Happy August....!

Can you believe it's August already???

WHAT!?!!!

Where in the world has the summer of 2014 gone?

I remember as a kid especially in elementary school

how loooong the lazy, hazy summer days were.

As August of 2014 has approached us,

many different things have been going on in my personal life.

Almost all good.  

One way I wanted to challenge myself through my food blog 

(that I started in March of 2011) was that I am going to 

write a post every single day in August....  yup. All. Thirty One. Days. 

I took the month of July off to catch up on some things and didn't share

a single post BUT... let's see how far I can go with 31 days ... 31 posts.

Many events are going on in August just like the 15 person

Personal Chef Dinner I just finished last night but I think I can do it!  

right!?!!    Most importantly...  let's all just.....

Let's Do This!   31 days.... 31 posts,  Let's Cultivate Food

Coleslaw Burger

Now that the summer is officially here and
with the fourth of July being around the corner...
people are grilling left and right!

What's great about the all american style burger
is that you can make it your own by adding whatever
your taste buds desire..... sweet right!?!

The latest burger we have been devouring
is a hamburger with coleslaw and a thick slice
of cheddar cheese (the cheese didn't make it into the picture)
which actually makes it a cheeseburger rather than a hamburger.

It's as easy as it looks and sounds.
Rather than adding lettuce and tomato--
coleslaw is a great option.

Coleslaw recipe -----> Coleslaw

Ketchup is optional and so are pickles.


So easy, so yummy,  Let's Cultivate Food

Godiva VS Kahlua .....

dun. dun. dun.

Hmmm.... Who was the winner of this drink taste test?

Zestfully,  Let's Cultivate Food

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