Crispy Baked Fish

Fish is the main course for the South Arm Cooking Club for Seniors. This is an easy and nutritional dish. It uses only a few ingredients and you can have a healthy meal.

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Fish is a rich source of omega 3. Canada’s food guide encourages us to eat fish at least three times a week. Marian served the Crispy Baked Fish with some Orange Glazed Asparagus which I had blogged before. Marian also prepared an orange honey glazed for the fish on the spot since we had extra oranges from the asparagus recipe.

Ingredients

  • 4 pieces white fish fillet like tilapia fillet
  • zest and juice from 1 lemon
  • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 1/2 cups crushed corn flakes
  • oil to grease the pan
  • salt and pepper to taste

Orange Honey Glaze

  • juice from 1 large orange
  • 2 tablespoons honey
  • a splash of dry white wine

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Source: Marian

Serves 4

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Fresh Pasta with Spicy Sausage, Shrimps and Bruscetta Sauce

Lorna alerted me about the free cooking classes organised by the Touchstone Family Association. These cooking classes is part of the Eating Together activities carried out in the week of Feb 21st to 28th. Feb 21st is proclaimed as Family Day in Richmond by the Richmond Mayor Malcolm Brodie. Research has found that families who eat together, stay together; more so if the families grow, shop, cook and eat together.

When I called up to enquire about the free cooking classes, there were only two spots left for the last cooking class. Without hesitation, I registered the spots for Lorna and I. I was glad to know that the chef who will be demonstrating for this cooking class is none other than chef Ian Lai from the Terra Nova Schoolyard Society. I had blogged on several of the workshops hosted by Ian Lai before here:

Here are some tips on cooking at home shared by Ian:

  • prepare multiple portions that you can use for lunches, freeze or share with neighbours
  • incorporate more grains into your diet as they are inexpensive, versatile and can be used on their own or in combination with soups, stews, as a hot cereal or as dessert
  • use no more than 5 ingredients and you do not need to keep a huge pantry
  • focus on quick and nutritious recipes
  • eat as fresh as possible
  • shop the perimeter, neighbourhood corner stores
  • support local farmers market for sustainability
  • get your children involved
  • turn off cell phones, TV’s and computers during the meal
  • share your bounty and provide for those in need
  • think three meals ahead
  • give yourself a day off
  • work those flyers for deals
  • dont buy it if you cant pronounce it
  • limit pre-packaged, high salt products; it does not take much to make your own spice blends
  • learn how to purchase and use a quality knife as in this Knife Skills workshop

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The free cooking class was attended by close to 30 people. It was held at Trial Appliances in Richmond and hosted by Arlene Kroeker, a food writer for the Richmond Review. Trail Appliances has a top notch kitchen for cooking demonstration.

We were greeted with some appetizers on the table while waiting for the cooking class to start. There were baguette, hummus, bruscetta sauce and the above spicy crisp.

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The first dish presented by Ian Lai is called Fresh Pasta with Capicola, Shrimps and Sun Dried Tomatoes. I remembered Ian used some spicy sausage and bruscetta sauce during the demonstration, hence I used a more appropriate name for the recipe.

Ian usually do not use recipes in his demonstration. How, for this demonstration, he actually prepared a recipe and it makes my job so much easier.

Ingredients

  • package of fresh pasta
  • 1/3 cup of diced shrimp
  • 1/3 cup spicy sausage
  • 1/3 cup chopped sun dried tomatoes
  • 1/3 cup diced onion
  • 1 cup fresh tomato sauce (he used bruscetta sauce during the demo)

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P/S: please ignore the onion, carrot and celery as they are for another recipe.

Source: Ian Lai

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Fish Cake

Minoo started the South Arm Community Kitchen in 2011 with 3 recipes. The first recipe is a simple Fish Cake recipe adapted from Jamie Oliver.

Minoo used fresh salmon for this Fish Cake recipe. You can substitute the salmon with tuna  or crab. Leftover fish is great for this recipe too. Can salmon will make a very handy substitute from the pantry.

Ingredients

  • 300g potatoes, peel and dice (or use left over baked potatoes, scoop out the potatoes and discard the skin)
  • 100g salmon fillet, skin on and no scales on the skin, all bones removed
  • a small handful of fresh parsley, chopped
  • 2 green onions, green part only, finely chopped
  • 1 egg
  • 1 lemon
  • quick cooking oats
  • all purpose flour
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • olive oil

Source: this recipe is adapted from Jamie Oliver

Yield 4 cakes

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Faux Smoked Salmon Sandwiches

The South Arm Christmas Fair fund raising also made some sandwiches for the food concession at the fair. The fillings of the sandwiches were prepared a day before the fair.

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Another group of volunteers from the South Arm Community Kitchen participated in the preparation of the fillings. Thank you for all who volunteered.

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One of the sandwiches that we made is Faux Smoked Salmon Sandwiches. It is made with canned salmon instead of smoked salmon but we flavoured the salmon with smoked paprika to gives it the smoky flavour. Use canned salmon with bones for much higher calcium content.

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup cream cheese, softened (4 oz or half a block)
  • 1 x 7oz can salmon, drained
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1 tablespoon grated onion
  • 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika/pimenton (or use a scant 1/4 teaspoon liquid smoke)
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried dill or 1 teaspoon fresh dill, optional
  • 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder, optional
  • 8 slices whole wheat bread
  • 4 lettuce leaves, or 12 thin cucumber slices

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Source: unknown;  makes 4 sandwiches

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Canning Salmon

During the huge salmon run this year, Lorna bought some for canning. She was worried about canning salmon using a pressure canner on her glass top stove which may crack. She lost her user manual and was unable to check if her glass top stove can accommodate pressure canner. So, she brought her salmon to the Food Preservation workshop organised by Richmond Food Security Society at Garratt Wellness Center for canning.

