Schofields Central Church, Sydney Australia.
Firstly, I would like to thank our heavenly Father for the opportunities that He gives us to be able to further His work in some way. We have been conducting cooking demonstrations in our church for quite a number of years now; and with some effort put into these programmes, we can see that the Lord is helping us to let our light shine in the local Sydney community.
Various members help with the distribution of flyers into local neighbourhood letterboxes, advertising with banners in front of our church plus phone and email contacts that have been collected from previous registrations of such events. These all help bring the people to the programmes.
We conduct our cooking demonstrations over three consecutive Monday evenings in May and then again in October of each year. Registration to attend is specified, and therewith we can know how many will be attending (to know how much in food samples needs to be prepared in advance), and we also have their contact details for follow up for the next session.
The first series of cooking classes started off quite small in number, around six to ten people attending, but over the years our numbers have swelled to 80 to 90 registrations for each night.
Each evening starts off with a half-hour health lecture taken by various speakers who are well versed in the health field; this is then followed by the cooking demonstration of three to four dishes per night presented by various individuals. As each dish is demonstrated in front of the people, samples are provided. This way the people are involved in the process and can ask questions and make comments.
The evening concludes with prayer and an invitation to the next session and/or any other outreach programme that the church is conducting, including invitations to our regular Sabbath meetings and weekly Wednesday night prayer meetings. There is also a health food shop which our church runs on the premises. The shop gets a promotion, as many of the products used in these cooking demonstrations can be purchased there. In addition, we have a book stall with cookbooks, small health books and health tracts that attendees can see, have and/or purchase.
The Vegetarian Way cooking demonstrations are posted on our Schofields Church Facebook page and also on YouTube by searching Schofields Church.
This is a free education program offered to those in the community; there are no costs for people to attend, but instead, a donation is very welcome and greatly appreciated. It takes time for the people to gain our trust, but now we recover about 75% of expenses incurred in donations. Sample portions are generous, and information gained is great, and the people realise this. We form friendships and word of mouth contacts that have proved invaluable. The Lord is good, and He is ever there to bless the efforts that are made in His behalf.
Praying that this information may help other churches take the step of faith and start with what is available to them, and to aim high; the Lord will give the increase.
Your sister in Christ,
Rosetta Ilic
We have been blessed to have the Elim Missionary College students here in Sydney while we had the April series of cooking demonstrations and appreciated their help throughout this outreach. Also a great ‘”thank you” to all who have helped in many different ways. May God continue to help us in the health work.
Dishes presented during cooking demonstrations are selected, created and tested by the cooking demonstration team. The team consists of Amy Gules, Lidia Voncina, Rosetta Ilic, Vivian Cosson and Tanya Ah-ching.
The recipes demonstrated during the April 2016 session consisted of ingredients that have bone building properties, such as greens, almonds, sesame seeds, linseed, etc.
Here is a list of the items demonstrated:
- Veggie Noodle Soup
- Vegetable Bake
- Kale Chips
- Delicate Delicious Crepes
- Apricot Spread
- Calcium Rich Spread
- Alfredo Fettuccini
- Collard, Roasted Tomatoes, Mushroom and Almond Stir-fry
- Almond and Apple Slice
- Potato and Asparagus Soup
- Cottage Loaf
- Tomato Sauce
- Sticky Toffee and Nut Pudding
Why not try some of the recipes below and enjoy tasty food while maintaining healthy bones?
Vegetable Bake
INGREDIENTS
Vegetables:
8 medium Desiree potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
1 large red onion, sliced
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
½ bunch kale, washed and thinly sliced
½ red capsicum, cut into strips
2 cups cauliflower, sliced (approx. 400gms)
Cashew Cream:
1 cup cashews
1½ cups warm water
3 cloves peeled garlic
2 heaped tablespoons plain flour
4 tablespoons sesame seeds
2 tablespoons Massel chicken-style stock powder or vegetable salt to taste
2 tablespoons olive oil
Topping:
2 tablespoons sesame seeds for garnishing
2 tablespoons continental parsley, finely chopped
Oil spray
METHOD
Pre-heat oven to 200˚C.
Cashew Cream:
- Blend cashews and 1 cup water together until it resembles a creamy mixture; add the rest of the ingredients, and blend until smooth.
Assembly:
- Oil spray bottom and sides of a large baking dish.
- Arrange layers of vegetables; pour cashew cream on top.
- Add extra water.
- Sprinkle top with sesame seeds.
- Cover with baking paper and aluminium foil.
- Bake for approx. 50 minutes. Garnish with chopped parsley prior to serving.
Serve with tossed salad.
Kale Chips
INGREDIENTS
1 bunch curly kale or any variety that you like
1 pinch veggie salt or any other seasoning
Olive oil drizzle
METHOD
- Wash the kale well, then tear into bite size pieces.
- Place kale pieces onto a flat oven tray, and put into the oven at 100°C to dry out for about 60 to 70 minutes. It should be totally dry and crispy.
- Put into airtight container, sprinkle with the salt and drizzle with a little olive oil.
