The Southborough Library is continuing to offer free cooking programs in the coming year. Registration is open for two remote classes in January and more are planned. It’s just one of the ways the Library is continuing to support residents who want to improve their cooking skills/expand their horizons.
The January programs will take place over zoom on two Tuesday evenings. Pre-registration is required, and registered participants will receive a shopping list in advance to prepare for the class.
The classes currently scheduled are:
Get Cooking! Full Healthy Meal from Home
January 10th, 7:00 – 8:00 pm
Join Laura Klein, Chef and Wellness Coach, for a hands-on live virtual cooking class featuring easy, delicious, nutritious recipes to help you cook and stay healthy. During this hands-on class you will learn: basic kitchen skills, how to execute easy plant-based recipes, including optional substitutions, nutritional information for each recipe, AND have a delicious dinner to enjoy at the end of class.
This class features Lentils 3 Ways; Red Lentil Stew, Lentil Salad with Feta and Fresh Herbs and Red Lentil Hummus.
To register, click here.
Virtual Thai Street Food
January 24th, 5:30 – 7:00 pm
Thai cuisine is full of aromatic ingredients, cooking styles, and dish decorations. In this online interactive class, led by a professional cooking instructor, make 2 delicious Thai dishes from scratch including Thai coconut chicken soup (Tom Kha Gai) and pad Thai with chicken.
To register, click here.
The cooking series is made possible by a grant.* Back in November and December, the Library already offered classes on making Japanese “Wagashi” sweets Making Workshop and DIY healthy treats to give as gifts for the holidays. Although the future programs are still TBA, a message on the Library website indicates more are planned between now and August.
If you’re interested in receiving a newsletter when future cooking programs are announced, please email Librarian Marianna Sorensen at msorensen@southboroughma.com.
Sorensen is also who to email if you’d like to take part in future gatherings related to the topic — the Library’s monthly Cook Book Club.
The next meeting of the club is this Tuesday, January 3rd, 6:30 – 7:30 pm. Each month, members whip up a dish from a selected cookbook and bring it into the Library to share with others. (New participants, and all ages/partners are always welcome.)
In January, instead of using a cookbook, the group will pick a dish from the library’s new cooking databases:
- AtoZ Food America – contains recipes in all course categories (appetizers, soups, salads, breads, main courses, side dishes, desserts, snacks, and beverages) for six US regions, all 50 states, and 33 ethnic cuisines.
- AtoZ World Food – the only food database that contains traditional recipes for 174 countries of the world in all course categories: appetizers, soups, salads, breads, main courses, side dishes, desserts, snacks, and beverages.
The above databases part of the Library’s extensive Research Databases, available to any patron of the Southborough Library. To use the databases, login with the ID number on your Library Card.
*According to the Library’s website, the zoom workshops are funded by a Library Services and Technology Act grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, distributed by the Mass Board of Library Commissioners.