal size pizzas
that each girl rolled out the dough from scratch.

They tried to flip the dough which I didn't even realize
until I saw the pictures that my sous chef took! haha.

These 10 year old ladies were great fun!  

Our kids classes always have personalized chef hats

for the kids to enjoy!  

​
Zestfully,  Let's Cultivate Food

Grilled 'summah' Corn

Summer isn't  'summah'  without grilled sweet corn.
(Although it is technically still Spring)

Growing up on a farm in elementary school I remember
the farmer planting and harvesting field corn.



There are a few different types of corn but the 2 most common
and familiar to me are the sweet corn which comes in the yellow
or 'white' color or simply mixed and  field corn.
Field corn is tougher and extremely hard to eat because
it is grown primarily for animal feed- often for horses, cows and pigs.

A super easy way to make delicious corn is ---->

Peel the husk the day you are going to eat your corn
(otherwise it will dry out)
I like to save time and boil the corn first.
Then I put it on the grill towards the end of when
I'm done grilling whatever protein I am grilling.
Placing it it on the grill is to basically finish off the corn along with getting
the charred grill marks- that us, Americans sometimes are obsessed with.

I love to brush the corn with a butter mixture right when it's still hot.
You can easily cultivate your own butter mixture but my go-to one is
about 2 TBSP of butter (per 4-5 ears of corn)
about 2 teaspoons of Old Bay seasoning and some dried cilantro flakes.

This is always a hit whether you're going camping, having a Father's day cookout,
or it's simply a nice summer/spring day.


Zestfully,  Let's Cultivate Food

What's your favorite kind of hot dog?

Hot dogs are one of America's favorite foods.
During one of our food festivals this Spring-
we were next a booth that sold over 400 hot dogs
in a few short hours.  There are all kinds of hot dogs often by region.

2 of my favorite hot dogs are the 'Chicago Dog' and the Korean Hot dog.
On a trip to Chicago a few years back I remember taking a segway tour
and stopping to grab some Chicago dogs.
I like the flavor of the poppy seed bun, with the tomato, hot peppers,
relish and a spear of a dill pickle.  The combination of everything is great!

Have you ever had a Korean style hot dog?

On the streets of Korea where all the street vendors sell

their delicious, saucy and flavor foods- there is the fried hot dog.

It's basically a hot dog covered in french fries. 

It is deep dried and then drizzled with ketchup. 

So simple yet so good!

It's slightly ironic that this is sold in Korea. 

French fries and hot dogs are SO American but

it's not that surprising since Koreans are quite innovative.

Zestfully,  Let's Cultivate Food

Barbeque Ribs + Mango Coleslaw + Mixed Mushroom Salad + Cajun Corn = A Family In-Home Cooking Class

Just like the way people and families come in all sizes...
SO. DO. cooking classes!

I just wanted to share a few pictures of a family In-Home Cooking Class.
I truly enjoyed the way this family was able to get everyone involved
with the hands-on aspect of the class.  Each family member
was able to participate and everyone was able to taste and season
as we were cooking each item on the menu.

Getting ready to season and marinate the racks of ribs. 

Both pork and beef. (just so we can taste the difference)

Getting mom and the boys involved!

Even Dad....

Grandma also...

Zestfully,  Let's Cultivate Food

Watermelon Thirst Quencher

When I think of summer fruits---
watermelon definitely falls under my top 3 summer fruits.
It's beautiful in color, juicy, sweet and a great thirst quencher!

Slicing or cutting your watermelon into cubes to eat is great
BUT what if you were to use the watermelon as a double duty thing?
Use a small watermelon not only as your drink but the actual glass
or drinking goblet!?!    What!?!  sounds like fun right?



It's really easy to make!  The only things you will need are:
a small watermelon, a large spoon or ice cream scoop to scoop
the inside of the watermelon, a colander (with finer holes),
a knife to slice the watermelon top (about 2 inches down from the top)
some fun, large straws and some booze.
(booze is optional and of your choosing of course!)

Once you scoop the inside of the watermelon, it's best if you blend it

to make it more of a juice rather than it being chunky. I like to use a wire 

colander like the one in the picture to get the froth out as well. 

You can add some large straws and an umbrella to make it even more fun to drink!
You can also make fruit skewers to add as a garnish.
Oh! and don't forget to add some ice.


It quenched our thirst,  Let's Cultivate Food

Fruit Pops!

As the hot weather is RIGHT around the corner (if you live in the Northeast)
One of my favorite summer treats... (actually almost all-year round)
is a home made fruit popsicle.  They REALLY are  awesome because of
many reasons.  They are healthy, delicious, refreshing, all-natural (literally),
super easy to make, fun, easy to eat/lick/suck/bite, did I mention
delicious?   What's also sweet about them is that you can REALLY make it your own.
You can cultivate these fun fruit pops by using whatever you, your family and friends
like. If you don't like a certain type of fruit for whatever reason... simply
don't use it!  Use your favorite fruits and mix them up or not!
You can also change it up by pureeing the fruit or dicing them up into small
pieces or both. Whatever floats your boat.... or pops in this case.

The easiest way to make these is-  to get all your fruit ready.
Get little paper cups out and line them up in a row or 2.
Add your fruit and then lastly add your little wooden popsicle stick at the end.
Lay them on a tray or plate (I just place them on a paper plate )
right in the freezer.  If you are eating them individually-
just take the paper cup wrapper off as you eat it but if you are serving it
to multiple people- it looks attractive if you take off /rip the paper cup
off for everyone and simply lay them upside down so that each person
can just grab their fruit popsicle  by the stick!


Zestfully,  Let's Cultivate Food

The Waldorf Salad

I love salads but having the option to enjoy a vast variety of salads
is a luxury!?!  because -  wouldn't it be REALLY boring
to eat the same old garden salad  ALL.THE.TIME. ?

I am fascinated by all the combinations of salads
that one can create and of course eat and enjoy!

Among the many different types... there is the Waldorf salad.

The original Waldorf salad was made of fresh apples, celery
and walnuts tossed in mayonnaise.
It was served as a light meal at the Waldorf Hotel in NYC.
Oscar Tschirky the Maitr d' created it along with creating
Hollandaise sauce with Lemuel Benedict that is used in Eggs Benedict.



The Waldorf salad is often the topping to a bed of greens.
As technology and everything else that is evolving-  so has this salad.
There are often grapes or raisins or dates added to the salad  along with
it often being tossed and mixed with plain yogurt instead of the mayonnaise.
Some restaurants will substitute the celery with cauliflower and call it
the Emerald's  Salad rather than the Waldorf Salad.

Feel free to cut you apples in slices or just dice them.
To keep the apples from browning it's best to squeeze juice from a lemon.


Zestfully,  Let's Cultivate Food