Meet , Cook & Eat - Virtual Suppers

Across multiple cultures, sharing a meal has been a nurturing way to connect and come together from the beginning of time.  

Meet women in the Silver Sirens community, cook a meal together, grab a glass of wine or kombucha and enjoy the meal together. 

Come, cook, eat and connect! 

Welcome to our second meet, cook, and eat virtual supper hosted by Silver Sirens stalwart  Pam Allens and her sister   Deb Fragiadakis.

Food, family, and friendship are such a delicious combination and together with bushwalking, are something that brings these two women together.

Pam Allen

"When I was young I saw a sign on a building wall, “What you eat today, walks and talks tomorrow”. This made a lasting impression and I’ve noticed that if I eat crap one day, I don’t feel great the next.

My philosophy toward cooking is simple. You just need a few, simple, fresh ingredients to make a tasty meal. Eat a lot of different types of vegetables, along with fruit and salad. Be creative, salads come in all varieties. I have made so many cakes that I now just intuit the quantities without measuring. I make my cakes without refined sugar, but add a lot of dried fruit soaked in boiling water and butter, along with pineapple and walnuts.

I’m Blood Group Type A+ and apparently, these are natural vegetarians. I do eat meat occasionally, maybe once a month, more for iron than anything else. I believe that everything is okay as long as it is in moderation.

I cook nearly everything from scratch as I don’t like artificial chemicals in my food. I add fresh herbs where possible and like to cook legumes for protein with plenty of vegetables, usually in a tomato sauce. I make my own salad dressing, used to make my own yoghurt, and often make my own muesli. People complain they don’t have time, but what I found works is menu planning and shopping for a week for what you want to cook that week. The hardest part is deciding what to cook, once you have done that, the rest is easy. I make a wide variety of cuisines from Indian, Mexican, Lebanese, and Italian.". 

 Deb Fragiadakis

"I was always inspired by people that could cook. So when I married a Greek man, he is a spectacular cook. He could have been a chef.

Starting married life I learned a lot about cooking, especially those delicious Greek recipes (from my mother-in-law). My husband’s family immigrated to Australia from Crete in 1967. They lived in Wollongong.

Greek cooking is rich in heritage and culture and it is based on the Mediterranean diet (like lamb, olive oil, eggplant, capsicum, and okra). I take the Greek recipes and put my spin on them. I think the main thing about cooking is to think outside the box. Also, it’s trial and error.

About 9 years ago, I studied Cooking at Loftus TAFE with my daughter, Bonita. She is also a good cook. My ancestors on both sides of my original family were also caterers and very good cooks."

Before the session

Check out the recipes below

To ensure the process is full of ease, have your ingredients and utensils at hand.

The session will run like this:

 6.00 - Meet  and introductions

6.15 PM Go over the recipes

6:30  PM Cook main course

7. 00  PM Cook dessert

7.15 PM - Eat together and socialise

MENU

Dolmades

I jar of vine leaves

1 cup of basmati rice

1 tin of diced tomatoes (or use fresh)

1 Onion

Parsley

Mint

Olive oil

Lemons

Salt and pepper

Method

The method is tricky and difficult to explain. It will be revealed during the demonstration in the Virtual Cooking Class.

Mushroom Moussaka

Serves 4

1 medium eggplant (cut into 1 cm slices)

1 large potato (cut into 1 cm slices)

Salt & Pepper

2 tablespoons oil

60 g butter

1 onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic

500 g mushrooms, chopped

400 g can diced tomatoes

1 tablespoon chopped parsley

1/3 cup plain flour

2 cups milk

1 egg, lightly beaten

2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 220 degrees C

Line a large baking tray with oven paper and brush the eggplant and potato with oil. Bake for 20 mins. Reduce oven to 180 degrees C.

Meanwhile, heat oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and cook until soft. Add mushrooms and stir for 2-3 mins until soft. Add tomato, reduce heat and simmer for 8 mins, or until reduced. Add S & P and parsley.

Heat butter and flour in a saucepan and cook for 1 minute. Add milk continuously stirring to avoid lumps. Cook until sauce thickens. Stir in egg and parmesan.

Spoon 1/3 of the mushroom mixture, then the potato, then 1/3 of the mushroom mixture, then eggplant, topping with sauce into a 1.5-litre ovenproof dish.

Bake 30-35 mins, or until edges bubble. Leave for 10 mins before serving!