Cottage Loaf
INGREDIENTS
1 block hard tofu – soak tofu in salty water overnight or for a few hours; cut the tofu block into a desired shape e.g. long triangle, long tube or rectangle and set aside.
½ cup quinoa
½ cup brown lentils
1 litre of hot water
½ tablespoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 onions, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 long red chilli, seeds and vein removed, finely chopped
1 cup raw cashews,whole
1½ tablespoons tomato paste
1 large carrot, grated
1 heaped tablespoon Massel stock powder, chicken style
1 teaspoon salt
⅓ cup sundried tomatoes, drained and finely chopped
¼ cup continental parsley, chopped
¼ cup coriander, chopped
½ cup linseed meal
½ cup soymilk
METHOD
- Preheat oven to 200°C. Oil spray bread tin and line with baking paper, leaving the edges taller to help prevent the top of the loaf from burning.
- Place quinoa in a bowl, cover with cold water and soak while cooking lentils. In a large saucepan, cook lentils with hot water and salt for 15 minutes. Drain the quinoa, and add to the lentils and cook for a further 15 minutes until tender but not overcooked. Drain lentils and quinoa and rinse under cold water and set aside.
- Meanwhile, sauté the onion and garlic until almost clear; add the chilli and cashews and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the tomato paste, and continue to cook for a further 2 minutes. Take off the stove.
- Add carrots, stock powder, salt, sundried tomatoes, parsley, coriander, linseed meal and soymilk, and mix until well combined.
- Press half the mixture into the loaf tin. Place the tofu shape which has been previously cut along the centre of loaf tin lengthwise, and add the rest of mixture on top, pressing gently. This will make an attractive pattern when loaf is sliced. Bake for approximately 40-45 minutes until golden brown. Check after 25 minutes, and if it looks like it’s burning, then cover with baking paper and foil for the remainder of the time. Leave to cool in the tin. Cut into slices and serve with tomato sauce or gravy.
Sticky Toffee and Nut Pudding
INGREDIENTS
2½ cups pitted dates, roughly chopped
1½ cups almond milk
½ teaspoon bicarbonate soda
¼ cup vegan margarine, lightly softened
¾ cup toasted chopped almonds, divided
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon salt
1¼ cups wholemeal plain flour
Toffee Sauce
¼ cup + 2 tablespoons brown rice syrup*
¼ cup maple syrup
3 tablespoons vegan margarine
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon almond milk
Pinch of salt
METHOD
- Preheat oven to 160°C and toast the almonds for about 8-10 minutes. Now, preheat oven to 190°C. Lightly oil-spray a 23cm (9-inch) pie dish.
- In a medium sized pot, bring 1½ cups of almond milk to a low boil. Add in the chopped and pitted dates, and reduce heat to low. Cook for 1 minute, remove from heat, and stir in bicarbonate soda. It will froth up a bit. Add margarine; mix until it melts.
- Add the dry ingredients (cinnamon, salt, half of almonds and wholemeal flour) into the wet ingredients and stir until just combined. Spoon the mixture into the prepared dish.
- Bake at 190°C for approximately 30 minutes or until cake gently springs back when you touch it.
Toffee Sauce
- About 10 minutes before the cake is done, make your toffee sauce by whisking together the sauce ingredients in a pot. Bring to a low simmer over medium heat, and then reduce heat to low, whisking frequently for about 5 minutes, making sure it doesn’t burn. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Remove cake from oven, let it cool for a few minutes and then prick with a fork or toothpick all over. Pour ⅔ of the toffee sauce over the top (reserving the other ⅓ of the sauce), and spread the sauce with a spoon.
- Scoop or cut out portions and place onto plates. Drizzle with remaining sauce, and top with toasted almonds. Serve with your favourite vegan ice cream.Serves 6
*Note: Other liquid sweeteners may work instead of brown rice syrup (you can use honey), however the taste and consistency will change slightly.
Almond and Apple Slice
INGREDIENTS
4 granny smith apples, peeled and sliced
juice of ½ lemon
1 heaped tablespoon cornflour
¼ cup maple syrup
2 cups almonds, ground in food processor
⅔ cup wholemeal flour
⅓ cup linseed meal
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup maple syrup
1 tablespoon vanilla
Baking paper
400ml apple juice
1 sachet Jel-it-in *
METHOD
- Preheat oven to 170˚C.
- In a mixing bowl add apples slices, lemon juice, cornflour and maple syrup. Mix and set aside.
- In another mixing bowl add almonds, wholemeal flour, linseed meal, salt and mix dry ingredients together; then add maple syrup and vanilla and mix. This should be like a crumb mix.
- Line a biscuit tin with baking paper. Spread and gently press the crumb mix over the lined base.
- Arrange apple slices over base, pour liquid from apples on top.
- Bake for approx. 30 minutes.
- When apple slice is finished baking, pour apple juice into a small saucepan and sprinkle 1 sachet of Jel-it-in*. Mix well until dissolved. Bring mixture to boil for 1 minute and pour on top of baked apple pastry. Let it cool.
Serve with vegan cream or ice-cream.
Note: * Jel-it-in is a 100% vegetarian gelling agent which can be purchased in Woolworth supermarkets.
