Volunteer Work: Days of Taste

Hello everyone! I wanted to share an event that I volunteered with last week. I hope that I'm able to do this again in the Fall, it really was a blast!!

The Dallas chapter of AIWF (American Institute of Wine & Food) hosts an annual event like no other! Days of Taste is a great example of philanthropic outreach. The week long event held at The Dallas Farmers Market hosts 5 days of culinary education to inner city elementary students. The sponge-like minds of the third and fourth grade students are filled with useful knowledge in all things culinary! They learned how to use their taste buds, how to make a homemade dressing, knife skills, and how to effectively shop at the Farmers Market. They loved it, and so did all of the volunteers!

Chef Brent Ruggles from the Las Colinas County Club on Day #1 talking to the students about salt, sugar, citric acid, and cocoa. They hated the citric acid taste test!

On Day #2 Chef Mark McDaniel was a hit with the kids! He did an excellent job with getting the students involved in the lesson!

A nationwide herb farm supplied herbs for the entire week! The students also sampled edible flowers, the pansies won best taste by the kiddos!

Each volunteer was given a group of 5 students to take shopping and help prepare all of the delicious food. I may be a little biased, but my group was the best! {Look at how tall they are...}

In the end, I love that my new career path allows me to volunteer more and tap into my passion for Philanthropy. It feels good to me to give back to the Culinary Arts community and to be able to teach a younger generation (...makes me feel old!!) how to eat healthy!

XO from the Big Little City in Texas,

Laura

Easy Recipe: {Pesto Pasta Salad}

Here is a yummy and super easy for a Pesto Pasta Salad. I make this when I have a pop-up party, making dinner for others, or even catering an event. The longest part of this salad is really just waiting for the pasta to cool. I wish I could tell you that I made the pasta by hand and made homemade pesto sauce...but I normally take the easy way out and use boxed pasta and delicious pre-made pesto.

{Pesto Pasta Salad}

Ingredients:

• 1 box of Rotini {Corkscrew} or Farfalle {Bowtie} pasta
• 1 package of cherry tomatoes {cut in half lengthwise}
• 1 small can of sliced black olives
• 1 small purple onion {small diced}
• 3/4 cup of pesto sauce...I felt bad leaving you hanging with out a "real" pesto sauce recipe.

 Directions:

• Bring a pot of salted water to a rolling boil, add the pasta and cook until al dente. Once the pasta is cooked, drain and put in a large bowl to cool. 
• Once the pasta is cooled, add tomatoes, black olives, onion, and pesto. Add s & p to taste. Toss all together and enjoy!

SEE, I told you it was easy! Look at how yummy it is!

XOXO from,

Big Little City in Texas