My TDSB Learn4Life Asian Cooking Program Goes Online...

Whatever it takes, even if it means an LCBO Baileys' box ✌... This was me four weeks ago setting up my lap top station for a brand new world to me of online Zoom classes! And these were my exact sentiments about chartering this new virtual territory mid-summer: "With school around the corner, it's still uncertain how my Fall programs will look like. In-class, on-line demo and video-conferencing, both? I have never been keen on-video thus why I am a blogger and not a vlogger, however times a changing and we must adapt to survive and thrive. Who knows I may just love it??? Whichever the case may be, I look forward to teaching again and inspire the young and old alike to get in the kitchen to cook."

Well, in just over a month, I have been producing pre-taped food demo videos for St.Philip's Lutheran church in partnership to deliver recipe inspirations to 73 families in the west-end. For more, see my previous post. That means filming solo or with the help of my family, short clips of step-by-step recipes with or without me in them. Then collating the clips and photos, voicing over where needed, editing for flow and audio and e-packaging for client delivery. We then host a live session with the families to view the video together and have an engaging Q&A. Over to my TDSB con-ed seniors Asian cooking program, moving things online we now include adult learners, and I have a nice 11 people registered (with seven returning learners). I am proud to say I have conducted four lessons under my belt, and I can't ask for a better group- interactive, curious, inquisitive! And to answer, whether I may love it... You bet I do 💓!

Yes instructing cooking classes online, learners lose the entire five senses experience and it's hard to gage whether you will try a new ingredient or flavour by watching the dish get made without tasting it, but hopefully with thorough planning on my part- prepping ingredients ahead, proper camera placement and just upping my virtual-teaching in general, the recipes will be just as inspiring to replicate from home! I am always striving to do better than yesterday, and I have to say I definitely got into my groove on-line. 

Whereas I use to present the ingredients and talk through the recipes upfront while mentally visualizing the how-tos before everyone joined in hands-on to cook together, now I get to do a proper demo; walking step-by-step the recipes as I am preparing them, providing lots of information such as how to shop, substitutes and in-depth origins of condiments, ingredients and dishes. It really is wonderful teaching this way as it is thorough and it sticks. Food education and knowledge is really key for producing a dish that takes it from good... to fantastic! And my students tell me, they now have front row seats to see and hear all my tips and tricks. Gotta love it 💗!!

The bonus 💥: enjoying the dishes afterwards with my family 😋!

Showcasing my designated cooking classes' new cutting board and shiny Japanese knife by my awesome niece from Montreal.  A gift from her a while back but I can't think of a better way to inaugurate it in my new home's kitchen then with the online platform for cooking 😃.

I don't have an island connected to my stove top, but these make-shift tables are perfect for giving me counter space and optimal perspective from my laptop on the kitchen table.

No fancy tripod or second camera just yet. Making do with the laptop view for my students atop a foldable stool on my stove for close up cooking. I always prep everything first at my station (two recipes for each lesson), then I move over to cook at the stove and lastly, plating at tableside, repositioning my laptop as I go. I also close my shutters so I don't get a glare when it's sunny out or even when it's gloomy. This week I actually cooked in the dark with minimal natural light, as it didn't appear well on screen. I toggle my kitchen lights and overhead stove light to make sure the food is clearly visible at all times.

I lave been using Power Point presentation slides, and I love it! I include a page in my session when introducing my students to new ingredients. I highlight the points by sharing my screen to participants on Zoom.

This was- Mission Accomplished 🔥... my first ever live online cooking class with Learn4Life.ca Toronto in my Asian Cooking Program for adults & seniors. #zoom

First session- Chinese Cuisine with Homestyle Take-Out Cashew Chicken and Winter Melon Soup was a hit. I love teaching new less familiar ingredients such as winter melon (check out its properties and benefits in slide above).

Homestyle Take-Out Cashew Chicken and Winter Melon Soup

The following week, it was Japanese cuisine and we will be learning about devil's tongue- konnyaku 👹👅. 

Picking up various konnyaku formats at an Asian store.

