Faithful Readers,

My sincerest apologies for my slacking on blogging. Homework has been crazy and class has been time consuming. Isn't that what I signed up for though? So glad I took Summer classes though. I would get bored to death of sitting around in my non air conditioned one bedroom apartment, not to mention more than likely die of a heat stroke!

This week we made Minestrone Soup, Potato & Leek Soup, Tomato Soup, Spinach Soup, Split Pea Soup and Corn Chowder. Anyone who know what I think about soups know that typically, I hate them. The texture to me is to say the least, nauseating. Some of these were actually quite eatable! The Potato Leek Soup was my absolute favorite. The velvety silkiness of this pureed soup is delightful. The Corn Chowder Soup was also pretty fabulous, despite the traditional addition of pablano peppers, making it slightly too spicy for my sensitive, sweets loving taste buds. The Tomato Soup was a bit of a culinary testing experience. In our three groups, two groups used fresh, Farmer's Market tomatoes and our group used store bought tomatoes. Exact same recipe, same conditions, different tomatoes. Moral of the story is, use fresh Farmer's Market tomatoes! The soup we made was pretty gross. It was an orange carroty color, despite the fact that no carrots or orange product was used! About 2 cups more chicken stock had to be used to give it a soupy texture, meaning it basically tasted like a watery, chicken soup. Weird right? Recipe was great though, just not with store tomatoes. Split Pea Soup was not as terribly awful as I had expected. Maybe it was because we used yellow peas instead of green so it didn't have earthy, traditional color usually associated with a split pea soup. Want to try these spectacular soups at home? Post which recipe (s) you would like and I'll send them! Ready for your hint for next week's topic? Better be eggscited! (; Please excuse my cheesiness.

What are some things you all have been making this week? Share!

Food is love,

Danielle

Sushi Kids Cooking Class at Farmer's Market

Hello faithful readers!

As I posted earlier in the week, I would be helping teach at the Farmer's Market. Well, I woke up bright and early Saturday morning to go! So glad I was able to help teach, it was amazing. When I was some of these kids' age, I had no clue even what sushi was let alone how to make it! Although we omitted the fish, the kids rolled their own sushi using nori, vegetables (they loved the mangoes and avocados), and sticky rice! We started out by going through the market and picking out our vegetables then went back to the booth so they could cut and peel the vegetables. (For cutting we used lettuce knives.) I must say, I have never seen kids so focused and into a project ever! There was this 4-year old little girl, Ruby, who must have eaten 5 pieces of nori all by itself! She was such a cutie. Some of the kids got very advanced and made rice on the outside sushi! Next time your child wants a happy meal, help them cook their own food. You might be happily surprised at the results you'll get.

After that was all done and cleaned up, sticky rice and all, I went out into the Farmer's Market to share some of the beauty I get to see every Saturday morning with all of you. The colors of the fruits and vegetables are honestly remarkable and the variety of things they carry is unimaginable.

Enjoy!

Food is love,

Danielle