Vegan Cooking School

I have started attending a two-week vegan cooking school sponsored by "Vegan Fusion". I found out about it after I signed up to be on the mailing list for Blossoming Lotus Restaurant in Kauai. This was my favorite restaurant and we went there four times the last time we were there. Unfortunately, the restaurant closed 1-1/2 years ago. The chef, Mark, has spent his time writing cookbooks and teaching. He has started traveling and teaching. This is his second 10-day comprehensive workshop. We are meeting in the kitchen at Fremont Abbey. It is a quaint facility compared to PCC Cooks--the cooking school where I volunteer. However, it works most of the time. There are 8 participants. Four of us are local, four have come from far away to attend class: Colorado, Eastern Canada, the Caribbean, and France via Vancouver, B.C. The three who have traveled the farthest are professional chefs. Two work on yachts. It's fun hearing their stories about life as a cook on a yacht. The other professional does catering in Colorado. My cooking partner, Marie, is originally from France and often speaks French with the other professionals. I could pretend I'm Julia Child at the Cordon Bleu.

Mark begins each session by having us prep the vegetables for the day, to clean and chop them according to the recipes. Then each of the 4 teams of 2 cooks a recipe from the class manual with Mark's help. He explains variations that can work. We have made some wonderful, creamy things. So far we have made soups, salads and dressings, and beans and grain dishes. My favorite things include Shitake Sea Vegetable Chowder, Coconut Vegetable Soup, Creamy Poppy Seed Dressing, Carob Mole Dressing, and Asparagus Risotto. Many of these recipes have used coconut milk and ground up nuts for thickening. Soy sauce, lemon juice, and nutritional yeast are also used liberally. Many more treats are to come!