abby's table: the cook with project

building up our food culture one shared meal at a time. Get Recipes by Email! Delivered by FeedBurner

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Cook With Friends + Family

Here's a recap of some of the most recent cook with dinners! Whew! I've been busy cooking and not writing, but rest assured I will continue to update you with inspiration, ideas and stories along the way. For now, here's a host of photos to inspire! These are from the most recent hands on dinner party in Canton, Ohio - my hometown! I was fortunate enough to get to cook with some of my favorite people who I grew up with as my aunts and uncles. More photos to come, and a more in depth recap of the cooking lessons I've been learning (and teaching) along the way!

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Dinners

Hi Abby! My boyfriend and I are in portland for a couple of weeks and heard that you used to do one-off dinners a few times a month. Is this still going on?! If so, let me know if it is possible to get a ticket or reservation with you. And if not, any suggestions on secret dinner clubs in the portland area? We are from New York City and attend a few that way, so I am sure portland has its own hidden gems! Thanks so much! Cheers!

Hi Bria!

When are you in town? I do host pop up dinners that you can attend, kind of like a secret supper club:) The next one is June 13th at Enso Winery. RSVPs start today, so you can sign up if you are in town! The one after that is July 20th then July 26th and early September. If you aren't in town for any of those dates, I will be sad to miss the chance to cook for you:) But! Din Din is a fun place to check out, as well as the private dining area behind Padee. Good luck!

Abby

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Farm day included a stop to @Kookoolan farms to visit and taste mead for an upcoming cookbook by owner Chrissie! These are all my glasses. #lovemyjob #farmtoglass

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Farm tour day! Gorgeous fields @creativegrowers in forest grove. Hint: Site of July 26th pop up dinner! #savethedate #farmsupper

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Healthy Lifestyle Tips from Kids to Adults.

"I gotta go, I'm making pesto with Theo." This is what my sister said to me last week as we got off the phone with each other. Theo is my three year old nephew. Theo also looooves to cook and dons an apron as frequently as he does is fireman hat or astronaut outfit. 

I've been writing a lot about cooking with kids this year, which I've been doing quite a lot in the last year. Check out my Facebook album devoted to kids:) Since Children's Day (at least in Japan) is around the corner, why not consider how much kids offer one of the healthiest lifestyle reminders around?

Play more! Dive in and do more! Any boring old task can be made better when you use your imagination. Channel your inner child and celebrate children's day with me by trying one or all three of the following healthy lifestyle tips, inspired by kids:

 #1: COOK WITH YOUR KID (OR ONE YOU KNOW!)

My nephew Theo (above) is three years old and loves to cook. He dons an (Abby's Table) apron as frequently as he does is a fireman hat or astronaut outfit. It's never too early to start involving kids in cooking to teach important lessons about food and the efforts put into cooking. From hand cured veggies to raw oatmeal cookie bites and bacon breakfast "pizza", kids will eat up these fun experiences. 

#2: INVITE KIDS TO THE TABLE 

There is factual data behind the great many benefits the family meal offers to kids and adults alike. Meals at the table typically contain more fruits and vegetables and freshly made food, and provide stable continuity and social interaction that helps build brain development and positive associations with family and food. If you don't have kids, invite some friends over - family meals are beneficial to grown up "kids" too!

 #3: ACT LIKE A KID AND PLAY MORE!   

Channel your inner child and be free! Run around outside. Do somersaults. Swing at the park. Play with your food. Fingerpaint. Dress up and be silly! Tactile, hands on, playful experiences generally improve your mood and lower your stress levels, which contributes to overall health and well being. Enjoy a healthy lifestyle by incorporating more play into your everyday life.

Want to learn more about food for kids and families? Sign up for Legacy Emmanuel's Healthy from Head to Toe event on May 14th  where I'll be sharing some kid-friendly tips and recipes for the whole family to enjoy!

Party down! Schedule a kids cooking party, or an adult cooking party where you act like kids. Both are just as much fun. :)

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Catering for the new #lululemon in SE #portland! Look close and find me in this pic:) #abbystable

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#lululemon pop up shop opening in Se #pdx!

