Chef Standefer's herb class

A couple weeks ago my dad taught an herb class. He's taught this class for several years now once a year, and this was my first year to help and see the class. It was a lot of fun. I was able to spend the day with him and help him grocery shop for all the supplies he needed to cook with and to have enough food for the people who came to the class have a little taste. He teaches the class at the McCoard's garden center. This is the same place that Cj and I got married. I hadn't been there since we got married so being there brought back a lot of memories of our wedding day.

Anyways, after helping my dad all day we took him to a nice dinner for father's day to Bombay house, our absolute favorite Indian food!

We had to get up early Saturday morning to help my dad prep some herbs for his class that morning.

My dad loves to cook, and he loves to teach people about cooking. Getting this all set up and everything was a lot of work. But I was glad we were able to help my dad out this year. I took a couple of pictures before the food was served, only b/c once the food was made we had to keep filling the cups full of food. So it kept us busy and I wasn't able to take any pictures.

Everyone seemed to love the class this year. We had about 40 more people show up more than last year. I'm so proud of my dad!

Here are just a couple of recipes I really enjoyed from the herb class!

Pesto Sauce:

2 cloves garlic

2 Cups basil leaves, packed

Coarse salt

1/4 tablespoon spine nuts

3 tablespoons Parmesan cheese

1/2 to 1/3 cup olive olive

Directions:

In a food processor, mix garlic, basil, a pinch of salt, pine nuts and cheese into a paste. Gradually blend in olive oil; adjust seasoning.

This is great to serve on top of french bread or with any type of pasta.

Feta and Herb Dip with Hummus:

1- 15ounce can chick peas or garbanzo beans, rinsed

2/3 Cup nonfat plain yogurt

1/2 Cup crumbled feta cheese

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon garlic salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

1/4 cup cup chopped fresh dill

1/3 cup chopped fresh mint

1/4 cup chopped fresh chives

Directions:

Place beans, yogurt, feta, lemon juice, garlic salt and pepper in a food processor and puree until smooth. Add herbs; puree until incorporated. Chill until ready to serve,

Enjoy!