The Creative Connection

Give the gift of healthy food and package it up pretty! Food bloggers, crafty bloggers and their followers unite with this action-packed class brimming with healthy recipe ideas for daily nourishment AND gift giving. Wouldn't it be great to receive or give a gorgeous package of beautiful chocolates or cookies that were actually nutritious and super tasty? We often spend countless hours making and baking, but feel guilty actually eating and enjoying our treats since they’re not nearly as healthy as they could be. This class will focus on gluten-free, “super food,” and vegan goodies. Seasoned health-food blogger Julie Cove will inspire many creative ideas for adapting your favorite recipes. With one hands-on recipe and packaging, and four demo recipes, you’ll learn healthy eating tips and creative packaging ideas to share your homemade healthy goodies. You’ll also glean ideas from Julie's expert design tips for styling your treats—just in case you’d like to create and record some for your own blog. Using the latest crafting mediums and ordinary items, your packages will delight the senses. This workshop is like no other, tapping into your creative genius for whipping up some nourishing delights and presenting them for the WOW factor! Next Holiday Season, your family and friends will be impressed and grateful for your healthy treats!

Looking for a healthier, happier, and sexier you? Stuck in a rut when it comes to healthy options for kids’ meals and snacks? With Julie, the Alkaline Sister, learn how to consciously nourish you and your family! If you’re too busy crafting or blogging to prepare healthy meals, or you need a good dose of inspiration for quick healthy recipes, this workshop will inspire you. Making meal time more fun and a lot healthier is the focus of this class, while providing you with added energy to follow your creative passion. Seasoned health-food blogger Julie Cove will inspire many creative ways to kick start a healthy routine for you and your family. With nourishing recipes for snacks and easy meals, tips for grocery lists, pantry makeovers, and how to get more veggies into your diet, you will be armed with a new approach for feeding you and your family consciously. You’ll perk up with five recipes for healthy meals to increase brain power, creativity, and overall energy. She’ll also explore gluten-free, nutrient-dense recipes. Julie will offer recipe demonstrations and lots of sampling, along with hands-on participation to make this workshop a must-do! From healthy green smoothies to omega-packed granolas to ideas for kids’ lunches, you’ll be armed with the tools you need to make more nourishing meals. Are you bursting with endless energy every day? Is your lifestyle and diet serving you? Or are you sitting at your computer, or in your creative studio, and feeling dreary? Want more healthful energy? Looking for creative ways to make meal time more exciting and healthy? This workshop is for you!

The best place to start eating CLEAN is exactly where you are! Join bestselling cookbook author, Terry Walters, for a workshop that will fuel your passion for cooking and inspire you to nourish yourself and your family for a healthy and vibrant life. Whether you’re just bringing awareness to your food choices for the first time, or are far along in your journey, this workshop will give you the inspiration, the motivation and the tools to eat clean and live well! Your CLEAN START will include:

• Setting intention exercise for sustainable good health
• Overview of the basics of eating clean
• Hands-on cooking class
• Group discussion and plenty of Q & A
• Information about the health benefits of the seasonal produce featured
• Five CLEAN recipes
• Complete shopping list

Discover how eating clean can benefit your unique constitution and lifestyle so that together we can enjoy easy, delicious, and sustainable good health for ourselves and our planet. *For those with food sensitivities, this class is vegan and gluten-free.

NOTE: If you want this class make sure to pick Friday TCC handmade. If you have trouble registering, please contact us at tccevent@yahoo.com and we will do it for you with an email.

Come learn the basics of making homemade jam. This class covers the basics of the water bath canning method, necessary equipment, ingredient selection, and achieving a set (what makes jam jam). Students will receive hands-on instruction, printed materials, and a jar of homemade jam to take away.

Registration Closed. Alright ladies...it's time to reclaim the backyard barbecue. You can still let your fella fiddle on the grill if you want, but we're taking it to the next level! This 90-minute workshop will show you how using a smoker enhances the flavor and aroma of your food. MaryJane's own food stylist, Alyson Outen, will walk you through basic techniques, offer beginning recipes, and let you taste what all this fuss is about. Once the smoke clears, you'll know how to apply the techniques to not only meats, but also fruits, vegetables, and cheeses. Alyson will inspire and empower you to incorporate this ancient cooking style into your modern-day menus and she'll set you up with home simple smoking recipes to try on your own. Take Smoking Hot! and bring a savory bit of the outdoors to your dinner table!

