All Entries in the "Staple Food" Category
Moroccan Chicken and Rice
The main dish which Minoo planned for the South Arm Community Kitchen is a Moroccan Chicken and Rice dish. We were surprised with the use of winter squash in this rice dish.
This Moroccan Chicken and Rice dish is a all in a pot dish. It has protein, vegetable and grain in this dish. This recipe is adapted from Alive Magazine and it serves 4.
The butternut squash and raisins add sweetness to this rice dish. This is a good recipe to make use of winter squashes which are in season now. They are cheap and nutritious.
Here is a tip to peel the tough skin butternut squash. Microwave the whole squash, on high, for 2 minutes. This softens the skins, making it easier to peel. More on following page. Click here to continue reading
Brown Basmati Apple Walnut Salad
If I remembered correctly, June shared this recipe of Brown Basmati Apple Walnut Salad. Brown Basmati Rice is gaining popularity for it’s higher nutritional values. It also tastes nuttier than regular white rice. A friend told me that after a few months of changing from white rice to brown rice, she is actually losing weight. I may try to include some brown rice in my regular rice and my family will slowly accept it. I’m sure Ben is going to make a fuss of it as he hates grainy stuff like whole wheat or whole grain bread.
This Brown Basmati Apple Walnut Salad can be kept in the refrigerator for a couple of days, which makes it the perfect make-ahead dish for company. You may add the apples and toasted walnuts just before serving. In fact, this salad tastes better the next day.
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup toasted walnuts
- 4 cups cooked brown basmati rice
- 1/2 cup dried cherries, raisins or cranberries
- 1 apple, sliced
- 2 stalks celery, sliced
- 5 to 6 celery leaves, chopped
- 4 sprigs parsley, chopped
Dressing:
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- zest of 1 orange
- 1/2 cup orange juice
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
You may toast the walnuts in the microwave. Microwave them on high at 45-seconds intervals, smelling for doneness. It takes between 1 1/2 to 2 minutes.
June and Frances make this healthy and nutty salad.
Cranberry Feta Pinwheels
For the first meeting in October, the South Arm Cooking Club for Seniors whipped up 5 dishes. What a great start for fall. Stella decorated the dining tables with a spaghetti squash and some miniature pumpkins. The squash and pumpkins are gifts from members of the community center. Initially, Stella wanted to use the squash as a prize for some kind of quiz. However, at the end of the cooking session, no quiz idea yet. So, the squash went to whoever who wanted it and it went to Chris. Stella also shared some pears and prune plums with us which she got free from friends who harvested them from their gardens. It is the time of the year where lots of sharing is going around.
The first item on the dining table is Cranberry Feta Pinwheels. These pretty pinwheels are perfect for a Christmas buffet with the festive colours of red from the dried cranberries and green from the chopped green onions.
The Cranberry Feta Pinwheels are great as appetizer. They are so rich with the feta cheese and cream cheese. This recipe is taken from tasteofhome.com. Christina and Ken made this delicious pinwheels. More on following page. Click here to continue reading
Peruvian Cuisine: Potatoes Huancaina Style (Papas a La Huancaina)
The second dish which Erika shared with us is called Potatoes Huancaina Style (Papas a La Huancaina). It has a few similar ingredients as in the Chicken in Aji Sauce recipe. You can kill two birds with one stone for these dishes, i.e. prepare 2 dishes with common ingredients which helps to reduce preparation time.
The Potatoes Huancaina Style is relatively salty because we use feta cheese. You can reduce the saltiness by using a mixture of ricotta or cottage cheese with feta cheese.
Ingredients
- 2 to 5 aji amarillo fresco or fresh yellow aji peppers
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 3/4 cups (400g) farmers cheese (ricotta, cottage, or feta)
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 2 hardboiled eggs
- 4 Spanish olives, pitted and cut in halves or quarters
- 2.2 lbs (1 kg) yellow flesh potatoes, boiled, peeled and sliced (use white potatoes if not available)
- lettuce for plating
- salt and pepper to taste
For this recipe, Erika used the Aji peppers in whole in a jar. Under normal circumstances, canned peppers tend to be hotter than fresh ones. Erika shared with us tips on how to reduce the heat of the peppers, especially if you are serving the dish for children. For those who cant find the aji peppers, you can replace it with sweet yellow peppers.
Peruvian Cuisine: Chicken in Aji Sauce (Aji De Gallina)
Erika Pereyra is a relatively new member of the South Arm Community Kitchen. We were glad that she’s sharing some of her favourite Peruvian dishes in the South Arm Community Kitchen. Erika shared with us that Peruvian cuisine has lots of influences from Spanish cuisine. One can also find a lot of Japanese and Chinese restaurants in Peru.
I bet you will never guess that Peruvian Cuisine has one of the most diverse in the world and is at the same level of cuisines of the Chinese, Indian, French and Spanish. Lima, the capital of Peru, is referred to as the “gastronomic capital of the Americas”.
The video above on Peruvian Cuisine is a bit long but I find it interesting that the country of Peru is so rich in gastronomic heritage. Did you know too that Peru is home to about 2000 types of potatoes? Peru accounts for 40% of all potato varieties in the world.
The first dish which Erika shared with us is called Chicken in Aji Sauce (Aji De Gallina). Aji is a kind of pepper, also known as Peruvian hot pepper.
The above are two types of Aji pepper which Erika introduced to us, one in the form of paste while another is whole. Erika told us that we can find Peruvian groceries in Killarney Market at 49th Ave East Vancouver. For the Chicken in Aji Sauce, we used Aji paste. More on following page. Click here to continue reading
Fettuccini with Tuna and Fresh Tomatoes
The second recipe which Minoo demonstrated at the Gilmore Park Church Community Kitchen was a pasta dish. It is a fast, easy and fresh tasting pasta. It is made with canned tuna which is usually a pantry item and freshen up with some fresh sweet tomatoes.
This fast and easy Fettuccini with Tuna and Fresh Toamatoes dish is perfect for a family meal on a busy evening.
Ingredients
- 375g fettuccine or other long pasta
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon each, dried basil and thyme
- pinch of hot pepper flakes (or to taste)
- salt
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 cups milk
- grated zest of 1 lemon
- 2 cans light tuna (look for Italian tuna packed in olive oil for a more intense flavour tuna); you may replace tuna with 125g chopped smoked salmon and add 1 teaspoon crushed pink or green peppercorns with the garlic or 2 tablespoons drained capers
- 4 small plum tomatoes, chopped
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1/4 cup whole or chopped black or green olives (optional)
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
Quick Curried Couscous
The South Arm Community Kitchen meets again with the leadership of Minoo. We enjoyed meeting one another after a long summer break. We shared our summer stories while preparing and enjoying the food.
Minoo prepared three recipes for the first meeting. The first recipe is a Quick Curried Couscous. Couscous is a staple food of North Africa like Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Western Libya.
This Quick Curried Couscous is easy and quick to prepare. The couscous we found in Western supermarkets is the instant type, i.e. the couscous have been pre-steamed and dried and only needs a small amount of boiling water or stock to rehydrate the couscous, covered tightly for 10 minutes. The couscous will swells and ready to be fluffed and served. It’s preparation time is shorter than dried pasta or dried grain like rice.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups couscous
- 3 cups chicken stock or water
- 1 tablespoon curry powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/2 cup raisins
- 1 bunch parsley or cilantro, chopped
- 1/2 cup of almond slices or slivered almonds
This recipe serves 6.
