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JQ cooking class

February 23, 2013 –

Bill Uebbing (Quota spouse), Joe Bishop (Quota spouse), Cathy Kaiser, Cindy Cafmeyer (teacher), Emily Uebbing, Faith DeYoung (teacher), Martha Herman, Maureen Martin, and Pat Cook all gathered at Kath Slagal’s house to teach some of our Junior Quota members in a cooking class. Our group of students were: Alyson, Amy, Anna, Christopher, CJ, Elizabeth, Grace, Martel and Summer. We had a lot of fun and made some delicious food. Here are a few pictures (thanks to Pat!) and the recipes.

Group 1 made salsa and homemade hot cocoa. l-r: Bill, Chris, Elizabeth, Grace, Summer, Martel

Group 2 made carrot stew and fruit salsa (thanks to Cathy for the stew recipe and Robin for the fruit salsa recipe). Anna is chopping the carrots for the stew.

Group 2, l-r: Amy, Alyson, CJ, Anna

Group 1, hard at work stirring the cocoa and peeling the garlic. Don’t worry, the two weren’t in the same recipe!

Alyson gives a thumbs-up to the cinnamon chips.

Our JQ pose for a group shot.

Thank you! The JQ’s send their thanks to all Quotarians who made a donation. The food was great and they all learned something new to make!

Here are the recipes:

Carrot Stew

Ingredients

  • 1 lb bag of lentils
  • 1 lb bag of carrots, chopped or diced
  • 1 qt beef broth
  • 1 tsp beef soup base
  • 1 med. onion, diced
  • 3-4 cloves garlic, mashed
  • butter to sauté onions and garlic
  • 1/2 tsp cumin
  • 2 tsp liquid smoke (we omitted)
  • salt and pepper to taste

Directions

  • Sort and rinse lentils
  • Sauté onion in butter. When onions are clear, add garlic and sauté for a couple minutes more.
  • Combine, all ingredients in a stockpot bring to a boil then lower heat to simmer, and simmer until carrots are tender (about 30 minutes).

Serves 8

Fruit Salsa with Cinnamon Chips

Ingredients

  • 2 kiwis, peeled and diced
  • 2 Golden Delicious apples – peeled, cored and diced
  • 8 oz. raspberries
  • 1 (16 oz) carton of strawberries, diced
  • 2 tablespoons white sugar (more or less to taste)
  • 1 tablespoon brown sugar (more or less to taste)
  • tablespoons fruit preserves, any flavor (I used strawberry)
  • 10 (10 inch) flour tortillas
  • melted butter or butter flavored cooking spray   

Cinnamon sugar:

  • 1 cup white sugar
  • 2 tablespoons cinnamon

Directions

  1. In a large bowl, thoroughly mix kiwis, apples, raspberries, strawberries, white sugar, brown sugar and fruit preserves. Cover and chill in the refrigerator at least 15 minutes.
  2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  3. Coat one side of each flour tortilla with melted butter or butter flavored cooking spray. Sprinkle tortillas with desired amount of cinnamon sugar. Cut into wedges and arrange in a single layer on a large baking sheet. Spray again with cooking spray (not necessary if using melted butter).

4. Bake in the preheated oven 8 to 10 minutes. Repeat with any remaining tortilla wedges. Allow to cool approximately 15 minutes. Serve with chilled fruit mixture. This salsa can also be served with cinnamon graham crackers or cinnamon pita chips. Best when made and eaten the same day otherwise the fruit gives off so too much juice and it gets runny.

Hot Chocolate

Ingredients

  • 3 1/2 cups sugar
  • 2 1/4 cups cocoa
  • 1 tablespoon table salt
  • Whole milk for serving

Directions

In a large bowl, combine sugar, cocoa, and salt, and whisk to combine well. Store the mixture in an airtight container.

For individual servings, pour 1-cup whole milk into a microwave-safe mug, and microwave on high just until hot. Add 2 tablespoons of cocoa mix, and stir to dissolve. For a larger batch of cocoa, warm the milk in a saucepan set over medium-low heat, taking care not to let the milk boil; as it warms, stir in 2 tablespoons of mix for each cup of milk.

Restaurant Style Salsa

Prep Time: 10 Minutes Cook Time: n/a Difficulty: Easy Servings: 12

Ingredients

  • 1 can (28 Ounce) Whole Tomatoes With Juice
  • 2 cans (10 Ounce) Rotel (diced Tomatoes And Green Chilies)
  • 1/4 cup Chopped Onion
  • 1 clove Garlic, Minced
  • 1 whole Jalapeno, Quartered And Sliced Thin
  • 1/4 teaspoon Sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon Salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon Ground Cumin
  • 1/2 cup Cilantro (more To Taste!)
  • 1/2 whole Lime Juice

Directions

Note: this is a very large batch. Recommend using a 12-cup food processor, or you can process the ingredients in batches and then mix everything together in a large mixing bowl.

Combine whole tomatoes, Rotel, onion, jalapeno, garlic, sugar, salt, cumin, lime juice, and cilantro in a blender or food processor. Pulse until you get the salsa to the consistency you’d like—I do about 10 to 15 pulses. Test seasonings with a tortilla chip and adjust as needed.

Refrigerate salsa for at least an hour. Serve with tortilla chips or cheese nachos.

