Bubble Tea a.k.a. Boba Milk Tea

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Welcome to Out of the Pantry. We’re making bubble tea, also known as boba milk tea. We’ll be making it from scratch. It is a very simple recipe, though it does take quite a long time because there’s a lot of wait time. My name is Jane Gov, from the […]

Out of the Pantry: Yaki Udon

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Welcome to Out of the Pantry. Today we are making Yaki udon to celebrate Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month. What is udon?  Udon is chewy Japanese noodles made from wheat flour, water, and salt. It is typically served in a simple dashi-based broth and is thicker than buckwheat soba […]

Out of the Pantry: Calas

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In celebration of Black History Month, we are making and learning about calas rice fritters. Calas are similar to beignets in preparation and taste. They are usually made of leftover rice with sugary egg batter, then friend and dusted with powdered sugar. “Calas” is from the Nupe word ‘kárá’ meaning […]

Out of the Pantry: Fresh Pasta

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In this lesson, we are making fresh handmade pasta with a sweet corn lemon sauce. This lesson will take about 2-3 hours, so I recommend setting aside a long afternoon to complete the recipe. Take your time in rolling and shaping your pasta. Share the experience with family or friends. […]

Out of the Pantry: Pumpkin Empanadas

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We’re celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month! We’re learning about empanadas and how to make pastry dough from scratch. This dough technique (cutting cold butter into flour) is similar to making pie crusts, biscuits, scones, pasties, turnover dough, and other pastries. This process creates tiny air pockets (the butter) in your dough, […]

Out of the Pantry: Mac and cheese pizza

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In this lesson, participants learn to activate yeast, roll out and bake pizza dough, plus make a very simple mac and cheese with roasted red peppers — all using pantry items.     Mac and Cheese Pizza Yields two 10-inch pizzas   Ingredients:  1/2 box Elbow pasta 8 oz Velveeta […]

Out of the Pantry: Rainbow Bread

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This is a nice celebration sweet bread for Pride Month. In this lesson, participants learn to cream ingredients by hand (i.e. without an electric mixer). Lemon Rainbow Bread Yields 2 small loafs Ingredients: 1/2 cup butter, softened 1 cup sugar 2 large eggs, room temperature 1 lemon 1 1/2 cup […]

Out of the Pantry: Soup

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This is the second “Out of the Pantry” teen cooking lesson. You can find the first HERE. These recipes use ingredients that do not use refrigeration so it allows us to easily distribute ingredients to participants. The recipes can also be cooked in a dorm room and great for for […]

Out of the Pantry: Pasta

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Out of the Pantry: Cooking Class for Teens We made a simple vegetarian pasta using pantry ingredients. Watch the video for step-by-step instructions. Intro script from video: My name is Jane Gov, and I am the teen librarian at Pasadena Public Library. The following video was edited from a live […]

“The Day and Night” by Hera Hovsepian

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Dream Catcher Story Contest 1st place (Category 2: grades 6-8)   “The Day and Night” by Hera Hovsepian Age 13, Grade 8   At nights, when I sleep, I break the boundaries of my brain, which I wouldn’t   when I’m awake. My brain stops trying. It becomes raw. Real. […]