Teens and Gingerbread at Burnaby Central Secondary

Chef Borys' Catering, Cafeteria and Baking 11 classes.

Sushi for Kids with Sophia

Recipe Title: Sushi Rolls for Kids with Sophia (to sere Sophia make this easy Sushi please go to my YouTube video by clicking on this link)

By: Miriam Borys

Servings: 5 sushi rolls (40 pieces of sushi)

Ingredients: 

Sushi Rice (cook first and allow to cool)

2 cup sticky rice (sushi rice)

3 1/8 cups water

1/4 cup rice vinegar

1 tsp. white sugar

Rinse the uncooked rice in cold water until the water runs almost clear. Place the rice and water in a heavy pot. Bring to the boil. Turn down and allow to simmer on low until the rice is cooked. Once cooked scoop rice into a large bowl to cool. 

Heat up rice vinegar and white sugar in microwave until sugar is dissolved.  

Pour vinegar onto cooling rice to mix in.

5 Nori sheets 

1 cup roasted sesame seeds

1 avocado - ripe

smoked tuna (optional but delicious)

SUSHI SAFETY!!  MAKE SURE THE FISH YOU ARE USING IS ‘SUSHI SAFE’. ASK YOUR SUPPLIER FOR SUSHI GRADE FISH IF USING RAW FISH

1/2 cup wasabi mayonnaise (1/2 cup mayo plus 1 tsp. wasabi paste)

2 bamboo mats covered with plastic (see pic below with Sophia preparing her mats)

Rice onto nori sheet:

Divide the cooled rice into 5 parts first.  Keep covered in plastic until needed.

You will also need a bowl of cold water and a clean cloth for wiping your hands.

On a prepared bamboo mat place one nori sheet, shiny side down.

Dampen your hands (so the rice doesn’t stick) and place one ball of rice in the middle of the nori sheet (rough side up). Spread the rice over the nori sheet evenly and cover the entire surface EXCEPT  for the  1/2 inch border at the top of the sheet. 

When you are rolling the rice-free edge will help to seal the roll.

Filling the roll:

Place desired amount of wasabi mayo on centre of the roll (approx. 1 tsp.)

Next place a line of avocado, then fish, onto the rice lined nori sheet.

This part is about individual choices. You can also use shrimp, cucumber, tuna, par cooked carrots or any other vegetable you choose.

Rolling up the sushi roll:

With the rice-covered bottom edge closest to you, roll up like a jelly roll. With your finger moisten the rice free edge at the top with water. This will help to seal the roll.

Continue to roll, keeping the pressure even so that the roll is firm. Careful not to press too much or the filling will squeeze out of the ends.

Cutting the rolls.

Place all the rolls on a plate and cool first while you clean up.

With a sharp knife with the blade wet cut each roll into 8 equal slices.

Serve with soya sauce, wasabi and pickled ginger if desired.

Enjoy!

  

Chef Miriam Borys, B.Ed., MA.
'Cooking Uncovered'
http://www.youtube.com/user/mlborys?feature=mhee
blog: www.cookinguncovered.blogspot.com
Website: www.miriamborys.com

It's Shortbread time again! Traditional Shortbread, easy, quick and delicious!

Recipe Title:  Shortbread Cookies - the best ever traditional shortbread (click here to go directly to my YouTube video of this recipe) 

By: Chef Miriam Borys

Ingredients:

½ cup large oats (not the instant or quick oatmeal)

1 ½ cups all purpose flour
¼ tsp. Salt
¼ cup cornstarch
⅔ cup icing sugar (confectioners sugar)
1 cup cold butter (½ lb.)
1 tsp. vanilla extract

½ cup flour for rolling out the dough (discard after use, do not add back into original flour source as it may be contaminated)

Procedure:

Measure oats into a food processor and process until oats are a fine powder. Set aside.

Sift all the dry ingredients into a large bowl. This step isn’t totally necessary but sifting does remove tiny lumps and makes the dry ingredients finer. Add processed oats to the flour mixture.

Cut up cold butter into small chunks and place into a bowl. Soften the butter slightly by hand with a wooden spoon or with a mixer until the butter is creamy and smooth. Add vanilla.

Slowly add all the dry ingredients and mix until the ingredients form into a soft ball of dough.

Remove from the mixing bowl and wrap in parchment and let chill for ½ an hour before rolling. 

Cut the dough into 4 pieces for easier handling.

Lightly dust the counter or cutting board with a sprinkling of flour. Do not over flour as this will dry out your dough.

