Back To Teaching In School Cooking Classes...

Back teaching cooking in person means we can smell, touch and taste again- together 🤗! It has been a busy Fall cooking programming, and I haven't had time to write a post. So catching up with all the incredible food we had dished out with many having a creative and artistic spin.

In my most recent new after school program is with Woodbine Public School grade 8 students. I always like to introduce myself with my passion for healthy eating and multicultural cooking. Started off with a delicious creamy lemony dill yogurt dip with vegetable dippers the students can prepare alongside another recipe- Mexican guacamole seem to whet their appetite for what's in store in my workshops. What better way than to challenge the students, split into teams to have some fun creating a design with their food- edible art on a platter canvas! These girls washed the vegetables, ideated and combined their artistic efforts to produce 1) a jungle- with a forest, wooded path encircling a pretty garden with a creamy yogurt dill dip in its centre. 2) a bountiful garden filled with trees, plants and flowers- rose petals carefully sliced from grape tomatoes and dill sprigs for leaves.

Great job 👏👏👏!

It was a success, as the girls asked me for the recipes and said they would eat more vegetables if they can make something yummy to dip them in. Now they can 😊.

Guacamole with blue corn chips

Flashback, to where my Fall activities started, and it was here... my mainstay post at Beverley Heights Middle School around Halloween. 

The question is whose crunchy delicious creation reigns skeleton supreme? 

Not every student celebrate Halloween door to door and some are introduced to the highly kid-anticipated event for the first time. We know it will be a day filled with sugar and junk food so why not a prelude with a healthier artistic spin- veggies and a herb yogurt dip for the skull? And Ritz spiders with a couple of critters thrown in too 🕷🕸🐜🦗🦟!?

Teaching kids cooking humbles me...

One student admitted afterwards that she judged when she saw what we were about to do. She created anyway and was blown away at how delicious the healthy food tasted. She exclaimed, this is an example of why you shouldn't judge. You just don't know until you give it a try...
Life lessons...
And it is why, I keep on, keeping on...

Thank you 💕

Taco Salad Tuesday 🌮🌮🌮🥗? SpecTACOlar 🤗! #colouryourplate #eattherainbow🌈

We covered fresh produce, then it was all about fruits in these delicious customised DIY crepes 😋...

Moving on to a high school I have been working with- John Polanyi Collegiate in an after school culinary program with teens. They are well versed in cooking and requested things like Beef Wellington and Ratatouille 😯. We don't have the time or budget to do these kinds of dishes but we can take the classes up a notch. Starting with them the week before Halloween making a pumpkin cheese ball with crackers and a spider themed seven layer dip- Mexican style.

Yes, the crumbly bright orange powder is crushed cheesy sticks!

Happily Digging In!

We got more fun in the horizon in the next class. Sushi five ways 👋...  The students went off with my instructions to prepare the ingredients and I demoed a few styles before they made their own. 

There's more ways to enjoy sushi (with or without raw seafood) than meets the eye... sure you got your classic maki roll, but try onigiri rice balls or triangles, nori taco wraps, poke bowl and the quadrant wrap.

So much fun for the family and a different kind of meal to entertain guests with by customizing to everyone's favourite fixins'... a colourful array of vegetables and protein! You don't need to worry about raw fish if you prefer to leave that to the experts at sushi restaurants, when you've got cooked eel, crab meat and shrimps at your disposal. But what makes the concept of sushi stand out? It's not just the combination of these wonderful flavours and textures but the simple base itself that forms the essence of great sushi - the vinegared rice 🍚!

The key to excellent rice, is to mix the vinegar dressing well so that the rice will be seasoned evenly. When done properly and quickly enough, the results will be glossy, and the rice tastily vinegared. Then create away 🍙🍣🍱

Great work everyone 👨‍🍳👩‍🍳👏👏👏!!

Maki sushi, poke bowl and onigiri rice balls.

DIY customised sushi tacos

Fold and wrap sushi sandwich 

Another cultural spin at the next session with meatballs two ways...

Chinese Sweet and Sour Meatballs with Pineapples

Sweet and Sour Meatballs With Pineapples
Makes 6 to 8 servings

1-1/2 lbs. ground meat of your choice ( we used part beef and part pork)
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves minced
Salt and ground pepper to taste
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 about 3-1/2 cups)
1 cup ketchup
1 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar or white sugar (use less if pineapple is sweet)
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 cup water
¼ cup cornstarch (to thicken sauce)

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

Cook meatballs on hot pan until seared and cooked through. OR/ 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.

Prepare the sauce: add ketchup, vinegar, sugar and soy sauce in a bowl.

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. Mix cornstarch with water, and pour slowly into sauce stirring frequently. Add pineapples (optional) and toss for 30 seconds more. Garnish with sliced green onions.

Comfort favourite Meatball Stroganoff

Makes 6 to 8 servings

1 package egg noodles, cooked according to package instructions
1-1/2 lbs. ground meat of your choice
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves minced
Salt and pepper to your taste
1 egg
1/3 cup dried bread crumbs
1 Tbsp. oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 tsp. salt
2 cloves garlic, minced
454 g mushrooms, sliced (or use a combination of cremini, shiitakes, white and oyster)
4 cups beef broth, divided
2 bay leaves
1 tsp. dried thyme
5 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 to 1-1/2 cups sour cream or plain yogurt

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

Note: Cook meatballs on hot pan until seared and cooked through. OR/ Bake meatballs on a baking tray in 400 F preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes or until thoroughly cooked.

Heat oil in a skillet and cook onions over medium high until golden about two minutes.

Add cooked meatballs, stirring occasionally. Stir in the garlic and mushrooms and cook another three minutes. Add 3-1/2 cups of the broth, bay leaf and thyme; cover and simmer for two minutes. Mix the flour with the remaining 1/2 cup broth until lump-free and gradually stir into beef mixture. Heat to boiling for one minute, stirring constantly; reduce heat. Stir in sour cream; heat until hot. Remove bay leaves. Serve over hot cooked egg noodles.

The holidays are around the corner, and I can't wait to end the year's classes with a festive bang 🥳🎉!