HEY TEACHER!!!

FarmgirlCyn teaching "COOKING ON A DIME".

Aah!
It's over.
Since asked in March to teach a cooking class at the farm where I have a CSA share, I have been planning, thinking, going over favorite recipes, making lists, sub-lists, crossing things off my lists,...... you name it, I was agonizing over it.
It all came to a head yesterday when I actually got to DO all that I had been detailing.

On Thursday I went to the weekly farm pick-up and got everything they had available for my recipes.
Lots of basil, green onions, kale, cukes, halapenos, green beans, and parsley.
Then I hit the grocers for all the additional ingredients I would need.
The general idea for the class was to use the produce from the farm to create cheap, nourishing, and most of all, tasty meals, adding ingredients from the grocers when necessary.
Because we have had little heat and not so much sun, the farm is not yet producing what we had expected for this time of year.
Virtually no tomatoes are ready yet, and the red peppers are not near ready for picking.
So, we improvised.
The farmers wife, Anja, had bags of frozen heirloom tomatoes that she dug out for our Gazpacho, and we had to get red peppers from the market.

I taught the gals how to roast your own peppers over a gas grill, and we made
Roasted Red Pepper Dip.
I made a hot soup, Minestra, which has 3 bunches of fresh escarole and cannellini beans, with homemade chicken stock.
Gazpacho from the frozen tomatoes and additional ingredients from the grocers.
Homemade mini pizzas with homemade oven roasted tomatoes, roasted peppers, feta, and fresh mozzarella.
Basil Pesto.
Fresh Green Sauce for fish. (especially good over cooked salmon)
Green Beans with Feta.
Kale with Cannellini Beans in a white wine reduction.
And I brought 2 loaves of homemade New York Times No Knead bread.
After all the demonstrations and cooking was over, we all got to sit down and enjoy the fruits of my labor.

There were lots of questions from the 15 gals who signed up, and everyone walked away learning something new. (or so they said!)
(I learned that big block of feta cheese from Costco CAN be frozen in smaller portions, or kept in a salt water brine to stay fresh longer)
I didn't burn anything.
Everything tasted the way it was supposed to.
And it sounded like everyone walked away full and satisfied.
One gal asked if I would teach classes in my home!
(she's never seen my small kitchen!)

I would do it again next year in a heartbeat!

PS I had a huge amount of help from a dear friend, Jenny, who graciously agreed to be my legs for the day. She is the one who was busy at the grill roasting the peppers, watching over the pizzas, and peeling cooled peppers. Whatever I needed, she jumped right in.
With the knee and foot problems I have been having this past year, I don't think I could have done all this w/o some serious help.
Thanks Jenny!