Fresh Ideas for Veggies: Farmer's Market Classes at Zola Wine and Kitchen

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SO, YOU KNOW fruits and veggies are good for you, and you also know the farmers market is a great place to stock up on fresh foods during the summer. But did you know you probably won't eat that zucchini, eggplant, tomato, sweet potato, artichoke, insert-your-most-recent-market-acquisition-here, if you don't have a clue about how to prepare it?

That's why it might pay to learn a little something about produce prep. The weekly Farmer's Market series of classes at Zola Wine and Kitchen ($50 each, 505 Ninth St. NW; 202-639-9463; Zolawinekitchen.com) are geared toward amateur chefs who want to make the most of seasonal goodies from their neighborhood vendors.

Each class focuses on a specific veggie or fruit — upcoming offerings feature sweet corn (Wednesday), eggplant (Aug. 19) and peaches (Aug. 26) — and teaches a handful of ways to incorporate it into meals. The focus is on using each item when it's at its prime locally.

That's not just economical, but also healthier. Food grown closer to home is often exposed to fewer chemicals and pesticides, keeping it more wholesome than supermarket grub that's traveled thousands of miles to get to your neighborhood Safeway.

Plus, when a piece of food is ripe, its flavor is the strongest and most satisfying, says Bryan Moscatello, the executive chef for Stir Food Group, who teaches most of the classes. "When you get something that's just great, you tend to savor it," Moscatello says. And all that slow relishing means you might actually eat less, he adds.

None of Zola's classes are geared specifically toward nutrition. Moscatello says his aim is simply to teach multiple ways to showcase individual items. So, in a class about the artichoke, for instance, students learn they can steam or fry the veggie, among other techniques.

But Moscatello, who frequents the Penn Quarter and Dupont Circle farmers markets, thinks it's hard to go wrong, healthwise, when your main course comes directly from a local grower. The classes show students how "the vegetables that are there can really be the stars" of a meal.

If Zola's classes aren't enough to satisfy your hunger for lessons in sustainable dining, a few other local cooking schools offer their spin on straight-from-the-market meals.

Check out CulinAerie's Farmer's Market Basket: From Market to Table class on Aug. 24 ($85, 1131 14th St. NW; 888-789-2665; Culinaerie.com); and Cookology's Market Watch: Summer Desserts on Aug. 10 and 22, and Market Watch: Summer Feast on Aug. 15 ($60 each class, 21100 Dulles Town Circle, Sterling; 703-433-1909; Cookologyonline.com).

Courtesy of Freddie Lieberman