Making Pizza from Scratch: Pizza Sauce (Part 2 of 5)

Carol and Margaret were incharged of making the Pizza Sauce in the South Arm Community Kitchen for seniors. This recipe is adapted from Gourmet. It makes about 2 1/2 cups of Pizza Sauce.

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Ingredients

  • a 28-oz can crushed tomatoes in puree (about 3 1/2 cups)
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
  • salt to taste

Instructions

  1. In a large non-reactive saucepan, bring the tomatoes puree and oil to a simmer.
  2. Simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally for 20 minutes or until the sauce is reduced to about 2 1/2 cups.
  3. Season the sauce with salt and cool to room temperature.
  4. The sauce can be kept in the refrigerator, covered for 5 days.

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Making Pizza from Scratch: Pizza Dough (Part 1 of 5)

Someone suggested to make pizza from scratch in the South Arm Community Kitchen for seniors some time ago. So, finally Stella and Charlene organized for a pizza making session for the seniors.

Due to the time constraint, Charlene prepared some pizza dough ahead of time. She prepared four pizza dough as the seniors are going to make four different kind of pizzas. Hurray!

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Does’nt the risen pizza dough look lovely, soft and smooth? Nevertheless, Charlene did show the seniors how to make pizza dough from scratch with the help of Joyce, Karen and Sydney. The recipe is adapted from Gourmet. It makes enough dough for two 9 inch pizzas. However, the seniors are going to make a large rectangular pizza instead of two 9 inch round pizzas.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup warm water (105-115F – it should feel like warm bathwater)
  • 1 package active dry yeast (about 2 teaspoons)
  • 1/2 teaspoon sugar
  • 2 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil, plus extra for oiling dough

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Crispy Red Bean Cake

While Minoo’s Salmon and Potato Chowder is in the making, Heidi showed us how to make a Taiwanese Crispy Red Bean Cake. We had to have both the demonstrations going at the same time as it takes time for both to be ready in the 2 hours of the community kitchen. Sometimes, I could miss a picture here and there but I always try my best to capture all the critical steps.

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This Crispy Red Bean Cake is crispy on the outside and yet creamy and lightly chewy inside. The trick to have a crispy crust is to bake it at higher temperature first and then turn the temperature down later so that the crust will not burn.

Ingredients

  • 400g glutinous rice flour
  • 4 tablespoons rice flour
  • 4 tablespoons wheat starch
  • 2 tablespoons custard powder
  • 100g instant coconut powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • pinch of salt
  • 5 large eggs
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 2 cups 2% milk
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
  • 200g red bean paste

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p/s: the brown sugar was missing in the photo.

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Salmon and Potato Chowder

Minoo shared this Salmon and Potato Chowder recipe in the Gilmore Park Church Community Kitchen. She also shared the following soup tips.

  • homemade stock can be freeze in small batches for convenient use later
  • look for low sodium stock if you are on a low salt diet
  • use vegetable spray on non-stick pan to saute vegetable with minimum fat
  • always simmer soup covered, on a medium-low heat, stirring occasionally to prevent evaporation
  • when pureeing soup, process in small batches to achieve even smooth texture
  • if soup appears too thick after reheating, add more stock.
  • for more fiber, use unpeeled vegetables, just scrub the skin to clean them
  • leftover vegetables are ideals for making soups
  • to ensure vegetables such as broccoli, asparagus or zucchini to retain good color, add them during the last 5 minutes of cooking
  • chop hard vegetables like carrot finely so that they take lesser time to become tender
  • when a recipe calls for canned crushed tomatoes, you can use whole canned tomatoes and pureed in a food processor with the juice, or use fresh pureed tomatoes
  • for a tasty and sophisticated garnish, add a dollop of light sour cream or yogurt to each bowl of soup
  • most soups can be frozen for up to 2 months; reheat gently

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This Salmon and Potato Chowder is sweet, creamy and cheesy. The sweetness comes from the onion, carrot and creamed corn. A great soup for brunch and lazy days.

Ingredients

  • 3 tablespoons butter
  • 3/4 cup chopped onion
  • 1/2 cup chopped celery
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder or 2 teaspoons chopped garlic
  • 2 cups diced potatoes
  • 2 carrots, diced
  • 2 cups chicken broth
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon dried dill weed
  • 2 cans salmon
  • 1 (12 fl oz) can evaporated milk
  • 1 (15oz) can creamed corn
  • 1/2 pound Cheddar cheese, shredded

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Pork Pancake

While Lucy still have time a couple of weeks before her pharmacy course starts in the middle of March, we are fortunate to have her to show us how to make Pork Pancake. She brought some of these Pork Pancake to the Gilmore Park Church Community Kitchen for us to try and we enjoyed it very much. So, we pleaded her to show us how to make these pancakes in the South Arm Community Kitchen while she still can attend the community kitchen.

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These Pork Pancakes are popular in the northern park of China. These pancakes are great for school lunch as it’s portable and filing. You can filled these pancakes with your choice of meat like ground chicken, ground turkey, ground beef or ground lamb. You can even make a sweet version of these pancakes with ground peanut and sugar. I will have to try the sweet version one day.

