Just Foodies

Fort Collins, Colorado: Cooking Classes and Summer Foodie FUN!

Fort Collins, Colorado
Cooking Classes and Summer Foodie FUN!

Fort Collins has added some summer fun for Foodies with their Foodie Walk – Fort Collins.  This monthly event is a self-guided walk, featuring food and wine tasting opportunities.The Colorado Brewers Festival held every year in June is a chance celebrate craft brewing and to sample a few of the 50 Colorado beers that will be represented at the festival.

Fort Collins has great culinary skill training options for the recreational cook. There are also exciting programs for the children. Here is a list of the Fort Collins, Colorado based cooking schools for the recreational cook:

Foodies! Culinary Academy This culinary school creates a fun learning environment where young people and families can develop meal planning and meal preparation skills. They also have occasional programs featuring Disney Artists; how exciting!  The program emphasizes basic cooking techniques and safety. Men’s only cooking classes, gluten-free, vegetarian, or diabetic-friendly specialty cooking classes are also offered.

Hands on Classes for Adults are presented by Chef Linda at Come Back to the Table.  Chef Linda Hoffman recently celebrated her tenth year teaching cooking classes in Fort Collins.  Her classes are fun, informative and filling.  Upcoming classes include Fearless Fish, Grilling, or Fast and Fresh Seasonal Eating at its Best.

Indian Cooking Classes are available at bina mehta. All classes include ingredients, recipes, and wine. There are public individual classes or a three part Vibrant Indian Cooking series.

 Salud - Whole Foods Cooking School The Salud Cooking School at Fort Collins Whole Foods focuses on nutrition education and fun. There are demonstration and hands on class options.

 The Cupboard  The unique kitchen store in downtown Fort Collins, also features demonstration style cooking classes or special foodie events. The Cupboard is participating in the Fort Collins - Foodie Walk.

Two university programs also provide cooking classes:

• The Kendall Anderson Nutrition Center at Colorado State University occasionally holds a public cooking classes on unique topics during the school year. 
  
  
• The Community Botanic Garden in partnership with the University of Colorado Health presents the Garden to Fork program.  The focus of the Garden to Fork series is transforming local garden ingredients into a healthy and delicious meals. Students experience harvesting produce in the Garden of Eatin’ and cooking in an outdoor kitchen.

If you are looking for personalized cooking training or skill development, check out private classes by Chef David Daggett and his wife Chef Gay at the Tastebuds Epicurean Cafe. They also offer lunch-and-learn sessions at your business. This chef team has been serving Fort Collins since 2001. 

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Steven Smith Teammaker - A Unique Tea Experience

Encore!

After creating and selling Stash and Tazo Tea companies, Steve Smith is once again creating delightful teas. Whether you are looking for green, white, black tea or herbal infusions, Steven Smith Teamaker has a product that is right for you. The teamaker has set-up shop in Portland, Oregon.

My favorite, the peppermint infusion is full bodied and so fresh. I think it is the best peppermint tea I've tasted. The uniquely shaped pyramid tea bags contribute to the appeal. Oregon peppermint leaves are the wonderful secret ingredient.  In fact you can learn the source & lot number of every ingredient used in these teas by entering the batch number online.

I've also indulged in a special blend created for Churchmouse Yarn and Teas in Bainbridge Island, WA. The Tea is #512 Church Mouse No. 512. This tea is wonderful!

Check out his complete selection online, these teas are still hard to find locally unless you are lucky enough to live in Oregon.

Juustolepia Cheese

During a recent trip to the University of Wisconsin at Madison, we enjoyed delightful  "Badger Blast" ice cream at the Babcock Hall Dairy Store.  Badger Blast is a chocolate lover's delight that includes premium chocolate ice cream laced with dark chocolate flakes and fudge swirls.  

Babcock Hall has an operational dairy processing pilot plant.  The plant can pasteurize milk and make cheese and ice cream.  While many food science students use the facility to learn food processing techniques.  The Wisconsin Center for Dairy Research also offers short courses. The four-day "World of Cheese Education from Pasture to Plate" short course looks very interesting. The course is designed for culinary professionals and covers all aspects of cheese-making and cheese-handling.

