Class Descriptions 2012
Urban Farm Kitchen
listed alphabetically
GREEN means GO These classes Are open for registration
RED means STOP, THIS CLASS IS FULL contact us to get on the waiting list
GREY means NOT YET OPEN FOR REGISTRATION, please check back later.
Pre-registration is required and exact location is given once you have registered.
TO START YOUR REGISTRATION PROCESS PROCEED TO HOW TO REGISTER
Many classes will repeat if there is enough interest. If a class is past or you do not get in on time,
please contact us and we will let you know if another session is forming.
Classes are for age 12 and up unless otherwise
indicated.
Brewcraft: Mead ~ Making Fruit & Honey Wines
Wednesday June 20, 7-9:30pm
Wednesday October 3 6:30pm
Instructor: K.Ruby Blume
Location: North Oakland
Cost: $35 -65
Mead is a traditional drink made from water, honey and yeast with other fruits and spices added in to enhance the pleasure in drinking it. In this class we will learn the basic process of making wine from honey including equipment, ingredients and fermentation techniques, tips, tricks and troubleshooting, Emphasis is on making wines with natural
ingredients instead of chemicals and a range of brew-styles from simple to technical will be presented. We will start one batch and taste several
Canning Made Easy: Fruit
Tuesday May 22 6:30-9:30pm
Tuesday June 12, 6:30-9:30pm
Instructor:K.Ruby Blume
Location: North Oakland
Cost: $35-65 plus $10 supply fee to be paid on day of class
Learn the most simple canning techniques for acid fruits.
After getting an introduction to theory, safety issues, equipment and ingrediants we will can up some organic, seasonal fruit in a failproof method that will
knock yer socks off it is so easy and quick. Plus you will take home a
jar or two of the goodies we make. Canning is not only just for fun, it can help you preserve an overflow of fruit or tomatoes from your urban garden, take care of your holiday giving and help you enjoy the bounty of summer in January.
Canning Extravaganza: Fruit & Tomatoes
Sunday, July 29, 2-6pm
Saturday August 18, 2-6pm
Sunday September 16, 2-6pm
Instructor:K.Ruby Blume
Location: North Oakland
Cost: $50-75 plus $12 supply fee to be paid on day of class
All the same great information and goodness as in Canning Made Easy (see above) but with additional information on canning tomatoes. We complete canning projects with both fruit and tomatoes in this class and there are more goodies to bring home!
Cheese Making 101: Yogurt, Fresh Cheeses & Feta
Wednesday April 25 6:30-9:30pm
Sunday June 17th (Father's Day!) 2-5pm
Instructor: K.Ruby Blume
Location: North Oakland
Cost: $40-60 plus $12 supply fee to bring on the day of class
This class will introduce you to concepts and techniques of milk transformation and preservation. We will learn about equipment, ingredients and cultures used and get hands-on practice making yogurt, a fresh cheese and a feta cheese. We talk about the hard cheese process, uses for whey and the history of cheese making. We will be working with cow's milk, however all processes will work with other fresh (not ultra-pasteurized) milks. If you have access to fresh (not ultra-pasteurized or homoginzed) goat or sheep milk, please let us know!
Cheese Making 102: Mold Ripened Cheeses
Wednesday May 2, 6:30-9pm CLASS FULL.
Wednesday August 8th, 6:30-9:30pm
Wednesday November 7, 6:30-9pm
Instructor: K.Ruby Blume
Location: North Oakland
Cost: $40-65
Pre-requisite: Cheese Making 101
Glory Hallelujah cheese lovers! Mold-ripened cheeses are relatively forgiving and suited to home-cheese making! In this class we will learn about mold ripened cheeses including camembert, brie, blue, gorgonzola and cambezola. We will cover ingredients and special equipment, ripening techniques and more. Amaze your friends and family by making brie just like from the store! In this class we will also learn more about cultures and learn to make cultured butter.
Cheese Making 103: Chevre, Queso Fresco, Mozzarella and Panir
Thursday May 17, 6:30-9:30pm
Wednesday August 22 6:30-9:30pm
Instructor: K.Ruby Blume
Location: North Oakland
Cost:$40-65 plus $10 supply fee to bring on the day of class
Fresh cheeses from around the world! In this class we will round out our cheesemaking palatte and hine our skills. This class will give you a better sense which varibale affect texture and flavour and there will be several yummy things to sample. pre-requisite: Cheese Making 101
Cheese Making Intensive
Memorial Day Weekend: Saturday May 26 1-6pm, Sunday May 27 10am-2pm
Saturday October 13, 1-6pm, Sunday October 14, 10am-2pm
Instructor: K.Ruby Blume
Location: North Oakland
Cost:$160 -200 includes supplies
This two-day intensive course will cover everything you need to get started making simple cheeses that are easily created in a home environment. We will learn about cultures, equipment, ingredients and cheesemaking concepts and will work with both cow & goat milk to complete a number of cheesemaking projects including: Yogurt, Yogurt Cheese, Feta, Ricotta, Brie, Buttermilk, Sour Cream, Chevre, Mozarella and Cultured Butter. We will also learn about the hard cheese process. You will receive hand-outs outlining the major concepts, recipes and resources to help you along once you try your hand at home. Each day will culminate in a community feast in which we share food, sample the cheeses and enjoy the friends we have made working together through the weekend. This course is the equivalent of Cheesemaking 101, 102 & 103 together.
