Project connections

I was watching the show Chopped the other night on T.V. and I thought it was interesting how the chefs on the show can come up with such creative dishes as quick as they do. These chefs work quickly and have amazing accuracy and talent. I admire them because I could never do something like that. I would have no idea what to cook if I were put on the spot! You don't even have to be interested in cooking to enjoy this show, it's very entertaining.

Field trip 6

This week Darren taught me how to cook bruschetta and bleu penne pasta. I really enjoyed the bruschetta although, when soaking your ingredients in olive oil, prior to preparation, it is key to let your tomato's and other ingredients sit in the olive oil as long as possible to give them time to absorb the various flavors. Obviously, we didn't have hours to wait so the finished product could have been even better given more prep time. The owner of the little tuna, Marcus, called me to his office to speak with him and he basically just talked to me about working as a cook and franchised restaurants compared to family owned restaurants. When working for a franchised business, you won't work more than 40 hours a week; when working for a family owned restaurant, you won't work for less than 40 hours a week. He also told me that it wasn't his plan to become a restaurant owner, it just basically landed on his lap and he enjoys his job. He never even attended high school and he is successful; this surprised me but it didn't set my standards any lower, realistically, something like that is extremely hard to achieve without a diploma.

My Choice

I watched a movie the other night called The Box. It was set in the 70's and depicted the life of an average family. A mysterious box is delivered to their house in the beginning of the movie. It is locked and contains a button inside. A man comes to their house and offers the mother a once in a lifetime deal: You push the button inside this box and someone who you do not know will die but you will receive a payment of 1 million dollars in cash. He gives her a crisp hundred dollar bill to thank her for letting him in his house, 24 hours to make a decision, permission to talk to her husband but no one else, and refuses to disclose any information about his employers. I don't want to give the movie away so when you have a free night with nothing to do, I recommend watching it. It was very strange and isn't fully explained until the end but it's worth seeing. What option would you choose?

Project Connections

The other day a couple Veterans from Vietnam and Korea came in to talk to us about their experiences. One man spoke of a few life threatening situations he was in while fighting in Korea. He and his men had to pass through a small Korean village to get up in the mountains to hide out for the night when he came across a Korean family. There was a father, a pregnant mother ready to give birth, a young daughter with hair past her waist and two 2 year old sons. He and his men scrounged up the last of their food and gave it to the family out of the goodness of their hearts. The men slept through the night and next morning as the passed through the village yet again, they came across the same family. Aside from the two boys who were crying hysterically by their mother, the whole family was brutally murdered. The father was tied in barbed wire, the mothers body in a shallow hole in the ground and the little girl was tied to a tree by her hair, her body feet off of the ground. They figured the family would not give up his hiding spot and they were killed by the enemy for this. These people gave their lives just because these men stopped and shared their food with them. Obviously, it wasn't about the food, it was about the care and respect that these soldiers showed them. I was shocked and touched by his story at the same time. To think that just a little bit of food to show your concern for another human could make such a difference in the world is amazing.

Sponser Visit #6 minus the sponser

On Tuesday I went to visit Darren but he was at a cooking show and I didn't receive his text because my phone was shut off. Nevertheless, I had learning to do so I learned the ropes in the back prepping the food. The other head chef who works with Darren on the line was celebrating his 33rd birthday. Joe, Darren's replacement for the day was teasing him telling him he looked to be about 50 because he works so much. I prepped and cooked Chicken Parmesan, and prepared salads with Joe. It was an interesting day and I can't wait until next week.

What was food like in the 50's? Connection

In honor of grease I did some research on food in the 50's and found a lot of interesting information. There is more to the typical stereotype of the average teenagers hanging

out in burger joints and the popular meals being burgers fries and milkshakes. I found they ate strange meals such as; boiled grape fruit, stuffed pecans or walnuts, fried celery and cream cheese, sardine and bacon rolls, ham and egg balls, pineapple fingers and bacon and many others. Backyard barbecuing was the all American rage and martinis changed from sweet to dry. I also learned that many of the popular restaurants and food products we use today were just as common in the 50's such as; Coco puffs, IHOP, Ramen, Pizza Hut, Sweet and Low, Tang and Ruffles. It's always nice to learn something new.

