Wednesday 22 October 2014

Let's Cook Session - Week 3

"For this week's 'lets cook' session the group had agreed that they would like to make beef curry with basmati rice and chocolate sponge. The attendance was good and 2 more new people had joined the group. The participants started with the sponge first in order to get that into the oven cooking while they prepared the ingredients for the beef curry. If you are not used to making sponges it can be hard on the arms, but all worked really hard and by the end of the session had great chocolate sponges. The beef curry is surprisingly easy to make and as 2 of the group felt the spiciness was a little too much for them we were able to tweak the recipe to make a beef stew instead, allowing everyone to see how easy it can be to adjust recipes so we are still eating healthily and what we like. At the end of the session I was very pleased that the group had achieved so much in the time they had and looking forward with pleasure and a little sadness to our fourth and final session next week - pasta and bacon in a cream cheese sauce and bread and butter pudding".  Richard Line- Let's Cook Tutor/Community Food and Nutrition Worker.





Initiatives and Activities in the Machars - Oct to Dec 2014



Please click on the images to enlarge them.

Tuesday 21 October 2014

DANCERCISE

The “Gentle Exercise to Music” as previously planned, turned into “Dancercise” after week one!  Here is what Pamela Paterson, the tutor, told us:

“The Dancercise classes at St Ninians Hall, Isle of Whithorn, have been a success so far. My dancers are lovely and we have lots of fun. I asked them for comments and they all huddled in a corner and came up with this:
 "Like minded women moving to the gentle rhythm of lovely music. We so enjoy. *****" (that's supposed to be five stars!) Regards Pam.




Arthritis Care Open Day in Newton Stewart

Please click here to view the poster.

New Group Starting in Newton Stewart - Boccia and New Age Curling!


D & NHS Recruitment - Two new Non-Executive Board Members


Monday 20 October 2014

Monday Club 6th October

Basic Food Banks
On Monday, members were informed about Basic Food Banks within the Machars area and how they are set up, distributed etc. The Machars area Food Bank is based at Penninghame Church Hall, but has distributors across the area.

Christmas is a really busy period and the Food Banks are always looking for people to help with packing and distributing to individuals. People can be referred by any external agency that is operating in the Machars.

When a specific item or items are required, there is a poster network employed to raise awareness of the need.  The public have been very generous in assisting with this project.


The meeting ending with an exuberant session of exercise to music with Pam.

Wednesday 8 October 2014

Let's Cook - A member's report.

Richard, at the start of this week’s session, provided us all with recipes for Apple Crumble and a simple Stir Fry. The Crumble was being made to a basic recipe, but he had brought with him other ingredients such as Sultanas and Cinnamon which we could add if wanted.


For the Stir Fry, we chopped and sliced Onions, Ginger and Garlic. On another board, we sliced Chicken which we were told not to wash as this could spread bacteria. We then added Soy Sauce, Sesame Oil and Sugar. 


Everything was then stir fried and Noodles were added. Chilli Sauce was handed round to add if wanted. We collected our Apple Crumbles which looked really good.

The group decided to cook Beef Curry and Chocolate Sponge the next time.

What I enjoy about these sessions is that Richard listens to other people's comments and fits his recipes around what the people's needs are.

There does appear to be a lot of washing up though! Only joking about the washing up. There is a very friendly atmosphere during the sessions.

Thursday 2 October 2014

New Boccia and New Age Curling Group coming up!

Both sessions were so successful that Building Healthy Communities will be starting a regular group of Boccia and New Age Curling every Monday afternoon, 1.30 to 3pm, from 3rd November at Penninghame Church Hall.

Wednesday 1 October 2014

Let's Cook!

Today was our first “Let’s Cook session” with Richard Line at Isle of Whithorn New Hall.

Once Richard welcomed everybody, introduced the Let’s Cook programme and explained the health & safety procedures, we proceeded to make Minestrone Soup and Cheese or Fruit Scones.