A great food photograph can often be the missing link to bringing your blog up to the next level of success. Covering both the importance of creative storytelling and technical digital photography techniques, this workshop will cover basic lighting, understanding of post-process editing, and gear to creative composition. Essential topics on food styling such as how to make ugly food look pretty and the value of styling props will be included as well. Diane and Todd will demo a live food shoot from storyboarding, to lighting, to food styling, to final shot.

What’s the key ingredient to eating healthy, saving money and stewarding the planet for generations to come? A return to our nation’s organic farmstead roots of independence, self-sufficiency and frugality, blended with the spice of modern living and a passion for transforming our planet. Join Lisa Kivirist, author of Farmstead Chef, and trade in toxins, food additives and fake food for homegrown and homemade cooking, from preserving the harvest to stocking your pantry. Author, farmer and innkeeper Lisa Kivirist will share simple, practical tips for organic eating on a budget, offering strategies that celebrate the homespun frugality spirit of our nation’s farmstead roots. Do you feel overwhelmed by all the expensive organic options there? Lisa simplifies strategies for healthful food purchases and cooking approaches, wrapped in her philosophy that eating should be a celebrated, joyful act that strengthens our families, communities and spirit with every bite. Lisa will share recipes from her new cookbook, Farmstead Chef, that showcase a range of recipes for homemade and healthier pantry staples, like hot cocoa mix, vanilla extract and even maraschino cherries and graham crackers. Value-packed strategies for shopping the supermarket and farmer’s market will be covered as well as buying bulk and creative approaches to preserving your garden harvest.

Saturday afternoon registration closed. Saturday morning open. Do you harbor dreams of proudly making your own ricotta, chèvre, crème fraiche, Amish cup cheese, cottage cheese, and cream cheese? After a brief introduction to cheesemaking, Janet Hurst, Homemade Cheese author, will then demonstrate how to make fresh mozzarella cheese. Afterwards, workshop participants will make their own cheese. All supplies and materials, including farm-fresh milk, will be provided. Participants will take home their finished cheese along with a recipe or eat it on the spot, served with bread and crackers. Additional supplies (kits) will be available for purchase as well as Janet’s book, Homemade Cheese. The workshop will run 90 minutes. Workshop is limited to 12 participants.

Want to take control of your health and arm yourself with natural healing knowledge? Food as Medicine will show you how to make your kitchen a hub of healing energy. You’ll learn how to restore your body’s dietary wisdom, how your diet can help you prevent illness by eating the right things in the right amounts, and how you can balance your diet for optimum health. Food as Medicine is a 90-minute workshop that will show you how to prepare healing meals to cure what ails you. The instructor will explain how to use your diet to complement the healthcare you get from modern medicine. Learn the healing properties of various foods, collect and walk through recipes for common remedies, and discover the art of balancing food groups for a better body. Food as Medicine will show you that health is often no further than your kitchen, and no more mysterious than the contents of your refrigerator.  

Registration Closed. If you’re making the switch to a gluten-free diet—congratulations! You’re embarking on a new life free of the complications of gluten intolerance. Embrace this new beginning by picking up tips on shopping and eating out, customizing your recipe collection, and cooking for a family of gluten and non-gluten eaters alike. Gluten-free Lifestyle is a two-hour workshop that will help you to transition to your new diet without feeling deprived. If you’re unsure about converting recipes, replacing flour, or searching for hidden gluten culprits in your cupboard, Gluten-free Lifestyle is the workshop you need. The instructor will guide you through traveling smart, eating in restaurants, reading between the lines on menus, and asking your waiter the right questions. You’ll go home with some tried-and-true recipes for gluten-free breads and desserts and learn how to adjust your diet to maintain a good nutrient balance. The instructor will also share her tips for cooking appetizing meals for a family of both gluten and non-gluten eaters. Let Gluten-free Lifestyle be your first step on the journey to a gentler and more satisfying diet!

If you’ve ever thought of cooking vegan, then this is the class for you. It doesn’t matter if you want to change your diet completely, cook for someone who’s allergic to dairy, or just spice up your meatless Monday. It’s always handy to have a few vegan recipes up your sleeve. Let Kathy Hester, author of The Vegan Slow Cooker, show you just how easy it can be to make tasty vegan recipes that even meat-eaters and picky eaters will love. You’ll learn new recipes that are perfect for a quick weeknight dinner--and a few special night-in treats, too! In the class, you will find out about easy substitutes for meat, dairy, and eggs that you can use in some of your non-vegan favorite recipes, as well as in the new recipes you’ll learn. You'll also sample a few of these recipes so you'll know what favorites need to top your shopping list. Going Vegan is a two-hour workshop that will teach you what to look for on labels and what questions to ask in restaurants, plus you'll get tips and tricks to make your transition easier on you and your family. Whatever your motivation, Going Vegan will be your stepping stone to a lifestyle that supports your values while tantalizing your taste buds!

