Here are some photos of the Cheese Making class held recently at St. Mary’s Nutrition Center.
It’s easy to cook and enjoy healthy, delicious meals without spending lots of money. Personal Chef Justin Liudvinaitis will be leading a class aimed at teaching you how to do just that at the St. Mary’s Nutrition Center in Lewiston. Meals for $20 or less will be held on Friday, May 20, from 5:30 to 7:30 in the evening. Liudvinaitis will focus on making multiple meals from a whole chicken. Participants will learn how to stretch their dollars while making everything from chicken cordon bleu to buffalo wings to homemade stock. The class will be hands-on, offering a chance to learn new skills and brush up on old ones.
The cost is $14 per person, with scholarships available upon request. The class will include instruction and a chance to taste each recipe, along with some delicious side dishes. There are a limited number of participant slots, so be sure to register quickly!
The class will be held at St. Mary’s Nutrition Center of Maine, located at 208 Bates St. in Lewiston. To register, please contact the Nutrition Center at 513-3848 or email nutritioncenter@stmarysmaine.com
The mission of the Nutrition Center is to improve the nutritional status of Maine residents through education and demonstration, as well as to provide food to those in need. This mission includes helping individuals and the community to learn and implement healthy eating practices; make lifestyle changes that reduce risk of disease; access affordable, healthy food; promote personal food security through growing one’s own food; and seek appropriate curative, preventive and restorative medical care.
Justin Liudvinaitis currently works as a personal chef and owns ‘Sam’s Own Good Cooking,’ a small business operation aiming to utilize all things local on the menu. Justin’s abilities in cooking have been honed personally over the years, in addition to mentored instruction. Visit www.samsown.wordpress.com for more details.
Help us Pack the Bus for St. Mary’s Food Pantry this Saturday, April 30 from 9 am to 12 noon at the Lewiston Shaw’s location. This event helps us fill the shelves for our community members who are in need of help.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The Lewiston Winter Farmers’ Market meets monthly, the second Thursday of every month from 5:00 pm – 7:30 pm at the St. Mary’s Nutrition Center, 208 Bates Street in Lewiston. The next market will be Thursday, April 12. The final market of the winter season will be May 12, 2011. The Lewiston Winter Farmers’ Market is sponsored by St. Mary’s and the Great Falls Farmers & Artisans Market Association. For more information about the farmers’ markets in Lewiston or to join our market email list please contact greatfallsmarket@gmail.com or (207) 513 3848.
This winter Lots to Gardens has been partnering with Cultivating Community, based in Portland, Maine, to offer a new leadership development program for a diverse group of 21 youth from Lewiston, Auburn, and Portland.
Each week youth get together to learn, share, and build connections. The program is focusing on four themes:
During the first week of the program youth visited the Urban Fermentory, in Portland, Maine to learn about the steps to starting a business, participated in workshops on financial literacy, leadership, and creating campaigns and spent time getting to know each other and sharing a bit about themselves.
Last week youth learned yoga, the importance of eating whole grains and vegetables and fruits that are a variety of colors, simple cooking techniques and recipes, how to make herbal salves, and participated in a poetry-writing workshop.
The program has been a fun addition to our regular youth programs, creating new opportunities for youth to build community around food and culture while also learning new skills that can help them in the future.
By creating a safe space and encouraging participants to share their stories and opinions we have been able to talk about heavy issues that are usually too taboo to talk about. This exploration has helped everyone in the group, adults included, have a better understanding of differences that we experience because of class background, race, gender, and sexuality.
Below is a poem written by one of the youth, Ayan Iman, during the poetry-writing workshop last Saturday. Youth were asked to write about an issue that they wish they could change and share a personal story related to that issue.
My family and I were driving one day,
and we hear this loud beeping behind us,
telling us to go back to our country!
Why did they say that?
Maybe because we are dressed differently
than people that are living in America?
Or maybe because they are just plain ignorant.
I’m not as offended when they say it,
But why they said it the first place.
Change or not change.
The more people say negative things toward me
The more I learn from it.
I, Ayan Iman, am happy where I came from
And who I am as a person.
