Monday, March 5, 2012

A Gathering Spot for Cultural Foodies

Posted By on Mon, Mar 5, 2012 at 8:58 AM

I attended a nifty cooking demonstration yesterday afternoon at the foundation for Intercultural Dialogue/Turkish Cultural Center. This tiny, hidden spot is a bit of a Tucson gem. They have classes not just in cooking but also in Turkish painting and learning Turkish. On occasion they’ll have lectures on Turkish culture and international topics. There’s also a book club, Turkish coffee night and soccer game nights (where they watch soccer, not play.)

Anyway, yesterday’s class was all about Mexican food. Two women, Maria Uhlmann and Marta Ortiz demonstrated how to make empanaditas, green chile and cheese crepes, an easy chicken and potato dish, pastel tres leches and chocoflan (also called impossible cake). Weirdly, in all my life I’ve never had chocoflan but earlier this week, a co-worker at my day job brought in some chocoflan that his wife had made.

There was a small crowd, mainly young women members. They had a video camera and a big screen so we could see how everything was made. It was great fun, and next month, they're taking on Japanese cuisine. I can't wait.

If you’re interested in more info about any of the classes or other events, check out their website: www.fid-az.org

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