Registration Closed. Curious about probiotics? Interested in how fermentation delivers better digestion, enhanced nutrition, and a spectrum of tangy and robust flavors? From cultured yogurts to probiotic cheeses to naturally pickled produce to wild yeast sourdoughs to vinegars, fermentation has been treasured over the centuries as a simple food preservation method and an essential for good health. It’s time to taste the difference that live food makes. Let’s Ferment! is a three-hour course that will teach you about the benefits and preparation of home-fermented food. Besides enjoying a wild food-sampling party, you’ll also learn how to make and use yogurt cheese, and discover techniques and recipes for putting up lacto-fermented produce and condiments—no canning required. Genevieve will teach you how to make, maintain, and use a sourdough starter in artisan breads that take just minutes a loaf. You’ll also hear about fermenting your own apple cider vinegar from the fruit scraps you’d normally toss out or compost. Attendees will go home with fermenting goodies and favors, a wealth of recipes, and a fermentation troubleshooting guide. Take Let’s Ferment! and fill your kitchen and your belly with good nutrition gone wild!

Registration Closed. Learn from top selling cookbook author Krystina Castella how to make your own cupcakes, cookies, and cakes into tasty objects of art. In this workshop, Krystina reveals her recipe development and design process. She also teaches basic baking, building, and decorating techniques. You’ll have fun making crafty confections in playful flavors and shapes while adding finishing touches that render your creations unique. For creatives who enjoy playing in the kitchen, come explore the many opportunities sweets provide!

Not so very long ago, bread was made using only two ingredients: flour and water. Naturally leavened bread, without chemical rising agents and baker’s yeast (one variety of yeast singled out) was the authentic staple of our great-grandma’s generation. MaryJane’s SUPER-SIMPLE 1 minute a day, 5 minutes on Saturday method, using equipment you probably already have on hand, will revolutionize your bread making. The idea behind Bread the MaryJane Way is one of good health. Baking bread using your own sourdough starter is better for you because the starter pulls in wild yeast spores familiar to your body from the air and plants that surround you. Sourdough enhances your immune system. Here’s how: Phytic acid (phytin) in grain needs to be neutralized in order for the nutrients to be absorbed by the human body. In naturally leavened bread (sourdough), the phytin is neutralized by natural bacterial action and, to a lesser degree, by baking. But in yeasted breads, about 90 percent of the phytin remains. Perhaps this is the reason for the modern-day ground-swell of gluten intolerance. Furthermore, in naturally leavened bread, complex carbohydrates are broken down into more digestible simple sugars and proteins are broken down into amino acids so that your body has access to vital nutrients.  Using techniques that MaryJane has taught to hundreds of people, you’ll leave her workshop empowered (kits will be available for purchase) to create mouth-watering artisan sourdough breads in dozens of different styles and shapes, including bagels, baguettes, flatbread, ciabatta, fougasse, pretzels, panettone, pizza crust, focaccia, and more. And the best part? You’ll spend only minutes a day in your kitchen. If you think you know something about homemade bread, forget it—MaryJane’s approach takes bread-making to a whole new rise. In MaryJane’s chatroom (www.maryjanesfarm.org/snitz), “Bread the MaryJane Way” has close to 2,000 posts from women nationwide who are discovering the secrets to MaryJane’s sourdough magic.

Come explore the world of healthy baking (and eating!) with Green Market Baking Book author Laura Martin. Using natural sweeteners and whole grains, Laura will share the secrets of substituting healthy ingredients in your favorite recipes. You are encouraged to bring along your own recipes and Laura will show you how to make substitutions that are delicious as well as good for you (including many ideas for gluten-free baking and healthy kid’s snacks). In the workshop, you will make sweet, moist, Mexican chocolate cupcakes with the most creamy, delicious chocolate icing you can imagine—all without refined sugar! Come and learn this new way of baking. You, your family, and your body will appreciate it. Workshop agenda:

1. Exploration of the idea of healthy baking.  Discussion of ingredients:  natural sweeteners, grains, and the use of local and organic produce. Question/answer about “Why local?” “Why organic?” “Why no sugar?”
2. Make the chocolate icing for the cupcakes, put in ‘fridge to thicken.
3. Substitutions: each participant will bring her favorite recipe and Laura will take each one and explain how to make substitutions to make it more healthy by using natural sweeteners, fewer fats, and less gluten.  She’ll also have suggestions for baking things that are vegan. This will include many demonstrations.
4. Make the Mexican chocolate cupcakes. Ice when cool. Discussion of fun and interesting ways to decorate, including the use of edible flowers.
5. Sit and enjoy the sweet results of our labor.

