First Cooking Class of the Year: Wrap-Up

Earlier this month, I taught my very first vegan cooking workshop of the year, and it was a huge success! Below is a wrap-up of the class plus a little sneak-peek info about the upcoming classes we have in the works.

The Indie Craft Experience ladies and I are already sorting out deets and dates for two more classes: from-scratch ice cream sandwiches and a pickling class. Don't worry: both will include signature cocktails, too. I'll have info on that as soon as possible!

This class was geared toward new cooks or people new to cooking vegan food, and we had a blast making BBQ tofu bowls with garlicky kale and smashed potatoes. And, of course, we made a fancy cocktail to go with.

What I enjoy most about teaching cooking classes is the chance to experience the kitchen through someone else's lens. My students were super enthusiastic, and I loved talking with them about cooking tools and techniques. Sometimes, when you're steeped in something every day, it's easy to gloss over the basics or miss the magical little details that make cooking so much fun.

During the course of the afternoon, I realized that some of my favorite cooking tools are things that folks may not already have in their kitchens. Since my students were super into these kitchen tools and supplies, I thought it would be fun to share them here!

• My Silpats - A Silpat is a silicone liner for a baking sheet that you can use in lieu of parchment paper or oiling. Baking tofu, cookies, and everything else will never be the same. My Silpat is the secret to making perfect baked tofu cutlets that are toothsome and browned on both sides.
• My pressure cooker - We made the potatoes for mashing in my Instant Pot Duo. I use this thing at least 3-4 times a week to make everything from steamed veggies and from-scratch beans to steamed potatoes and soups and stews. It's the best. We also talked about some great pressure cooker cookbooks: Vegan Under Pressure, Vegan Pressure Cooking, and the upcoming pressure cooker cookbook from Kathy Hester.
• Paper straws - If you follow this blog, you know that I love a pretty paper straw! I get mine at Target. They always have really fun ones in the party supply section! Amazon has some good ones, if you want paper straws but don't want to have to put on pants to get them. I can identify with that feeling!
• My garlic press - I'm not usually into a kitchen unitasker, but since minced garlic is the foundation of almost every savory recipe, this one gets an exception in my house.
• My citrus juicer - This one's another exception to my unitasker rule, since I make a lot of citrusy cocktails. If you cook with fresh citrus a lot, a little hand juicer saves a lot of time and helps you get more juice out of your fruit. I like that it fits right into a Pyrex measuring pitcher, so I can measure as I juice.

My friend Christy took the class and was kind enough to take photos while it was going on. The images above and below are a mix of pictures from my phone and hers. Christy, I am so sorry: I can't remember whose are whose now!

I wanted to say a huge thank you to the Indie Craft Experience for hosting this class and to the ladies who signed up. It was so much fun creating a meal with you guys and getting to know you!