TDSB Newcomer Services Community BBQ at Centennial College...

Last week was probably the busiest for me this summer, but certainly not short of exciting and rewarding! BIG back-to-back events over two days that not only involved a lot of logistics planning but the first-- a Community BBQ venue to promote our TDSB refugee summer program for youths (predominantly to newcomer Nigerians who are currently living in hotels) also entailed arranging for food product donations and their pick up. Held at Centennial College in the east end, the hovering and threatening grey clouds cleared right before guests arrived and we all ended up sweltering under the hot sun and over the hot grill. And what a turn out indeed (~ 130+)!

With Bobby, TDSB Welcoming Communities Orientation Assistant

My friends over at Black River Juice kindly donated cases of their bottled real juices made with locally pressed fruit-- Classic Lemonade, Pure Red Grapefruit Juice and Sweet Apple Cider. Thank you to the lovely Laura Aziz! My favourites of their extensive product line are pure blueberry juice, apple mango juice blend, pure tart cherry juice and classic lemonade with a hint of lime. 

Past Demo of Black River Juice products for LiveWell Marketing

The main attraction was the thrills on the grill with chicken breasts and veggie patties that turned into burgers between buns. That huge THANK U goes to my man- the Godfather of the Grill, and friend Chef Ted Reader @tedgrills for his generosity as well for the cases of each three flavour burger line he developed for Wholly Veggie- Southwest beet, sweet curry carrot and herby garlic greens!

At Chef Ted Reader's BBQ stomping grounds- his backyard!

Well over 60+ BBQs, Grills, Smokers and whatever else you can fire up, Chef Ted tells me he has lost count lol. When asked which one is his favourite-- he says without hesitation his fire pits, old school-style! I absolutely agree after attending with my fam his over-the-top delish BBQ event in the country.  If you want to see the real deal and what we're talking about, you have to check out my recent post Q-ing Fun with Chef Ted Reader.

Yes, it was A LOT of chicken breasts (halal), about 100 if you count me splitting up the super large ones. Marinated in Cajun spices, dried thyme, balsamic vinegar, Dijon mustard, garlic, onions, fresh parsley, lime juice and olive oil overnight, then grilled over the hot BBQ until done and slathered in BBQ sauce to finish. 

The combined ingredients created a heavenly slight sweet and savoury aroma with garlic and hints of spices. Marinated overnight or even two days, the breasts cooked up super tender-moist and flavourful! Believe me, good-bye, good riddance to hard and dry chicken breasts...never ever again!

Over at Centennial College on Markham/Progress getting registration set up!

This occasion made me remember when I first started working at food events. As a student volunteer, I would often pause to admire the chefs heading and organizing them. I don't think I imagined then that I would one day be doing the same-- leading a brigade of student volunteers and assistants, and holding my own as the head. It was an incredible feeling!

Prepping for salads with student volunteers.

Gorgeous fresh colours and textures!

Gorgeous bright shirts and smiles!

I had just taught a class on BBQ and picnic food safety, highlighting using citrus or vinegar-based dressings vs. mayonnaise-based salads for longer storage in summer outdoor weather. This simple coleslaw vinaigrette uses acidic apple cider vinegar, honey for sweetness, Dijon mustard for body and piquancy, celery salt, and ground black pepper. 

Here's our King of the Grill for the day!

Chickens' looking mighty plump and succulent!

Burger condiments and toppings, along with coleslaw in vinaigrette, and garden salad.

Yes, we had refreshing slices of watermelon too!

Families joined us in intervals over the two hours until the burgers ran out.

Too bad I didn't get any shots of me slicing chicken and serving the burgers. It was pretty much all hands on deck the entire time and there was no one to spare for being camera happy. I was just glad to slip out near the end to walk around and talk to families and pass out Black River Juice bottles to the eager kids. I love those engaging moments!

What started as a grey day turned out to be a super hot one!

Back home that night, I served some odds and ends marinated chicken breast pieces (reserved enough to try) and Chef Ted Reader's Wholly Veggies Herby Garlic Greens burger. So succulent the chicken meat- my kids threw in some hickory sticks for smoky flavour and crunch-- YUM! And no one missed the meat with those scrumptious veggie patties-- loved the garlic flavour and hearty texture! Can't wait to try the other two flavours! 

Check out Wholly Veggies for a store near you!

Up next, my first of four weeks culinary series- The Neighbourhood Table family cooking program (for kids 6-12 years old) with the Arab Community in partnerships with St.Philip's Lutheran Church and the Arab Community Centre of Toronto (ACCT). It was simply incredible, successful and heart-warming! 

Can't wait to share all the wonderful details and photos...

