What a day! Where do I begin? Well I guess I’ll talk about food since that’s why most of you are checking in to begin with. So today was the first day of the two-week intensive at the Natural Gourmet Institute and we started out with a cooking demonstration by Judith Friedman. Chef Judith is an instructor and program director of the NGI. She attended the NGI ten years ago when she started her THIRD career. (Sound familiar to anyone?????) I felt quite at home with Judith because she could be the twin to my good friend (and cooking buddy) Rosie Powers. Her New York accent even sounds a little like Rosie’s Rhode Island accent! The class is pretty interesting.  There are 18 women in my class and many came from other countries - Qatar, New Zealand, Brazil, West Africa, Spain, Nicaragua. What do we all have in common?  Love of food and the desire to be healthy and help others be healthy.  Pretty cool that the NGI seems to be a leader in this field.

Judith spent the morning taking us through a summer menu of Chick Pea Stew with Spinach, Brown Rice, Tahini Caesar Salad and Peach/Blueberry Crisp which we got to eat for lunch – YUMMY!!!

I won’t go through all the recipes – you’ll have to come to my house for dinner to find out just how good they are but in the mean time here are some things I learned today:

1. When cooking rice apply “hot to hot” for a fluffier rice. That means you should “toast” the rice first in a pan on top of the stove. While it is still hot add boiling water and simmer for 45 minutes. Shut off the heat then let sit for 15 minutes.

2. Cooking beans in a pressure cooker can reduce cooking time by more than 40 minutes! Well worth the investment.

3. Cooking whole spices in oil is called “Tarka”. Chef Judith did this with whole mustard seeds and coriander. The aroma was amazing!

4. NEVER smoke the oil you are using to cook in. Smoking oil creates “free radicals” that are very bad for you. On that note only use Extra Virgin Olive Oil to sauté at 325 to 350 degrees. If you need to “fry” or cook at higher temps use coconut oil (non virgin) or macadamia nut oil

5. Speaking of oil – NEVER heat nut oils (except for macadamia nut oil)

6. Stay away from HFCS (high fructose corn syrup) – but you knew that already….

7. Also stay away from soy protein “isolates” found in soy cheese, tofu, soy dogs, “fakin bacon” – soy protein isolates are highly processed at very high temperatures

8. VARY your diet – eat different colors, different textures, foods cooked with different methods (baked, sautéed, steamed, raw, boiled, etc.)

The best part of the day for me was when Judith talked about using kitchen timers. My chef nephew Mikie always teases me about using timers. As a graduate of Johnson and Wales culinary they were taught to cook by instinct but Judith has a different theory. Her rule – if you are over 40 use a timer, over 45 use two timers, over 50 use three timers!!!! Good advice – I almost started a fire in my apartment tonight cooking Tempeh without a timer. How embarrassing would that be!

Tomorrow – Day Two – we are practicing knife skills and learning about herbs and spices from chef Elliott. And tomorrow night I have a date with a handsome young man. Okay so he is my cousin but he is still young and very handsome!!!

That’s all for now folks. Deb thanks for the bottle of Dry Creek – I’ve been enjoying a glass or two while writing this blog. Life is good!