What we cooked at our warm space events with OX10 Community Centre
Post by Rosalia Barresi on behalf of Replenish
I was given the privilege to cook at this weekly event for two months and use my cooking skills to help bring together a group of people in the community of Wallingford. We had the organisers of OX10 Community Centre; Amanda, Georgina, Catherine and Landy, as well the volunteers Linda, Ina and Sarah to help.
Every Monday I visited the Oxford Food Hub, who redistribute surplus food in order to prevent waste, to see what I could pick up. At times the food selection was great, but I was mindful of picking up foods that I knew we wouldn’t use. So kept it simple.
We made some great dishes and everyone devoured them. Soups to snacks, pancakes to pizza we fed many people and children too. Not to mention Linda the volunteer with her games and books for the children to get involved with and cards for Mother’s Day.
Keeping it simple
One week we made some flatbread with natural yoghurt. The children got stuck in to produce their own bread; it was messy and fun. This was served with hummus and spicy bean dip that we made with tins of beans and chick peas, lemons and garlic. With the help of some tahini that we bought.
One of my favourite dishes was the roast cabbage with beans and tomatoes served with a tahini and mustard dressing. This was truly random but went down so well with many attendees. Served with flatbread again, this was delicious and tasty.
A banana bread cake for high tea was also a hit.
Perfecting pizzas and pancakes
One week we made pizza using fab kits by Kitty Tate at the Orange Bakery in Watlington. Kids came along and made pizza dough. I got some tins of tomatoes, so we made a tomato sauce and added some cheese to the pizza. All went down well but the best bit was the children could get stuck in using their hands.
Pancake day and half term we had many visitors, so we made sweet and savoury pancakes. The centre of attention this week was the huge tub of chocolate spread which was donated to us by the Oxford Food Hub.
We had lots of mushrooms and onions so I cooked up a savoury filling with them, which was very tasty. And of course we also enjoyed traditional lemon and sugar, as well as maple syrup donated by Rowse Honey.
Combining crafts and cooking
For Mother’s Day, the children made cards with Linda’s help. We also made energy balls with dates, seeds and oats thanks to ingredients from Just Trading. All very messy, but well loved by the children.
Another week, I picked up a load of rocket which we turned into fresh pesto which was tasty and very green! Served with pasta – we even made a non-garlic version too.
A load of cans of beans and tinned tomatoes were made into a tomato bean soup which proved to be very popular. It was hearty, tasty and loved by many.
It was a fun and well-loved group of events, and enjoyed by everyone of all ages who came along. Best of all – it was free to join in, the food was delicious and we saved surplus from waste!
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