Thorncliffe Parents Culinary Program.... About the Pantry

It's my second term teaching cooking in the Parent Engagement Culinary Program over at Thorncliffe's Fraser Mustard (largest kindergarten school in Canada) and I am beyond ThRilleD! This time it is a joint partnership with TDSB Newcomer Services and Michael Garron (formerly Toronto East General Hospital). Trained under Michael Garron's Healthy Together program the sessions include cooking and eating together, learning and physical activity where possible. Healthy Together is an innovative family education model for children and youth, and their families to learn to make healthy choices and build healthy relationships. The program is implemented in 21 community-based organizations in Canada and growing. Results show promising results for improving healthy eating, increased physical activity, and connecting people to each other and their communities. AmaZing!! 

This term we have a full house, returning students (yay!) and new including a dad whose daughter just started kindergarten in the school. A diverse group of parents including backgrounds from India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, China. We have child minding available for toddlers, and a baby who sleeps through our noisy community kitchen activities; kids join their parents afterwards when we finish cooking so we can all eat together. 

With lovely returning students and my incredible community builder partner Ashima :D
Thanks to her, we have full funding from the hospital to support the program.

To start, I wanted to talk to the group about the pantry. To me the pantry is everything we use in our kitchen to cook that is non-perishable, nothing fresh. Things you can stock up on especially when there is a sale, and you can make a healthy hearty meal for your family. Sometimes we are tired or not feeling well and we just can't make it to the grocery store. Having certain things on hand, makes it a cinch to get dinner on the table. My idea is giving a twist to their regularly used ingredients that is family-friendly, budget-minded and healthy delicious. The pantry is three categories:

Spice and Condiment Pantry-- dried spices, chillies, oils, vinegar, seasonings
Dry and Wet Pantry-- dried lentils, chickpeas, quinoa, pasta nuts, canned tomatoes, canned tuna
Freezer-- yes the freezer is a pantry too--- frozen fruits and vegetables, meats, bones, bread

I conducted two sessions that used staple and pantry items. In my most recent class, we made a fish rice dish with basmati rice and a spicy appetizer with potatoes. And my first class to kick things off-- two dishes completely made out of pantry items... 

A visual chart of the pantry! What does your look like?

This was the pantry and fresh spread from Session Two. Vegetables and fruit to cut up for dipping into yogurt dips-- one savoury with torn pieces of mint, a splash of lemon juice and salt, and the sweet, mixed with a bit of honey. And the remaining ingredients, items and spices that the group are already cooking with, while introducing some Asian flavours.

Asian-Spiced Kedgeree. Kedgeree started in India as a dish of rice and lentils which later, with the influence of Anglo-Indian Ascendancy became a golden rice dish with eggs and smoked haddock. British chef Nigella Lawson gave it a South-East Asian twist trading the haddock for fleshy coral salmon, and using fish sauce and kaffir lime leaves. This is a colourful healthy dish and great for the family.

Szechuan Spicy Potatoes is a popular tender-crisp potato appetizer originating from Qingdao, China. Szechuan chilies and Szechuan peppercorns for tongue-numbing spicy sensation and lemony overtones are an addictive combo called ma la (numbing spice)! Adjust the level of spiciness, sour and sesame oil to your tastes. Serve warm or cold.

Asian-Spiced Kedgeree and Szechuan Spicy Potatoes. 

Made this dish again with leftover potatoes at home with my family! YUM!

The pantry spread (nothing fresh) and a selfie from my first class before everyone arrived!

Introducing my Asian pantry-- beancurd sheets from the freezer, macaroni pasta from my dried pantry and a host of things like frozen meat and vegetables, canned and dried mushrooms and condiments and seasonings to create a delicious comfort meal and an appetizer.

Demoing the wrap and roll for my mixed canned mushrooms (straw and button) and dried mushrooms (hydrated shiitakes and black mushroom fungus strips) beancurd rolls. Here is my fresh mushrooms recipe in Mixed Mushrooms Beancurd Rolls, which you can easily substitute the amount for canned mushrooms, drained, rinsed and well drained, chopped into smaller pieces. 

Mixed Mushrooms Beancurd Rolls, steamed served cool or pan-fried served warm.

My family's comfort soup meal-in-one (macaroni soup) and one that I grew up on. So many fond memories of my mom making this for me when I was sick- it certainly made me feel nourished and got me steadily back to health, or for a no-fuss lunch (my siblings and I walked home for lunch from school). Cook the broth using meat bones or pieces of meat, add frozen vegetables like peas or frozen mixed cut vegetables, flavour it with hydrated shiitake mushrooms and seasoned with salted preserved turnip. This is definitely a simple Chinese soup that never grows old. I easily reminisce my childhood while eating it, and my kids love it-- asking for seconds regularly. Scroll down for my simple customizable recipe.

These moms and their kids enjoyed the bowls very much. This little guy asked in my recent session whether I am cooking yummy soup for him again. Aww....

So ecstatic that dad Charles made up his version of my soup at home with his family, and shared a photo with us :D. He used rotini pasta and added edamames and tomatoes... So delicious! That's the great thing about this soup-- customize it to your tastes with your family's favourite ingredients. His daughter loves it so much, Charles packs it for her lunch in a thermos regularly! Change it up, rotate the soup flavours with various pasta, noodles and vegetables even broth and make it a different experience every time. Yay-- way to go!!

Photo Credit: Charles

Sharing a wonderful full day Parent Involvement Makes A Difference event open to parents across the TDSB. Lots of great workshops for learning on a wide range of topics from newcomer resources, mental health, nutrition and technology, including snacks and lunch too!

Macaroni in Soup
Makes 6 to 8 servings

~2 lbs. chicken carcass or bones / pork bones
2 slices ginger
2 tsp. salt, divided
1 package (454 g) macaroni or other short pasta, cooked and drained
6 dried shiitake mushrooms, hydrated in water to cover for two hours, sliced
1/2 slice of salted preserved turnip, thinly sliced or use soy sauce.
1 cup frozen green peas, corn, mixed veggies, edamame, etc., thawed
green onions for garnish

Bring a pot of water to a boil; add salt and ginger, cook for two minutes. Add the meat bones. Bring the water back to a boil for two to three minutes, then drain it over a strainer. Rinse the bones under cold running water and wash between the crevices to rid gelatinous fat and any grit. Discard the ginger slices. Rinse the pot, add water and bring it back to a boil with the blanched bones. Add 1 tsp. salt. Cover and reduce heat to medium-low to cook for one-half hours if cooking chicken bones. Cook 2 hours for pork bones.

Add salted turnip 20 minutes before end of broth cook time. Add vegetables 10 minutes after. Remove the bones onto a plate before adding the cooked macaroni. Mix and serve hot. Garnish with green onions. 

Note: If using fresh meat like chicken to make the broth, cook meat whole for 30 minutes. Slice meat into small pieces afterwards to serve with pasta/noodle soup.