CWJ Food Bank Challenge: Day 2

If you you're just joining the conversation, you can read all about the challenge HERE. 

CWJ Food Bank Challenge: Day 1

A few notes about today's menu - 

CWJ Food Bank Challenge: Groceries

As promised, here is a grocery list along with prices and receipts from everything I purchased today.  If you're just joining the conversation, you can catch up HERE.

CWJ Food Bank Challenge: Overview

I was chatting with the President of my local food bank a couple of months back and he mentioned that the average person who is accessing the food bank has only around $4 to spend on groceries per day.  That got me to thinking - could my family survive off a mere $4/person/day? 

Sushi Bowl

I was craving sushi the other night but didn’t feel like ordering takeout.  The night before we had a shrimp ring and I still had a dozen or so to use up.  While I felt like cooking at home that night, I wasn’t up for the task of rolling out sushi.  When I was little, my mom used to make deconstructed cabbage rolls, which was essential a cabbage roll casserole. I decided to try going that route with what I had in the house, and as a result I made something that is definitely going to be appearing in our house again in the future.  In fact, I’m craving it again right now just typing this recipe out!

Recipe makes 4 servings

Ingredients

- 2 cups cooked white rice (sticky is best for this recipe but any white rice will do)

- 12 cooked shrimp (I used part of a shrimp ring)

-  2 tbsp mayonnaise

- 1 pkg roasted seaweed snacks (or seaweed paper)

- 1 carrot, julienned (or chopped)

- ½ English cucumber, julienned (or chopped)

- 1 green onion

- 1 tbsp sesame seeds

- 1 tsp sesame oil (optional)

- sushi ginger & wasabi (optional)

Chipotle Sauce:

- 1 chipotle pepper (fresh or ground)

- ¼ cup mayonnaise

Dipping Sauce:

- ¼ cup soya sauce

- 2 tbsp rice wine vinegar

- 1 tsp sugar

Sidebar: to julienne carrots or cucumber, first start by creating a rectangular piece by slicing off the round edges.  Chop each piece lengthwise, then flip and chop once lengthwise once again.  To see a full photo tutorial of this process, visit www.CookingWithJax.com this Sunday!

Directions

You can create this dish either in a casserole dish and serve it family style, or you can make each bowl individually (which might be nice if you leave out toppings taco style, so each person can customize their own serving).

Place cooked rice in either bowls or casserole dish to create a base layer.

Crunch up a package of seaweed snacks (or 2 sheets of seaweed) and sprinkle on top of the rice.

Next, chop up shrimp into small pieces, and combine with 2 tbsp mayonnaise. Add this as the next layer.

Top with julienned carrot and English cucumber, then sprinkle with chopped green onions, sesame seeds, ginger, and wasabi.

Combine ingredients for chipotle sauce, and place in a small sandwich bag.  Cut off the tip, and finish off each bowl/casserole dish with a drizzle before serving.

Combine ingredients for dipping sauce and serve on the side.

Enjoy!

Homemade Canned Fruit in Light Syrup

I made a recent trip to BC to visit my Grandparents.  They live on Vancouver Island, so there is a huge abundance of fruit in their neighbourhood.  My Grampa is constantly finding me fresh, backyard grown fruits and vegetables whenever I visit him, and this trip was no exception.  I left with freshly picked blackberries, blueberries, apples, pears, peaches, cherries, 2 different kinds of plums,  not to mention pumpkins, spaghetti squash, acorn squash, and even banana quash!  Needless to say as soon as I got home, I had to process fruit, and I had to process it fast!  My favourite method this year was my Gramma's method for canning stone fruit.  We tried canning berries together this way and it worked out beautifully! 

Cheddar Biscuits/Scones

One of the very first recipes I ever remember making were my Gramma’s baking powder biscuits.  Back in the 90’s my Grandfather gathered up all of Gramma’s recipes, typed them all out, created an index, and placed them into giant binders to ship out to all of their children and grandchildren. Throughout the last 20 years each binder has grown and become unique to it’s owner.  When I visit my Aunt’s house, she has little notes she’s made in the margins and added pages of recipes that have been passed onto her from friends, cut out of her favourite magazines, and newer recipes that have been personally passed on from Gramma.  My little cousin’s earmarked all of the jam recipes in her book and started up her very own jam business on Vancouver Island.   Though I adore all of the recipes I’ve tried from the family recipe binder, this recipe is hands down the most adored page in my book.