Roll out the dough with a rolling pin (or a clean bottle) until the dough is all the same thickness of approximately ¼ of an inch.

Cut into desired shapes with a cookie cutter or cut with a sharp knife into desired shapes. You can also use the top of a drinking glass for a round cookie shape.

Place cookies (not touching each other) on a parchment-lined baking tray.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees first and then bake until still white but slightly browned on the edges for approximately 6 minutes. Careful not to over bake. The baking time depends on the accuracy of your oven. I now realize that some ovens, especially the older ones do not register accurately, so watch your cookies so they don’t get brown.

Miriam Little Borys, B.Ed., MA.
'Cooking Uncovered'
http://www.youtube.com/user/mlborys?feature=mhee
blog: www.cookinguncovered.blogspot.com
Website: www.miriamborys.com

Teens & Gingerbread

Some amazing Gingerbread Projects in my Baking 11 class at Burnaby Central.

best gingerbread recipe ever!!!  check out the recipe on this blog. Click here to check out the best recipe ever for gingerbread.

Sugar Cookie Dough for Shark Cookies in support of Sophia’s school project ‘Fin Free’

 Sugar Cookie Dough for Shark Cookies in support of Sophia’s school project ‘Fin Free’ (click here to go to my YouTube Video of this recipe made with Sophia)

(for more information about this amazing effort please go to the Fin Free website http://fin-free.com/)

Andrew Weaver MLA, talks about Sophia’s school and the ‘Fin Free Project’. Please see the link below for more information:

http://www.andrewweavermla.ca/category/education/k12_education/

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups icing sugar

1 cup butter or margarine, softened

1 teaspoon maple syrup  

1 egg

2 1/2cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cream of tartar

In a mixer or by hand mix soft butter with icing sugar and maple syrup until creamy and smooth.

Add remaining ingredients and continue to mix until the dough comes together and cleans the bowl.

Remove from the mixer and wrap in parchment paper  and store in fridge to become cool. 

After an hour in the fridge, remove from the parchment paper and divide the dough into quarters.

Roll out each quarter to desired thickness. We found that if the dough was too thick the cookies would break.

Bake at 350 degrees F (175 C) for 8-9 minutes. The cookies should be white when fully baked with a slightly golden edge.

Allow to cool before icing.

 Icing for the Shark Fins:

1 cup powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla or other flavoring extract

2 to 2 1/2 tablespoons milk or water

Blue Food coloring, optional

Iced cookies need at least 24 hours to dry. Cover the counter with parchment paper.Allow fresh-baked cookies to cool completely. Prepare the border icing: Mix together the powdered sugar, vanilla, food coloring, and 2 tablespoons of milk or water for the border icing using a spoon or a fork. It should be thick and not runny but runny enough to go through the tip in a piping bag.

Ice cookies as desired.

Chef Miriam Borys, B.Ed., MA.
'Cooking Uncovered'
http://www.youtube.com/user/mlborys?feature=mhee
blog: www.cookinguncovered.blogspot.com
Website: www.miriamborys.com

Falcon Ridge Farms - the best organic Jams & Jellies ...and did I mention Herbal Throat Spray?

Falcon Ridge Farms is owned and operated by Grant & Marlys Wolfe

We visited their farm in the summer and I came away with some jams, condiments, herbal teas and the amazing Herbal Throat Spray which I am using at the moment. One of my colleagues came to work very sick and to ward off getting his flu bug I have been using the spray daily. Thanks to Marlys for this great product.

click on the link below to go to Grant and Marlys' website for Falcon Ridge Farms.
http://falconridgefarms.ca

Herbal Throat Spray

A very effective throat spray for sore throats. Contains herbs that have anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial properties: Echinacea, Oil of Oregano, Astragalus and St. John’s Wort.

Ingredients: Purified Water, Echinacea Angustifolia Seeds and Flowers Extract, Echinacea Angustifolia Root Extract, Astragalus Extract, Rosehip Extract, Peppermint Extract, Nettle & St. John’s Wort Extract, Peppermint Essential Oil, Honey with Onion, Oil of Oregano, Dispersant. 

Jams & Jellies

Our delicious full-bodied jams and jellies are made from organic fruit grown on the farm, including apricots, blackberries, blueberries, cherries, wild chokecherries, grapes, raspberries, strawberries, and rhubarb. For something different, try our Gingered Zucchini Marmalade, Carrot Cake Jam (it really tastes like carrot cake), or Blueberry Basil Jam. Breakfast will never be the same again!