By Susan Almond
Residents of Bethel Health Care Centre at Kidron Bethel Village in North Newton have discovered the recipe for successful retirement living. Residents plan, prepare and share foods each week as members of a Recipe Club. The club began about two years ago, to spark the interest of a resident who was reluctant to leave her room or interact with others.
“The woman’s daughters said she always made the best pancakes in the world,” said Leigh Peck, administrator of health services. Peck suggested perhaps a cooking club could be formed and the woman could prepare her pancakes for the group.
Activities director Beth Penner developed the club idea and expanded its scope to provide person-centered care through productive activity. Penner continues to lead the program, aided by activities assistants Bethany Hedding and Grace Solorio. The club’s goals include empowering residents, sharing their creations with others by making gifts, hosting events and choosing what foods to prepare.
“It’s nice to not always receive, but also to be able to give,” says Penner. “Our residents are still very capable of giving.”
Recipe Club is the gateway to choice, and the process begins when residents meet to decide what foods they’d like to make. Their choices are incorporated into parties and other events involving the Kidron community.
Kidron Bethel’s resident council recently decided to honor chaplain Amanda Rempel for her service to the village. Recipe Club members prepared chocolate chip cookies to be served at a celebration tea. On baking day, Penner gave each club member a copy of the recipe, and the facility’s dietary department provided pre-measured ingredients and cooking utensils. Members donned gloves and took turns adding the ingredients.
“Who wants to add the chocolate chips?,” Penner asked.
“That’s me!” said Iris Banman, gleefully dumping the morsels into the mixing bowl.
As they worked to prepare their favorite recipe, the ladies discussed the ingredients list and marveled at the differences in baking times between a convection oven and a conventional oven. They joked and reminisced about family traditions involved in making chocolate chip cookies, a favorite treat for many of their children. They also discussed the upcoming surprise party to honor the chaplain and their plans to bake at least five dozen cookies for the event. And most importantly, they enjoyed tasting the first batch of cookies fresh from the oven.
The club includes several women who were professional cooks—Rachel Enns, Elda Reimer and Marie Pauls. They enjoy sharing stories about their work life as the group prepares a meal together. Other members of the club include Hazel German, Mary Ellen Moses, Alma Ruth Dyck, Carolyn Van Zandt, Leona Harms and Vickie Moore.
Their individual tastes influence each cooking endeavor. Interest in a brunch resulted in preparation of a breakfast casserole, and Bethel Health Care Centre’s sunroom provided the perfect setting for sharing the meal with fellow residents. The group also creates diabetic-friendly, homemade desserts for monthly social gatherings. Their efforts are appreciated by fellow residents who enjoy the change from store-bought treats. The ladies of the club especially enjoy sharing cookies and interacting with maintenance department employees. In addition, Recipe Club members choose the flavors, then bake and frost two cakes each month for the resident birthday party.
A man who longed for clam chowder provided a recipe to the group, then enjoyed the resulting meal. The soup also was served at a family council meeting the same day. The council has been treated to buttermilk cornbread, green bean soup, and chili, all courtesy of the Recipe Club.
Residents often share their favorite family recipes, and many prefer specific dishes they once prepared at home. Other recipe sources include church cookbooks, and magazines with colorful photos of the finished product.
Penner provided the recipe for play-dough, the group’s most unusual project. The colorful play-dough was a take-home treat for youngsters attending Kidron’s annual Easter egg hunt. The dough also was used as a favor at a party honoring Kidron’s Abby Tyner during social workers’ month in April.
At Kidron’s first Christmas Gift Market in December, the Recipe Club booth featured brightly decorated jars of hot chocolate mix, bags of peppernut cookies, plates of fudge and packets of homemade snack mix. The food items sold quickly, and proceeds were donated toward purchase of an ice cream machine.
Recipe Club members also helped prepare bar cookies, muffins and snack mixes for baskets sold last June at Kidron’s annual Celebration Day benefit auction. The group enjoyed interacting with children of Kidron Bethel Village employees who volunteered to assist with packaging the treats for the baskets.
It also was the first year for the Recipe Club’s canned apple butter, made from scratch. The apple butter was a hit, Penner added, and will be prepared for this year’s Celebration Day. Work is underway to fill about 75 jars of various sizes with the homemade apple butter. They’ll also be selling their batches of homemade canned salsa. The ladies enjoy the flurry of activity involved in getting the foods ready, and are excited to greet friends and family in the sales booth during the Celebration Day festivities.
