Gingered Rhubarb Apple Crisp

For dessert, Minoo prepared a Gingered Rhubarb Apple Crisp for the South Arm Community Kitchen. Rhubarb is in season at this time of the year.

Gingered-Rhubarb-Apple-Crisp-16

This Gingered Rhubarb Apple Crisp is bursting with ginger flavour. This will be perfect if served with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream.

Gingered-Rhubarb-Apple-Crisp-2

Rhubarb is low in saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium. It is high in dietary fiber, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Calcium, Potassium, Manganese and Magnesium. Rhubarb is good for maintaining general good health and weight lost diet.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups diced rhubarb
  • 1 large apples
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 tablespoon minced crystallized ginger
  • 1 tablespoon flour

Topping:

  • 1/2 cup flour
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 4 tablespoons cold butter
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/2 cup oatmeal

Gingered-Rhubarb-Apple-Crisp-1

P/S: butter missing from the photos because it was stored in the fridge to keep cold

Source: Minoo

Mango-Pudding-2

Actually, we had a double dessert day. Peggy also demonstrated a Mango Pudding dessert which I had blogged about here. Since the mango pudding needs time to refrigerate to set, Peggy prepared one at home so that we can enjoy it here. We also got to bring home some which Peggy demonstrated in the kitchen. Peggy, thank you for sharing.

(more…)

Continue ReadingGingered Rhubarb Apple Crisp

Greek Salad with Romaine Lettuce

Minoo served the Pasta with Asparagus with a side dish of Greek Salad with Romaine Lettuce. Original Greek Salad does not have lettuce in it. Minoo added the lettuce to make this salad a more substantial salad.

Greek-Salad-with-Romaine-Lettuce-6

This Greek Salad with Romaine Lettuce goes great with pasta dish. This is one of the very few salad that does not need refrigeration. It is ideal for picnic as it can sit in room temperature for a couple of hours.

Ingredients

  • 1 head Romaine lettuce; rinsed, dried and torn to bite-size pieces
  • 1 red onion, thinly sliced
  • 1 tub (6 ounce) pitted black olives
  • 1 green bell pepper, chopped
  • 1 red bell pepper, chopped
  • 2 large tomatoes, chopped
  • 1 cucumber, sliced
  • 1 cup crumbled feta cheese
  • 6 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1 lemon, juiced
  • ground black pepper to taste

Greek-Salad-with-Romaine-Lettuce-1

Source: Minoo

(more…)

Continue ReadingGreek Salad with Romaine Lettuce

Pasta with Asparagus

In the South Arm Community Kitchen, Minoo prepared three recipes. They are simple recipes for a lazy hot summer day which we eagerly anticipate. It has been a cool spring this year.

Pasta-with-Asparagus-11

For the main dish, Minoo selected a Pasta with Asparagus recipe because asparagus is in season.

Pasta-with-Asparagus-2

Asparagus is one of the most nutritionally well-balanced vegetables in existence. It leads nearly all produce items in the wide array of nutrients it supplies in significant amounts for a healthy diet.

Asparagus is the leading supplier among vegetables of folic acid. A 5.3 ounce serving provides 60% of the recommended daily allowance for folacin which is necessary for blood cell formation, growth, and prevention of liver disease. Folacin has been shown to play a significant role in the prevention of neural tube defects, such as spinal bifida, that cause paralysis and death in 2,500 babies each year.

Besides folic acid, asparagus is a also a good source of potassium, a significant source of thiamin and vitamin B6. It is also one of the richest source of rutin, a component which strengthens capillary walls.

It’s wealth of nutrients, fiber and very low sodium, no fat or cholesterol and low calorie content make asparagus a nutritionally wise choice for today’s health-conscious consumer.

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 pounds fresh asparagus
  • 1/4 cup chicken broth
  • 1/2 pound fresh mushrooms
  • 8 ounces angel hair pasta
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
  • 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • salt and pepper to taste

Pasta-with-Asparagus-1

Source: Minoo

(more…)

Continue ReadingPasta with Asparagus

Thai Dessert – Mango with Sticky Rice (Khao Niao Mamuang)

In the South Arm Community, Minoo decided to do four old recipes which are simple and well received. After more than 5 years of blogging the recipes from the Richmond Community Kitchen, there are at least 600 recipes in my collection. It’s not easy to come out with new recipes which are economical, simple and healthy. From time to time, Minoo will go back to her recipe repertoire to re-do some well received recipes. It does not matter much because not many of the members of the community kitchens stay for a long time except for a few loyal members. People come and go.

