Cooking
Health and Well-Being
More Great Stuff

Meet the instructors

Classes

Healthy Connections Classes

The Co-op offers cooking and health and well-being classes throughout the year.Each season includes several free classes, so there's something for every budget. Cooking classes emphasize whole and organic ingredients, and when possible, fresh local produce.

All classes (unless noted) are held at either the Downtown Co-op’s Connection Building (on the south side of the parking lot on Forest Street) or the Local Roots Room, which is upstairs at the Cordata Co-op. Please park off site if possible.

To Register for Classes

Registration requires payment in full. Some classes are co-sponsored with Whatcom Community College. To register for these classes, call 383-3200 or go online to www.whatcomcommunityed.com For all other classes stop by the service desk at either store location, or call 360-734-8158 (credit card payment only). See each class listing for location and registration.

For any other class information, contact Kevin Murphy at 360-734-8158 or email kevinm@communityfood.coop

Pre-payment is required to secure your space. Some classes have limited enrollment, while others may be cancelled due to low enrollment, so it is recommended that you register as soon as possible.

To Receive Healthy Connections E-Mail Updates

If you would like to receive weekly e-mail updates on Healthy Connections Classes, email kevinm@communityfood.coop. Type in the subject "HC updates", and in the text of the message, just type your name. The update will include descriptions of upcoming classes in the current week and the week after, changes in the schedule, alerts about classes that are filling up or in danger of being cancelled, as well as some news about classes on the horizon.

Food & Wine

Ayurveda in the Kitchen
with Adrian Beltran
Tuesday, June 23, 6:30-9 pm
Downtown Co-op/ register at Co-op
$24 members, $28 members
Join chef Adrian Beltran for a presentation on Ayurvedic cooking and life skills. He will prepare and sample a rejuvenating beverage in the tradition of Indian cuisine, with variations for each of the three main doshas or body constitution types. The class will further explore this concept of doshas so you may better embrace your own unique seasonal and bioregional needs. Menu creation and knife and utensil techniques will also be covered.

Garden and Vine: Pairing Local Veggies and Washington Wines
with Mary Ellen Carter and Dan Radil
Thursday, June 25, 6‑8 pm
Cordata Co-op/Register at WCC
$39 Co-op members, $44 non-members (price includes wine)
Share an evening with Mary Ellen Carter and Dan Radil celebrating the season’s best local vegetables paired with Washington wines. We’ll sample assorted toppings for bruschetta such as fava bean and pea puree, spring minestrone with barlotti beans, and a farro risotto with wilted greens, before finishing with a fruit dessert plucked from the fields.

Sensational Salads
with Cindy McKinney
Tuesday, July 7, 6‑8:30 pm
Cordata Co-op/Register at WCC
$39 Co-op members, $44 non-members
Expand your salad repertoire with Cindy McKinney as she shares recipes and tips for  Potato Salad Italiano with artichokes; mixed baby greens salad with strawberries, feta, and cucumbers in an orange-cumin vinaigrette; Thai steak salad; decadent Cobb salad with shrimp, gorgonzola, and bacon; and arugula salad with Granny Smith apples, manchego cheese, and marcona almonds in a tangy Dijon vinaigrette.

Summer Cooking for Kids (Gluten-Free)
with Jean Layton, ND
Tuesdays, July 7, 14 and 21, 3:30-5 pm
Downtown Co-op/ register at Co-op
$15 members, $18 non-members (each class)
For kids aged 8-14
Experience the joys of summer food—and summer cooking--even while living gluten-free. Dr. Jean Layton teaches how to make gluten-free versions of classic summer dishes.  The first two weeks are vegan and all three are gluten-free.

Class #1 (July 7): Thai Salad rolls with coconut panna cotta.  We'll make lovely rice wrapped salad rolls with non-peanut sauce, then finish the class with coconut panna cotta, a pudding that unmolds like jello.

