Love soup — but not the BPA in the soup cans? Head over to a Hipcooks Hot Soup Focus Group class to find out how you can make your own yummy soups — cheaply, easily, organically, and locally!
Hipcooks classes actually teach you how to cook — not just how to follow a recipe — which means I now use the skills I picked up there for all sorts of other, non-soupy dishes too. I took a Hot Soup Focus Group class last year with about a dozen other would-be soup chefs, and learned not just how to make soup but a whole bunch of other money and time-saving kitchen tricks — beginning with how to use a knife properly.
Yes, the class kicked off with a knife lesson — how to pick one, use it quickly and deftly, and clean it safely. If you’ve always wanted to chop up veggies as quickly as the chefs do on cooking shows, just take a Hipcooks class!
From there, we moved on to basics of soup, learning the three veggies that generally serve as the base of all soups — and what role each of them play in the flavors. Then we made six different soups — ranging from my favorite potato & leek soup to the bold, sweet-and-savory Moroccan lentil soup with cinnamon and prunes. We used no measuring spoons or cups and instead learned to eyeball and taste-test. And throughout, we picked up all sorts of tidbits — like how to make veggie broth on the cheap with scraps, thereby reducing waste, saving money, and creating a better quality broth.
Afterwards, we all sat down to eat the soups — enjoyed with a delicious white wine and cheesy bread (the naked pieces in the back are what I got, thanks to lactose intolerance). According to Hipcooks’ Bonny Giardina, ingredients for the classes are organic when possible and come from from farmers’ markets, regional grocery stores like India Sweets & Spices and Super King, specialty stores like Surfas — as well as Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods.
Ready to get cooking? Hipcooks has locations both on the east and west side of L.A., though the eastside classes cost $10 less than westside’s $65-per-person price. The next Hot Soup Focus Group happens on the eastside this Sat., Feb 20 from 1 pm – 4 pm. Nab a spot now, because there’s only one left! The class will also be offered once in each location in March; sign up early because spaces fill up fast.
Earlier: Organic, local cooking classes in Los Angeles
Great minds… I was just getting ready to go make leek and potato soup after checking my email and ended up on this post :)
I am becoming a good cook. My most frequent failure involves not adding enough salt, but that is easy to remedy right at the table.
Comment by Martin — February 19, 2010 @ 4:02 am
I too often forget salt! I’m glad our common problem has a quick, easy remedy :)
Comment by Siel — February 23, 2010 @ 4:10 pm