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The exciting stimulation of springtime.

Have you noticed what's springing up these days? In my amateur garden outback things are wildly sprouting and greening everywhere I look, including the abundance of dandelions! Eek! Does your body feel ready to spring into action at a moment's notice, too? If not, no worries. I've got your back. Coffee and tea are not your only recourse to a daily wake up. This time of year, as always, nature is good to us, providing just what we need to get that spring back in our step. Here are three stimulating foods to get you moving!

SPRING STIMULATING FOOD #1: DANDELION GREENS

That's right. The weeds. Though I'm not suggesting eating the ones from your yard. Lean on your local grocery or farmer's market and buy this super stimulating, bitter green. Naturally bitter, pungent foods stimulate the liver and provide an immediately energy boost. Add dandelion greens in a pesto or chop into a salad with sprouts and get a B vitamin (folic acid) boost as well! Hellooo, energy central!

SPRING STIMULATING FOOD #2: MUSTARD GREENS  Spicy greens! Yes, you guessed it. Also in this group are arugula and watercress. Stimulate the liver out of stagnation with these naturally spicy greens. Toss with a simple lemon and olive oil dressing to balance the natural heat as a lunch, and you'll be awake all afternoon. Promise. SPRING STIMULATING FOOD #3: ONLY THREE?     But there are so many! So #3 is a list of my personal favorite spring into action foods: radishes, asparagus, mint, fennel and lemon balm. Did I mention radishes? #1 personal favorite. Don't neglect the radish greens, too. Other great energy stimulators to use as seasonings this time of year: Apple cider vinegar and raw honey. Hmph. Coffee schmofee. Ready for action? Try my stimulating spring rolls with ginger mint dressing (or enjoy this recipe as a salad, no rolling required)! Check out the video, too! Here's to the happy springing of your body. Psst! Like what you learned? Share it with a friend!

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Cook With Lessons Thus Far.

I had no idea going into this year long cookbook writing project that I'd learn so much from the people I cook with each month. It's a breath of fresh air to me that 1). People are so open about what they know and 2). People are very open about what they do not know.

As I learn about the barriers people face in cooking from scratch every day, it helps put everything into perspective. It helps remind me of what I truly need to share with the amazing community of people actively interested in enjoying a healthy lifestyle through cooking. It's the simple, no-nonsense tricks I use all the time in my home kitchen that keep showing up as the best lessons learned thus far. Trust me, I use these straight forward tips regularly when I, like you, have no time and little interest in tearing myself away from work to finely chop everything in sight. :)

The solutions I've found to enhancing people's enjoyment and confidence in the kitchen thus far are three:

1. Be mindful of the dish. Here is my mom in front of a clean, dish-free, happy as a clam!

  The amount of dishes that pile up in cooking a full meal can be a huge deterrent for any living being. Me included. So I recommend quickly rinsing and reusing bowls, measuring spoons, stirring spoons and even pots and pans during your cook time instead of grabbing for new ones each time, so that things don't get crazy in the sink. Keep up on dishes as you go, and you'll find that committing to this tip will be a game changer for you. Not only does it save time, it's also a way to stress less in the kitchen and enjoy your food more.

2. Learn efficient, basic knife skills.  Here's my dad practicing his mincing! Families that chop together...

…stay together, with all their fingers intact. Don't feel confident holding a knife? Does it take you ten minutes to finely chop an onion? Knowledge is power here. Cooking is truly a set of cultural tools, and your knives (sharp ones, of course!) are a crucial part of your kitchen toolbox. Hone your skills in a cooking class or commit to learning online, if not directly from me in a hands on cook with dinner party or private lesson:)

3. Ease up and work with what's around you. Here Enrique and Michelle wing it with a zucchini-hazelnut fritter recipe.

Forgot to grab the scallions from the store? Missing a key ingredient to a sauce? Don't have a 1/2 cup measuring spoon, only 1/3 cup? Don't sweat it! Learn to ease into substitutions. Eyeball it. Practice using a healthy pinch of common sense and a 1/2 teaspoon of trial and error and work with what you have. Troubleshoot: Over salting happens. Slightly burning happens, too. Learn how to balance undesired flavor results and you will suddenly feel as a free as a wild strawberry in your kitchen. The only way to learn is to practice. Trust your instincts and I'll help you, too!

