Last Saturday I had the joy of cooking at the Cornell food lab in the Martha Van Rensselaer building. The students there went through a very brief presentation of some basic cooking habits such as what knives to use, then we immediately got cooking. They gave us a packet full of recipes with about a dozen “stations” where one or two of us can cook one of the recipes. It was awesome. I mean, really awesome. Each station had their own stoves, microwaves, cookware, utensils, spices, ingredients, everything.

I chose the chicken and broccoli casserole, and I worked with Helen! For about an hour, we cook brown rice, onions, chicken, and broccoli to make a pretty nice-tasting casserole. Personally, I love cooking, so I was a huge fan of this event. Something about the process of making delicious food is both fun and rewarding. And, as college students, when would be a better time in our lives to learn more cooking tips than now?

We happened to have finished relatively early so we cleaned up our station and hurried back to the presentation area where the food lab volunteers (?) had arranged our dishes as a potluck. Together, we all ate our creations, from omelets to tacos to lasagna to salmon with quinoa, and more. I seriously hope Rose does this again sometime; this was the best event ever!