Apples to Zucchini Cooking School

Our summer campers were thrilled with an end-of-week surprise treat from and we were all stoked to cool off for a bit in the shade. Every single flavor was delicious, but it seems like guava and mango were tops! Just look at those sweet faces 😊

Camp director Jill working in the kitchen with the kids to make gf Angel Food Cake for all the little angels this week during our GF Celiac Conscious Camp.

NEW Podcast! Meet Veronica Gallardo, one of our trusted Board members. In this heart-warming discussion, Veronica explains how teaching children to cook has broad-reaching impacts. During the cooking lesson, they learn by doing (measuring, mixing, cutting). They take turns. They don’t always get their way. They make mistakes that can be fixed with a little whipped cream, or are total disasters. When it’s time to sit down to eat, they learn patience and manners. Clean-up time is full of lessons, too! Enjoy this conversation, and see if you can implement some of these ideas in your own home or learning environment.
*** visit the link in bio for Podcast *** or visit our website.
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No matter what they might be saying….we know how to have a great time! After the frenzy of packing up our kitchens and office and then a long jam-packed week of summer camp prep we took our energy to the streets. We split up in 4 teams and raced through State St for an interactive scavenger hunt courtesy of
Bring on ANYTHING. We are ready. 😊

We were very lucky to host Sonam this spring. She traveled to us from the Bay Area to hang out and do ‘all things’ Apples to Zucchini Cooking School in order to get ready to move back to India and start her own cooking school! Nancy sat down with her for a few minutes in the midst of our jam-packed week to get a bit of an outsider’s view of our organization. Sonam is now in India, putting everything in place for her own program.
*** visit the link in bio *** to listen to her podcast episode or as always, find our podcast page on the website.
Enjoy!
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I had the honor and pleasure of hearing Chef Jose Andres speak at the Arlington this week. (For those of you who attended, yes, I know, he prefers the term “cook” or “cocinero”, but “Cook Jose Andres” sounds odd!)

Jose Andres told us a story about when he was 15 years old, and wanted to cook paella for family and friends. This was his dad’s role, and Jose felt he was ready. His dad said “No, son, I need you to build the fire and tend to the fire.” Jose did as he was asked, and afterwards his dad said, “I know you were disappointed that you didn’t get to cook the paella, and you only had responsibility for the fire, but I need you to know, son, how important a job it is, especially on a windy day like today. Without a fire, the chef can’t cook the meal. And the fire is a really really important role, even if it’s sometimes overlooked.“ This really struck a note with me. I see my role as tending to the fire, so that Jill can run the programs. I raise the money, pay the bills, make sure our insurance is up-to-date. It’s not glamorous, but it’s essential so that Jill can be write the recipes and lesson plans, procure the groceries, and plan the classes. By doing this, Jill is building and stoking the fire for the Culinary Educators. She’s providing them the recipes the lesson plans and the ingredients so that they can go and do the essential work of teaching our cooking classes. Then the Culinary Educators are building and stoking the fires for our students. They are providing the instruction and the guidance to teach our kids how to cook.

So I encourage you to reflect on the questions: Who are you building a fire for and how are you supporting those in your community? And who’s building a fire for you? Who’s making it possible for you to do the work that’s meaningful to you?

On May 23rd UCSB Arts & Lectures is welcoming Chef José Andres at The Arlington Theatre. Afterward we are gathering at Mosaic Locale and would love to have you join us! We’ll save you a seat 😊

Our final Chef’s class for The Taste of Santa Barbara week at our kitchen last night was hosted by our own chef Jill and Jeff King. We featured French Galettes, both sweet and savory. The scents in the kitchen were of apples, cinnamon and then a gorgeous mix of fresh herbs. Participants enjoyed learning the process for the perfect flaky dough, making fresh ricotta, prepping the asparagus and choosing the right herbs as well as the assembly for the gorgeous galettes!
Thank you to for another great experience and a huge thank you to all our beloved farmers

Busy hands, smiling faces, yummy food, fragrant herbs and full tummies. All in a day’s (fun) work! This week we are making Tabbouleh, Labneh Sip and grilled pita bread. Mint and parsley galore.

