This week I made souvlaki. The ingredients all went well together and it tasted really good. I especially liked the rice because I added dill seasoning while it was cooking. I think this really helped make the meal taste fresh. I didn’t use a recipe but it was really easy to make. I started by prepping all of the vegetables and measuring ingredients. Next I started baking the chicken, when it was half way I started the rice cooker. When everything was done cooking I assembled the souvlaki and they were done. If I was to make this again, I would buy more ingredients. For this lab we were trying to save food so I didn’t use as many ingredients as I usually do. A challenge I faced was flipping the chicken; it was really hot and slippery so that made it a bit tricky to flip, but with patience and carefulness I was able to flip them all. My greatest success for this dish is the end product; individually these ingredients are kind of plain but when I put them together they tasted really good and made a meal. Overall this whole experience made me proud because I have only done this before once or twice a long time ago so its nice to make it again.

For this lab I made a buddha bowl. Some ingredients I included are roasted sweet potato, spinach, fried egg, cabbage, shredded carrot, green onion, white rice, sunflower seeds, feta, and other roasted vegetables. I wasn’t expecting to like the buddha bowl, but after trying it I completely changed my mind. The different ingredients went so well with one another and it tasted delicious. The buddha bowl was fairly easy to make but I did end up running into some difficulties. one of them was with flipping the egg. For some reason one of the eggs wouldn’t flip very nicely and kind of stuck to the bottom of the pan, but I overcame this by being patient and slowly slipping the flipper underneath the egg. I feel my greatest success was in the plating. I put a lot of thought into where certain ingredients should go and how they should be arranged and in the end it turned out really well! I would definitely make this again because it is a healthy balanced meal that tastes really good. I was genuinely surprised that the ingredients went so well together; the textures, smells, and tastes all fit and that made me really happy!

I made a penne alfredo with chicken and a Caesar salad. The pasta turned out really well, because the noodles were cooked perfectly and the sauce was really thick and creamy. The chicken was cooked well and wasn’t hard to chew. The Caesar salad was good as well, because the lettuce was fresh and crunchy which added depth to the salad. I didn’t use a recipe but it was fairly easy to make. I started by warming some alfredo sauce in a saucepan on the stove, while boiling water in a pot. After that I put some maple leaf precooked chicken strips in a pan with a bit of oil on medium heat. Once the water was boiling I dropped the penne noodles, and when they were cooked I plated everything. For the salad I just tossed some lettuce, grated parmesan and Caesar dressing in a salad bowl and served. If I were to make this again I would add some lemon to the salad, because that would really enrich the flavour. A challenge I overcame was almost burning the alfredo sauce. I didn’t stir it while it was in the saucepan but I was lucky and before it burned to the bottom I realized and stirred it. My greatest success was the penne, it cooked just right and that really tied all of the ingredients together. I’m really proud of how I added just the right amount of Caesar dressing to the salad.

For the cooking at home lab I made scalloped potatoes. The potatoes were cooked well and the texture was good. The onions and cheese went really well with the potatoes and together the food tasted really good. I didn’t use a recipe but it was fairly easy to make. I layered a casserole dish with potatoes, onions, salt, pepper and cheese, as well as one cup of scalded milk then I baked it in the oven on 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 35 minutes. I would definitely make this again as it was pretty easy and tasted really good, but if I made it again I would add more cheese because some of the potatoes didn’t have any cheese on them. A challenge I encountered was forgetting to put foil on the casserole dish before baking, the potatoes might have burned but I was lucky and remembered to put it on quickly after forgetting. My greatest success was layering the ingredients, I made sure to make even layers and use the same pattern of layers each time. I’m most proud of the end result as it tasted really good and I have never made scalloped potatoes before.

For the cooking at home lab I decided to make a poutine with homemade potato and turnip fries, gravy made from scratch and mozzarella cheese curds. The fries turned out nice as they were a bit crispy but not overcooked. The gravy was smooth and thick which complemented the fries nicely, and the cheese curds melted tying the two together. Over all the meal was nice and it tasted really good but if I were to make this again I would not use turnips as they didn’t fry as nicely as the potatoes. I didn’t use a recipe to make the poutine but it was fairly easy to make. The first thing I did was wash and cut the potatoes and turnips into fries and let them soak in cold water for about 3 hours. After this I made the gravy by making a roux, adding onions bullion and water and letting it simmer whilst whisking until thick. For the fries after they had been soaking in the water for about 3 hours I put them all on a baking sheet and patted them dry with some paper towel. Then I put a little bit of oil in a big pot and let it heat up on the stove. Once the oil was hot I started cooking the fries in small batches, once the fries began to turn golden brown I took them out and assembled the poutine. If I was to make this again I would only use potatoes as fries because the turnip didn’t fry as nicely as the potatoes, but the meal was good so I wouldn’t change anything else. One of the challenges of making this was making sure none of the oil spilled out of the pot, to overcome this I was really careful and kept an eye on the pot at all times. My greatest success for this dish is how well the gravy turned out, it was the perfect texture and consistency and I’m really proud of how it turned out, because this is my first time making gravy.