Light of Chance culinary class teaching kids a love for cooking - The Messenger |
- Light of Chance culinary class teaching kids a love for cooking - The Messenger
- Cooking at the Cove: A Japanese-inspired meal and a maple morsel - pressherald.com
- The New York Times Is Giving Up Cooking Community Facebook Group With Over 77,000 Members - BuzzFeed News
- Three approaches to cooking for Passover - Los Angeles Times
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Light of Chance culinary class teaching kids a love for cooking - The Messenger Posted: 18 Mar 2021 10:00 PM PDT  "Cooking with kids is not just about ingredients, recipes, and cooking. It's about harnessing imagination, empowerment, and creativity," said world famous chef Guy Fieri. Building on the premise, Light of Chance is offering a culinary class for kids in fifth through 12 grade from 3:30 to 6 p.m. on Wednesdays. Executive Director Eric Logan said the culinary class had been in the works for a while but the pandemic delayed threw a wrench into things. "We felt like there was a need and we also wanted to expand to reach kids that maybe our other classes weren't the right fit for them," he said. Jessie Crawford, program coordinator and culinary arts instructor — said she has been enjoying the class as the kids get to learn new experiences. "When we had talked about it, I knew from teaching previously that kids get excited over cooking classes, and I am happy the kids in this area are as excited about it as I am," she said. Crawford is teaching the kids kitchen safety, sanitation, proper cooking temperatures for protein as well as baking techniques. "They are learning all the proper steps they need to take to prepare things at home for their families," she said. Crawford said Light of Chance partnered with the University of Kentucky Extension office to pick out recipes with fruits and vegetables that are in season. "I am trying to teach them how to use the seasons to their advantage," said Crawford. "How getting in-season produce and being able to create something out of it helps with budgeting in their homes." The students have prepared an egg recipe, using bell peppers and tomatoes from Kroger, she said. Last week, the students created a chicken asparagus roll-up, using the seasonal asparagus. On Wednesday, they made red, white and blue muffins. Crawford said she has the students try new foods to grow their palettes, like Dragon fruit and papaya. "I am hoping that they get a passion to create food for a lifetime and not be afraid to explore different flavors," she said. To start the new program, Light of Chance received funding from the Heidi Badgett Foundation through United Way of the Coalfield, said Logan. They partnered with not only the UK extension office but with Western Kentucky University to evaluate the program. "Part of the extension office's initiative is cooking and working with people to create quick, inexpensive meals," said Logan. The funding provided professional-grade equipment for the students to use, he said. They did not cut any corners when it came to equipment for the culinary arts class. The goal of the class is to introduce foods to the students they may not have tried before or to put a twist on foods they have tried, he said. "At the same time, it engages them and shows them how to prepare and cook meals," said Logan. "They are quick, easy and a lot of them are healthy, too. They fit into people's lifestyles." As things start to open back up, the program's goal is to have some of the culinary students compete in competitions to help them gain scholarships. "We are pretty excited about the possibilities we are going to be able to do with the program and the class," said Logan. Crawford said Light of Chance is always looking for community support, and if any chefs or bakers in the area want to teach a class or show the students a new skill, they are more than welcome. Crawford said she goes shopping for the ingredients the day of the class, so pre-registration is required.  |
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Cooking at the Cove: A Japanese-inspired meal and a maple morsel - pressherald.com Posted: 19 Mar 2021 01:03 AM PDT 
Maple-Brown Butter Tarts are a perfect nibble for celebrating Maine's maple sugaring heritage. Karen Schneider / For The Forecaster I can't remember if I've shared this with my readers, but many moons ago I lived in Iwakuni, Japan. I was a teen who had been raised on a standard American diet so I wasn't as open to trying new culinary delights as I am now. I shrugged off many opportunities to taste the unfamiliar cuisine and regret that I wasn't more adventurous when I had the chance. 
