My First Food Zoom
What?! I couldn’t believe it. My friend, maybe better described as my sister from another mother, Rita F., wanted a team-building event and learned there wasn’t much of a budget for it where she worked.
As fortune would have it, I wanted to pilot my first “Food Zoom.” I didn’t have an idea other than I wanted to try it. Inspired by Rita’s interest, I created the theme in a couple of hot minutes on our fifteen minute call.
It would be pandemic, pantry-driven holiday party food, that would be easy for anyone of her team members to make. It would feature food as self-care as an overarching theme. I wanted to talk about the healthy properties of certain ingredients. When was the last time I got to talk about phenolic acid? After all, self-care might be the most important thing for a team leader to support in these COVID-19 affected times.
As I uttered the racing ideas pouring out of my pandemic-restricted, extroverting brainstorm, Rita said “yes, I want that for them!” The “them” was a team she loved and adored who were simply an incredibly high-performing, creative team.
I would share a recipe given to me by a friend from college (Katie B.) and would offer a taste and reminder of summer with brie, basil, and heirloom cherry and grape tomatoes. Rita’s team worked remotely long before the pandemic. I wondered whether some of them lived in places where the snow had already started to fall heavily.
It was amazing to connect with these ladies. Granted, there were some glitches in the transmission and the sound of the hood vent at times. I didn’t worry, because it just felt so good to share food virtually. I can’t recall the last time I heard the “Yum!” of strangers.
To know that they were nourishing themselves while still getting the most important things out of a team-building event—something done collectively that feels inspiring and fun, and maybe a stronger sense of knowing one another, (which comes from hanging out, even virtually, in each other’s kitchens), well, that’s satiating.
I’m grateful to all of them that they willingly participated in the proof-in-principle of a cross-country Food Zoom.
Here are the recipes:
Crazy Great Kalamata Olive Tapenade (note that “vitamin” was supposed to be “vitamix” below)
Sundried Tomato Delight Pesto
Summer (in Winter) Brie, Basil, and Heirloom Cherry Tomato Pasta
Buon Appetito from Recipes with Rufina!
Crazy Great Kalamata Olive Tapenade
Ingredients
Instructions
- In a food processor, add garlic, parsley, and capers; and pulse until garlic is finely minced.
- Measure 1/3 cup olive oil and pour in only 1/4 cup of the oil to begin.
- Add Kalamata olives and pulse until olives are roughly pureed to a spread-like consistency.
- If needed, add the remaining oil into the food processor to achieve desired consistency.
- Serve with baguette slices, rosemary crackers, water crackers, sliced zucchini, or as a condiment to grilled flank steak.
- Use tapenade as a condiment to pasta dishes or combine 1 cup of Crazy Great Kalamata Olive Tapenade with 1 cup of Sundried Tomato Delight Pesto.
- Buon Appetito from Recipes with Rufina!
Notes:
Please listen to your food processor when the olives go into it. If you hear clunking sounds, immediately stop the food processor. Look for the olive pit(s)! Remove them and start to pulse again.
If you are using a blender instead of a food processor, put the olive oil in first. A vitamin would work well to make this. Just ensure that the garlic is finely minced.
Sundried Tomato Pesto Delight
Ingredients
Instructions
- In a food processor, add and pulse garlic, walnuts, sun-dried tomatoes with olive oil from the jar, basil, cheese together.
- Add basil pesto.
- Add remaining olive oil.
- Add salt, only if needed.
Notes:
Nut Allergen-Walnuts, Pine Nuts
Dairy Allergen
Freeze any pesto from the jar in ice cube trays if you don't expect to use it right away.
Freeze any sun-dried tomato delight pesto as well if you cannot use it within seven days.
Use 1 cup of sun-dried tomato delight pesto on 1/2 box of your favorite pasta. A thicker pasta like rigatoni works well.
Combine 1 cup of sun-dried tomato delight pesto with 1 cup of olive tapenade to use with a box of your favorite pasta. Cook pasta per direction. In a stainless steel bowl, toss pasta in the combination spread. Add olive oil to loosen as needed.
Summer (In Winter) Brie, Basil, and Heirloom Cherry Tomato Pasta
Ingredients
Instructions
- Place water in a large pot over high heat to boil.
- Add salt to water.
- Remove brie from refrigerator and slice off all rind.
- Cube brie in 1 inch dice.
- Place garlic, brie, tomatoes, and basil, in a stainless steel bowl.
- Add pasta to boiling water and cook per instructions.
- When the pasta is cooked al dente, immediately strain the pasta to remove excess water and place hot pasta in the bowl with the other ingredients.
- Toss pasta and ingredients with tongs to combine and place in serving dish. (Brie will melt.)
- Add parmesan and olive oil to taste.
- Serve immediately.
Notes:
Pasta cooking times vary. Angel Hair pasta cooks in approximately 4-5 minutes reducing the overall time for this meal significantly.
I used Barilla's gluten-free spaghetti and it was a big hit, even with those who don't typically like gluten-free products.
Remember to remove all the rind to avoid bitterness in the pasta. It is easier to do this when the brie is cold.
