natural gourmet institute
i’m pretty good at making vegan cupcakes–thank you isa chandra moskowitz–but sometimes a girl needs something else to satisfy her cravings. enter the natural gourmet cooking instutite for food & health on 21st street. it was founded by annemarie colbin to focus on health-supportive cooking–believing that what we eat significantly affects our physical, mental & spiritual well being.
i’ve taken some pretty awesome cooking classes there before, but this time i was tackling dairy free chocolate desserts. i had taken the instructor’s class at another school, but had enlisted my boyfriend & best bud to come with me to natural gourmet. we had been excitedly waiting for months.
after a brief demo, we were broken down into groups to make 2 separate recipes. we had the chocolate blackout torte & chocolate panna cotta. it was fun, if not chaos–16 people with varying degrees of skill, running around baking with new & interesting ingredients. agar, arrowroot, sucanat–some of these items were totally foreign to a few students. the instructor also talked about the importance of fair trade for coffee, sugar & chocolate. i really appreciated her exposing this as most people are just unaware. once they understand the implications, people of conscious will buy wisely & with a heart.
3 hours later, we had collectively produced the fine spread you see above. there were clear winners & losers. our panna cotta was really tough, but our instructor was able to suggest ways around that next time. however, our cake was really moist & yummy. hands-down, my fave, was the banana black bottom pie. man, that thing was good!
the school has a professional & public class track. everything from raw, macro, veg to vegan. lots of ethnic inspired classes. plus, on friday nights they do a four-course meal that rocks it. students from the chef’s training program present menus they’ve been working on as their final project. it’s awesome. you sorta feel like a top chef judge–RSVP • BYOB • $36 bucks.
come test their skills, then hire them to cater your holiday party!
upcoming dinner menus are…
OCTOBER 31
Three Bean Pates on Chickpea-Wheat Crackers
Spinach and Arugula Salad with Shaved Fennel and Toasted Hazelnuts in a Blood Orange Vinaigrette
Butternut Squash Millet cake with a Mushroom Sauce on a Bed of Sautéed Kale and Escarole, Roasted Brussel Sprout and Beet Skewers, Served with a Leek Sauce
Dark Chocolate Brownie with Pumpkin Ice Cream and a Rich Caramel Sauce
November 7
Spicy Thai Rice Paper Rolls with Lemongrass and Peanut Dipping Sauce & Papaya Salad
Ginger Lemongrass Miso Soup
Sweet Potato Gojju Masala, Roasted Cauliflower and Okra with Zaatar, Vegan Mint Yogurt Raita
Poached Pears in Spiced Wine Syrup with Cardamom Pistachio Coconut/Cashew Ice Cream
Moroccan Mint Tea
November 14
Pumpkin Apple Soup with Tofu Crème Fraiche, Dill Oil & Toasted Pumpkin Seeds
Red Jewel Salad - with Beets, Oranges and Pomegranate Seeds dressed with Orange-Sherry Vinaigrette
Lentil-Sage Croquettes with Pecan/Cranberry/Corn Wild Rice, Sautéed Spinach & Mushrooms, Mushroom Vinaigrette, Cashew Horseradish Sauce
Vegan Nutmeg Ice-Cream with Sautéed Pears, Ginger Snaps & Chocolate Wafer Cookies.
Mulled Apple Cider
[...] loved the work, and the guests loved the food, so she enrolled at the natural gourmet institute. after graduating, she went to sf and cooked at the extraordinary vegan restaurant millennium, and [...]