What does your weekly menu look like? Meatloaf and mashed potatoes on Monday, baked chicken on Tuesday, and a kale and egg casserole on Wednesday? Maybe you throw in some pasta on Thursday. By Friday, you’ve lost your meal-making mojo. You’re “chopped out.”
For some in our local area, the struggle to eat well is more than just a matter of inspiration. The St. Mary’s Nutrition Center, located at 208 Bates St. in one of Lewiston’s most economically challenged neighborhoods, serves as a food hub to a diverse community. Encouraging and inspiring healthy eating is part of its mission. Center leaders believe good health relies upon access to healthy foods.
Once a year, they host a special Friday night food destination that leaves guests awed. Meanwhile, the proceeds raised at the event contribute to the Nutrition Center’s programs, including urban community gardens, hands-on cooking and nutrition programs for all ages and the sponsorship of a year-round farmers market. Guests at the event often leave rejuvenated and inspired by the food and the work of the Nutrition Center.
This year’s “Soiree” was held on Friday, Sept. 23. The festivities began with appetizers and cocktails at the center. Appetizers included fig and olive tapenade, Spanish tortilla and parmesan-stuffed dates.
Paul Drowns, the Nutrition Center’s community cooking educator, oversaw the preparation and presentation of the appetizers for this portion of the event. Working since the Wednesday prior to the event, Drowns and his team of five youth chefs prepared the appetizer menu, peeling, braising, slicing, chopping and stuffing. The tapenade included oil-cured black olives that the volunteers pitted by hand. When asked how one goes about pitting a large quantity of olives by hand, Drowns laughed and said “lovingly.”
When not pitting olives, Drowns coordinates a monthly “Community Cooking Night” at the Nutrition Center that is free and open to the public. The classes, held on the last Tuesday of every month from 5 to 7 p.m, incorporate healthy cooking techniques, local produce and a shared meal. A recent cooking night celebrated the corn harvest with a demonstration of preparing creamed corn.
The Good Food Bus, which the Nutrition Center champions, was parked behind the center during the soiree’s cocktail hour. Guests were encouraged to tour and learn about the mobile farmers market, now in its second season in the Lewiston-Auburn community.
In years past, the fundraising event has included a live food demonstration. This year’s soiree took a new twist and shook things up. Instead of a demo during cocktails and appetizers at the center, event organizers and volunteers escorted party guests across the street to the Agora Grand Event Center. Temple Shalom’s Rabbi Sruli Dresdner brought the music and served as “DJ” for the event. An eclectic mix of music filled the beautifully restored building and guests were treated to additional tastings just prior to dinner.
Chefs Mark and Jenn Tripp, from Tripp’s Farmhouse Cafe, served a gluten-free “everything” focaccia bread with a warm artichoke and scallion topping. Chef Zack Pratt served up his tasty trademark Vietnamese noodle soup, pho.
Hot pho, warm and creamy artichoke dip, and cool music . . . wrapped up in lively dinner conversation around the tables. This was the prelude to a dinner catered by Erin Dow, owner of the catering company Eatswell.
Dow, a chef, caterer and food educator, also serves as “expert chef” for the nutritional rating system “Guiding Stars,” which can be seen on various food labels in Hannaford grocery stores.
Dow’s menu included two different green salads, three entrees — maple and Dijon-glazed salmon, herb-crusted beef loin and curried roasted chickpeas —plus rosemary-garlic roasted potatoes and green beans.
Following the meal, St. Mary’s President and CEO Chris Chekouras welcomed guests and thanked them and event sponsors for their support. Nutrition Center Director Kirsten Walter reminded guests that the work of the center was simply “taking care of people with our hearts wide open.”
Dessert topped off the evening with an apple galette (French apple tart) prepared by the youth chefs.
It’s likely that as guests left the Agora Grand full of such carefully planned and prepared food, they were not contemplating their home dinner menus for the following week. But once again, St. Mary’s Nutrition Center did not disappoint for good food, great ideas and plenty of inspiration.
Julie-Ann Baumer lives, cooks, and writes from her home in Lisbon Falls. Read her blog www.julieannbaumer.com or follow her on twitter @aunttomato.
Fig and olive tapenade (caviale di fico con d’oliva)
Makes about one cup
Ingredients:
1/2 cup of unsulphured dried figs stemmed and quartered
1 cup of oil-cured black olives, rinsed, pitted and coarsely chopped
1-1/2 tablespoons of freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 teaspoons of whole-grain mustard
1 clove of garlic, peeled
1/2 tablespoon of capers, preferably salted, rinsed, soaked and squeezed dry.
