All Entries in the "2009" Category
Richmond Community Kitchens Potluck 2009
Several of the Richmond Community Kitchens gather to celebrate the end of the 2009 session. We had a lot of food from the participants as usual.
We had a good spread of food from noodles, soup, salad, finger foods and lots of desserts.
It took us a while to get the group photo taken as more people arrived after the initial group photo.
Here are the food in detail. Minoo made an Indian sweets called Burfi. It is made with sweetened condensed milk, non-sweetened grated coconut, chopped Pistachio and cardamom. The ingredients are mix together and cook on the stove on low heat for 10 minutes and roll into balls. The Burfi is then coated in grated coconut.
Lorna made a big platter of salad of potatoes, hardboiled eggs, apple, pear, seedless grapes, artificial crab meat and water melon seeds. The salad is seasoned with miracle whip. Lorna decorated the platter with some beautifully crafted cucumber blossoms.
Tanni made some crispy baked tofu puff at the kitchen. This is so simple to make. Just bake the tofu puff on a greased baking sheet at a 450F preheated oven for 10 minutes turning once.
I made Lychee jelly.
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Cranberry Orange Trifle
This Cranberry Orange Trifle is the dessert for the South Arm Cooking Club for seniors celebratory lunch. Stella decorated the dining tables with such festivities that adds the holiday mood to the meal.
This Cranberry-Orange Trifle recipe is adapted from Cooking Light. According to Cooking Light, the cranberries and custard can be made up to three days ahead. Then, simply assemble and refrigerate the trifle up to 24 hours before you plan to serve it.
Ingredients
Cranberries:
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 cup orange juice
- 1 (12-ounce) package fresh cranberries
Custard:
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 5 tablespoons constarch
- 2 1/2 cups 2% reduced-fat milk
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
Remaining Ingredients:
- 1 (10.75-ounce) loaf pound cake (such as Sara Lee)
- 1 cup whipping cream
- 1 teaspoon orange rind
June, Christina and Chris work on this Cranberry Orange Trifle recipe which serves 12.
Light and Fluffy Carrot Souffle
I’ll consider this Light and Fluffy Carrot Souffle as a dessert but it is also considered as a sweet side dish. Frank made this delightful casserole.
This Light and Fluffy Carrot Souffle is an easy, healthy alternative to sweet potato casserole.
Ingredients
- 7 cups chopped carrot (about 2 pounds)
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup fat-free sour cream
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons butter, melted
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3 large eggs, lightly beaten
- Cooking spray
- 1 teaspoon powdered sugar for garnishing
P/S: we used real butter instead of margarine. I could’nt locate the butter when I took this picture and just grab the margarine from the fridge. This Light and Fluffy Carrot Souffle is adapted from Cooking Light, and it serves 8.
Green Beans and Potatoes in Chunky Tomato Sauce
For the side dish, Paul and Frances made Green Beans and Potatoes in Chunky Tomato Sauce. For this recipe, we used canned whole tomatoes. If you prefer fresh tomatoes, this is how to peel the skin easily. Make a small X on the bottom side of the tomato with a sharp knife. Place tomato in boiling water for 30 seconds. Remove tomato using a slotted spoon; immediately submerge in a bowl of icy cold water. Let stand for one minute. Skin should pull off easily with a sharp knife.
The green beans are cooked perfectly and they are tender and yet still crisp.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 1/2 cups diced red potato
- 1/2 cup chopped celery
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/4 pounds green beans, trimmed
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro or 1/4 cup chopped basil
- 3/4 pound plum tomatoes, peeled and coarsely chopped (or drain and chop 1 1/2 cups canned whole tomatoes)
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
This Green Beans and Potatoes in Chunky Tomato Sauce is adapted from Cooking Light, and it serves 8.
Chicken Breasts Stuffed with Goat Cheese and Basil
The South Arm Cooking Club for seniors had a celebratory meal on the last cooking session of 2009. As usual, the seniors made 4 dishes in the kitchen. For this kitchen, there are two desserts which I enjoyed most.
The main dish is a chicken dish called Chicken Breasts Stuffed with Goat Cheese and Basil. This chicken dish is fit for a party.
Ingredients
- 4 boneless chicken breast halves, skinned
- 1/2 cup fresh goat cheese, about 100 grams
- 2 green onions, thinly sliced
- 3 basil leaves, shredded or 1 teaspoon dried, crumbled
- salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
Sun-Dried Tomato and Mushroom Sauce
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1/2 pound mushrooms, sliced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 6 sun-dried tomatoes
- 1 cup low-sodium chicken stock
The Chicken Breasts Stuffed with Goat Cheese and Basil is adapted from Bon Appetit and it serves 4. Marcel, Helmut and Ken worked on this recipe.
Vietnamese Cuisine: Cassava Strips Dessert (Che Khoai Mi)
Doris made some Cassava Strips for dessert. Doris served the Cassava Strips Dessert with a Coconut Milk Topping called Nuoc Dua in Vietnamese.
The Cassava Strips is lightly chewy. According to Doris, the authentic Cassava Strips should be rolled in freshly grated coconut which is more moist than those store-bought grated coconut.
Doris is so sweet that she also brought some Vietnamese coffee to share with us. Doris had just return from Vietnam and the coffee is 100% Vietnamese coffee. This bag of 1kg ground coffee costs about CAD10. Vietnamese coffee is strong and best serve with condensed milk.
Ingredients for Cassava Strips:
- 2 packs of frozen grated cassava
- 5 ounces coconut milk
- 1 cup sugar
- a dash of vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons butter, melted
- 1 cup water
- 4 tablespoons glutinous rice flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
Ingredients for Coconut Milk Topping (Nuoc Dua):
- 1 can coconut milk
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 to 2 teaspoons rice flour, dissolved in some water as thickener
Vietnamese Cuisine: Sweet and Sour Soup (Canh Chua)
Doris’ second dish is a soup dish. It is simply called Sweet and Sour Soup. In Vietnam, this soup is usually made with fresh fish but for simplicity, Doris made this dish with store-bought tofu fish. You may use any kind of seafood for this dish, according to Doris.
Ingredients
- 1 pound Bac Ha vegetable
- 1/2 pound bean sprout
- 1 pound tomato
- 1 tablespoon tamarind
- 1 pound fish
- 2 sprigs of Ngo Om herb
- few garlic cloves, minced