Registration Closed. There’s a reason that pickling with vinegar is one of America’s favorite methods of food preservation—it’s as addictive as it is delicious!  If you think pickling is complicated, mysterious, or limited to cucumbers, you can think again. Pickle It! will show you that preserving and enhancing flavors with brine is easy enough for beginners, but delicious and sophisticated enough for well-seasoned chefs… Pickle It! is a workshop that will give beginning brine-lovers the confidence they need to tackle their garden’s bounty with gusto. As a student in Pickle It!, you’ll learn how to make basic recipes with anything-but-basic flavors. Genevieve will teach you the difference between canned pickles, refrigerator pickles, and freezer pickles, demonstrate a cornucopia of recipes, and teach you how to make the exotic and exciting pickles you just can’t find in grocery stores. You’ll also pick up serving suggestions, experiment with different seasonings, enjoy a pickle sampling party, and go home with pickling goodies, favors, and recipes. Abandon all fear—Pickle It! will have you hitting the brine in no time.

Do you love throwing parties? Join Kim Stoegbauer of The TomKat Studio for tips and tricks on making your next gathering fabulous! Kim is a trend-setting party stylist and blogger who has quickly turned her original ideas into a thriving business. In this class, you will learn how to:

• Choose a theme/color palette
• Utilize our exclusive Party Planning Worksheet to organize your ideas/tasks
• Use paper, crafting tools & materials to create easy decorations and finishing touches
• Design stunning food/dessert displays using simple tips and tricks
• Create your choice of party crafts to show off at your next event {choices will include banners, cupcake toppers, paper medallions & more}

Do you dream about escaping the urban cubicle scene for your own farmstead and country lifestyle? Come for an inspiring jump-start to bring your vision into reality with strategies and ideas for farm-based businesses, from running a bed & breakfast to growing your own food to living off-grid. Lisa Kivirist and John Ivanko, co-authors of Rural Renaissance and ECOpreneuring, share an insider’s rural reality check, covering a diversity of approaches to sustainable living in the countryside. Launch the farmstead life of your dreams with a boost from seasoned insiders, the husband-and-wife team of Lisa Kivirist and John Ivanko, who left successful corporate careers over a decade ago to launch their farm and B&B in Wisconsin, Inn Serendipity. Learn from their experience as well as case studies of other successful farm start-up stories and leave with a toolkit of business ideas and sustainable living strategies. From B&Bs to selling at farmers’ markets to running your farm on renewable energy, Lisa and John share ideas rooted in the reality that rural living is not all romantic bliss; it’s a lifestyle based on passion, hard work, strong community ties and a good sense of humor when turkeys run away and zucchinis don’t sprout. Lisa and John also share tips for integrating family and children into farm businesses and connecting with community, including homeschooling and hosting lots of potlucks!

Carolyn and Sarah's class will demonstrate how a traditional English afternoon tea can be elevated to new levels of elegance, indulgence and enjoyment. Their innovative and creative approach to the intertwining of food and flowers results in food that is beautiful, aromatic and most of all delicious and flowers that are an integral component of the teatime experience as a whole. This is an eclectic mix of 'traditional old English' and contemporary. Both Sarah and Carolyn are passionate about the provenance of the flowers and ingredients that they use. Their simple approach always allows the beauty of the flowers and the flavours of the produce to 'speak for themselves'. This is a class for anyone who loves beautiful, quirky, original presentation and of course delectable teatime treats, with glimpses of some of the great Royal traditions...

The best place to start eating CLEAN is exactly where you are! Join bestselling cookbook author, Terry Walters, for a workshop that will fuel your passion for cooking and inspire you to nourish yourself and your family for a healthy and vibrant life. Whether you’re just bringing awareness to your food choices for the first time, or are far along in your journey, this workshop will give you the inspiration, the motivation and the tools to eat clean and live well! Your CLEAN START will include:

• Setting intention exercise for sustainable good health
• Overview of the basics of eating clean
• Hands-on cooking class
• Group discussion and plenty of Q & A
• Information about the health benefits of the seasonal produce featured
• Five CLEAN recipes
• Complete shopping list

Discover how eating clean can benefit your unique constitution and lifestyle so that together we can enjoy easy, delicious, and sustainable good health for ourselves and our planet. * For those with food sensitivities, this class is vegan and gluten-free.

