Potluck recipes from February: Ethnic foods

Tzatziki (Frida)

"It's great as a dip with rustic bread, it's also wonderful with grilled meat, vegetables, shrimp or fish."

32oz tub of plain greek yogurt

2 cucumbers (I used English)

1T olive oil 

2-3 cloves of garlic (more if you prefer)

Salt and white pepper to taste

Grate cucumbers into a colander and squeeze out excess water.

Mix everything into a large bowl.

Chill in fridge at least half an hour before serving.

Lettuce wraps (Lori)
"I cheated and bought this sauce pack and followed the recipe on the back.  I bought it at Coborn's in SR in the international section.  I used ground chicken.  Here's my Pinterest PF Chang's lettuce wrap recipe which I am sure is awesome, just a little bit more work:)"

Tiramisu (Laura N.)

Miso Soup (Laura B.)

Traditional Cornish Pasties (Mette)
"The pasties were made using the Protected Geographical Indication recipe from the Cornish Pasty Association with one exception (sacrilege): I added 1 tbsp dried, ground sage. 

Using Crisco and not butter makes the dough very flexible and easy to work with; if you want to go very traditional, get leaf lard (real suet) from Saint Joe Meat Market.  BBC Food's pasty recipe looks delicious also, but of course is not PGI."

Sweet and Sour Chicken Bundles (Jen)
From Family Fun

Ingredients:
1/3 cup low-sodium chicken broth
2 tablespoons rice vinegar - I used 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
2 teaspoons sesame oil
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons canola oil
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breasts, sliced into 1/2-inch cubes
1 small green bell pepper, chopped
1 small red bell pepper, chopped
2 scallions, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons minced ginger
1 cup chopped pineapple
12 egg roll wrappers - I used rice paper/spring roll folded in half and would suggest the egg roll instead

Make It
1. In a small bowl, whisk together the first seven ingredients. Set the sauce aside. Heat 1 tablespoon of the canola oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook until its no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Add the peppers, scallions, garlic, and ginger and cook, stirring often, until the peppers are slightly tender, about 3 minutes. Pour in the sauce and bring the mixture to a boil. Continue to cook the mixture until the sauce has thickened slightly, about 1 minute. Stir in the chopped pineapple, then remove the pan from the heat.
2. Heat the oven to 375 degrees and coat a standard 12-cup muffin tin with cooking spray. Center and press an egg roll wrapper into each well of the tin to form a cup. Fill each one with the chicken mixture. Fold in three corners of each wrapper, then lightly brush the inside of the remaining corner with water and press it in place on top of the others. Brush the tops of the bundles with the remaining oil. Bake them until golden and crisp, about 15 minutes. Let them cool for 5 minutes before unmolding them.

Service project in March: Empty Bowls

On March 7 2013, we gather at Art As You Like It to paint Easter eggs or other ceramics, as well as contribute to an annual fundraiser for Place of Hope called Empty Bowls.

Empty Bowls is a community collaboration project that creates awareness for hunger, homelessness and a community that" cares about its underserved population".  Art As You Like It offers hand-painted bowls, painted by their customers and friends, to the annual soup supper fundraiser that is held each year in March.


MOMS Club members come to Art As You Like It to paint the bowls, and then all of the bowls are donated to the fundraiser benefiting Place of Hope. The fundraiser, a soup supper event, is a gathering of community where soups, breads, and desserts are enjoyed, as well as some local entertainment and a silent auction.

The 2013 fundraiser will be held at Calvary Community Church in St. Cloud, MN, on Sunday, March 24th, 2013 from 12pm- 4pm.

Potluck recipes January: Soup

This month's potluck was held at Katie's and the soup theme had its anniversary (or almost).  Delicious it was.  Here are the recipes, some with links.

White Bean Soup with Kale (Mandy)
Chorizo is difficult to find and expensive, so I usually make this with whatever sausage I have on hand; this time it was chicken apple sausage.  I think I added more kale than usual, too, because I was using frozen and wasn't sure on the equivalent amount.
- Mandy

Red Lentil Soup (Laura N.)

Roasted Root Vegetables Soup (Jen)

2 cups mashed, roasted root vegetables (parsnips, potatoes, rutabaga, carrots)

4 cups chicken broth

2 cups ham, cubed

Warm up together, stirring to combine

Curried Red Lentil Soup (Ally)

From Jeanne Lemlin's "Vegetarian Pleasures"

1.5 cup red lentils          

4    cups water

1    Tbsp oil

.5    tsp salt

2     medium size potatoes

4     Tbsp butter

1     medium onion, diced

2    cloves garlic

1     tsp. turmeric

1.5  tsp.  ground cumin

1.5  tsp. ground coriander

1/8  tsp. cayenne pepper

additional butter

1. Rinse lentils in a strainer under cold running water.  Pick out any stones etc.  Put them in a medium size saucepan along with the water, oil, and salt.  Bring to a boil and cook, uncovered, for about 20 minutes over medium heat.  Stir occasionally.  (If a lot of foam rises to the surface, scoop it off with a spoon.)
2. Add the diced potatoes and stir to blend.
3. In a small skillet melt the butter.  Add the onion, garlic, and all of the spices.  Cook for 3 minutes, or until the onions begin to get tender.
4. Add to the soup, stir and cook until the potatoes are tender, about 20 more minutes.  If the soup is too think, thin with a little water.
5. Taste to correct seasoning.  Serve with a small pad of butter in each serving.

note:  Although this soup is delicious if served immediately, it is more flavorful if prepared at least an hour before serving, then reheated.

Leftover oatmeal buns (Mette)
The bread/buns I brought was of the leftover oatmeal sort; I save the cooked oatmeal leftover from the breakfast crockpot and in this instance it was quite a lot. 

I make a dough:
2 pints very warm water in a large mixing bowl,
1 tsp salt and
2 tsp dry yeast in ca.
4 cups of all-purpose flour, mix, then stir in
1-2 cups cooked oatmeal and
adjust the flour content
in the evening and let rise in the fridge overnight. No kneading necessary.

In the morning, when I'm ready, I turn the oven to 400 F and put dollops of the dough on parchment paper. When the oven is ready they bake for 15-20 min. Best eaten the same day or the day after. Because of the moisture they don't keep well outside the fridge.