Chicken-Corn-Chili-1-300x200Southwestern-Slaw-1-300x200

So, for this session at the South Arm Community Kitchen, Minoo re-do three recipes. They are Chicken Corn Chili, South Western Slaw and Roasted Sweet Potatoes. Minoo actually planned to make an Easy Lemon Cheesecake for dessert which is also a recipe that we had done before. Since it’s mango season, I volunteer to demonstrate a popular Thai dessert called Mango with Sticky Rice (Khao Niao Mamuang).

Thai-Dessert-Mango-with-Sticky-Rice-10

Mango with Sticky Rice is a popular street food in Thailand. It’s important to get sweet ripe mango for this dessert. This dessert can also made with ripe  peaches, papayas and durian.

Mango is a fleshy stone fruit which is indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. Mango is rich in a variety of phytochemicals and nutrients such as potassium, copper and 17 amino acids. The fruit pulp is high in prebiotic dietary fiber, vitamin A, C, E, B6 and K.

Ripe mango is sweet and usually eaten raw. Unripe mango is sour and often eaten as a salad with fish sauce or salt such as bagoong in Phillipines. Mango is dried and eaten as a snack. Mangoes can be used to make juice, ice-cream, sorbetes or smoothies. There are so many ways to enjoy mango.

Ingredients

  • 3 cups sticky rice
  • 1 can (400ml) coconut milk
  • 3/4 cups granulated sugar (can substitute with palm sugar or brown sugar)
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 3 to 4 ripe mangoes
  • toasted sesame seeds or mint or Asian basil sprigs for garnishing (optional)

Thai-Dessert-Mango-with-Sticky-Rice-2

Source: this recipe is adapted from Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid

Serves: 8 to 10

Thai-Dessert-Mango-with-Sticky-Rice-11

Sticky rice is also known as glutinous rice or sweet rice. Sticky rice does not contain dietary gluten. Therefore it’s safe for gluten-free diets.

(more…)

Continue ReadingThai Dessert – Mango with Sticky Rice (Khao Niao Mamuang)

Pineapple Oat Bran Muffins

Well, Ben is still overwhelmed with his new project that he is out of steam to start writing again. I will fill in until he is recharged.

For this South Arm Cooking Club for Seniors, Marian prepared four recipes as usual. However, three of the recipes are old recipes which I had blogged about some time ago.

Pineapple-Bran-Muffin-15Pineapple-Bran-Muffin-16

For starter, the seniors made a Hamburger Soup. This is a hearty soup with protein, grains and vegetables. It’s great as a brunch. The next item is also a good brunch item. It’s a Frittata with Spinach and Cheese. Marian also added some broccoli to this Frittata recipe. Instead of Parmesan cheese, Marian substituted with cottage cheese in this recipe. We encountered some difficulty in this kitchen when making the frittata because we could not find a right size frying pan. So, Stella was very creative in suggesting to bake the frittata in muffin tins as what you see above. It took about 15 to 20 minutes to bake in a 350F preheated oven.

For the side dish, the seniors made Roasted Sweet Potatoes. Sweet potatoes is a great source of beta carotene and thus a great source of Vitamin A and antioxidant. It is important to have some fat in your sweet potato-containing meals if you want to enjoy the full beta-carotene benefits of this root vegetable. That’s why roasting with some oil is a good way to prepare sweet potatoes. However, studies also review boiling sweet potatoes gives better blood sugar effects (including the achievement of a lower glycemic index, or GI value).

The orange colored sweet potatoes are also known as yam here. I was a bit confused when I first came over because back in Malaysia, yam is what we call taro here. Anyway, I prefer the yellow colored sweet potatoes for it’s firmer texture and sweeter taste.

Pineapple-Bran-Muffin-14

For dessert and take home, Marian prepared a Pineapple Oat Bran Muffin recipe. We made the muffins in regular muffin tins and also the above mini loaf muffin pans. I like the mini loaf muffin pans as it looks so cute. This is a high fiber muffin that you can enjoy for breakfast or snack with coffee or tea without guilt.

