Definitely "Heavenly Food"!!!!

Taking another cooking class at Sherly's Kitchen in Zurich.

Class description:

"Beloved Chinese restaurant classics in one class!

Chinese culture, deeply rooted in the philosophy that "food is heaven" (民以食為天), places an immense, often central, importance on eating and sharing meals. This profound love is characterized by a high valuation of freshness and diverse regional flavors. In this class we will make three dishes from Cantonese and Sichuan regions of China. Super delicious for everyday or for a special meal to serve for friends/family."

Class menu:

• Sweet and sour orange chicken

• Bok choy & button

• mushroom stir-fry with crispy shallots

• Sichuan-style glass noodle salad

• Jasmine rice

• Fruit for dessert

Michael and I have loved taking cooking classes with Sherly over the years. It is not a one time cooking class with us. We go back and make these dishes over and over again at home.We even make our own kimchi to go with some of the Korean dishes.

All the ingredients we need are set up in advance so we can just start.

We started with the glass noodle salad. The noodles were blanched for about 15 seconds.

Chop the cucumber, carrot, and red pepper on an angle into thin but long slices so it can be picked up chopsticks.

Make the sauce.

Pour over the noodles and vegetables.

Mix. mix, and serve. Garnish with cilantro.

It was nice to see Sibyl again. So far, we think it has been three classes we have taken together.

Bok choy and button mushrooms stir fry

We cleaned the mushrooms. Then, we marked the tops of the mushrooms with a cross so it would be fancy when we plated and served the dish. Remember that you "eat with your eyes" first.

The shitake mushrooms were soaked in water to become soft. Then the mushrooms had the water squeezed out.

Keep the water as you will use it when you cook.

Garnish with fried shallot strips.

Make the sauce

Toss chicken strips (thigh meat) in corn starch. Salt and pepper. Cook.

You could also use tofu if you are vegetarian.

Cook sauce down until it is gooey. Mix in chicken and coat. Garnish with green onion and sesame seeds.

Our cooking class in Zürich wasn't until 6 P.M., so this morning we went to see Gaby and Felix.

Our friend, Lynda, left the two duckies when she visited the store a few weeks ago. Yes, it is the "year of the duck".

If you are looking for a unique, one of a kind gift, definitely check out the Woodpecker at Marktgasse in Interlaken. Gaby does incredible work! The cat was a commissioned piece for a birthday done from a picture.

We walked the Bahnhofstrasse before taking the tram to class.

You come out of Zürich Hauptbahnhof onto Bahnhofplatz. Behind you is the great 1871 station hall; in front of you the street opens like a long, straight corridor of trees and glass. Cars are almost gone. Only trams glide down the middle, bells soft, rails shining. Linden trees (and some other trees) stand in two rows. In summer they make a green tunnel; in winter their bare branches draw a clean line toward the light at the far end.

The first stretch still feels like a city shopping street. Department stores, pharmacies, bookshops, chocolate windows, people with shopping bags and briefcases. The pavement is wide. You hear tram wheels, footsteps, fragments of Swiss German and English. ShopVille runs underneath, but up here everything is daylight and stone.

A few blocks down, side streets peel off toward the old town on your left — Rennweg, Augustinergasse — narrower, older, painted façades if you glance that way. Stay on Bahnhofstrasse and the shops grow quieter and more expensive. watchmakers. jewelers. Names you know from advertisements, set behind glass so still it looks like a museum. The further you walk toward the lake, the more the street becomes about looking rather than buying.

Halfway, the street opens into Paradeplatz.

This is the financial heart: big bank façades facing each other across the tram tracks, a waiting hall in the middle, the geometry of crossing lines.

On one corner, Confiserie Sprüngli — cake, Luxemburgerli, the smell of chocolate if the door is open.

Michael and I decided to have a dessert and tea as we were very early for class.

We both had the white peach tea.

Some of the dessert choices

My choice

Pistachio cream and pistachio mousse

Michael's choice

Some other options we could have chosen.

People wait for trams as if they were waiting for a tide. It is busy without being loud. Zürich wealth here is tailored, not flashy.

South of Paradeplatz the boulevard continues, a little more open, a little more formal. Bank buildings, the National Bank toward the end, courtyards tucked behind façades if you look through an arch. The air changes before the view does: cooler, with a hint of water.

Then the street simply ends.

You step onto Bürkliplatz and the corridor breaks. Sky. The lake. The Limmat leaving the city and becoming Zürichsee. Quays, benches, the smell of fresh water, swans, the white ZSG boats at the piers. On a clear day the Alps sit at the far end of the lake like a painted backdrop — not always, but when they do, the whole walk feels as if it were aimed at that horizon. Look back once: the straight line of Bahnhofstrasse framed by trees, the city stacked behind you. Look forward: open water and, if you wish, the promenade continuing left or right along the shore.

The clock says it is 1:40 A.M. Guess I should stop writing and get some sleep. Michael and I have had an extraordinary day meeting up with friends. Michael and I will be making the dishes we learned tonight. Can't wait to share with family and friends.