Give the gift of healthy food and package it up pretty! Food bloggers, crafty bloggers and their followers unite with this action-packed class brimming with healthy recipe ideas for daily nourishment AND gift giving. Wouldn't it be great to receive or give a gorgeous package of beautiful chocolates or cookies that were actually nutritious and super tasty? We often spend countless hours making and baking, but feel guilty actually eating and enjoying our treats since they’re not nearly as healthy as they could be. This class will focus on gluten-free, “super food,” and vegan goodies. Seasoned health-food blogger Julie Cove will inspire many creative ideas for adapting your favorite recipes. With one hands-on recipe and packaging, and four demo recipes, you’ll learn healthy eating tips and creative packaging ideas to share your homemade healthy goodies. You’ll also glean ideas from Julie's expert design tips for styling your treats—just in case you’d like to create and record some for your own blog. Using the latest crafting mediums and ordinary items, your packages will delight the senses. This workshop is like no other, tapping into your creative genius for whipping up some nourishing delights and presenting them for the WOW factor! Next Holiday Season, your family and friends will be impressed and grateful for your healthy treats!

Do you love throwing parties? Join Kim Stoegbauer of The TomKat Studio for tips and tricks on making your next gathering fabulous! Kim is a trend-setting party stylist and blogger who has quickly turned her original ideas into a thriving business. In this class, you will learn how to: • Choose a theme/color palette • Utilize our exclusive Party Planning Worksheet to organize your ideas/tasks • Use paper, crafting tools & materials to create easy decorations and finishing touches • Design stunning food/dessert displays using simple tips and tricks • Create your choice of party crafts to show off at your next event {choices will include banners, cupcake toppers, paper medallions & more

If you’re making the switch to a gluten-free diet—congratulations! You’re embarking on a new life free of the complications of gluten intolerance. Embrace this new beginning by picking up tips on shopping and eating out, customizing your recipe collection, and cooking for a family of gluten and non-gluten eaters alike. Gluten-free Lifestyle is a two-hour workshop that will help you to transition to your new diet without feeling deprived. If you’re unsure about converting recipes, replacing flour, or searching for hidden gluten culprits in your cupboard, Gluten-free Lifestyle is the workshop you need. The instructor will guide you through traveling smart, eating in restaurants, reading between the lines on menus, and asking your waiter the right questions. You’ll go home with some tried-and-true recipes for gluten-free breads and desserts and learn how to adjust your diet to maintain a good nutrient balance. The instructor will also share her tips for cooking appetizing meals for a family of both gluten and non-gluten eaters. Let Gluten-free Lifestyle be your first step on the journey to a gentler and more satisfying diet!

Ready to take your food to the next level? Smoke It! will show you how it’s done, and you won’t need a smokehouse or even a smoker of your own. With only a run-of-the-mill grill and a few simple techniques, you can achieve that full-bodied flavor and woodsy aroma right in your own backyard. Smoke It! is a 90-minute workshop that will help you appreciate the way smoke enhances your food’s flavor and aroma. Contrary to what you may believe, you won’t have to invest in costly equipment or read tomes of literature to get started with smoking food. The instructor will walk you through basic techniques, show you beginning recipes, distinguish among the flavor profiles of various woods, and explain the difference between cold and hot smoking. What equipment will I need? How do I smoke fruits, vegetables, and cheeses? How can I use smoke as a component of food preservation? The Instructor will answer all these questions and more, and set you up with home smoking recipes to try on your own. Take Smoke It! and bring a savory bit of the outdoors to your dinner table!

Want to take control of your health and arm yourself with natural healing knowledge? Food as Medicine will show you how to make your kitchen a hub of healing energy. You’ll learn how to restore your body’s dietary wisdom, how your diet can help you prevent illness by eating the right things in the right amounts, and how you can balance your diet for optimum health. Food as Medicine is a 90-minute workshop that will show you how to prepare healing meals to cure what ails you. The instructor will explain how to use your diet to complement the healthcare you get from modern medicine. Learn the healing properties of various foods, collect and walk through recipes for common remedies, and discover the art of balancing food groups for a better body. Food as Medicine will show you that health is often no further than your kitchen, and no more mysterious than the contents of your refrigerator.

