By Sari Arrow

This week, the second Hillel of Buffalo cooking class took on baked ziti! Macie Clawson taught a large group of college students how to easily make a nutritious baked ziti. To be honest, I do not think that I have ever had a ziti that is as flavorful as this. 

We mixed in some red pepper flakes, basil, onion, and garlic to build a large flavor profile. To add more depth, we cooked plant-based ground meat to make it a more balanced meal. While layering the ziti, we used two different types of cheeses to make it the gooey pasta dish we all love. One of the best parts of this cooking class is that we get to take home the ingredients at the end to recreate the dish at home and share it with our friends! I personally can’t wait to make this for my roommates.

As a bonding activity, we discussed our personal relationships with food, whatever that may look like for you. We shared foods that we avoid for dietary restrictions, keeping kosher, and foods that we love and don’t like as much. It was so nice and refreshing to see a group of students get excited about cooking and living a healthy lifestyle.