Another trip discovery was a unique cheese called Juustoleipa. This Finnish style cheese that was originally made from reindeer milk, of course, the Wisconsin version is made from pasteurized cow's milk.  The name means bread cheese and the slice of cheese I purchased was about the size of thick slice of bread.  After the cheese has ripened the cheesemaker bakes the cheese.  This step gives the cheese a mottled brown appearance on the surface almost like french toast.  Another interesting thing about this cheese is it squeaks as you eat it. 

This cheese is usually served warm with jam or honey.  I enjoyed the mild flavor and the texture was similar to Halloumi.  I recommend trying this cheese.  I enjoyed enjoyed the cheese dipped in coffee a traditional Scandinavian way to enjoy Juustoleipa.

34 Degrees Rosemary Crispbread - Outstanding Crackers!

Looking for the perfect vehicle for your favorite cheese?

Check out these amazing rosemary crispbread type crackers by 34-degrees.

There are four flavors, natural, rosemary, pepper and sesame.

Recently I purchased the rosemary crackers with a blue brie style cheese.  It was an amazing combination.

The crispbread are made with out additives and 19 crackers are only 130 calories!

If you can can't find them at your local store they are available in a six pack from Amazon.

Book Club Loves Mediterranean Olive Oil Tasting

I’m hosting the holiday party for my Seattle book group and have been scratching my head trying to think up something fun. One year we had a tapas theme, but most often we just sign up for an entrée, dessert, or whatever, and then try to bring something scrumptious.

This year, in addition to an assigned dish, we thought it would be fun for each of us to bring a small-sized bottle of a special olive oil we’d like to sample. The deep greens of good olive oil offer beautiful holiday color; when paired with other finger food like fire-roasted red peppers, balsamic vinegar and crusty bread; it's a joyful feast for the eyes as well as the palate. It’s also a rare opportunity to experience many olive oils at once for a straight-on comparison of their characteristics!

  

 

Although our local market has a good selection of items, we all generally shop in the same place. To find something unique, I used Google to search “Seattle Mediterranean Specialty Food.” I clicked on the first listing that came up: http://www.theshopagora.com. WOW. I found a long list of unusual olive oils and so much more. In fact, the store wasn’t far, so I decided to visit in person rather than order online.

 

 

Located near Woodland Park Zoo at 65th and Phinney, the shop is lovingly arranged, has a homey feel and even smells good. The delightful owners are full of helpful information about not just olive oils, but cheeses, wines, vinegars, and a broad spectrum of other Mediterranean items like pastas, wine and even cookies. Many of their products are uniquely artisan-made, produced in small quantities and imported from all over Italy, Greece, Spain, etc. There were samples available on a small table and I was enthusiastically encouraged to try many things: many were unusual and lots were vegetarian or vegan. The prices were surprising: comparable or better than what I would pay in my own market for something of similar quality.

I explained my oil tasting idea for the potluck. I already knew that just as special wines are for sipping not sauces, special olive oils are too delicious to lose among lots of other ingredients or to compromise with heat or flatten with cold. I’ll make sure the oils are at room temperature and will offer them with small pieces of my homemade crusty bread--probably the easy overnight loaf from the blog. Olive oils have a “nose” and a “finish” just like a good wine, and any happy novice can not only detect, but also appreciate the differences when oils are compared side by side. These oils are so rich and flavorful only a few drops are needed on bread for a great result; use in small quantities means the small bottles goes a very long way.

 

 

I admit I went a little crazy with the oils. First, I chose a classy bottle of Italian DOP Tenuta Cocevola(8.45 oz/$12.80) for the party. The oil is made from Coratina olives, hand harvested at a winery in southern Italy. It’s velvet taste is huge, with very low acid content.

I also bought a less expensive Sitia .07 (250 ml/$9) for us to enjoy at home. Sitia is from the Greek island of Crete. It’s the first cold press of Koroneiki olives, is very smooth and has a great fruity flavor.

