Sunday, February 20, 2011

Cooking Class - Day 3

Last Thursday was my 3rd and final cooking class.

But first. I need to brag a little. I got the prettiest flowers for Valentine's Day.


Ok enough bragging.

Cooking Class.  Final Day. Many delicious dishes were made and there were almost no incidences of multi-tasking when one should not be multi-tasking.

On the menu:

Greek Chicken, Guacamole, Sweet Potato Fries, and Greek Couscous Salad

It was a lot of food to eat at 8:30 at night but it was too delicious to stop eating. The best part is, it was all so easy to make, and so healthy for you.

Greek Chicken

You will need:

2-4 chicken thighs
lemon juice
rosemary
thyme

In a container or plastic ziplock bag, combine above ingredients (no quantities were given, it is all just to taste) place in the fridge for as long as possible.

  
When ready, throw in a frying pan with oil at medium heat and cook 5 minutes on each side, or until juices run clear.


We made an appetizer while the chicken was marinating.

Guacamole

You will need:

1 ripe avocado
1/4c red onion, finely chopped
lemon juice
salt
pepper

Roughly mash avocado with a fork

Toss in the rest of the ingredients (no quantities, just chop as much as you would like and then taste it to make sure you didn't ruin it). Stir until combined and serve with crackers, baked tortillas or chips.




The five of us shared this bowl which was highly disappointing because I could have eaten the entire bowl.

Anyways.

On we go.

Sweet Potato Fries

You will need:

1 yam or sweet potato
fresh rosmary
thyme
salt
pepper
olive oil

You can see it was a 'wing it' kind of night as once again there are no quantities for the ingredients. I was surprised at how easy it was to figure out how much to use when you taste the food while you are prepping and cooking it.

Preheat the oven to 400

Wash and chop potatoes into thin sticks



Toss potatoes, thyme, salt and pepper with olive oil


Line a baking sheet with fresh rosemary.


Place potatoes on top


Cook for 20-40 minutes, flipping them 2-3 times.

Easy, Breezy, Beautiful. And Delicious.

Greek Couscous Salad

1/2c whole wheat couscous                                       1 tbsp  olive oil
1/2c water                                                                1 tbsp lemon juice
                                                                                 salt (to taste)
Coarsely chopped:                                                    pepper (to taste)
                                                                                1 clove garlic, crushed
cucumber
red pepper
tomatoes
feta cheese

Boil water in a pot and stir in couscous. Cover and remove from heat. Let sit until veggies are ready

Cut all veggies. Take lid off couscous and fluff with a fork. Allow to cool slightly

In a bowl, toss all ingredients and season with salt and pepper to taste.


At around this time, I began running water to wash the dishes. I momentarily got distracted doing something else, when my friend yelled out my name and went running to the sink, which was about a quarter inch away from overflowing onto the floor. Oopsy.

Moving On.

Our little Thursday night meal was once again delicious.


Final Thoughts on Taking a Cooking Class

Taking a cooking class was a blast. It was so much fun to learn different recipes, have someone overseeing all of your multi-tasking fiascos, and eat awesome food late at night.

Our teacher was great, and while we were cooking the other women all talked about tips they had learned over the years as well, so it was nice learning from a multitude of chefs.

I learned to taste the food while I cooked it which I never did before and it really does make a difference in the end taste of the meal.

Cooking in cute aprons with one of your bestest friends makes the experience 100% better:)


IN OTHER NEWS:

I have decided to take on Oprah's Vegan Week Challenge. A few weeks ago Oprah and 300 plus of her Harpo staff went vegan for a week. This idea was so appealing to me, I decided to take on the challenge over my winter break this week.

Today is Day 1.

I really want the cappuccino ice cream I bought last week.

Wish me luck! First vegan post coming soon!


ADELLE

1 comment:

  1. That's awesome that you are trying the vegan for a week challenge. I LOVED doing it. I feel terrible after going off of it though - my stomach is hurting so bad :-(

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