Cooking Demo For Carers Week

21st June 2012
I was very flattered, as part of Carers Week, to be invited by Carmel Harney of the Independent People's Disabled Forum (IDPF) to give a cooking demonstration to a group of carers and staff of the charity.

The dish I chose to cook - Scouse Meatballs - contributed to my being one of the winners recently of Wirral Council's "Love your leftovers" competition.

Although all the ingredients are very healthy, because of limited catering facilities I cooked the finished meatballs in a deep-fat fryer rather than the preferred method of baking in the oven.

No-one seemed to object!

Anthony Zausmer explains to the audience what he will be cooking.

Preparing the pre-cooked ingredients in a food processor. The aim is to keep some chunks in the mix - too smooth a texture would be akin to baby-food!

Getting really stuck in with a big wooden spoon. The chef needs his reading-glasses for this delicate operation.

Anyone else want to have a go? Wash your hands first, please!

Anthony offers some tips from behind.

The chef brings out the first batch of cooked meatballs. Carmel stands by with the kitchen roll!

Served with home-made sweet & sour red cabbage. Scouse is traditionally accompanied by either  beetroot or pickled red cabbage - the former chef of The Scouse House normally plays safe and offers both!

Say "Cheese!" Our photographer (and assistant), Hannah, has competition!

Carmel looks like she's enjoying the afternoon. And she's not greedy, with TWO bowls!

SCOUSE MEATBALLS RECIPE

INGREDIENTS:

200g cooked lamb or the same quantity of raw minced lamb.

150g cooked potato, 100g cooked carrot, 100g cooked swede,

and 100g raw onion.

A scant tsp salt, a pinch of pepper,1 scant tsp dried mint.

25g of plain flour, 25g of breadcrumbs and 1 beaten egg.

METHOD:

If using leftover lamb, blitz briefly in a food processor - leaving some lumps in the texture. Separately, blitz the onion and the cooked vegetables, mixing well in a large bowl with the meat (raw or cooked). Add the dry ingredients and mix again, finally pouring in the beaten egg and kneading to a smooth mixture. With moistened hands form into golf-ball sized spheres on a tray. These quantities should yield approximately 20 balls. Deep-fry in batches until golden-brown and when drained put on a baking tray. Pre-heat your oven to Gas Mark 7/200 C. Bake the balls for approximately 15 minutes, shaking the tray occasionally to ensure they do not stick. Check after about 10 minutes to see if they are cooked through. Lift off the cooking tray and leave to cool on a trivet or similar. Eat hot or cold.

TIP:

If using cooked leftovers from a meal these quantities can cut accordingly, to what is available. It is also a good way of using up fresh veg that is slightly past its best. The flour, breadcrumbs and beaten egg are imperative for getting the mixture to bind. By batch-producing the recommended amount, the meatballs can be served in a variety of ways - for example, cold in a lunchbox or microwaved and served with mash & gravy.

To freeze: spread a non-metalic tray with clingfilm and space the balls so they do not touch before putting in the freezer. Leave overnight and then remove the meatballs from the tray and store in a re-sealable plastic bag until required.

http://www.idpf.org.uk

A typical week's meals

Although menus will be tailored to the client’s desires and specific needs, suggestions for a balanced diet might include these popular main courses.

Scouse 

cooked the traditional way with mutton, potatoes, carrots and swede in a thick vegetable stock. 

With pickled beetroot & crusty bread.

Home-cooked ham 

in a creamy parsley sauce, 

with mash, boiled new potatoes, fresh broccoli and butter beans. 

Tagliatelle 

with roasted Mediterranean vegetables (peppers, onions, tomatoes, aubergine and courgettes), topped with grated Cheddar cheese.

 
Sautéed liver
with onion gravy, 

home-made mushy peas,
mashed potatoes and buttered cabbage.

 

Smoked trout
with prawn cocktail salad, 
potato croquettes and a mixed salad 
with French dressing.

Chicken breast 

stuffed with Cheddar and Brie, 

served with boiled new potatoes 

and fresh peas (in season).

Roast lamb

with mint sauce and gravy,

roast potatoes, carrots, 

green beans and broccoli

Introduction

Caring Cooks is a proposed new Social Enterprise developed by Anthony Zausmer in response to the changing patterns of Welfare delivery for those in need. Anthony's career in catering began in the late 1970s and this not-for-profit project has links to all the Posh Nosh Family services - the brand he established in 1999.

The aim of Caring Cooks is to provide healthy, tailor-made meals for those members of the community with any disability which prevents them from catering for themselves. Where possible - and desirable - we will seek to involve these clients, to an appropriate level, in planning and preparing their own food, in the belief that by encouraging the acquisition and use of these life skills, the chance to live more independent and fulfilled lives will become a reality.

Although designed primarily for those in receipt of Personalised Care Budgets, there are no restrictions at all placed on who can actually access our new service. During the pilot scheme, an initial five clients will be signed up, and any fine-tuning necessary will be implemented from detailed discussion with all concerned. A successful outcome will see see healthy meals being prepared and cooked in the homes of people who have special needs and dietary requirements - for example, the elderly and infirm, those with chronic illnesses, young adults with learning difficulties, and those with other disabilities such as blindness. It has already been established that these are members of society for whom there is either no provision - or very limited scope - for assistance with healthy eating in their own homes.

Flexibility is the keystone of Caring Cooks: an individually-tailored resource which will involve the clients themselves in planning the following week’s menu, to then be prepared and cooked in the client’s own home - probably twice a week so only minimal freezing will be required to produce meals for the whole period - with an appropriate level of involvement from carers and physical assistance from those clients who would benefit therapeutically from such participation.

It appears to be agreed, the world over, that "people's needs are better met when they are involved in an equal and reciprocal relationship with professionals, working together to get things done" [People Powered Health, NESTA, 2011]

It is our belief that through food preparation it will be possible to build the confidence of the people we are serving - many of whom are housebound due to their age, illness or disability - and by providing the additional resource of a luncheon club, meeting perhaps once a month in a community venue, we can go even further in helping to break the isolation of the socially-excluded. Furthermore, by coming together to share meals they have all had a hand in producing, these particular members of our community will be surely encouraged to live more independently.