On Sunday July 20, the WA Health Department team hosted another cooking demonstration, this time including a hands-on bread making workshop in the program. It was something new for everybody, but went off really well, although of course we learned some things along the way.
The program began with the bread-making, with everybody heartily joining in and having a lot of fun together. Once the bread was ready for rising, we cleaned up a little (there was liberal amounts of flour over tables, floors and people) and sat back and listened to Sylvia Bush talk about whole grains, their uses, benefits and variety.
Amariah Payet and myself (Catherine Robles) demonstrated tofu and spinach scrolls and blueberry muffins using wholemeal flour. We had no complaints about the dishes, and all said they thoroughly enjoyed the food.
The demonstrations were followed by a five-minute talk on a natural remedy, peppermint and chamomile tea mixed with fresh lemon juice and honey, and then everybody wanted to know when they were going to make their bread rolls. The afternoon was concluded with the making of the bread rolls; and everybody socialised with tea, food tasting and good company while they waited for their bread rolls to bake in the ovens.
We really had a lovely time together and are looking forward to our next event promoting healthy vegetarianism. See below for a couple of recipes which were demonstrated.
~ Catherine Robles
No-fail Bread
INGREDIENTS
5 ½ cups whole wheat flour
3 teaspoons salt
2 ½ cups water
1 ½ tablespoons active dry yeast
OPTIONAL INGREDIENTS:
Soy flour, or other flours: 1/2 cup
1-3 tablespoons honey or other sweetener
3 tablespoons olive oil
METHOD
Mix the water with the other liquid ingredients and salt. Add about 3/4 of the flour and all of the yeast and other optional ingredients. Mix together well, and then knead for approximately 5-10 minutes, adding flour as needed until you have a springy, non-sticky ball of dough. Place dough into a bowl, cover with a cloth and allow to rise in a warm place until the dough has doubled in size (about an hour). Punch the dough down, and allow it to rise again (about ½ an hour). Take the dough out of the bowl, form it into a smooth ball and place in a medium-sized, oiled bread pan. Cover and allow to rise. When dough is starting to rise out of the top of the pan, place carefully into a pre-heated oven (about 180-200 degrees Celsius), taking care not to bump the tin, as this will cause the dough to sink. Bake for 40-60 minutes or until the bread is a golden-brown colour. Remove from the tin immediately, and allow to cool on a cooling rack. Store the bread in a cool, dry place. Keeps for up to a week.
Tofu & Spinach Rolls
INGREDIENTS
Pastry:
3 cups wholemeal flour
1 tsp salt
½ cup vegetable or olive oil
1 cup water
Filling:
1½ blocks tofu
1 bag baby spinach
2 tablespoons soya sauce
2 tsp curry powder
½ tsp salt
½ lemon squeezed
2 tablespoons water
½ tub of Tofutti cream cheese
1 finely sliced onion
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
METHOD
Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius
Pastry: Place flour and salt in bowl and mix. Then add vegetable/olive oil and water, and combine together well till it forms a dough. Lightly spread some flour on working bench, and place dough on the bench. Roll out dough.
Filling:
Cut finely or blend baby spinach. In a separate bowl scramble tofu using a fork. Combine tofu and spinach, adding soya sauce, curry powder, salt, lemon, onion, crushed garlic and water. Mix well.
Spread the Tofutti Cream Cheese evenly on the rolled out pastry.
Place the combined spinach and tofu on pastry and again, spread evenly.
Starting from one end, roll the pastry, forming a scroll.
Cut the scroll into desired sizes, and place in oven for 40 minutes.
Serve while hot.
