And so it began. The holiday party was disco themed. I walked in with my Santa hat on. Thomas and Izzy baked for hours! The smells were delicious! Gingerbread cookies and more! I tried all I could to not stick my fingers in while they baked!

We piled the cookies onto a festive cart. Then we all took some great music and danced through the halls with goodies for everyone! What fun! And so the weekend came. And another week. Things weren't cool. The news around town was that Covid numbers were high. Everyone was testing and quarantining. Fountain House closing for two weeks. No other way about it. We left the unit. On my way home I said to myself - what do I do? In my pajamas, watching lots of T.V. I passed the time.

We came back after a long holiday vacation! Everyone ran in with Happy New Year thoughts, happy to be back together. Now we did a backtrack to the old days- doing to-go meals. Social distancing, patio seating. Though everyone really enjoyed breakfast and lunch in the dining room. A nice part of the day where we all came together to join each other and feast on good food and have a little comradery. I have to be honest- it has been disappointing, but I know when we can all come back together, we will all cheer. Looking forward to seeing everyone soon! Here's to the good life.

Welcome to FIKA in Culinary! We’ve been celebrating FIKA every Friday here at Culinary. Not only have we been recipients of the culinary delights of Thomas and Izzy, but we have also been participating in the card game UNO! Every Friday, the games get more and more intense. Picture this, Yusselffy beats Matt, Joanne beats Jacques (with a swap card), and fun times are had by all! FIKA is truly a time to wind down and enjoy each other’s company.

It was about 9:30, we were on our way! Yusselffy "where the fudge is the car?" Right across the street! We all piled in! Scott and I sat in the back! I have long legs, what a cramp! About 1 1/2 hours we were in town! We stopped for pizza to bring for lunch to the farm! I had to use the bathroom good idea! So did Emmanuel! We drove in what a beautiful sight. A lot of acres! We stopped at the chalet! I had my turkey sandwich, no pizza (lactose intolerant). We checked out of the chalet, met a few people, off to the farm! Anthony the farm manager showed us around! First, we saw a few animals, the chickens, the goats, a few cats and dogs! What fun! We were originally off to pick apples, to the orchard we went! Scott and I were partners. We had a paint stick and we picked two at a time. We filled a whole bag! Lots of bees were swarming around (what fun). I have to say FH is reaping the rewards of all these apples! Cider, cake(streusel), tarts, fruit cups, etc. We picked some plentiful fruits and vegetables. Said goodbye, gassed up the car (one girl was chopping wood as we left), and so we left for the city. We went back to FH about 5:00! Unloaded the car! And I made my way home. What fun, what a day! I would like to go again!

Melissa and Mary conducted a house-wide survey of everyone's favorite meals we've made so far, so we know what people like and we can make it again! Being the scientists that we are, we made the data into a graph. People also suggested some other meals that either that are favorites we already made or new suggestions!

Other favorites/suggestions:

- Salmon teriyaki

- Gyros

- Impossible burgers

- Veggie stir fry

- Crab meat salad

- Tuna melt

- Grilled cheese with bacon

- Honey baked chicken

- Ravioli

- Meat and potatoes

- Stuffed shells

- Risotto

- Borscht

Every Friday we do something fun in the afternoon, and the last few weeks we have been baking. Last Friday was the most fun yet! Mary and the boys (sorry to only name Mary, really the boys did most of the work, Mary and the boys is just a cool name LOL) baked Izzy's chocolate chip cookie recipe and Mary's peanut butter pie recipe! We loved it so much! Next week we are calling out Shelley from Welcome Center; we want you to come bake with us!!

This weeks recipe comes from a new member of our community. Marie is working for Eldad as out new Administrative Coordinator! Welcome Marie!

Here's Marie's contribution:

Folks who know me know that I have about five standard recipes, all are vegetarian, and all involve chickpeas (aka garbanzo beans) in some way. I would amend that they also have to come together in about half an hour or less, so Smitten Kitchen’s recipe for Pasta E Ceci has become a standard in my house. With easily found and stored ingredients and lots of ways to season to taste, it’s a great staple meal and really nice to make during the fall and winter months.

You will need:

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

2 Cloves Garlic

3-5 Tablespoons Tomato Paste (I like more, some prefer less.)

1 Teaspoon salt

1 and a ½ Cups Chickpeas, drained and rinsed

½ Cup Small Pasta, such as annelini (little hoops), or my favorite, farfalle (little bow ties)

2 Cups Water

Black Pepper and/or Red Pepper Flakes, to taste

1. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a medium or large saucepan on medium heat – it will shimmer, not smoke, when ready

2. Add two cloves of garlic (chopped or smashed) and cook until garlic is fragrant but not burnt

3. Stir in tomato paste, salt, and pepper and cook together for 30 seconds

4. Add the chickpeas, pasta, and water

5. Lower the heat and simmer until the pasta is cooked and the pasta e ceci is more like a stew than a soup (roughly 15-20 minutes)

6. Taste, and then season to your personal preference

If I’m serving for a friend or just in the mood, I will garnish with any of the following: fresh basil, olive oil, parmesan or feta cheese

pictures by Guill

The culinary unit went in for our cleaning days last week and it was a doozy! Lots of work to be done (including lots of expired food to be tossed LOL)! Here's how the cleaning crew felt about the big overhaul!