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This is a great demonstration as you can see that all the participants have hands on in making their own pancakes.

Ingredients

For the dough:

  • 4 cups (1000ml) flour
  • 2 cups (500ml) water
  • 2 teaspoons instant yeast

For the filing:

  • 2 lbs ground pork
  • 1 teaspoon five-spice powder
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 4 tablespoons light soy sauce
  • 3 to 4 green onions, finely chopped
  • 2 fresh shiitake mushroom, finely chopped (optional)
  • a little cooking wine, optional
  • 1 egg for egg wash, optional
  • sesame seeds for topping, optional

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Brown Sugar Baked Apples

For dessert, Frank and Christina made this Brown Sugar Baked Apples for the South Arm Cooking Club for seniors. This recipe is adapted from Bon Appetit and it serves 8. We used Gala apple for this recipe.

For this recipe, we’ll need apples which are suitable for baking. It must be able to hold it’s shape and will not turn mushy and becomes a sauce. Some of the apples that are good for baking are Jonagold, Fuji, and Pink Lady which names that I’m familiar with. McIntosh and Cortland are examples of apples which will turn mushy when cooked.

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This Brown Sugar Baked Apples is sweet and cinnamony. Cinnamon gives any dessert a very inviting aroma. Someone once told me that if you have a open house to sell your home, simply boiled a couple cinnamon sticks in some water and this creates a natural refresher in your home.

Ingredients

  • 8 baking apples
  • 1/2 cup (packed) dark brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 4 tablespoons pure maple syrup
  • 3 tablespoons butter

Sauce:

  • 2 tablespoons maple syrup
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1 cup water
  • chilled whipping cream (optional)

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Grandma’s Butter Dips

June Wasnick shared this biscuit recipe in the South Arm Cooking Club for seniors. Biscuit is a great compliment with soup, so it goes well with the Tomato Soup Chowder. June made this Butter Dips with Paul’s help. This is June’s grandma recipe. This recipe serves 6 to 8 people.

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These little buttery, crunchy buns are perfect with a soup or stew. It is cheesy and we love the green onion bits in it. It makes a great after school snacks and finger food for parties. We simply love this and there is no left over for the seniors to take home.

Ingredients

  • 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
  • 3 green onions, finely chopped
  • 1 cup 2% milk
  • 1/2 cup butter

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Tomato Soup Chowder

This Tomato Soup Chowder recipe is from Joyce Gerein. Lorna and Carol made this chowder in the South Arm Cooking Club for seniors. Tomatoes is rich in lycopene, an antioxidant and the storage and temperature affects the amount of lycopene in the fruit. Below is an extract of a hand out from Stella which explains the best way to harvest lycopene.

Lycopene is an antioxidant that gives tomatoes, watermelon, and red fleshed grapefruits their rich red color. Temperature is an important factor in the development and availability of lycopene in the above said fruits. According to Penelope Perkins-Veazie, Ph.D, a plant physiologist who conducted the watermelon study; the normal biological processes in watermelon that produce lycopene are strong at room temperature, while cooler temperatures slow them down. Perkins-Veazie recommends letting a whole melon sit on the counter for up to five days to fully ripen and develop lycopene. Then place it in the fridge to chill before enjoying (unless the melon has been cut, in which case it should be refrigerated immediately). It will taste sweeter and crisper if it’s cold and if stored for two days or less you will not lose any of the lycopene gained wihole the melon sat out.

In the case of tomato, the benefits are actually better when they’re processed. Lycopene in tomato is located inside cells. when the cell walls are broken during processing, lycopene is released and can be absorbed. According to Steven J. Schwartz, Ph.D;, professor of food science at Ohio State University in Columbus; heat alters lycopene’s molecular structure, making it two to three times easier for our bodies to absorb than raw.

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This Tomato Soup Chowder is a hearty soup and it’s very filing too, with the potatoes in it. You can have this for brunch with some biscuits for dipping.

Ingredients

For Soup:

  • 2 cups potatoes, cubed
  • 3/4 cup onions, diced
  • 1 cup celery, chopped
  • 1 28-oz, can diced tomatoes
  • 1/4 teaspoon oregano
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper
  • 2 1/2 cups boiling water

For Sauce:

  • 3 tablespoons butter
  • 1/4 cup flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper
  • 2 cups milk
  • 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 1/2 cups grated cheddar cheese
  • 1 tablespoon dry parsley

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Tomato Egg Soup

The second dish which Lucy showed us in the Gilmore Park Community Kitchen is called Tomato Egg Soup. This is her family’s common soup. This soup has similar texture like the sour and spicy soup you get at most Chinese restaurants except that it’s not sour and spicy. It is a thick soup.

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We enjoyed this Tomato Egg Soup as it is not too heavy in flavour. You can incorporate your own favourite vegetables into the soup but I like the texture of the cloud ear fungus. Enoki mushroom, bamboo shoots and tofu are good incorporations for this soup too.

Ingredients

  • 4 tomatoes
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • 2 teaspoons diced green onion
  • a few cloud ear fungus, reconstituted, chopped
  • 4 fresh shiitake mushroom, chopped
  • 1 to 2 teaspoons sesame oil
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • corn starch
  • 6 cups of water or chicken broth

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