Mariah Andrews presented a cooking class Saturday, July 19, at Southeast Linn Community Center as part of Lisbon Public Library programming.
Andrews presented one of the recipes from her cookbook of recipes from “Plantiful Pantry” and meal based subscription models.
Andrews is now working as food service director at Prairie Woods in Hiawatha.
At Saturday’s class, attendees were able to cook sweet corn chowder, a recipe that Andrews noted was seasonal as possible, with many of the ingredients in it fresh right now – sweet corn, potatoes, onions and then herbs.
As well as learning how to cook, attendees also learned how to utilize knives, as the recipe required a lot of cutting of different vegetables.
“This is an extremely adaptable recipe that you can add more layers of flavor into it with the herbs you add,” Andrews said.
Andrews cookbook is available at Lisbon Library’s Libby app.
Andrews also gave tips on how to prepare things like onions or the cooking levels of certain vegetables.
“Corn is one of those vegetables it’s very easy to overcook,” Andrews said.
Lisbon Library director Elizabeth Hoover de Galvez said that there will be a number of classes the second Saturdays in September, October and November teaching how to cook Czech recipes. The classes will be from 4-7 p.m., and registration will be required.
When it came to thickening the chowder, Andrews showed two different methods – using an immersion blender or a Vitamix blender. With the Vitamix, she was able to add unsalted cashews to add additional protein to the mix.
One of the biggest tips she also recommended was tasting as you cooked and seasoning to preference.
