Cooking at home saves money. It can also be healthier than eating out, because you control the ingredients. So what’s stopping some of us from doing it?
“I don’t know how to cook. … I don’t have time,” are common laments. There’s no time like the present to ditch the excuses. Lots of free or affordable cooking instruction can be found in Redmond.
TASTY TRAILS
PCC Cooks, a comprehensive food education program operated by PCC Natural Markets, has been honored by the International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP) with a 2009 Award of Excellence. PCC offers more than 900 classes and events each year, at six teaching kitchens throughout the Seattle area.
Free “Walk, Talk and Taste” classes happen about once a month at PCC. In stores with classrooms, including the Redmond location at 11435 Avondale Rd. NE, these begin with tastings of prepared samples. Then participants get a tour of the store, seeing where to find the products they like or others they’d like to know more about.
“We take a lot of questions and discuss and review, ‘What are their major concerns? What brought them to the class?’,” said Goldie Caughlan, PCC nutrition education manager, who started the PCC Cooks program in 1983.
Between 8-15 people usually participate and they are asked to register ahead of time so that there will be enough handouts for all, “but sometimes people just jump in,” said Caughlin. “It’s been a lot of fun. We’ve done many versions over 26 years.”
Customized “Walk, Talk and Taste” classes for book clubs, garden clubs, church groups, etc., can be arranged.
But anytime a PCC shopper wants a taste of something from the deli, they can also ask for the recipe, Caughlin noted.
“More than 95 percent of our deli items are made on-site. … We haven’t broken down the recipes for family size — if it makes 20 portions, shoppers can do the math (to reduce the number of servings). People bring in their significant others, kids who are going off to college, to help educate them,” she said.
Among PCC’s other course offerings, a popular option is the Global Gourmet series (usually $35 per class for PCC members, $40 for non-members). These feature ethnic foods such as Indian or Thai, prepared by instructors who are natives of that country.
“These are very authentic,” said PCC Cooks manager Marilyn McCormick. “And most cuisines of the world are much healthier than our American diet. They use less meat, lots of fruits and vegetables. We’ve had African cooking ‘all in one pot’ — because that’s all they had — and tips on spices to make it special.”
Also in demand are classes centered on specific health issues such as diabetes or inflammatory disease. Medical experts from Bastyr University partner with PCC to present these.
Parent/child or kid/teen classes are offered, as well.
For more information, call (425) 285-1400 or visit www.pccnaturalmarkets.com.
EASY DOES IT
“I love my job! I love to help people connect with food,” said Mary Crowe, the new marketing and community relations specialist at Redmond Whole Foods Market, 17991 Redmond Way. A graduate of Seattle Culinary Academy, she was taught by Greg Atkinson of Canlis fame and also studied under Kathy Casey and Sylvia Nims. But her favorite thing to do, at Whole Foods’ “Salud!” demo kitchen/cafe, is to teach everyday people how to get the most flavor and economy out of simple foods.
“Our cooking programs such as ‘Whole Value’ are bringing back the kitchen tricks we forgot because of relying on convenience food,” Crowe explained. “We recently had a ‘How To Break Down A Chicken’ class, showing the proper way to cut a chicken into parts, package and freeze portions and how to prepare several different meals from one chicken. It’s much cheaper than buying individual chicken parts. Or we’ve had ‘Cooking for Leftovers.’ Buy one thing and make it last for at least two meals.”
Her classes run around $20-$25 and include samples of food and wine. At a recent event, Whole Foods’ seafood expert Charley Cook brought out a whole halibut, showed how to filet it and shared cooking tips.
At $5 wine tastings, experts offer compatible appetizers and answers questions about “which wine goes with what.” Said Crowe, “Our wine expert is very gentle and accommodating. You can come to him with questions like, ‘I have $12 to spend on wine and we’re having pizza’ and he will tell you the perfect wine match.”
At a free kids’ class last month, “Curry in a Hurry,” children made their own spice blends. “They passed the pepper around and warned each other, ‘Don’t smell it!,’” Crowe recalled, laughing.
Whole Foods also has private classes or team-building classes for a minimum of eight people. And staff members are always happy to direct customers to special needs foods such as gluten-free products.
For more information, visit www.wholefoodsmarket.com/stores/redmond/ or call (425) 881-2600.
SUCCULENT SATURDAYS
Cooking demos, food samples and recipes are among the many draws of the Redmond Saturday Market, the Eastside’s oldest outdoor market, which runs from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. May 2-Oct. 31 at 7730 Leary Way. All foods and crafts are grown or made in Washington state. There’s free entertainment, too. For information, visit http://redmondsaturdaymarket.homestead.com or call (425) 556-0636.
