Classes and Workshops
I left Los Angeles in 2020 in the beginning of the pandemic and I'm currently living a
semi-nomadic lifestyle following the weather (and wild food) in an RV, however I still spend a considerable amount of time in my Art Studio located in the mountains of Valyermo (90 minutes from Los Angeles). From time to time, I still do a couple of live classes in the Los Angeles area and, of course, I give public and private classes on the property where my studio is located. I also offer a considerable amount of zoom classes, mostly on the subject of traditional food preservation technique applied to regular and wild edibles.
March/April Classes and Workshops
Saturday April 1
10AM to 1:30 PM (PST)
Sylmar, California
Eco-Friendly Foraging - Plants Walk / Food & Drinks – Local Forest
Want to learn about edible plants and help the environment in the process? Did you know what we are surrounded by wild edible plants and most of them are non-native to Los Angeles and often invasive?
Very often the same plants are crops in some other countries and yet, locally, the solution is to spray them with chemicals or waste this incredible food resource by uprooting and throwing it away. So sad when you realize that a recent study from the University of California Berkeley identified 52 edible weeds growing in abundance in the poorest neighborhoods of San Francisco. At least six of them were found to be more nutritious than kale, according to that study. Guess what, we'll find most of those nutritious plants during our walk. So let's look at an option that will help the environment, reduce the use of chemicals in nature and nourish us in the process.
In this class, you'll learn about the countless local plants that you can use for food, many of them can be found in your backyard and are considered weed.
We will walk in the local forest (private property in the Angeles Forest), identify and talk about the culinary and medical uses of those plants. With the recent rain, we should find plenty.
Sunday April 2
10AM to 1 PM (PST)
Sylmar, California
Plants Identification Walk - Culinary and Medicinal
Wild Food Snacks and Drinks
Let's explore a local wash and see what we can find. There is a beautiful stream there which means we should see a lot of interesting plants. This walk is about identifying and learning about local plants, we won't be picking up native plants in that location. Non-native or invasive plants are fair game and we'll probably see a bunch.
Make sure you bring water and sun protection. It's a very gentle walk with lots of stops to talk about the plants. We’ll have a couple of wild food snacks and drinks after the walk.
Don’t forget to bring water if it’s hot that day.
Long pants is a good idea - We have many prickly things in that type of environment.
Saturday April 8
10AM to 1 PM (PST)
Sylmar, California
Zoom Class Online: Mushrooms Fermentation (Wild or Commercial)
Live and Recorded
Learn how to use lacto-fermentation with wild or commercial mushrooms to achieve new dimensions of flavors.
Fermentation is a wonderful way to preserve and create wonderful mushrooms side dishes. In this webinar, I will show you, step by step, how to create a lacto culture starter and prepare the mushrooms for fermentation. We’ll probably do 2 or 3 recipes using different spices.
The webinar will be recorded and a link/password will be sent the day after the webinar to all those who registered, that way you can view it at your convenience. The recording will be available for a couple of months.
Only $30 per person
Saturday April 8
10AM to 1 PM (PST)
Sylmar, California
Learn fermentation, spend a day in the mountains and mingle with baby goats
Want to add healthy probiotic food to your diet and learn how to make sauerkraut, kimchi and similar lacto ferments?
Learn from one of the top forager and fermentation expert in North America! Author of 4 bestselling books related to fermentation: The Wildcrafting Brewer, Wildcrafted Fermentation, The New Wildcrafted Cuisine and Wildcrafted Vinegars
In this introduction to basic lacto-Fermentation, you’ll learn how to make simple, delicious ferments and have fun in the process!
Fermentation can be super easy and safe. But just because it’s easy doesn’t mean it cannot be super creative and taste great. So, let’s explore the possibilities!!!
This workshop is HANDS-ON and for a LIMITED number of participants (only 7 people).
Saturday April 15
10AM to 1:30 PM (PST)
Sylmar, California
Eco-Friendly Foraging - Plants Walk / Food & Drinks – Local Forest
Want to learn about edible plants and help the environment in the process? Did you know what we are surrounded by wild edible plants and most of them are non-native to Los Angeles and often invasive?
Very often the same plants are crops in some other countries and yet, locally, the solution is to spray them with chemicals or waste this incredible food resource by uprooting and throwing it away. So sad when you realize that a recent study from the University of California Berkeley identified 52 edible weeds growing in abundance in the poorest neighborhoods of San Francisco. At least six of them were found to be more nutritious than kale, according to that study. Guess what, we'll find most of those nutritious plants during our walk. So let's look at an option that will help the environment, reduce the use of chemicals in nature and nourish us in the process.
In this class, you'll learn about the countless local plants that you can use for food, many of them can be found in your backyard and are considered weed.
We will walk in the local forest (private property in the Angeles Forest), identify and talk about the culinary and medical uses of those plants. With the recent rain, we should find plenty.
Sunday April 16
10AM to 1:30 PM (PST)
Sylmar, California
Forest Walk - Edible/Medicinal Plants. Wild Food Snacks and Drinks.
Let's explore a local forest and see what the recent rain brought us. The walk is mostly about plants identification and their uses (medicinal, culinary, etc...) but, who knows, we may also find some interesting medicinal mushrooms.
We won't collect any native plants in that location - non-natives, which are the majority of what we'll use for food, are fair game.
Expect a lot of interesting edible greens and quite a few aromatics and we'll collect some to make a wild food salad after the class. You'll probably see between 20 and 30 useful plants.
It's a very gentle walk with lots of stops to talk about the plants and trees.
After the walk, we’ll enjoy some nice wild cold drinks made with local plants and some wild food snacks.
