Welcome to the new Fresh Choice newsletter that serves Cooking and Nutritional Skill Building (CSB) programs across the province. The Fresh Choice newsletter includes delicious recipes that are scaled to feed large groups, practical cooking tips, equipment care, safe food handling practices, food storage ideas, meal/menu planning ideas and nutrition tips and information.

Our focus is on quality, relevant information that supports you in your efforts to create and maintain a positive healthy learning environment in the kitchen.

Pasta la vista!

Diane Collis
Fresh Choice Kitchens
The Community Kitchen Program
Greater Vancouver Food Bank Society

 IN THE COMMUNITY

Annual Gathering of the BC Food Systems Clan – You’re invited!

If you’re not a member yet – we encourage you to be one. Through an email network and an annual gathering in Sorrento, members of the BC Food Systems Network share insights, initiatives, strategies and critical analysis of events in the food system and our own work. A consistent wealth of information exchange.
Date: Sept. 11 -13, 2008
Location: Sorrento, BC
Further info:  BC Food Systems Network

Community Kitchen Leadership Workshop

During this one day workshop you will have the opportunity to find out more about community kitchens, different ways a group can work, and how you can lead or start a community kitchen.

Dates: Wed. Sept. 17 or Thurs.Nov. 6, 2008
Time: 9:30 am -2:30 pm
Location: Vancouver Food Bank, 1150 Raymur Ave.
Contact: Lynn Leong, lynnl@foodbank.bc.ca, Tel:  604-876-0659 ext 105

Community Kitchen Roundtable

This two hour roundtable is an opportunity to meet other CK leaders, to share and hear about other kitchen activities, challenges and successes.

Date: Thurs, Sept. 25, 2008
Time:  10:00 am - 12:00 pm
Location:  Vancouver Food Bank, 1150 Raymur Ave.
Contact: Lynn Leong, lynnl@foodbank.bc.ca, Tel:  604-876-0659 ext 105

PROVINCIAL INITIATIVES

Food Skills For Families

B.C.’s freshest food-skills program invites cooking groups across the province to take up an unbeatable offer: a six-session free cooking school that comes to your kitchen. The program is called Food Skills For Families, and it was created particularly for cooking groups that serve Aboriginal, Punjabi, new immigrant and low-income communities. All the cooking group has to supply is a properly equipped kitchen and 8 to 12 participants who agree to attend all six sessions. All the other essentials come free of charge: the guidance of a trained facilitator with cooking and nutrition expertise, the food to be cooked, and workbooks for all that include recipes targeted for specific groups. The six hands-on kitchen sessions cover healthy food choices, safe food handling and storage, meal planning, healthy snacks, nutrition education and a shopping tour. There’s plenty of time for questions and answers. Food Skills for Families has just been launched. It is funded through the Canadian Diabetes Association by the BC Healthy Living Alliance.
 
The Food Skills For Families Program has experienced a very successful response from communities across the province. The Canadian Diabetes Association has reached its' initial capacity for program delivery within the first two months of promotion and is currently seeking alternative funding to continue delivering the Food Skills For Families program. If you would like your organization to be placed on a wait list to have the program delivered to you, please contact:
Diane Collis, cooking@foodbank.bc.ca, Tel: 604-876-0659 ext 118

BC Farmers' Market Nutrition Coupon Project

 The BC Association of Farmers' Markets (BCAFM) is pleased to announce the 2008 Farmers' Market Nutrition  Coupon Project.  Building on the success of the 2007 pilot project, the Nutrition Coupon Project has expanded to 10 communities for the 2008 season.  The increase in participating Markets and Cooking & Skill Building programs will increase access to fresh, unprepared, locally grown fruits and vegetables to low-income pregnant women and families with children.  The Cooking & Skill Building (CSB) programs also expand the awareness, use of and sales of BCAFM member farmers’ markets. 

Seasonal Produce Chart

Click on the link above to see the fantastic resource from the BC Association of Farmers’ Markets  to encourage seasonal menu planning.

Where Can I Find a Foodsafe Instructor?

We all have questions when it comes to food safety. What should we be concerned about when handling food in our cooking and skill building programs? What’s safe and what isn’t in our day to day work in the kitchen? We recommend that at least one person with  a FoodSafe Level One certificate be present at all collective cooking sessions.

Finding an instructor in your region is easy!  The foodsafe.ca website is a resource for Instructors, Educators, Foodservices, Workers and Consumers in British Columbia. The FOODSAFE Training Program teaches safe food handling procedures to students, workers, supervisors, and operators in the food services industry. FOODSAFE was developed cooperatively by government, business, health, safety, and education in British Columbia. It is also used across Canada and around the world.

You can search for more tools & resources on Food Safety using our Tools and Resources database

 
Kids in the Kitchen Manual

Published in 2002, this manual offers instruction on how to start and run a cooking club for children ages 6-11. The manual includes planning steps, guidelines for food and kitchen safety, and sample forms and letters. It also contains 21 lesson plans with recipes and nutrition activities for groups of up to 12 children. 

RECIPES

Cooking Large Quantities of Rice

Makes 32 cups of cooked rice 

10 cups rice

18 cups water/broth

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

 Combine rice and water in a deep baking pan that's large (e.g. 19"x 11" x 2"). 

Cover the top of the pan with foil and seal the edges.

Bake for about 60 minutes.

For a spiced variation:

Fry 2 chopped onions in 3 tbsp. of cooking oil until golden. 

Add 2 tbsp. cumin, 2 pieces of cinnamon bark, and 4 whole cloves.

Add the uncooked basmati rice and fry for 5 minutes, stirring constantly.

Add 2 tbsp.  salt and mix.

Put the rice mixture into the large baking pan.

Pour water/broth on top and mix.

Cover with foil and bake for about 60 minutes.

Thai Red Cabbage Slaw

 Serves approx. 18.

 3 lbs. red cabbage, cored and finely shredded

1 ½ cups coarsely chopped mint

1 ½cups coarsely chopped cilantro

12 green onions, thinly sliced

6 cloves garlic, minced

9 Tbsp. lemon juice

4 ½ tsp. sugar

1 ½ tsp. salt

1 ½ tsp. pepper

⅓ cup  fish sauce (available at large supermarkets and Asian grocery stores)

¾ cup  vegetable oil   

1 ½ cups coarsely chopped peanuts

¾ cup sesame seeds, toasted

Combine the cabbage, mint, cilantro and green onion. Stir the garlic, lemon juice, sugar, salt, pepper and fish sauce together. Slowly beat in the oil. Pour over the cabbage mixture and toss well. Toss in the peanuts and sesame seeds just before serving.

Beet and Carrot Cake

Creamy Orange Frosting

1 ½ cups softened butter or margarine

7 ½ cups icing sugar

1 ½ tsp. vanilla

3 Tbsp. grated orange zest

1 Tbsp. orange juice

6-8 Tbsp. milk

Beat the butter or margarine until fluffy. Slowly beat in the icing sugar, vanilla, orange juice and zest. Add enough milk to make a spreadable consistency.

You can find more recipes scaled to accommodate large groups in our Many Hands Cookbook