With spring just around the corner there will also be seedlings and flowers for sale as well as fresh spring greens and mixed salad. We’ll have new vendors joining us for this market like Hummingbird Farm selling clematis, geraniums and a wide variety of herbs. www.hummingbirdfarm.net We’ll be offering delicious hot food through our Winter Market Café with a maple twist, and members from Three Point Trio will be providing live music.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
3/28/2011
If you missed out on Maple Sunday or just can’t get enough of that sweet Maine goodness, then stop by the next Lewiston Winter Farmers’ Market, Thursday, April 12 from 5:00pm to 7:30 pm at the Nutrition Center on 208 Bates Street in Lewiston! There will be a variety of Maine maple products to purchase and sweet treats to enjoy! Maple scented soap and body lotion, maple whoopie pies, maple wheat bread and of course, maple syrup!
The Winter of 2011 may be the best winter you’ve had in a long time or the worst winter you’ve had in a while. This, of course, all depends on who you are and how much you love the cold, the snow and spending lots of time out in it! While these last few years in Maine have helped me learn to enjoy Winter and all that comes along with it (I’m about to buy my first pair of snowshoes!) the real reason I’ve learned to love this cold dark season has less to do with what I can do outside and more to do with what I can put inside- that is I mean, all the good food I can eat!
Over the years I have found Winter to be a great time to treat myself to the foods I love. It helps of course, that I love hot food! And working with the Nutrition Center has exposed me to many delicious and hearty recipes that help take the chill away while keeping my body healthy enough to fight off the colds that seem to linger behind every snow bank. Whether it is a group of us is sitting together sharing a pot of Farmhouse Beef Stew at our Adult Cooking Class or a handful of staff and volunteers serving up 100’s of bowls of French Onion Soup at our Winter Farmer’s Market, we love to share recipes that not only taste great but are good for the body and the soul. So read on if you’d like to serve yourself up something warm this season. And when you’re done cooking, make sure to pass the recipe on and invite a friend to join you.
Vegetable-Barley Soup
12 Servings - 40 min 10 min prep
Ingredients
1 ½ tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onions, chopped small
1 large carrots, diced
1 large celery ribs, chopped small
1/2 package mushrooms
½ teaspoon granulated garlic powder
8 cups water
2 cups vegetable broth (low-sodium)
14 fluid ounces canned tomatoes, mash and include liquid
8 fluid ounces canned red kidney beans, including liquid
¼ cups pearl barley
1 large potatoes, cubed ½ inch
½ tablespoon dried basil
1 teaspoons curry powder
¼ teaspoon black pepper
1 cups chopped kale or spinach
½ tablespoon soy sauce
1 ½ teaspoons dried dill weed
¼ cup Parmesan cheese
Directions
In a heavy bottom cooking pot, add olive oil, chopped onions, sliced carrots, chopped celery, mushrooms, garlic powder and cook for 5 minutes or until vegetables begin to soften, stirring frequently. Add water, vegetable broth, mashed tomatoes including liquid, kidney beans, barley, cubed potatoes, basil, vegetable soup base, curry and pepper; bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes or until barley is barely tender. Add soy sauce and dill weed; cover and simmer another 10 minutes or until vegetables are tender; stirring a few times during cooking. Adjust seasonings to taste. Remove from heat when done and let sit for about 10 minutes before serving. When serving, stir in 1 teaspoon of grated parmesan cheese into each bowl. Refrigerate any unused portion of soup or freeze for future use!
Healthful Hint: Add any veggies you like! (i.e. green beans, corn, spinach, broccoli, cauliflower). Using frozen vegetables will save you money and time!
Culinary Hint: For a full bodied soup, finish off with a couple of Tablespoons of sherry or cooking wine and a teaspoon or two of Worchester sauce.
Curried Pumpkin Apple Soup
6-8 servings - 50 min 10 min prep
Ingredients
4 tablespoons butter, broth, or water
1 cup onion, chopped
3-4 apples, chopped
5 cloves garlic, crushed
1 teaspoons curry powder
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground coriander
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
½ teaspoon cumin
2 cups broth
1 ½ cups apple cider (or apple juice)
2 cups pureed pumpkin (or canned pumpkin)
1 cup light cream or milk
¼ teaspoon maple syrup
Directions
In large saucepot, melt butter (or broth).
Add onions, apples, and garlic.
Sauté until soft, about 5 minutes.
Add spices, cook for 1 minute.
Add broth and cider. Boil gently, uncovered, for 15-20 minutes.
Stir in pumpkin. Cook for 5 minutes.
In batches, puree in a blender or food processor.
