Today was a busy one! But, it was all FUN stuff! 
After the New Harvest presentations, the group traveled to the Reading Terminal for a vegetarian Italian cooking class at La Cucina.
The owner of La Cucina, Anna Maria Florio, is a Philadelphia native and the daughter of Italian-born parents from Italy. She was the instructor for our cooking class this afternoon.
Anna Marie introduced herself and explained how to prepare the various courses of our meal. Then, we broke off into small groups of 2-3 people and got right down to work making our lunch.
Tanya, Anne-Marie, and I tackled the Orange and Fennel Salad.
Lunch also included the most amazing Crostini with caramelized onions, fig jam, and goat cheese. I ate 3 or 4 of them. So good!
We also made homemade Sweet Potato Ravioli, which I really loved. They were doughy and sweet.
Mmmm…
Finishing touches:
Time to eat!!!
Everything was delicious. We did a great job! 😀
For dessert, we enjoyed fresh berries soaked in Limoncello with homemade whipped cream.
After lunch, we ventured over to the Franklin Institute to check out the famous heart exhibit.
The Giant Walk-Through Heart, originally built in 1954, is two-stories high and would be the accurate size for a 220-foot tall person. Cool!
Our last stop of the day was the Philadelphia Museum of Art to see the Rocky Steps.
Jenna and I visited the Rocky Steps on Thursday, so we rested our feet for a little bit.
It was a long day, but I enjoyed it all. Plus, having a 2-hour break before dinner was just what I needed to recharge for the rest of the day.
Gotta get ready for dinner! See ya! 😎
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33 Comments
The food all looks delicious, I bet that was such a fun experience. And I remember that giant heart from when my 3rd grade class took a field trip to Philadelphia!
Nice job with the lunch! I can’t wait to take cooking classes this summer 🙂
Looks delicious!
The food looks amazing!!! How fun!
Looks like a GREAT time!!
It’s been ages since I saw that heart, brings back memories of elementary school! Your lunch looks delicious, those pictures have my mouth watering! Hope you enjoy dinner!
nothing like cooking with others – and then getting to eat it!
I would love to take a cooking class, and the best part getting to eat all of the creations at the end.
Like a feild trip but even more fun! That walk through the heart looks cool. We just learned all about the blood flow through the heart..this would have been a neat way to really get into it!
Goat cheese, caramelised onions, figs… those are some of my favourite things. Huzzah! The salad looks like its been made by a real chef, too 😛
looks like so much fun! great pics!
How fun! I’ve always wanted to try a cooking class with a bunch of friends 😀
I must recreate those crostinis. And then eat them in abundance!
What a great cooking class! SO much fun!!!!
The cooking class facility is gorgeous. & orange fennel salad – how refreshing! I hope you had an iced coffee or two to help you get through your long day…oh, and T-2 weeks ’til our BIRTHDAYS! 🙂
That cooking class looks like fun. I love the hands on type of cooking classes.
The heart is my favorite thing in the Franklin Institute. I can’t help but go through it every time. It hasn’t gotten old. The first time I went was 2nd grade.
It looks like you’re having a fantastic time and learning a lot, too. Cool weekend! 😀
That’s so awesome! This looks like a lot of fun. I definitely would love to cook with people :D:D I haven’t been to Philadelphia though. It looks like a really pretty place 🙂
Wei-Wei
I think I remember seeing that heart on an episode of House!
looks like so much fun! I bet the cooking class was amazing- you guys made some great things!
Philly looks great! My boyfriend and I are contemplating the Philly Half Marathon in Sept! I love going to cities I have never been to for half marathons because it allows me the time to explore the city!
That heart exhibit is so cool!
Jenn
Okay, I’m hungry now! The crostini look DELICIOUS! I could probably eat 10 of them:)
Posts like this one are why I just became a blogger myself. 🙂 Events like this look like so much fun!
It looks like you had so much fun making lunch. I bet it tasted sop good after all the effort you guys put in. You have really seen the sights of Philly too, the heart exhibition looks so cool. Can’t wait to see dinner!
That was one big heart! Your pictures looked really good, and I love how you made your plate of food all arty and fun.
Oh my gosh that looks like so much fun!
Sweet potato ravioli, where have you been all my life?!
The giant heart at the Franklin Institute is awesome. I remember running through it as a kid and thinking it was the coolest thing in the world.
The New Harvest supplements really interest me! I’m afraid of the fish oil supplements because I’m afraid they’ll have an aftertaste!
The cooking class looks like SO MUCH FUN! Love the pictures!!
We had a GIANT COLON exhibit at my local mall. You could walk right through a colon replica. Kinda gross, but cool!
Looks like you had sooo much fun! I absolutely love the Reading Terminal Market — and Philly, in general!