Field Trip #5

Yesterday was my first day cooking. I stood by Darren's side and mimicked everything he did in my saute pan. I made shrimp linguine (minus the shrimp) and a side dish of spinach topped with blue cheese. We started out with garlic every time and every dish was seasoned with salt and pepper. A chef must be able to use their wrists well to mix the contents of the pan. I also learned how to properly use a knife. There is a special way to hold the knife and the food you are cutting so you have more control of it and there is less of a chance of cutting yourself. I had fun cooking and the finished product payed off. I can't wait for next week!

My Choice: Grease

Lindenwold High School put on our last production of the school year, Grease, this weekend, and we seniors had our time to shine. I'm really sad that my last Lindenwold theatre production is over and I'm going to miss everyone so much! I had a blast portraying Patty Simcox and I wouldn't ask for a better role because in my eyes, Patty and Eugene are best characters in the play and obviously, I couldn't realistically be Eugene. However, I was a little upset it took as long as it did for me to be casted in a decent role. Nevertheless, I had an unforgettable time and I'm glad I was fortunate enough to be part of the cast of Grease! Grease is the word!!

March 8th Connection

Today is me and Matt's 3 year anniversary and I want to make something exciting to eat for dinner. Darren gave me a few recipe cards on Saturday and I think I may just use them for tonight. I should start practicing meal preparation as often as possible and it would be nice to have dinner, just me and Matt for a change. I would really like to cook something that requires odd cooking tools like creme brulee (they use a blow torch, how awesome is that?) but I don't think that's going to happen any time soon. I just hope tonight is good and there is little stress to rain on my parade.

Saturday Sponser Visit

I went to the Little Tuna this Saturday for a visit on my own time. I brought my boyfriend Matt and my friend Dan. They ate dinner and I stood in the back where all the magic happens. During the day, the Little Tuna doesn't seem to be that extravagant but at night no one walks in without a collar on (sorry for regretting to address that memo Matt and Dan!) and it is packed! I stayed for an hour; the kitchen crew was much larger, there was food every where and it was a lot messier than a normal weekday. It was a lot to take in, so much was happening at once that I got confused every now and then. At the start of this year I was never really interested in cooking to begin with, I just wanted to pick something challenging and I think I chose the right kind of challenge to keep me on my toes!

Dealing With Stress

Being a high school student, a mother, an actress and having to meet my sponsor regularly, I have a lot of stress in my life. I don't have a cure all solution for the stress that I deal with daily but I do enjoy various activities that let me unwinde a bit and take my mind off of the clutter of which is my life. Sometimes after a long day I like to spend the night with my boyfriend relaxing, watching a movie and eating snacks; it helps me forget that I'm stressed out. When my boyfriend is the cause of my stress, I spend time with other friends but I have to make sure were doing something active and not just sitting around (moping makes it worse). There is no 100 percent fix for stress, at least not in my world but I do find relief in these activities a least momentarily.

Field Trip #3

This Tuesday at the Little Tuna was a little more challenging then the last two visits because I had to continue to build my cooking vocabulary and Darren made sure to quiz me on the terms he's been teaching me. I've learned the text book definition of caramelization, dredge and saute. I also learned several slang terms used in the restaurant business to communicate. For example, "on the fly" would mean the server needs the meal ASAP or when an order is shouted out the person meant to receive it will say "echo" to confirm that they heard the order. Darren asked me to visit this Saturday to see how things operate on the weekends (there is a lot more business on the weekends) and have dinner with my boyfriend; I'm really enjoying this experience so far and next week I will begin to start cooking my own meals.