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Vegetable Pita Pockets
Makes 8
These overstuffed pita sandwiches are a delicious and satisfying way to eat healthy. Have some girls over for a stuff-your-own pita pocket lunch and you can slice, assemble and eat together. The ingredients list our favorite fillers, but we urge you to use what veggies you love. We use hummus as our spread, but feel free to use a soft cheese, pesto or tapenade. Lightly salted sesame sticks add a crunchy finish and our lemon garlic dressing a zesty accent.
4 pieces whole grain pita bread (cut in half)
1 avocado, halved and sliced
1 cucumber, peeled and sliced
1 small onion, peeled and sliced
1 tomato, sliced
2 carrots, peeled and shredded
4 radishes, sliced
½ cup hummus (see our Quick Vegetable Hummus Recipe)
½ cup lightly salted sesame sticks
Heat pita pockets in a warm oven. Meanwhile, lay out all the ingredients on a cutting board. First spread the hummus on the inside of the pita pocket and then begin layering all of the vegetables in any order. Top with sesame seeds and drizzle on desired salad dressing.
Quick Lemon Dressing
1/4 cup canola oil
1/8 cup lemon juice
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons sour cream
¾ teaspoon kosher salt
Whisk together canola oil, lemon juice, garlic, sour cream and kosher salt. |
| Quick Vegetable Hummus
Makes 2 cups
Use this delicious and colorful hummus as a sandwich spread or dip. Think of this as a basic recipe and add what you like - cilantro, parsley, roasted red peppers, jalapeno peppers or even olives.
2 garlic cloves
2 shallots, peeled
Juice from 1 lemon
1 can of chick peas, drained
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon cumin
1/8 cup of olive oil
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
2 tablespoons water
In a food processor fitted with a steel blade (or a powerful blender), finely chop the carrots. Set aside and then add the garlic, shallots, chickpeas, lemon juice, salt, cumin and olive oil. Blend until you achieve a smooth consistency, adding the water gradually. Mix in the chopped carrots and combine well. | |
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Dear Friends,
With warmer weather comes a natural tendency to lighten up our cooking repertoires. It's time to use what's stocked in our freezers from the chillier months, clean out our pantries and get a fresh start in the kitchen for spring. We hope this issue inspires you to combine forces with your friends while putting on your culinary thinking caps to get creative in the kitchen. Alison and Shannon  |
Three Steps to Spring Cooking With Friends
1) Purge - There's probably still a lot of good food left in your pantry and freezer from the winter months. But it might be bits and pieces, odds and ends you're not sure what to do with. Rather than tossing out the food, team up with a friend and use what you both have. You'll be amazed what you can create with a combined "Pantry Challenge."
2) Rethink - Let's face it. As much as we all love chili and hearty stews, it's time for a change. That's why we like to switch up our pantry staples to allow for some spring cooking. We've developed our favorite list of "Lighten-it-up" Pantry basics (See Below). If you're regularly cooking with your friends, divide this list up, with each friend keeping certain pantry items, as a way to save some money. You might not need two jars of lemon grass seasoning! Or, if you always like to have staples on hand, shop in bulk, divide the bounty, and store in clearly labeled airtight containers.
3) Lighten Up -- Ok, now that you've used up the heavier items from winter, and re-stocked your pantry with new ingredients, it's time to lighten up your cooking. To do this, we recommend improvisational cooking with friends. (See The Improvisational Cook by Sally Schneider "On our bookshelf"):
http://www.cookingwithfriendsclub.com/index.php?/favorites/) |
Improvisational Cooking With Friends |
Our Favorite Lighten-it-up Pantry Basics
In the Pantry:
Couscous
Quinoa
French Lentils
Canned Chick Peas
Dried Orzo Pasta
Calamata Olives
Rice Paper Wrappers
Bean Thread Rice Noodles
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Cider Vinegar
Canned Beets
Curry Powder
In the Fridge and Freezer:
Cheese crumbles (gorgonzola, feta or goat cheese)
Whole wheat tortillas
Flatbreads and/or pita bread
Raw frozen shrimp
Corn tortillas
Eggs (oh how we love their versatility!)