In the next few months I'll be writing these three topics into sections of my cookbook, to address them in more depth and provide some helpful insights to make your overall cooking experience even easier and more fun. I'll be very excited once my Flavor Balance Guide (aka Troubleshooting Guide) is complete and ready for view on my website! Until then, keep cooking, keep the hope alive, and keep the sink basin as dish free as possible. :)

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Decisions, decisions. Chocolate mousse recipe testing for next weeks cook with dinner in Portland then Corvallis! #dairyfree #chocolatelove #cookwithproject

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The Lovely Lemon Situation.

I've been taking lots of cues from every cooking situation. And I've been bringing a lot of lemons with me. 

What do we make when life gives us lemons?

Lemon Pudding! Lemon Oregano Chicken! (coming soon) Rosemary Pesto with lemon! Honey Cake with lemon! (also coming soon)

T'is the season of bright, zesty flavors and the shedding of wintery, heavy tastes and cooking techniques.

The lovely lemon situation was a brilliant suggestion for my March menu title, granted to me from my friend and cook with dinner participant, Isabel. As we cooked our way through my most recent Cookwith Dinner Party menu, I was reveling on lemon's ability to brighten most any dish without the need for more salt. Since I give high praise to lemons, I though it due time to acknowledge them.

Spring is a ripe time for all sorts of lovely lemon situations.

When I presented a recurring dinner series on Chinese Five Phase theory, I got to work closely with an acupuncturist to plan a menu designed for each of the five seasons (it includes indian summer). Lemon (and chicken) were always on the spring menu, along with the gorgeous array of bitter, young, and tender greens that are abundantly saying "hello" at the farmer's markets these days.

Seasonal cooking in spring is light in preparation: more water methods, less time. Raw becomes suitable again, and zingy and sour is the reigning flavor (think rhubarb, the seasonal pucker).

Greens of course go swimmingly with lemon and olive oil, simple, done and done. 

Is it a surprise that this time of year is when people are ready to freshen their diet, with a cleanse or detox or recommit to salads and green smoothies daily (with lemon, of course)? Spring it bright green and lemon, all around! :) Lemons are supremely helpful in cleansing the body. Hence the theme of my March menu, a detox friendly dinner party! All recipes are naturally gluten, dairy, soy free as well as suitable for a basic elimination diet.

Here is a peak into the March cook with menu (below), and a taste of the most popular dish from this round of hands on dinner parties, my Green Garlic Pesto Sweet Potatoes (with a touch of lemon, pictured below).

Detox Friendly March Menu: Hands On Dinner Party!

Braising Mix Salad with Shredded Beets Spring Herbs, Warm Cardamom Vinaigrette

…

Lemon Oregano Chicken

…

Green Garlic Pesto Sweet Potatoes

…

Balsamic Glazed Asparagus

…

Raw Carrot Cake with Slivered Almonds Coconut Icing

*All Menu Items are 100% Gluten, Dairy and Soy Free.

  Please note: over the next month I will be migrating this blog back over to the Abby's Table website, for the purpose of consolidation and developing more recipes to my existing base! I'll keep sharing stories about my cooking experiences, revelations, and offering you reasons to keep cooking and staying inspired yourself.

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Food Memories

Want to enjoy your food more? Cook from scratch.

Ok, want another way?

Think back on a food memory you cherish. What do you recall about this moment? Was it just the taste of the food itself? Or do you recall more about the experience?

Chances are you remember where you were and who you were with. What the food looked like. If you were outside and it was sunny, or if you were inside and things felt cozy. The colors, the lighting. What did it sound like? Smell like? Recall the full experience.

When you are travel somewhere, you are not just moving in space – you are absorbing all the sights, sounds and smells that define the experience of travelling. All the senses work together and make these moments rich and acutely memorable. 