Cooking with the Sun: Building and Cooking With Solar Ovens
Saturday July 28 2-6pm
Instructor: David Glaser
Location : Berkeley, Curtis near Dwight
Cost: $35-65
This class will be an introduction to solar cookers and food preparation with solar energy. There will be a lecture/discussion about the theory and practice of solar heating devices, how to build them, where to obtain specialty materials, and how to use them. Several devices will be on display, including a solar box oven, a parabolic cooker, a food dehydrator and perhaps more. We'll learn how to contruct a solar oven and, weather permitting, we’ll watch them in action. We’ll discuss some of the successes and failures in using them and sample some foods cooked on site in the oven.
Decadent Cordials for Health & Pleasure
Sunday October 21st, 2-5pm
Instructor: Frieda Kipar
Location: North Oakland
Cost: $35-55 plus $15 supply fee to be paid on day of worksho
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Discover the alchemist in yourself by learning the fundamentals of cordial making. Cordial means “of the heart” and describes an alcoholic elixir that can include herbs, fruits, nuts, and just about anything else. Cordials are decadent delicious potions which can also enhance health as digestives, sleep aids and immune system boosters. In this class, you will learn how to make a healing cordial, tailored to your own tastes and needs. We will discuss the art of flavor combining as well as herbs to add for specific purposes. Cordials make great gifts, and everyone will take home one of their own.
Dehydration Basics
Wednesday July 18, 6-8:30pm Please note date change ( from 7/25)
Wednesday October 17, 6-8:30pm
Instructor: Heather Haxo Phillips
Location: Oakland, Fruitvale
Cost: $35-65 plus at $10 supply fee to be paid on the night of the class
Learn the ancient art of dehydration and low temperature baking. In this class you will learn about equipment and tools, dehydration methods for fruits and vegetables & uses for dehydrated foods. We will then go beyond the basics of simple dehydrating and learn fantastic recipes for leathers, chips, crackers, cookies & bruschettas. Say good-bye to gluten, additives, fillers and refined sugars and hello to foods from the garden that are packed with antioxidants, vitamins, minerals and the "good" fats, to protect you from disease all year long – even when items aren’t in season.
Everyday Nut Milks and Cheeses
Wednesday May 2, 6-8:30pm CLASS FULL
Instructor: Heather Haxo Phillips
Location: Oakland, Fruitvale
Cost: $40-70, plus $10 supply fee to bring on day of class
Learn to make your own nut milks and cheeses! Nuts milks & cheeses are delicious, nutritious and are the perfect alternative for those wishing to avoid gluten, dairy and soy. Unlike what you buy in the store, these milks and cheeses are also free of preservatives, stabilizers, artificial ingredients or additives of any kind. And, they are totally fun to make! In this class we will learn to prepare almond milk, cashew cream, a pinenut parmesan, an almond ricotta and a pumpkin seed cheddar as well as learning some basics about kitchen tools & skills. You will get to try the yummy creations we make and will leave with a recipe packet and resource guide with tips on food storage, shopping and more.
Ferment! Lacto-Fermenting for Flavor & Health
Wednesday May 30th 6:30-9:30pm CLASS FULL
Thursday July 19, 6:30-9:30pm
Instructor: K.Ruby Blume
Location: North Oakland
Cost: $35-65 plus $5 supply fee to be paid on day of class
Fermenting foods is a healthful and amazingly easy way to preserve and enhance the flavor and nutrition of food. Sadly some of the healthier ferments have passed out of common usage because they are impractical for commercial production. In this class we will learn about different types of fermentation and cultures including pickling vegetables, ginger beer, traditional sodas and more. We will learn how to preserve food with lactic fermentation, a technique which requires neither canning nor vinegar (includes fresh sauerkraut and kim chee) and will prepare one lacto-fermented soda and one fermented veggie medley. Kombucha and traditional yeast soda will also be discussed and demonstrated if there is time. Along with your supply fee there will be a short list of readily available supplies to bring with you. Everyone will bring home goodies.
