TBT: Cooking class fun

Throwback Thursday. Wow. These photos take me back to a happy place. What fun we had on this day! I didn't expect Roasted Vegetables to draw such a crowd but the class was packed!  The energy in the room was electric. I've said this before I love to speak and share my story, but when I speak and cook at the same time -- I come alive! This was the first class at Chuck's where  I had Clark College students in the house!

This was also the day Cari Hachmann (former photographer from The Portland Observer) shot the photos for my first cookbook "Bringing Cooking Back" and lots of the photos for my second cookbook,  "Shop, Cook, Eat: Outside of the Box." including the popular cover.

I taught upwards of 40 cooking classes at Chuck's Produce & Street Market over a two year span and this was one of my top three classes. Delicious fun!

Healthy Cooking 101: Roasted Vegetables

Yesterday's Healthy Cooking 101 class featuring Roasted Vegetables was my best class to date. Not because there was 27 folks there (surely that helped), but because there was a special warmth in the room.

Two ovens roaring, filled with four different vegetables (Brussel sprouts, Cauliflower, Roma tomatoes, Yukon Gold potatoes), and the eagerness, oh the eagerness of the participants. They all were hungry. Not just hungry for food, but hungry for knowledge. From the questions that they asked of me, I got the feeling they were tired of the same ol' same. They seemed to be there looking for ways to cook food at home, vegetables even. Ha. Maybe, just maybe, they're tired of .99 Value Menus. Tired of being lured in by convenience. Tired of letting their busy schedules be the reason they cave into the convenience. Perhaps, I'm reading way too much into this, but I tell you those enthusiastic faces made me a little emotional. It was AWESOME, I tell you, AWESOME.

Photos: 2011 © Cari Hachmann