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| Preparing to be Irish for Today |
The SSC Library Teen Cooking Club went Irish for Today in preparation for St. Patrick’s Day. Green was mandatory, which included candy AND vegetables. Balancing savory and sweet dishes was also required. That balance makes the afternoon go very smooth.
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| Lucky Charms Treats |
The lucky rainbow struck the Lucky Charms Treats team. Everyone wants to be part of a sweet recipe team, but there are not enough for everyone to join. Remember that note about balance? We must have both sweet and savory to keep our brains and bodies in check. I was tricky with this recipe. Anyone who chose this recipe, also had to do dishes–the DREADED CHORE!
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| They’re Magically Delicious! |
Another team made the main course, Irish Potato Soup. We tweaked this recipe slightly. To keep it vegetarian, we used vegetable stock and let individuals decide to use the bacon bit toppings.
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| I’ve never eaten a Leek… |
As this team gathered their ingredients, there were questions about the leeks. We’ve never cooked them in this program, or if we have, it’s been a very rare opportunity. Even adults in the program were excited to see them prepared.
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| “They truly give the Irish Green for this class!” |
Another sweet recipe was nearly requisite for the theme. I took two shake recipes and “blended” them to one. The Grasshopper Shamrock Shake was a fantastic hit. Students who participated in “Made with Love” had high expectations for this beverage, and those hopes were met!
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| Minty to the Third Degree |
Using this Shamrock Shake recipe as a guide, we then used inspiration from this Thin Mint Shake recipe. Combining the two created the Grasshopper Shamrock Shake. AND IT WAS DELICIOUS! (Grasshopper cookies are an alternative to Thin Mints.)
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| CHOCOLATEY Grasshopper Shamrock Shakes |
Irish Soda Bread was the last recipe, multiplied by 3 teams. This was the questionable recipe, in my opinion. Knowing from experience, it would easily be a flop or favorite. This was a truly “From Scratch” option.
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| Dough is gross! |
Anyone who has made dough by hand knows the stages the ingredients take from simple and separate to sticky and gross to nearly total crumble that has no hope, to suddenly perfect and ready to bake. I have upgraded my kitchen with a KitchenAid Stand Mixer and will NEVER go back! I lived the rough life that my students are facing and it’s important to get your hands dirty as a chef, learn the process, then upgrade as time passes and income allows.
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| Progress is key |
For all who struggled with this recipe, I promised that progress is key to success. Stopping where the ingredients were still lumpy, sticky and gross would leave the project in a terrible position. Pushing the ingredients to combine into a beautiful dough would be totally worthwhile. They completely agreed with me once the food was in their tummies!
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| Plain on top, Raisins on the bottom, AKA Spotted Dog |
These breads cooked to a gorgeous brown within 50 minutes. We omitted caraway seeds to avoid unusual flavors. Keeping 2 breads plain and including raisins in one allowed a little bit of variety, but plenty of quantity for a hungry brood. We must not forget that all Irish Soda Bread needs a cross cut on the top before baking.
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| Cut the Cross |
Eat Out Eat Well tells us the scientific reason for cutting the cross. “Slashing the dough lets heat penetrate into the thickest part of the bread and allows the bread to stretch and expand as it rises.” If my grandmother taught this class, she would say “Now you cut the cross to keep the devil away!” I just love those superstitions. Regardless of myth or science, we Cut the Cross.
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| I’m S T U F F E D ! ! ! |
The meal was delicious! Having a good balance of sweet and savory saved the afternoon from chaos. I asked what everyone’s favorite dish was and I got a widely varied response. Surprisingly, the soup won overall! Where I feared the veggies and greens would frighten, this crew proved they accepted the challenge and gobbled it down.
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| The Champion- Irish Potato Soup! |
Thanks to Wegmans Food Markets for partnering with the SSC Library on this program series. We appreciate all the variety of good and new ingredients to try each month! Extra special thanks goes to the Local Steeleworkers Union Hall for letting us take over their kitchen every second Friday afternoon of each month.
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| Eggs on the Agenda |