Home Butchering: Fowl
Sunday August 19, 11am-3pm
Teacher: Jim Montgomery & K.Ruby Blume
Location: Berkeley
Cost: $75 -105 includes supplies
As people who are used to getting our meat in the freezer section of the grocery store, one of the big questions about raising animals for meat is…Can I do it? Can I butcher and process my own? This introduction to butchering addresses not only the why and how of it, but the deeper aspects of what it means to take life for our own sustenance and how to do it with the least suffering on the part of the animal. In this class we will learn and practice butchering fowl. This class is reccommended for all people keeping chickens, as there will generally be some point in the life of husbanding chickens where you need to cull or retire a bird. There will be a demonstration, hands-on experience of wielding the knife, cooking and eating. We will also include information on organ meats and recipes for older animals.
Home Cured Salami Making
Tuesday May 8, 6:30-9pm POSTPONED! new date is
Tuesday June 19, 6:30-9:30pm
Instructor: Paul Opresco
Location: South Berkeley
Cost: $40-60 plus $10 supply fee on day of class
The class we have all been waiting for! This class will demonstrate the ease and practicality of making and curing your own salami at home.. We will learn the theory and practice of home meat curing including equipment and ingredients, hygiene and safety margins, what type of environment you will need to provide for the curing process, whether nitrites are necessary and how to be safe without them. Then we’ll experience first hand how easy the process is of mixing condiments, salt and fat with the meat; and running it through the casings. We will taste some of the instructors home cured meats, and the salami we make in the class will be available for you to pick up a few weeks later.
Home Coffee-Roasting
Thursday May 3, 6-9pm
Instructor: Danny Gutierrez
Location: Downtown Oakland
Cost: $30-60 plus $5 supply fee
Learn how to roast your own coffee! It’s easier and more affordable than you can imagine! We’ll learn about a range of techniques for roasting, from simple to complex as well as gaining a wealth of information about the bean and the brew from a master roaster and barista. After a presentation and stories, we'll roast up some beans for you to take home. If you wish to experience the sights, smells and rewards that home roasting can offer, this workshop will deliver. Drinking the coffee that you have roasted yourself, takes you to a whole new level of coffee love. Thank you to Sweet Marias for their donation making the supplies for this class free and to Modern Coffee for providing their space.
Kitchen Medicine: Growing & Using Culinary Herbs
Sunday June 10, 2-6pm
Instructor: Frieda Kipar
Location: North Oakland
Cost: $40-65 plus $15 supply fee to be paid on day of workshop
In many cultures the herbs and spices used on food are not only delicious, but are powerful tonics for keeping the people who prepare and eat the food in good health. In this class we’ll learn to work with several common kitchen herbs to prepare food that both tastes good and is good for you. After a short primer on the best and easiest way to grow, harvest, dry and store your spring herbs, we’ll learn about their tonifying aspects, constituents and uses. Using this knowledge, we’ll make an herbal gomasio (sprinkle), syrup, and vinegar for each participant to take home.
Knife Sharpening
Sunday July 8, 10am-12:30pm
Instructor: Grant Marcoux
Location: Alameda
Cost $35-60
Tired of knives that just won't cut the mustard (or anything else)? Join blacksmith and cutler Grant Marcoux for course in kitchen and field cutlery sharpening. Learn about knife construction, steel types and how to get the perfect edge on your knives. The goal is to provide the student with the knowledge to maintain their own knives. Students will learn the techniques of hand-sharpening using the oil-stone, steel and strop. Students should bring at least one knife to sharpen. Purchasing a 5" or greater sharpening stone (about $15-20) is very helpful, but not mandatory.
Living Cultures Kitchen
Saturday October 6, 10am-4pm
Instructor: K.Ruby Blume
Location: North Oakland
Cost $60-90 plus $10 supply fee
Come explore the transformative process of micro-organisms in the kitchen! In this class we will learn to harness the micro-scopic world to enhance flavour, nutrition and digestability, turning raw organic ingredients into foods and condiments which far surpass their commercially available counterparts. Many of these processes are connected and complimentary, are quick and easy, and were standard practice for our grandparents, who kept a host of critters on hand to preserve and transform their foods, creating a vibrant kitchen culture with living cultures. In the morning we will explore interlocking skills using dairy products and cultures. We will learn about yogurt and yogurt cheese, chevre, butter, buttermilk and whey, kefir and kvass, as well as the touching on the theory, tradition and practice of making hard cheese. In the afternoon we’ll explore other aspects of fermentation starting with the whey left over from the morning session to create lacto-fermented drinks and vegetables. Then we will move on to learn how to "catch" a wild ginger beer bug and a local sourdough starter, learn the difference between kombucha and vinegar and how to make both. You will taste a variety of finished products and take home a wealth of concepts to experiment with.