Karen Schneider cooks and writes in the village of Cundy's Harbor. You can reach her at [email protected] However, since that time I have learned not only to be more open about sampling regional foods, but with the advent of the information highway and access to more far-flung ingredients, I've also learned how to "kitchen travel" by creating international meals in my own kitchen. Especially as winter segues into spring, I find that I crave lighter vegetarian meals containing more greens. Both these recipes for healthy dishes can be made with all manner of green things. Just slightly adjust the cooking time. Broccoli, kale, spinach and pea pods can be tumbled together quickly and easily for similarly delicious results. No hot peppers in the fridge? Use some red pepper flakes or a few drops of hot sauce. No sesame seed in the cupboard? Slivered almonds or chopped walnuts work well, too. Perhaps I'll surprise you one day with a recipe for a Japanese dessert, but for now, we must "embrace the maple" by whipping up these gooey little tarts. Dō itashimashite! (You're welcome!) Soba with Asparagus1 pound asparagus, trimmed, with tips cut off Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cut asparagus stalks and tips into 1-inch pieces. In a large bowl, combine miso, butter and ginger. Add soba to boiling water and cook for one minute. Add asparagus stalks and cook for another minute. Add tips and cook for another 2 minutes until soba is cooked al dente. Drain soba and asparagus, reserving 1/2 cup cooking liquid. Place soba and asparagus in bowl with miso butter. Add 3/4 of the sliced scallions and enough cooking liquid for a creamy consistency. Gently toss until the butter melts and coats the soba and noodles. Divide soba mixture among four serving bowls and top with cooked eggs. Garnish with seaweed and gomasio. Serve with lemon. Yield: 4 servings Spicy Chard2 pounds rainbow chard leaves, julienned In a large wok over medium-high heat, bring water and salt to a boil. Place chard in the pan and cover. Cook for about 5 minutes until chard is wilted, stirring halfway through cooking time. Remove lid and continue cooking and stirring until liquid has evaporated, about 1-3 minutes. Transfer chard to a serving platter or bowl and wipe out wok. Gently stir ginger and chili into the chard. Add oils to the wok and return to medium-high heat. Cook for 1-2 minutes. Pour seasoned oil over greens and toss to coat. Combine soy sauce and vinegar in a small bowl, drizzle over greens and toss again. Sprinkle with gomasio or sesame seeds. Yield: 4 servings Maple-Brown Butter Tarts1/2 cup butter Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Roll out pastry thinly on a floured surface and use a 3-inch diameter cookie cutter to cut out 12 circles. Place these in a muffin tin and set aside. Brown the butter by placing it in a saucepan over medium heat, melting until it begins to steam and foam, keeping a close eye on it. Swirl gently, watching the color. When it turns golden brown, immediately remove from heat and whisk in maple syrup, brown sugar, beaten eggs, vanilla and maple extract if using. Gently sift and stir in flour so it doesn't leave lumps. Stir in nuts if using. Pour filling into pastry cups and bake for 10-12 minutes until puffed and browned. They will collapse as they cool. Sprinkle with sea salt if desired. Yield: 12 tarts Comments are not available on this story. filed under:
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Posted: 18 Mar 2021 12:42 PM PDT  The New York Times is abandoning ship on its Cooking Community Facebook Group and handing it over to volunteer moderators. The newspaper announced on Tuesday that its branding would be removed from the private group once it chose 10 to 20 moderators to take over the task of managing the group's over 77,000 members. While the Times has said the decision came down to practical concerns about staffing, the group has also been riddled with controversies and debates involving class, race, and privilege. "One thing is clear: The interest in this group is about much more than recipes or The New York Times," the announcement said. "As it continues to grow and change, it should be run by people who are an engaged and informed part of the community. And so it is time to hand this group over to you, its members." A spokesperson for the newspaper told BuzzFeed News that, "as we said in the post, the interest in the group is about much more than recipes or The New York Times. As it continues to grow and change, we felt it should be run by people who are an engaged and informed part of the community." Sam Sifton, the paper's assistant managing editor, told media columnist Ben Smith that there was no crisis — the group has just evolved beyond discussing Times recipes. It also frees up the staff who were moderating the group to focus on other tasks. The group was started in 2019 and quickly attracted members. As the group has grown, there's been recurring drama over how to discuss the cultural aspects of food. Last October, members staged a miniature political revolt after a post that encouraged members to vote for a particular candidate in the US election was removed. That spun off a debate about the political nature of food and set off a wave of people posting images of food styled to say "vote." One particularly tense post about the use of MSG and anti-Asian sentiment led to hundreds of comments. People went