This week we are on a comfort food, macaroni and cheese extravaganza! Tuesday we did a blind taste testing of boxed macaroni and cheese, in block 7- Annies Organics was the undisputed winner! Second choice was KD (Kraft Dinner), and 2 people (Kian and Ms. Lewis) found No Name brand to their liking. Wednesday, we tried 6 different popular Baked Mac & Cheese recipes. Much to my disappointment, the butternut squash from the Fraiche food website and Gordon Ramsay's Cauliflower were the least popular. Of the remaining 4, the top choice was the gooey Mac and Cheese modified from Companies Coming, there is something warm and nostalgic of the orange creamy cheese with a crunchy cracker topping. Not to be forgotten Martha Stewart, The Pioneer Woman and the Chunky Chef have really good salty buttery warm hug. Finally, on Thursday...it's a Kraft Dinner Challenge! I will give each partner group a box of KD and it's up to YOU, to modify and pump it up! Think of it this way- when you live on your own, you may have to budget your food bill and KD is quite reasonably priced. What will you do? Again, we will do a sampling of the different options.
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Does food that is ethically grown taste better? Is it better for the planet, is it healthier? Whats the big deal with not drinking cows milk? These are questions that we should be asking ourselves when thinking about what to eat. I truly believe you can taste the difference, putting a little love into everything you make matters. There are a lot of people who are unable to consume regular or dairy milk, but still wish to have it in coffee, cereal or just to drink. Plant based milks are an option for this reason as well as many others. Some of the milks we have are; rice milk, soy milk, cashew milk, almond milk, oat milk, or hemp milk. The highest protein content is typically cow, soy and pea milk, there is flavour for every taste. The happiness and health of the animals that provide us with food (whether eggs, milk or meat) matters. A stressed animal could transfer negative or stressed energy (for lack of a better word) to their tissues. I have a picture of 3 different yolks, in this photo... there is a free range (happy chicken from a farm) egg, a cage free egg and a battery hen egg (mass produced). What do you notice? Finally we are testing the milks by making a simple biscuit/ scone recipe ...this is a great way to bake something filling, tasty and simple by using the biscuit technique. What is the difference between baking powder and baking soda? Remember DO NOT OVERWORK THE DOUGH ! translated if it's sticky you've played with it too much. Sometimes life just isn't fair! Calories and junk food comes to mind. You try and eat right (most of the time) but every so often you just want chips, snacks and fries...What to do? We are exploring healthier options to dreaded junk food. We are or have made the following items, everything from sweet, to salty ..fruit to vegetables. Try everything, even if you don't think you like it. Here are our recipes over the past week. Kale chips, zucchini chips, apple crisp, granola bars, oven fries, sweet potato fries, baked zucchini sticks and Kentucky fried cauliflower. Don't forget to document everything, what did you notice when making the items? overcooked kale, starch on spf? wet cauliflower? Today we made the fries, I perked it up a little bit by sharing aged white cheddar, home made gravy and chipotle mayo. I hope you are enjoying preserving and preparing veggies - a healthier alternative.
Over the last 10 days we have explored the classroom, made three recipes, watched the movie Contagion and worked on safety in the classroom. Today you will be updating your learning journey by creating 4 different posts. There are as follows with the links attached. Please remember to use proper punctuation, grammar and writing skills.
Welcome to quarter 4, Foods 10-12 and Culinary Leadership will be trying new recipes and practicing new techniques. Foods class will be sharing their learning journey with an online blog documenting recipes, techniques and experiences. We are starting the quarter with a refresher movie...Contagion. I fear we have all become a little complacent and are suffering from Covid fatigue. Moral of the story, WASH YOUR HANDS! STAY HOME WHEN SICK! I have a quiz on the teams page regarding the movie that needs to be completed by May 8. Review the questions before you watch the movie, no surprises. Foods class on Friday, we are making chocolate chip cookies- no demo, lets see what you know. Catering class, I will be doing a demo and then everyone will make scones based on what I showed. It is your final exam time, please ensure you go to our teams page as this is where you will POST your link to your website. We have spent 10 weeks baking and reflecting, if you have missed a couple of labs no worries...this is your chance to showcase what you have learned here. The more information you share the better we are able to see your growth. I can not re-iterate enough how important it is that you review the assignment. The more TECHNIQUES you show the higher your grade will be. On day one, you explained where you are coming from, did you know how to cream butter and sugar together; or is this a new technique for you? Another thing to think about (consider) where are you going to complete the assignment? You are allowed to work on this at home on the weekend.
I would start by thinking about my favourite flavours, are you savoury or sweet? Do your tastebuds get excited by chocolate and hazelnut or by cheese and mushrooms? Finally.... bring a device to class, this will help you find a recipe, however you are NOT limited to online for recipes, you may use any one of my hundred cookbooks!!!!!! For our last baking item, before your final exam we are going to......Sweden and a Swedish Pastry. This dessert is a combination of a shortbread crust, a choux (puff) pastry and a creamy frosting. When making the puff pastry, make sure you boil the flour with the water and butter until it forms a thick paste. Remove from the heat and then add the eggs one at a time ensuring they are completely incorporated. Images are below if you are not sure. We're finishing the quarter off with cakes! The whole goal is to learn the cake technique, we do the alternating of dry and liquid to prevent the batter from curdling. Today we will be making chocolate cupcakes from Sally's baking addiction, these are a really good and so easy to make. Yes you get frosting with them, don't worry. When you are reflecting on the labs, don't forget to include what you learned! We will finish off with testing a recipe I have always wanted to try...Magic layer cake. Finishing off our bread unit, we're going to make some flat breads. Flat breads are typically unleavened- meaning they have not risen, nor do they have any yeast in them. We will start with Ms. Wei and Mrs. Wei's (mother) favourite.... green onion or scallion pancakes from Taiwan. I'm just going to say, this is my version of an Asian staple. Next we are then moving to roti canai from Malaysia. This dish is typically a little sweeter and softer, but still crispy...similar to the green onion pancake. Finally we will finish the week making home made tortillas from Mexico, or latin countries. Don't panic! I anticipated some sour dough death, if your starter did not make it through spring break - that's ok. Document! What did you learn from this process? What went right? What went wrong? You still have time, you can remake it. I have decided to turn this into a bonus project at home. Find a recipe you'd like to make using starter or discard and document it. Make a post that is labelled 'enhanced learning or bonus lab' and you will get the extra credit. What we are starting with this week is Jim Lahey's No-Knead bread. You will be making this in partners and when we do the final rise (the following day) cut it in half and shape into a loaf. If you are making this at home, use a dutch oven or covered oven safe pot, but in class put it on a cookie sheet. When it comes to sprinkling the (non fuzzy) dish towel, we are using bran. Wednesday is typically straight online learning, however this week it is also making additional dough. We are going into Easter weekend making Cazzupe or Easter bread. Moving on to yeasted breads, we are going to keep with the Italian pastries. This time from the toe of the boot, Calabria- we're making cuzzupe. I understand if you've never heard of this seasonal delicacy, if not for my best friend (45 years) Rosella and her momma Italia I would be missing this joy. Cuzzupe is a combination of bread and cake, topped with a glaze and sprinkles. Just before baking, a raw dyed egg is placed in the middle and it cooks as it bakes. In Italy, Italian Easter Bread is known as Pane di Pasqua, But, depending on what region of Italy you’re in, Easter Bread may have another name! In the Calabria region in the Southwest, it’s known as Sguta, cuzzupa, or cu l’ovo, where in other regions it’s called Scarcella or Gurrugulo. Each version is a little bit different. (Information from https://www.letseatcake.com/italian-easter-bread/) |
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