When people leave their homeland, so much has to be left behind. They have to adapt to a new environment. She or he is faced with a new language, new cultures and sometimes very new climates. One thing that the person can keep is his or her own memories. Very often when speaking about their memories, people will mention a special dish that they had enjoyed with their families. Food is very often an important part of family life and family traditions. For those reasons, Cabrini Immigrant Services (CIS), Dobbs Ferry, decided to offer a Cooking Class to our adult students and tutors. What a great way to share a special recipe as well as talking about their homeland and their memories of sharing the meal with their family.
On Monday, March 21st, CIS held its first Cooking Class. “Chef Jesús,” a head pizza maker at a local pizzeria in Westchester, made a Mexican Spring Salad and Gazpacho soup. Our Chef is from the state of Puebla in southern Mexico and is currently a student at CIS.
In addition to making these recipes, our Chef taught us about the importance of cleaning fruits and vegetables, maintaining a clean work area and what the proper temperature should be when cooking certain foods such as beef and chicken. He also taught us about the unique kinds of fruits and vegetables that are grown in Puebla including a variety of green cabbage called “col” with its thick leaves and round shape.
We all watched as our Chef created a delicious salad and very tasty Gazpacho soup. Everyone enjoyed the class especially the finished products! We all received a copy of the recipes so that we can try them at home. We hope that you will also enjoy these delicious recipes! We hope to continue to have our Cooking Class