Reflection 29.08.2011: Sushi Rice and Chocolate Biscuit Cake

This lesson we were given the task in producing two recipes, within one lesson. While Laura was preparing the chocolate mousse/cream, i was preparing the rice and cooking it. Once i put the rice on the boil and once Laura finished the chocolate cream, we started creaming the biscuits and putting them on the platter. Both of the recipes were very quick and easy to understand. Every lesson, i am finding to read recipes very easily and efficiently. Laura and I finished washing up and put both our recipes in the fridge and still had 10 minutes till the end of the lesson. I look forward to the sushi making next lesson, because I want to see if there is a difference between sushi that you buy and the sushi that you make at home, and to compare the two and see which is better. Sometimes home made recipes are the best, but sometimes, aren't always the better tasting option.

Reflection 16.08.2011 Foccacia and Wraps

This lesson we were giving two recipes to work on. I like the variety and change every once in a while. With the two recipes, we were working under pressure- with preparing two recipes and then washing and cleaning up afterwards, within a 45 minute period. This kind of gives us a taste of what it really is like working under pressure and being focused and on task and not getting distracted. I was working on the wrap and i had the task of cooking the meat properly, along with the other vegetables and spices. I think it is so important to cook the chicken properly, due to several diseases which link to uncooked meat. I cooked my meat for a good 20-30 minutes-just to make sure that the chicken is definitely cooked. Laura was working on the foccacia. When we both finished, we efficiently cleaned up and packed everything away. We had several minutes at the end of the lesson, so we decided to try our two recipes. Both of the recipes tasted so good and it's nice change from the sweet recipes, to have something savory. Also, both of these recipes were healthy and had appropriate amounts of nutrients and minerals, in creating a healthy snack for lunch. This lesson, i learnt how to work independently, and i think i have definitely improved in my cooking skills and i feel i could go on to cooking something much harder. I have become adjusted to reading different recipes with maybe different wording, or different measurements.

Reflection 22.08.2011 Chocolate Muffins

This lesson we were to get into groups of 4. Within these groups we were to bake 4 different muffins, by using 5 different methods. I was assigned to, "Quick Mix," Laura had, "Beating," Mizuki had, "Creaming" and Cindy had, "Melt and Mix." I think this was a good way in knowing which method would be the most effective and would achieve the best outcome. The Quick Mix, was literally quick. I was finished within 10 minutes and everything was in the oven and i was off to washing up. Within 20 minutes, mine were the first finished and they looked really good. Once everyone else's muffins were finished, we all took 3 of everyone's muffins to taste and contrast he differences between them, whether it was positive feedback or negative feedback. Personally, I think the Quick Mix tasted the best. I'm not just saying that because I made them, but i think that my muffins had the right consistency and the perfect texture and chocolateness. The creamy and beating methods, made the muffins very nice and fluffy, which was nice, but it tasted too try in my mouth and i'm not a big fan of dry muffins. In addition, some of the other muffins had too much flour, and consequently, the muffins tasted dry again and you could taste the flour within each muffin. I also like with the Quick Mix, that it was really fast and that it could be prepared and finished within 30 minutes max. I learnt how to work on my own, seeming it was individual efforts and i felt quite confident within myself and i think my independence in the kitchen, is definitely improving. (:

Reflection 1st of August

This lesson we made: Caramel Apple Pull Aparts. My partner was Laura. I have never made anything like this in the past or at home. So, this was new and very exciting, pull aparts are my favourite.. anything that has pastry! The Procedure was quite straight forward, however, the dough step was quite challenging. It was challenging to get the dough with the right texture and the right shape- when it is on the board. Also, when it was time to roll the apple and walnuts inside the dough, the dough didn't swtick well and that could be because the texture should've had more milk, or i should've brushed milk on top. Nonetheless, it was quite tricky to put everything together, but i tried my best to keep it stable inside the oven. Once we got the pull aparts out of the oven, we could put the caramel sauce on top. The caramel sauce is something we have done in the past and it was very easy for me to create. Once we drizzled the caramel sauce on top, the recipe was ready to eat. It tasted really good (:

Reflection 4th of August

This lesson was a theory lesson. The topic that I am doing my is GM foods and I am also incorporating Organic foods within the GM foods, and how this new technology of producing GM foods has affected the Hospitality Industry. I will be talking how people of the world are requesting for labelling to show that foods are GM foods, and how that has affected the Hospitality Industry. I will also be talking about how GM foods have advantaged the Hospitality Industry; eg, putting certain genes in plants to make them tolerant to certain weather changes, or making them more nutritious, etc. This lesson, I typed in some notes and referenced them. I think this lesson was very productive, and after writing down my notes, i can put all the information together and put it in essay form and in paragraphs.

