My friend Heidi Nestler -- who I first meet at this gathering way back when and who has been a part of the Portland Fermentation Festival since day one -- is about to start teaching cooking classes in Portland. The first one sounds great -- it's all about miso soup this Saturday, May 19th from 10:30am to 12:30pm at the Urban Farm Center. The class costs $20 per person and you can sign up for it here. Here's what Heidi has to say about it:
Good miso soup starts with good dashi! We will cover making dashi, the broth that is the base for miso soup, as well as a key ingredient in all Japanese cooking. We will make three different types of dashi. We will experiment with different types of miso and learn how to choose ingredients to put into your soup. We will explore the savory and satisfying world of the traditional Japanese breakfast. Hint: miso soup is at the heart of it. Miso soup is great at breakfast, lunch and dinner. I’ll also show you how to make a clear soup which pairs well with sushi.
For $50 you can hang out all day at the Urban Farm Center, attend Heidi's miso class as well as her Japanese food tasting from 1pm to 2pm (try Japanese breakfast foods and dishes from every class that Heidi plans to offer) and her Japanese sea vegetable cooking class from 3:30pm to 4:30pm. Here's what Heidi says about that one:
Learn to incorporate mineral rich seaweed and kelp dishes into your everyday life. We will learn to make traditional dishes including salads, soups, savory side dishes and condiments to enjoy with rice. We will be using konbu, hijiki, nori, wakame, and more. We will also experiment with adding seaweed to more Western style foods.
In upcoming months Heidi will teach all sorts of affordable cooking classes at the Urban Farm Center including a class on DIY natto, Japanese pickles, dairy ferments and more. I'm not sure which ones I'm going to go to yet but hopefully I'll see you at one. Sign up soon before they fill up!
Heidi Nestler Cooking Classes www.heidinestler.com
Urban Farm Center 3736 SE Harvey St. Milwaukie, Oregon 97222 503.449.2402 www.urbanfarmcenter.com