Chow Times » Potato

Smoked Fish Hash

Suanne — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 15:00:00 +0000

The Richmond News came to the Gilmore United Church a few weeks ago to interview the Richmond Community Kitchen for their newly launched community guide. That community guide is called Welcome to Richmond. In their first edition of December 2009, they choose to highlight the Richmond Community Kitchen for their cover story! We were all so excited.

In the cover story, the monthly community guide talked about the role of the RCK in supporting the diverse multi-cultural community that you find in Richmond. We felt that food and cooking is one element that brings people from various culture together. Being a SAHM, I personally had formed lasting friendships through the RCK. I encourage those of you who lives in Richmond to come join us to learn about food and of each others culture.

There are a total of six community kitchens in Richmond. So there is at least one near where you stay if you live in Richmond. If you want more details, check out this link.

On that day of the interview, we did a series of recipes for breakfast and brunch. While the interview was done at the Gilmore Church, this series is documented with the South Arm Community Kitchen. We do sometimes rotate the same recipes with several kitchens.

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As requested by some members of the cooking club to do a session on breakfast and brunch item, Minoo came up with four very nutritious recipes to share. Minoo also shared some important breakfast basics with the members. We all know that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. A healthy morning meal will fuel the kids up in time for school or a day of play at the child care. We simply need to refuel our body in the morning after going without food for 8 to 12 hours during sleep. That’s why the morning meal is called break fast. Skipping breakfast can made kids feel tired, restless and irritable, moody and lack of energy.

Breakfast also can help keep kids’ weight in check. It kick-starts the body’s metabolism, the process which converts fuel in food to energy which starts the burning of calories. People who skips breakfast is likely to get famished before lunchtime and snack on high-calorie foods or overeat at lunch which cause overweight issue.

Choosing breakfast foods that are rich in whole grains, fiber, and protein while low in added sugar may boost kids attention span, concentration, and memory. Breakfast that boosts brain power is what kids need to improve their learning in school.

With all the benefits of a good breakfast in mind, here is the first breakfast/brunch recipe.

This Smoked Fish Hash has a smoky flavour that kids will love. It is simple and straight forward diner classic. When top with some eggs and Baked Stuffed Tomatoes, it makes a hearty breakfast.

For a variation, you may make a Corned Beef Hash by substituting the smoked fish with corned beef, diced and omitting the rinsing and poaching process.

More after the jump. Click to read the rest of Smoked Fish Hash (189 words)

Mustard and Rosemary Roasted Potatoes Skewers

Suanne — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 23:00:20 +0000

For those who made their guesses on previous post regarding Frank and Ken’s age, here is the answer. Frank is 80+ and Ken is 90, can you believe it. They are just amazing seniors with an active lifestyle.

Back to the kitchen, Helmut with the help of Stella made this Mustard and Rosemary Roasted Potatoes on skewers. Stella offers her help as the kitchen is short of a member that day.

This extremely simple, but oh-so-delicious potato side dish makes a great pick-up appetizer when threaded onto wooden skewers.

Ingredients

1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1/4 cup olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary

3/4 teaspoon salt

freshly ground black pepper

2 lbs. small new potatoes, halved (or quartered if large)

24 wooden skewers, optional

This recipe serves 4 to 6 as a side dish, or 8 to 12 as an appetizer.

More after the jump. Click to read the rest of Mustard and Rosemary Roasted Potatoes Skewers (170 words)

© suanne for Chow Times, 2009. | Permalink | 3 comments
Post tags: Appetizer, Community Kitchen, Potatoes, Recipe

Peruvian Cuisine: Potatoes Huancaina Style (Papas a La Huancaina)

Suanne — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 22:00:29 +0000

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.

More after the jump. Click to read the rest of Peruvian Cuisine: Potatoes Huancaina Style (Papas a La Huancaina) (163 words)

© suanne for Chow Times, 2009. | Permalink | No comment
Post tags: Community Kitchen, Potato, Recipe

Peruvian Cuisine: Chicken in Aji Sauce (Aji De Gallina)

Suanne — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 13:30:02 +0000

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 after the jump. Click to read the rest of Peruvian Cuisine: Chicken in Aji Sauce (Aji De Gallina) (322 words)

© suanne for Chow Times, 2009. | Permalink | One comment
Post tags: Chicken, Community Kitchen, Potato, Recipe

Wrinkled Potatoes (Papas Arrugadas)

Suanne — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 14:00:02 +0000

This is another potato recipe from the Culinaria Spain book. I found the name quite interesting and decided to give it a try. It is also the season of nugget potatoes and it’s just the right potato for this recipe.

As the name suggests, the potatoes turned out looking wrinkled. It has a slightly salty taste on the skin and creamy soft inside. Arkensen enjoyed this and asked me to make it again for him. This is an easy and fast side dish to make, ready in less than 30 minutes.

Ingredients

2 1/4 lbs/1 kg small quick-cooking potatoes

1-2 tbsp coarse sea salt

More after the jump. Click to read the rest of Wrinkled Potatoes (Papas Arrugadas) (71 words)

© suanne for Chow Times, 2009. | Permalink | One comment
Post tags: Potato, Recipe, Spanish

Potato Omelet (Tortilla De Patatas)

Suanne — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 02:00:32 +0000

Potato Omelet (Tortilla De Patatas) is a common savoury breakfast in Spain. It is usually eaten as a second breakfast around 10 to 11 am. We had this in BraCafe while we were in Barcelona.

I made this Potato Omelet for Ben’s lunch as he is a light eater while he is at work. This is great as it can be eaten warm or cold. This will be a great lunch box item when the kids are back to school next week.

