Friends with Food is back for another year and we are stuffed full with new ideas. We want this column to be about more than just recipes (but for fans and newcomers alike, don’t worry — we are still writing a recipe column). The key to cooking well is understanding how ingredients work together and seeing how they will create the end product. For us, that end product should always be eating great food with great people; from the market to the meal, we want to help you go on a journey in the kitchen with food and with your friends. But the difference between cooking and just following recipes is how you understand the ingredients — and over the course of the year, we’re gradually going to look more closely at where you get those ingredients, how they’re produced, and what effects that process might have beyond the dinner table. Most of all, we want to keep cooking fun, positive, and about promoting healthy minds and bodies, positive relationships, and communities.
Feel free to email with us suggestions, comments, or your stories from the kitchen (friendswithfood@gmail.com). We love being students who cook and want to hear about your and your friends’ adventures with food.
What: Fruit for Dinner
Why: Because we all want to hang onto summer somehow
How Much? Each dish costs a maximum of $10 (depending on what you already have at your disposal)
We spent the end of the summer ogling fruit stands, and we couldn’t wait to get back and use fruit to make dinner for our friends. We got together over a few bottles of red wine (the ultimate use of fruit) and made a simple light dinner that literally elicited subtle groans of pleasure.
We want to encourage you to do what we did | go to your local neighbourhood grocery store and pick the fruit you like. From there, you can read our offerings this week, which are not so much recipes as they are concepts.
Easy Fresh Summer Salad
You can make a salad with berries or slices of fruit, nuts, greens, your choice of veggies, and a simple vinaigrette.
We used:
–1 container of raspberries
–A few handfuls of crushed walnuts
–A box of spring mix lettuce
–A sliced cucumber
–2-to-1 olive oil to balsamic vinegar sprinkled on top
Easier Flatbread Pizza
Pick up either store-bought flat bread, pre-made pizza, or even pita. Sprinkle on these ingredients, stick it in the oven for a few minutes, and you have gourmet finger food.
Our toppings:
–Thinly sliced pears (a mixture of different kinds looks lovely)
–Crushed walnuts
–A flavourful cheese (Roquefort, blue or camembert)
–Olive oil brushed on the crust (with a paper towel, pastry brush or even your fingers)
–Spices, salt, pepper sprinkled on the olive oil
Easiest Dessert Ever
Fruit crumble is always a success in our kitchens. They take little to no effort and you can use any fruit that you have lying around.
Crumble Ingredients:
–1 cup butter
–1 ½ cup oats
–1 ½ cup flour
–¾ cup brown sugar
–1 tsp baking powder
–½ cup sugar
–Your choice of fruit (chopped into bite-sized pieces):
4 peaches
5-6 plums
Mix together flour, brown sugar, softened (or melted) butter, baking powder and oats together. Cut up your choice of fruit and dump into a casserole dish or Pyrex pan. Sprinkle sugar over top of the fruit and mix together. Pour oat-flour mixture over the top and cook in the oven at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes or until golden brown.