Assembling the dishes tableside, this was the final presentation.

Konnyaku Sashimi and Simmered Beef, Potatoes and Vegetables

The third week, we celebrated National Seafood Month with Vietnamese Clay Pot Caramel Shrimp and Cantonese Salt and Pepper Squid 🦐🐙...

Encountering Zoom issues half hour before my online class started, thankfully our TDSB Con-Ed online trainer came to my rescue sharing his screen with me to host. Yes, some delay getting started and my prep was not ready but I slayed it 💥 with these two wonderful dishes.

Shrimps cook vigorously in a mixture of bittersweet caramel sauce, fish sauce, onions and ground black pepper to create a popular "kho" simmered dish that is rich, savoury and rustic and the shrimps chewy. The squid is diamond cut to create a pineapple surface and is wonderful dredged in potato starch, shallow-fried then tossed with stir-fried onions, garlic, pepper and hot chilies. Perfect served with rice 🍚🥢.

Vietnamese Clay Pot Caramel Shrimp and Cantonese Salt and Pepper Squid

Vietnamese cooks often prepare kho, simple dishes simmered in a bittersweet caramel-based sauce. The shrimp s cook vigorously, releasing juices that combine with the other seasonings to create a dark, tasty sauce. And you purposely overcook the shrimps to allow the flavours to penetrate thoroughly, resulting in a pleasant sweetness and chewiness.

Shrimp Simmered in Caramel Sauce (Tom Kho)
Serves 4

1-1/2 lbs. medium or large shrimps, peeled and deveined
1/2 tsp. salt for washing shrimps and 1/8 tsp. for seasoning
1-1/2 Tbsp. fish sauce
2 Tbsp. caramel sauce (* see below)
1 small onion, thinly sliced
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
1-1/2 Tbsp. oil
1 green onion, green part only, chopped

Caramel Sauce (1 Cup): 3/4 cup hot water, divided and 1 cup granulated white sugar

In a small, stainless steel pot, cook 1/4 cup water and all the sugar, stirring just to combine, to a boil. Do Not stir when boiling. Now turn heat down to a simmer, and let cook for 10 minutes until it turns an amber colour. As the sauce begins to turn brown – at this point you need to watch it VERY closely! It will turn to a dark amber quickly; remove from heat into the kitchen sink, stand back and carefully pour in the remaining 1/2 cup hot water; stir well and let mixture thicken and cool to room temp. Store in container at room temp.

Place shrimps in a bowl with water to cover and 1/2 tsp. salt; mix rapidly with hand until frothy and water grey; rinse several times in cold water until clear; drain well.

In a clay pot/sauce pan, combine the shrimp, 1/8 tsp. salt, fish sauce, caramel sauce and bring to a hard simmer over high heat. Mix in the onion and black pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally for 10 to 15 mins. or until shrimps have turned an orange-brown.

Splash water to cook the shrimps longer; the juices eventually concentrate into a mahogany-coloured sauce, and at the end should only be a few tablespoons left.

Turn off heat, add the oil, and stir to coat the shrimps; check seasoning and add onions.

*****

Salt and Pepper Squid
Serves 4

1 lb. of squid, cartilage discarded, tentacles removed and reserved
4 cups water, with 1 Tbsp. salt added
3/4 cup potato starch
1 tsp. salt
A couple dashes of ground white pepper
Oil for shallow-frying

Vietnamese dipping sauce:

1/2 lemon, juice of
black pepper

Chinese-Style Stir-Fry:

1 Tbsp. oil
1/2 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 green pepper, chopped
1 green onion, chopped
1 red chili, sliced (optional)

Take the squid tubes, and score into a diamond pattern. Cut into 1-1/2 inch strips.

Soak the squid in the salted water for 30 minutes. Drain the squid, and plunge into a skillet of boiling water with enough to cover for 20 seconds, then drain again and pat dry with paper towels. Toss with potato starch mixed with salt and pepper, shaking to remove any excess.