The most powerful of these moments are transformative, and can shape your lifestyle or outlook on the world. They can inspire you to share it with others. The experience lives on in a new way, in the mind and hearts of someone other than you.

Like all experiences, a food experience does not exist in a vacuum. A solitary meal could be one of the most amazing you ever had, but did you yearn for someone to share it with, so you could exclaim “this is AMAZING!” out loud? If you didn’t yell out, I bet you called, wrote or texted someone shortly thereafter to share how you felt in that moment.

Try something for me this week: recall a special food moment from your life. With that spirit in mind, make a date to eat with of cook for one or more loved ones. Hold the feeling of your food memory in mind as you prepare the food, or set out to meet them. Notice how you feel.

Creating a food memory is simply: having the awareness and intention of using more than just your tastebuds to enjoy a meal.  Add richness by making it a moment, and you may find you feel a sense of satisfaction before taking your first bite!

Share this email with a friend if you’d think they’d enjoy trying this out, and of course let me know if you have any revelations!

  With Love,

Abby

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There are never too many cooks in the kitchen at The Portland Kitchen! The students did an amazing job preparing a seasonal dinner for 80 people, practicing some of what they've learned so far in their after-school program taught by Chef Arielle. I love helping out with this group, they do amazing work empowering high school students with the skills and work ethic to get jobs and also have the ability to cook well for life in general!

Attend their next mini fundraiser on April 3rd for a Foodie Challenge!

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Cook With: the High School Cooking Club

Me and Cooking Club go way back. All the way back to 1998, when one of my best friends, Nick Eaton, and I started a cooking club with the generous help of my mother. Here is a shot of the CCHS Culinary Club of Canton, Ohio, in 2000. Nick and I reunite this May to cook together!

Now, in 2014, here I am again, cooking with high school age kids, and loving it.

This week I got to cook alongside the cooking club of the David Douglas High School here in Portland, helping a team of students prepare a meal in an hour as a "Chopped" style competition to lead into their spring break. 

Though my team came in second out of two teams due to our presentation (hey, I was letting the kids lead the way!) it was a close second, only 1/2 a point behind. The idea was not to determine a true winner, but to truly engage the students in the art and fun of cooking for a purpose. Here is the other chef, Alex, finishing his group's plate while my group of four watches and readies to enjoy their meal, which won for creativity:) 

It continues to surprise me how joyful these experiences are, cooking with the high school age group. I recall how mind-blowing some of the cooking club sessions were for me as a teenager, and how clearly they influenced my confidence, ability, and willingness to experiment in the kitchen for years to come. Here the judges taste both presented plates, below.

My hope its that each time I cook with this age group, at least one kid is inspired to instigate cooking with their parents, or siblings, or friends. And that this spark might grow into a lifelong interest in cooking for and with loved ones, for health, and for the joy it brings to the spirit of life overall.

Next up: The Portland Community Kitchen Family Style supper on the first day of Spring! 

Here is the meal my time created: Spicy Honey Stewed Chicken, Stir-Fried Asparagus, Kale, and Carrots with Ginger and Garlic, and a Rice and Lentil dish. Our meal was naturally gluten, dairy and soy free without my planning! One student, Jared, even made a pumpkin pudding using peanut butter, honey, raisins and pumpkin as a dairy free dessert. Such creativity for such a cool bunch of young kids. I look forward to the next time:)

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Cooking "Hash" with College Kids

Breakfast Hash with eggs and veggies, of course! What were YOU thinking?!? Here is Celeste, a freshman student, preparing the ingredients for her local vegetable breakfast hash.

I had the pleasure of being invited by an Abby's Table fan, Honors Program Chair Ann Marie Fallon, to teach a class last week for students of the Portland State University Honors School. Ann really wanted the students to have the opportunity to learn some healthful cooking options on a budget, to encourage the students to take advantage of the nearby farmer's market and cost savings of cooking from scratch. I focused on recipes that mainly taught practical techniques and knife skills that make cooking a variety of meals easy to do with a limited kitchen set up (a dorm!) I cooked up a storm in my college dorm kitchen, exploring the ins and outs of basic cooking in a limited space area, so I have a particular soft spot for this age group. 

