Cooking Club

Cooking Club
Delicious and Nutritious!

Thursday 19 February 2015

A Master-class in Eritrean cuisine from Afe

Today, we were all treated to a culinary master-class by Afe -  who is of Eritrean descent and joyfully shares his cultural cuisine.
He brought a tower of Ingera flatbreads, an essential base to all dishes. His sister had prepared them in advance. They are traditionally only made by women and take 12 hours for the batter to ferment. This gives the breads their bubbly texture and an elasticity almost like cloth. The Ingera are laid on each plate and then the other dishes are spooned into small piles on top. The Ingera is then broken off with the hands and used to scoop up the piles of food.



 Afe at the controls......He also treated us to a soundtrack of Eritrean music, some old, some new, and some 1980's  Electro-Pop classics.   Music is becoming an important part of Cooking Club. We use cultural music to create a good mood while we cook as well as a cultural reference.
 The 3 dishes were: ADES (lentils), ALECHA (sauteed vegetables) and savoury rice. All served on top of INGERA flatbreads.
 A  stack of Ingera flatbreads, looking like a Moon-Mushroom!  

 We want to send a big thank you to Afe and his sister  for the absolutely beautiful, delicious meal. Everyone who had a lunch was complimenting the food. Please feel free to come to Cooking Club anytime, you will be very welcome.
There are quite a few of Eritrean or Ethiopean restaurants locally. (Both countries share similar cuisine). Zeret Kitchen is very close to CoolTan Arts, further down the Walworth Rd towards Camberwell.

Zeret Kitchen

Camberwell
216-218 Camberwell Rd Camberwell, UK  SE5 OED

 Adulis Oval
44-46 Brixton Road
London SW9 6BT
United Kingdom

Dahlek

256 - 258  Brixton Road,
London,
SW9 6AQ   






Thursday 12 February 2015

Love Truffle Day

On Valentine's Day 2014, Cooking Club made LOVE TRUFFLES for everyone at CoolTan Arts. They were so popular that the celebration has been renamed as LOVE TRUFFLE DAY.
So...Tuesday group made "Arabian Nights" truffles, exotically flavoured with  natural rose, lemon and cardamon. Thursday group made "Love Action" truffles, a luxurious energy-bomb with pumpkinseeds, cranberries, raw chocolate powder and saffron. 
Both recipes are gluten-free, diabetic-friendly and vegan. Ingredients were chosen for their health benefits as well as harmonious flavours. Both recipes are raw and do not need cooking.
We want to say a massive THANK YOU to our local health food shop G.Baldwin & Co for generously donating the ingredients in our recipes. Find them online at  www.baldwins.co.uk or visit their famous shop at G.Baldwin & Co, 171-173 Walworth Road, London SE17 1RW. 

 "Arabian Nights" Love Truffles
Ingredients:
*3 cups ground organic almonds
*2 tablespoons runny honey
*1 tablespoon rose water
*zest 2 lemons + juice 1 lemon
*2 teaspoons ground cardamon
*1 cup dessicated coconut (as coating)
*a pot of edible glitter (optional decoration)
Method:
*blend all the ingredients - except the dessicated coconut - in a food processor.
*alternatively, mix together well in a bowl with a fork.
*wet your hands to prevent sticking and roll the mixture into small balls. We used a teaspoon to measure the amount of each ball to keep uniformity.
*pour the dessicated coconut into a bowl and roll each ball in it so they are evenly coated.
*place on a plate and sprinkle with edible glitter for extra bling!
*place in a refridgerator for an hour to set. 



Enjoy getting in a real choclatey mess at CoolTan Cooking Club!
A brief summary of health benefits.....Coconut oil for mental health and brain function, Saffron is a natural anti-depressant, Cranberries for female sexual health, Pumpkin seeds for male sexual health, Rose is a natural relaxer and mood- elevator, Almonds contain omega oils for the brain, magnesium and B-Vitamins for a healthy nervous-system, Raw Cacao elevates mood and Lemon takes care of our immune system and has Vitamin C.
"Love Action" truffles
ingredients:
*1  heaped tablespoon raw coconut oil
*1 cup organic pumpkin seeds
*1 cup dried organic cranberries
1 tablespoon Xylitol (natural diabetic sweetener made from Birch bark and found to be beneficial to teeth and gum health
*1 tablespoon raw cacao powder
*a pinch of dried saffron
Method:
*In a Bain-Marie, melt the coconut oil and the saffron together. They will be in a heat-proof bowl inside a larger bowl of boiling water. There will be no need to heat on the hob as the oil will melt into liquid in about 5 minutes
*in a food processor or food mill, blend together  the pumpkin seeds, cranberries, cacao powder and Xylitol until they are finely milled.
*gradually add the liquid coconut oil + saffron and mix well  
*with wet hands, scoop out small balls and either push into little silicon moulds or roll into balls (a teaspoon size) 
*dust the balls in cacao powder and edible glitter and place in a freezer for
Then either.......
*place silicon moulds in the freezer for 10 mins and then push out of the moulds
*place on a plates and prinkle with edible glitter
ENJOY XXXXXX

Thursday 22 January 2015

Cold and Flu-busting foods

Winter is here and there are colds and 'flu viruses going around.
Cooking Club have been learning what foods they can eat and drink to boost their immune systems. We have been using these ingredients in all our menus recently:
Garlic, lemon, Ginger, turmeric, Thyme, Onion and Honey. Also, a good variety of different coloured fruits and vegetables will ensure you get a balanced combination of vitamins and minerals.

Each session, we make a simple hot drink: an infusion of fresh ginger root, lemon juice, honey. to this you can add fresh herbs such as sage for throat infections, thyme for coughs or turmeric, cinnamon and chilli (just a little) to warm up and stimulate circulation and bring down infections.
Sage, ginger, lemon and honey tea
Our traditional Spanish Tortilla, courtesy of Pilar, served with ratatouille
Spiced Barley Broth
Caramelised Onion Tart with garlic and lemon carrots, roast vegetables and steamed brussel sprouts with fresh tomato gravy
Greek Salad
Carrot Hummus and Garlicy Yoghurt
Tomato salad with fresh Basil leaves
Spinach and Ricotta Burgers
Some of the group sampling Rosemary Schragers' Tomato and Fennel Soup



Cooking Club in The Guardian!

A great start to the new year saw CoolTan Arts Cooking Club (yes, US!) featured in The Guardian as part of their Xmas appeal 2014/2015. We even had one of our Xmas creations printed: Our Hibiscus and Pomegranate Punch.......
Cooking Club's patron, T.V chef Rosemary Schrager kindly shared her own Carrot and Fennel Soup recipe which is included in CoolTan Arts' Food For Mood book. 
Here is the link.....

http://www.theguardian.com/society/christmas-charity-appeal-2014-blog/2015/jan/02/-sp-rosemary-shrager-cooking-mental-health