How to Cut a Pineapple
For dessert, we have fresh pineapple. Michelle demonstrated to us how to slice a pineapple. Instructions First, remove the top and bottom. Stand the pineapple up and trim the skin…
Big Italian Salad
The Big Italian Salad made in South Arm Women Community Kitchen uses oregano, Italian parsley and basil for flavouring.
Ingredients for Dressing
- 1 cup loosely packed fresh Italian parsley, roughly chopped.
- 10 big leaves fresh basil
- 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 1/2 teaspoons honey
For the Salad
- 1 large head Romaine lettuce, washed, dried and cut into large, bite-sized pieces
- 1 large red bell pepper, chopped
- 1 cup chopped hothouse cucumbers
- 1 large carrot, peeled into ribbons
- handful grape tomatoes, halves
- handful pitted olives
- Ricotta or Feta cheese, crumbled ; to taste
Source: Jennifer Segal, onceuponachef.com
Bruschetta with Tomatoes and Basil
We made a simple Bruschetta with Tomatoes and Basil as an appetizer in the South Arm Women Community Kitchen.
The herb highlight in this recipe is basil.
Ingredients
- 1/2 baguette or crusty long loaf bread
- 2 large cloves garlic, cracked away from skin
- extra-virgin olive oil for drizzling
- 3 small plum tomatoes, seeded and chopped
- 20 fresh basil leaves
- coarse salt
Source: foodtv.com, Rachel Ray
Traditional Tuscan Soup
The theme for this South Arm Women Community Kitchen is how to use fresh herbs to flavour our food.
Michelle shared the above guide from Cooksmart.com on how to use different herbs for different produce/protein and how to store the herbs. You can click on the guide to have a larger view.
Do you know the best way to store fresh basil is in a jar filled with some water on the countertop. They will last for 7 to 10 days.
The above Traditional Tuscan Soup uses rosemary and sage for flavouring. Typically, dried herbs have a more concentrated flavour. so use 1/3 of the fresh amount called for. Or, 3 times the amount to convert from dried to fresh herbs.
Dried herbs require a longer cooking time, whereas fresh herbs are typically added near the end of the cooking.
Ingredients
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 carrot, diced
- 1 stick celery, diced
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 teaspoon dry rosemary
- 3 to 4 sage leaves
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 cup tomato puree
- 10 oz (300 grams) cooked pinto beans
- 1 1/2 cups pearled farro (or soaked overnight; wheat, spelt or barley grains would work here but require longer cooking time)
- 4 cups broth (vegetable or chicken)
- Parmesan cheese, optional
Source: Pedon Farro
Serves 4
Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
For dessert, we made Oatmeal Raisin Cookies in the South Arm Women Community Kitchen.
These cookies are soft and chewy and soft fresh from the oven and turned crispy when cooled.
We served Mint Iced Green Tea which the recipe can be found here.
From webmd.com:
Green tea is so good for you that it’s even got some researchers raving.
“It’s the healthiest thing I can think of to drink”, says Christopher Ochner, PhD. He’s a research scientist in nutrition at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital.
Of course, no one food will protect you from disease. Your health is wrapped up in your lifestyle and your genes, so even if you drink green tea all day long, you also need to take care of yourself in other ways, like not smoking, being active, and eating a healthy diet.
Green tea’s biggest benefit? “It’s all about the catechin content,” says Beth Reardon, RD, a Boston nutritionist. Cathechins are antioxidants that fight and may even prevent cell damage. Green tea is not processed much before it’s poured in your cup, so it’s rich in catechins.”
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 3 cups rolled oats
- 1 1/2 cups raisins or cranberries or chocolate chips (or combinations of them)
Source: food.com
Celery, Apple and Strawberry Salad with Coconut Yogurt
Michelle served a Celery, Apple and Strawberry Salad with Coconut Yogurt along with the Quinoa Enchilada Casserole. This salad can be served as a snack, dessert or stuffed in a…
Quinoa Enchilada Casserole
Another Mexican recipe from the South Arm Women Community Kitchen. For this kitchen, Michelle shared a Quinoa Enchilada Casserole.
We served the Quinoa Enchilada Casserole with sides of chopped tomatoes, avocado, romaine lettuce and cilantro.
This is a healthy enchilada baked that you can enjoy quilt-free. It is made with chockfull of quinoa, black beans and cheesy goodness which are high in protein. Leftovers taste even better.
Ingredients
- 1 cup quinoa
- 1 (10-ounce) can mild enchilada sauce (red or green)
- 1 (4.5-ounce) can chopped green chilies, drained
- 1/2 cup corn kernels, frozen, canned or roasted
- 1/2 cup canned black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese, divided
- 3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
- 1 avocado, halved, seeded, peeled and diced
- 1 Roma tomato, diced
- head of lettuce, chopped
Source: damndelicious.com
Honey Ginger Lemonade
Michelle prepared a Mexican theme meal at the South Arm Community Kitchen for Women due to popular demand. Most of the recipes had been blogged already. You can click on…
Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
The last item we made in the South Arm Women Community Kitchen is a cookie bar.
These Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars are good for breakfast or snack on the go.
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 cups quick oats or rolled oats
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 to 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips
Source: Oneforthetable.com
Easy Berry Dessert
Michelle shared a protein rich dessert in line with the incorporation of protein in the diet theme in the South Arm Women Community Kitchen.
Greek yogurt has higher protein content than regular yogurt. We used frozen blueberries in this recipe as fresh berries are not in season yet.
Ingredients
- 1 pint good quality Greek style yogurt (we used a mixture of plain and honey flavoured Greek yogurt)
- 4 to 5 pieces crystallized ginger, finely minced
- 1/4 to 1/3 cup honey
- zest from 1 orange
- 2 pints blueberries
Source: Rachel Ray
Michelle shared the above conversion tables for our reference as we often encounter recipes in different cooking measures like metric, US or British (Imperial) measures.