Saturday, April 5, 2008

a very pleasant evening with amazing food!!

Nate and I took a class tonight at the Detroit Evolution Laboratory.  It was a Vegan Indian cooking class.  I have to say, I was so ridiculously excited to be there!  I had been looking forward to it for weeks, and the experience was wonderful.  The Lab is a beautiful loft in Eastern Market.  The fact that the city of Detroit is seeing so many great new businesses such as The Lab and other positive changes cropping up was one of the reasons for my excitement as the city was my first home and always the home in my heart.  But Angela Kasmala's cooking...OH MY GOODNESS it was amazing!  During the course of four hours, we watched Angela prepare a beautiful vegan feast that included a curried beet salad, channa masala, and palak paneer.  I can't wait to try out her recipes on my own.  After she prepared all of the food, we all sat down to dinner together.  The Lab is getting plenty of press and attention these days, and it is more than well-deserved.  I am just thrilled that I can find support for a vegan lifestyle in the heart of Detroit!  I will be anxiously waiting to see their schedule of next month's cooking classes...

5 comments:

JoAnn said...

I applaud your vegan lifestyle, I know I sure couldn't do it. My only concern is, what does a chocolate lover do in a vegan world?

Chessa said...

Awesome!!!! I have so been wanting to take one of her cooking classes, and you are the first person to review it, so I'm glad it was a good one! So it was worth the $$ then? I figured it would be, but it's always nice to have a review.

JoAnn - lots and lots of dark chocolate is vegan! Also, if you are a baker, it's a snap to make your own chocolate vegan desserts (brownies, cakes, cupcakes, hot chocolate, chocolate chip cookies) pretty much whatever you want. I often rue the fact that so many vegan baking recipes call for chocolate, because my husband is allergic, so I feel like I'm always missing out (because I just can't make a dessert that I'm going to eat alone, y'know?) :D

Jen said...

JoAnn, like Keeta said, chocolate abounds!! There is a chocolate cake recipe that I LOVE in the Moosewood New classics cookbook. Tropical Source is one brand that makes some awesome vegan chocolate chips, so there is no lack of chocolate chip cookies around this house! Oh, and you probably already know this, but chick-o-sticks are vegan!! :)

Keeta, the class was so wonderful, it was more than worth the money we paid. At first I was disappointed that we wouldn't be doing any of the prep work, but since it takes place right in Angela's kitchen, it is a very intimate setting and I could watch very closely what she was doing. I asked a ton of questions too and she was also very sweet when i e-mailed her today for some "tech support" with my palak paneer. My enthusiasm could also be due to the fact that it was the first night out Nate and I have had in about 3 months, lol, but it was fun, and I can't say enough wonderful things about the taste of the food. Seriously, the most delicious food I've had in a long time! If Angela Kasmala cooked for the whole world, everyone would be vegan! I might take the class on 4/27, but if not, i am definitely going to take one next month!

Maggie said...

These classes would be too much of a drive for me but I think my parents would love them.

I've been reading your blog and I think it is Excellent and passed on the word. If you'd like the badge and are interested in nominating someone else you can get the details on my post.

Jen said...

Thanks, Maggie! That is so sweet of you! :) hey, I see you're a Daring Baker! We'll have to compare notes soon...

Yeah, if your parents are into great food they would probably love one of Angela's classes! I still can't stop raving about how awesome the food tasted!