intro to menopause
Class 4 Advanced Prep

We are so excited to cook with you next week and to talk about the impact of food on health and menopause! Our class will focus on Nutrition and Bone Care and two delicious recipes; Vegetarian Tortilla Soup and a Creamy Raspberry-Chocolate Parfait!

To make the most of our time together, there are a few things you will need to do in advance of the class, so please read closely:

• Ensure that you have all of the ingredients listed for each recipe. 

• Ensure that you have all the equipment needed on the equipment list.

• Measure and prepare your ingredients in advance  - prep all the ingredients - unless otherwise noted.  And read through the recipe - if the ingredients are used together in the recipe, they can be measured and kept together in a bowl. For example, if there are 5 spices that are all added at the same time, feel free to measure them into a small bowl. This will help save on clean up and make for more efficient cooking. 

• Give yourself about 30 minutes to prep the ingredients  This is a VERY important step to make things run as smoothly as possible. 

•  Here is a link to a nice video explaining how to prepare your space before cooking:   Simple video (1 min) here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ll2QRgNAdzc

• If you want to get a headstart you can view this video on basic knife skills, some of which we will go over in class: https://stellaculinary.com/cooking-videos/culinary-knife-skills

Equipment - List

Chef’s knife 
Cutting board 
Rimmed baking sheet 
Plate
Food Processor
Blender
Dutch oven
Rubber spatula or wooden spoon
Small saucepan
Mesh strainer
Measuring spoons 
Dry measuring cups
Liquid measuring cups 
Individual serving bowls for soup
Desert cups or wine glasses for parfait

Ingredients - List

Produce:

• 1 large white onion, quartered

• 1 jalapeno, seeds removed, roughly chopped

• 2 garlic cloves

• 2 cups corn kernels, fresh or frozen, cut or thawed

• Diced avocado, chopped cilantro, cojita cheese, lime wedges - optional toppings

• 8 oz fresh or frozen raspberries

Other:

• 1 pound low fat cottage cheese

• ¼ cup nonfat greek yogurt

Pantry: 

• 8 (6 inch) corn tortillas

• Vegetable spray

• 1 (28-ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes 

• 2 teaspoons chili powder

• 1 tablespoon minced canned chipotle chile in adobo sauce

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

• 6 cups vegetable broth

• 2 (15.5-ounce) can black beans

• 2 teaspoons cornstarch

• 5 tablespoons sugar, divided

• 2 teaspoons orange liqueur, optional

• 1 ½ ounce bittersweet chocolate

• Extra virgin olive oil

• Kosher salt

• Fresh ground black pepper

Prep for Vegetarian Tortilla Soup:

• Measure all ingredients

• Cut corn tortillas into ½ inch wide strips

• Drain canned tomatoes

• Quarter the onion

• Seed and roughly chop the jalapeno

• Mince chipotle chili

• Drain and rinse black beans

• Cut or thaw corn

Prep for Creamy Raspberry-Chocolate Parfait:

• Measure all ingredients

• Finely chop chocolate