Creamy Rhubarb Dessert

Minoo prepared a rhubarb dessert in the Gilmore Park Church Community Kitchen since rhubarb is in season in June.

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This rhubarb dessert is creamy and a little tangy. A refreshing dessert.

Ingredients

  • 3 cups chopped rhubarb plus 2 tablespoons water if using fresh rhubarb
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon grated orange peel, optional
  • 1 cup whipping cream
  • fresh strawberries or raspberries for garnish, optional

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Source: via Minoo

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Crab Puff

The main dish for the Gilmore Park Church Community Kitchen is a seafood dish. It’s a Crab Puff recipe from Martha Stewart.

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These Crab Puff will be a family favourite especially with kids. They are crunchy on the outside and creamy.

Ingredients

  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 2 shallots minced
  • 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 cups milk
  • 4 ounces artificial crab meat, roughly chopped
  • 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1 tablespoon minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
  • 1/4 cup whole leaf flat-leaf parsley, for garnishing
  • 1/2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest
  • a pinch of cayenne pepper
  • coarse salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 1/2 cups breadcrumbs
  • vegetable oil for frying
  • 2 tablespoons large brine-packed capers, rinsed and dried, for garnishing

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Source: Martha Stewart

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Orzo Salad

I’m glad to be back at the Gilmore Park Church Community Kitchen since the schedule change. This kitchen clashes with the South Arm Seniors Kitchen. I can only make myself available to one. With the South Arm Seniors Kitchen done for the season, I can now attend this kitchen and meet the participants here that I have not seen for a while.

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Minoo prepared three recipes for this kitchen; i.e. an Orzo Salad, Crab Puff and a Creamy Rhubarb Dessert. Rhubarb is in season in June.

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The first recipe is the Orzo Salad. Orzo is a pasta which resembles rice grain. The Orzo Salad is refreshing and filing. Great for a light lunch.

Ingredients

  • 4 cups chicken broth
  • 1 1/2 cups orzo
  • 1 (15 ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 1/2 cups chopped tomatoes
  • 3/4 cup finely chopped red onion
  • 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh int leaves
  • about 3/4 cup red wine vinaigrette
  • salt and freshly ground black pepper
Red Wine Vinaigrette
  • 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
  • 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
  • 2 teaspoons honey
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 cup extra-virgin olive oil

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Source: via Minoo

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Filipino Cassava Cake with Coconut String

Minoo shared a Filipino Cassava Cake recipe for dessert at the South Arm Multicultural Community Kitchen.

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This is a sweet and sticky cake. Refrigerate the cake will make it a bit firmer.

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This recipe uses frozen grated cassava. The grated cassava is from the root of a woody shrub. Cassava is a major source of carbohydrates. When dried to a starchy, powdery form, it is called tapioca.

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Coconut string is the flesh of young coconut. You can buy the above coconut string from stores that carry Filipino products like Great One Supermarket, 99 cent Dollar Store, Wah Shang Supermarket, etc.

Ingredients

  • 4 cups grated cassava (from 2 packets of 454g)
  • 2 cups coconut milk
  • 1 small  can (380g) condensed milk
  • 1 cup evaporated milk
  • 1/2 cup sugar; omit this if using coconut string (Makapuno)
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 tablespoons melted butter
  • 1 jar (340g)  coconut string, divided

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Source: via Minoo

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Quinoa Black Bean Salad Spiced with Cumin

The second recipe made in the South Arm Multicultural Community Kitchen is a high fiber salad.

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The Quinoa Black Beans Salad Spiced with Cumin is filing and nutritious.

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This salad is high in protein as 1 cup of black beans has 13g of dietary fiber.

Minoo shared with us some facts and nutritional values of quinoa in the kitchen. I had blogged about it here.

1/4 cup of quinoa has:

  • 170g calories
  • 3g fat
  • 5mg sodium
  • 30g carbohydrate
  • 3g dietary fiber
  • 1g sugar
  • 5g protein

Ingredients

  • 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
  • 3/4 cup uncooked quinoa
  • 1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 cup corn kernels (frozen or from can)
  • 2 x 15 ounces (540ml) cans black beans
  • 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
  • juice from 1 lemon
  • 1 tablespoon of olive oil or more for drizzling on the salad
  • chili powder for garnishing, optional

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Source: via Minoo

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Lemon Lentil Spinach Soup

The South Arm Multicultural Community Kitchen met again in the South Arm kitchen for another sharing and learning session.

Minoo briefed the group about the recipes she selected and talked about the nutritional values of the selected ingredients. Minoo selected ingredients that are rich in iron like lentil and spinach and ingredients that are high in fiber for this kitchen.

This week’s menu included a lentil soup, a quinoa salad and a dessert made with cassava.

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The first recipe is a Lemon Lentil Spinach Soup from Mint Green Apron by Michelle Li. Michelle Li is the facilitator of the South Arm Seniors Kitchen.

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 1/2 cups chopped onion
  • 2 tablespoons finely chopped garlic
  • 1 1/2 cups chopped celery
  • 1 1/2 cups green lentils or French green lentils, rinsed
  • 1/2 cup chopped parsley
  • 1 lemon
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 4 cups water
  • 4 cups vegetable broth (preferably organic)
  • 2 cups chopped greens (spinach or arugula or combination of both)

Source: Mint Green Apron, Michelle Li

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Lemon Bomb

For drinks, Colleen prepared a Lemon Bomb drink. Colleen picked some fresh lemon balm from her garden for recipe Lemon balm belongs to the mint family but it has a mild citrusy fragrance to it.

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The Lemon Bomb is very refreshing for a warm summer day.

Ingredients

  • 1 bunch fresh lemon balm
  • 6 to 8 lemons, juiced
  • sugar or honey to taste
  • water
  • ice cubes, optional
  • 1 lemon, sliced for garnishing

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Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler

Colleen prepared a Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler for dessert at the last South Arm Seniors’ Kitchen.

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Rhubarb is in season in spring. We served the Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler with whipped cream for a little indulgence.

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Frank will be celebrating his 90th birthday in June 11th. Since this was the last kitchen, we celebrated his birthday in advance. Somehow, I managed to schedule this post to be released on his birthday. We used the Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler as a substitution to birthday cake. We wished Frank many more birthdays to come.

Ingredients

  • 4 1/2 cups chopped rhubarb
  • 1 1/2 cups strawberries, hulled and sliced
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch
  • 1 teaspoon orange zest
For Crust
  • 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 1/4 cup milk
  • 1 large egg, lightly beaten
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

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Source: via Colleen

Yield 6 servings

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Roasted Cherry Tomato Salsa

The South Arm Seniors Kitchen served the Beef Burgers and Quinoa Burgers with Roasted Cherry Tomato Salsa.

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This Roasted Cherry Tomato Salsa is great with any burgers.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
  • 1/4 cup onion, finely chopped
  • 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, finely chopped
  • 1/2 jalapeno pepper, finely chopped
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 garlic clove, crushed
  • 1 tablespoon lime juice
  • salt and pepper to taste

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Source: via Colleen

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Quinoa Burgers

For a healthier option, the South Arm Seniors’ Kitchen also prepared some Quinoa Burgers.

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The Quinoa Burgers are so colourful. We served the Quinoa Burgers with Roasted Cherry Tomato Salsa which I will post next week.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup uncooked quinoa
  • 2 cups water
  • 3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
  • 1/2 cup low-fat cottage cheese
  • 2 medium carrots, finely grated
  • 1/4 cup parsley, finely chopped
  • 3 eggs
  • 3 tablespoons flour, add more if needed
  • 1/2 teaspoon sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon cumin
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

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Source: via Colleen

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