January 19th, 2012
Ant and I attended our first cooking class together on Tuesday night. I say first because I see many more of these in our future. Here are a few photos I shared on Instagram as the class progressed:
What an amazing evening.
I’m going to get a little foodie/geeky here but at this point I just don’t think I can contain it! Food is something that Anthony and I are totally passionate about. If I ever get brave enough, I’ll share the way we eat and shop in our house…
For Christmas, Anthony bought two tickets to a cooking class hosted by Phoenix Public Market and Devour Phoenix. Part of the Winter Chef Series, our class last night was taught by Chef Jared Porter from The Parlor Pizzeria (one of our family’s very favorite restaurants).
He was a great host and had so much knowledge to share about food. Attending his class just confirmed our love of The Parlor and all the dishes they offer – clean, fresh, and local.
Our first course was goat cheese ravioli, made from fresh pasta. Chef Porter referred to goat cheese as “stank cheese” and never having tasted goat cheese before, I can safely say that I am now a fan of the stank cheese. Chef Porter showed us how to make the pasta dough, roll it out, fill it, and how to shape it into the bishop’s hat shape.
We were thrilled about this because this past weekend, we tried our hand at pasta from scratch for Sunday dinner. We mixed the dough, kneaded it, ran it through the pasta crank, cut it, cooked it and then – devoured it. It tasted amazing and was surprisingly easy to do! We decided that fresh pasta might need to be a staple in our weekly meal planning. I thought it was funny that we tried this just before learning about it in class that night. We definitely picked up a few tips for next time. I’d love to do a post about making fresh pasta sometime soon.
…Then they brought out our bowl and we all dined on goat cheese ravioli in a roasted beet sauce with arugula, walnuts, and roasted beets for garnish. This was my favorite dish of the night. It was incredible! The dish was served with a really nice wine – being a non-drinker, I didn’t retain the name. That being said, this non-drinker was a fan of that wine and pairing.
For the second course, we were treated to beef stufato (fancy for stew) and root vegetable ragu with house-made focaccia. He paired it with an Arizona brewed milk stout and the two together were amazing! I never ever drink alcohol but I figured, “When in Rome…” right? I had to try the pairing and I really appreciated the way the two complimented each other.
Then came dessert! Royal Coffee Bar (the shop located inside of Phoenix Public Market) provided drip coffee which was doctored up with a little Tuaca booze and Fall-spiced whipped cream. Chef Porter demonstrated how to make sweet potato bread pudding and before we knew it, there it was in front of us, topped with spiced mascarpone and pistachios.
All the fresh produce used in the class was organic, the beef in the stew was grass fed from a local farmer, and actually everything, even the beverages, came from farms and brewhouses around the valley. It’s really something to know you are supporting the hard workers that live right next to you as you’re enjoying a delicious meal.
By the time we left, Ant and I were so full of food and inspiration. This wasn’t just a cooking class. We came home with recipes but more so, we left there even more motivated to cook with fresh, local, healthy ingredients.
If you live in the Phoenix area and you want to eat amazing food and enjoy great talk about the philosophy of eating/buying/supporting local farmers, be sure to check out one (or more) of Phoenix Public Market’s Chef Series. There are a few more of the Winter Chef Series and there’s talk of a Summer Series starting up next season. Maybe we’ll see you there!!
If you’re not in Phoenix and this interests you, I really encourage you to look into some local cooking classes, maybe through your farmer’s markets or grow houses.
Links to check out from this post:
Phoenix Public Market
Devour Phoenix
Winter Chef Series
The Parlor Pizzeria
Royal Coffee Bar
Hope you’re having a great day! Right now I’m blogging from Ella’s old school desk her papa gave her for Christmas! It feels like I’m back in college and I feel pretty productive from here in the corner of our front room! Ella’s watching Dinosaur Train and Poppers is napping. I think we’ll venture out for lunch sometime soon. Up next, I’ve got another doodly outfit post lined up! Have a fabulous Thursday, friends!
tags: Date Night, Foodies
I thought this was a party...LET’S DANCE!