Caribbean Black Bean Salad with Mangoes... and Sometimes Papaya

This Caribbean-inspired black bean salad is a vibrant colourful medley of fresh sweet and fruity flavours, with crunchy textures and piquant bite! In here, we've got mangoes, bell peppers, raisins, lime juice and spicy jalapeno. Sometimes I add papaya and slivered toasted almonds to give extra dimension and flavours. A perfect occasion to make it after so many years in my TDSB summer culinary program class with recently-arrived refugees. I started the class with some important education on picnic-packing and BBQ safety tips, then moved onto hands-on prep and my final assembly demo for two crowd-pleasing, gorgeous healthy salads... To showcase delish salad options that are excellent in serving outdoors in the heat, as they are citrus based- the acidity helps preserve the foods longer. Mayonnaise-type salads are easier to spoil and must be kept cold for food safety. It is also a chance to try new cultural dishes of the Caribbean and Greece. So refreshingly good, this fruity bean salad compliments along a meal of my Slow-Cooked Jamaican Oxtails.

Caribbean Mango Black Bean Salad

Some visual safety packing tools and gear for an interactive show and tell...

For more see Food Safety Tips For Barbecuing

Caribbean Black Bean Salad with Mangoes
Makes 8 servings

1 can (540 mL) or 2 cups black beans, drained, rinsed and drained well
2 cups mango, peeled, seeded and diced
1/2 coloured bell pepper, diced
1/2 green pepper, diced
2 limes, juice of
1/4 cup canola oil
2 Tbsp. raisins
1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley

Kosher salt and ground black pepper to taste
2 Tbsp. chopped toasted almonds (optional)
1 jalapeno or hot red chili pepper, seeded and finely chopped (optional)

Mix all ingredients together. Let chill in fridge when possible for one hour before serving.

Cook's NOTE: Ripe papaya pieces is a nice addition-- if using, add 1 cup, and 1 cup mango. Or use more fruit if you like. Such a great recipe to put more or less of whatever you want. 

My lovely students at work...

The ingredients are ready for my gathering-around-demo...

Adjust the simple seasoning of lime juice, oil, salt and pepper to your preference.

Voila! A feast for the eyes and taste buds!

Here is a take of my original Black Bean Salad with Papaya and Mangoes.

How much do I love this photo? 

Can't say enough about how AmaZing this student- Bright is. Attentive, engaging, helpful and bright indeed!

The other salad we prepared is another favourite of mine-- Greek Dill Quinoa Salad. So healthful, it starts with a large fresh bed of both romaine and mixed greens topped with textured nutty grains of quinoa and a medley of crunchy colourful vegetables (what you find in a Greek salad) dressed with garlicky lemony dill vinaigrette.

Okay, it's NOM NOM time....

With my fab crew of youths! A BBQ safety learning day and some fantastic toteable showstopper fresh salads for any outdoor gathering-- what a great segway into our Community BBQ event this week (for 130 +) with yummy thrills on the grill, and you guessed it summer al-fresco-friendly salads to round everything out! Can't wait to share the details...

Eat, Love, Play With The Community... Repeat

Hello! If you don't already know me or my blog, I would love to introduce myself or re-introduce myself for that matter. I am a mom to three boys- 8 year old twins Étienne and Sébastien and 6 year old Matias. For over four years, I have been blogging on family meals, cooking multicultural cuisines from scratch and getting kids in the kitchen to cook. My children are older, less dependent which allows for me to get back full throttle in my beloved culinary profession. 

As a Culinary Consultant and Real Food & Food Education Advocate, my passion is to inspire people to cook from scratch and to learn about multiculturalism through trying different foods. I have been a Food Professional for over 15 years, from catering, to product and recipe development, to writing for food magazines, and currently, my biggest joy- cooking with adults and kids of all ages (right now mainly newcomers)! Knowing how to cook is a life skill must! It paves for a happy healthier future with smarter food choices and boundless deelish creations- a lifetime of adventure for all your senses! I have been so blessed in my career- I got to work in so many facets around food. It's been a real fun journey. For me now, it's all about paying it forward... imparting Food Education and teaching Cooking through School and Community Collaborations, in hopes to get the young and old alike excited creating in the kitchen! 

Let's be real! There's no use in taking all this knowledge to the grave with me- it has to be about giving back and sharing it! At the same time, it is even more important that I keep up my energy by staying active which includes strength training (you should see the amount of schlepping I do for my classes). Eating well and exercise without question goes hand in hand. Not only do I need to do it for myself, but I have to be that part- it's keeping it real to connect with everyone I work with, especially the impressionable youth. To inspire and motivate, I must live by my words 360°. As a result, my blog content is moving towards my work with the community and living a healthy lifestyle with good eating coupled with regular exercise & activity. Instead of the family table, it's also the neighbourhood table- still family but in a big community way. I hope you join me. If you are looking for ideas to create a culinary program or want to get into food as a profession, Contact Me.