Dry the skillet and heat oil until hot. Working in batches, fry the squid for about 45 seconds or until golden crispy and cooked through, stirring gently with a slotted spoon to prevent them from sticking together. Drain on paper towels. Serve with a mixture of lemon and black pepper in a small bowl as a dip.

Or Chinese-Style:

Stir-fry ingredients, adding one at a time in a skillet with oil heated until tender-crisp. Add cooked squid and toss to coat quickly; ladle onto a serving dish and serve hot.

*****

This week we made Korean favourite bibimbap (bibim- to mix ingredients; bap- rice) and a side of mini enoki omelets.

Bibimbap (Korean Mixed Rice with Meat and Assorted Vegetables)
Serves two

100 g lean ground beef, or thinly sliced beef
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 Tbsp. sesame oil
1 tsp. brown sugar
1 clove garlic, minced
150 g mung bean sprouts, washed, drained, ends removed
1 medium zucchini, cut into 2-inch pieces and julienned
5 fresh / dehydrated shiitake mushrooms (hydrated six hours in water to cover), thinly sliced
1 small carrot, cut into 2-inch pieces and julienned
Oil for cooking
1/2 tsp. sea salt, divided
3 cups cooked steamed rice
2 eggs
Roasted seasoned seaweed, shredded or thinly sliced

Bibimbap sauce:

1 Tbsp. each gochujang (Korean red pepper paste), sesame oil, sugar and water
1 tsp. apple cider vinegar
1 clove garlic, minced
1 Tbsp. toasted sesame seeds

Mix the beef with the soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar and garlic; let marinate for 30 minutes.

In a skillet, lightly boil (blanch) bean sprouts, then rinse in cold water and drain. Wipe skillet, add oil and stir-fry zucchini, then shiitake mushrooms and carrot separately. Add a little salt each time.

Mix the bibimbap sauce ingredients in a bowl.

Heat oil in pan to medium high heat and stir-fry meat for three minutes until cooked through.

Fry the two eggs (sunny side up is most common).

Divide the rice into two bowls; add the meat, arrange the assorted vegetables and top each with an egg, shredded seaweed and some bibimbap sauce. Mix the ingredients well and enjoy!

So hearty and scrumptious!

Here are some shots my students took for me during class.

Happily presenting my final bibimbap bowl! 

This made it in my hungry husband's belly for lunch.

Stay tuned with more collaborations on the horizon-- all in the name of good food and community 🍲👪!

The Neighbourhood Table At Home Fall...

SO ExCited to be part of this great initiative again with St.Philip's Lutheran Church in its third year addressing food insecurity, and championing food literacy and cooking skills! 

With the receipt of a large United Way grant, came the launch of #NHTatHome The Neighbourhood Table At Home Fall Program in Etobicoke. Making head waves across the city at large, their great volunteer efforts and community building achievements was picked up on CTV News 🤗❤!

Check out the CTV News article and video.

The Neighbourhood Table was a summer program that started three years ago, where we hosted free family activities and cooking lessons with 6 to 12 year olds to learn food education and kitchen skills in preparations of serving a healthy and delicious multi-course, multicultural dinner to the registered families and guests. 👩‍🍳👨‍🍳🥗🍧. See here to read more of how this originated and see the action from our first ever session.

However with Covid, The Neighbourhood Table pivoted to the home this spring with #covid19 food boxes from Food Share @foodshareto, further funded by the Government of Canada and Community Food Centres Canada @aplaceforfood to help offer emergency food relief to the Etobicoke community, doubling the number of families to receive the support 💥! And with the recent United Way grant, the program was able to extend into Fall to continue to help families in need, coupled with an online cooking component led by myself and co-host Chef Sandy. Yay!

Demoing colourful salads with this fine bunch of kids in 2018.

The day of the Fall program inauguration was a beautiful day.

Weekly generous produce boxes from @foodshareto and bread 🍞 from @cobsbread 💖, along with online cooking food skills workshops are offered for eight weeks to 73 families in Etobicoke. Our partnering communities are returning Arab Community Centre of Toronto (ACCT) and new collaboration Polycultural, an immigration and community centre serving East Europeans mainly Russians.