Class  #2 (July 14)-Sushi and parfaits. Learn how to make California rolls from sushi rice and lightly pickled vegetables. Then simple homemade fruit gels without gelatin desserts topped with sesame crunch.

Class #3 (July 21)- Baked corn dogs and s'mores--learn how to make even these foods gluten free! Homemade graham crackers, marshmallows and freshly dipped corn dogs, the essence of summer.

Slow Food University : From the Sublime to the Divine
with Gigi Berardi, coordinator of Resilient Farm Project
Wednesday, July 8, 6:30-8:30 pm
Downtown Co-op/Register at Co-op
$6 members, $7non-members.
The idea of Slow Food links the pleasure of preparing and eating food to environmental sustainability and community resilience through supporting food cultures throughout the world. At this meeting, network with others concerned about the future of food--and find out what Slow Food International in Bra, Italy; the University of Gastronomic Sciences ("Slow Food" University) in Pollenzo, Italy; and, the Goetheanum in Dornach, Switzerland (a center for biodynamic farming and mindful eating) offer community members in Bellingham. Gigi Berardi, recently returned from travels and study in central Europe, will show slides about work at these food hot spots, and discuss opportunities for ecogastronomy study there. The Food Co-op's Chris Ritchie will serve delicious appetizers prepared in accord with Slow Food philosophy.

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A Northwest Summer Feast
with Tom Malterre and Ali Segersten
Thursday, July 9, 6‑8:30 pm
Downtown Co-op/Register at WCC
$34 Co-op members, $38 non-members
Enjoy a quintessential Northwest meal featuring wild salmon with peach salsa, fresh garden herb salad with raspberry vinaigrette, summer vegetable quinoa, and herbed dinner rolls. Tom and Ali prepare tasty summer fare while examining the abundant health benefits of eating seasonal organic foods. All recipes are gluten and dairy free.

Grill and Sizzle: The Art of Barbecue
with Robert Fong
Saturday, July 11, 10:30 am‑1 pm
Cordata Co-op/Register at WCC
$39 Co-op members, $44 non-members; add $7 for wine option
Celebrate the season in style. Robert Fong grills summer salmon, spare ribs, chicken, and steak—all prepared with special tasty marinades. Learn professional secrets and techniques to grill meats so your guests are licking their fingers to the last bone.

Gourmet Tai Chi: A Cooking Class
with Robert Fong
Tuesday, July 14, 6‑8:30 pm
Cordata Co-op/Register at WCC
$39 Co-op members, $44 non-members; add $7 for wine option
Soft but powerful, plain but profound—tai chi is all about the dynamic, creative interplay between opposites; and so is cooking when the cook is Robert Fong, gourmet chef and tai chi master. The menu includes Beijing hot and sour soup, sweet and sour crunchy prawns, sizzling spicy tofu, and steamed crispy seven-spice chicken. Experience the dramatic and delicious results of bringing tai chi principles into the kitchen.

Delicious Nutritious Desserts
with Tom Malterre and Ali Segersten
Thursday, July 16, 6‑8:30 pm
Cordata Co-op/Register at WCC
$29 Co-op members, $33 non-members
Tom and Ali prove beyond all doubt that dessert can be good and good for you as they make peach-blueberry cobbler with almond topping, seasonal summer fruit tart with non-dairy sorbet and non-dairy ice creams, chocolate truffles, and gluten-free cookies. Loaded with flavor and fully satisfying, every one of these desserts is guilt and gluten free.

Berry Bliss
with Cindy McKinney
Tuesday, July 21, 6‑8:30 pm
Cordata Co-op/Register at WCC
$34 Co-op members, $38 non-members
Naturally sweet and bursting with color and nutrition, nothing evokes the bounty of a Northwestern summer like berries. In this class, Cindy McKinney demonstrates the creation of these berry delights: refreshing blackberry sorbet; summer berry crisp (with marionberries, blueberries, and raspberries); strawberry/white chocolate tiramisu; lemon blueberry tart with lemon curd and mascarpone filling; and raspberry sauce served over vanilla ice cream. Finally, the crowning touch—a toasted-almond raspberry cake.

