When the East Hall Community Center was set to open in September, Sora Childress saw it as an opportunity to teach children cooking. She began her cooking class because of her passion for food.

"I work for Major League Baseball, but my passion is cooking," Childress said. "It’s a good break from journalism ... I just always had the best time cooking, that was a stress relief for me.

That same love for cooking drew children like Priscilla Magnus, 14, to the class.

"My mom (signed me up); she knows I want to be a cook when I get older," Magnus said.

According to younger sister Claudia, 8, Priscilla is a great cook at home.

"She cooks breakfast, she cooks eggs, omelettes," Claudia said. "But I really want to make Sloppy Joes, because those are my favorite food."

Two of Childress’ children, Ilan and Cheyenne Evans, attended the cooking class.

"I have six children ... I had to cook anyway for all the kids; it makes the whole family feel good. I teach my kids how to cook, too. I think it’s important."

At the class, their mother cooked one of their favorite dishes: Peanut Buttery Chicken Stew.

"(My favorites) for dinner — I would say chili and peanut butter chicken," Cheyenne Evans said.

The stew is made from one whole chicken that is chopped and browned in a pan with olive oil. The chicken is then removed and garlic, onion and potato is added to the pan and sauteed for two to three minutes. Next the cumin, pepper and salt are added, then the chicken and water.

Simmer the chicken and other ingredients for 10 to 15 minutes and add the peanut butter and garbanzo beans. Once the peanut butter is mixed well, simmer until the chicken and potatoes are fully cooked.

"Sometimes the peanut butter is a little too thick so you want to add some water," Childress said. "Add more until you have a nice saucy-type consistency. (Then serve) either over rice or next to it."

When choosing recipes to teach the children, Childress went to the Internet.

"I always research online, and I concoct the recipes," she said. "I do a mixture of things. One of my favorite sites is All recipes , cause you really just go by the reviews. If it has really good reviews, it is usually a hit."