H'Art and Soul of Dining - New Menus with Delicious Recipes!

We are proud to announce that on April 5th our revitalized spring/summer menus will begin for our H’Art and Soul of Dining Signature Program at all of our communities.  This new signature program will help us improve quality of life and whole person wellness for the individuals that call Juniper Village home.  We are very excited this season since the offerings will feature a delicious 5-week entrée select option featuring fabulous new choices using some of the fresh products available through our food vendors. Also, on our updated menus, we have added many lighter alternatives as well as recipes specific to each community that take into account special diets, regional tastes, food committee requests and our resident’s special needs and personal requests.  These changes to our meal plans significantly increase the variety of selections provided for our residents while focusing upon scratch made offerings and heart-healthy meals.  Furthermore, in celebration of our AIAS spring quarter “Healthy Aging,” our Grill Menus will be re-vamped to highlight healthier offerings throughout the season. In addition we will be implementing an innovative hydration assurance program served from our “Oasis Carts,” featuring a variety of flavored waters using citrus or mint or cucumbers, fresh brewed iced tea, lemonade, punch, smoothies and juices as well as nutritious snacks.

Below are some of the recipes featured on our new menu:

Carrot-Currant Muffins

2 cups all-purpose flour (to measure, spoon into a cup and level)
1/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
1 large egg
1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup carrot juice
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup shredded carrots

1/2 cup dried currants
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a 12 cup muffin tin with paper liners. In a large bowl whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. In another bowl whisk together butter, egg, milk, carrot juice and vanilla. Pour the egg mixture over the dry ingredients and gently fold just until moistened. Fold carrots and dried currants into the mix. Scoop batter into the muffin pan and bake until golden brown and firm to the touch, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from pan (cool on a wire rack if you have one).

Yellow Squash Soup

Cooking Spray

1/2 cup diced yellow onion

1 cup diced zucchini

1 cup diced yellow squash

3 cups low-sodium vegetable stock

1/2 teaspoon dried Italian seasonings

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper

1 (15 ounce) can Great Northern beans, drained and rinsed

1 (15 ounce) can diced no-salt-added tomatoes

Coat a large saucepan with cooking spray. Heat over medium-high heat. Add onion; sauté 3 minutes. Add zucchini and yellow squash; sauté 3 minutes. Add all other ingredients; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes.

LINK of Mercer County First Annual Lunch and Learn

The LINK of Mercer County held its First Annual Lunch and Learn at Juniper Village at the Historic Shenango Inn on March 20^th.  The purpose of the Lunch and Learn was to give the community an opportunity to learn more about the agencies in Mercer County who provide supports and services to seniors and adults with disabilities in our community.  Each presenter spoke on their agency and programs, giving the audience a unique chance to learn about several agencies in one day!  Juniper’s very own  Chef Nathan and his team prepared a delicious continental breakfast buffet; and a lunch buffet including a salad bar, a made-to-order pasta station and hand-crafted dessert! 

The Eli Ripple Effect: Honoring and Feeding our Election Day Volunteers at Juniper Village at Shenango

by Anne Gross

In a previous post on the Juniper Care Place blog, I introduced one of the signature features of Juniper communities, "The Eli Ripple Effect,"   where doing good deeds ripple throughout each of our facilities and out into the larger communities in which we live.  In today's post, I want to highlight some special employees from Juniper Village at Shenango. It was election year 2008, and voters throughout the country were expected to turn out in record numbers.  The leadership team at Juniper Village at Shenango could easily predict that long hours would be required   of those volunteer men and women manning the election centers from dusk to dawn.  And in the spirit of the Eli Ripple Effect, they decided to surprise them with sustenance as a way of recognizing their service to the community.

    

“We decided to show up with an unexpected treat” says Christa Cicuto, Director of Community Relations at Shenango.   Associates brought homemade sub sandwiches, along with drinks, sides and desserts, prepared by the culinary staff of Juniper Village at the Historic Shenango Inn.  As one Juniper Village associate said, “Given that our historic Inn has hosted the likes of President John F. Kennedy, it is very fitting that we are helping those who preserve our democracy.”

“The election workers were very surprised” said Christa, as the Juniper staff walked into the various polling places with abundant food in hand.  Poll workers’ jaws dropped as words of appreciation poured forth.  As one poll worker from the West Middlesex Borough later wrote in a thank you note, “Thank you so very much for the lunches that were delivered to us on Election Day.  We really appreciated your thoughtfulness.  We have never had anyone do this for us before!”   Volunteers also appreciated that the meals were packaged in reusable canvas lunch totes and included BPA-free water bottles and notepads and pens for jotting down important questions during polling.  One poll worker exclaimed as she finished the meal, “It is a very busy, hectic day and we appreciate being able to grab a good bite to eat.” 

Christa and the leadership team have been delivering meals to poll workers for the past six years, serving between 200-300 lunches each election.  “It’s neat when I go into the same polling place and people remember me and thank me for the lunch bag they received three years back.  We receive tons of thank you cards in the mail too from happy and thankful poll volunteers.  This is a very rewarding experience for our leadership team, it is our way to give back annually to our community.”