Kids Cook: Potato Soup

Every Wednesday the Hub hosts Kids Cook, a weekly drop-in opportunity for our youngest community members to join us in preparing a delicious, easy meal while learning essential kitchen skills. 

One of the young chefs
practicing his knife skills

This month Georgia, our Youth Educator, led the group through the steps of making a simple and tasty potato soup. Georgia demonstrated safe and effective knife skills and soon everyone was chopping potatoes and carrots like true chefs! While chopping, one young chef announced that when he grows up, he will be opening his own potato restaurant!

For this recipe, there is the option of adding roasted green chilis for an additional kick for more adventurous eaters!

Potato and Green Chile Soup (Deborah Madison)
2-4 long green chiles or poblano chiles
2 Tablespoons oil
1 large onion
2 teaspoons teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon teaspoon ground cumin
1 garlic clove, minced
2 large russet potatoes or 10 smaller potatoes (about 2 pounds)
Salt and pepper
2 cups chicken stock or water
Sour cream (or Greek yogurt) to finish
Chopped cilantro to finish
Step 1
Roast the chilis, allow to cool, peel and chop coarsely.
Step 2
Dice the onions. Heat the oil in a wide pot and add the onions cooking over medium-low heat until softened, about 4 minutes. 
Step 3
While the onions cook, peel and dice potatoes into 1 inch pieces. Add the garlic, cumin, coriander, potatoes, chilis and ½ teaspoon salt. Cook together for a few minutes then add the water or stock. Bring to a boil then reduce the heat to a simmer.
Step 4
Cook, covered until the potatoes are completely softened, about 25 minutes. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Mash or puree about half of the potatoes. Serve with sour cream and cilantro, if desired.

Gourmet in the Garden

Hello Beautiful!  Who knew you could make such a glorious looking salad with greens harvested mostly from your back yard? Our friend Oliver does! This 7-year-old gourmet garden guru taught our Kid's Cooking class the other day and taught us all a thing or two... or three! 

Just look at that poise! 

Not just delicious, but exceptionally nutritious too, this wild edible salad delights the eyes and taste-buds, and leaves you feeling healthy and fresh!

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Oliver guided us confidently through the salad preparation, teaching appropriate knife skills   (watch those fingers!), and how to safely identify the plants we used.

This vibrant dish included wood sorrel, pink and white clover, dandelion flower, wild onion, violet leaf, lettuce, chickweed, multi-flora rose, and ground ivy! We dressed it with a little salt, pepper, elderberry syrup, and organic sunflower oil. Yum! 

 

Our Kids Cooking classes are an incredible opportunity for kids and adults alike to learn new kitchen skills, taste new foods, and gain confidence. You might be surprised by how much even very young children can absorb just through observation. One of our regulars surprised us the other day by demonstrating how to properly cut a leaf from its spine without even being prompted! It appears that we have an army of new kitchen gurus on the rise! 

A little helper watches attentively in class 

Our little gourmet garden guru helping our two interns use the salad spinner 

Not everyone is accustomed to eating salad, especially ones with such unusual ingredients, but with Oliver's enthusiasm and charm, we got samples out to our pantry patrons, and many were surprised by how much they enjoyed it!

This young man was wary at first, but was surprised and delighted when he finally decided to taste Oliver's wares. Even after several minutes had passed, he was still marveling at the wonderful taste he held in his mouth!

Sound like fun?

Join us Tuesdays and Thursdays from 4:15-5:00 pm to take part in our next culinary adventure!

See you there!  

Wild Edibles Become Spring Treats for Kids

Early Spring is a great time for harvesting wild edibles. Most of the plants haven't flowered yet, so the flavor and nutrient content is at the peak of perfection! In a recent session of Kids Cook at the Hub, we went to the garden to check out the wild chickweed popping up on paths and in containers. Together we examined the plants for identifying details (fuzzy stem, symmetrical leave pattern, watery, lettuce-like leaves) then harvested a basketful for pesto making in the kitchen.

The Hub just offered our annual Spring Wild Edibles Workshop, but look for another workshop in September to learn more about what you can snack on in your own yard.

Kids Make Autumnal Spaghetti Sauce

It's winter squash season here at The Hub, so we're getting creative with the Acorn and Butternuts. Yesterday in Kids Cook we roasted acorn squash and puréed it in a food mill for a silky smooth pasta sauce seasoned with garlic and sage. Check out the recipe for this surprisingly simple and comforting dish.

Kids Cook happens on Tuesdays and Thursdays, from 4:15-5:00. These hands-on, drop-in cooking sessions feature simple dishes, including seasonal foods, plus garden to table education.

For the Love of Beets

Ahhh, Summer at The Hub...garden produce abounds in the food pantry, and the black pop-up crates filled with lovely vegetables from the Hoosier Hills Food Bank Garden begin rolling in. In recent weeks the featured veggie has been beets! Those deep purple globes inspire responses on both extremes; you either love 'em or you hate 'em. I happen to be on the positive end of the spectrum, especially this season. I just can't get enough of that that rich, earthy taste. Beets are one vegetable best enjoyed fresh from the garden. I have been told this is because as soon as they are harvested, their sugars begin to convert to starches, so the closer you are to the moment of harvest, the sweeter the beet. I can't find verification for this, other than my own taste buds. A freshly pulled beet, steamed or roasted within hours of harvest, is like nothing else on this earth.


In our newest weekly drop-in cooking
demonstration, Kids Cook, we had a chance to sample this garden fresh sweetness in a colorful Beet Hummus dip. We oven-roasted the beets beforehand, covered with foil. Once they are fork-tender, the peels slip off easily. The kids helped pile all the ingredients into the bowl of the food processor, and we whirred away until the dip became smooth and creamy. Most exciting was the color! Several of our helpers were wearing some shade of pink on their clothes, and we had fun comparing, looking for the best match to the beet hummus. The lemon zest brightens the flavor, to match the color.