October Guest Chef: Jean Louis from Gastronomy!

Chef Jean Louis from Gastronomy (Market Street Grill) brought a very entertaining and delicious eventing to the FTR kitchen! Guest chefs help the mission of Food to Recover by getting people excited and curious about food! 

We began by making a fresh "caprese in a glass" starting with blending and straining the tomatoes ourselves! Then, we drizzled some basil olive oil, and added a mozzarella ball to top it off! The special glasses made us feel like we were dining in style!

Then, we chopped tart apples to throw together a quick apple tart!
Simple phyllo dough topped with apples and a light brush of butter was popped in the oven for 15-20 minutes. The result was a crisp and sweet apple tart that is simple enough for even a weeknight! Desserts that highlight fruits are always supported in the FTR kitchen!

Finally, we enjoyed a 4-ingredient ratatouille (bell peppers, onion, garlic, and zucchini) with garlic sautéed shrimp on top. The shells of the shrimp were left on while cooking to increase the flavor. Jean Louis spoke about his home country, France, and the attention and time they spend preparing and enjoying food. We all enjoyed sharing a meal together and could sure taste all of the love that was put into the food!

 Chef Jean Louis provided such a fun and interactive evening! He connected so well with the FTR members and his passion for food was infectious! Thank you, Jean Louis!

Kid's Halloween Recipes!

Healthy habits start in the kitchen. The younger we can engage our children in food preparation and healthy eating, the more likely they will carry those habits through their whole lives! And, the more we can model consistent eating patterns, positive body images, and cooking our own food, the more likely our children are to follow suit.

Children of all ages can participate! Need some ideas? Here are ideas based on your kids age.
Halloween doesn't have to mean scary amount of sugar! Between classroom parties, trick-or-treat, and typical food intake, kids are estimated to eat about 3 cups of sugar on Halloween! These recipes focused on balancing the sweet with a little protein or fat and focusing on the fun of the event- rather than the sweet of the treat!
Parents and children gathered in the FTR kitchen to bond through fun and creative recipes with a "spooky" twist! Mummified hotdogs, spider deviled eggs, creepy crawly graveyards, bell pepper jack-o-lanterns, and lychee and blueberry eyeballs were scattered throughout the kitchen!

White ghost bananas

INGREDIENTS:

1 medium banana

1 cup good quality white chocolate

8 mini chocolate chips for eyes

4 popsicle sticks

DIRECTIONS:

Cut banana in half lengthwise, then in half to make four quarters. Insert popsicle sticks into bananas, and freeze bananas on a wax paper lined cookie sheet.

When the bananas are frozen, fill a coffee mug with chocolate. Melt chocolate in the microwave 30 seconds at a time, stirring until the chocolate is melted and soft.

Dip the bananas one at a time into the chocolate, scraping off the excess chocolate from the back of the banana, and place it on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper.

Quickly add the chocolate chips for the eyes before the chocolate hardens (you have to work quickly here).

Return to the freezer until frozen and ready to eat. Eat frozen.

 Jack o Lantern Peppers with Zucchini Hair and Brains

1 bell pepper

¼-1/2 zucchini, spiralized

1 tbsp pesto

Directions:

Carefully, cut the top off of the bell pepper.

Scoop out the guts.

Using a toothpick, sketch out where you want

The eyes, nose, and mouth of the pepper. Carefully cut the pieces out or have your parent help.

Using the spiralizer, spiralizer a small portion of zucchini. Place the zucchini in a small bowl and

mix with 1-2 tbsp of hair gel and hair sparkles (pesto).

Open up the pepper and put zucchini hair and brains inside!

When ready to eat, cut the pepper up and eat the zoodles with the pepper!

 Eyeball punch

1 can lychees

1 box blueberries

100% apple juice

sparkling water

Pour about ½ glass of orange juice or apple juice. Add sparkling water if desired.

Make your eyeball: take 1 lychee and blueberry and put a toothpick through both to create an eyeball. Use it to stir your juice. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Balls!

Ingredients:

6 tbsp uncooked oatmeal 

2 tbsp  all-natural Pumpkin Puree

2 tbsp  all-natural Peanut butter, or Almond butter

1 tbsp pure maple syrup or raw honey

1/8 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp pumpkin pie spice

½ tsp vanilla extract

2 tsp ground flax seeds 

2 tbsp small chopped walnuts, chopped almonds, chopped peanuts, coconut flakes, or any combination of mix-ins that equal 1 cup total.

1 tbsp mini dark chocolate chips (optional)

Instructions:

Combine all ingredients together in a medium bowl until very thoroughly mixed.

Roll into balls of about 1″ in diameter (mine were a bit larger). 

Place on a cookie sheet covered in parchment paper & freeze one hour (optional)

SCAVENGER HUNT: your pumpkin needs a leaf! Go out to the garden and find a leaf from a plant to put on your pumpkin. You can use the kale, mint, swiss chard, or anything green you can find!

 

Spider deviled eggs

Hard boiled eggs

1 tbsp mayonnaise

1 small squirt mustard

sprinkle of salt and pepper

1 can black olives

Directions:

Peel one hardboiled egg.

Slice in half and scoop out hard yolk. Place in small bowl. For each yolk, add 1 tbsp mayo, a squirt of mustard, and a sprinkle of salt and pepper.

Mix until smooth.

Place Yolk filling back in egg. Add spider on top.

Sprinkle with paprika if desired.

Hot dog Mummies

All-purpose flour, for work surface

1 (17 1/2-ounce) package puff pastry

1 large egg

20 hot dogs, halved horizontally

Mustard, for serving

On a lightly floured work surface, roll out one sheet of puff pastry into a 14-by-10-inch rectangle. Cut lengthwise into twenty 1/2-inch-wide strips. Repeat process with remaining sheet of puff pastry.

2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat. In a small bowl, whisk together egg with 1 tablespoon water. Place one hot dog half on the narrow end of one strip of puff pastry. Wrap hot dog in puff pastry, spiraling down to enclose like a mummy; brush with egg mixture to adhere. Transfer to prepared baking sheet. Repeat process with remaining hot dog halves and puff pastry. Brush tops of wrapped hot dogs with egg mixture; transfer to refrigerator to chill for 15 minutes.

3. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

4. Transfer baking sheets to oven and bake until puffed and golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool slightly before serving with mustard.

Haunted graveyard

Dirt:

1/2 avocados

2-3 tbsp milk

1.5 tbsp cocoa powder

4 tbsp honey

½ tsp vanilla

Place all ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth.

This will be the “dirt.”

Place 1 oreo per graveyard in a bag. Smash on counter.

Place dirt in a small bowl. Top with crushed oreos and worms.