1/2 teaspoon of finely chopped fresh rosemary
1/2 teaspoon of finely chopped fresh thyme
About 1/2 cup of extra virgin olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 cup of water
Method:
At a simmer, poach the figs in the water until tender, about 10 to 15 minutes. Drain the figs and reserve a few tablespoons of the water.
Combine the olives, figs, lemon juice, mustard, garlic, capers and herbs in a food processor and pulse to create a thick, chunky mixture.
Continue to pulse and drizzle in just enough olive oil to be completely absorbed.
Season with pepper, and thin the caviale with a little of the poaching liquor if necessary.
Spanish tortilla
(Serves 8 as part of a meal or up to 16 to 20 as a tapa)
Ingredients:
Extra-virgin olive oil for braising
1-1/2 pounds of waxy potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
Salt and black pepper
12 large eggs at room temperature
Method:
Heat the oven to 375 degrees and warm 3/4-inch of olive oil in a large pot or skillet over medium heat.
Add the potatoes and onion, season with salt and pepper, and stir well to coat with the oil. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes and onion are very tender, about 30 to 40 minutes. Monitor the heat carefully; the potatoes and onion are to be braised, not fried.
Meanwhile, break the eggs into a medium bowl, season with salt and pepper, and beat vigorously for about 1 minute.
Set a clean large, heavy skillet over medium heat, and when it’s hot, use a slotted spatula or spoon to transfer the potatoes and onion from the pot to the skillet leaving most of the oil behind (reserve the oil for another use).
Pour the beaten eggs over the potatoes and onion, stir very gently just to distribute all the ingredients evenly in the skillet, then bake the tortilla until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Serve warm, at room temperature, or chilled. Leftover tortilla can be refrigerated, wrapped or covered, for up to several days.
Parmesan-stuffed dates
Makes 4 servings
Ingredients:
16 Medjool dates
4 ounces of good-quality Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
Drops of good-quality extra-virgin olive oil and chopped mint or parsley for garnishing, optional
Method:
Use a paring knife to cut a slit in each date and then remove the pit.
Use a table knife to cut almond-sized chunks from the block of cheese, and then slip a piece into each date.
Garnish with oil and mint or parsley if desired and serve immediately.
French apple tart
Serves 6
Ingredients:
For the pastry:
2 cups of all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 tablespoon of sugar
1-1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons) of cold unsalted butter, diced
1/2 cup of ice water
For the apples:
4 Granny Smith or other choice of tart, crisp baking apples
A bowl of water and freshly squeezed lemon juice to prevent the cut apples from browning
1/2 cup of sugar
1/2 stick (4 tablespoons) of cold unsalted butter, diced small
1/2 cup of apricot jelly or warm sieved apricot jam
2 tablespoons of Calvados, rum or water
Method:
For the pastry:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
Place the flour, salt and sugar in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade and pulse several time to mix completely. Add the butter and pulse until it’s cut into pea-sized bits.
With the motor running, pour the ice water down the feed tube and pulse until the dough just starts to come together. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured board and knead it quickly to form a ball. Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate it for at least 1 hour.
Once chilled, roll the dough slightly larger than a 10-by-14-inch rectangle and use a straight edge and small knife to trim and square the edges. Place the dough on the prepared sheet pan and refrigerate while preparing the apples.
For the apples:
Peel the apples, cut them in half through the stem, and then remove the stems and cores with a sharp paring knife and melon bailer and place them in the acidulated water.
Slice the halved apples crosswise in 1/4-inch-thick slices and then place overlapping slices diagonally down the middle of the tart; continue making diagonal rows on both sides of the first row until the pastry is covered.
Sprinkle the rows of apple slices with the 1/2 cup of sugar and dot with the butter. Bake the tart until the pastry is browned and the edges of the apples start to brown, about 45 to 60 minutes.
Rotate the sheet pan once during baking. If the pastry crust puffs up too much in places, use the tines of a fork or the tip of a sharp knife to prick the dough let the air out.
When the tart is baked, warm the apricot jelly and Calvados in a small saucepan, and then brush the apples and the pastry thoroughly with the mixture.
While the tart is still warm, use a metal spatula to loosen it from the parchment.
Allow the tart to continue to cool, and then serve it warm or at room temperature.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
