January 2012 classes in the MPFS Community Kitchen

Kitchen Strategies To Stretch The Food Dollar
Wednesday, January 18th, 9:30am - 12:30pm, $5.00

Join instructor Michelle Priddy for a comprehensive class in good nutrition, smart meal planning, food storage and preservation, and some basic cooking skills that will help you stretch your food dollar to the max. The $5.00 class fee includes class handouts and a simple chicken soup and bread lunch. Michelle’s START CHART recipe booklet, a handy guide to creating your own recipes using what you have on hand, will be available to order for an additional $10.00 fee. Class limited to ten. Register through Friday, January 13 by calling Kat Daniel at Marion-Polk Food Share, 503-581-3855, ext. 322.

Delicious, Nutritious Meals On A Shoestring
Tuesday, January 24th, 1pm - 2:30 pm, $5.00

Kitchen Angels Penny Strand and Janet Rogers are developing a series of classes that will focus on healthy, seasonal foods that can be prepared easily and economically by busy cooks. In this first class Penny and Janet will be demonstrating a recipe for Glazed Roasted Root Vegetables as a main dish in a vegetarian menu or a side dish in a menu that includes a protein source. The $5.00 class fee includes suggested menus, recipe handouts, and a sample taste of the featured dish. Class limit 12. Register by calling Kat Daniel at Marion-Polk Food Share, 503-581-3855, no later than Friday, January 20th.

More information can be found at www.marionpolkfoodshare.org.

Yam Casserole recipe for holiday meals

by T.C. Savage

Well, readers, you can't have missed that a big holiday is on the horizon! Thanksgiving is upon us with all its wonderful feasting opportunities. I am sharing a favorite family recipe with you for the holidays and hope you will give it a try.

I use a mix of 3 baking apples and use both yams and sweet potatoes to equal 2 lbs. and then we have a nice blend of flavors. It is sweet enough that I never put marshmallows on the top, but you can do so if you want. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Wild fruit inspires wild ideas

by Nate Rafn
(Originally published September 2008, Salem Weekly.)

Blackberries are not your typical fruit. They are nutritious, yet often neglected. They are ubiquitous, yet difficult to obtain. Their abundance is unquestionable, yet they are rarely sold fresh in grocery stores.

Chef Leif Benson's recipe for Caramelized Klamath Pearl Potatoes

This recipe is unusual, but very delicious. Chef Leif Benson uses caramelized sugar, butter, and fresh herbs to dress these potatoes, creating a flavor that is sweet, savory, and complex, all at once.

The recipe features organic Klamath Pearl Potatoes, a unique and versatile product from Klamath Basin Fresh Direct.

Crushed Klamath Pearl Potato Cakes by chef Leif Benson

If you've never eaten a Klamath Pearl Potato, you're really missing out!

The Klamath Pearl is a tasty little gem grown by Klamath Basin Fresh Direct, an organic potato company in Southern Oregon. The Pearl is known for it's unusually small size, snappy skin, and creamy texture.

They are as versatile and easy to prepare as any potato on the market, as chef Leif Benson demonstrates in the video below.

Holiday Recipe: Irish Soda Bread on St. Patrick's Day

by T.C. Savage

Most of us know that St. Patrick’s Day is fast approaching. People have adopted this fun holiday, even when they aren’t Irish. So, on March 17th you could make some lamb stew or maybe you could just dye all your food green.  Irish Soda Bread goes well with any soup or stew and you could color it green, but it looks weird when you eat it and end up with green bread in your teeth, but, hey—it’s up to you.

Celebrating Food: Recipe for Sweet Corn Bread

by T.C. Savage

February 2011 has some fun food holidays. The 19th is National Chocolate Mint Day and it’s pretty easy to celebrate by sharing your favorite chocolate mint candies, brownies or ice cream. Saturday, February 20th is National Clam Chowder Day.

Recipe: Sharp Cheddar & Cream Cheese Dip

 Posted by Nate Rafn

This tasty "cheese-ball" dip is based on one of my mother's recipes. It's a great addition to your next picnic or house party.

The recipe is very versatile. You can substitute the sharp cheddar cheese with medium cheddar, or even pepper-jack. If you have fresh herbs in the garden, I'd recommend adding some. Try using fresh dill, basil, and/or marjoram.

Turkey Curry with Butternut Squash

by Nick Pfaff

I love curry. But I especially enjoy massaman curry, which is generally made with potatoes, carrots, onions, coconut milk, and peanuts. With its big chunks of vegetables, and its hearty and aromatic sauce, it’s an amazingly comforting meal on a cold, wet Oregon evening. I usually make curry with chicken, or sometimes as a vegetarian dish. After the holidays I always end up with an abundance of turkey, and it’s so easy to replace any chicken recipe with some of the turkey you have leftover from Christmas or Thanksgiving. Plus it’s one less thing you have to cook.  Just add the pre-cooked turkey in the last 15-20 minutes, allowing the turkey to heat up in the robust curry sauce.  You can easily substitute the pureed butternut squash with leftover pureed pumpkin.  Serve hot over jasmine rice.

Acorn Squash Cannelloni

by Nate Rafn | Living Culture Recipe Archive

This dish is inspired by a recipe I learned while working for chef Jerry Phipps at Caruso's. Every autumn, during my time there, chef Phipps would prepare Butternut Squash Ravioli as a dinner special.

Customers loved it. The pasta was hand made, the stuffing tasted of sweet roasted squash, and the sauce was rich with Marsala wine, cream, and Parmigiano Reggiano cheese.

Chef Phipps also taught me how to make cannelloni, a sheet pasta that can be rolled and stuffed with any variation of vegetables, meats, and cheeses. It's a nice way to get creative with what you have on hand.

Chopping onions with out crying

Here's an email I received recently from my good friend Melanie. I find it funny, insightful, and kinda cute.

"I think I've got the solution to cutting onions w/out crying.  I had a particularly tearful bag of onions this week.  So the second and subsequent times I used onions from that bag I breathed through my mouth - the entire time I chopped until they were sauteing in the pan for a few seconds.

I learned this trick from the movie "Jack Goes Boating."  There was a scene w/a professional chef teaching the protagonist how to cook.  It worked for me!

Happy holiday cooking!" -Melanie

Thanks Melanie. Happy Holidays to you too!

Steve Morton's recipe for Double Truffle Diver Scallops with Parsnips and Cream

Wild fennel at the riverfront