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Use properly eviscerated fish. Chill cleaned fish on ice or refrigerate until ready to can.

Ingredients

  • fresh salmon
  • 1/2 teaspoon pickling salt  or sea salt for 250 ml jar, optional
  • freshly ground black pepper, optional
  • water, optional

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Source: www.bernadin.ca via Karen DW

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Lunch Box Idea: Tuna Pocket

Have you wonder how the pocket in a pita is created? The pocket is created by steam which puffs up the dough and as the bread cools and deflated, a pocket is left in the center. Pita pocket is such a convenient container for all sorts of fillings. I love Peanut Butter Pita Bread which has the creaminess from the peanut butter and crunchiness from the frosted cornflakes which I created in the early days of chowtimes.

Here is a another simple Tuna Pocket recipe that kids will enjoy and is ok for school lunch box as many schools are peanut free zone nowadays.

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Tuna and grape goes well in this simple Tuna Pocket recipe. The coleslaw and lettuce adds crunch to it and made this a complete meal with carbohydrate, protein, fiber and vitamins.

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup coleslaw blend
  • 1/2 cup halved seedless red grapes
  • 1/2 cup flaked drained canned tuna in water
  • 2 tablespoons of your preferred dressing, like mayonnaise, kraft calorie-wise Rancher’s choice dressing
  • 1/2 round whole wheat pita
  • leaf or romaine lettuce

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Source: unknown

Yields 1 serving

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BBQ Fish 2 Styles

Jorge decided to do a BBQ for the last kitchen in the South Arm Cooking Club for Seniors before the break in summer.

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For the BBQ, we had fish, chicken and a variety of vegetables. For the fish, Jorge selected Trout. We had two different types of marinates, one recipe from Jorge and the other Asian flavour recipe from Linda.

Ingredients

Jorge’s recipe:

  • 1/2 cup lemon juice
  • 1/2 bunch of parsley
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 8 trout fillets

Linda’s recipe:

  • juice of 1 lemon
  • lemon zest from 1 lemon
  • 1/4 cup sherry or dry white wine
  • 1/4 cup soy sauce
  • 3 tablespoons Maggie Seasoning (optional)
  • ground black pepper to taste
  • 1/4 cup finely grated fresh ginger root
  • 2 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 2 pounds fish fillet (or chicken or pork or large scallop)

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Prep time: 10 minutes; Cook time: 10 minutes; Serves 8
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Fish en Papillote

Charlene prepared another sumptuous meal for the South Arm Cooking Club for Seniors again. This time, there are 5 simple and healthy recipes.

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The first recipe is called Fish en Papillote which is a fancy term for fish wrapped in paper. In this recipe, the fish steams in its own package. It’s a wonderful meal for one.

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon chopped red onion
  • 10 thin slices of zucchini
  • 1 x 4 ounce white fish filet, such as sole or flounder
  • 2 thin slices of lemon
  • 1 teaspoon olive oil
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • garlic powder to taste
  • thyme or any herbs of your preference to taste

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Source: Charlene Dy

Prep time: 10 minutes;  Bake time: 15 minutes;  Serves 1

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Fermented Bean Curd Seafood Udon

Tanni worked hand in hand with Lorna to demonstrate an Asian Style Seafood Udon, flavoured with fermented bean curd. This is like killing two birds with one stone as the ingredients are almost the same except the main flavouring ingredient for the sauce.

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Ingredients

  • 200g Udon
  • 2 tablespoons oil
  • 1/2 onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 cup broccoli flowerets
  • fermented bean curd to taste
  • 2 cups seafood (scallops, squids, mussels, shrimps)
  • 5 sticks imitation crab meat
  • 4 fish balls (halves)
  • 2 tomatoes (sliced for garnishing)
  • 1 green onion (chopped for garnishing)

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Fermented bean curd also known as fermented tofu, tofu cheese, or preserved tofu is a form of processed, preserved tofu used in East Asian cuisine as a condiment made from soybeans. The ingredients typically are soybeans, salt, rice wine and sesame oil or vinegar, and are sold in blocks 2- to 4-cm square by 1 to 2 cm thick soaked in brine with select flavorings. They comes in beige or red colour. I had used the red one in a vegetarian dish recipe. I remembered when I was young, my grandmother used to serve plain porridge with the beige colour fermented bean curd sweetened with some sugar and flavour with sesame oil.

Source: Tanni

Prep time: 20 minutes; Cook time: 20 minutes; Serve 4

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Creamy Seafood Udon

Lorna demonstrated this Creamy Seafood Udon recipe in the Gilmore Park Community Kitchen the same day Minoo made the Walnut Balls.

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This Creamy Seafood Udon is loaded with scallops, squids, mussels, shrimps, imitation crab meat, fish balls and vegetables.

Ingredients

  • 200g Udon
  • 2 tablespoons oil
  • 1/2 onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 cup broccoli flowerets
  • 1/4 cup sliced mushrooms
  • 1 can evaporated milk
  • 2 cups seafood (scallops, squids, mussels, shrimps)
  • 5 sticks imitation crab meat
  • 4 fish balls (halves)
  • 2 tomatoes (sliced for garnishing)
  • 1 green onion (chopped for garnishing)

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Source: adapted from Carnation

Prep time: 20 minutes; Cook time: 20 minutes;  Serve 4

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