There’s a reason that pickling with vinegar is one of America’s favorite methods of food preservation—it’s as addictive as it is delicious!  If you think pickling is complicated, mysterious, or limited to cucumbers, you can think again. Pickle It! will show you that preserving and enhancing flavors with brine is easy enough for beginners, but delicious and sophisticated enough for well-seasoned chefs… Pickle It! is a workshop that will give beginning brine-lovers the confidence they need to tackle their garden’s bounty with gusto. As a student in Pickle It!, you’ll learn how to make basic recipes with anything-but-basic flavors. Genevieve will teach you the difference between canned pickles, refrigerator pickles, and freezer pickles, demonstrate a cornucopia of recipes, and teach you how to make the exotic and exciting pickles you just can’t find in grocery stores. You’ll also pick up serving suggestions, experiment with different seasonings, enjoy a pickle sampling party, and go home with pickling goodies, favors, and recipes. Abandon all fear—Pickle It! will have you hitting the brine in no time.

Come explore the world of healthy baking (and eating!) with Green Market Baking Book author Laura Martin. Using natural sweeteners and whole grains, Laura will share the secrets of substituting healthy ingredients in your favorite recipes. You are encouraged to bring along your own recipes and Laura will show you how to make substitutions that are delicious as well as good for you (including many ideas for gluten-free baking and healthy kid’s snacks). In the workshop, you will make sweet, moist, Mexican chocolate cupcakes with the most creamy, delicious chocolate icing you can imagine—all without refined sugar! Come and learn this new way of baking. You, your family, and your body will appreciate it. Workshop agenda: 1.   Exploration of the idea of healthy baking.  Discussion of ingredients:  natural sweeteners, grains, and the use of local and organic produce. Question/answer about “Why local?” “Why organic?” “Why no sugar?” 2.   Make the chocolate icing for the cupcakes, put in ‘fridge to thicken. 3.   Substitutions: each participant will bring her favorite recipe and Laura will take each one and explain how to make substitutions to make it more healthy by using natural sweeteners, fewer fats, and less gluten.  She’ll also have suggestions for baking things that are vegan. This will include many demonstrations. 4.   Make the Mexican chocolate cupcakes. Ice when cool. Discussion of fun and interesting ways to decorate, including the use of edible flowers. 5.   Sit and enjoy the sweet results of our labor.

What’s the key ingredient to eating healthy, saving money and stewarding the planet for generations to come? A return to our nation’s organic farmstead roots of independence, self-sufficiency and frugality, blended with the spice of modern living and a passion for transforming our planet. Join Lisa Kivirist, author of Farmstead Chef, and trade in toxins, food additives and fake food for homegrown and homemade cooking, from preserving the harvest to stocking your pantry. Author, farmer and innkeeper Lisa Kivirist will share simple, practical tips for organic eating on a budget, offering strategies that celebrate the homespun frugality spirit of our nation’s farmstead roots. Do you feel overwhelmed by all the expensive organic options there? Lisa simplifies strategies for healthful food purchases and cooking approaches, wrapped in her philosophy that eating should be a celebrated, joyful act that strengthens our families, communities and spirit with every bite. Lisa will share recipes from her new cookbook, Farmstead Chef, that showcase a range of recipes for homemade and healthier pantry staples, like hot cocoa mix, vanilla extract and even marachino cherries and graham crackers. Value-packed strategies for shopping the supermarket and farmer’s market will be covered as well as buying bulk and creative approaches to preserving your garden harvest.

If you’re considering going vegan, whether for health or ethical reasons, you’re probably full of questions. Find out how a vegan diet will change your lifestyle and nutritional needs, pick up some crowd-pleasing vegan recipes, learn how to talk about your decision with others, and hear tips for transitioning to this new way of eating. Going Vegan is a two-hour workshop that will guide you through the lifestyle and health changes that veganism requires. The instructor will share her tips for replacing the nutrients that vegans often overlook, including protein, iron, zinc, calcium, and Vitamin B-12. The workshop will run through vegan recipes that even professed omnivores will love, sample meat and dairy replacements, and review some sample meal plans. The instructor will also advise you on fielding the questions of non-vegans and asking the right ones when eating at parties and restaurants. Finally, learn how to convert conventional recipes and hear tips about making the delicate transition away from a standard American diet. Whatever your motivation, Going Vegan will be your stepping stone to a lifestyle that supports your values while tantalizing your taste buds!

