Culinary Arts

Summer Seasonings & Rubs

Kick off your summer with the fresh flavors of homemade seasonings and rubs! In this hands-on class, you’ll explore the fundamentals of combining herbs, spices, and salts to create custom blends that elevate any dish. Learn how to balance flavors and tailor each blend to suit your unique tastes as we mix up samples including homemade pork and turkey rub, beef patty grill seasoning, and roasted potato seasoning.

Participants will sample taco beef in class, complete with homemade chips for dipping, and take home a small jar of the roasted potato seasoning made during class. Plus, you’ll receive handouts filled with additional recipes to try at home.

Class Notes: Some samples/recipes contain wheat.

Community Instructors: Jan Szalkowski and Wendy Steusloff

Beyond Greens: Creating Salads that Satisfy

Discover a variety of ways you can create vibrant, satisfying, plant-based salads that are as filling as they are fresh. Learn how to turn an ordinary salad into a BAS (Big Awesome Salad) that will keep you full and nourished for hours, and get hands on as we make one to enjoy together in class.

We’ll go beyond the greens, exploring delicious, 100% plant-based toppings like crispy quinoa croutons, fakun’ bits, and baked almond feta. Plus, we’ll dive into the anatomy of a salad dressing, then craft our own signature dressing in class. Leave inspired and ready to make fresh, crave-worthy salads that are as nutritious as they are delicious! Each participant will receive recipes that are customizable and offer endless possibilities for creating their own hearty, plant-based salads.

Class Notes: Please bring a small reusable container with a lid for any leftovers. Some samples/recipes contain tree nuts, peanuts, soybean, and sesame.

Community Instructors: Becky Fitzpatrick

Baking Biscotti

Learn how to make cherry-pistachio biscotti and chocolate-espresso biscotti in this hands-on class. Whether enjoyed on their own like a cookie or dipped into a warm cup of coffee or tea, biscotti make a delicious anytime treat.

Working together in small groups, you’ll create these classic twice-baked delights from scratch. Each participant will leave with approximately 18 biscotti, depending on how thick they’re sliced, along with both recipes and the confidence to make them again at home.

Class Notes: Please bring a reusable container for taking your biscotti home. Some samples/recipes contain egg, tree nuts, & wheat.

577 Staff Instructor: Beth Phlegar

Cooking for Your Health: Creamy Mixed Lentil Soup

Join local family physician and certified culinary medicine specialist Dr. Humaira Lateef to learn the nutrition benefits of everyday foods and how to use them for taste, flavor, and better health.

This is the second class in Dr. Lateef’s series highlighting the versatility and health benefits of legumes and lentils. Together, we will get hands-on in the kitchen to make a creamy mixed lentil soup featuring three different lentils. After cooking, we’ll sit down to enjoy the soup together, served with a side of naan bread. Participants will receive a handout with valuable information and are welcome to take home any leftovers.

Class Note: We recommend everyone bring an apron, a hairnet or head covering, and a 2-cup container for leftovers.

Community Instructor: Humaira Lateef, M.D. FAAFP, CCMS

Sourdough Bread Baking

Demystify the sourdough bread-making process in this hands-on, two-part class, and learn how to successfully create wholesome, homemade baked goods.

On Monday, June 9, we’ll kick off Part One by breaking down how sourdough bread baking works, taking away much of the uncertainty that can come with this type of baking. Everyone will get hands-on to mix up their own starter while discovering the customs and folklore of sourdough—and, of course, sampling some homemade sourdough bread. Each participant will take home their starter in a quart-sized glass jar, along with detailed instructions for its care.

Return for Part Two on Monday, June 16, when you’ll bring your starter back to class to check its progress and share your starter stories. We’ll observe the “pull and fold” method of working with sourdough dough and dive into all your questions. You’ll also receive a collection of favorite recipes from the instructors, including sourdough chocolate chip cookies, English muffins, crackers, and baguettes. You’ll leave feeling confident, inspired, and ready to start baking at home!

Community Instructors: Jan Szalkowski and Wendy Steusloff

Baking: Celebrating Cinnamon

Roll up your sleeves and get hands-on as you bake a batch of delicious cinnamon treats! In this fun and flavorful class, you’ll learn how to make a Cinnamon Swirl Quick Bread topped with a crunchy, cinnamon-infused streusel, plus Cinnamon Scones bursting with a double cinnamon filling.

After sampling your creations in class, you’ll head home with approximately six (6) to twelve (12) Cinnamon Scones (depending on size), one (1) loaf of Cinnamon Swirl Quick Bread, recipes, and a copy of “Beth’s Tips for Better Bakes” to inspire your future baking adventures.

Class Notes: Please bring a reusable medium-sized container for taking scones home. Quick bread will be baked and taken home in an aluminum pan. Some samples/recipes contain milk, eggs, and wheat.

577 Staff Instructor: Beth Phlegar

Cooking for Your Health: Kichari & Raita

Join local family physician and certified culinary medicine specialist, Dr. Humaira Lateef, to learn the nutritional benefits of various foods and how to use them for taste, flavor, and better health.

Participants in this class will learn about and make Kichari, a dish of rice and moong lentils cooked together and served with Raita (spiced yogurt). Kichari is more than just a simple dish in ayurveda: it’s a therapeutic food that supports healing, detoxification and overall balance in the body and mind.

Join us for this fun class showcasing the versatility and health benefits of legumes and lentils, as we get hands-on time in the kitchen making a healthy recipe that we will enjoy together. Participants will receive a handout with valuable information and can take home any leftover food.

Class Note: We recommend everyone bring an apron and a hairnet or head covering, and a 2-cup container for leftovers.

Community Instructor: Humaira Lateef, M.D. FAAFP, CCMS