Foodie Yoga Girl made the big leap from the blogosphere into the real world last weekend with her very first cooking class event. The hands-on class was in honor of my friend Heather’s birthday. I shared Heather’s raw oatmeal raisin cookie recipe a while back. She and I met during our yoga teacher training. She’s lovely and it was so much fun being a part of her celebration.

For the class, we set up three stations, each focusing on a different cooking method. One group was in charge of baking jerk tofu. Another group at the stove made sauteed plantains and cilantro lime rice. And the third group (Heather’s parents who were visiting from Colorado) was in charge of this beautiful recipe for Caribbean Cobb Salad.

Everyone had a chance to do lots of chopping, but Ann and Bill really got a work out. They chopped cups and cups of mango, papaya, cucumber and avocado. Ann had been a home economics major in college and had great stories to share about her days doing cooking demos for the gas company. Also, she shared a story about Heather who as a young girl showed an interest in healthy food making very sure the family was eating a variety of fruits and vegetables (this did not surprise me at all).

After all the chopping was done, the team assembled the salad placing the ingredients in rows and topping it all off with some chopped raw cashews. We served the salad dressing on the side so it wouldn’t wilt any leftovers. I’ve been making this recipe for years and it’s perfect for a summer potluck or barbecue.

Caribbean Cobb Salad

Adapted from Cooking Light 

Serves 6-8

8 cups romaine lettuce, torn

2 cup papaya, cubed

2 cup mango, cubed

1 cup avocado, chopped

1 cup red pepper, chopped

2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed

2 cup cucumber, chopped

½ cup raw cashews, chopped

1 cup Orange-Tamari vinaigrette (see recipe below)

Arrange lettuce on a large serving platter.

Spoon black beans down the center of platter and arrange papaya, mango, avocado and red pepper in rows on either side of the beans.

Drizzle Orange-Tamari vinaigrette over salad, sprinkle with cashews

Orange-Tamari Vinaigrette

½ cup orange juice

½ cup pineapple juice

1 Tbsp fresh parsley, minced

2 Tbsp fresh lime juice

2 Tbsp tamari or soy sauce

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 Tbsp sesame oil

2 tsp brown sugar

1 tsp pepper

Combine all ingredients in a jar, cover tightly and shake vigorously. Taste and adjust to your liking.