Hasselback Apples

For dessert, the South Arm Community Kitchen made some Hasselback Apples.

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Choose firm apples with sweet-tart flavour for this Hasselback Apples recipe. Pink Lady or Honeycrisp works well while Fuji and Granny Smith falls apart.

Ingredients

  • 2 large firm apples, peeled, halved vertically and cored
  • butter to grease pan or lined pan with parchment paper
  • 4 tablespoons brown sugar, divided
  • 2 1/2 tablespoons butter, melted and divided
  • 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon, divided
  • 2 tablespoons old-fashioned rolled oats
  • 1 teaspoon all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/2  cups vanilla ice-cream (optional)

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Source: South Arm Community Kitchen

Serves 4

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Snow Fungus, Pear and Papaya Sweet Soup

Lorna shared a dessert soup recipe in the South Arm Multicultural Community Kitchen.

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She shared the above Snow Fungus, Pear and Papaya Sweet Soup which is great for complexion and soothes your lungs. She did not come with a recipe, so, I’m sharing the exact amount of the ingredients she used in the kitchen. She made a big pot of the dessert soup that can feed an army.

Ingredients

  • 6 dried snow fungus
  • 5 pears, peel and remove core, cube
  • 3 ripe medium papaya, peel, remove seeds and cube
  • 15 to 20 red dates
  • 1/2 cup of bitter and sweet almond
  • 1 tub of fresh lily bulbs
  • rock sugar to taste (we used 1 1/2 packages)

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Source: Lorna

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Lemon Pudding Cake

The South Arm Multicultural Community Kitchen made a Lemon Pudding Cake for dessert.

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The Lemon Pudding Cake was soft and moist. The lemon flavour was lovely.

Ingredients

  • 2 large lemons
  • 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup sugar, plus 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 3 large eggs, separated
  • 1 1/3 cups milk

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Source: South Arm Community Kitchen

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Dairy Free Blender Chocolate Pudding

Michelle shared this Dairy Free Blender Chocolate Pudding recipe in the South Arm Older Adults Community Kitchen.

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Michelle served the chocolate pudding in the above yogurt jar which she bought from a British lady in a garage sale. Serving dessert in little glass jar makes it more desirable. 125ml mason jar also makes a great vessel to serve dessert in the holiday season.

Ingredients

  • 2 bananas
  • 1 pound (or 349g) package silken tofu
  • 3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips or chocolate
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
  • pinch of salt
  • 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup sugar

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If you can’t find silken tofu, you can substitute it with soft tofu.

Tofu made from soybean curds:

  • is naturally gluten-free and low calorie, contains no cholesterol and is an excellent source of protein, iron and calcium.
  • it is an important source of protein especially for vegans, vegetarians and those looking to move toward a more plant-based diet.
  • it provides 44% of daily calcium needs, 9% of magnesium, and 40% iron and also contains small amounts of Vitamin K, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, Vitamin B-6, folate, choline, phophorus, manganese and selenium

Source of info: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/278340.php

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Source: Mintgreenapron.blogspot.com

Serves about 6

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Peche Peche

During the South Arm Older Adults Cooking Club Christmas theme cooking session, we shared our favourite recipes instead of gifts.

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Peche Peche is a recipe shared by Doleres. It is a Filipino dessert. It is similar to a Malaysian dessert called Onde-Onde but using cassava instead of glutinous rice flour.

I made this for a Christmas/New Year gathering.

Ingredients

  • 1 package of grated cassava (1 pound)
  • 1 cup of milk/coconut milk
  • 3/4 cup sugar (or less depending on how sweet you like it)
  • 1 teaspoon pandan extract
  • unsweetened shredded coconut for coating (about 100g)

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Source: this recipe is adapted from Doleres recipe. Doleres, thank you for sharing.

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Plum Kuchen

For dessert, Michelle shared her favourite recipe of Plum Kuchen at the South Arm Older Adults Cooking Club.

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Michelle used Italian prune plums for this recipe as they are in season. Prune plum holds it’s shape well when baking with it.

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 2/3 cup plus 1/4 cup sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
  • 1/2 cup sour cream (not low fat for this recipe)
  • 5 large plums, halved, pitted, each cut into 8 wedges

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Source: epicurious.com

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Quick Decadent Chocolate Pudding

For dessert, Michelle prepared a favourite of her household, a Decadent Chocolate Pudding.

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For this recipe, Michelle used dark, dutched cocoa like Cocoa Camino for its health benefit which include reducing risk of heart problems.

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup cornstarch
  • 1/4 cup cocoa (dutch processed)
  • 1/2 cup cane sugar
  • 1/8 teaspoon sea salt
  • 3 cups milk (we used 2% milk, any should work)
  • 1/2 cup semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips (the good ones!)

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Source: South Arm Older Adults Cooking Club

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Oatmeal Dates Squares

For dessert, Colleen prepared a Oatmeal Dates Squares for the South Arm Seniors Kitchen.

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Celia was so happy because she loves Oatmeal Dates Squares. She always asks her friend to make her some when she craves for it. Now, she can make it herself.

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Dates are the fruit of the date palm and are high in potassium, magnesium, folate, as well as containing many other nutrients. They also have dietary fiber and are sometimes used to prevent constipation. They have very high sugar content and should only be eaten in small quantities.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 2 1/2 cups rolled oats or quick cooking oats
  • 1/2 to 3/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1 cup butter, at room temperature
  • 2 1/2 cups chopped pitted dates
  • 1 1/2 cups boiling water

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Source: via Colleen

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Palm Sugar Jello (Agar-Agar Gula Melaka)

I made this Palm Sugar Jello (Agar-Agar Gula Melaka) for a Christmas party of Malaysian and Singaporean friends. The theme for the potluck is Malaysian food. The party is on Boxing day and my boys had asked me to go shopping in the morning. I made the Agar-agar Gula Melaka on Christmas day so that I can have time to go shopping and have food to bring for the party.

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Gula Melaka or palm sugar has a unique fragrance to it that cannot be substituted with other type of sugar. You can find gula Melaka at Golden Summit on Westminster Hwy (across Richmond Public Market). Agar-agar can be found in most Asian groceries store.

Ingredients

  • 18g agar-agar strips
  • 685ml water
  • 1 teaspoon pandan essence (or 2 pieces of pandan leaves)
  • 275ml coconut milk
  • 300g palm sugar
  • 1 egg
  • pinch of salt

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Source: this recipe is adapted from Traditional Nyonya Cuisine by Lucy Koh

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Dates and Prunes Squares

Minoo decided to have a theme of baked goods at the Gilmore Park Church Community Kitchen. It is the time of the year where there will be numerous potlucks to attend and baked goods make a good potluck item. Making baked goods as a gift during this holiday season is so much more personal and thoughtful than buying store bought gifts.

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The first recipe is a Dates and Prunes Squares. This is a crumbly square but it is so good with the natural sweetness from the dates and prunes and it’s rich in fiber.

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups (375ml) chopped pitted dates
  • 1 1/2 cups (375ml) chopped pitted prunes
  • 1 cup (250ml) boiling water
  • 3/4 teaspoon (4ml) ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon (1ml) ground nutmeg
  • 1 pinch salt
  • 1 1/2 cups (375ml) large-flake rolled oats
  • 1 1/4 cups (300ml) all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon (2ml) salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon (2ml) baking soda
  • 2/3 cup (150ml) unsalted butter, softened
  • 2 tablespoons (25ml) cold water
  • 1/2 cup (125ml) chopped almonds

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Source: unknown via Minoo

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