How (and where) to start a cooking group, part II

You've heard the old saying – "we all have to start somewhere" – and I've been mulling over where in the world to start Ninecooks' new World Cuisines Cooking Group.

I decided to start in the cellar. Don't laugh; the cellar is where I store the extra pots and pans, cookie sheets and bamboo steamers, tagines and tongs, mortars and pestles. And in amongst the kitchen equipment overflow, I spied four black bento boxes that I purchased a couple of years ago, but never used.

My bento boxes have five compartments, and when you order a "lunch box" in a Japanese restaurant in the US, here's what you find in those compartments: a meat or fish (often a teriyaki dish); salad; sushi; hot dumplings; steamed rice. There's a mini-compartment, too, for soy sauce or wasabi.

Why bento boxes and group cooking go well together:

1. We can fill our boxes with anything we like: vegetable sushi, salad, dumplings, salmon, M&Ms, Cheerios.
2. We can concentrate on learning one basic technique (making sushi rice and sushi).
3. The end result will be a meal that's beautiful, healthy, and light.
4. In order to complete the bento boxes, we all have to work together.

More than a dozen people responded to my initial query about a cooking group focused on culture, celebrations and cuisine and, after many emails and schedule juggling, that number is down to a workable seven or eight cooks. My plan is to organize a no-commitment cooking session in late May, and then, for those who are still interested, to start on a regular cooking schedule (every 5-6 weeks) in September. Putting together the fixings for a bento box dinner, and enjoying our bentos on the back porch on a warm Spring evening, might be a fun and festive way to introduce the group members to each other, and to introduce all to group cooking, Ninecooks style.

Comments

[Angeline]

I love Bento boxes. They always feel make me feel like a little kid opening up a bunch of beautifully wrapped presents. They are the perfect way to get a wide variety of tastes and it highlights the art of the food. One of the most memorable bento boxes I have has was a dessert selection -- a tiny creme brulee, a mini fresh fruit tart, a tiny wedge of super rich cholate cake, a mound of sweet/salty nuts, and a few other little surpises for the palette. Sigh...

[Lydia]

Angeline, my mouth is watering!

[rupert]

I am imagining a Rhode Island bento box with sections for Quahogs, Stuffies, NY System Wieners, Doughboys, Fried Rolls and a place for Coffee Milk and a Cabinet.

[Pauline]

I'm looking forward to the Bento boxes. I enjoy cooking in all languages especially if I've never done it before.

[candy]

This will be such fun! I'd love to work with tofu, sampling the local artisan varieties, and trying steaming, toasting, stir-frying, etc.