Pineapple-Bran-Muffin-1

Oat bran is the outer casing of the oat. Oats contain soluble fiber which slow digestion and extend the sensation of fullness. Soluble fiber is believed to lower LDL (bad) cholesterol and possibly to reduce the risk of heart disease.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups oat bran
  • 2 cups buttermilk
  • 2 eggs beaten
  • 1 540ml can crushed pineapple with juice
  • 1/2 cup melted butter
  • 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 cup sliced almond

Pineapple-Bran-Muffin-2

Source: Marian

Yields 36 muffins

P/S: the granulated sugar should be brown sugar

(more…)

Continue ReadingPineapple Oat Bran Muffins

Oatmeal Zucchini Loaf

In the South Arm Cooking Club for Seniors, we sometimes made extra food for the seniors to take home. This is a hearty and healthful bread for breakfast. It is dense and solid.

Oatmeal-Zucchini-Loaf-6

This recipe is a great recipe to use up the zucchini from the garden. It is a good way to sneak in some vegetables for family with kids who claim that they are allergic to vegetables.

This is a very hearty bread full of goodness from the roll oats, nuts, zucchini and cranberries.

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup whole wheat flour
  • 1 cup quick rolled oats
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
  • 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
  • 1/4 cup butter, melted
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 cups shredded, unpeeled zucchini
  • 1 cup chopped walnuts
  • 3/4 cup sweetened dried cranberries
  • turbinado sugar for sprinkling (optional)

Oatmeal-Zucchini-Loaf-8

Source: Marian

(more…)

Continue ReadingOatmeal Zucchini Loaf

Lemon Crunch Cup Cake

Marian selected a Lemon Crunch Cup Cake for dessert for this session at the South Arm Cooking Club for Seniors. We adapted the recipe not to include the topping for a more healthier dessert for the seniors.

Lemon-Crunch-Cup-Cake-8

This Lemon Crunch Cup Cake is fluffy and the lemon zest adds citrusy flavour to the cup cake.

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 3/4 cup buttermilk
  • 1 cup chopped walnut (optional)
  • grated rind from 2 lemons or oranges

Topping

  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • juice of 1 lemon or orange

Lemon-Crunch-Cup-Cake-11

Source: Marian

Yield 12 cup cakes

(more…)

Continue ReadingLemon Crunch Cup Cake

Chinese Assorted Vegetable Stir Fry

Joanna decided to demonstrate a Chinese Assorted Vegetable Stir Fry at the Caring Place Community Kitchen when approached by Minoo. She told us that she just watched this stir fry recipe on the TV and want to put it to practice. Joanna had demonstrated Fried Magu Rice Vermicelli in this kitchen earlier.

Chinese-Assorted-Vegetables-Stirfry-11

This Chinese Assorted Vegetable Stir Fry is a vegetarian dish. Joanna got the inspiration from another TV show to add lily bulb into the stir fry.

Ingredients

  • 2 carrots, peel and thinly slice
  • a small bag of snow pea, destring and cut into half
  • a handful of dry lily bulb, soak in cold water overnight
  • 6 to 8 fresh shiitake mushroom, slice
  • 2 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 2 green onion, green part only, slice
  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce
  • salt to taste

Chinese-Assorted-Vegetables-Stirfry-1

If you use dried shiitake mushroom, you will need to reconstituted in warm water for 2 hours.

Chinese-Assorted-Vegetables-Stirfry-2

Dry lily bulb can be bought from Chinese herbal or groceries stores. Fresh lily bulb is also available from Chinese groceries stores. Lily bulb looks like garlic and the bulb is made with layers that resemble onion. It is a crunchy texture.

According to Joanna, lily bulb is good for the skin, cancer control and prevent inflammation. From my earlier post on Ching Po Leung, lily bulb benefit includes moisten the lung, cooling the body, stop cough and sore throat, lower fever, etc.

Chinese-Assorted-Vegetables-Stirfry-3

Joanna came from the province of Jiang Xi, China. Joanna told us her province has beautiful mountains. Her village has a small river but the people there do not like picnic at the river because there is no facilities like picnic table and toilet.  The villagers have rice fields and raise their own chicken, grow their own vegetables and fishing for food. She said the life there is hard as there is not enough food. When asked if she misses her hometown, she said she usually feels homesick during Chinese festivals like Chinese New Year, Ching Ming, Dragon Boat Festival and Moon Cake Festival.

Source: Joanna

(more…)

Continue ReadingChinese Assorted Vegetable Stir Fry