Reposted from City Market:

February 2014 Classes:

My Child and Me: Homemade Crackers and Spreads (ages 0-5)
City Market
Monday, February 3
9:30 – 10:30am
$5 City Market Members, $10 non-members (per pair; free for WIC families)
This class is especially for parents and caregivers with children under age 5. In this class, we’ll explore traditional foods and having fun in the kitchen as we engage our little ones in the process of learning how to mix, measure, and cook delicious and nourishing food. All the food served in this class will be organic, follow the rhythms of local farms, and will introduce traditional foods principles such as soaking grains, culturing dairy products, fermenting vegetables, making nourishing broths, and using fruit in probiotic beverages the whole family will enjoy. The class will be held at City Market this month.
For mothers/caregivers and children up to age 5. When registering, please select a ticket for each child attending. Accompanying adults are free and do not need a ticket.

Free Herbal Consultations
City Market
Mondays, February 3, 10, and 17
4:00 – 7:00pm
Free
Have you ever been interested in using herbal medicine to improve your health? Join Betzy Bancroft RH (AHG), Larken Bunce MS, and Guido Masé RH (AHG) and students from the Vermont Center for Integrative Herbalism in a free, personalized session focused on your individual constitution and any health conditions you may be experiencing. An incredible opportunity to explore the art of herbal healing with experienced practitioners! All sessions last about an hour and a half and are completely confidential. By appointment. Please sign up by contacting Vermont Center for Integrative Herbalism at info@vtherbcenter.org.

The Pennywise Pantry
City Market
Tuesday, February 4
6:00 – 7:00pm
Free
Learn how to shop for fresh, long-lasting, and nutritious foods in Produce and Bulk. With this interactive and hands-on tour, we’ll explore the Produce and Bulk departments, learning a simple method for finding the best value on fruits, vegetables, grains, and beans by paying attention to the price per pound. You’ll learn tips for selecting and storing these foods at home to get the longest use out of them, develop a better understanding of Co-op sales, and get inspiring recipes to start cooking quick and affordable meals at home. No matter what kind of diet you follow, these pennywise tools help you stock your kitchen with variety of healthy, local, and even organic foods.

The Medicine of Theobroma Cacao, the Chocolate Tree
City Market
Wednesday, February 5
5:30 – 6:30pm
$5 City Market Members, $10 non-members
An intimate look into the origin of this ancient plant and its sacred herbal medicine. It may forever change the way you think about chocolate bars! This class will be led by Sandra Lory, a clinically trained folk herbalist and a food justice educator. Sandra also works with Herbalists Without Borders projects and in the Barre Community Gardens. Fair Trade chocolate and hot cocoa will be served. Stay after the class for the film, “The Dark Side of Chocolate”.

“The Dark Side of Chocolate” Viewing
City Market
Wednesday, February 5
6:45 – 8:00pm
Free
Before deciding what to buy for loved ones this upcoming Valentine’s Day, take a look inside the complexities of the chocolate industry and gain an understanding of the importance of supporting fair trade. The film, The Dark Side of Chocolate, investigates bitter blemishes in some parts of the industry, including child labor on cocoa plantations despite international agreements to eradicate it. Follow film makers from small villages in Africa where children are disappearing, to cocoa plantations, to executive offices to examine this issue. Fair Trade chocolate and hot cocoa will be served.

Homemade Scones
McClure Multi-Generational Center
Sunday, February 9
11:30 – 1:00pm
$5 City Market Members, $10 non-members
Have you ever wondered why the humble scone can be so challenging to make? In this class we’ll explore the tricks and techniques to create the perfect English scone: delicate, crumbly and not too sweet. Come and get your hands into some dough. This is a fun, hands-on exploration of one of our most beloved pastries. Heike Meyer is the owner of Bee Sting Bakery in Fairfax, a small artisan bakery specializing in whole grain naturally leavened breads and pastries.

Making Body Care Products for Mamas and Babies
City Market
Sunday, February 9
12:00 – 1:00pm
$5 City Market Members, $10 non-members
Learn to make body care products for mamas and babies using safe and all-natural ingredients. Participants will learn to make and take home samples of belly balm, baby powder, diaper cream, and baby wipes. City Market’s Herbal Education Coordinator, Cristi Nunziata, will lead this class.

Chinese New Year Dumplings
McClure Multi-Generational Center
Monday, February 10
6:00 – 7:30pm
$5 City Market Members, $10 non-members
Happy Lunar New Year! On January 31st many countries, including China and Vietnam, usher in the Year of the Horse. Learn about Chinese New Year foods and celebrations with Ben Wang, Co-op member and Chinese teacher at the Vermont Commons School. We will make two kinds of traditional Chinese dumpling fillings, one stuffed with pork and another with spinach. Then, using premade wrappers, we will stuff the dumplings, boil them, make accompanying sauces, and celebrate the New Year while we eat our dumplings together.

