“Always walk through life as if you have something new to learn, and you will.”  ~Vernon Howard

I love to learn.  I have always been a person who researches a subject nearly to death before beginning to do it, whether it was homeschooling, gardening, or how to paint real wood paneling.  I love digging into books and the internet to find out the best way to do something! Purposeful learning is a process we should carry with us throughout our lives; as Henry Ford said, “Anyone who stops learning is old, whether twenty or eighty.”

To that end, I have enrolled in Edom Bakery & Grill’s Cooking school, the creation of Executive Chef Jackson York, and will share with you weekly my experiences there.

Our first meeting was this past Tuesday night. I had to drive through a monsoon to get there (well, not really, but practically…) and was ten minutes late. UGH. I hate that.  Chef Jackson and the class were very gracious about it.  They were visiting and sharing a little about themselves with each other, and since there are only six students, I missed all of that. However,  Chef Jackson then talked with us a bit about his own training, what we’d cover in the course, and that sort of thing. He is clearly down-to-earth, knowledgeable, and very talented, a combination I think will make this course really enjoyable and informative for all of us students.

Jackson took us into the kitchen and showed us around a bit; he had some basic essential tools laid out to go over with the class, one of which I didn’t know existed.  A jalapeno corer! Did you know about these tools?

Can you see the jalapeno corer?  It’s just below the ladle in the picture, and has a pointed handle.  Tuesday morning I didn’t know they existed. Twelve hours later and I can’t live without acquiring one. 😉

Next, Jackson showed us some basic knife skills, and told us we’d do more of that in the coming weeks. (Friend and paramedic Aaron Deason, please be on call and at the ready every Tuesday night for awhile, ok?)  Then we watched as he talked us through his version of Creamy Tomato-Basil soup.  The basil was grown in the restaurant’s herb garden, which I love. The soup is simple and quick to make, and really tasted wonderful!  I’ve got the ingredients to make it at home, and will make grilled cheese sandwiches to go along with it….maybe on this sourdough bread I bought at the bakery that night:

We also were given a book of recipes and wine and cheese pairing suggestions, and it has some lovely French terms in it that this Southern girl is going to have to review.  That’s going to be fun.  Sorry in advance, France, if I slaughter your lovely language. 😉