Chef Jeff and Chef Carmen started off the fantastic week of The Taste of Santa Barbara culinary experience! What a night, what a week it’s going to be!

We attended the Santa Barbara Education Foundation Hope Awards where we sampled Endive Spears with Beet Hummus and Apple-Zucchini Slaw-yummm. This was all gluten free, vegan, and zero waste. 😋 Pictured left to right are Sonam Samat, who was visiting with us all week, Nancy Martz, Bryan Kerner, and our new Volunteer Coordinator and Community Partner Liason, Kathleen Reddington.
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We are now recruiting our summer camp staff! We have volunteer positions open for teens and college students as CITs (counselors in training) with the option to be part of our Teen Internship Program. We also have some paid positions for Camp Counselors and Culinary Educators. Our first round of interviews are May 11th. Camp prep week begins June 17th, Summer Camp starts June 24th and runs through August 9th. We require at least a one-week commitment and priority will be given to applicants who are available for more than one week. Join a really fun, energetic and delicious summer camp!
Sign up at the link in our stories or at Link in Bio.

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We are sure you all know how much we adore our Julia Child connection here in Santa Barbara. On May 8th we are hosting one of our book club evenings with her book "My Life in France." We would LOVE to have you join us as a way to gear up for 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗦𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗮 𝗕𝗮𝗿𝗯𝗮𝗿𝗮 May 13-19 with amazing food and wine-centric events all through the week! Apples to Zucchini Cooking School will be hosting 4 delicious evenings of cooking classes with our local chefs. We will be seen around town at most events, when we are not in the kitchen cooking and baking away! There are still a few spots left in the May Book Club as well as the cooking class events.
𝗧𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗴𝗼 𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗹𝘆, 𝘀𝗼 𝗷𝘂𝗺𝗽 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗶𝗻! ---𝗕𝗼𝗻 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗲𝘁𝗶𝘁!---
***Book Club tickets are available through our website at https://ticketing.humanitix.com/tours/classes-for-adults or at the link in bio and on our stories.
***Tickets for the Taste of Santa Barbara events can be found at https://sbce.events/
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Our 8th session of Food As Medicine Cooking Classes for Adults is ready for registration! We have so many All Stars from the Culinary Institute of America and our conference in Napa we are going to bring you more more more!! Register at our link in bio or on our stories today.

Guess what we are making this week?! Rainbow Veggie Spring Rolls, one of our most requested recipes with our school-aged kids. Most kids love to roll up their food for the perfect 'handheld' bites and everyone LOVES to pick and choose their favorite fillings. With so many gorgeous colors available, it's all going to make their tummies sing and their bodies feel so nourished. If you are in our Wednesday night Family Dinner Class, you will be enjoying Spring Rolls as well, with a few add on extras! Enjoy!
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We are gathering together for the UCSB Arts & Lecture Series with José Andres this Sunday April 21st at the Arlington Theatre. Stop by our table in the Arlington courtyard beforehand where his documentary film is showing, then after the lecture we would love to have you join us down the street at Mosaic Locale where our friends from Draughtsmen Aleworks will be welcoming us for drinks and conversation. Hope to see you there!

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Everyone loves carrot cake. The warm spices, the moist crumb, the tangy cream cheese frosting, and those toasted pecans. Carrot cake is the most comforting of comfort foods and plays the star for any occasion. In this class, students learn how to make a traditional (with gluten) or gluten-free, 3-layer carrot cake from scratch, how to make three perfect layers, frosting for each, and how to finish the cake to make it that showstopper you desire. Class is May 25 and tickets are live on the website and link in bio under Adult & Family Classes and in stories. Get them now!! 😊

The sweetest little hands making the best batch of golden brown cornbread pancakes ever! So delicious, every last minute of it.

