So Long From The Neighbourhood Table With A Luau Party...

It's a wrap!! How was it that one day I was brainstorming menu themes for eight long summer weeks, and now that's behind me with school three days closely away?! #culinaryconsultant

A highlight once again this year with the second instalment of The Neighbourhood Table. For eight weeks, we were joined for community and family-focused learning and fun. Offering a different food theme each week, we had fresh produce Good Food Market with other food demo vendors such as waste not non-profit organization Feed It Forward, Mexican cuisine Chef Erika and homemade samosas for sale; indoor and outdoor activities, cooking sessions for children and a nutrition and health workshop for parents, and capped with a community evening meal, all on-site at St. Philip’s Lutheran Church.

Finished off our weekly community events strong with a melting pot of cultures in our last supper together that reps our diverse ethnicities in our great cosmopolitan city. Do-it-yourself Hawaiian poke bowl dinner, handmade chicken balls in a Chinese sweet and sour pineapple sauce, fresh peach salsa served with chips and an icy sweet treat pineapple whip. We see it in the varied toppings for our poke bowl spread, which has its roots in Japanese cuisine that also includes Korean kimchi and Southeast Asian ingredient fried shallots; then there is local Ontario grown peaches in a Mexican-inspired salsa! I'd say a great tropical fun end to the incredible weeks cooking with kids and volunteers! 🍍🎉👨‍🍳👩‍🍳👩‍👧‍👦

Making the change from cooking for your kids to cooking with your kids can feel like a leap but it's all about taking one small step at a time. Gradually your kids will be more proficient, independent, their confidence will grow and you will reap the rewards of building a stronger family connection and eating more healthily just by cooking together. I hope our program helped inspire just that- getting the kids to go into the kitchen and cook with mom and dad. 

These sisters are our budding chefs of tomorrow.

With partnering Arab Community Centre leaders Salma and Nina

Poke pronounced "POH-keh" has been trend-setting the food scene in Toronto, and for good reason. First it was maki sushi-style burritos and now it's all the same fresh makings in a poke bowl. Healthy, delicious and customizable, this Hawaiian dish is a favourite for native Hawaiians and has been around for centuries. And of course, it has Japanese elements with the sushi rice and the myriad of toppings. The most important though is always the rice-- vinegared short-grain rice. I make mine as authentic as possible with kelp and the drizzle of sugar-salt-rice vinegar mixture for the best taste experience. To prepare, see my POST.

Fanning the sushi rice to cool.

Church member and volunteer Raija in charge of the fresh peach salsa station with the kids.

Peach Salsa
Makes 4 to 6 servings

8 Ontario peach or nectarines, pitted and diced
1 red bell pepper, finely diced
1/4 small red onion, finely diced
1 to 2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and finely diced
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro
2 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 tsp. kosher/sea salt, plus more to taste
1 to 2 pinches cayenne pepper
1 pinch freshly ground black pepper

Combine nectarines, bell pepper, onions, jalapeno pepper, and cilantro in a bowl. Stir in lime juice, olive oil, salt, and cayenne pepper. Refrigerate to let flavors develop, 30 minutes to one hour. Before serving, stir in black pepper. Adjust seasoning as desired. Serve with tortilla chips.

Kids took part in rolling the halal ground chicken meat balls.

We made a sweet and sour chicken balls Chinese-style with onions, peppers and pineapples.

Sweet and Sour Meatballs With Pineapples
Makes 6 to 8 servings

1-1/2 lbs. ground meat of your choice
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves minced
1 egg
1/3 cup dried bread crumbs
1 onion, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 each green and red peppers, cut into 1-inch pieces
1-1/2 cups fresh or canned pineapple chunks
Sliced green onions, for garnish

Sweet and Sour Sauce: (makes 2 cup)
½ cup ketchup
½ cup white vinegar
½ cup packed brown sugar or white sugar
2 tsp. soy sauce
½ cup water
2 Tbsp. cornstarch (to thicken sauce)

Place ground meat into a bowl and mix well with onions, garlic, egg and breadcrumbs. Let sit for ½ to 1 hour to firm. Form into 1-inch balls and place on prepared cookie sheet.

Bake meatballs on a baking tray in 400 F preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes or until thoroughly cooked. Cover, set aside and keep warm. Or alternatively, cook until done over stove.

Prepare the sauce: add ketchup, vinegar, sugar and soy sauce in a small pot. Bring to a simmering boil. Mix cornstarch with water, and pour slowly into sauce stirring frequently. Remove from heat.

Wok-fry onions and peppers in hot oil for three minutes or until crisp-tender; add the meatballs during the last minute. Pour in the sweet and sour sauce; bring to a boil. Add pineapples (optional) and toss for 30 seconds more.

For the Poke Bowls- our table was filled with all kinds of new toppings for the guests to try:

sushi rice (see here for preparations)
fresh sushi-grade salmon and tuna or smoked salmon, cubed
canned white chunk tuna, imitation crab meat sticks, diced or shredded
ripe avocados, cubed
edamame beans (shelled)
green onions, sliced
alfalfa or pea sprouts
zucchini noodles
spring mix or torn lettuce leaves

shredded nori sheets

Korean cut kimchi
fried onions, wasabi peas
sushi ginger, wasabi paste
toasted sesame seed
ponzu citrus sauce, soy sauce
Japanese Kewpie mayonnaise

Sriracha hot sauce
furikake (nori rice seasoning)

Indeed a kaleidoscope of colours, flavours and textures!

Try wasabi peas and fried onions for crunch and crisp!

I am going to miss these awesome ladies Nina and Salma...

Wrap up presentation, and lots of so long hugs that night!

Whatever fits your fancy, top your poke bowls to your heart's content!

Lovely sushi rice base, with salad leaves, zucchini noodles and other fresh toppings!

The luau to our luau party with a Disney favourite (so I heard) Pineapple Whip!

Pineapple Whip (adapted by Chocolate Covered Katie)
Makes 3 servings

2 cups frozen pineapple chunks
1/4 cup milk of choice (Try canned coconut milk for piña colada soft serve!)
A pinch of salt
2 Tbsp. sugar of choice
1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice

Blend all ingredients until smooth. Scoop out with an ice cream scoop, or squeeze through a pastry bag, or a plastic bag with an edge cut off. (If your blender is not super-powerful like a Vitamix, you may need to add a little more liquid and then freeze a bit before serving, or churn in an ice cream maker.) For soft-serve that holds its shape longer, freeze the swirled dole whip at least 20 minutes prior to serving.

These boys were with me at the cooking program last year. They grew so much in one year. Their lovely mom gave me the necklace she was wearing as a gift. So very sweet 🥰.

Awww... what a lovely bouquet of flowers presented to me along with a beautiful card with everyone's thank yous and well wishes! This recipe book was a happy surprise created by our market coordinator Anna! What a momento to capture everything we did in this cooking program! Thank you 🙏!

This incredible recipe handbook featuring all my recipes from this summer's Neighbourhood Table menus will be offered on the church's web-site in PDF format shortly. 

Neighbourhood Table & Good Food Market Recipes 2019

So long my friends, and hope to see you all next summer again!

For more on The Neighbourhood Table, head over to St.Philip's site.

If you are looking for ideas to create a culinary program, contact me at s5ng@yahoo.com. 

Here's to enjoying good real nourishing food together!