Please register before noon on Wednesday February 8th !

An interactive  Whole foods/vegetarian cooking class

After all the washing,sorting, chopping, slicing, sauteing, flipping and frying you get to sit down and enjoy our creations.

With humor and guidance we will collectively make the meal together.

We’ll make a party out of it!

Bring your partner or other guest and a bottle of wine to enjoy the results of your vegetarian cooking  class at the Y Loft.

Soba Noodles With Endive And Radicchio

8 Ounces buckwheat soba

About 2 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil

2 to 3 Cloves fresh garlic, finely minced

2 Yellow onions, diced

Sea salt

Mirin

Balsamic vinegar

3 Belgian endives, quartered lengthwise

1 radicchio, shredded

Juice of 1/2 lemon

3 to 4 Sprigs flat-leaf parsley, finely minced for garnish

Bring a pot of water to a boil and cook the soba noodles al dente, about 12 minutes. Drain and rinse very well, as Japanese noodles are generally coated with salt in the drying process, which can alter the taste of the final dish.

Place the oil, garlic and onions in a deep skillet over medium heat. When the onions begin to sizzle, add a pinch of salt and saute for 1 to 2 minutes. Spread the onions evenly over the bottom of the skillet. Sprinkle the onions evenly with the mirin and the vinegar and then lay the endive, cut side down, on top. Add the radicchio, cover and reduce the heat to low. Cook until the endive is quite limp and beginning to brown, about 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the lemon juice. Add noodles and stir gently to combine. Transfer to a serving platter and garnish with the parsley.

- A light dish, the endive is so tender it almost melts in your mouth!

This recipe is printed with permission from Christina Pirello

Sweet Corn And Basmati Salad

1 Cup brown basmati rice, rinsed well and soaked for 2 to 3 hours

11/2 Cups spring or filtered water

Sea salt

About 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

2 to 3 Cloves fresh garlic, finely minced

1 Yellow onion, finely diced

1 Cup fresh or frozen corn kernels

Mirin

5 to 6 Leaves fresh basil, shredded

Parsley sprigs, for garnish

Drain the rice, Place the rice and water in a heavy pot and bring to a boil over medium heat, loosely covered. Add a pinch of salt, reduce  heat to low and simmer , covered, until liquid has been absorbed into rice, about 45 minutes.

Place the oil, garlic and onion into a small skillet over medium heat. When the vegetables begin to sizzle, add a pinch of salt and saute until the onion is translucent, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in the corn and add a generous splash of mirin. Saute for 1 to 2 minutes. Turn off heat and stir in the basil.

To serve, stir sauteed vegetables into the cooked rice. Garnish with parsley sprigs and serve hot.

-I had my Kids Can Cook group make this dish and we all loved it ! It was hard to reserve some for their take-home.

This recipe is printed with permission from Christina Pirello

Seitan With Broccoli Rabe

1 to 2 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 to 3 Cloves fresh garlic, finely minced

1 Red onion, cut into thin half moon  slices

Generous pinch of  red pepper flakes

Sea salt

1 Red bell pepper, roasted over an open flame, peeled, seeded and sliced into thin ribbons

1 Pound seitan, sliced into thin strips

Mirin or white wine

Grated zest on 1 lemon

1 large bunch broccoli rabe, rinsed well

Place the oil, garlic and onion into a deep skillet over medium heat. When the vegetables begin to sizzle, add the pinch of red pepper flakes and a pinch of salt and saute for 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in bell pepper and a pinch of salt and saute for 1 minute. Stir in the seitan and add a splash of mirin and the lemon zest. Cover and reduce the heat to low, simmering until the vegetables and seitan are tender, about 10 minutes. Season to taste with salt.

Just before adding the broccoli rabe to the skillet, slice into bite-sized pieces. Lay the greens on top of the ingredients in the skillet, cover and cook until the greens are bright green and just wilt, 3 to 4  minutes. Toss gently to combine and transfer to a serving platter. serve immediately.

- O.k again no fresh broccoli rabe in town all I could find were swiss chard greens. I served this dish up with brown rice and there was not a crumb left! So delish.