Starting first with basic knife skills and a general introduction to the seasonal recipes, we quickly broke off into groups and the students cooked their way through four stations all in the kitchen and community meeting area in the Native America Student and Community Center. 

All told, every student had some hands on time cooking the following seasonal recipes: 

PSU Honors School Cooking Class Hands On Recipes: 

Seasonal Vegetable Stir Fry with Sticky Rice 
...
 Thai Curry Noodle Soup with Chicken (or Veg) 
…
 Breakfast Hash with Caramelized Onions 
and Quick Roasted Sweet Potatoes 
... 
Quick Everyday Kale Salad

What was most magical to me was that most students stuck around long after the cooking was done, just eating and chatting with each other, meeting new people and building the community of students who are also passionate about learning healthful, easy cooking techniques and using local produce to save money (more meals cooked at home = $$ savings). I can't wait to teach again once the farmer's market starts up again!

Here is the breakfast hash recipe that was a big hit among the students. You can switch up the vegetables according to what is in season and looking fresh. This recipe is doable for anyone over 10 years of age, so try it with your kids or young friends! :)

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Lemons and Rainbows

It's a good thing all the winter rain leads to rainbows and, well, spring seasonal recipes!  

This is the time of year that I often see rainbows around Portland as the weather shifts from sudden rain to pockets of sunshine. This is also when I crave the bright, cleansing flavor of lemon to brighten my palate and menu ideas. 

In fact, as I gear up to recipe test my March cook with dinner party menu I am focusing a lot on the foods that are naturally a part of a detox or cleanse protocol. The March theme? A Detox Dinner Party, of course!

This lemon cream pudding snuck into my February cook with dinner party menu and it's popping up as a regular sweet treat in my fridge in the transition from winter to spring. Stay tuned for more detox friendly recipes as you tidy up your diet and prepare your body for lighter, brighter weather and flavors to match the season!

Here's a peak into my blender in making this super easy pudding: coconut oil, coconut syrup, coconut milk, lemon, sea salt. A whirl and it's done. Chill and eat with a spoon straight from the dish, dreaming of spring. And rainbows:)

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Cook With: Heart + Sole

I can't take any creative claim to the name of the February CookWith DInner Party menu that will appear in my upcoming cookbook. Appropriately (since the point of the cookbook is to engage home cooks in the creative cooking process with me) a guest preparing the menu alongside me and his friends conjured up the menu title (this guy below!)  

His title reflects the season (Valentine's Day), the theme (romantic Italian) and the menu (yep, wild sole is the main course).  The Heart + Sole Menu

Creamy Mushroom Risotto … Sole Roulades with Arugula … Radicchio, Fennel and Yellow Beet Salad ... Crispy Broccoli with Chili Flakes … Chocolate Chestnut Cake with Amaretto Caramel The Wachs (host couple!)

We sharpened our knives, made sure everyone had a drink nearby, and collectively cooked this seasonal Italian dinner. 

I taught efficient ways to set up the dinner ahead so you don't have to juggle all the dishes at once, focusing in particular on vegetable prep and a hearty salad that can be made a day ahead.

There was lots of laughter, joking, and of course lots of love and care put into the preparation. 

Risotto requires a lot of heart. 

Literally, it requires patient attention and admiration, as you stand planted in front of the pot, stirring and infusing good vibes into the dish. Here the host stirs in happy thoughts with care.

I can't add "love" as an ingredient on the recipe list. However! I can at least suggest cooking these recipes with good spirits and an open heart.

This great group of six friends succeeded in cooking with an open mind and generally with lots of laughter and ease. I felt at home in their kitchen!

 It was friends around a table, enjoying delicious food, cooked collectively. A celebration of Heart + (Soul), and friendship.

Find the Wild Sole Roulade Recipe here, and a version of the Radicchio Salad here. And if you are interested in hosting your own cook with dinner, be in touch!