Do you ever have days or weeks when it seems like an amazing wealth of good things happen to you but at the same time, you can’t seem to check things off your list? That’s me since Monday. I’ve been trying to plan and my cooking class schedule for early next year and squaring things away has taken much longer than anticipated! I also had a little slip over the weekend on a dark, wet sidewalk and was moving slower than normal.
Today is the first day that I woke up totally normal (look Ma, I can stand with no pain!). With early morning speed and agility, I participated in an online chat with Washington Post food writers to answer reader questions about Asian markets and holiday baking.
At the same time, my phone lit up with Facebook friends telling me that The Banh Mi Handbook was mentioned on NPR’s Morning Edition. Cookbook reviewer a Susan Chang revealed her picks for the Best Cookbooks of 2014! So many good books come out each year and I didn't think that little banh mi would garner such attention. Amazing.
Because of time restraints, she only mentioned a few on air and banh mi was included. NPR also used the cover banh mi image to lead their website post, which aimed to communicate the theme of global flavors. (After I published this post, I learned that Here and Now's (WBUR, Boston's NPR station) Kathy Gunst also included The Banh Mi Handbook in her 2014 best cookbook picks!) My publisher recently ordered a third printing.
I was extremely flattered to make Susan’s short list along with talented friends like David Lebovitz and Dave Joachim and esteemed people such as Dana Cowin, editor in chief of Food and Wine magazine. I’ve enjoyed reading and using books by David and Dana and have a recipe in Dave’s. (Kinda ironic that their names all start with “D.”) Also, the mega recipe-and-community website Food 52 spotlighted an Asian Tofu recipe in today’s “Genius” column. All of those amazing things occurred before 10am. This morning I also was rushing to a 10:30am appointment to taste and tweak a restaurant client’s food.
When I finally returned to my office, I got to finalize and set up the registration for two new cooking classes. In 2015, I’m striking out on my own to set up classes in Santa Cruz. I’ve reserved the kitchen classroom space at New Leaf Market, our local version of Whole Foods that’s better than WF in many ways.
I’ve been wanting to do this for a long time in order to hold classes that I can tweak and develop with ease. Additionally, the classes would be close to home, hands-on to maximize learning, and smallish (my maximum is 12 students). I’ll do all the shopping to select ingredients and have an assistant in class. You’ll receive lots of attention.
There’s plenty of free parking at New Leaf Market. Registration is through Brown Paper Tickets and you’ll securely pay through PayPal.
The only drawback is we cannot have wine in class. However, there’s a nice tap room and several wine tasting rooms within walking distance of the market. Head there after class to extend your Santa Cruz experience!
Upcoming classes in Santa Cruz are:
- Asian Dumplings Bootcamp I – Sat., February 28. Perfect to kick off the Year of the Sheep. Start out with this and if you like it, I’m hoping to roll out Bootcamp II in late spring! Get details and register (Sold out in less than 36 hours! Email me if you'd like to be put on a waitlist.)
- Vietnamese Pho and Banh Mi Workshop – Sat., March 21. Master the iconic soup and sandwiches of Vietnam. We’ll have lots of fun baking, brewing and eating. Get details and register
This is a new venture for me so please help me spread the word.
If you can’t make the Santa Cruz dates, I’ll be teaching at the San Francisco Cooking School in April: Saigon Street Food on April 17 and Asian Dumplings on April 18.
Hope we can cook together in 2015.
Should you have questions, comments or sugestions, let me know below.
