Schedule: Thursday, February 24 at 7pm
Fee: FREE. If you wish to attend we ask that you please register in advance, simply call our staff at 2288-3294 or
send us an email with your confirmation!
________________________________________________________________________________________
Radha's Kitchen Cooking Intensive:
The Mexican Mediterranean Rose
Why a rose? A rose never asks why, but we do. The rose is a symbol of the perfection of beauty, as well as its essence, in its rich scent that seduces all beings who inhale it. At the heart of Mexican and Mediterranean cuisines lies the rose, literally in the perfuming of sweets and dishes, and in its symbolization of the ineffable yet unconquerable power of life that flowers in the middle of deserts (and desserts!). The rose embodies that power of sheer beauty, expressed through the ingenuity of cultures thousands of years old, whose cooks make food spring to life with exquisite elegance and simplicity. The question is, how do we continue that eternal tradition of culinary devotion, and turn a desert (of a kitchen) or a dessert, into an oasis that flowers.
"Queen of flowers, created, according to Greek mythology, by Aphrodite, goddess of love, the rose has been an edible as well as visual delight since the ancient Persians quaffed rose petal wine, the Romans sprinkled rose petals on their food, and the Mesopotamians began to distill rose water. In Istanbul, seat of the Ottoman Empire, a bevy of confectioners labored in the Gülhane, or Rose House, in Topkapi Palace, making preserves, puddings and "serbets" cooled in mountain snow for the emperor and his harem. After returning Crusaders introduced Europeans to rose water, it also became a culinary staple in royal kitchens in England and France and was used in everything from poultry to blancmange to sweetmeats.
In colonial America rose water was the ubiquitous choice for flavoring puddings and glazing cakes. Up in Boston, Mrs. Cornelius, author of The Young Housekeeper's Friend (1846) suggested using rose-flavored butter for baking. She layered fresh rose petals and fine salt in a stone jar, added a pound of butter, and then kept the jar full, adding more petals and butter as needed.
Displaced by vanilla in the early 19th century in the West, rose water remains a quintessential flavoring in India and the Middle East."
- Quoted from Food Arts, October 2005
In this class we will use Mexican (which are for the most part also Costa Rica and Central American) ingredients and Mediterranean ingredients (which cross over with Mexican ingredients via Spain´s conquest and occupation of Mexico and Sicily), to create beautiful fusion dishes that express the best in healthy vegetarian and vegan cooking.
Our classes always have an alkaline note to them, a concern for eating as little as possible of fermented foods, and in this class in particular, we will focus on the eating of wild herbs, plants, flowers and other vegetable delights from both regions of the world.
Space is limited. Please sign up today!
Saturday, March 5th 2011
1-5:30 pm
Cost:
$80 Sat Yoga General Students*
$90 Limited Students and General Public
* The price for participants who pay after March 3rd will be $90 - for everyone. We are requesting thus that you pay the full amount before March 3rd.
Please email Swati at saraswati@radhaskitchen.org (or call 2288-3294) to reserve your apron!
Sat Yoga Announcements: 
Our Monthly Calendar: 
New Teaching: 
Sat Yoga Audio Podcasts: 
Recent Teaching Videos: 