Do you have an abundance of tomatoes from your garden? More than you know what to do with? Or do you simply need some inspiration and a few new tomato recipe ideas? If you love tomatoes and want to expand your recipe repertoire then join Cristina Ferrare, author of Cristina Ferrare’s Big Bowl of Love for a demonstration of 3 fabulous and easy recipes using tomato as the main ingredient. Cristina will guide you, step by step, on how to make Fresh Tomato Sauce, Bruschetta, and a Creamy Velvety Tomato Soup. And then, sit and enjoy the results of her labor with a sampling of each dish.  These 3 mouthwatering dishes will surely be enjoyed by you and your family and friends.

A great food photograph can often be the missing link to bringing your blog up to the next level of success. Covering both the importance of creative storytelling and technical digital photography techniques, this workshop will cover basic lighting, understanding of post process editing, and gear to creative composition. Essential topics on food styling such as how to make ugly food look pretty and the value of styling props will be included as well. Diane and Todd will demo a live food shoot from storyboarding, to lighting, to food styling, to final shot. 

If you’ve ever thought of cooking vegan, then this is the class for you. It doesn’t matter if you want to change your diet completely, cook for someone who’s allergic to dairy, or just spice up your meatless Monday. It’s always handy to have a few vegan recipes up your sleeve. Let Kathy Hester, author of The Vegan Slow Cooker, show you just how easy it can be to make tasty vegan recipes that even meat-eaters and picky eaters will love. You’ll learn new recipes that are perfect for a quick weeknight dinner--and a few special night-in treats, too! In the class, you will find out about easy substitutes for meat, dairy, and eggs that you can use in some of your non-vegan favorite recipes, as well as in the new recipes you’ll learn. You'll also sample a few of these recipes so you'll know what favorites need to top your shopping list. Going Vegan is a two-hour workshop that will teach you what to look for on labels and what questions to ask in restaurants, plus you'll get tips and tricks to make your transition easier on you and your family. Whatever your motivation, Going Vegan will be your stepping stone to a lifestyle that supports your values while tantalizing your taste buds!

Curious about probiotics? Interested in how fermentation delivers better digestion, enhanced nutrition, and a spectrum of tangy and robust flavors? From cultured yogurts to probiotic cheeses to naturally pickled produce to wild yeast sourdoughs to vinegars, fermentation has been treasured over the centuries as a simple food preservation method and an essential for good health. It’s time to taste the difference that live food makes. Let’s Ferment! is a three-hour course that will teach you about the benefits and preparation of home-fermented food. Besides enjoying a wild food-sampling party, you’ll also learn how to make and use yogurt cheese, and discover techniques and recipes for putting up lacto-fermented produce and condiments—no canning required. Genevieve will teach you how to make, maintain, and use a sourdough starter in artisan breads that take just minutes a loaf. You’ll also hear about fermenting your own apple cider vinegar from the fruit scraps you’d normally toss out or compost. Attendees will go home with fermenting goodies and favors, a wealth of recipes, and a fermentation troubleshooting guide. Take Let’s Ferment! and fill your kitchen and your belly with good nutrition gone wild!

Looking for a healthier, happier, and sexier you? Stuck in a rut when it comes to healthy options for kids’ meals and snacks? With Julie, the Alkaline Sister, learn how to consciously nourish you and your family! If you’re too busy crafting or blogging to prepare healthy meals, or you need a good dose of inspiration for quick healthy recipes, this workshop will inspire you. Making meal time more fun and a lot healthier is the focus of this class, while providing you with added energy to follow your creative passion. Seasoned health-food blogger Julie Cove will inspire many creative ways to kick start a healthy routine for you and your family. With nourishing recipes for snacks and easy meals, tips for grocery lists, pantry makeovers, and how to get more veggies into your diet, you will be armed with a new approach for feeding you and your family consciously. You’ll perk up with five recipes for healthy meals to increase brain power, creativity, and overall energy. She’ll also explore gluten-free, nutrient-dense recipes. Julie will offer recipe demonstrations and lots of sampling, along with hands-on participation to make this workshop a must-do! From healthy green smoothies to omega-packed granolas to ideas for kids’ lunches, you’ll be armed with the tools you need to make more nourishing meals. Are you bursting with endless energy every day? Is your lifestyle and diet serving you? Or are you sitting at your computer, or in your creative studio, and feeling dreary? Want more healthful energy? Looking for creative ways to make meal time more exciting and healthy? This workshop is for you!

