Our two week journey began Sunday afternoon moving into a great lower Manhattan apartment. I am travelling with two friends from back in the day, Kathy and Tobi. We ended up here after Kathy swapped her Falmouth home with a family from New York. While there is a fabulous kitchen to cook dinner, the best part of our new home has to be the roof-top deck. In the three days since we arrived, we have had all our dinners sitting out there with a glass of wine, enjoying the view.
In the middle of our incredible dinners, we began our two week culinary class at the Natural Gourmet Institute.
We had all the excitement of girl's heading into our first class in a new school. We arrived on time which was a big surprise due to the perception of Kathy not being an on-time type of gal and almost getting on the wrong train. Thank you Tobi! But in the end, we were there with time to spare.
Day 1 was a long day, as it was primarily lecture, but throughout the day we worked through the preparation of our lunch and yes, we get to eat what is made each day! While I thought it would be an easy day, I was able to learn plenty of new things to broaden my horizon. It was also somewhat of an awakening for me on my journey to a healthy life. It's amazing how bad certain foods are for you and my big take away from the day was to focus on whole foods. Not the market even though we have been there two days, but making sure what we eat is whole and not processed. Isn't that something we all know already but somehow still choose the wrong options? Why do we do that over and over?
Day 2 brought a different instructor, Elliot, and we began a more hands on application. We began the day with knife instruction which I thought would be boring since I use a knife daily. Boy, was I wrong! I now know how to properly hold and use a knife for various cutting techniques without worrying about cutting off a finger or moving too slow.
While we made a dressing today that I make almost every time I make a salad as well as a bean and escarole soup, I did learn a few other fabulous recipes. I will now make my own vegetable stock every time I need it instead of buying a "box" and now have a new pesto. Mint with pistachios and it was without parmesan cheese, but tasted like it was in there due to miso paste. Once I return home and make it in my kitchen, I will document the recipe on this blog. I also learned how to take an inexpensive balsamic vinegar, reduce it and add a little vanilla to make it taste good. We drizzled it over sweet strawberries and basil. Wow, so simple, yet so good.
This journey has just begun and I feel different. We are all eating healthy from the beginning to the end of the day and learning a new way to live our life in order to be "whole". I think I like this...
Fino a quel momento (until that time)
LID
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