Cooking Up Cultures- Week 1 and 2

A few weeks ago, I signed up for Spanish cooking classes with Cooking up Cultures!  When I read about this non-profit in Edible Austin, I couldn’t wait to sign up.  I love cooking (clearly) and I also love learning languages.  When I learn languages, most of the phrases and terms I want to know involve food, drinks and cooking… it’s perfect!

In high school and college I took French and spent a summer in Paris.  Also in college, I took Mandarin, which was quite the challenge.  However, it came in handy while bartering in the Shanghai and Beijing markets!  After I graduated, I spent a month in Guatemala and my spanish was just horrid.  It was hard to speak Spanish without mixing in French, however I picked up a few Spanish phrases with the help of my Guate friends.  Many of times, the spanish words came out with a French accent, which was quite entertaining to the Guates.

Anyway, now that I live in Texas, I hear Spanish a lot more and have wanted to learn.  Our first class was quite interesting.  As you can imagine, I know maaaaybe 50 words… maybe, that’s being generous.  In class there is literally NO English.  If you have to ask the english definition, or you need to speak English, you have to use your ‘permiso’.  And we only get ONE permiso per class… one!  Dios mios.

All first class, I just stared wide-eyed at my teacher… it was pretty comical.  However, I still enjoyed it!  Kat, our teacher, is a charades professional when explaining the cooking instructions.  We also have little notepads to guide us.  It’s easier for me to read the words, so that helps a lot.

For our first class, we made Chile Rellenos.  They were full of cheese which was yummy, but I wasn’t feeling so hot after.  The recipe was an easier recipe, which is great because I still don’t have my cucharas and cucharaditas straight.

For Week 2, we made Arroz Con Pollo which was deeeeeelicious.  And!!  I even understood the class a tad bit more!  A few of my friends speak Spanish fluently, so I practiced with them during the week.  You truly need to speak it to learn it.

In class, we split up the cooking responsibilities.  With about 5 of us per class, we get a good handle on the food.  I prepared the sofrito with one of my classmates, one of the guys prepared the Achiote oil, and the others were preparing the chicken.  It’s all a team effort.

We spend the first hour (or more) cooking and speaking, and then we get to eat the food after.  All the ingredients and cooking equipment are already there for you!

In our first class, I spent a lot of time in shock (haha).  But this class, I really enjoyed it, as I felt like I understood more.  I might be the only one that never took Spanish before.  A few of them have studied abroad there or taken classes before.  The class says “all levels welcome”, but I would recommend having a little under your belt.  At least have a basic understanding of greetings and whatnot.

Next week we are making Empanadas which should be a little more difficult, but sounds tasty!

Buen Provecho!

Note:  I have documented my experience with Cooking up Cultures in exchange for a discounted rate on classes.  Although this post is affiliated, all opinions are my own.