What's Cooking

Strawberry salsa
Ingredients:
1/2 medium red onion, thinly sliced
1 jalapeno pepper, minced
1/2 red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded and julienned
1/2 yellow bell pepper, stemmed, seeded and julienned
1/2 green bell pepper, stemmed, seeded and julienned
1/4 cup finely shredded fresh cilantro leaves
1/2 pint (1 cup) fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
2 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Many people who live in Borderland have probably cooked burgers and brats over an open fire.
Cooking over an open fire is a great way to experience another aspect of the great outdoors.
As the sun goes down, the stars come out, and the flames turn to coals. Now, it’s time to cook.
The smells and the sounds of cooking, added to the natural sounds of the outdoors, adds to the sensual experience.
And the experience can be in a backyard or miles away from civilization at a remote place on a lake.

There are probably a million and one different drink combinations out there for you to serve at your next party or barbeque. However, many of these beverages contain very little nutritional value. Now is a great time to introduce your friends and family to the wonderful world of soy with delicious, refreshing soy smoothies.

Did you know the word picnic comes from the French word pique-nique?
And did you also know that the first picnics in France took place after the French Revolution, when royal parks turned into public parks?
Well, today, Americans enjoy picnics with family and friends, during holidays, birthday celebrations or just when they want to enjoy the outdoors. RecipeMatcher encourages readers to take a traditional dish to the next picnic, but switch it up a little by trying one of the following recipes.
Also, check out the following tips to make your picnic more enjoyable:

Sometimes restaurant salads are such a hit and so good tasting, it pays to know how they’re put together to make larger, family quantities at home. And often, what is in a salad is easy to determine for recreating them later. But the following salads with unique tastes, are a bit more mysterious. They appeal to many and are really delicious. While the ingredient lists are long, making them really isn’t that time consuming. And the benefits of raw vegetables and lean protein are worth it.

The following are some of the favorite recipes of Joan Pearson’s first grade students as seen from their view. The “cookbook” is a compilation of 22 recipes, one from each child, in honor of Mother’s Day. Pearson transcribed the recipes, exactly as told to her by each 6- or 7-year-old child.

Just a note: All recipes should undergo a test taste, before serving.

Roast Chicken
By Maggie
2-1/2 cups of a juicy kind of oil
4 pieces of fish
4 cups of lemon juice

Chicken’s feet in Guangzhou, China. Lamb kidneys in La Paz, Bolivia. Wild rice in Minnesota?
Andrew Zimmern travels the world searching for food that is common cuisine to some, but is considered exotic to travelers to the area, which he highlights on his show “Bizarre Foods” on the travel channel.

Eating fish could help in the fight against heart disease.
The Mayo Clinic recommends one to two servings of fish a week. The American Heart Association also recommends eating at least two 3-ounce servings a week of fish that are rich in omega-3 fatty acids.
Fish are low in calories, saturated fat and cholesterol, which make it a good substitute for poultry and meat, according to the Mayo Clinic.

“Fika”: It’s much more than a Swedish word. It’s a tradition central to Swedish life.
And for my Swedish-American family, the tradition of coffee breaks that are really more about the chatting than about the coffee, continues.
It begins with one sentence: “Let’s have fika.” A pot of coffee is made, snacks are prepared and the women in the family gather for a several-hours-long catch-up on family news.

By the Kootasca Circles of Support Program

Good food and good friends, both old and new, was the theme for the most recent Circles of Support meeting when people gathered together for a crock pot cooking class — a first time event for Circles.
Under the direction of Jodi Nordlund from the University of Minnesota Extension’s Nutrition Education Program, four seniors recruited by Diane Windsnes, Kootasca Senior Programs Coordinator joined members of Kootasca’s Circles of Support program to cook up an array of crock pot dinners.