Sweet & Savory Pecans (air fryer or oven recipe) Plus my Year In Review

Greetings, folks!

This is 615 words, a 2½ minute read.

As the year winds down I wanted to thank you, and send you an update on my year. During 2023 I taught 9 classes, 296 students, and uploaded 15 class recordings. I decided to add Bonus Extra Recipe Videos to supplement in class info (like this video for Instant Pot Chocolate Pots de Creme For Two), and uploaded 17 bonus recipe videos to Youtube for folks to re-watch as needed.

To connect in person with folks, I’ve been doing live cooking demonstrations at Community Education events around the Twin Cities and Wisconsin.

In August during my Stop Food Waste With Your Pressure Cooker class I created a Leftover Cheat Sheet—and resolved to share ideas for how to repurpose the recipes I demonstrate in different ways.

In honor of my birthday I decided I’d donate the profits from this month’s Monthly Meal Planning class to my co-teacher Megan’s charity Lyle’s Lunchbox. I figured I’d round up to $500 if participation fell short of that soft goal, but so many folks registered for class that I ended up donating $1,100.00!

THANKS TO YOU, HUNGRY KIDS AND SENIORS IN MAUSTON WISCONSIN ARE GETTING EXTRA NUTRITIOUS FOOD OVER WINTER BREAK.

You did that. Pat yourself on the back. I appreciate you!

Air Fryer or Oven Crispy Eggplant Chips with Spiced Yogurt Dipping Sauce

Eggplant chips coated in a seasoned rice flour batter and air fried or baked until crisp. Served with a spiced yogurt dipping sauce for a gluten free vegetarian appetizer.

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Crispy baked eggplant chips with spiced yogurt dipping sauce are a perfect vegetable appetizer for early Fall. You're going to coat eggplant slices in seasoned rice flour, dunk them in an egg & milk mixture, then bake in an air fryer or oven. I like to have a vegetable appetizer set out to snack on while I'm fixing dinner and this one is a favorite this time of year. (Want more vegetable appetizers? Check out my Clickable Collage of Vegetable Appetizers or follow my Awesome Veggie Apps and Snacks board on Pinterest.)

Click here for my How to Make Air Fryer Crispy Eggplant Chips video on Youtube!

Cooking Classes Fundraiser for World Central Kitchen

Hi there!
This post is to announce that I am donating access to one of my cooking classes, either Chili Night with Your Instant Pot or Instant Pot Desserts, to raise money for World Central Kitchen's current efforts helping feed displaced people in Ukraine and surrounding countries.

If you've attended one of my online or in-person cooking classes you may be aware of my work as a cook for Minnesota Central Kitchen at Chowgirls Catering in Minneapolis. Chowgirls Culinary Director Chef Liz Mullen modeled MCK on World Central Kitchen, Chef Jose Andres' amazing organization feeding people in need around the world in immediate response to manmade and natural disasters. Since 2010 WCK has been providing hot meals globally--since 2020 MCK has been providing hot meals locally.

I want to help--in a more global way than cooking 72 pounds of basmati rice or roasting 200 pounds of carrots during a shift in the Chowgirls kitchen (or making Turkey Enchilada Lasagna for 200 food insecure folks). So I'm selling access to the recordings of my Chili Night with Your Instant Pot class and my Instant Pot Desserts class.

If you're interested, you'll purchase access to the class by clicking the Paypal button below. When I get the email from Paypal, I'll send you the recipe handout + a link to the unlisted Youtube recording for that class. Please know that it won't happen immediately--I'm not tech-savvy enough to know how to add the info to the Paypal button below--but within 24 hours of my Paypal notification I'll send you class access.

ALL OF THE MONEY I RECEIVE FROM PAYPAL WILL GO TO WORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN!**

I've already earned enough this year to pay for the camera upgrades my spouse/gaffer bought last month. I've got food in the freezer, electricity, and clean water coming out of the tap.

I don't need more.

Therefore, whatever I receive from Paypal--be it the full $15 if you choose the friends & family option, or a bit less if you choose the goods & services option (your choice, whichever you'd rather do)--will go to World Central Kitchen.

Early April Update! 

Last month we raised $210 for World Central Kitchen—through the sales of access to my previously recorded Chili Night With Your Instant Pot and Instant Pot Desserts classes.

 

**I lied. I said in my original post about the fundraiser that I would donate ALL of the money I received from PayPal to World Central Kitchen. I lied. PayPal took a cut of the funds, $1.01 per $15 donation, and I didn’t want WCK to have to pay the fees associated with the donation, so instead of donating $195.86 I rounded up and donated $220.50 to WCK.

 

Let me tell you more about the classes you can choose from! (Here's my main Instant Pot/Air Fryer Class page.)

Chili Night with your Instant Pot: The electric pressure cooker makes a faster and more flavorful Pot of chili compared to stove top or slow cooker—and you can make your sides in the Instant Pot, too! Kirsten will demonstrate Easy Weeknight Chili, Turkey Verde Chili, and vegan Quinoa Chili, along with Instant Pot “Baked” Potatoes and Loaded Cornbread. We’ll also discuss how you can adapt your favorite recipe for pressure cooker use. After I receive your donation, you will receive an extensive handout along with the link to the recording from class. 

Instant Pot Desserts: Creamy Cheesecake, Crème Brûlée, decadent Flourless Chocolate Cake, light Upside Down Summer Berry Cake and more—what do all these treats have in common? They’re made in an electric pressure cooker! Learn how to create your own Instant Pot Desserts--Crème Brûlée, Upside Down Summer Berry Cake, Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake, and Cheesecake--and learn about the different items you can use to create desserts in your electric pressure cooker. After I receive your donation, you will receive an extensive handout along with the link to the recording from class.

Click here to purchase access to Chili Night With Your Instant Pot OR Instant Pot Desserts for $15--I will donate the full amount from Paypal to World Central Kitchen.

I plan to total up the Paypal amounts at the end of the month and then update this post with how much was donated.


How long will I keep this fundraiser going? Well, I'd love to say until the people of Ukraine are free from suffering but I don't see that happening anytime soon. I'll keep this fundraiser going through the end of June at any rate.