This recipe is printed with permission from Christina Pirello

“I made this dish more simple, no garlic, no pepper flakes. I used my marinated home made seitan and mixed with brown rice spaghetti. So good!” – Kati Schuszter

AN INTERACTIVE COOKING CLASS SERIES

WINTER, SPRING, SUMMER , FALL

This month is all about lebanese food! May 19th at 6:30 p.m

Tasty whole foods supper club. Fun, interactive cooking classes.

After all the washing,sorting, chopping, slicing, sauteing, flipping and frying you get to sit down and enjoy our creations.

With humor and guidance we will collectively make the meal together.

We’ll make a party out of it!

EVERY THIRD THURSDAY EVENING AT THE ST PAUL’S CHURCH COMMUNITY KITCHEN ON THE CORNER OF PRINCE AND RICHMOND ST CHARLOTTETOWN 6:30 P.M  $25.00 PER PERSON CALL 902-367-9491 FOR MORE INFO

Whole foods cooking class CBC interview

Endive Risotto With Walnuts

5 Cups of spring or filtered water

3 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 to 2 Cloves fresh garlic, finely minced

1/2 Yellow onion, finely diced

Sea salt

1/2 Cup white wine

1 Cup arborio rice, do not rinse

2 to 3 Medium Belgian endives, quartered

1/2 Cup pan-roasted walnuts, coarsely diced

1 Red bell pepper, roasted over an open flame, peeled, seeded and finely diced

Pour the water into a saucepan over low heat and keep warm throughout the cooking.

Place 2 tablespoons of the oil, the garlic and onion in a deep skillet over medium-high heat. When the onion begins to sizzle, add a pinch of sea salt and saute for 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the wine and rice and saute until the rice absorbs the liquid. Turn the heat to medium-low and begin adding the warm water, by ladlefuls, and stirring it into the risotto, adding more liquid only as quickly as the rice absorbs it. When the dish is about 80 percent cooked, season to taste with salt. The total cooking time should be 25 to 30 minutes. The risotto will be creamy, but the rice will retain  some firmness.

While the risotto cooks, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon oil in a small saute pan and lay the endive, cut sides down, in the oil. Sprinkle lightly with salt and cook, uncovered, until the endive is tender and the edges are richly browned, about 7 minutes. Set aside.

To serve, spoon the risotto onto a platter and arrange the endive, cut sides up, around the rim. Stir in the walnuts and garnish with bell pepper.

Note: To pan-toast the walnuts, heat a dry skillet over medium heat. Toast the walnuts, stirring constantly, until fragrant and lightly browned, about 5 minutes.

-Okay well I burned the walnuts.. and so I picked out the 3 little pieces that were not burned and threw those in. Also I used a red onion. I brought this dish to a potluck!

This recipe is printed with permission from Christina Pirello

Kale And Black -Eyed Pea Soup

1 to 2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

2 to 3 cloves of fresh garlic, thinly sliced

1 Yellow onion, diced

Sea salt

2 to 3 Stalks of celery, diced

1 Carrot, diced

1 Teaspoon sweet paprika

1 Bay leaf

4 Cups spring or filtered water

11/4 Cups canned diced tomatoes with liquid

2 Cups cooked black-eyed peas

2 Teaspoons white miso

1 Cup cooked brown rice

2 Cups finely shredded fresh kale

Place the oil, garlic, and onion in a soup pot over medium heat. When the onion begins to sizzle, add a pinch of salt and saute for 1 minute. Add the celery, carrot, paprika, bay leaf and another pinch of salt and saute for 1 minute. Add the water and tomatoes, cover and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and cook for 15 minutes. Add the black-eyed peas and cook for 5 minutes. Remove a small amount of broth and use to dissolve the miso. Stir the miso mixture into the soup and remove the bay leaf. Stir in the brown rice and kale and simmer, uncovered for 3 to 4 minutes to activate the enzymes in the miso, heat the rice and lightly cook the kale.

-I used a red onion in this . It worked fine. We really enjoyed this soup!