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Here’s what you missed…

Couldn’t make it to the meeting Feb. 21st?

Can’t remember the list of items to donate at our March meeting?

Here’s all the information you need! (How handy is this?)

Stephanie Sheler, from Sisters in Support through D.A. Blodgett – St. John’s, was our Guest Presenter. Click here for more information on the wonderful organization. Stephanie shared how the Sisters in Support works. Women in need of support (mostly emotional) and who are pregnant or already have children are referred to the program. They are paired with volunteers who mentor, support and encourage the moms. The pair focus on relational growth, parenting, life skills, employment, etc. Activities may include going to the zoo or a park, going to the library, filling out job applications and even working on a resume. Stephanie told us that they are always looking for more volunteers. If you are interested in being a supportive “sister”, please use this link to volunteer.

Next month, for Quota Cares Month, the Grand Rapids club will be gathering supplies to donate to Sisters in Support. Below you will see a list of items needed/suggested. Please consider what you can bring to donate.

We also welcomed our newest member, Sandi! She is a friend of Pat’s. More information about Sandi will be coming soon. Then, we celebrated with Diane, who has been at EHTC for thirty-six years! Then, we celebrated Pat being nominated as Volunteer of the Year for Quota International! Check out her nomination and picture here. We filled out our Quillionaire forms, so please contact Pam H. or Kathy F. to find out how you can get involved.

Here are a few suggestions for donations:

  • shampoo
  • lotion
  • body wash
  • bar soap
  • face wash
  • hand soap
  • hand sanitizer
  • deodorant
  • feminine hygiene products
  • nail polish
  • Q-tips
  • lip balm
  • shaving cream
  • razors
  • toilet paper
  • laundry detergent
  • dryer sheets
  • Windex
  • dish soap
  • general household cleaner
  • sponges
  • toilet bowl cleaner
  • trash bags
  • food storage containers/bags
  • paper towel
  • Swiffer duster

Gift cards to: Meijer, Target, gas cards

Please choose what you can from the list and bring your donation to the March meeting. If you can’t make it to the meeting, please let another member know and make arrangements to drop off your donation.

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President’s Message February 2013

It’s February…in my opinion, the longest month of the year (I don’t care what the calendar says).

I find myself losing focus and, despite my good intentions, just not sticking to the activities I know are productive and that will help me accomplish what I need to get done.  I can blame it on the weather, the lack of sunshine, the let down from the end-of-year busyness, or whatever, but if I don’t kick myself in the butt and do something about it, it’ll go on until April or longer!

I found an article on the internet about pulling yourself out of a slump and I thought I’d share some of the tips with you.  I’m hoping that by helping others, I can help myself.

Sometimes life is traveling along quite nicely, then – BANG – for some reason you fall into a slump. You know the signs: low energy, lack of motivation, a don’t-care attitude.   Of course one option is to roll with it and hope it wears off. A better option, however, is to implement some strategies that will boost your mood and hopefully get you back on track.  

Ditch the Routine–A daily routine is normally good, but every so often it might need to go out the window for the sake of sanity. Sometimes a little shake-up can be psychologically beneficial.

Exercise–Exercise is a fantastic way to get out of a slump. It is well known that exercise stimulates various brain chemicals, leaving you happier and more relaxed. And by making you look and feel better, exercise will also help increase your confidence and improve your self-esteem.

Do a Good Deed–It’s a win-win!

Clear Your Mind of Clutter–Mental clutter is a major cause of falling into a rut. Over time all those things that keep getting pushed back, can build up and cause you stress. You don’t need to necessary do all those tasks to clear your mind. The key is to get them out of your head by writing them down, and then you can take on just one task from the list.

Completely Change Direction–Sometimes a slump can be brought on by stress related to one particular project. These can hijack your thoughts, making it seemingly impossible to think about anything else. When this happens, it might be time to put the project aside for a while, maybe even a few days, and do something completely different. Returning with a new, fresh mindset will allow you to get done what seemed daunting before.

Here’s to the longest month of the year!  Stay sane!

-Kim

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JQ Cooking Class

GET COOKING WITH JUNIOR QUOTA!

 

Quota invites our Junior Quota to learn about fruits and vegetables. We will learn different cutting skills and we will learn how to make salsa, tacos and other yummy dishes.

If you are interested in attending, please contact Kath Slagal or Emily Uebbing for more information (both can be reached by emailing quotagr@gmail.com).

 

What is Junior Quota?

A group of young people having fun and doing service projects with a Quota club

What is the goal of a Junior Quota Club?

Your goal will be to have fun, learn new things and to work together to help other people in the community.

What is the requirement of Junior Quota members?

Attend one Quota club meeting a year – that will be the picnic

Attend and help at three or more of the six activities each year

Will this cost money?

No. The only thing you need to do is to attend the activities.

When will we meet?

Junior Quota will meet six times a year. We will meet for:

1) Cooking Class — at any time during the year, usually on a Saturday

2) Camp — at any time during the year, usually on a Saturday

3) Santa Parade — the Saturday before Thanksgiving (unconfirmed)

4) Picnic with Quota — sometime in May or June

5) Barnes & Noble Fundraiser – (date to be determined)

6) Quota Cares Walk — September

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