I got this recipe from the Culinaria Spain book as mentioned in this post.

Ingredients:

2/3 cup/150 ml olive oil

2 1/4 lbs/1 kg large potatoes (about 4 large russet potatoes), peeled and thinly sliced

2 tsp salt (I used 1.5 tsp only)

6 eggs

The hardest part in this recipe is to turn over the omelet. Chick on more for the instructions.
More after the jump. Click to read the rest of Potato Omelet (Tortilla De Patatas) (182 words)

© suanne for Chow Times, 2009. | Permalink | 3 comments
Post tags: Egg, Potato, Recipe, Spanish

Mash Potatoes

Suanne — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 23:00:17 +0000

Minoo made Mash Potatoes as a side to go along with the Cheesy Fish and Spinach Casserole. Everyone has their own way of flavouring Mash Potatoes and Minoo’s recipe is flavoured with shallots and garlic.

Minoo’s Mash Potatoes is creamy and fragrant and a little garlicky. It is garnished with green onions. You may substitute the garnish with chives instead. This recipe serves 6.

Ingredients

6 medium potatoes

4 medium shallots, finely chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

green onion or chives, chopped for garnishing

3 tablespoons sour cream

2 tablespoons butter or oil

pinch of nutmeg

2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese

salt and pepper to taste

milk

More after the jump. Click to read the rest of Mash Potatoes (138 words)

© suanne for Chow Times, 2009. | Permalink | One comment
Post tags: Community Kitchen, Potatoes, Recipe

Samosa Style Potatoes and Peas

Suanne — Fri, 22 May 2009 14:00:17 +0000

Christina and Stella prepared this side dish for the South Arm Cooking Club for Seniors. Stella helped out Christina as one of the senior (Lorna) did not turn up the last minute as she was still recovering from her eye surgery. We wished Lorna to have a speedy recovery.

The Samosa style Potatoes and Peas is flavoured with spices like turmeric, mango powder, cumin seeds and chili powder. The peas add sweetness to this dish. This recipe is from Satta Lal.

Ingredients

1 lb russet potatoes (about 3 medium)

1 cup frozen peas, rinsed under running water

1 teaspoon minced ginger

1 teaspoon turmeric powder

1 teaspoon amchur (mango powder)

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

1 tablespoon oil

salt to taste

Here is an excerpt from ‘The Spice of Life’ on ginger shared by Stella:

Ginger is native of China and India, the creeping stems of this perennial plant have been used in Chinese medicines for many countries. Ginger has been used in a wide variety of different products including pickles, chutneys, curries, and, of course, ginger ale.

Ginger is believed to be effective in relieving symptoms of nausea and inflammation. Preliminary studies at the American Association of Cancer Research have shown that gingerol, an active ingredient in ginger, may halt the growth of colon cancer, and it is effective in promoting positive eicosanoids and killing yeast and microbes.

More after the jump. Click to read the rest of Samosa Style Potatoes and Peas (121 words)

© suanne for Chow Times, 2009. | Permalink | No comment
Post tags: Community Kitchen, Peas, Potatoes, Recipe

Potato Chicken Stew

Suanne — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 23:00:54 +0000

We were all very surprise and glad to Vanessa back in the South Arm Community Kitchen. Vanessa was the ex-leader of the South Arm Community Kitchen for several years until last June. Vanessa has involve in some volunteer job which clash with the South Arm Community Kitchen schedule. She came back today to demonstrate a very homey Chinese dish. Welcome back, Vanessa.

The Potato Chicken Stew is best served with steamed rice. The sauce goes so well with rice that kids can just eat the rice with the sauce and potatoes.

Ingredients

2 1/2 lbs chicken pieces (we used chicken drummets)

3 large potatoes

1/2 teaspoon white pepper

2 to 3 tablespoons light soy sauce

2 tablespoons oyster sauce

1 tablespoon cooking wine

1 tablespoon corn starch

2 teaspoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon oil

1 whole bulb garlic, minced

8 small shallots, sliced and rough chopped

3″ ginger, cut in chunks and smashed

2 to 3 tablespoons oil for frying

More after the jump. Click to read the rest of Potato Chicken Stew (168 words)

© suanne for Chow Times, 2009. | Permalink | 4 comments
Post tags: Chicken, Community Kitchen, Potato, Recipe

Potato Leek Soup

Suanne — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 15:00:44 +0000

Minoo made a staple soup which is Potato Leek Soup. Soup is always great for the cold winter days and what better than a hearty soup with some crusty bread. It is also a great recipe to use up the potatoes which we often buy in bulk in those 10lbs bag.

The leek gave this soup a very refreshing oniony flavour. Make a big batch of the soup and you can freeze your leftover in single portion size in ziplock bags or freezer safe containers and you can have soup any time. Just reheat the soup on the stove on medium heat until it comes back to a simmer. Do not add any cream if you intend to freeze the soup. Add the cream just before serving.

Ingredients

7 large potaotoes (leave peels on)

3 to 4 leeks

3 stalks celery

1 large onion

4 cloves of garlic

a little fresh basil (or dried ones)

2 tablespoons corn oil

1 or 2 bay leaf

a few sprigs fresh parsley, chopped or 1 teaspoon dried ones

light cream (optional)

6 to 8 cups of water

salt and pepper to taste

More after the jump. Click to read the rest of Potato Leek Soup (267 words)

© suanne for Chow Times, 2009. | Permalink | No comment
Post tags: Community Kitchen, Leek, Potato, Recipe, Soup