This recipe is printed with permission from Christina Pirello

Creamy Cauliflower Bisque With Pumpkin Seed Pesto

Bisque

1 Yellow onion, diced

1 Head cauliflower, florets removed, stem discarded

1/2 Cup arborio rice

5 Cups spring or filtered water

Mirin

Sea salt

Pumpkin Seed Pesto

1 Cup pumpkin seeds

1 Cup loosly packed fresh basil leaves

1/2 Cup loosely packed  fresh flat-leaf parsley

1/3 Cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 Tbsp white miso

1/4 Teaspoon chili powder

Juice of 2 lemons

Spring or filtered water, if needed

1/2 red bell pepper, roasted over an open flame, peeled, seeded, and finely diced, for garnish

To make the bisque: Place the onion, cauliflower and rice into a soup pot. Add the water, a generous splash of mirin and a pinch of salt. Cover and bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce the heat to low and cook until the cauliflower is soft, about 30 minutes. Season to taste with salt and simmer for 5 minutes. Transfer the soup, by ladle fulls, to a food processor and puree until smooth. Return the soup to the pot and keep the soup  at a simmer while making the pesto.

To make the pesto: Place the pumpkin seeds, basil, parsley and olive oil in a food processor and pulse into a coarse paste. Add the miso, chili powder and lemon juice. Puree until smooth. You may need to add a small amount of water to puree properly, but keep the pesto thick, so that it holds it’s shape in the soup.

To serve, spoon the soup into individual bowls and scoop a generous dollop of pesto in the center of each bowl and sprinkle with the bell pepper.

This recipe is printed with permission from Christina Pirello

Spicy lentil Soup

1 to 2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

2 to 3 cloves fresh garlic, finely minced

1 Small yellow onion, diced

Sea salt

1 Carrot, diced

1 Small sweet potato, diced

1 Small red chili, crushed

1 Teaspoon ground cumin

1 Teaspoon  turmeric

1 Cup Green or brown lentils, sorted and rinsed well

1 Bay leaf

4 Cups spring or filtered water

2 teaspoons white miso

2 to 3 sprigs fresh basil, finely minced

Place the oil, garlic and onion in a soup pot over medium heat. When onion begins to sizzle, add a pinch of sea salt and saute for 2 minutes. Add the carrot, sweet potato and another pinch of salt and saute, stirring occasionally, until shiny with oil. Add the chili, cumin and turmeric and stir well. Add the lentils, bay leaf and water, cover and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until lentils are quite soft, about 45 minutes. remove a small amount of broth and use to dissolve the miso. Stir the miso mixture into the soup, remove the bay leaf and simmer the soup uncovered, for 3 to 4 minutes to activate the enzymes in the miso. Stir the basil into the soup and serve immediately.

-Again I added an extra cup of water to this soup. I guess I like my soups extra soupy. The kids loved this soup, I served it with sourdough bread. Also my house smelled amazing!

This recipe is printed with permission from Christina Pirello

Adzuki Bean And Farro Soup

1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

4 to 5 Slices of fresh ginger, finely minced

1 Small leek, split lengthwise, rinsed well, thinly sliced

3 Small carrots, diced

1 Cup adzuki beans, sorted and rinsed well, soaked for one hour

1/2 Cup farro, rinsed well

4 Cups spring or filtered water

2 Teaspoons barley miso

2 to 3 Scallions, thinly sliced on the diagonal, for garnish

Place the oil, ginger and leek in a small soup pot over medium heat. When the vegetables begin to sizzle, saute until the leek is just limp, about 1 minute. Stir in the carrots and saute until shiny with oil. Add the beans, farro and water, cover and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until the beans are tender, about 45 minutes.

Remove a small amount of broth and use to dissolve the miso. Stir the miso mixture into the soup and simmer, uncovered, for 3 to 4 minutes to activate the enzymes in the miso. Stir well and serve garnished with the scallions.

-OK I have to admit that I had to Google Farro.. and since I don’t have any in my cupboard, I have decided that barley would be a suitable substitute.

This recipe is printed with permission from Christina Pirello