Sour Cream and/or plain yogurt
Lemons and limes
Edamame
Petit Peas
Greek lowfat yogurt
List for a Quick Stop at the Grocery Store
With staples already in your pantry, fridge and freezer, all you'll have to do is make a quick stop at the market to get prepared for your cooking date. Here some of our must-haves:
-Avocados (Buy and bag and split it with a friend)
-Beets (Red, yellow or orange)
-Bunch of herbs (cilantro, dill, basil)
-Handful of Veggies (carrots, celery, grape tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, yellow squash)
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Our Favorite Light Methods of Cooking
A lot of what Cooking With Friends is about is finding ways to save time, eat better and hang out with friends. That's why we love these lighter methods of cooking - they help us do all three! Get together with a friend to roast, grill or sauté and you'll leave with loads of useful foods and memories of a fun time together.
Roasting -- Cut up some cauliflower or slice some beets, drizzle some olive oil, sprinkle with kosher salt and roast on 400 degrees for about 45 minutes. Roasted veggies are a delicious accent to a lettuce salad and keep wonderfully well in the fridge for a few days.
Grilling -- Throw some chicken, olive oil, lemon and herbs in the Instant Vacuvin Marinater (Visit our OpenSky store for more information: http://cookingwithfriendsclub.theopenskyproject.com/?p=2.) and you'll have well-seasoned meat in minutes, ready to throw on the grill. Spend time with a friend outdoors, grilling foods to keep in the fridge for the week to use as salad toppers, sandwich basics or even your main meal.
Sautéing -- All you need is a skillet or wok and a touch of olive oil to sauté shrimp, meat or veggies. Season as you go to create light, healthy meals. Some of our favorites are zucchini, cauliflower and mushrooms with chives. |
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Veggie Assembly Line |
Sometimes we simply get together with our friends to cut up veggies and wash lettuce. With our ready-to-snack on vegetables stored in baggies in the fridge, we're able to eat healthier. Try our favorite springtime lunch -- a Veggie Pita Pocket (see recipe left) - which literally packs in all sorts of vegetables. |
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CWFC Giveaway and Time Saving Tool |
We've given this press as a gift many times to friends and count it as one of our true favorite cooking tools. Nothing lightens up cooking or baking like some freshly squeezed lemon juice. Send us your favorite way to use fresh lemon juice in your cooking and you may just win one for yourself. E-mail your tip to info@cookingwithfriendsclub.com by April 6.
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NEWS: Cooking With Friends Teams Up with Share Our Strength |
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As you all know, we've found Cooking With Friends to be a fulfilling way to give back to our communities, from making soup together for our local food pantry to baking together for a school bake sale. We're proud to tell you that our local community service will now be introduced nationally as we work with the incredible organization Share Our Strength (www.shareourstrength.org) and their Great American Bake Sale.
Join the Great American Bake Sale
Help Wanted! Sign up for Share Our Strength's Great American Bake Sale! Nearly 1 in 4 kids in America doesn't know where his or her next meal will come from. Share Our Strength is recruiting volunteers in all 50 states to host a bake sale as a part of the Great American Bake Sale National Challenge, April 16th-18th. Share Our Strength is working to find out how many bake sale events can be held in one weekend--300, 500 or maybe 1,000! Volunteers in 31 states have signed up for the challenge. There's still time to sign up and participate in the first annual Great American Bake Sale National Challenge! Let's come together this weekend in April and bake to end childhood hunger in America. Select a day, choose a location and be counted. For more information, please contact Share Our Strength at 1-800-761-4227 or bakesale@strength.org if you plan on hosting a bake sale during the Challenge. | |
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Alison Bermack and Shannon Henry Kleiber
Visit our web site at www.cookingwithfriendsclub.com.
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