Cooking Demo at Delta Sigma Theta South Broward Alumnae Women's Health Symposium - Wild Rice, Pecan, & Cranberry Salad with Citrus Vinaigrette

Exhilarated, inspired, and blessed -  those are the some of the adjectives that described my emotions after attending the inaugural Women’s Health Symposium hosted by Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.- South Broward Alumnae Chapter in partnership with the City of Hallandale Beach in Hallendale, FL. The event was very well attended with over 200 dynamic women (and a handful of men).

The goal of the symposium was to educate South Florida women in holistic approaches to health care, nutrition, healthy cooking, physical fitness, acupuncture, meditation, and thermography. I hosted a 20 minute healthy cooking session titled "I love cooking with herbs".  A session dedicated on educating attendees on the affects of high sodium and how to prepare a simple dish made with natural and unprocessed foods. I had to conduct this session four times in an hour and a half.

I'm usually on pins and needles before any demonstration or cooking class. My feelings can be similar to a performer going on stage, nervous but once the curtains come up its all ok. The kitchen setting was perfect, big enough to fit about 20 people but yet had an intimate feeling that I was able to have a dialogue with everyone .

Did you know that the recommended daily allowance of sodium is 2300 mg, which equals 1 tsp (yeah the little one not the big one) a day. Did you also know that the majority of sodium that we are consuming is from processed food?
Here is the dish that I demonstrated, Enjoy!

Wild Rice, Pecan, & Cranberry Salad with Citrus Vinaigrette
1 cup wild rice * (see package instructions, substitute 1 cup chicken/vegetable stock for 1 cup of the water)

1/2 cup dried cranberries

1/2 cup chopped pecans 

1/2 cup chopped apple

1/2 cup chopped celery

1/4 cup chopped fresh Parsley 

1/4 cup sliced green onions

Vinaigrette:

2 Tbs orange juice

2 Tbs cranberry juice

1 Tbsp. grated orange peel

2 Tbsp red wine vinegar*

1 Tbsp. honey

2 Tbsp olive oil


Directions:

1)  Cook wild rice according to instructions on package.
2) In a medium sized serving bowl, mix the rice, cranberries, pecans, apples, celery, parsley, and green onions together.
3) In a separate jar, mix the vinaigrette ingredients. Just before serving, mix dressing in with the rice mixture. You can mix the dressing overnight, it taste better the next day. Serve warm, chilled, or room temperature.
Tips:
* Rice to water ratio = 3:1
You can also substitute some brown rice in as well.
Experiment with different fruity wines to change the flavor
You can substitute 3 tbsp apple cider vinegar with 1 tbsp red wine for every 4 tbsp red wine vinegar.