Sustainable Solano is bringing its farm-to-table cooking class series online. The classes highlight how to prepare seasonal, local food in healthy dishes.
While classes were originally planned to start in March, best practices for addressing health and safety with coronavirus (COVID-19) mean that in-person classes have been postponed until a later date. But that has opened an opportunity to reach more class participants by offering some of the planned classes online, starting with live classes on April 9 and April 18. Participants will have the opportunity to see a demonstration cooking class for a seasonal salad made with ingredients directly from local farms in Solano and nearby counties. They will also be able to ask questions over Zoom video conferencing.
Sustainable Solano, a nonprofit organization that has been working to build community interest in local food, plans 88 cooking classes around Solano County in the next two years. These cooking classes include those for the general public taught in the community as well as those taught through employee wellness programs, and are part of Sustainable Solano’s larger vision to create an environmentally sustainable, economically viable and socially just local food system in Solano County.
The classes highlight local specialty crops, which include fruit, vegetables, beans, tree nuts and culinary herbs.
Class participants will learn about CSAs, or Community Supported Agriculture. CSAs create a way for community members to buy a share of the harvest directly from local farmers. Customers pay a set amount and receive a box of seasonal produce or other farm products in return. Such arrangements help farmers receive a greater share of the money paid, bring customers fresh, local produce and promote health, community and the local economy.
Stay tuned for more cooking classes coming soon at SustainableSolano.org/events and by subscribing to the Sustainable Solano newsletter here.
Here is information on the first two classes:
Farm-to-Table Cooking Class
4 pm, April 9 (Thursday)
Register for a Zoom link
Free
Join Sustainable Solano’s Local Food Program Manager Stephanie Oelsligle Jordan for a lively online demonstration cooking class that celebrates spring ingredients and supports local farmers. Learn tips and tricks for storing ingredients and cooking seasonally from a CSA box. Using Solano-grown specialty crops, Chef Steph will prepare a Spring Salad with Peas, Pistachios & Pecorino with Lemon Vinaigrette.
To register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/farm-to-table-virtual-cooking-class-tickets-101807757744
Farm-to-Table Cooking Class
11 am, April 18 (Saturday)
Register for Zoom link
Free
Join Sustainable Solano’s Local Food Program Manager Stephanie Oelsligle Jordan for a lively online demonstration cooking class that celebrates spring ingredients and supports local farmers. Learn tips and tricks for storing ingredients and cooking seasonally from a CSA box. Using Solano-grown specialty crops, Chef Steph will prepare an Asparagus Salad with Sesame-Tangerine Vinaigrette.
To register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/farm-to-table-virtual-cooking-class-tickets-101809484910
Funding for promotion of specialty crops through cooking classes was made possible by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service through grant AM190100XXXXG008. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necesssarily represent the official views of the USDA.
