Demo and Dine - February

Tonight was this month's Demo and Dine night at the hospital.  I have posted about this before.  Last year my local hospital starting doing this monthly series of cooking demonstrations to show the community and those interested in attending that cooking and healthy can not only be done but can be done easily.

Tonight was the fourth one and the theme for tonight was "Cooking for a Happy Healthy Heart" in honor of Heart Health Month.

First up for the night was Spinach Strawberry Salad.  I have to say this always seemed like a weird combination to me.  Although I have seen a lot of recipes mixing the two before I just didn't think it would taste well.  To me fruit and salad just didn't seem to go together (crazy, I know).  But I must say I was pleasantly surprised.  Spinach was always something I stayed away from because all I remember as a kid was this icky bowl of mushy wilted green stuff that Mom would make for dinner (no offense to Mom, but it looked horrid).  I remember trying it going ewwwwww.  For that reason I knew spinach would be forever on my foods not to eat list.  Twenty plus years later I was out at restaurant and ordered a salad.  When it came out the lettuce looked different that normal.  I looked at the waitress and said "what is this".  When she said spinach I was like ugh.  But I decided to give it a try and thought mmmmm, this is pretty good.  I still pretty much stay away from the cooked form, but I do want to maybe try some recipes that include it, but raw...I LOVE IT! 

The combination of spinach, strawberries, mint, and toasted almonds proved to be a great mix.  The salad was tossed in an herb vinaigrette that I loved.  This is a vinaigrette that I might have to make more often and add to other salads.  I'm always trying to look for salad dressing (vinaigrette) recipes that are so much healthier than the stuff you buy in the stores.  This will definitely become a new salad combination.  This will be a great summer salad.

       Spinach Strawberry Salad (Cooking Light)   Spinach Strawberry Salad

Next up on the menu was Savory Shrimp and White Bean Stew.  I was pretty excited to try this for a few reasons.  First, I love shrimp.  Second, the beans.  Beans are such a great thing to add to your daily diet, but I just haven't tried a lot of them and honestly don't know what to do with them once you get them out of the can.  Pretty easy to make and actually something that doesn't take long to make, this would be a great thing to make on a night when you want something quickly and are craving a nice soup (stew).  To me it seemed more like a soup than stew.  This was great by itself but I noticed on the recipe that it said you could serve it with some brown rice which I think would make it more hearty.  The shrimp was awesome, the broth very tasty, and the trying of the cannellini beans were successful.  Add that to my list of things I like.  The cheese in the picture was not in the recipe.  Brenda thought it make it better to add a "smattering" of it to finish the dish.  It was a great addition.  I could eat it with or without the cheese.  I will definitely be making this at home.

Savory Shrimp and White Bean Stew (The Well-Fed Heart)   Savory Shrimp and White Bean Stew

Next up was the main course for the night.  I was happy to see we were having chicken.  Chicken is pretty much a huge staple in my daily meals.  Sometimes though I tend to get stuck in a rut with chicken and run out of ideas of what to do with it.  So anytime I can get a chance to try chicken in a new way I jump at the chance.  This was probably my most favorite dish of the night.  First there was the combination of the chicken and asparagus (which I just tried for the first time last month - and liked it) which went well together.  But what made this dish were the ingredients that made the sauce.  All things I typically don't use - but that kick of the ginger, oyster sauce, and chile garlic sauce provided a great flavor profile.  I might have to add these to a future shopping list and keep them on hand.  The surprising part was the addition of the pistachios.  It really added a nice crunch to the dish in addition to the asparagus.  Again, something I will definitely play with and try to make at home.  This is yet another thing I love about this demo and dine.  If I were to look at this recipe online I might think "yeah, this looks good, but there is no way I am trying it".  The beauty of this demo and dine is that not only gives you the opportunity to try new things, but let's you see that things aren't are as difficult to make as you might think they are.  Trying it in this setting and knowing how good it is really makes you want to take the recipe home and make it for yourself. 

With the chicken dish, brown rice with sesame was made.  I fortunately like brown rice but at times I admit it can seem boring and blah.  So this was nice to enjoy with a little twist to it.  Even though it was just some lime juice and sesame seeds, it really did bring a nice addition to the rice.  This also makes me think there are other things that I could do to rice to give it a little extra something something. 

  Brown Rice with Sesame        Wok-Seared Chicken Tenders with Asparagus & Pistachios

Last, but certainly not least was dessert.  First of all, you can't go wrong with chocolate and it was a darker chocolate (thus the heart healthy aspect), then you add a splash of rum...YUM!  Now this would not normally be an after dinner dessert for me and was a little high in the calories, but this would be definitely be a nice thing to make and have for a special occasion.  After all, this is a lifestyle chance and it is OK to indulge once in a while.  Besides if you had a day where you got in a really killer workout...then you could maybe enjoy a little bit without feeling guilty.  It was pretty good. 

     Rich Chocolate Pudding Pie (Cooking Light)   Rich Chocolate Pudding Pie   

Once again, a great evening of great food, cooking tips, health and nutritional facts, and even a few jokes from our host Brenda Ridgway.  Brenda does a great job with this demo filling us with great information as our dinner and meal is being prepared and cooked.  Then I think what also makes it that you are also supplied with some great handouts and literature on the monthly topic.  Those that know me know that I love to read and learn new information.  We really got some great handouts tonight and even were given some copies of some other great looking recipes to try.

Of course the night wouldn't be what it is without Chef Pete Lippold.  He is a man of few words (Brenda can get him to talk from time to time) but his cooking really does all of the talking.  The hospital is very lucky to have him.  It's no wonder the few times that I have eaten lunch in the hospital cafeteria I have not been disappointed. 

I really get so much out of each of these evenings.  After now attending the fourth one I feel like I have learned so much, are now willing to try more things than I ever would have been tempted to before, and want to get back into the kitchen again.  Cooking is tough for me because I find it so difficult to do when you are just cooking for one.  It was always so much easier to stop and pick something up instead of getting out all the pots and pans and taking the time to cook.  Knowing that I come home, cook a healthy dinner with at times with sometimes very few ingredients, do it in short period of time (because time is most definitely at a premium these days) is huge.  While theses dishes make a good bit knowing that I can have wonderful tasting leftover and even freeze for a later use makes me feel better about having things in my quest to be prepared and have plans in advance for each week ahead to eat healthy and make good choices.

I have said this before and I will say it again....but I am so thankful to live in an area that has a hospital that offers programs like this for the community.  Such a great resource.  Seriously get out there and check out your local resources....you just never know what might be out there for you.