Julianna - shocked at all the stuff

Guill - overwhelmed but excited

Yusselffy - made it feel more real coming back in person

Jacques - excited for the professional cleaners to come through

Mary - excited because she loves throwing things out

Emmanuel - had fun cleaning

Matt - a good time

Marcus - made him reminisce about the culinary unit

Melissa - excited to start the next journey in life

We have missed seeing everyone in person (like I'm sure the whole FH community has!). We also have so many new members and staff who have not gotten to work in the unit at all yet. Our amazing reporter Melissa spent a unit meeting asking everyone what they are most excited about (and some things we are a little worried about) when we go back on June 14th! Here's what we can't wait for:

Guill - excited to meet everyone and get cooking

Yusselffy - excited to cook and get social back at work

Richard - thinking about having to take the train back to FH

Matt - happy to go back

Natalie - a people person, so happy to see people in person

Mike Brown - looking forward to EWP (hasn't been the same this last year!)

Peter - there's nothing like being at FH

Mary - nervous for a new schedule, but excited to get cooking

Emmanuel - waiting anxiously for June 14th

Ana - happy!

Martha - excited to spend time with the group

Melissa - excited and happy!

Thank you Vivian for her second submission to the food blog! She is keeping on theme with healthy eating and sharing a cauliflower casserole recipe with us!

Ingredients:

1 medium head cauliflower, broken into florets

1 cup sour cream

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1/2 cup crushed cornflakes

1/4 chopped green pepper

1/4 cup of sweet red pepper

1 tsp of salt

1/4 cup grated parmesan

Paprika

Recipe:

Place 1 liter of water in a saucepan add cauliflower. First bring to a boil adding the cauliflower. Reduce heat; cover and simmer until crispy and tender 5-10 minutes and then drain.

In a large bowl, combine cauliflower, sour cream, cheddar cheese, cornflakes (or something else) peppers and salt; transfer to a greased 2 quart baking dish . Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and paprika.

Bake, uncovered, at 325 degrees until heated 30-35 minutes.

Tortilla and/or pita pizza! Just add pizza/pasta sauce and cheese to a tortilla and bake until the cheese is meeeeellltyyy! Easy snack!

Sweeeeet Treat!! Our new member Ashleigh came in in hot to Cooking with Culinary last week with a no-bake cheesecake recipe passed down from her mom. It was a HIT!!! Even Mary a no-bake cheesecake skeptic was floored!

Takes just a few minutes and is delicious! No bake, easy cake!!!

Check our recipe below:

Ingredients!

2 packs of cream cheese 8 oz each

2/3 cup of sugar

1 to 2 table spoons of vanilla

1 container of cool whip

graham cracker pie crust

Recipe!

Let the cream cheese and cool whip sit out for 1/2 an hour

Take a large mixing bowl

Add all ingredients

Mix well

Take your mixture add to pie crust Refrigerate for 1/2 an hour

Now you have your Cheese 🍰 Cake!

Ashleigh - "going from the cooking steps to the final product"

John - "prepping and cutting"

Yusselffy - "team prep and end results"

Mona - "the people!"

Matt - "the conversation"

Peter - "the people!"

Guill - "that we're a family"

Melissa - "the group being a part of things every day"

Mary - "all the cooking tips I get"

Please join us Monday thru Friday to meet our family and learn from all our great chefs and great people!

Also, Wednesday 11:30 - 1:00 (on the daily), join us for Cooking with Culinary to become a better home chef! If you want to inquire email mdoyle@fountainhouse.org or cceralde@fountainhouse.org

In the past, I never ate as healthy as I should have. I used to eat just about everything. For example, I consumed pizza, spicy food, fried food, chocolate bars, and vanilla ice cream. However, due to my chronic acid reflux condition, I had to cut back. It was hard changing my diet. I enjoyed eating my favorite foods every week, even though it was unhealthy. Furthermore, challenging myself to change my diet was one of the hardest things I had to do. Paying close attention to my diet was essential. So I changed the way I ate to help lessen my symptoms of acid reflux. In addition, I included fruits, fresh vegetables, low fat yogurt, and oatmeal into my diet. My favorite breakfast is banana and oatmeal. This is because I love having it every morning. I like the fact that it has great benefits, such as, being good for my digestive system. Also, it keeps me from getting hungry throughout the day. In conclusion, this experience helped me realize how to stay healthy and keep my acid reflux in check. I have learned to avoid food that trigger my reflux disease. I consume food containing fibers, meats, vegetables, fruits and vitamins. I enjoyed nourishing my body by giving it the right food it needs.

Today we commemorate the baddest budget-ista boss lady queen in town, Yusselffy! Born on the Day of Pies, this Pie-sces could take 3.14 dollars and make you the meal of a lifetime!

"A Sweet Cherry Pie", by Lady Jay

Pick out the sweetest ones you see

Plump red and oh so sweet

These cherries ain't for choppin'

Once you take out the pits then you're rockin'

For a flaky crust

Frozen butter and ice-cold water are a must

Sugar and spice and everything nice, makes some for a second time and that will be your dust

At 350 hot and bubbly golden brown all around

It doesn't get any better than this

You're on your way to pure cherry pie Bliss.

If the poem speaks to your taste buds, here's a bonus recipe from the famous New York food blog, Smitten Kitchen! 

https://smittenkitchen.com/2008/06/sweet-cherry-pie/


Thank you to Vivian for being our first submission 🙏🙏🙏 It's especially fitting since we want to make sure to include healthy recipes and healthy eating tips here on the blog! We will definitely try this one over at the Culinary Unit!

Ingredients:

A handful of chia seeds

Milk of your choice

Recipe:

In a jar mix chia seeds with milk of your choice (oat, soy, whole, 1% or 2%)

Leave in fridge for a day or leave in freezer for a few hours

BOOM!

You have gooey chia pudding.