back and forth about whether MSG causes reactions in some people (a myth that has been largely debunked). Another recurring, and much sillier, controversy is a debate about charcuterie boards and what actually constitutes a real charcuterie board. Can vegan cheese go on a charcuterie board? Is a trendy pancake board still a "charcuterie" board? Is it elitist to gatekeep charcuterie boards? Altogether, these debates come down to the fact that food and how we consume it can't be divorced from its cultural meanings, a fact the group has long grappled with. May Low, who joined the group last year, told BuzzFeed News she often sees racist behavior, sometimes in how people discuss food from nonwhite cultures. "Most of the people there are white-presenting. To them anything that's foreign or quote-unquote 'ethnic,' they kind of yuck it," she said. She said she also saw racism when a poster repeated debunked myths about Chinese garlic. "That's just one of the many microaggressions and microaggressions against food that's not white-centered," she said. Low said she's posted three times in the group about a need for stronger moderation and for a more diverse group of moderators. Those posts were met with a lot of support, but also comments from detractors. After one of the posts, a Times staffer reached out to Low and said they shared her concerns. The message to Low said the staff were working on how to fix the issue and had decided to turn moderation over to group members. When this week's announcement was posted, Low realized that meant the Times was giving up on the group completely. That, Low said, was a frustrating response. "You failed your social responsibility to moderate the group, and then when you were asked to do it, you felt that the best way to do that was to back away and you get to decide who then subsequently moderates, all under the guise of claiming to care about diversity and equity issues," she said. "And now you're asking people to do free labor." Another long-standing member, Robin Davidson, told BuzzFeed News the group is largely fun, enjoyable, and full of nice people, but the moderation can be lacking when it's needed. "They aren't moderated much because frankly it's a huge membership, and I suspect, having moderated pages myself, it was overwhelming to deal with every drama," she said. "There are people from all over and all walks of life, so obviously opinions and understanding will differ. Kind tolerance is necessary. Some people don't have it."  |
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Three approaches to cooking for Passover - Los Angeles Times Posted: 18 Mar 2021 10:00 AM PDT  I have three basic approaches to cooking for Passover, and all of them abide by the holiday's dietary laws: No wheat, oats, barley, spelt or rye, and no fermented foods. (Some people also don't eat legumes, rice or corn, but I'm not one of them.) One: Cook the way I normally do, but swap out the flour, pasta, bread crumbs and the like for matzo meal and other pesadic (kosher for Passover) products. Two: Celebrate the "holiday of matzo" concept and cook with it outright, flaunting it whole and in large pieces. Three: Use recipes that don't require forbidden ingredients. I tend to do a little of each, depending on the circumstance. I lean toward the first approach for everyday dining: when I just want a bite or need to throw together lunch or a weeknight dinner. (I try to have enough leftovers from the Seder meal to feed myself at lunch for the week, but they sometimes don't last that long.) A standout in this category is the "Passover roll" — a game changer when I discovered it many years ago. Totally kosher for Passover, these "rolls" are just cream puff pastry (pâte à choux) made with matzo cake meal — a more finely ground matzo meal — rather than flour. I like to make a batch at the beginning of the holiday (this year, it's March 27-April 4) to have on hand for quick sandwiches. They are a particularly good stand-in for bagels, slathered with cream cheese and piled with lox, tomatoes, red onions and capers. Cookbook author Faye Levy incorporates cheese into the dough to make gougères and then fills them with savory mixtures of vegetables and herbs. She also uses them for desserts like coffee cream puffs and profiteroles. The second approach (the "holiday of matzo" concept), using full sheets of matzo straight from the box, has become my default. The holiday is a celebration of matzo — why contort it to look, taste and feel like something else? I make no-bake cakes and savory casseroles with layers of whole matzos and, of course, I make lots of matzo brei. I like to give the matzo crackers a long soak before frying them up to a soft crunchiness with a creamy chew. The third approach has long been my go-to for Passover desserts. Flourless chocolate cake is simple and divine, and now that the gluten-free trend has taken hold, it is easier than ever to find Passover-appropriate dessert recipes. One of my particular favorites is the sour cherry-almond cookies from Bartavelle Coffee & Wine Bar in Berkeley. However I choose to approach cooking for the holiday, I love how it forces me to seek creative solutions to some of the dilemmas its dietary restrictions can present. Get the recipes: Time 1 hour 50 minutes Yields Makes about 2 dozen puffs Time 1 hour 15 minutes Yields Makes about 2½ dozen cookies  |
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