Kidding Around

I have been really blessed since I made the choice to leave my corporate life and enter the world of cooking.  I have met some wonderful people along the way.  There are the people in my cooking classes who bring laughter and joy into my home; the "culinary guru" that I was lucky to spend some time with, who inspired the "intuitive" cook in me to look at the "science" side of cooking; the students at Bauman who teach me as much as (if not more than) I try to teach them; my social media "whiz kid" who refuses to let me believe "I'm too old for that stuff," and then there's Lisa, of Farm Girl Nursery.

Last summer a woman named Karen Pavone, came to one of my cooking classes and asked if I minded her taking pictures, interviewing me a little bit and writing about my class.  Wishing I had spent a little more time doing my hair and makeup, I sheepishly agreed.   I began following her wonderful blog (and not just the post about me!) highlighting the farm to table movement in Marin & Sonoma County.  After a story she did on school gardens, we chatted about how I wanted to get involved in teaching kids not just about growing fresh veggies, but how to cook them in a way that they would actually eat them.  And she introduced me to Lisa Marvier, who at the time was just fixin' to open a farm/nursery.

Lisa and I met for the first time on a sunny April afternoon.  We walked through the farm, her sweet store where she sells books, starters and seeds, and I met all the farm animals: horses, ponies, chickens, roosters, goats, pigs.  My favorite remains the two little pigs that think they're dogs - they come when she calls them, just like her three pups. Although the new baby goats do tug at my heart.  Then she and I sat down to talk....and talk and talk.  We were kindred spirits from the get-go (so lucky when you find people like that in your life) and shared the same vision of teaching people how to eat and be healthy.  And we agreed that a great place to start was with kids.  And The Farm Girl Nursery Kids' Camp was formalized.  Lisa had been thinking about it for a while (she's got so many ideas jumping around in that head of hers!), but we decided to add a cooking class to the mix.

Today was our second camp together, possibly the last of the summer (though I think she's trying to figure out how to squeeze one more in while the weather's good).  The kids started the day learning from a bee keeper and a woman who raises chickens, and then after a bit of zip lining (yes, zip lining!) I take them into the gardens and we harvest fruit and veggies for lunch.  The little ones stay out on the porch to whip up a batch of ice cream (old-school style...with the ice, rock salt and a good old fashioned crank handle!), and the bigger kids come into the kitchen with me to cook.

My older little helpers, after a lesson on knife safety and under close supervision, chopped cucumbers, squash, tomatoes and basil for our quinoa pasta salad.  The younger ones, stripped rosemary sprigs to create skewers and scooped melon balls to create kebabs of watermelon and berries from the farm (great with the ice cream).  After showing them all how to quickly and easily to strip the kale leaves off the stem, I took on the task of making kale chips (big hit with my Kitchen Crew!).

Then it was time to eat!  It's so wonderful to see kids eat good stuff!  It's much easier to do it if they have a hand in growing it, picking it, and cooking it.  Give it a try.  My nephews aren't huge vegetable fans, and I never knew them to eat zucchini in their lives......until they grew some one year.  They were so proud that they couldn't wait to learn how to cook it.  No matter if you have a big yard or a balcony, you can grow something to eat.  Just look at these happy faces..... that's all the inspiration you need.

 

Cheezie Kale Chips
Serve 6-8

2 bunches dino (aka Lacinato) kale, rinsed, stemmed and ripped into bite-sized pieces
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon salt

• Preheat oven to 325°.
• Place kale on 2 parchment paper lined baking sheets.
• Divide olive oil between the two sheets, and toss to coat.
• Sprinkle with nutritional yeast and salt.
• Bake 15-20 minutes until crispy.  Check occasionally to be sure they don't burn.

Yum It up! 
And see, no cheese; I used nutritional yeast to give the cheesy flavor.  Well, yes that was a little feta on the quinoa pasta salad, but Lisa made me do it!! :)

Saving the world one bite at a time!

"You'll know you're on the right path when things just start falling into place."  That's what my wise friend Randy told me when I first started on this journey to cook and teach.  And she was so right.  All along the way doors have opened for me and have helped me to build this nice little business cooking for families, teaching cooking classes and writing this blog.  And opportunites keep presenting themselves....

Last summer a lovely woman named Karen Pavone came to one of my cooking classes.  She sported a big, beautiful camera when she walked through the door.  I'm used to people sporting big, beautiful bottles of wine when they come to a class, but a professional camera is rare.  She asked if I minded her taking pictures because she was working on a blog for The Novato Patch about the farm to table experience.  Although I wish I had spent a little more time on my hair that day, I said that I would love for her to take pictures and write about my classes.  Turns out Novato Patch was interested in Karen, but not Cooking by the Bay because I was based in San Rafael and not Novato.  But now Karen has launched another great blog and finally was able to share her article about my cooking classes.

Her blog post sparked a meeting between me and Lisa Marvier, owner of Farm Girl Nursery.  Lisa has created a wonderful farm & nursery on her one and a half acre property off Indian Valley Road in Novato.  Covered with gorgeous produce, seedlings, flowers, eggs, honey... there are even chickens, two pigs that think they're dogs (they come running when Lisa calls them by name), and horses.  She has created a little store, too, filled with seeds, books, tools and all the things get you going in your own gardening experience....

It is nothing if not inspiring....I spent an hour there and didn't want to leave. I'm not a jealous girl by nature, but I was so jealous of this beautiful oasis that Lisa has created....

After a delicious tour of the property, we talked about our shared desire to teach people how easy it is to eat better, to feed the soul as well as the body, and most importantly about our desire that kids today would learn that real, whole foods are fun to grow and can be just as satisfying, if not more so, than the processed foods so many of them have grown up eating.

Together we hope to create kids' camps this summer where children can come and spend "a day on the farm," pet the farm animals,, take a ride on the zip line, pick produce, create dishes that we'll cook together and settle down for a delicious picnic lunch on the sunny lawn.  Best of all, Lisa plans to send each child home with the recipes and fresh produce so they can recreate their dishes at home for their parents. 

We left each other that day with a hug and a wish to "change the world, one bite at a time."  If you're interested in Farm Girl Nursery's kids' camps, contact me at Suzanne@CookingbytheBay.com.