It’s finally summer.  Kids are out of school and vacations are in full swing.  Many of our friends will be leaving town for the summer, but for those of us who will stay, let’s have a great time.  We have both adult and kids classes available throughout the summer if you are looking for things to do.

While our main focus is kids and teens, we haven’t forgotten about adults.  See our calendar for the scheduled adult classes.  We also schedule lots of private and group classes in the summer, so get several friends together and we can build the perfect class for your group.

We have also posted our classes for the remainder of 2010.  Details regarding the class menus, etc. will follow soon. 

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.

Food of the Month – Rhubarb.  It’s rhubarb season now.  If you have never used rhubarb or want other ideas on using it, check out our article on  rhubarb. 

As a reminder, Schnepf Farms still has peaches available for picking.  Doesn’t a rhubarb/peach pie sound delicious?  I might have to make one. 

High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) update – As many of you know, I am not a fan of high fructose corn syrup.  Yes, I have read the articles put out by the corn growers association and I have seen the commercials.  However, I don’t like using sugar as a replacement for fat, which is what is happening.  The other day I saw a very encouraging article.  It seems like Hunts is removing HFCS from their entire line of ketchup.  So that makes it easier to find ketchup in your grocery store without having to "hunt" down ‘organics’. 

There is still a long way to go on this topic, but the good news is that by putting pressure on manufacturers, they are responding.  I’ll keep you posted.  If you’d like to see the press release, check out Hunts ketchup.

Mesa Food Examiner -- Don’t forget to subscribe to the Mesa Food Examiner to automatically see articles and recipes we are posting.  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 than what you get within this newsletter.

Adult Classes for June 2010 – During June we are offering both adult and kids classes.  This information pertains to our adult classes only.  We are offering adult classes on Thursday, 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.   To see details, go to June Class Calendar and “mouse over” the class name.

On Thursday, 6/3 we are offering our all new Grilled Favorites class.  We will feature some of our favorite menu items to prepare on the grill.  $63 per person. 

Adult Classes for July 2010 – During July we are offering both adult and kids classes.  This information pertains to our adult classes only.  We are offering adult classes on Thursday, 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.   To see details, go to July Class Calendar and “mouse over” the class name.

On Thursday, 7/8 we are offering our all new Vegetarian Delights class.  We will feature some of our favorite vegetarian dishes.  $63 per person. 

Upcoming Summer Classes for Kids and Teens – Our kids and teen classes are scheduled this summer.  We have added a few additional classes this summer including a 3-day teen class and a 2-day class for 8-12 year olds.  Our class calendar will be updated in the next day or so.  The classes and dates are:

• Ages 8-12 – June 7 – 11; 10:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.; $245 week; menu planned is brunch, pasta, party foods, Food Network favorites and ‘unfried’ fried chicken.
   

• Teens – June 28 – 30; 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.  $155.  This newly-added class is perfect for teens only having a few days available for cooking camp.
   

• Teens -- July 12 – 16; 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.  $260; – menu planned is grilling, Mediterranean foods, Party foods, Desserts and a ‘build your own class’ day where the students will pick what they want to make in this class.
   

• Ages 8-12 – July 26 - 27; 10:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.; $99.  This ‘mini boot camp’ will offer kids a chance to see if they would enjoy a full week boot camp in the future. 

Don’t forget…if you feel your child should be in a different class than what his or her age would dictate, please feel free to call and discuss.  Some children may be a better fit in different age groups.

In the Media:  We are scheduled to be on the Valley Dish on Tuesday, June 22 at 4:30 p.m.  We will be making stuffed burgers and peachy beans with a twist.  Watch us at 4:30 p.m. on Channel 12.

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

Special Offers – Our specials for the month of June 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.

During June, if you sign up and pay for an adult class scheduled in June, July or August, you will receive $8 off of the enrollment fee for each class. 

Recipe of the Month – strawberry/rhubarb crumble.  Why not take advantage of rhubarb while it’s available in the produce department.  Try our Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble for a perfect old-fashioned treat.