Kidron Bethel Village Recipe Club offers its members choices, creativity, fellowship with community and sharing opportunities – the perfect blend of ingredients to satisfy the hunger for purposeful retirement living.
“The woman’s daughters said she always made the best pancakes in the world,” said Leigh Peck, administrator of health services. Peck suggested perhaps a cooking club could be formed and the woman could prepare her pancakes for the group.
Activities director Beth Penner developed the club idea and expanded its scope to provide person-centered care through productive activity. Penner continues to lead the program, aided by activities assistants Bethany Hedding and Grace Solorio. The club’s goals include empowering residents, sharing their creations with others by making gifts, hosting events and choosing what foods to prepare.
“It’s nice to not always receive, but also to be able to give,” says Penner. “Our residents are still very capable of giving.”
Recipe Club is the gateway to choice, and the process begins when residents meet to decide what foods they’d like to make. Their choices are incorporated into parties and other events involving the Kidron community.
Kidron Bethel’s resident council recently decided to honor chaplain Amanda Rempel for her service to the village. Recipe Club members prepared chocolate chip cookies to be served at a celebration tea. On baking day, Penner gave each club member a copy of the recipe, and the facility’s dietary department provided pre-measured ingredients and cooking utensils. Members donned gloves and took turns adding the ingredients.
“Who wants to add the chocolate chips?,” Penner asked.
“That’s me!” said Iris Banman, gleefully dumping the morsels into the mixing bowl.
As they worked to prepare their favorite recipe, the ladies discussed the ingredients list and marveled at the differences in baking times between a convection oven and a conventional oven. They joked and reminisced about family traditions involved in making chocolate chip cookies, a favorite treat for many of their children. They also discussed the upcoming surprise party to honor the chaplain and their plans to bake at least five dozen cookies for the event. And most importantly, they enjoyed tasting the first batch of cookies fresh from the oven.
The club includes several women who were professional cooks—Rachel Enns, Elda Reimer and Marie Pauls. They enjoy sharing stories about their work life as the group prepares a meal together. Other members of the club include Hazel German, Mary Ellen Moses, Alma Ruth Dyck, Carolyn Van Zandt, Leona Harms and Vickie Moore.
Their individual tastes influence each cooking endeavor. Interest in a brunch resulted in preparation of a breakfast casserole, and Bethel Health Care Centre’s sunroom provided the perfect setting for sharing the meal with fellow residents. The group also creates diabetic-friendly, homemade desserts for monthly social gatherings. Their efforts are appreciated by fellow residents who enjoy the change from store-bought treats. The ladies of the club especially enjoy sharing cookies and interacting with maintenance department employees. In addition, Recipe Club members choose the flavors, then bake and frost two cakes each month for the resident birthday party.
A man who longed for clam chowder provided a recipe to the group, then enjoyed the resulting meal. The soup also was served at a family council meeting the same day. The council has been treated to buttermilk cornbread, green bean soup, and chili, all courtesy of the Recipe Club.
Residents often share their favorite family recipes, and many prefer specific dishes they once prepared at home. Other recipe sources include church cookbooks, and magazines with colorful photos of the finished product.
Penner provided the recipe for play-dough, the group’s most unusual project. The colorful play-dough was a take-home treat for youngsters attending Kidron’s annual Easter egg hunt. The dough also was used as a favor at a party honoring Kidron’s Abby Tyner during social workers’ month in April.
At Kidron’s first Christmas Gift Market in December, the Recipe Club booth featured brightly decorated jars of hot chocolate mix, bags of peppernut cookies, plates of fudge and packets of homemade snack mix. The food items sold quickly, and proceeds were donated toward purchase of an ice cream machine.
Recipe Club members also helped prepare bar cookies, muffins and snack mixes for baskets sold last June at Kidron’s annual Celebration Day benefit auction. The group enjoyed interacting with children of Kidron Bethel Village employees who volunteered to assist with packaging the treats for the baskets.
It also was the first year for the Recipe Club’s canned apple butter, made from scratch. The apple butter was a hit, Penner added, and will be prepared for this year’s Celebration Day. Work is underway to fill about 75 jars of various sizes with the homemade apple butter. They’ll also be selling their batches of homemade canned salsa. The ladies enjoy the flurry of activity involved in getting the foods ready, and are excited to greet friends and family in the sales booth during the Celebration Day festivities.
Kidron Bethel Village Recipe Club offers its members choices, creativity, fellowship with community and sharing opportunities – the perfect blend of ingredients to satisfy the hunger for purposeful retirement living.
