Elites Can Cook w/ White Jasmine

I love to cook.
I love to eat.
I love to Unilocal.
Combine those three components and we’re talking pure Unilocalen perfection.
I appreciated this event sooooo much for a number of reasons:
* I’m a complete and utter neophyte when it comes to Indian cuisine. I never developed a comfort level when cooking it and rarely try it when I dine out. I look at a menu at an Indian restaurants and I’m at a complete loss. Instructor Huma Siddiqui did a wonderful job of demystifying this style of cooking and emboldened me to bring the bold flavors of the Indian subcontinent to my Waunakee kitchen.
* I’m a complete wuss when cooking with spices. Unlike Huma who plies her food with her heaping spoonfuls of spices, I tend to miserly administer spices to my cooking with a pair of food tweezers. Fortune favors the bold both in cooking and in love, so I learned to ditch my timid seasoning ways and learn to embrace the spice.
* I tend to be too structured with my approach to cooking: too much brain and too little heart. Watching Huma cook from the heart with nary a measuring cup in sight reminded me to improvise more and trust my instincts in the kitchen.
So what else did I learn during my time at the demonstration kitchen at the West side outpost of the Willy Street Co-​op?
* Basmati rice über alles. Huma favors Basmati rice from India, since domestically produced basmati rices cook differently than their Indian counterparts. (That is a good thing, because I purchased a ten pound bag of Indian Basmati rice the week before from Woodmans)

* For more intense flavors, use whole spices. The Indian-​style rice with cardamom pods, cumin seeds and whole cloves was outstanding. Try it once and you’ll never go back to plain white rice.
* Willy Street Co-​op Juice Bar, where have you been all my life!?! The folks at the co-​op were kind enough to give the class participants a free juice and the vibrant flavors were a great way to amp up my tastebuds before Huma smacked my senses with her spice-​forward recipes.
* Thanks to out of town Unilocaler Tiffany N who pointed out the Island of Misfit Cheeses next to the juice bar. What an easy-​on-​the-​wallet way to sample new cheeses.
* I appreciated meeting so many new Unilocalers at this event, including the ever-​so-​prolific food photographer Meghan H (
). I swear I’ve gained fifteen pounds just looking at all the food pics she’s posted in the past six months.
* And speaking of Meghan, I learned about a project to make a 15,000 pound Rice Krispie treat in Madison later this year (
). My family has already committed to eating the first 2,000 pounds of this behemoth treat.
Based on the outstanding quality of this event (thanks Corey and Izzy!), I hope there are many, many more Elites Can Cook events in 2014 and beyond.

Such a fun time! Huma’s humor was *probably* the best part, save for the food. I can’t wait to try the things we learned, and I keep thinking of her heaping in the healthy spices every time I cook now.

I enjoyed the cooking demonstration but thought there were a few things that could be improved upon.
1) Sound: it was very hard for me to hear what Huma was saying even though I was standing next to her. There were maybe 20 people in that small room and when everyone is talking over her you can’t hear anything. She also has a soft voice, so maybe a mic and speakers would be helpful next time around.
2) Size of class: I understand that the other class was cancelled but I think there were still a few too many people in that class for me to get a lot out of it. I prefer smaller classes.
3) Watching someone cook is ok, but having the opportunity to do some hands-​on learning would have been even better. Maybe if the class size were smaller it would lend itself to this kind of teaching style.

Thank you, Huma, for REAL WORLD cooking! Usually when you watch cooking programs you see the cooks with their «mise en place», so everything is measured ahead of time. Of course, in the real world we have to prepare our own meals rather than having the ingredients laid out for us! I think this class was a great example of how to fit cooking into your life so you can come home from work and put dinner on the table. Plus, all of the recipes were healthy and inexpensive. Thanks to Willy Street Co-​Op for the beautiful kitchen and tasty juices as well.
Now I gotta get some fresh vegetables and cook!

Had a great time, Huma is amazing, food was delicious and I learned quite a bit. Looking forward to watching the White Jasmine cooking show and maybe attending a taping. Willy St Coop was awesome and close to home. Will be shopping there in the near future.

Huma is an excellent teacher. She is a relaxed cook and encourages folks to just try. No worries about amounts, sizes and times. A great role model. Very approachable. Had a wonderful time.

First off, this was my first trip to Willy St. Coop and it will definitely not be my last! I was very impressed with their variety of different types of foods, and the juice from the juice bar was delicious! What an awesome place to hold a cooking class.
Huma is also fabulous. I cannot wait to attend one of her tapings, and hopefully another cooking class. Her food is so yummy and I can’t wait to try to make it myself! My friend and I were both very impressed and learned a lot.

We had an awesome time at the event today! Huma is an excellent story teller and she kept us really engaged while we learned how to cook a delicious (and simple) Indian meal. Thanks to the willy street coop for hosting!