Good Food News Archive - February 18, 2003

Article: Upccoming events to look forward to...
Featured this week... POTATOES
Recipes: Lovely low fat latkes, Potatoes Anna

Article: Upccoming events to look forward to...

In the coming month, FoodShare will be involved with a number of different events. The events cover a wide range of topics and areas such as a “Cooking out of the Box” workshop series on how to start a community kitchen, Seedy Saturday - all about gardening and seed saving, and “Home Grown” - a community art and food event. In this newsletter, we’ve given you some details about each of the events and/or workhops.

Cooking out of the Box
February 28th, March 7th, March 28th, and April 4th
Field to Table Centre, 200 Eastern Avenue
What exactly is a community kitchen? How do I find one in my community or neighbourhood? How would I start a successful community kitchen? All of these questions and more will be addressed in the upcoming series called "Cooking out of the Box." Cooking out of the box is a workshop series of four sessions aimed at the staff of agencies who would like to initiate or enhance cooking projects. Volunteers from the agencies are also encouraged to attend.

In-season fresh fruits and vegetables will form the basis of the menu for the cooking series. The sessions will focus on interesting ways of cooking local and seasonal fruits and vegetables as well as a look at ethnic foods and food cultures. Learning about group dynamics and conflict resolution will be some of the topics covered in the workshop. Practical skills such as knife handling and sanitation will also be taught. Recipes will be shared with a large focus on seasonal and multicultural ways of cooking. Cooking out of the Box will provide a space to exchange not only recipes, but ideas about building community through food and cooking.

If you work or volunteer in an agency where there may be space for a community kitchen, you are welcome to attend this free workshop series. The hope is that upon completion of the four sessions, you will be able to start a community kitchen or cooking group in your agency. Unfortunately we cannot offer the workshop if you are not connected with an agency planning on starting a kitchen or cooking group. The first workshop series begins February 28th and runs until April 4th. A second series begins April 25th and ends May 16th. The workshops will take place at the Field to Table Centre, 200 Eastern Avenue from 10 to 1:30. For more information or to register for Cooking out of the Box, call Mary Lou at 416-363-6441 ext. 24 or email marylou@foodshare.net.

Seedy Saturday
March 1st 10 am to 3 pm
Scadding Court Community Centre, 707 Dundas Street West (Dundas and Bathurst)
Ever wonder where people get seeds for those wonderful heritage tomatoes or those delicious herbs they grow in their garden plots or on their windowsill? At Seedy Saturday, you too can get seeds to grow your own tasty fruits or vegetables. Seedy Saturdays are held across the country bringing together gardeners, seed savers, and anyone interested in getting seed for the upcoming planting. Toronto's Seedy Saturday is in its 3rd year and organised by the Toronto Community Gardening Network, along with FoodShare, Scadding Court Community Centre, and The Stop Community Food Centre.

Features of the day include Heirloom and unusual seeds (from local seed companies), a seed exchange table, organic products and books, information and displays from Toronto's environmental community, children's activities and of course lots of food. Seedy Saturday also offers workshops: Seed Starting (11-noon), Intro to Biodynamics (12:25-1:00) and Ask the Experts Panel (1:15-2:00). All this for a low, low cost of $2.00 (or pay what you can). For more information email cgnetwork@foodshare.net or call 416-392-1668. You can also see our website at www.foodshare.net. The bright green flyer in your Good Food Box this week highlights this year's Seedy Saturday event.

"Home Grown" - Community Art and Food Event
Sunday March 16th, 1-6pm
Field to Table Centre, 200 Eastern Avenue
Once again, the Field to Table Centre will host the community event of York University's Eco Art and Media Festival, whose name this year is "At Home: Living Change." This family-oriented event will honour "Home Grown" alternatives to corporate food and corporate art, with an afternoon of participatory workshops in puppetry, theatre, music, food-related workshops, performances, and of course, food! A highlight will be the launch of a new mural in the Field to Table warehouse by the Focus on Food participants in collaboration with community artist Leah Burns. We'll keep you posted on this upcoming event but you can also go to www.yorku.ca/ecoart for information on all Festival events or call 416-736-2100 ext 30533.

Featured this week... POTATOES

Potato is a cool-season vegetable that ranks with wheat and rice as one of the most important staple crops in the human diet around the world.

Wintertime is potato time and we figure that you might be wondering what to do with all the potatoes you’ve been getting in your boxes. So, we’ve included a couple of potato recipes that are sure to help you use them up. They aren’t your garden variety potato recipes, but are sure to be a tasty winter treat.

The latkes are a low-fat version that can be served with apple sauce or sour cream. Instead of frying the latkes in a pan, this recipe calls for baking them. Latkes are a traditional favourite for the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah, but you can enjoy this low fat version anytime. The Potatoes Anna recipe is also a nice alternative to oven roasted potatoes and the potatoes turn out crispy like fries without all the oil and deep-frying.

Factoids...During the Alaskan Klondike gold rush, (1897-1898) potatoes were practically worth their weight in gold. Potatoes were so valued for their vitamin C content that miners traded gold for potatoes.
Also...did you know that the potato was the first vegetable to be grown in space? If you’d like more info on potatoes, visit http://www.potatohelp.com/

Recipes:

Lovely Low-fat Latkes
The recipe calls for matzo meal because it makes the pancakes lighter than flour will but you can also use ordinary soda crakers mashed up. Some people find hand-grating the vegetables produces the very best latkes, but a food processor will also work. To hand grate a peeled onion, pat it dry and hold onto it with a small dish cloth.

8 cups peeled, grated, and drained potatoes* (6 or 7 potatoes)
1 cup peeled, grated, and drained onions*
2 eggs lightly beaten
1/4 cup matzo meal (use soda crackers mashed into crumbs)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon minced fresh chives, Italian parsley and/or scallions (optional)
1 to 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
*Drain the potatoes and onions in a colander and by pressing out as much liquid as possible with a fork - the drier the potato mixture, the lighter the latkes.

Preheat oven to 425o. Lighly spray two non-stick baking sheets with oil.
In a bowl, mix together the potatoes and onions and stir in the eggs. Sprinkle in the soda crackers or matzo meal, salt, baking powder, and pepper and mix well. If you wish, add the chives, parsley, and/or scallions.
Drop well-spaced, generous tablespoons of batter onto the prepared trays. Gently flatten the batter with a spatula or the bottom of a glass: Use just enough pressure to even out the tops of the latkes.
Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, until the edges are golden brown. Remove from the oven, brush or spray the latkes with the oil, carefully flip them with a spatula, and continue to bake for 15 minutes more, until browned and crisp.

Serves 6 to 8
Prep time: 15 minutes
Baking time: 25 to 30 minutes
From: moosewood restaurants new classics

Potatoes Anna
This is a great recipe to start using up all those potatoes that have been piling up lately. You can use either sweet potatoes or regular potatoes for this recipe.

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, or more if needed
2 pounds regular or sweet potatoes, peeled and cut in paper-thin rounds
1/3 cup Parmesan, grated
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
Salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Brush 1 tablespoon melted butter on bottom and sides of 8-inch cake pan. Layer the potato slices in concentric circles on bottom of pan. Brush with melted butter. In a small bowl combine the Parmesan with cumin and cayenne. Sprinkle 1/4 of the mixture on top of the potatoes, then season with salt and pepper. Repeat layering 3 times, topping with cheese. Cover the pan with foil. Bake 45 minutes, then uncover and bake 15 to 20 minutes more. Invert onto a platter and serve in wedges.

Yield: 4 servings
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour

Recipe Courtesy of Curtis Aikens
From: www.foodtv.com