This wouldn't be possible without the incredible organizers and volunteers devoting their time every week to help put together the weekly themed loot bags, unload the FoodShare delivery truck and get in their own cars to deliver the goods on the various routes to all the homes 🏡👏👏.

This is Salma, the lovely lead at ACCT, unravelling the first fall food box to be delivered to a family. So many lovely fresh produce to make some tasty meals.

Food boxes are delivered alongside gift bags containing some ingredients or supplies that would fit the weekly cooking themes. Here is what we have in store.

We even had member of Parliament for Etobicoke Centre Mr.Yvan Baker join in the presentations and award the church for their huge achievements. Congratulations 🤗!!

Check out the full article with video on the church's site to hear more about the exciting initiative.

It's a daily challenge: which parent doesn't scramble to find inspiration, variety and extra time in the morning to keep their children interested in their daily lunch box, and not have them bring it home half-eaten? 

I proudly presented my first pretaped video (BTS Lunchbox) on Zoom offered to 73 families as part of the cooking skills portion of the Neighbourhood Table At Home Fall Program for eight weeks. Showcasing a number of lunchbox packing ideas I do for my three kids, in hopes to inspire theirs with themes such as "All Dips and Dippers", "Build Your Own Lunch Kit", "Bento Compartment- Style", "Cook Once, Eat Twice", "Creative Leftovers", and "Beat The Square Wonder Bread Sandwich Blues" etc., 🍱🥙🥗🍐.

Check out the CTV News article and video.

Get your children to cook with you. Lunch can evoke powerful feelings of childhood. As adults, we talk about tackling the dinner dilemma and the powers of wonderful dinners -- we discuss them, plan them, labour over them. But it is lunch that has this grasp on children-- those toting a lunchbox to school. It is when they are entrusted outside of their parents presence, free of their glares and lectures of not eating their vegetables or everything on their plate; this is the time they break bread with their schoolmates, and enjoy a piece of love from home as they plough through the long day. If you let them take some of that control (whether it be making it with you or choosing from a list of healthy options) we can assure you lunch will have a whole new meaning -- one they can feel good about to show off to their teacher and friends.

This is a collection of my favourite lunchbox ideas for visual inspiration.

Here is my co-host Chef Sandy. We divided the weekly themes, and are in charge of four each to concept build and content develop with produce information, recipes, food ideas and family activities.

We have had three sessions so far, and she has covered Ontario apples and most recently on fresh basil and different types of pestos.

On the bottom right you can see her fun bouquet of edible roses made with hollowed out
cherry tomatoes with cheese cube centre and basil leaves. How creative!

Here is a sneak peek into our next lesson with me: Thanksgiving with a focus on Fall harvest.

A look into my recommendations for family activities to enjoy Fall nature's bounty.

The timing of the program couldn't have been more fitting with a flashback four years ago to my great involvement with the global Food Revolution foundation led by Super Star Chef Jamie Oliver.

Two years ago, (October 6th, 2018), Jamie Oliver was in town talking with TO Food Revolution ambassadors about a healthier Canada. Our unified message was clear: the more we are equipped with food knowledge and can cook for ourselves, the healthier the outlook for our futures and the next generation. And less food waste with cooking and ideas know-how! An overall impactful kind of wonderful 🤗❤!

I am on a mission to help inspire others to eat well, for a better and healthier tomorrow. Although, Food Revolution no longer runs, I continue to carry that torch🗽- championing real food, food education, and inspiring people of all ages to cook in my every day work and passion for teaching culinary in schools and the community, and now moving things on-line. I am Forever Grateful to you and for our global like-minded family @jamieoliver!💕🙏 See my post Jamie Talking Food Change In Canada for more.

Up next, my TDSB Learn For Life Asian Cooking Program moves to live on-line with Zoom. I will cover the changes to consider in my class planning process as I navigate this brand new world to me, with virtual teaching. Stay Tuned!