(Featured photo: Katie Brennan watches are her grandmother, Dee Stalder stirs lentil soup as part of the Jan. 20 Saturday Chef. Charmain Z. Brackett/Augusta Good News)
One of Katie Brennan’s favorite holiday memories is of baking cookies with her grandmother, Dee Stalder.
As an adult, Brennan wanted to create new kitchen memories, so she bought her grandmother and her a spot in Saturday Chef, a monthly community cooking class at Helms College, on Jan. 20.
“I thought it would be a cool thing to do with her,” said Brennan.
And Stalder agreed, driving from Atlanta to take part.
“It’s fun,” she said.
Each month, Saturday Chef focuses on a different topic and menu. To kick off the year, the Jan. 20 class focused on healthier options including dishes with more vegetables and fiber without sacrificing flavor.
“When you start eating healthier what does healthier usually mean? A salad, right? And it’s January, who wants to eat a salad in January?” Nikiya Darch, Helms College chef instructor, asked the packed classroom before the cooks headed into the two kitchens.
Instead, she developed a menu with some “stick-to-your ribs” warm foods such as a lentil soup, spaghetti squash with turkey meatballs, quinoa with roasted vegetables and roasted shallots with grapefruit sauce.
To cut down on calories, fat and cholesterol, but add in more nutrients in some cases, substitutions were made to dishes. Instead of ground beef meatballs, turkey was the star.
“Fresh herbs, lemon juice and vinegars will add flavor without adding extra calories,” she said.
Once they received the overview, it was time to head into the kitchen.
Saturday’s class held 20 students, which according to Darch is larger than usual. They used two kitchens instead of one for the class and divided into groups of two and three to make the dishes.
Stalder wasn’t the only one in the January class who received the gift of cooking as a Christmas present.
Chloe DeWees and her boyfriend, Aidan McCarthy, gave their parents a wish list with cooking classes on it, DeWees said.
“We like experience presents,” DeWees said.
They received the January class as well as the March class for their gift. March’s class focuses chocolate and confections. DeWees said she’s looking forward to that one.
And they may not stop at those two classes, she said.
“July and August sound really interesting,” she said.
July is hors d’oeuvres and cocktails and August focuses on Mexican food.
The next class will be held Feb. 10, the day before the Super Bowl and has a fitting theme of “game day snacks.” Only a few slots remain for that one. Classes are $90 per person and registration is available online here.
Charmain Z. Brackett, the publisher of Augusta Good News and Inspiring: Women of Augusta, has covered Augusta’s news for 35 years. Reach her at charmain@augustagoodnews.com. Sign up for the newsletter here.
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