January 17th, 2012
These are the tales of a little girl, small and feisty, my blondy-blue, who is coming of age and bringing her parents along on her extraordinary ride.
I heard her little feet shuffle out of her room just before I saw her toes peek around the hallway into the front room. Her bedtime music had stopped and “See? My eyes still aren’t closed.” She dawdled over to the sofa where I was attempting to crochet the day’s stresses away.
“Mama, I want to share a orange wiss you. You know? Sit on the fofa nexta you and eat it wiss you.”
“But Ella, it’s bedtime. We can share an orange in the morning, let’s go get back in bed.” I stood up and together, we both shuffled our way back down the hall.
And here began a mini battle over the orange we were meant to share at 9:30 at night. It was a battle between a slight little girl with heavy half-awake eyes and a frazzled mommy just eager for the day’s end. She wouldn’t back down about that orange and I couldn’t grasp the point of this battle we were engaged in.
THREE is . . . confusing. Trying. Frustrating. Challenging.
It is also so very rewarding and most often fun, but lately it seems that THREE is dishing us more of the above. The past few days have been rough.
Ella has owned her sass since the very day she turned two. She gave me a swift initiation into the “Terribles” and it was our hardest day to date. But it seems that more recently every tiny disagreement or conflict escalates into a full-fledged battle so quickly. Like this little story about the orange…
We walked back to her room, where Daddy sat on her bed ready to perform his nightly back-rub duties.
“But I juss want to share a orange!”
“Ella, I know you want to have an orange right now. But it’s bedtime right now. We will share one in the morning, at breakfast, okay?” I spoke slowly, if only to keep myself calm at this point. I was careful to acknowledge her want and offer an alternative.
This technique is something that seemed to come naturally when we first entered this battling phase. Conflict would arrive and I’d pull it from my parenting tool belt without even thinking. But somehow with time it’s been forgotten and too often replaced with impatience and blunt responses on my part.
The past few days have made me conscious to remember this tactic now, to keep it on hand at the front of my brain. It’s something I believe to be crucial in helping her understand her self-worth. I want her to know, always, that someone understands her predicament, that someone wants to help, and that right now and whenever she needs it to be, that someone is me. I’m realizing it is her first time being three, just as it’s my first time parenting a three year old. We’re both beginners here. We’re both discovering limits and testing out boundaries with one another. We’re in this experience together.
“We will share an orange at breakfast, alright?” I repeated as I pulled the covers up under her chin.
Her face grew confused, the corners of her mouth began to tug down just enough to weigh down my heart.
“But I said the wrong thing on accident. I don’ want a orange, I juss want a hug and a kiss.”
A hug and a kiss. Her go-to request when she realizes she’s pushed too far and wants to rectify all that’s gone wrong between her mommy and daddy and her.
It’s an acknowledgment and an apology and a dose of cute all in one, and when the phrase is spoken to Anthony or I, everything stops. She requests a hug and a kiss and she pulls the hand-brake and everything, suddenly, an in instant, comes to a halt. We melt a little, Anthony and I, and she’s in our arms that very second. Then just like that, with the flip of another switch, she’s running off to a new adventure.
She is seemingly unphased, but I carry the scenario with me until I am asleep in bed. I wonder if I could have prevented the conflict. Where I could have stopped it sooner. If she really is unphased, or if she is hiding it. Does she have the ability to hide her feelings at the age of three? Will she remember this next time we’re in a similar situation? Did she learn from this? And just as importantly, what did I learn from this?
Well I think I can say I am learning a lot, but very slowly…
We start each day fresh, with yesterday’s teachings under our belt. And we try to do better.
This is where we are. Right now, together.
All I can do is watch this magnificent tiny being as she fumbles around in this body, making her way in this world, completely and brazenly shaping mine. What a ride, my blondy-blue. Don’t ever stop molding and teaching me.
tags: Ella, Tales of Ella
I thought this was a party...LET’S DANCE!
recent posts
archives
subscribe