Cooking for Healing - Online

This is a live, interactive, hands-on cooking class held online via Zoom. See our registration policies here. Please register in advance of the event so we can communicate important class information.

Inspired by a teenage member of our community, we first offered this class in July 2024 to help people going through or having gone through cancer, their families, and their caregivers. We’re revisiting this theme with a focus on winter, and the need to nourish and warm the body and soul. We’ll cook with ingredients that boost the immune system as they provide nourishment essential to any healing process: ease of digestion, antioxidants, and healthy fats.  In a nutshell, these are simple recipes that make us feel good. Master big-batch cooking to create multiple meals while minimizing prep time.

In this class, we will spend two hours cooking together and sharing. We strive to make the recipes accessible, repeatable, and adaptable to what’s available. We will also leave space for moments to share verbally as we cook together. We believe in the transformative power of home cooking, and hope that this class will be a safe space for sharing, bonding, coping, and nourishing. 

We offer a discounted ticket price, thanks to funding from San Francisco University High School. The grant was secured by Aria, the teenager who inspired this 18 Reasons class. Aria will be cooking alongside you during class and looks forward to connecting with you.

Besides delicious food, here's what you can expect from an online class with Camila: Chef Camila has a broadcast-quality multi-camera setup with professional microphone and lighting, creating top notch video quality. Some visuals and graphics are included for clarity and visual aid. The class is fully interactive; Camila can see your home setup and respond to questions in real time on substitutions, cookware, technique, and the recipe. Classes are paced so that you can cook along in real time, or, if you prefer, sit back, watch, enjoy, and learn. Registrants will have access to the class video to rewatch as many times as your heart desires! Click here to see a sample video of what to expect in class.

MENU

Immune-Boosting Shiitake Mushroom and Beet Salad with Walnuts and Tahini Dressing: Eating too many raw foods in winter can take a lot of effort to digest, so this salad features cooked (and cooled) ingredients that boost immunity.

Turkish Red Lentil Soup: Beans are extremely nutritious but sometimes hard to digest. Red lentils are by far the most digestible beans. Also known as Daughter-in-law soup, this soup is nutritious, tasty, and simple to prepare. As a bonus, it freezes very well!

Congee with Roasted Mushrooms and Black Garlic: Congee is the ultimate healing food in Camila’s opinion. This recipe can use brown or white rice. Roasted mushrooms are the key immune-boosting ingredient, and black garlic adds much flavor and nutrition. Toppings can range from simple to elaborate and give each person a chance to design a bowl to fit their needs.

This menu contains the following common allergens: Tree Nuts - niuts can be left out to make it completely allergen free. If you have allergies or dietary restrictions that concern your ability to cook along, please e-mail info@18reasons.org before purchasing a ticket.

Let’s Cook Together!

If you’re new to 18 Reasons Online, please read this guide: How to Take an Online Class at 18 Reasons. Five calendar days before class, 18 Reasons may decide to cancel this class if not enough tickets are sold. We will notify registrants by email about cancellations.

Camila Loew holds a Ph.D. in Humanities and is a certified nutrition consultant. Having lived alongside the Mediterranean for almost two decades, she believes that the best cooking relies on simple recipes with outstanding ingredients. That's the Mediterranean way she conveys in her classes, along with the concept of sobremesa, which happens to be the name of the company she runs. Sobremesa is the leisurely time we spend gathered around the table. In addition to running Sobremesa Culinary Tours, through which she offers delicious cultural and culinary experiences abroad for fellow food-lovers, Camila founded and directs the Food Studies & Gastronomy program at the University of Barcelona, and teaches academically about Mediterranean food culture to American students abroad. Since 2014, Camila has been sharing her love of regional Spanish and Mediterranean cuisines at 18 Reasons. Additionally, for the past 10 years, she teaches regularly for the Cancer Support Community of the SF Bay Area.  For more information visit her website www.sobremesa.life