Caramel Chocolate Crackers

A new participant of the South Arm Community Kitchen said she must have something sweet after a meal. There is nothing wrong to treat ourselves with a dessert, just watch the portion size.

We made some Caramel Chocolate Crackers for our sweet treat.
Ingredients

  • 40 salted soda crackers
  • 1 cup unsalted butter
  • 1 cup light brown sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 to 2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips or chunks
  • 1 cup sliced almonds, preferably toasted


Source: South Arm Community Kitchen
Yield: 40 pieces
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Garden Vegetable Soup

The South Arm Community Kitchen made a hearty soup as our main dish.

This Garden Vegetable Soup is good enough for a light lunch with the addition of rice or small noodles.
Ingredients

  • 1 cup diced carrots
  • 1/2 cup diced onions
  • 1/2 cup diced celery
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 3 cups of broth (chicken, beef or vegetable) or more
  • 1 1/2 cups sweet peppers (green, red and yellow)
  • 1 cup diced zucchini
  • 1 cup diced potatoes
  • 1/2 cup rice or small noodle
  • 1 tablespoon tomato paste or 1/2 can tomato soup
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried basil (or 1 teaspoon fresh one)
  • 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • black pepper to taste
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil


Many hands in the kitchen makes preparation easier as there is a lot of chopping to do.

Source: South Arm Community Kitchen
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Lotus Root Pork Neck Bone Soup

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Soup is always good for cold days.

Ben wanted to have lotus root soup. I usually made lotus soup with pork bones. Ben likes to dig the meat from bones and flavours it with the Spicy Maggi seasoning.

Ingredients

  • 1 slab of pork neck bone (the butcher will chop it up into pieces)
  • 2 to 3 nodes of lotus root, depending on size
  • few slices of ginger
  • salt to taste

Lotus root is rich in Vitamin C and a good source of dietary fiber. It has a crunchy texture and when cook long enough like making soup, the texture become “powdery” (in Cantonese, “fern”).

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Old Fashioned Coffee Cake

The South Arm Community Kitchen made an Old Fashioned Coffee Cake for dessert for the last kitchen of 2017.

This is a basic coffee cake where the sweetness comes from maple syrup.

Ingredients

  • 3 cups flour (unbleached white or you can use 1/2 whole wheat pastry flour)
  • 1/2 pound butter
  • 1 cup maple syrup
  • 2 eggs
  • 3 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla

Topping

  • 1 cup chopped walnuts
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/4 maple syrup

Source: South Arm Community Kitchen

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Potato Crusted Quiche

For the last kitchen at the South Arm Community Kitchen for 2017, we made another three dishes.

Our main dish is a Potato Crusted Quiche. This recipe is inspired by Foodnetwork.com.

Ingredients

  • 1 pound russet potato, thinly sliced
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 teaspoons salt, divided
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, divided
  • 1 tablespoon grated Parmesan
  • 5 eggs
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1 tomato, diced
  • 1/4 cup green onion, chopped
  • 1/2 cup bacon bits
  • 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced

We served the Potato Crusted Quiche with Cream of Celery Soup.

You can find the soup recipe here. This Cream of Celery Soup is great as people who are not a fan of celery also enjoy it.

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Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies

For dessert, Minoo shared an Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies recipe in the South Arm Community Kitchen.

These healthy Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies are great for snack. You can pack them in your kid’s lunch bag or enjoy them with coffee or tea.

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cup large flake oats
  • 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup salted butter, softened
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1/2 cup dried cranberries, roughly chopped if they are big pieces
  • 1/4 cup white chocolate chips

Source: South Arm Community Kitchen

Minoo also shared some tips on packing healthy school lunches at the kitchen.

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Tuna Loaf with Potatoes

The South Arm Community Kitchen met again for another cooking adventure.

For this kitchen, we made a Tuna Loaf with Potatoes.

We served the Tuna Loaf with Potatoes with a Cranberry Almond Spinach Salad. You can click here for the recipe.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups mash potatoes
  • a teaspoon Paprika
  • 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 egg
  • 1/3 cup Parmesan
  • 1/2 cup drained tuna
  • a small bunch of Parsley, chopped
  • a handful of sliced black olives
  • breadcrumbs for coating

Source: South Arm Community Kitchen

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Apple Pumpkin Bread

The South Arm Community Kitchen made a quick bread with fall theme ingredients.

This Apple Pumpkin Bread is moist with a little crunch from the walnuts.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup olive oil, extra virgin or any other vegetable oil
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup canned pumpkin puree
  • 1 baking sweet apple (should yield 1 cup grated apple)
  • 3/4 cup all purpose flour
  • 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Source: this recipe is adapted from Giulia Melucci

Makes 1 loaf, 6 to 8 servings

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