We started off with preparing the vegetables by cutting and sweating them off in a pot.  We then added the spaghetti (Richard showed us a clever trick with a tea towel to break the spaghetti into smaller pieces).  We added peas, garlic, bacon and a parsley parcel and left the soup to simmer for 20 minutes.
  




To make the scones (we had the choice of making cheese or fruit scones), we mixed together the flour, caster sugar, margarine, and dried fruit (for fruit scones) or cheese (for cheese scones). We had to spread some flour on the chopping board before rolling out the mixture and cutting it into two equal portions which were then baked for 10/12 minutes in the new oven. 

Whilst waiting for our “masterpieces” to be ready, we all took turns washing and drying the dishes.


For next week, we decided to make a Chicken Stir-Fry followed by Apple Crumble!  Yum!! 

ISLE OF WHITHORN - NEW PROGRAMME OF ACTIVITIES



In partnership with Isle Futures, we are offering several activities in their newly refurbished hall:

Computer Club: Facilitator Luke Utting
The club will aim to assist you in all aspects of using your laptop computer or tablet.  Members will be supported with their learning or with any minor issues they may have with their device by an experienced tutor as well as getting support and skills from each other.

Week 1 - Thursday 2nd October - 1pm to 3pm
Week 2 - Thursday 9th October - 1pm to 3pm
Week 3 - Thursday 30th October - 1pm to 3pm

Week 4 - Thursday 6th November - 1pm to 3pm
Week 5 - Thursday 13th November - 1pm to 3pm
Week 6 - Thursday 20th November - 1pm to 3pm

Boccia: Facilitator Lyn Irvine

Week 1 - Tuesday 28th October - 1pm to 3pm
Week 2 - Tuesday 4th November - 1pm to 3pm
Week 3 - Tuesday 11th November - 1pm to 3pm
Week 4 - Tuesday 18th November - 1pm to 3pm

Chair Based Exercise to Music: Facilitator Pam Paterson
Gentle exercise whilst sitting (or standing).  Pam guides you through gentle stretches for the whole body, whilst entertaining the group and making the whole session have a "feel good" factor.

Week 1 - Tuesday 7th October - 10.00am for registration. 10.30am to 11.30am
Week 2 - Tuesday 14th October - 10.30am to 11.30am
Week 3 - Tuesday 21st October - 10.30am to 11.30am
Week 4 - Tuesday 28th October - 10.30am to 11.30am

Week 5 - Tuesday 25th November - 10.30am to 11.30am

Week 6 - Tuesday 2nd December - 10.30am to 11.30am
Week 7 - Tuesday 9th December - 10.30am to 11.30am
Week 8 - Tuesday 10th December - 10.30am to 12pm

Let's Cook: Facilitator Tutor Richard Line – Health Improvement Team
Let’s cook is about easy recipes to make for yourself or your family. It’s about making mealtimes special which helps us all to eat healthy, affordable home-cooked food.  Let’s Cook sessions are friendly and fun, with cooking in groups, in pairs or individually.
Following the session you can taste what you’ve made and take it home to share and enjoy with others. The recipes are simple, easy to follow and adapt. Each week you can build your collection of recipes and information into a folder. The session gives time for discussion and allows participants to build skills and confidence in the kitchen. We also chat about budgeting and ideas for snacks and lunch boxes.

Week 1 - Wednesday 1st October – 10am to 12pm
Week 2 – Wednesday 8th October – 10am to 12pm
Week 3 – Wednesday 22nd October – 10am to 12pm
Week 4 – Wednesday 29th October – 10 to 12pm

Art Group: Facilitator James Galloway, Access Art

Week 1 - Wednesday 1st October - 2pm to 4pm
Week 2 - Wednesday 8th October - 2pm to 4pm
Week 3 - Wednesday 15th October - 2pm to 4pm
Week 4 - Wednesday 22nd October - 2pm to 4pm
Week 5 - Wednesday 29th October - 2pm to 4pm

Week 6 - Wednesday 5th November - 2pm to 4pm
Week 7 - Wednesday 12th November - 2pm to 4pm

Week 8 - Wednesday 19th November - 2pm to 4pm