Cooking School

THE COOKING SCHOOL

Contact Alicia Rivero for exact information: alicia@lifepathretreats.com

The Cooking School at LifePath is located in a charming kitchen inside a Mexican mansion home. The curriculum is designed to share healthy, nutritious foods using a variety of regional cooking techniques. Most class themes discard the use of recipes and instead using a ‘common sense’ approach to choosing, preparing and cooking ingredients at hand. Recipes developed in the class are spontaneous and require the use of the five senses to reach the final product. Participants are encouraged to work “hands-on” and help develop recipes. A general list of classes is listed below.

FARM TO TABLE CLASS – two Saturdays per month, 9:30am to 2:30pm
Two Saturdays a month, participants meet at the local, organic Farmer’s Market to try some delicious amaranth atole and other treats prepared fresh at the market and then go shopping for the day’s class meal. Based on the vegetables available each week, we collectively choose among the ripest and most appealing ingredients and start to design a menu for the day’s class.

During the rest of the month, the Farm to Table class can be arranged for small groups and include a trip to a local farm to choose the vegetables for the day’s class.

 

COOKING WITH THE SENSES SERIES – Tuesdays, 10:30 AM-1:30 PM

• ESSENTIAL SALADS – using raw food principles and techniques we develop several salads and dressings that demonstrate a type of food preparation which facilitates the availability of incorporated live, nutrient-rich foods in to daily life.
• NOURISHING SOUPS – in this class, we create three soups from scratch by develop basic stocks, make ghee, a healthy fat and use the idea of judging proportions to create tasty, warmth in a bowl.
• NATURAL DESSERTS I – by eliminating the dependence on any refined ingredients, learn to make several desserts with natural sweeteners, fruits, chocolate, nuts and avocado!
• NATURAL DESSERTS II – in this class extend your range in dessert making by learning to use natural coagulants such as arrowroot and agar agar to make puddings and panna cotta, make sauces and frozen treats.
• WHEAT-FREE COOKING & BAKING – in this class we explore the use of many whole grain flours to use as an alternative to wheat and rye (gluten-based) flours. We will bake muffins, cookies and bars with a combination of rice flours and use garbanzo and amaranth to thicken, bread and add to favorite recipes that require flour as a base ingredient.
• MAKING YOUR OWN PROBIOTIC-RICH FOODS – our guts live and depend on billions of healthy flora to be present for digestion and integration of nutrients. After years of using prescription antibiotics, our bodies can enter a state of ‘dysbiosis’ that refers to a condition in which there are microbial imbalances on or within the body. There are many foods – live, raw and fermented which eaten on a daily basis, can help the body return to balance and good health. In this class, we will demonstrate many, simple! ways to prepare, store and use live foods.
• HOMEMADE CONDIMENTS – condiments are a tricky source of highly processed sugars, chemicals flavorings and preservatives that can create an imbalance to an otherwise healthy meal. In this class, we will make and bottle condiments for you take home. Ketchup, mustard and mayonnaise and other dressing will be made with healthy fats, fresh ingredients and special seasonings based on the individual tastes of each participant.
• LEGUMES, GRAINS & SEEDS – learn to choose, combine and prepare essential and readily available nutritious ingredients and make savory and sweet dishes with all. Quinoa, oatmeal, barley, chia seeds and beans area among the featured ingredients in the course.