Cooking, cooking and more cooking!

So I have the great honor of being the "Celebrity Chef" for an upcoming fundraising event to raise money for all the kitchen equipment in a jr high gym for my alma mater.  

What makes me really proud about doing this is that I'm helping bring in the equipment that will continue to make it possible for the kids to use the facility and encourage them to cook.  When I was in high school, they never had a culinary arts program, and 20+ years later...kids have such a great opportunity to learn more about cooking.  It's no longer called home economics.  When I was in high school, I rebelled against going to home ec and took auto mechanics because, one: I loved cars and enjoyed learning how to fix and do everything for my car by myself, and two: I don't like the idea that women had to take home ec to prepare me to be a "good wife".  Plus!  I already knew how to cook and cooked very well...so I didn't see the point in the class.  

I digressed...back to what I was talking about.  I've been working on a few recipes for my demo and here are a few snap shots of the recipes I made.

The first dish was inspired by my Chef friend Keenan in Hawaii.  I was visiting years ago and this was a dish that he made.  This of course is my interpretation of it...but I loved it so much that I wanted to try and recreate it with my own spin.

Japanese mushroom and Edamame Kamameshi. 

Though kamameshi rice dishes should be cooked in an iron pot, I put mine in the rice cooker.
  
Next dish...I really enjoy the flavors of Southeast Asian cuisines and wanted to create something that incorporated those flavors while still being vegetarian.  This dish is so versatile because it's so flavorful, has lots of textures and is really filling, even without a protein.  But it certainly wouldn't hurt to add some lemongrass grilled steak or chicken on here if you want the meat.

Spicy Vietnamese Vegetable Salad

 

And of for dessert, something light, springlike and refreshing was what I had in mind.  You all know how much I love ice cream and key lime, so I thought I would incorporate the two together.

Key Lime Semifreddo with fresh berries

 

I'm totally looking forward to this event and once I'm done with it, I will post all the recipes up to share with you.  I already had taste testers try the different recipes and got all thumbs up for them.  I hope the ladies at the event enjoy it too!

I have been cooking a lot lately and not eating out as much...but will try and share as many recipes with you guys as possible!  

Wishing everyone a wonderful weekend!


xo
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