We are SO excited to announce our Summer Camp just for Tk and Kindergarten students! We had so much fun during spring break we decided to do it again. We have 3 different weeks of fun filled activities with Miss Carly at our campus at Apples to Zucchini. We will be set up in our beautiful garden for loads of learning, playing, creating, testing and tasting, all centered around FOOD.
Registration is open NOW for ages 4-6, visit our website to register your child for a week of Summer Camp! Fair warning...spring break camp sold out in a day 🌼
Ticket links are also in our stories and at the link in bio. See you in the sunshine!
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We are currently looking for just-the-right-person to fill an integral role as part of our team. This is a part-time position with room to grow. We are a small team but we have BIG heart and a lot of fun! Current position(s) are for Volunteer Coordinator and Community Engagement Professional. We teach kids, teens and adults how to prepare delicious and nutritious meals and our programs could not happen without a core group of enthusiastic and supported volunteers and community partners. C/p this link to for our job description or find it in our stories! 𝐖𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧'𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮.
**** https://santabarbara.craigslist.org/sls/d/santa-barbara-volunteer-coordinator/7735782581.html ****
Apply here: https://wkf.ms/4aS6YPD
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Our garden is popping up alllll the good things! This bowl of arugula, peas, radishes, strawberries and mint is going to class today!
We are always looking for extra hands in the garden. Bring the kiddos, let’s dig in the dirt. Email Dena to set up a time. [email protected]

We were so pleased to have the 40+ high school seniors from REACH Fellowship join us again this spring for cooking classes as part of their Health and Wellness experience. We developed a special class curriculum just for these college-bound students, complete with familiar recipes they can take with them and feel a bit of home when they are away from home. The twist on this? We learned together how to make these meals in a dorm room with minimal ingredients and tools. Survival at its best! If you are new to REACH Fellowship, please check them out. This program is everything I wish I had when I was in high school! www.reachfellowship.org
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One of our most requested classes is coming back! Join us in our kitchen for Sourdough Ba
king with Jeff King. We will teach you the skills and provide you with the tools to make delicious and fresh sourdough bread at home. Your family and friends will thank you from the bottom of their hearts 🥰

Scenes from Spring Break Camp -part 1!

Attention! Due to popular demand we have opened another afterschool class in our teaching kitchen at Garden Street Academy! Registration is open NOW. Grab a spot. Bonus-it’s also garden season, so double the fun.🤩
****tickets at link in bio or on the website—www.atozcookingschool.org ****

It’s been a smashing great start to our Apples to Zucchini Spring Break Cooking Camp! Today is all about Eating the Rainbow 🌈 and started out with rainbow vegetables and hummus, followed by a discovery walk through the garden and planting seeds for our rainbow garden beds and then to the kitchen for prepping an array of rainbow colored veggies for our cauliflower tacos! We can’t wait to see them again tomorrow 😊

A special THANK YOU goes out to American Riviera Bank for your continued support over the years. Thank you for helping us bring summer camp to our neighborhood. We love our community and we love all of you!
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Our Spring Break Cooking Camps are now available for individual day sign ups! Whether your kids have the whole week free or just a few days, we have the cooking adventure for them. You can choose between Baking, Local Bounty, Dumpling Day, Noodles and Plant Power themes. Click the link in our bio, check the stories or visit the website at www.atozcookingschool.org to sign up.
Camp starts March 25 and is open for select days for tk/k kiddos and everyday for grades 1-6.

SPRING IS IN THE AIR! With all this rain our garden is ripe for the tilling and planting. Our Spring break and Summer camp kiddos get to spend quality time in our campus garden learning all about seeds, sprouts, fruits and vegetables, worms and pollinators. We would love to have you join us Friday morning March 1st for a few hours if you'd like to help out. 🌼
*****If you would like to book a few hours on a weekend with your family, friends and neighbors we are happy to arrange that as well! Contact Dena at [email protected] and let's arrange a date in the garden.
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It’s just another fun cooking day at Montecito Union, sandwiched with plenty of animal care and hand washing of course. We made Cauliflower & Walnut tacos with double the spice seasoning. Our tortilla dough was mis-measured so it was too soft for the tortilla press. Instead we put the little dough balls on the griddle and pressed them down for cooking with a spatula and made tortilla chips instead! It’s not the first time we’ve had to improvise in class, surely not the last either. Just like life.