An Introduction to Homegrown Cooking School

Homegrown Cooking School is opening in late October 2009, and will be offering cooking classes to children and adults of Eastern King County. Brainchild of Dana Steinberg, Homegrown Cooking School will focus on local, organic, and vegetarian fare - bringing a healthy and green approach to the world of kids' cooking.

Teaching Kids to Cook?

After working with children for over 15 years, and having a lifelong passion for cooking, Dana decided to bring the two together and create a learning environment centered around good food in good conscience.

Vegetarian Food?

It might seem like a big limitation at first, but many of the most delicious and complicated confections in the world have no meat whatsoever. Dairy, cheese & eggs will be used on a regular basis, but no beef, pork, chicken, lamb, duck, baby seal, etc... will be used in recipes for class.

From Dana -

"I've been cooking and sharing vegetarian foods with others for over 12 years now. I think that the most important thing is not the label you give yourself, but how you feel, and what you know about where your food comes from. A lot of people are turned off by the 'all or nothing' approach to being vegetarian... but the truth is, everything makes a difference. Eating less meat, rather than avoiding it entirely, might work better for some people. I created Homegrown Cooking School to help people make healthier choices, and enjoy themselves along the way."

When it comes to the foods being prepared by the children, non-meats and artificial meats are far safer, especially for children in the younger age groups.

Organic Food?

The basic principle of organic food is to grow food in a natural way - to promote biodiversity in farming, avoid the use of pesticides or fertilizers, and the food is grown from stock that has not been genetically modified. With a rising world population, the amount of waste produced by the farming industry is increasing at an alarming rate, and as the hybrid car brings us closer toward environmental balance, so does the Organic Food industry.

Organic Produce has 1/3rd as many non-native residues (such as pesticides) as its non-organic counterparts, and it's effect on children is substantial. In a study from 2006, it was discovered that children who ate conventionally grown fruits and vegetables had up to six times more pesticide detected in their blood than those who ate organic fruits and vegetables.

Our goal is to use organic foods when they are available, and also to support local farmers by choosing produce from farmer's markets as often as possible. This involves learning about fruits, vegetables and spices, as well as their various uses and shelf lives.