Cheese and Chocolate Fondue – en français!
McClure Multi-Generational Center
Tuesday, February 11
6:15 – 8:00pm
$5 City Market Members, $10 non-members
Travel to France without leaving Vermont in this class on making traditional cheese and chocolate fondue – with instruction in French! City Market is partnering with Alliance Française to offer a French cooking class in French (with English translation for those who need it). We will make a delicious cheese fondue with all the classic cheeses, followed by a dessert fondue with everybody’s favorite, melted chocolate. The instructor will come from the ranks of the local Chapter of the Alliance Française, an organization dedicated to promoting the French language and Francophone cultures.

Kids’ Cooking Class: Mexican Fiesta (ages 6-12)
McClure Multi-Generational Center
Monday, February 17
5:30 – 7:00pm
$5 City Market Members, $10 non-members (per pair; free for Mentor pairs)
Everyone loves a big plate of nachos, and in this class, we’ll learn how to make an easy, healthy version with kid-friendly extras like corn and black beans. We’ll also make homemade guacamole to go on top. This class is for kids who want to learn to make a weeknight dinner or afternoon snack that they can easily make again at home – in under 30 minutes!
For kids ages 6-12 accompanied by an adult. When registering, please select a ticket for each child attending. Accompanying adults are free and do not need a ticket.

A Mosaic of Flavor: Congolese Plantains and Pork
Sustainability Academy
Tuesday, February 18
6:00 – 7:30pm
$5 City Market Members, $10 non-members
Gertrude Moundouti Mitoumbi came with her family to Vermont from the Republic of Congo in 2007 and now lives in the south end of Burlington. She makes a popular African dish for family gatherings and Congolese parties called “Gulu Mu Mako”. The literal translation from the Bembe language is “plantains and pork.” True to Congolese gatherings, there will be music, so you might find yourself swaying Congolese-style before the end of the class. A Mosaic of Flavor is a collaboration of City Market and the Vermont Refugee Resettlement Program.

Square Foot Gardening
City Market
Sunday, February 23
1:00 – 2:30pm
$5 City Market Members, $10 non-members
Square Foot Gardening is an easy way to plan and plant your garden, using permanent beds to maximize production in small spaces. Peter Burke will join us to discuss all aspects from planning to planting your garden, constructing raised beds, creating permanent paths, trellising, and methods to avoid a jungle of weeds in August! Peter has been using and teaching the Square Foot method since 1981. He writes and teaches about organic gardening at The Daily Gardener.

Italian Cooking Class: Cannelloni
McClure Multi-Generational Center
Monday, February 24
6:00 – 8:00pm
$5 City Market Members, $10 non-members
Cannelloni are a special type of Italian pasta that is made by rolling out sheets of pasta dough, filling them with cheese or meat or vegetables, and rolling them into cylinders. They are then baked with a rich and savory tomato or cream sauce. You won’t find cannelloni in the pasta aisle, but you CAN learn to make them yourself! We will prepare a vegetarian version for this hands-on class, one in a series on Italian regional cooking. Antonino DiRuocco hails from Capri, Italy and was formerly a chef at Villa Tragara Ristorante (now Michael’s on the Hill). He has won numerous awards for his rustic and traditional Italian fare.

The Frugal Fridge
City Market
Tuesday, February 25
6:00 – 7:00pm
Free
The Frugal Fridge tour complements the Pennywise Pantry shopping tour. This tour focuses on how to shop for healthy, affordable foods once you leave Produce and Bulk and enter the grocery aisles and perishables coolers. We’ll learn to become savvy label readers as we shop for nourishing, long-lasting foods that contain 5 ingredients or fewer. Have fun turning packages over to look at labels and compare prices across similar products. We’ll keep the pantry in mind for a few of these products, but spend the bulk of our time examining 5-ingredient choices for the fridge and freezer as we focus on dairy, eggs, meat and seafood, frozen veggies and fruit, breads, tortillas, and more.

Planetary Magic: The Language of the Horoscope
City Market
Wednesday, February 26
6:00 – 7:30pm
$5 City Market Members, $10 non-members
In this class we will cover the basic components of the language of Astrology and develop an understanding of the structure of the Horoscope. When registering for the class, please provide your birth information (date, place, and time of birth). You will be presented with a copy of your individual horoscope along with handouts for clarity at the class. Laurie has studied astrology for over 40 years and has been a practicing astrological coach and teacher since 1994. Laurie believes that astrology is a powerful tool capable of assisting us in personal growth and awakening us to higher levels of understanding.