Colour Your World with Food and Exercise- literally! Make Monday about Moving Mountains. It's the start of a new week, whatever you have on your agenda, just do it. Shred those excuses! NAMASLAY! 🙏👊

OM with a side of PoW PoW- Reggae and Roundhousing.

This summer I have two big programs on the go. The first is hosting a Summer Culinary Program with these fantastic youths (about 50), shown here with my boss Derek. This year, thousands of refugees from Nigeria arrived in Toronto and are living in hotels. TDSB Community Services reached out to hear directly from the youth to discover what supports and resources they wish to have. Thus, we have organized a number of activities to help foster this community and ease the transitional challenges faced by Canadian newcomers, and one area is Cooking and Food Education 😀. 

TDSB Blog Post: Refugee Youth – BBQ @ Scarborough Bluffs

At my first 6-week summer culinary program class with Toronto's recently landed Nigerian refugee youths at Terraview Adult Learning Centre. They have been living in hotels since arriving and meals are cooked for them (often the same kinds of food). The only alternative is making simple no cook foods in their hotel rooms with a cutting board and knife. The key to my sessions are real take-aways- simple, healthy food ideas they can easily replicate and within a low budget, while introducing multicultural flavours and dishes. We made up two delicious dips- Mexican Guacamole and Mediterranean Lemony Dill Yogurt Dip served with a host of various healthy vegetable crudites to kick things off! Some were apprehensive to try something new, but at the end they were tasting a bit of everything, and exclaimed it was delicious 😋. Will they try making them-- most said yes!!! 😁 That is the biggest reward for any teacher-- students taking the learnings outside the classroom, adapting it in real-life and sharing it forward. Coming up, BBQ and picnic packing safety tips and some easy-to-do gorgeous salads to go! 🍅

Mexican Guacamole and Mediterranean Lemony Dill Yogurt Dip

The other summer culinary project in the works is a free four-week series Neighbourhood Table community family cooking program (kids ages 6-12 with their parents) with the Arab Community. This is in partnerships with St.Philip's Lutheran Church and ACCT 😀. The first theme is around fresh herbs. Along with a 4 course menu (app, salad, main and beverage) arts & crafts and physical activities will be offered at various "garden themed" stations. What we have planned is going to be fantastic for the participants and everyone involved!

Alas, Happiness is eating gelato, chillaxing and discussing a personal partnership and community projects with this stunning lady Ashima Suri @ashima_limitless (my counterpart in the school year's Parent Engagement Culinary Program)! An Artist, Story-teller, Healer, Community Builder, Yoga Teacher, Choreographer and Friend-- her beauty and big heart shines inside out with everything she does 💞 #soulsistersynergies #believeandachieve #☝️❤️

I am So-O Excited to field the many projects and partnerships that continue to come my way all in the name of health, wellness and fitness :D. If you want to collaborate on a community project, want to start a culinary program or a culinary career, Contact Me. I will be thrilled to brainstorm and discuss with you. 

Here's to a happy & healthier now and tomorrow!

Trip to La Belle Province Is Not All Eat, But Also Play...

Our annual family trip to Montreal has always been about food and family, but this time over Canada's Day weekend we had the privilege to couple it with active play! We all know that eating well and exercise goes hand in hand. Being a busy mom with a go-go career as an avid advocate of cooking, food education & healthy eating, and teaching people of all ages to cook, it is essential that I keep up my energy, find ground to centre myself, and stay in tip top shape. Yoga has been my beloved regular practice for close to three years and I kick-box once a week. I like to pass the ball with my soccer-loving son and hop onto the tennis court when the day is nice and I have a partner. I hope to inspire as a role model to the young and old alike that living a happy, healthy lifestyle is within reach. And it starts by balancing a good diet by cooking and eating fresh foods along with regular activity and movement.

So happy to present to you.... Decathlon. The world's largest sporting goods retailer, just opened its first store in North America founded by Michel Leclercq in Lille, France in 1976. Over 1100 stores in 38 countries, how lucky are we to have our premier Canadian store in Brossard, Montreal opening their doors just two months ago!

I was so impressed walking through this massive store staffed with lots of friendly help. Decathlon's brilliant concept- the one we already love with other markets such as food and cosmetics-- Try Before You Buy! Yass!!! More than 70 sports are available under one roof with economically-priced, quality material and made products, making activity accessible, affordable and attractive to everyone! For those looking to try a new sport for the first time, you quickly see the spectrum of products and apparel as each sport is organized separately, and on top, you can actually test things out in this massive 60,000 sq.ft space. You can expect the exact same products in the stores wherever you travel around the world so you can bank on their reliability and accessibility. And they are in 38 countries and counting! Hope they have plans to expand into our Ontario market.

