September 27, 2016 by Charles Bingham

Scenes from the Community Kale Celebration held Sept. 26 at the Sitka Kitch

Kale grows well in Sitka and has lots of important vitamins and minerals, but what do you do with it once it’s ready to harvest from your garden? Sitka residents were able to find out more about how to grow and prepare kale at the inaugural Community Kale Celebration on Monday, Sept. 26, at the Sitka Kitch community rental commercial kitchen, located in the First Presbyterian Church (505 Sawmill Creek Road).

There was a variety of dishes using kale, prepared by the Sitka Kitch advisory team and the 4H Food and Nutrition club, including a crustless kale quiche, a savory kale bread pudding, kale chips, reindeer sausage kale soup, and chocolate kale cupcakes. In addition, there was kale juice (with carrots, apples, ginger and lemons) and kale smoothies (with bananas and blueberries). Participants learned how to incorporate more of this “super food” into their diets and how easy it is to grow in Sitka.

Money raised from this event will help the Sitka Kitch develop a scholarship fund for future Sitka Kitch classes, such as the class on making your own yogurt at home that takes place from 6-8:30 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 10. To learn more about our upcoming classes and to register for them, please check out our online registration page at https://sitkakitch.eventsmart.com (click on the class title to register).

A slideshow of scenes from the Community Kale Celebration is posted below.

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September 16, 2016 by Charles Bingham

Sitka Kitch to host Community Kale Celebration on Monday, Sept. 26

Kale grows well in Sitka and has lots of important vitamins and minerals, but what do you do with it once it’s ready to harvest from your garden? Join us for the inaugural Community Kale Celebration from 5:30-7 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 26, at the Sitka Kitch community rental commercial kitchen, located in the First Presbyterian Church (505 Sawmill Creek Road).

Sitka Kitch will join the 4H Food and Nutrition club and local cooks to introduce Sitkans to the wonders and scrumptiousness of kale. Participants will learn how to incorporate more of this “super food” into their diets and how easy it is to grow in Sitka. The 4H club will prepare several recipes for people to try, and local chefs will prepare a couple of additional recipes during the event.

Tickets are $10 and can be purchased at the door (family rates are available) or online at http://sitkakitch.eventsmart.com (just click on the event title to sign up). Money raised will help us develop a scholarship fund for future Sitka Kitch classes. Hope to see you there.

August 30, 2016 by Charles Bingham

Scenes from the Sitka Kitch’s fourth Preserving the Harvest class — Simple Chutneys and Salsas

Students learned how to make pa variety of chutneys and salsas during the fourth Preserving the Harvest series class of the summer on Monday, Aug. 29, at the Sitka Kitch community rental commercial kitchen.

The chutneys and salsas class was taught by Lisa Sadleir-Hart, with assistance from Betsy Decker. It is one of six classes in the Preserving the Harvest class series, which will teach people how to safely preserve the summer’s bounty so it can be eaten in the summer.

Other classes in the series will include simple pickles and sauerkraut, low-sugar jams and jellies, canning salmon, chutneys and salsas, apple and fruit butters, and a community kale celebration. More details can be found at this link.

The Sitka Kitch was a project of the 2013 Sitka Health Summit, and the project is coordinated by the Sitka Conservation Society in partnership with the Sitka Local Foods Network. The Sitka Kitch can be rented to teach cooking and food preservation classes, by local cottage food industry entrepreneurs who need a commercial kitchen to make their products, and for large groups needing a large kitchen for a community dinner. To learn more about how to rent the Sitka Kitch, please go to the website at http://www.sitkawild.org/sitka_kitch.

The next class in the series will be apple and fruit butters, from 6-8:30 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 12, at the Sitka Kitch. To register for classes, go to our online registration page at http://sitkakitch.eventsmart.com/ and click on the class name.

We now have a PayPal option so people can pay the registration fees before the class. There are food/supply fees for most of the classes, which are split between the students, and those are paid by cash or check (made out to the Sitka Conservation Society) at the class. Other than for the Kale Celebration event, each class has a limited number of spots available, so register early. Registration for each class closes at 11:55 p.m. on the Friday before the class.

If you have any questions about the class series, please email sitkakitch@sitkawild.org. A slideshow of images from the chutneys and salsas class is posted below.

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July 20, 2016 by Charles Bingham

Scenes from the Sitka Kitch’s first Preserving the Harvest class — Simple Pickles and Sauerkraut

Students learned how to make pickles from squash and small-batch sauerkraut at the first Preserving the Harvest series class of the summer on Monday, July 18, at the Sitka Kitch community rental commercial kitchen.

The Simple Pickles and Sauerkraut class was taught by Lisa Sadleir-Hart, with assistance from Jasmine Shaw. It is one of six classes in the Preserving the Harvest class series, which will teach people how to safely preserve the summer’s bounty so it can be eaten in the summer.

Other classes in the series will include low-sugar jams and jellies, canning salmon, chutneys and salsas, apple and fruit butters, and a community kale celebration. More details can be found at this link.

To register for classes, go to our online registration page at http://sitkakitch.eventsmart.com/ and click on the class name. We now have a PayPal option so people can pay the registration fees before the class. There are food/supply fees for most of the classes, which are split between the students, and those are paid by cash or check (made out to the Sitka Conservation Society) at the class. Other than for the Kale Celebration event, each class has a limited number of spots available, so register early. Registration for each class closes at 11:55 p.m. on the Friday before the class.

If you have any questions about the class series, please email sitkakitch@sitkawild.org. A slideshow of images from the simple pickles and sauerkraut class is posted below.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

July 16, 2016 by Charles Bingham

Sitka Kitch to offer Preserving the Harvest class series this summer

You grew it, harvested it and/or caught it, so now what do you do? The Sitka Kitch community rental commercial kitchen will be offering the Preserving the Harvest class series to teach Sitkans how to store the summer’s bounty so they can use it during the winter.

This class series features six classes covering a variety of food preservation methods. Students will learn how to safely preserve their food, so it won’t spoil or cause illness. The classes on schedule are:

Simple Pickles and Sauerkraut — 6-8:30 p.m., Monday, July 18, taught by Lisa Sadleir-Hart and assisted by Jasmine Shaw, $20, plus food/supply fee
Low-Sugar Jams and Jellies — 6-8:30 p.m., Monday, Aug. 1, taught by Jasmine Shaw and assisted by Callie Simmons, $27.50, plus food/supply fee
Canning Salmon — 6-8:30 p.m., Monday, Aug. 22, taught by Ellen Ruhle and assisted by Jasmine Shaw, $27.50, plus food/supply fee
Chutneys and Salsas — 6-8:30 p.m., Monday, Aug. 29, taught by Lisa Sadleir-Hart and assisted by Betsy Decker, $27.50, plus food/supply fee
Apple and Fruit Butters — 6-8:30 p.m., Monday, Sept. 12, taught by Lisa Sadleir-Hart and assisted by Betsy Decker, $27.50, plus food/supply fee
Community Kale Celebration — 6-8:30 p.m., Monday, Sept. 26, Cooking demonstrations featuring kale recipes by chefs Kathy Jones and Barbara Palacios (not a class), entrance fee $10.