Whew!  We almost made it through the summer.  We are finding the last of the summer vegetables in the store now and fall is on the way.

We have been working long hours on our canning class as well as our beginner series that both start this month.  We even made pickles for the first time and can’t wait until they are ready to eat.  I hope they are as good as my grandpa used to make them.  I’m sure he would be proud.

As I am developing recipes for the beginner series, I was reminded that some of these recipes will be great to include in ‘regular’ classes.  You may see classes soon with things such as chicken cacciatore, various stews and maybe even some more seafood classes.  We are still planning on adding back classes that we canceled during my ‘knee surgery fiasco’.  We’ll let you know when we add them to the calendar. 

We’d love to see you in a class.  Give us a call to register.  Don’t forget to take advantage of our monthly specials.

Egg Recall -- Hopefully you are aware of the recent massive egg recall. If you are not, please see egg recall information  to read about it.  A friend of mine, who used to be an egg farmer, told me that salmonella wouldn’t be a problem if we just washed the eggs before we cracked the shell.  So, from now on, I’m going to wash my eggshells right before I break the eggs.  Please don’t wash the shells until you are ready to use the eggs or the protective coating will be removed.

Slow Cooking -- With cooler weather arriving soon, I’ve been getting questions about using crock pots.  You may or may not know that I’m not a huge fan…not because they don’t work, but because I don’t like the texture of some foods made in crock pots.  I recently ran across an article about assuring food safety for food made in a slow cooker.  Read the article is slow cooker food safe to eat to make sure you follow safe practices. 

Mesa Food Examiner -- Don’t forget to subscribe to the Mesa Food Examiner to automatically see articles and recipes we write.  We post much more information and recipes than you see in this newsletter.  It’s free and definitely SPAM free, too.  Just go to Mesa Food Examiner and click where you see ‘subscribe’ to get articles automatically. That way you can read what you want, and not have to keep checking for new things.  We publish lots of other articles and recipes than what you get within this newsletter.

Classes for September 2010 –We are offering adult classes on Tuesday, 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and Saturday 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.  To see details, go to September Class Calendar. 

On Saturday 9/18 and Tuesday 9/21, we are offering our all new Canning class.  We will feature water bath canning method and will can tomatoes, salsa and preserves using seasonal produce.  $63 per person. 

Starting on 9/25 and ending on 10/23/2010 we will feature our Beginners Series cooking classes.  This series will cover everything from basic knife usage to cooking chicken, beef, pork and fish.  We will learn various cooking methods, seasonings and lots of great tips to get you started.  The series is $299 for all 5 classes.  While this session is currently full, we are taking names for a waiting list and may schedule a second session later.

Classes for October 2010 – We are offering classes on Thursday, 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.  and Saturday 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.  To see details, go to October Class Calendar.

On Thursday 10/7 we will be offering our all new Vegetarian Meals class.  This class will feature vegetarian dishes that even meat eaters will enjoy.  $63 per person.

On Thursday 10/26 and Saturday 10/28 we will be offering our Casseroles class.  Prepare yourself for cold-weather by making delicious casseroles.  $63 per person.

In the media:  We were on the Valley Dish on Tuesday, August September 1 at 4:30 p.m.  We made and an old favorite Lady Orange Dreamsicle Cake.  We will post a link on our Facebook page for Simply Impressive as well as tweet the recipes after the show airs.  If you are not on Facebook, you can see the segments here.

Do you twitter?  If so, you may have seen discounts we tweeted about.  If you did not, be sure to follow us.  Our Twitter name is SimplyImprssve.  We offer special deals thru Twitter, so get ‘plugged in’ today at http://twitter.com/SimplyImprssve.  Be sure to mention the twitter discount when signing up.  No other discounts apply.

Facebook – if you are on Facebook, become a fan of Simply Impressive by clicking ‘like’ our Simply Impressive Fan Page.  Our recipes and videos will be made available there.

Special Offers – Our specials for the month of September are below.  Also, watch for our Twitter discounts as they are tweeted.  Be sure to mention the discount when signing up.  One discount per class, please.  No additional discounts are available for the beginner’s series.

During September, sign up for any single class during September, October or November and receive $10 off your next paid class in 2010. 

Recipe of the Month –Orange Lady Dreamsicle Cake.  

We made our Orange Lady Dreamsicle cake the other day on Valley Dish.  I’ve made it for many years, but recently simplified this 3-ingredient recipe even more.  Get the recipe at Orange Lady Dreamsicle Cake.