 

 

Finally, I decided to buy a gorgeous bottle of Trampetti oil (500 ml/$34) from Umbria, the “gold coast” of Italy’s olive zone. The intensely aromatic, low acid Maraiolo olives have an amazing flavor. I’ll set out this oil when friends drop by throughout the holidays, as they always seem to do. I bought some great feta and fire-roasted peppers and crackers to keep on hand for just this purpose.

 

 

I confess that I nibbled on my purchases all the way home. I can’t wait for the party! For the first time, I will have my dish prepared well ahead of time and with virtually no effort! I am especially grateful to The Shop Agora for a suggestion to include saffron and truffle honeys with nuts and semi-sharp cheeses to accompany the olives. We’ll also draw numbers at the close of the evening, so each of us can choose an oil to take home as a reminder of a wonderful evening with friends. Who knows, I may even have time to clean the house.

P.S. I sneaked over to the store again with two of my book group friends who had expressed an interest in a visit to Shop Agora. We had a great time as one of the owners purposefully guided us through tasting olive oils (from sweet, light & creamy low acids through those with a stronger flavor, more bitter finish and greater acidity), Then, we traveled through the honeys: acacia through chestnut (again sweet and light at the beginning, through those with a more exotic flavors/more bitter finish). There were also the "cheese honeys" (e.g.,sweet & hot, saffron honey, etc.). We learned so much! I am confident now that our oil tasting party will be a success, based on the amazement and fun that just our tiny group had at the store. What's NOT to love about olive oil? Maybe a honey tasting is next!

Clancy's Fancy Gourmet Hot Sauce - Ann Arbor's Favorite Hot Sauce

Here is a foodie find!

A gourmet hot sauce made in Ann Arbor. Clancy's Fancy Gourmet Hot Sauce! 

In this video Colleen Clancy explains the sauce's history and how to use Clancy's Fancy Gourmet Sauce.

Order the sauce directly from Clancy's.

Foodie Gadgets That Work - Apple Peeler/Corer

Apple season is in full swing. I like to use apples in many fall dishes, but I don't enjoy coring and peeling the apples.  A friend offered to let me try her apple peeler/corer gadget that she bought through Pampered Chef.  

She said it was easy to use. I was skeptical, however this gadget was easy to set up, use and clean.  A full bag of apples were peeled, sliced and cored in a matter of minutes.  I was surprised at the result, this apple peeler/corer worked very well.  The apple slices were uniform and ready to use and the unit was easy to clean. If you use a lot of apples, it maybe worth investing in an apple peeler, corer. The only downside was the sticky apple juice that dripped all over the counter. 

Cookie Bouquet - A Great Foodie Surprise

A surprise package arrived today. It looked like a box of long stem flowers. However, much to my delight it was a box of long stem cookies made by Cheryl and Co. The cookies are classy and delicious! 

This frosted sugar cookie was a decadent treat!  The bouquet also contained chocolate chip cookies.   

Jan's Italian Dressing Recipe*

We love salads! Salad greens are especially wonderful in the summer time when the farmer's markets provide so many tempting products. To top the salad, I make a wonderful homemade salad dressing that adds to the fun. My dressing is made in a convenient container for mixing homemade dressing that I found at Crate & Barrel.

Here is my original salad dressing recipe:

Jan's Italian Salad dressing*

2 oz Seasoned Rice Wine Vinegar

2 oz Rice Wine Vinegar

2 oz Extra Virgin Olive Oil 

1 tsp Italian Seasoning Mix (Penzey's seasonings are an excellent choice)

1 tsp Italian Salad Dressing Mix (Penzey's Italian mix is an excellent choice)

1/4 tsp roasted minced garlic 

lemon juice to taste

Shake well and enjoy!  

I top my salad with freshly ground lemon pepper. Trader Joe's Lemon Pepper with the built in grinder is my favorite. 

*Copyright 2009

*This recipe is copyright protected and cannot be reproduced without my written permission.

Fort Collins, Colorado Chao Tao Tea Shop

In Fort Collin's Old Town Square there is a new tea Shop called Cha Tao.  Owners Yun Xiang Tseng and Chao Tao provide authentic organic loose leaf teas grown on the Sacred Mountain Tea Farm in China. Stop by and Enjoy!