Primo Pesto
with Cindy McKinney
Wednesday, August 5, 6‑8:30 pm
Cordata Co-op/Register at WCC
$34 Co-op members, $38 non-members
Cindy McKinney explores variations on the ever-delicious theme of pesto. First she’ll make a traditional basil pesto, and show it off in a brie & pesto fondue. Next, an Asian pesto (including basil, cilantro, mint, jalapeno, ginger, and shallot) featured in a stir-fry with shrimp, snow peas, and red peppers. She’ll also demonstrate an artichoke and lemon pesto with basil and asiago and a parsley-pecan pesto, which she’ll serve in a penne pasta salad with chicken breast, shallots, and grape tomatoes. Come hungry.

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Health and Well-Being

Emotional Intelligence
with Paul Mulholland
Tuesday, June 2, 7–8:15 pm
Downtown Co-op/Register at Co-op
$5 members, $6 non-members
Paul Mulholland leads an exploration of emotions and their role in our lives. We’ll look at how emotions affect personal and professional relationships and how they can drive our decision making and the interplay between emotions and thought, intuition, and other psychic functions. Paul has been counseling people for 25 years and developed himself personally and professionally enabling him to assist people in achieving fulfilling lifestyles.

Introduction to Herbal Medicine
with Nancy Swanson
Monday, June 15, 7–9 pm
Downtown Co-op/Register at Co-op
$10 members, $12 non-members
Nancy Swanson, owner of Bruja Botanicals, provides a thorough introduction to the therapeutic uses of plants. Learn about the classic herbal manuals and how to select one that will meet your needs. Get tips on how to choose specific herbs for a variety of conditions and situations, and how to harvest and preserve herbs to maintain freshness and potency. Find out how leaves, roots, and seeds are turned into poultices, tinctures, teas, salves, and creams. A hands-on how-to class on salves and tinctures will be held June 17.

Making Herbal Tinctures and Salves will be at the Cordata Co-op
with Nancy Swanson
Wednesday, June 17, 7–9 pm
This class has been relocated to the Cordata Co-op/Register at Co-op
$15 members, $18 non-members
A hands-on class on how to produce your own salves and tinctures without destroying the medicinal properties in the process. We will discuss the merits of various carrier substances (vinegar, alcohol, or water) for tinctures, oils for salves, and the use of non-herbal ingredients as preservatives and emulsifiers. The instructor will then demonstrate the steps in making salves and tinctures using pre-prepared ingredients in various stages of production so that we can proceed from start to finish. Each participant will take home a small sample of the finished product. Nancy Swanson is the owner of Bruja Botanicals and has been studying, using, and making herbal products for more than 30 years.

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Effective Weight Loss and Management and EFT
with Kathryn Lyons, LMHC, CDP
Monday, July 13, 6:30-8 pm
Downtown Co-op/Register at Co-op
$5 members, $6 non-members
Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) is a powerful energy psychology technique that can eliminate barriers to effective weight loss and management.   Easy and fun to learn, EFT involves gentle tapping on acupuncture meridian points.  It impacts the underlying emotions that may be implicated in craving and loss of motivation.  Simple and versatile, EFT can be used to address other emotional, physical and psychological issues, as well.  You will leave the class with a tool that works, no matter how discouraged you may feel  due to past attempts at weight loss.

More Great Stuff

Natural Home Design
with Rob Austin-Murphy, M Arch.
Thursday, June 18, 7–9 pm
Downtown Co-op/Register at Co-op
Free Event, Registration Requested
What is it that makes a home comfortable, healing, harmonious, and naturally beautiful? We will view examples of homes that help us feel relaxed and peaceful while connecting to ourselves, the Earth, and all of life. We will examine how our homes and their designs can help us conserve resources and live more sustainably and responsibly in the world.

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