Meat Curing at Home
Tuesday June 26, 6:30-9pm
Instructor: Paul Oprescu
Loccation: South Berkeley
$40-65 plus $12 supply fee in cash on day of class
In this class you will get an overview of options and processes for curing meat at home, including information on safety and some very tasty recipes. After a brief introduction and tasting, you’ll get hands on practice dry curing and brine curing meat to take home. We will learn and practice duck breast, pork belly, pancetta, lardo, tongue, and lamb. Yum!
Olive Picking & Brining at Hillcrest Ranch
Saturday November 17, 10:30am-1pm
Instructor: Kathleen Elliot
Location: Hillcrest Ranch, Sunol
Cost $35-65 plus $15 supp;y fe to be paid to instructor on the day of class
Discover the joy of making your own olives. You'll learn the process from harvest to milling and from brining to cooking with your olives. Join us at Hillcrest Ranch in Sunol, where we'll start by picking ripe olives from this historic olive orchard. Then we'll learn home to preserve them through the traditional process of brining and take a tour of the home-scale olive press that they use for small pressings on the ranch. Each student will take home a generous quart of olives to enjoy at home. Weather permitting enjoy the spectacular view from the ranch while you eat your pic-nic lunch or stay after for a hike in the Pleasanton Ridge Park.
This class takes place at Hillcrest Ranch a 6 acres olive tree farm in Sunol, planted in the 1890s and still producing olives and olive oil today. The ranch is an approximately 45 minute drive from Oakland and is well worth the time it takes to get there. Come earlier in the day for a hike in Pleasanton Ridge Regional Park (the Ranch is located within its limits) and then enjoy the spectacular views from the Ranch during the class. Carpooling/caravan will be arranged, please let us know if you can offer or need a ride when you register.
Pasta From Scratch
Thursday June 7, 7-9:30pm
Instructor: Paul Oprescu
Location: South Berkeley
Cost: $35-60 plus $8 supply fee in cash on day of class
Learn to make pasta at home just like real chefs do. The delicate flavors and textures of fresh pasta, made by hand, has no compare. While not hard to master, making fresh pasta requires dough handling techniques that are not easily learned by read a book.; this is a craft best passed person-to-person. This class will take you all the way through from beginning to end—from flour and water to eating a tasty dish of pasta with sauce. You will learn proper ratios of egg to flour; kneading and resting the dough, running it through the mechanical pasta press, rolling and cutting by hand, storing and cooking times, and finally, mixing with sauce.
Real Bread in 10 Minutes
Thursday August 9, 6:30-9pm
Instructor: Lee Sonko
Location:TBA
Cost $35-65 plus $5 supply fee in cash on day of class
Making bread is easier, faster and more flexible than you thought. You can make fantastic bread every day inexpensively with less than 10 minutes effort, including cleanup! In this class, you'll learn techniques to minimize the ordinary and maximize the extraordinary parts of making bread at home. We'll talk about: instant yeast vs sourdough, refrigerated dough, crust, crumb, shaping, amendments, the chemistry and biology of bread, and the thousands of varieties of this staple food. Once you have the foundations, you'll see bread recipes as suggestions instead of steps to be followed. The sky is the limit! We will eat and bring home what we make in class.
Soup & Salad: Spring Foraging Expedition
Saturday April 28 10am-1pm
Instructor: Tanya Stiller
Location: Berkeley
Cost: #35-65 plus $5 supply fee in cash on day of class
In this class you will forage and taste greens and vegetables that you see every day, growing around your neighborhood. You will learn to identify, use and process both urban weeds and native East Bay edibles and explore which wild foods are best to eat raw in a salad, cooked into a spring soup, or used as medicinal tea. You will leave this class with a full belly, as well as an understanding of some traditional ethnobotanical uses of common east bay plants and which may be safely harvested to eat. Bring clothing appropriate for weather, and comfortable walking shoes that can get dirty.
Urban Fruit Forager
Saturday September 15, 10am-1pm
Instructor: Wendy Blackburn
Cost: $35-60
We’ll start with a discussion of laws regarding foraging in North Oakland, South Berkeley, and/or Emeryville, urban foraging etiquette, food safety, and an introduction to resources (online maps, foraging groups, plant identification books & tools). Then we’ll continue with a walking tour highlighting the urban edible landscape, including tree fruit, edible flowers, greens, cactus, and seeds. Highlighted areas and variety of foods dependant upon season. Along the way we’ll sample found fruit and/or previously foraged food that has been dehydrated, cured, pickles, or canned. We’ll practice using fruit pickers and learn about other tools useful for urban foraging.