My Cooking Class

I had a very busy weekend! One of the things I did was take another cooking class! This time we learned about beans. It was great! In the class we made Sprout Salad, Live Hummus, Live Falafel Patties, Marinated Tempeh(ˈtem-ˌpā), Confetti Lima Beans, Chili Con Kale and Adzuki Bean Chocolate Cake.

If you’re wondering how the hummus and falafel patties could be “live”, it’s because the chickpeas were sprouted before they were chopped or puréed. This causes them to have much more nutritional value. See here for more information on the nutritional benefits to sprouting. The falafels also were not deep fried as they usually are. These were eaten raw, but can also be dehydrated. They were wonderful and so full of flavour! Looking at the ingredients for this I couldn’t understand how this could possibly be good. But it was FANTASTIC!

I also learned a lot about soy. I learned that soy is not the wonder food it’s made out to be. The majority of it is Genetically Modified (GMO’d), which is not good at all. All GMO’d foods need to be avoided as much as possible. But even organic soy has its downside. Soy is filled with enzyme inhibitors that don’t allow you to absorb the enzymes in the soy, and it also can rob you of calcium, zinc and other enzymes already in your body. It’s also a thyroid inhibitor. But once soy is fermented, all these negatives are no longer an issue. Tempeh (ˈtem-ˌpā) is a fermented soy product that has all the pros to soy and none of the negatives. You can buy tempeh at any health food store. It’s not something easily made at home as it needs proper incubation, etc.

Another thing I found out about is kelp powder. I knew kelp was a great vegetable as it’s full of vitamins, minerals and very high in iodine (most of us don’t get enough iodine). But what I didn’t know is you can buy a kelp powder. This is something you can keep in your cupboard and add to soups, stews, etc, and increase the nutrition. You don’t even need very much. You can add about 1 tsp to a whole pot of soup. You want to be careful not to use too much as you can overdose on iodine.

Another thing to use kelp powder for is to soak beans. Soaking beans is very important because beans (as well as grains) contain something called phytic acid. This acid is also an enzyme inhibitor, preventing you from getting all the nutrition the bean (or grain) contains. By soaking them overnight, you’ve increased the nutrition and decreased your cooking time. Just be careful to throw out the soaking water with beans (with grains this is not necessary). When you are soaking your beans, add ¼ tsp of kelp powder to help prevent the gassiness often found when eating beans.

I learned so much during this class and the food was great! I’ve posted all the recipes from this class as well as the recipes for the Chicken & Chickpea Chili and the Goat Cheese Stuffed Meatloaf. They’re all here.

Have a great day!