These classes knock me off of my feet.

Traveling Recipes & in.gredients merge forces to put on a free, local, hands-on and education cooking class for the Austin community. We are supported by a grant from the Texas Department of Agriculture. Each class we all meet up at in.gredients at 6pm sharp. While waiting, some attendees fill their growlers with beer, wine or kombucha, some see the store for the first time and everyone mingles. I watch as everyone waits in anticipation wondering what they have gotten themselves into. At 6:15 we caravan to over to the incredible, state-of-the-art industrial kitchen at SFC. This is where the magic begins to unfold.

Each attendee introduces themselves and explains what brought them to the class. The answers vary: “I want to learn how to eat more plants.” “I want to learn new recipes that feature local food.” “It was a free class and you get to eat local, organic food…what more reason do you need?” You can see how eager each person is to get their hands on the food.

This class is one of a kind and centers around an array of principles: community, local farmer’s crop, sustainability, food art, conscious cooking, seasonal produce, nutrient-rich recipes, and recipe experimentation. The concept is established within the first 5 minutes of entering the kitchen. Each of the six stations have their own space with a recipe, washed produce, all ingredients & tools. Josh, the manager of ingredients tells the group about the mission, vision and role the neighborhood store plays in our own community and on a larger, global scale. I talk about my journey, the desire to educate and inform my community about eating more plants and local/seasonal food and my wish for people to get back into their kitchens more.

The group is numbered off and each number coordinates with the dish that group will be creating. After being told to focus on conscious cooking, cooking with love, and making each dish a work of art…the attendees are set-free and the room erupts with energy.

The menu:

And here are the photos that capture the fun:

Happy. So happy.