Culinary Kids

Happy Holidays from our workshop to yours!

Builders, chefs, and community members teamed up today to start the “Home Sweet Gingerbread Home” competitions at NorthPark Center. Lifestylist® Suzanne chaired the event which looks like it will become an annual favorite.Chef and cookbook author Karel Ann Tieszen teamed up with Shared Housing board member Mona Lincoln and TX State Fair Celebri-chef Peter Clarac (he was a winner in the Oprah cook-off) to decide which of the houses would be awarded the coveted blue ribbon. Pastry Chef Instructor at the Art Institute of Dallas Nina Hunter amazed the judges with her beautiful victorian home complete with playful penguins enjoying the pool in the backyard and was awarded first place.

Thursday the “Builders and Bakers” competition will be taking place from 12pm to 4pm also at NorthPark. Teams comprised of members from the Home Builders Association of Greater Dallas will be creating homes on-site with celebrity chefs from Stephan Pyles, Sambuca, Old Hickory Steakhouse at the Gaylord Texan, DC’s Catering and The Cupcakery. They will then be judged and awarded various prizes in different categories.

The competitions will benefit two great organizations – Shared Housing Center and HomeAid / Homebuilders Care, both which break the cycle of homelessness and abuse in the Dallas area.

One of the most rewarding things that this Lifestylist® is a part of every year is Days of Taste which is sponsored by the American Institute of Food and Wine. Fourth and Fifth graders from local schools come down to the Dallas Farmers Market to learn about food and have a lot of fun! This year my group was the best I’ve ever had, and I think a lot of that can be because of a great teacher and the chef that taught the class – Chef Joanne Bondy from the Gaylord Texan. I always learn as much as they do, and after Chef Joanne teaches them about the senses, buying local produce from farmers and how to make a pasta salad from scratch the teams get to go down to the Farmers Market and buy the ingredients for their own salads.

My team (The Grinches since we were buying green and were at the green table) did a great job of negotiating with the farmers so that not only did they stay within their $5.00 budget, we actually had $1.00 to give back to the program! I think they were all amazed with how much food could be purchased for $4.00 that was healthy and delicious. Teaching kids about food and getting them to try new things isn’t a matter of tricking them – you just need to let them have fun and try things their way. Who would have thought a pasta salad with avocado, corn, green peppers and kiwi would taste as great as it did?

Congratulations to the AIWF Dallas chapter for another amazing event.

Touring New York City with a James Beard recognized chef is a treat in itself, but going to the Union Square Green Market with that chef and learning how to shop at a green market is the chance of a lifetime. One of the things that Chef Joanne got me excited about going home and experimenting with again is soups.

Our household meals are full of vegetables and we come close to living a vegetarian lifestyle. I tend to go back to the same favorites, but Chef Joanne showed us how many vegetables we typically wouldn’t try can be fantastic additions to our daily diets, especially when we buy from farmers at a green market and are able to take advantage of the fresh, seasonal offerings. Some of the vegetables she showed us how to use in the James Beard dinner she prepared were baby bok choy, tomatillos, and my new favorite brussel sprouts.

I’m now determined to make a vegetable soup at least once a week from scratch with fresh vegetable from my local farmers market. This probably isn’t the way a true chef would do it, but I love using my Crock Pot and using just water, carrots, celery, potatoes, celery and corn. I let these cook on high for a few hours, then because we like things with a kick, I add Adobo seasonings that I get from Penzeys and a can or two of Rotel. Couldn’t be easier or healthier.

If you think you can’t cook, or that you don’t have the time to do a meal from scratch, give this a try. Just substitute whatever vegetables are in season for your region and you’ll be in for a great treat!