Vegan Ventures

Teen Cooking Club ventured into a Vegan menu on Veteran's Day 2017.  For those readers who are unaware, vegan diets eliminate all animal byproducts.  Meat, dairy, and honey are also eliminated from this diet.  "NO CHEESE?!" screamed a few unsuspecting students.

Soup's On!

Once we covered the basics of what not to expect, we rolled up our sleeves and got chopping.  Despite no cheese, the apparent main food source in the minds of these students, the menu was filling and easy to accomplish on a cold Friday afternoon.  Soup is a great entry into a vegan diet.  It's easy to avoid meat, while getting lots of flavor and substance using beans and greens.  Cookie and Kate provided this yummy Spiced Lentil Soup, which included curry powder.  Insert the olfactory scent of the kitchen here.  

Sweet Treats

When veggies are involved, I stress to students to "Try it!  We made it together, so it won't kill you.  If you decide it's not for you, the round file is in the corner."  They laugh at the idea of a trash can being a round file, but they respect my efforts and give the required taste.  Not everyone liked the soup, but those who did came back 2 or 3 times!

A sweet addition to our menu involved no-bake cookie balls.  The Beaming Baker posted this recipe for No Bake Peanut Butter Coconut Bites (Vegan, Gluten Free).  Since they were gluten free and no-bake, this seemed like a simple recipe to tackle.  I swear the holiday off of school and the phase of the moon had a portion of my students in a tizzy!  Just look at the top left corner of these pans---that is not the best work of my budding chefs.  I believe we need to focus a class on meal presentation.  At least these treats disappeared in zero seconds flat.

Chewy Cookie Bars

The last recipe on our menu was a suggestion from a patron.  These Reese's Chewy Chocolate Cookies are tried and true in her vegan home, but we ran into some issues.  Switching the butter with a vegan replacement was not much trouble.  Using "fleggs" in place of chicken eggs offered a great lesson. {A flegg combines ground flax seed and water to create a gelatinous mixture quite different from the average egg from an animal.}  Despite following this recipe step by step, the group of students found the mixture to be tough to blend and very dry.  We added extra oil and water to adjust the issues.  Baking the mixture in a pan to make bars rather than cookies allowed them to be quicker to prepare, since class was quickly coming to a close.

Come and Get It!

Despite our concerns about the cookie bars, they also disappeared within seconds!!!  Families were arriving to pick up their charges, so younger siblings and curious parents tasted the foods we cooked.  Everyone was surprised to eat simple food that tasted so good.  Only one family of the group lives by the vegan diet, but everyone decided it's an easy solution to cook healthful foods that have a low impact on our environment.

Clean up!

Kitchen chores are the least favorite of my students.  I stress that balance is important to life, so with fun comes responsibility.  Sometimes it's a struggle to get these students to clean up, but I love when I catch them in the act without any prompting. <3

Last chance to create with Me!

This wraps up another fun-filled year in the kitchen with teens.  Join us in December to catch a recap of the annual Make & Bake Gifts event.  Filomena Jack will bring her stuffed creatures to teach some sewing skills.  Craft Farm will enlighten students with some kitchen chemistry while making lip balms.  We will also test an old-fashioned corn flake candy wreath recipe, plus add in cinnamon-sugar pretzels.  It is always a great way to get into the holiday spirit.

Thanks for visiting!

xo,

Erica

Animal Appetizers

August 2015 was dedicated to dogs with the theme Animal Appetizers.  These images were M.I.A. for  a few months, but recently found on the iPad we used for the event!  Miracles at the end of the year are wonderful.
This event supported the efforts of Tanners P.A.W.S., an animal rescue and education organization in the Corning region of New York.  I have worked with the organization in the past, having stray dogs in my backyard and wanted to help give back to their good deeds.

Today's snacks go to the dogs...literally

All of our recipes were sourced from a book in our collection, In the Dog Kitchen.  If you follow the link and have a library card in our STLS district, I urge you to borrow this book.  It provides 35 healthful dog treat recipes.  You know what goes into the treats for your fur-baby, and they are so wholesome, you can even eat them (if you dare)!

In the Dog Kitchen

Teens split up into 3 teams to bust a move in the kitchen and get their good deed on.  Using an array of cookie cutters, we had adorable collections to celebrate these shelter/ foster pups.

Pause for P.A.W.S.

Bones are always a hit...

Doggies even hit the parade...

Lucky Dogs

Of course, the moment I mention that these treats are good enough to eat, there were dares all around.  Taste testing seemed to be a right of passage to the program, but we still had a great time for a good cause.

My colleague connected with Tanners on her own and fell in love with everything they do to rescue and save the lives of needy animals.  For the full month of August, we offered "Make a Dog Toy" kits to anyone interested in taking time to make and donate a tug-toy.  Old t-shirts were employed and we had a giant bag to offer the shelter and pet-foster families.     

Braid, braid, twist, tie, knot...viola!

Water bottles also make great toys for dogs. Slipping one into an old t-shirt sleeve and tying off the ends makes a fun crinkle sound machine that will last for hours.  We are grateful for organizations like Tanners P.A.W.S. and all of their foster families who make a safe home for pets who have run away, gotten lost, been abused, or whose original owners can no longer afford to keep them.

If you have love in your heart and space in your home to foster or adopt a shelter pet, I strongly encourage this move!  As a pet owner, rescue is the most rewarding experience to provide an animal and yourself. A rule of thumb I love:  you can't buy love, but you can rescue it.