Apple Crisp with Cherries.
Brussel Sprouts in Cider with Onions and Apples.
Celery Root and Apple Salad with Mustard Dressing.
These mouth-watering recipes and a half dozen more using locally grown, in-season ingredients were the focus of the Fresh Food Workshop.
Held Saturday afternoon in the kitchen at Faith Reformed Church, the class drew 11 attendees who listened raptly as Joel Papcun, a chef instructor at the Great Lakes Culinary Institute, guided them through their tasks. Divided into five teams tackling one or two recipes each, the group created a meal they all shared before leaving.
Conceived of and hosted by the Fresh Food Partnership, a local non-profit organization that purchases local produce for distribution to low-income families and individuals, Saturday's class was the second in a three-part series. A grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation provided funding for the series. Local chef Robert George developed the recipes and taught the first class last October and is scheduled to teach the third class later this month.
Focusing on root vegetables in keeping with wintertime, Papcun first introduced his students to some items many were not familiar with — celery root, Swiss chard or fennel bulb, for example — and then coached them on the proper approach to cooking.
"Before you start cooking on the stove, make sure all the things on your ingredients list are prepared,” he said of the mise en place philosophy used by professional chefs. "Get everything ready beforehand and then you're ready to cook.”
Shredding cilantro leaves for the Roasted Acorn Squash with Chile Vinaigrette recipe, Kristina Curtiss, 9, was the only child in the class. Attending with her mother, Janice, the Bertha Vos Elementary School third grader said the pair enjoys cooking together. Her mother wanted to expose her daughter to local fresh ingredients and also to some new tastes, which Kristina approached with a mostly open mind.
"I like to try new things … sometimes,” she said.
Making the unfamiliar ingredients or recipes familiar was part of the mission for the class. Locally grown foods comprised the basis of each recipe and by preparing, cooking and sampling some of the lesser-known items, attendees could expand their culinary repertoire while supporting local agriculture.
"Sometimes if it's not within your prior knowledge, you don't gravitate toward it, you don't go to the grocery store and pick up a fennel bulb or a celery root,” said Laura Otwell, coordinator for the Fresh Food Partnership. "I also think people enjoyed learning how flavorful the locally-grown foods can be, the curried carrot soup was so flavorful and tasty and the ingredients are inexpensive.”
Kristy Sumera of Traverse City is a huge fan of the Fresh Food Partnership's overall mission and was pleased to learn more about cooking with locally grown foods Saturday afternoon. As she worked with a friend to whip up Creamy Coleslaw and Leek and Potato Soup, she said the class might encourage people to eat healthier and try different foods and recipes.
"Every single recipe here sounds really good,” Sumera said. "I've been looking for a potato soup recipe without cream and, guess what? We're making one.”
After hours of preparation and cooking, cleaning up as they went, attendees sat down to share the bounty. For Otwell, this social time of breaking bread together is a fundamental part of the course's success.
"Another aspect that has made this series really enjoyable is just having that opportunity at the end to sit down and enjoy a meal together,” she noted.
The next Fresh Food Workshop will be held on Saturday, January 27, at 10 a.m. at St. Francis Church. This workshop is free; to register, call Laura Otwell at the Fresh Food Partnership at 929-3696. For more information on the organization, see their Web site at www.freshfoodpartnership.org.