— Janine Organiz

Uh, so it sounds like you just provided three great suggestions on ways to start, uh, to do that. Um, you know, generally what comes to mind for me is, uh, when I see herb classes is to, is to start with product identification. Okay? Uh, very rarely, uh, does a home cook have a chance to lay out in front of them a dozen different herbs, for example, and just, um, investigate them visually, feel them, get up close to 'em, sniff 'em, and, uh, taste them, uh, side by side and to really understand, uh, this category of ingredients. And so, uh, and I used to do this with my culinary students, um, you know, every cycle, uh, it just set out many examples of a given category of food item for tasting, you know, whether it's, it was herbs or, um, vinegar or olive oil or, or something else. And it's fantastic because again, rarely do people have a chance to compare several examples side by side. Uh, and then on a farm, this can be extended to different things. It could be edible flowers, uh, it could be types of tomatoes, right? Or whatever else that you have, um, that's, uh, you know, represented by, you know, multiple variations of that, that given item. Okay? Um, edible types of lavender, for example. Fascinating. I, I'll go to a lavender farm not far from here every once in a while, and, you know, they've got like 87 varieties growing, and I'll focus on those, uh, nine or 10 that are recommended for cooking, you know, culinary, uh, applications. And, um, just rub and sniff and, and maybe take a couple of 'em home and, and, you know, learn in that, in that same sort of a way. Okay? Uh, you know, salad class, same thing, right? Um, put out a bunch of lettuce leaves and, uh, do them in their baby form as well as their adult form so people can see, oh, that's what this thing grows into, or how it started. And they can understand how texture changes with maturity, how a sweetness level changes bitterness emerges, and all these other functions of life, uh, that are, you know, part of, uh, you know, the ingredients that we enjoy. Okay? Uh, and then also ask your students what they would like to see, and then think about, um, where your own interests lie. And perhaps, you know, we're starting with these three that you suggested here. Uh, and then go from there to develop, um, you know, a, a a, a short curriculum, and then flesh that out, um, you know, with, uh, presentation orally, visually tasting, and then cooking. Um, and then, you know, maybe you can sell product to the students as they head home.