All Entries Tagged With: "Spinach"
Creamy Bean Soup with Fresh Herbs and Spinach
The next dish which the South Arm Cooking Club for Seniors made is a bean soup. Soup is comfort food especially in the colder fall and winter. This bean soup is adapted from Cara Brunetti Hillyard and it serves 6. Chris and Paul made this soup.
Chris and Paul made two versions of this bean soup. One is the creamy version while another is the broth version. The creamy version is smooth while the broth version has more texture to it. The soup is very filing too with the beans as a source of protein.
Cheesy Fish and Spinach Casserole
Minoo shared a Cheesy Fish and Spinach Casserole recipe in the Gilmore Park Church Community Kitchen. She also made mash potatoes as the side dish to go with the casserole. This recipe serves 6.
This Cheesy Fish and Spinach Casserole is very simple and quick to make. It is a great recipe for a quick meal when you have a long day and do not want to labour in the kitchen. Kids will love this cheesy dish complete with vegetables and protein. All you need is a side dish of carbohydrate like mash potatoes, home made potato wedges, a simple noodle or rice dish.
Ingredients
- 1 bag fresh spinach (you may use pre-wash baby spinach)
- 1 cup cheddar or parmesan cheese
- 1/3 cup breadcrumbs
- 1 egg beaten
- 1 lb Basa or any while fish fillets like Cod, Sole, etc
- salt and pepper to taste
Mushroom and Spinach Frittata with Smoked Gouda
Someone in the South Arm Cooking Club for seniors suggested to have one cooking session for making brunch. It was a great idea and the organizers (Stella, Minoo and Charlene) came up with a few brunch recipes. Stella also handed out an article on how breakfast may improve memory in healthy elderly for the seniors to read. In this article, a study of 22 men and women 61 to 79 years of age, researchers observed improved performance on memory test 15 minutes after ingestion of pure protein, pure fat or pure carbohydrate beverages following an overnight test, as compared with scores achieved after ingestion of a placebo beverage containing no energy. This study shows that memory may be enhanced by eating any type of breakfast – regardless of whether it is comprised of protein, fat or carbohydrate.
Stella, as a coordinator of South Arm’s seniors, has hands on experience on this matter. Among one of the members in South Arm’s seniors group, Stella noticed a big difference in one of the senior’s performance at certain days. She found that the day this particular senior had a good breakfast, her performance improved on that day.
The first brunch item the seniors made was Mushroom and Spinach Frittata with Smoked Gouda. Frank and Karen made this Frittata. Here we go again with Frank slicing up onions again. Frank seemed to be doing a lot of slicing onions and mincing garlic in the community kitchen.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 1 medium onion, sliced
- 2 cups sliced mushrooms
- 4 cups packed baby spinach leaves or torn Swiss chard
- 8 large eggs
- 1/2 cup shredded smoked Gouda cheese, divided
- 1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
Pork Ball Spinach Soup
When I run out of idea of what to make for dinner, I will scour my freezer for items for emergency use. Chinese meat ball is one of those item. It can be fish ball, pork ball, squid ball or beef ball. You can find all these meat balls in Chinese groceries store.
Almost all kids like meat balls. I will not get objections from Arkensen or Nanzaro when I made this Pork Ball Spinach Soup.
Making this Pork Ball Spinach Soup is simple. It only has 3 ingredients:
- a handful of anchovies
- store bought meatballs
- a bunch of spinach
- a dash of white pepper or salt to taste
I made the soup base by boiling a handful of anchovies for 30 to 45 minutes. Just briefly rinse the anchovies before adding to 4 to 5 cups of waters. These anchovies are from Malaysia. I always ask friends who travel from Malaysia to bring them for me. I cant find the same variety here. Anyone of you know where I can buy this type of anchovies in the Lower Mainland?
Once, the broth has been flavoured by the anchovies, strain the broth into another pot and discard the anchovies. Add the meatballs and let them boil for another 10 to 15 minutes. Add the spinach and boil for another 5 minutes. Sprinkle the soup with a dash of white pepper and you have a pot of Chinese soup that kids enjoy. You may season the soup with a tiny bit of salt depending on the saltiness of the anchovies.
Spinach Dip
I have always made spinach dip to share in gatherings among friends. It’s a very simple dip to make and is always a favourite, even among children. I like to use baguette and use the spinach dip like a spread.
I find that if I prepare it that way and pass the plate around, almost everyone will take a piece.
The recipe for the rich spinach dip is simple. You need the following:
- 1 box of frozen chopped spinach
- 1 packet of Knorr Vegetable Soup Mix
- 3 spring onions
- 1 can of water chestnut
- 2 cups of sour cream
- 1 cup of mayonaise
Prepare the spinach according to the instruction on the chopped spinach packaging. I microwave the frozen chopped spinach for 8 minutes or so. Once softened, I strained excess water from the spinach but pressing it with a spoon against a sieve.
Next, I just chopped the green onions and water chestnuts.
Put all the ingredients together and mix.
I then put the dip in the fridge for at least two hours to chill it. This can last for quite a lot of servings. We normally take about a week to finish the whole lot.
Have any of you have a favourite dip recipe to share?
Spanakotyropita
Jenny, who is Panos mom (and Panos is Arkensen’s best friend) had agreed to show me how to make a Greek dish a few months ago. Jenny was very busy and only until now she has the time to show me. Jenny is a Canadian and her husband is Greek. Jenny lived in Greece during her early marriage and she learned to make Greek dishes during her stay there.
The dish which Jenny showed me is called Spanakotyropita, The word Spanakotyropita comes from the Greek word spanaki (spinach); tiri (cheese); and pita which is a hand held snack.
Other pitas which you may be familiar with are the round cooked dough type typically filled with cooked meat, onions, tomatoes and a dab of tzatziki and are often served at Greek festivals or tavernas.
Ingredients
- two packages frozen chopped spinach
- one package phyllo pastry (in the Grocer’s freezer section next to frozen pie/pastry shells)
- approximately 1/2 cup and 2 tablespoons extra virgin cold-pressed olive oil or vegetable oil
- one large cooking onion or 1 leek, rough chopped and sauteed or 1 bunch of fresh green onions which can be added directly to the spinach.
- 1 teaspoon bouillon (powder form, not cubes)
- 1/2 fresh lemon
- 1 large sprig of fresh dill or approximately 1 tablespoon of dry dill
- 1 teaspoon salt and ground pepper (or according to taste)
- 1/3 cup grated parmesan chesse
- 1 package (1/2 lb) Greek style feta cheese
- 3 or 4 large eggs
Click on the link below for the instructions.
