Compassionate Cooks Announces Fall/Holiday 2006 Cooking Classes

Committed to using local, seasonal, mostly organic ingredients, Compassionate Cooks (www.compassionatecooks.com) empowers people to make informed food choices and delicious, sustainable, plant-based meals through cooking classes, DVDs, and farmer’s market tours. Fun, upbeat, informative, and inspiring, Compassionate Cooks' cooking classes put the "passion" into compassion.

Oakland, CA (PRWEB) September 28, 2006 -- Committed to using local, seasonal, mostly organic ingredients, Compassionate Cooks (www.compassionatecooks.com) empowers people to make informed food choices and delicious, sustainable, plant-based meals through cooking classes, DVDs, and farmer’s market tours.

Founder Colleen Patrick-Goudreau, food columnist for VegNews Magazine, contributing writer to KQED radio, and one-time guest on the popular Food Network show, BBQ with Bobby Flay, creates delicious but easy menus that celebrate the seasons and inspire people to return to the kitchen. The demonstration classes include everything from nutrition information and cooking tips to food history and taste tests of various foods.

The Fall/Winter classes are no exception. October’s “Comfort Foods” class features Three-Bean Chili, Mushroom Risotto, Peanut Pumpkin Soup, Grilled Polenta, and Farm-Fresh Apple Pecan Muffins. The taste test will be of farmer's market apples and their uses in cooking, baking, and eating.

November’s class, “Thanksgiving for the Birds,” is their most popular one all year and proves that celebrating the harvest means serving a cornucopia of colorful and healthful plant foods: Butternut Squash & Rice Timbales, Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Garlic Butter, Mashed Yukon Gold & Sweet Potatoes, Cranberry Relish, and Pumpkin Cheesecake with Pecan Crust.

Holiday entertaining is also the focus of December, when students will learn to make Elegant Crepes with Moroccan-flavored Seasonal Veggies, Toasted Quinoa Salad with Slivered Almonds, Shitake Mushroom & Walnut Pate, Creamy Carrot Ginger Soup, and Perfect Pecan Pie.

Students rave about her classes, and many return every month, dubbing themselves “groupies.” Thrilled to have the myths of vegan fare shattered for good, many students have life-changing experiences, such as getting off cholesterol-lowering medications or embracing a lifestyle that reflects their values of compassion.

“It is a joy and pleasure,” says Patrick-Goudreau, “to demystify vegan cuisine. Once people realize it consists of the foods we already know and love -- vegetables, fruits, beans, grains, nuts, seeds, herbs, and spices -- they begin to have a new perspective. The new habits they create reflect not only their desire to eat healthfully but also their compassion for animals.”

The full schedule of classes is at www.compassionatecooks.com. Advanced registration is required for all Compassionate Cooks classes. To register for a class or join the mailing list, contact Compassionate Cooks via the website, via or by phone at 510.531.COOK.

Compassionate Cooks (www.compassionatecooks.com) is dedicated to empowering people to make informed food choices and to debunking myths about vegetarianism through cooking classes, nutrition workshops, supermarket tours, podcasts, workshops and lectures, farmed animal sanctuary tours, cooking DVDs, and the new 30-Day Vegetarian Challenge™. Compassionate Cooks gives people the tools and resources they need to prevent disease, optimize their health, and create new habits that benefit the Earth and all its inhabitants.

# # #