Sea Vegetable Class at the Natural Gourmet Institute

On Monday evening, Pedro and I attended a class called "A Deep Sea Adventure" at the Natural Gourmet Institute for Food and Health. We hadn't planned to attend, but we stopped by the Institute earlier that day to purchase a Japanese vegetable knife and books, and discovered there was still room in that evening's class. So, we signed up. The class was taught by Jill Gusman, author of the book Vegetables of the Sea: Everyday Cooking with Sea Greens.

As a side note: the culinary classes I took at Conscious Gourmet in April were the core basic program (Basics I through IV) of the Natural Gourmet Institute. So, I was very happy to be able to attend another class.

At the class Gusman demonstrated preparing five dishes containing various sea vegetables. She explained their health benefits and shared much information throughout the evening. Then we ate the dishes as a fully balanced dinner. Pictured on the plate above, from top clockwise: Braised Mushroom Medley with Toasted Nori, Citrus Marinated Blackeyed Peas and Wakame Salad, Pan Fried Tempeh with Hiziki and Shallots, and Bulgar Pilaf with Toasted Dulse and Pine Nuts.

For dessert we had Vanilla Tapioca Pudding with Raspberry Puree. The sea vegetable in the dish was agar agar. In the photo below, the tapioca pearls are visible.

We thoroughly enjoyed the class and the very tasty meal.