Bite of Brainfood Blog

Judges Table at Throwdown!

#30- Staff field trip to Throwdown! That's right, the Bobby Flay show rolled into town, and we were there to witness the epic battle of two bigger-than-life chefs: Bobby "I Heart Poblano Peppers" Flay versus Teddy "The Kid" Folkman in a Mussels and Fries Throwdown.

How did we know about this supposedly secret event, seeing as FN puts quite a bit of effort into inventing a plausible cover story for each Throwdown? Well, it might have been the fact that Teddy had to take a few "important calls from a major food television producer" during class. (Program Note: For any parents or students who might be reading this, this would be an exception to our still standing policy of no cell phones or other techno-gadgetry during class. Seriously.) The second tip-off was probably the "cover story" that Dr. Granville Moore's was going to be featured in a FN segment called "America Eats". As board member/volunteer Binni put it, "What?!? America Eats? America does not eat Moules and Frites." Moules and Frites, however, is Teddy's specialty, and having a "specialty dish" gave him added Throwdown potential.

At any rate, we ran into Teddy during the 3 day stint where FN producers were "getting footage" for their completely bogus cover show, and he invited us to lunch at the Argonaut, 11:15 the next day and warned us that we might be there until 2 or 3. A middle of the day field trip to support one of our favorite chefs, eat some mussels, AND maybe be on tv? What a dream Tuesday.

Earlier this week Brainfood participants were issued a challenge.... Could they cook a dinner for a family of 4 for $15? Working in groups, participants had 90 minutes to brainstorm their meal (which had to include a protein, a grain, and a fruit/vegetable), go shopping at the "Brainfood Market", and prepare their meal using only the items that they purchased (along with some staples from the Brainfood pantry & fridge).

This was one of the first challenges this year where participants were given no specific recipe to follow. It was time to let their creativity shine and see what cooking skills they had learned/mastered. I have to say I was a very proud of the participants creativity, budgeting skills and time management. They did a great job and everything tasted delicious. We all left class with full bellies and I heard many students comment that this had been their favorite class of the year so far! Check out their menus below - they may be helpful the next time you head to the store and need to make a quick dinner on a small budget.

While there are great perks that go along working in a very small non-profit (increased independence, room to be creative, and a daily sense of accomplishment are at the top of our list), it's always a challenge to avoid becoming too insular of a program. That's why we're always ecstatic about having new faces in the office, hearing fresh feedback about program, and finding ways for more Brainfood supporters to get involved. In turn, the many people who have been involved with Brainfood over the years have also left their marks on the program, along with a rich and endearing assortment of parting gifts. Among the things we have been lucky enough to inherit: our Kudos and Strikes System, a recipe for homemade seitan, a fool-proof method of cutting pineapple, and the best lemon bars we've ever tasted.

So it is with great excitement that we welcome Julia Lovett to Brainfood, as our intrepid spring intern. Julia is a freshman at Georgetown University and she loves tom ka gai. Read on for her thoughts on her very first Brainfood class...

Jamaican Beef Patties

Some days it's the basics of vegan baking, some days are for learning knife skills, and just once each year, before winter break each year, it's all about the Gingerbread. That's right, the annual Holiday Party.

As per tradition, in the week leading up to the party, Brainfood students prepped a few of their favorite appetizers, Sweet Potato Biscuits with Maple Butter, Salsa, Pita Chips, Crudites, and Hummus for friends and family to enjoy. They also put together an excellent sugar cookie dough that we used for our decorated holiday cookies. While each class individually prepped the foods for our holiday fete, the party was the first time that all 5 Brainfood classes would be gathered (in force) at the same event. If you're mentally tallying Brainfood classes and coming up 1 short: we added a !NEW! Fridays at Brainfood class just this fall to accommodate more students.

With students calling the shots on party foods, Amy and I took on the challenge of building the Mother Ship of all gingerbread houses for students to decorate and donate to N St. Village as a holiday showpiece. I had the brilliant idea of making it "really really big". Amy had the brilliant idea of making the gingerbread from scratch. And clearly brilliant plus brilliant equals... an unprecedented late night in the Chinatown kitchen, sketching templates for house walls out of parchment paper, rolling out massive amounts of dough, cutting out the house "pieces" with pizza cutters, and marveling at our relative naivete regarding gingerbread mega-projects.