Rosemary Moon raises £150 for charity with demo - and reveals her recipe

On March 23, Rosemay Moon visited the parish hall of Our Lady of Sorrows in Bognor, which had been transformed into a kitchen.

With the assistance of sous chef, assistant priest Fr. David King, Rosemary cooked a variety of dishes including onion and chilli tabbouleh, butternut noodles with salmon and coconut and a citrus winter fruit salad. Taster areas were set around the room where guests could sample the dishes, which were made using Fairtrade ingredients where possible.

£150 was raised for CAFOD’s East Africa appeal. CAFOD is the official aid agency of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, and part of Caritas International. The charity strives to bring hope and compassion to poor communities across the world, standing side by side with them to end poverty and injustice.

Rosemary Moon said: “I have a skill and if by contributing the cost of the ingredients and using this skill, people come and have a great evening and the net result is hundreds of pounds for charity, then it’s a no brainer – why not?”

“People think, what possibly can my £1 or £5 do in East Africa, but you have to dig in your pocket and know that it for people out there, it will make a difference. As well as giving money, you have to think about what changes you can make at home to stop climate change, which has been a huge factor in causing the famine. By walking more, using Fairtrade products and so on you can be sure as eggs are eggs that it will make a difference. It’s two-fold – you have to look at what changes you can make and give money.”

In East Africa, there are currently over 16 million people in need of urgent food and other life-saving assistance. Despite the challenges, CAFOD makes sure that aid reaches the families who are most in need, through the network of trusted local organisations which CAFOD works with in South Sudan, Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya. The money raised by Our Lady of Sorrows will help CAFOD ensure that assistance reaches those who so desperately need it.

Martin Brown, CAFOD’s representative for Bognor Regis, Martin Brown, said: “We would like to say a big thank you to Rosemary for running the demonstration and for Fr. David King and Our Lady of Sorrows for hosting the evening. It was clearly a huge success and the generosity of you all, and those who attended, is greatly appreciated.”

Donate to the appeal at cafod.org.uk/EastAfrica.

Rosemary’s recipe for the onion and chilli tabbouleh is:

Serves 6

6 spring onions

1 red and 1 green chilli

1 bunch watercress

1/2 cucumber

175g cracked wheat

1 lemon

extra virgin olive oil

Finely slice the spring onions. Seed the chillies and chop them finely with the watercress (this can be done in a processor). Coarsely grate the cucumber, reserving the liquid.

Wash the cracked wheat in a sieve then turn it into a pan and add 450ml boiling water. Cover and cook for 10 minutes, stir and add the cucumber water, then leave to stand for 10 minutes, covered.

Turn the cracked wheat into a bowl and add the prepared vegetables. Grate the zest from the lemon into the salad, squeeze the juice and add that with some seasoning and leave for a few minutes. Check the moisture and add a little olive oil. Season again and serve.

Don’t miss out on all the latest breaking news where you live.

Here are four ways you can be sure you’ll be amongst the first to know what’s going on.

1) Make our website your homepage at www.bognor.co.uk/

2) Like our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/BognorRegisObserver

3) Follow us on Twitter @BogObserver

4) Register with us by clicking on ‘sign in’ (top right corner). You can then receive our daily newsletter AND add your point of view to stories that you read here.

And do share with your family and friends - so they don’t miss out!

The Bognor Observer - always the first with your local news.

Be part of it.