Cooking at home

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AMIDST all the fears that fly around us these days, many have chosen to stay at home, which translates to avoiding public spaces like restaurants. If you are one of those then it makes complete sense to cook your own meals.

It’s a great opportunity to sharpen your cooking and baking skills and use this time to create delicious meals for your family. Get the whole family involved because cooking should be communal.

Go ahead, prepare meals and snacks. It will be very motivating and may encourage you to develop a very positive habit. Here are some recipes to get you started.

Home-made plantain chips

- Wendy Rahamut

4 green plantains

vegetable oil to deep fry

salt

Peel plantains by cutting top and bottoms off, with a small knife make a shallow incision into the plantain and run the knife the length of the plantain, do this about three times around the plantain. Run your fingers down the length of the plantain where the cut has been made lifting and pulling the skin off. The skin should lift off in three pieces.

Cut plantains in half and slice lengthways to about ¼ inch thick slices.

Deep fry in hot oil on a medium heat until plantains are light brown and crisp.

Drain on paper towels. Cool and sprinkle with salt.

Store in an airtight container.

Serves 4 to 6 as an appetiser.

Chicken and dumplings

1 cup all-purpose four

1 small chicken cut into pieces

1 tsp garlic

1 tbs minced chives

2 tbs vegetable oil

1 cup chopped celery

1 cup chopped carrots

1 cup chopped green pepper

1 tbs chopped garlic

1 onion, chopped

2 tbs fresh thyme

1 cup chopped tomatoes

Pepper and salt

Season chicken with minced garlic and chives

Heat oil in a large sauté pan, dredge chicken in flour. Brown in oil,

Add celery, carrots. Green pepper, onion, and thyme.

Cook until onion is fragrant, a few minutes.

Add tomatoes and cover and simmer, add a little water to make a gravy if needed.

Cover and simmer for 20 minutes.

Make the dumplings, check chicken and add a little water if necessary to make a good gravy.

Drop in dumplings and cook for a further 10 minutes, spooning sauce over dumplings to flavour them as well.

Serves 4

Dumplings

2 cups flour

2 tsp baking powder

2 eggs

milk

Combine flour with baking powder, add eggs and salt to taste, bring together

With a little milk to make a soft, spoon able dough.

Shepherd's pie

6 potatoes

2 tbs butter

½ cup milk

2 tbs veg oil

2 lbs ground beef

1 cup chopped fresh herbs

1 tsp minced garlic

2 tbs fresh thyme

1 tsp chopped celery

1 onion

½ cup tomato sauce

Peel and boil potatoes, drain and mash with butter and milk, season with salt, set aside.

Heat oil in a sauté pan, season beef with herbs, garlic, thyme, celery.

Add onion to oil and sauté for a few mins, add beef turn until no longer pink, add tomato sauce, salt and pepper, cover and simmer for 15 mins.

Butter an oblong baking dish, line the sides with some potato by pressing alongside with the back of a spoon.

Place beef into dish, cover with potato and spread all around.

Sprinkle with cheese if desired.

Bake for 20 mins until potato is golden.

Serves 4

Pineapple upside down cake

- Wendy Rahamut

⅓ cup butter and 2 tbs butter

½ cup granulated sugar

1 eggs

1½ cups all-purpose flour

2½ tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

½ cup pineapple juice

2 14 oz tin pineapple rings, drained, save juice

¼ cup brown sugar

9 maraschino cherries

1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350F

Grease one nine-inch square cake pan

Cream ⅓ cup butter with granulated. sugar until light and fluffy, add eggs one at a time beating well between additions .

Sift flour with baking powder and cinnamon.

Add to butter mixture alternately with juice and vanilla, making sure your last addition is with flour.

Melt 2 tbs, butter in cake tin add brown sugar and stir to melt, do not brown.

Remove from heat , arrange pineapple rings onto cake tin, place a cherry in each pineapple ring,

Pour on cake batter and bake for 35 minutes.

Remove, and invert onto serving plate,

Serve warm with thick cream.

Serves 8

Wendy’s Cooking Classes

Pastry arts March 21, 9 am-12 pm

Chinese cooking March 28, 9 am-12 pm

rahamut@gmail.com

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"Cooking at home"

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