Reflection 8th of August

This lesson, our recipe to prepare was: Chilli Chicekn with Basil and Coconut Cream. My partner was Laura, as Cassie had left the school. I think it's good to have new partners every now and then, to know other people better and to adapt to their way of working in a kitchen. I have become better at cooking chicken with oil and adding onion and lots of veggies. We have done recipes like this in the past, and by lots of practice, the end result will become better and better everytime. As they say, "Practice makes perfect!". Also, it is very important to cook chicken properly, as, if chicken is not cooked it can cause different diseases. Anyways, we didn't end up adding chilli or too much coconut, because Laura and I aren't big fans of chilli or too much coconut. The one thing that i could've changed, would be to not cook it for so long, as the sauce almost thickened, and there really wasn't enough sauce to go with the chicken and rice. Overall, the chicken was well-cooked and the final result was very deliscious! (:

New Evaluation

The purpose of the assignment was to use the information from research and prepare a 2 course meal suitable for a restaurant menu to cater for a disease or lifestyle choice. We had the whole term approximately to do the assignment, which is 7-8 weeks. We had to research different lifestyle diseases and then we had to choose 2 recipes to cook from a certain lifestyle disease. We had 7-8 weeks of research and 1 lesson on the practical work on where we had to prepare and cook our recipes. I think the time given to us to do this assignment was adequate and everything was relaxed and easy-going. Everything just flowed and I wasn’t rushed. Within the investigation area, I learnt about different lifestyle diseases such as; diabetes, gluten intolerance and coeliac disease. I learnt that, people with these diseases are like any other person without a disease, but have to make some changes within their daily diets to insure that it is suitable for their disease. During the practical area, I learnt how to make a free-form pizza, which I have never made and I had to put all the ingredients in between two sheets of pastry, which was different. I learnt how to make 2 recipes under a certain time; and I felt quite pressured. I think the task was quite successful and it really gave everyone an understanding of the diseases in the world that people sufer from, and how they have to maintain their healthy diets. Also, the task of preparing the food was also successful, as it may mean that they work with different ingredients to suit their lifestyle disease (eg; if they chose vegetarianism, they might substitute meat for beans). I think my two finsiehd final looks looked deliscious and very edible. Howevere, I do think that the summer berries with white chocolate looked a bit starnge, (due to the white chocolate being so watery, instead of it being a thick mixture), it still tasted great. In terms of colour, the pizza looked glossy due to the garnish and looked perfectly brown and was in contrast to the greens of the basil and yellow of the cheese and red of the paste. It looked fresh. With the summer berries, the purple colours of the berry in contrast to the white chocolate looked very eye-opening and caught your eye. In terms of taste, I think it tasted amazing. Everything just mixed well with everything else and I think it goes to show to the people who thought that people with a lifestyle disease didn’t get to eat yummy food or had to substitute good foods for bad foods, were wrong. With the presentation, I liked the shape of the plate, as it was a clean square shape. I think it went well with the square-ish pizza and with the square plate. Also, I used like a martini glass for the berries with the white chocolate sauce. Usually these glasses are used for special sort of drinks that people have on occasions, and I think it went to show that my recipe could be good enough or a special occasion. With my planning, it didn’t go to well. I think it would’ve been much better if I practised these recipes at home a couple of times just to check that I understood everything and if I needed to change something, I could. I think that the white chocolate sauce texture was too watery and it didn’t look too tasty with the natural juices of the berries. I would’ve liked it better if it were more of a thick texture. I researched everything adequately and I had a clear understanding of my selective disease, and therefore, it wasn’t a last minute thing. If I could change anything, I would maybe choose a recipe with less amount of preparation time; as I was in the kitchen 5 minutes after the bell washing up. Or I might have to do things just a tad faster, just to make sure I don’t stay in the kitchen still cleaning up. The wole exercise was interesting; as it did let me know of the lifestyle diseases that people have in the world. The practical work was challenging; due to the time restraints and due to us having to cook 2 recipes instead of 1. I chose to do gluten- free as my lifestyle choice, as I thought that they must have such restrictions in food and would have substitute much food in order to be eating healthy, however, most foods these days are gluten-free and it showed me that people who have gluten-free can eat healthy and delicious food and enjoy it at the same time.