Quarantine Creative Cues & Baking With Julia

There have been a few gold nuggets of goodness resulting from our lockdown time. For example, in hoarding root vegetables early on, I woke up one morning to find a sweet potato had blossomed into a houseplant! I chopped off the blooming upper part, and I placed it in a glass of water held up by tooth picks. I peeled, chopped, and baked the remaining part of the sweet potato. No waste! You should try this with your children or by distance with grandchildren and compare the vine growth via Zoom.

I have been participating in some excellent, free, cooking demonstrations taking place around the world. Many are taped for later viewing, so I am including my favorite link below, and you can find others by searching them on FaceBook. Take advantage of the skills of these great folks that would not be accessible in ordinary times.

In addition to the cooking demos, I have been following concerts given by one of my favorite singer/song writers, Pete Yorn. I am not his typical demographic. I am a total Beatles fan, and if the Beatles had a 5th member it would be Pete Yorn. Say no more. The link to his many FaceBook Live appearances is below, so judge for yourself.

My favorite cooking class to date is by Gale Gand, a Chicago legendary chef, and partner at the former Michelin rated restaurant Tru. A renown pastry chef, her twice weekly episodes from her kitchen include one day for savory and one for sweets. Chef Gale appeared on the Julia Child show in 1997, S3 E12 (if you have access to Passport), where she taught Julia how to make lemon meringue treats using phyllo sheets. This was part of the popular Baking with Julia Series. You can see, she is a pro (and there will be a blow torch!): Click on link below:

Julia Child & Gale Gand YouTube

You can view Gale Gand's current and past classes held on Tuesday and Thursday @ 10 am CT on her FaceBook page. They are free episodes and below is the link to her FaceBook page. Even if you don't feel like cooking, you can spend 1 hour with one of the most genuine and kind kitchen pros. She has a tips segment, too. You will find her methods and recipes for a summer asparagus tart made with store bought frozen puff pastry and a terrific Greek salad in the segment from this week. Click on the link below:

Gale Gand's FaceBook Cooking Classes

After all the cooking, you can relax and listen to great music. Pete Yorn. Just listen. . . while you cook! Click on the link below:

Pete Yorn FaceBook concerts May 25 and others

Enjoy these three opportunities to Grow, Cook, and Listen during these slower paced summer days.

Top of Sweet Potato May 1, 2020, no waste!

Sweet Potato Vine on June 16, 2020, ready for dirt!