Return to saucepan, add cream and syrup.
Mix well and heat until warm.
Helpful hint: When using fresh pumpkin, bake in casserole dish with enough water to cover the bottom. Cut pumpkin in half (remove seeds) and cook until soft. Let cool, remove inside of pumpkin and cook down (to remove excess water) by heating medium saucepan and stirring constantly until water has been removed.
Dara Reimer (left) owner of the Bread Shack in Auburn and a participant in last year's Artisan Bread class at the St. Mary's Nutrition Center remove a freshly baked sourdough bread from the oven. All participants from this class went home with their very own loaf and a portion of sourdough starter. Dara and the Nutrition Center are offering this course again on March 15 from 6-9pm followed by an additional course on March 31 on French Breakfast Pastries.
If you have a passion for crusty sourdough bread or sweet and savory breakfast pastries, you may want to leave room in your calendars this March. Dara Reimers, owner of The Bread Shack in Auburn, Maine, and Olympic baker fresh off a win at the international SIGEP Bread Cup in Rimini, Italy, will be returning to St. Mary’s Nutrition Center to kick off its 2011 Cliff Notes to Culinary School series. In this series, local culinary experts lead hands-on cooking classes for seasoned and passionate cooks alike. This winter’s program will be a two-part series on Artisan Breads and French Breakfast Pastries.
To take it one step further, Dara is offering a new course to round out the series, called French Breakfast Pastries. If you have ever tried making your own croissants by hand or wish to have fresh broiche with homemade raspberry jam on a Sunday morning, this is the class for you. Now is your chance to learn industry secrets in the art of these two classic French breakfast pastries. Join Dara in learning to hand roll croissants, and mixing and fermenting brioche to develop its full flavor and texture.
You may register for either of the classes separately, or if you want the full experience, sign up for the two-part series! Here are the schedule and rates for our Winter Cliff Notes to Culinary School series:
Artisan Bread: Ancient Techniques Remembered:
Tuesday, March 15, 6:00-9:00 pm, $30/person
French Breakfast Pastries:
Thursday, March 31, 6:00-9:00 pm, $30/person
Cliff Notes to Culinary School series (includes both classes):
$55/person
All classes are held at the St. Mary’s Nutrition Center of Maine located at 208 Bates Street in Lewiston. To register, please contact the Nutrition Center at 513-3848 or email. The Nutrition Center of Maine is one of the newest health services offered by St. Mary’s Health System. Located in downtown Lewiston, the Center provides nutrition-related services for all residents in the community and is a resource for others in the state doing similar work.
This winter Lots to Gardens has been partnering with Cultivating Community, based in Portland, Maine, to offer a new leadership development program for a diverse group of 21 youth from Lewiston, Auburn, and Portland.
Each week youth get together to learn, share, and build connections. The program is focusing on four themes:
During the first week of the program youth visited the Urban Fermentory, in Portland, Maine to learn about the steps to starting a business, participated in workshops on financial literacy, leadership, and creating campaigns and spent time getting to know each other and sharing a bit about themselves.
Last week youth learned yoga, the importance of eating whole grains and vegetables and fruits that are a variety of colors, simple cooking techniques and recipes, how to make herbal salves, and participated in a poetry-writing workshop.
The program has been a fun addition to our regular youth programs, creating new opportunities for youth to build community around food and culture while also learning new skills that can help them in the future.
By creating a safe space and encouraging participants to share their stories and opinions we have been able to talk about heavy issues that are usually too taboo to talk about. This exploration has helped everyone in the group, adults included, have a better understanding of differences that we experience because of class background, race, gender, and sexuality.
Below is a poem written by one of the youth, Ayan Iman, during the poetry-writing workshop last Saturday. Youth were asked to write about an issue that they wish they could change and share a personal story related to that issue.
My family and I were driving one day,
and we hear this loud beeping behind us,
telling us to go back to our country!
Why did they say that?
Maybe because we are dressed differently
than people that are living in America?
Or maybe because they are just plain ignorant.
I’m not as offended when they say it,
But why they said it the first place.
Change or not change.
The more people say negative things toward me
The more I learn from it.
I, Ayan Iman, am happy where I came from
And who I am as a person.
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©2012 St. Mary's Regional Medical Center
93 Campus Avenue, Lewiston, Maine 04240
Phone: 207-777-8100