The smart lay out of the store is arranged in categories for each type of sport or activity. You want yoga pants and mat straps, it's all down one aisle. Same goes for tennis, soccer, gym, camping... they even have a section for equestrian. Pick a sport, any sport and they have it covered. Unlike sporting good shops like Adidas, Sporting Life or Canadian Tire, where all the different kinds of shoes and clothing are sold together, here every sport has their own dedicated section (from clothing, accessories to equipment) so you can completely immerse and know what is available or required at a glance. Unbranded, reliable, great quality material and craftsmanship makes their products affordable world-wide.

Recreated stone walks to mimic outdoor settings, especially for those buying hiking boots.

My youngest son getting help from his dad on this stretching equipment.

The Brossard store spans about 60,000 square feet in a retail space once occupied by Montreal-based fashion retailer Les Ailes de la Mode. Necessary in massive size to allow for various active and safe play such as bouncing on trampolines, riding on kayaks in simulated ponds, and a huge gymnasium for squash, basketball, volleyball and track.

Testing out the waters in a real kayak.

A safe space for youngsters rollerblading, biking and skateboarding.

Teeing off...

My sons trying archery for their first time! So much fun!

A giant gym to test out all kinds of racquets, balls and even shoes.

My kids' favourite of them all-- a simulated move-with-you wall climber to test out shoes, climbing accessories and endurance :D. So many fun activities all under one roof, where you can test and try before you buy, at affordable prices that makes exercise and sports accessible and attractive to all regardless of age. Let's get moving and improving our fitness health! Shred those excuses.

A cute-looking mobile cafe for drinks and snacks after all the moving around.

haha... a little levitation meditation at new heights! 

Now onto feeding the belly... Comfort homey Vietnamese cuisine and family welcome staple every time we venture to Montreal. Grilled lemongrass pork skewers, homemade spring rolls with shredded lettuce and fresh herbs over vermicelli (bun), drizzled liberally with seasoned fish sauce (nuoc mam) and topped with crushed peanuts.

Kids posing with my fabulous niece Kathia as she shows off her family's edible garden.

My sister-in-law's herb garden brimming with dill, Vietnamese cilantro (rau ram) and perilla leaves. Yes, they've got little cherry tomatoes growing too and much more!

My sweet mother-in-law treated us to seven beautiful lobsters, stir-fried classic Cantonese-style with ginger and green onions. Her first time making it and boy, were the flavours on point. To try making them at home, follow along with my step-by-step recipe.

Lobster fried rice and pork & vegetables stir-fry.

A dinner out with the family at a nearby restaurant where we were staying. L'Étoile de L'Océan located on Rachel street since 1971- it's building over 100 years old is regarded as one of the oldest Portuguese restaurants in Montreal. It's interior old-world charm (love those signature blue and white wall tiles) spills over into their classic beloved traditional dishes of fish and seafood. Here, enjoying a meal of scampi shrimps in garlic sauce and starter tapas of marinated sardine fillets over toasted baguette and grilled octopus simply dressed with good extra virgin olive oil, sea salt, chopped vegetables and a splash of lemon. So deelish!

Classic Portuguese cuisine at L'Étoile de L'Océan

Fisherman's Plate pour deux (fish and seafood grilled chef-style)

Photo Credit: L'Étoile de L'Océan

A morning fuel rendezvous at a nearby French cafe...

Alas... a trip to la belle province is never complete without picking up a case of maple syrup from my sis-in-laws' uncle's sugar shack farm, and a trunk half-full of Montreal bagels. The cherry on top always is a stop at an artisanal bakery Première Moisson location (opened since 1992) for a quick family breakfast of freshly made French viennoiseries, baked breads and patisseries, and a hot cuppa' before hitting the road back home 🍰☕

I learned something new. Always categorizing danishes, croissants and muffins as pastries, these delectables are actually Viennoiseries. Viennoiseries are baked goods made from a yeast-leavened dough similar to bread, or from puff pastry. The added ingredients gives them a richer, sweeter character, closer to pastry, and the dough is often laminated.

A gorgeous array of freshly prepared gourmet sandwiches to ogle at and to devour!

Just love meat and liver pate in jars.

Happy Canada Day meringue!

I recalled meeting then Executive Chef Peter Alléguède for Première Moisson and digged up an old photo also with food writer & Spanish cuisine expert Gerry Shikatani when we did a gig at then popular Dish Cooking Studio. So glad to have always been camera-happy to mark amazing food people memories from my past...😁📸

With Gerry Shikatani and Chef Peter Alléguède in 2001

#eatloveplayrepeat to the mostest!