Do you love throwing parties? Join Kim Stoegbauer of The TomKat Studio for tips and tricks on making your next gathering fabulous! Kim is a trend-setting party stylist and blogger who has quickly turned her original ideas into a thriving business. In this class, you will learn how to: • Choose a theme/color palette • Utilize our exclusive Party Planning Worksheet to organize your ideas/tasks • Use paper, crafting tools & materials to create easy decorations and finishing touches • Design stunning food/dessert displays using simple tips and tricks • Create your choice of party crafts to show off at your next event {choices will include banners, cupcake toppers, paper medallions & more}

If you’re making the switch to a gluten-free diet—congratulations! You’re embarking on a new life free of the complications of gluten intolerance. Embrace this new beginning by picking up tips on shopping and eating out, customizing your recipe collection, and cooking for a family of gluten and non-gluten eaters alike. Gluten-free Lifestyle is a two-hour workshop that will help you to transition to your new diet without feeling deprived. If you’re unsure about converting recipes, replacing flour, or searching for hidden gluten culprits in your cupboard, Gluten-free Lifestyle is the workshop you need. The instructor will guide you through traveling smart, eating in restaurants, reading between the lines on menus, and asking your waiter the right questions. You’ll go home with some tried-and-true recipes for gluten-free breads and desserts and learn how to adjust your diet to maintain a good nutrient balance. The instructor will also share her tips for cooking appetizing meals for a family of both gluten and non-gluten eaters. Let Gluten-free Lifestyle be your first step on the journey to a gentler and more satisfying diet!

Ready to take your food to the next level? Smoke It! will show you how it’s done, and you won’t need a smokehouse or even a smoker of your own. With only a run-of-the-mill grill and a few simple techniques, you can achieve that full-bodied flavor and woodsy aroma right in your own backyard. Smoke It! is a 90-minute workshop that will help you appreciate the way smoke enhances your food’s flavor and aroma. Contrary to what you may believe, you won’t have to invest in costly equipment or read tomes of literature to get started with smoking food. The instructor will walk you through basic techniques, show you beginning recipes, distinguish among the flavor profiles of various woods, and explain the difference between cold and hot smoking. What equipment will I need? How do I smoke fruits, vegetables, and cheeses? How can I use smoke as a component of food preservation? The Instructor will answer all these questions and more, and set you up with home smoking recipes to try on your own. Take Smoke It! and bring a savory bit of the outdoors to your dinner table!

Come learn the basics of making homemade jam. This class covers the basics of the water bath canning method, necessary equipment, ingredient selection, and achieving a set (what makes jam jam). Students will receive hands-on instruction, printed materials, and a jar of homemade jam to take away.

Want to take control of your health and arm yourself with natural healing knowledge? Food as Medicine will show you how to make your kitchen a hub of healing energy. You’ll learn how to restore your body’s dietary wisdom, how your diet can help you prevent illness by eating the right things in the right amounts, and how you can balance your diet for optimum health. Food as Medicine is a 90-minute workshop that will show you how to prepare healing meals to cure what ails you. The instructor will explain how to use your diet to complement the healthcare you get from modern medicine. Learn the healing properties of various foods, collect and walk through recipes for common remedies, and discover the art of balancing food groups for a better body. Food as Medicine will show you that health is often no further than your kitchen, and no more mysterious than the contents of your refrigerator.

Do you dream about escaping the urban cubicle scene for your own farmstead and country lifestyle? Come for an inspiring jump-start to bring your vision into reality with strategies and ideas for farm-based businesses, from running a bed & breakfast to growing your own food to living off-grid. Lisa Kivirist and John Ivanko, co-authors of Rural Renaissance and ECOpreneuring, share an insider’s rural reality check, covering a diversity of approaches to sustainable living in the countryside. Launch the farmstead life of your dreams with a boost from seasoned insiders, the husband-and-wife team of Lisa Kivirist and John Ivanko, who left successful corporate careers over a decade ago to launch their farm and B&B in Wisconsin, Inn Serendipity. Learn from their experience as well as case studies of other successful farm start-up stories and leave with a toolkit of business ideas and sustainable living strategies. From B&Bs to selling at farmers’ markets to running your farm on renewable energy, Lisa and John share ideas rooted in the reality that rural living is not all romantic bliss; it’s a lifestyle based on passion, hard work, strong community ties and a good sense of humor when turkeys run away and zucchinis don’t sprout. Lisa and John also share tips for integrating family and children into farm businesses and connecting with community, including homeschooling and hosting lots of potlucks!