It was absolutely delightful to hear from many of you in response to last week's post about my cooking class. Given how enthusiastically that concept was received, I wanted to revisit it this week and invite you to cook alongside of us.
Shawn and I spend a lot of time talking about what kinds of foods we should introduce to the class because we have pretty strict criteria for which recipes make the cut. Almost all of the attendees are young, single and living on a modest ministry salary so our goal is for the recipes we introduce is to be affordable, easy to prepare, more healthy than not and fridge or shelf stable. None of our participants had the privilege of learning to cook from their mom or another family member, which makes it even more important for me to create a space where they are learn the skills that makes cooking accessible to them and they leave feeling empowered to do it on their own. Enthusiasm is building and I think we're on to something.
While I would absolutely love it if you could squeeze into my kitchen with us and learn how to chop an onion, peel a garlic clove or de-seed a jalapeno, my guess is that you already have many of those tricks up your sleeve. Since my earliest days of cooking, I have loved re-creating the recipes I find from browsing cookbooks or food blogs, making it incredibly easy to share the recipes with you as well. For today, I will provide the original links for all of the recipes we've cooked from an internet source and if you're feeling interested or inspired, check a few out and make your way to the grocery store! If you want to virtually join the class I would be happy to email or mail you the recipes we'll be tackling each month in class. I re-type all of the recipes I find online for the class so that the girls learn how to follow one basic recipe format. I have them all in my computer, making it easy for me to print them off or attach them in an email to send your way. Just let me know!
So far in our cooking class we've learned how to transform a basic half pork loin into something yummy and versatile to eat immediately or freeze for later. We've learned how to cook dried beans in our slow cookers to reduce the sodium, increase the flavor and save money in the process. We've learned how to make and freeze burritos for an easy grab and go meal and we've added a few healthy make-ahead salads for ready-made lunches or dinners. And just because it's delicious, easy, inexpensive and crowd pleasing, we learned how to whip up a batch of blender salsa as well. If you end up making yourself a batch of this blender salsa as well, you should know that our midwestern palates can only handle half of a jalapeno. I was shocked and a little amused when one of the Texans at the class blended a batch, included both the recommended jalapenos and declared that her salsa wasn't spicy. To each their own!
Mom mom has always said that if you can read, you can cook, which is why I'm leading the class with recipes and embedding time to teach the necessary cooking skills into each week. If you end up making any of the recipes recipes I linked to above or want to join our class virtually, I'd love to hear from you!
Have a great week!
Love,
Erica
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