I stumbled across one of Rouxbe's virtual cooking courses when I was checking out a Forks Over Knives newsletter. (Side note- Forks Over Knives has a TON of info, recipes, etc. if you're curious about how you can get a few more plants into your day https://www.forksoverknives.com/) I signed up for Rouxbe's (pronounced roo' bee) six month plant-based program that included graded homework assignments, quizzes, etc. I enjoy cooking and baking (and can maneuver around the kitchen reasonably well) but was excited to embark on some "formal" instruction.
Preparing my homework assignments (shopping, prep, photos, presentation, etc.) was both enjoyable and time consuming. Each graded assignment contained the following components. A photo of the "mise en place" (a fancy way of saying "get all your ingredients prepped and organized"), a photo of the dish in progress and a photo of the final dish. A write-up of the dish- including aroma, taste, texture and techniques utilized- is also required.
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| Photo 1 - Prep for black bean & sweet potato burgers |
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| Photo 2- In process |
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| The final dish...garnished and ready to eat! YUM! |
I thought it might be fun to share a few of my favorite assignments. These are all 100% plant-based meaning they contain no meat, dairy or egg products.
1) Homemade manicotti. I had never before made pasta from scratch- partly because I don't LOVE pasta as much as some folks, and I also perceived it as VERY labor intensive. That being said, I was intrigued by this assignment and curious to learn first hand what all the fuss was about Will this be worth the effort? Now was my chance to find out (shout out to my neighbor Kathryn for loaning out her pasta maker!!).
What did I learn? Will I whip up some fresh pasta on a random Tuesday after work? Ummmm no. This was a project. Making homemade noodles (using tofu in place of eggs) as well as marinara & pesto from scratch took up an the bulk of an afternoon. Was it worth the time and effort? A resounding "hell yes!" Full disclosure, I made the noodles little too thick, so I had a couple of points deducted from my grade...sigh. My technical error did NOT stop by family from fighting over the manicotti like a pack of wolves.
Vegan Manicotti
2) 'Raw' zucchini lasagna with a pine nut "parmesan" crisp. This dish was from the raw gastronomy section (meaning no components are cooked at a temp over 118 degrees). I AGONIZED over what I was going to make for this assignment. Also, if I'm honest, I assumed that whatever I came up with would taste less than stellar. If it's not ice cream or salad, doesn't food need to be cooked??
Once I finally got settled on an idea and got organized, the dish came together more quickly than I imagined.The lasagna noodles are zucchini sliced thin on a mandolin. I always wear oven mitts while using this gadget after losing a piece of my fingertip in a cucumber slicing incident. But I digress...other components included a raw marinara and a pesto made from walnuts and kale. I made the accompanying crisp (not sure what else to call it) mainly from pine nuts and nutritional yeast. The mixture was spread thin and and put in the dehydrator. This dish was not my absolute favorite from a taste perspective, but it was tastier than I expected and I was proud of the presentation. Raw food is now a little less mysterious.
Once I finally got settled on an idea and got organized, the dish came together more quickly than I imagined.The lasagna noodles are zucchini sliced thin on a mandolin. I always wear oven mitts while using this gadget after losing a piece of my fingertip in a cucumber slicing incident. But I digress...other components included a raw marinara and a pesto made from walnuts and kale. I made the accompanying crisp (not sure what else to call it) mainly from pine nuts and nutritional yeast. The mixture was spread thin and and put in the dehydrator. This dish was not my absolute favorite from a taste perspective, but it was tastier than I expected and I was proud of the presentation. Raw food is now a little less mysterious.
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| My 'raw' zucchini lasagna |
3) Cauliflower 'steak' with chimichurri sauce. I'm not sure why I use quotes around references to meat substitutes...it doesn't take a genius to see there is clearly no steak on this plate. Anyhow, this dish was certainly something new for me and it was DELICIOUS! The cauliflower steaks were first braised in the oven for about 40 minutes, then seared in a hot skillet. The chimichurri sauce was bright and flavorful, with roasted red peppers mixed with various herbs and spices. This was also one that was a hit with three quarters of the family, which I consider a win.
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| Cauliflower Steak with Chimichurri Sauce |
Overall, I was very pleased with this course and would recommend it. It provides both the basics (think knife skills, steaming, stir frying & vegan desserts) as well as more advanced cooking techniques (raw gastronomy and gluten free cooking). The course also discusses culinary wellness and the health benefits related to a more plant focused way of eating. Here is the link if you want to check out available courses https://rouxbe.com/individual-training/
Thanks for reading!
Michelle
