Gluten free Waffles

For my fourth home lab, I made gluten free waffles which I served with bacon. I chose this recipe because my mom cannot eat gluten so I decided to make a recipe that she could enjoy! Making gluten free waffles is just like making normal waffles, but using gluten free flour. I used my waffle iron to make the waffles, which gave them the light and fluffy texture desired. both leavening agents (baking soda and baking powder) were present in this recipe, which help it rise and take its big round shape. Something I had to be careful with was how hot the waffle iron got and how that heat made it difficult to get the waffles out of the iron. Because the waffles were missing the gluten which makes them elasticly and holds everything together, I was struggling with getting the waffles out of the iron in one piece. The waffles fell apart super easily and it made them hard to present. Making gluten free waffles from scratch and not from a mix makes them taste the exact same as normal waffles, just a slightly different texture. My mom really liked how they turned out and said that “they were some of the best gluten free waffles” that she had ever eaten! I also really enjoyed the waffles and rated them a 3/5, just because they didn’t stay together so well and had a different texture than im used to. I will not be making the waffles for myself again because I like regular flour but I will definitely make them for my mom again!:)

Breakfast home lab

For my breakfast Home lab I made croissants, a tropical smoothie, and a traditional wife saver breakfast casserole. My meal was very inspired by my family‘s Christmas morning. For Christmas we always have wife saver casserole and croissants, So I decided to try it out for myself. Between all the dishes, my lab required oven, grater, knife and blender safety. To start I made my wife saver casserole a day earlier than I was going to serve it. The wife saver casserole is really unique, As it is an egg casserole with ham, cheese, bread and corn flakes. I had to do step one of this lab the night before I was going to serve it, which was soaking the bread in the egg so it would cook perfectly in the morning. Having this prep On the casserole the night before made everything so much easier on the day I was serving my meal. The next morning I added the ham and cheese and corn flake layer to my Casserole, and popped it in the oven. While my casserole was in the oven, I started my smoothie. This movie was a tropical smoothie, with a relatively easy recipe, that resulted in a sweet and tasty product. Once my casserole out of the oven and my croissant dough had risen enough, I popped the croissants in the oven and bake them until they were flaky and crispy on the outside. All of my dishes that contributed to making this meal hit their product standards. My wife saver casserole had to texture on each different layer, it was flavourful, and was golden brown. My croissants had flaky layers, Were golden brown and tasted buttery. My smoothie was well blended, was sweet and fairly thick. Throughout the lab I made sure I maintain a clean kitchen and I washed all the dishes after cooking. A skill you need to make this meal is time management and organization as you have lots of things cooking at the same time. That was the biggest challenge for me, making sure I had everything prepped and ready to go so I could place it in the oven. I would definitely make this meal again as it honoured my family’s Christmas morning tradition and it was super delicious. I rated this a 4.5 out of five, as the smoothie didn’t go super well with the other dishes, but it was still delicious! I loved my choice of recipes and so did my family:)

Breakfast Hash

For our last lab before spring break, we made a breakfast hash. Since we had a break coming up, there were lots of ingredients left in the fridge which would go to waste unless we used them and hash is a dish that you can really throw whatever you want in and it will work, so we were able to utilize so many things that could’ve gone to waste. This was a super efficient way to use ingredients that could’ve gone to waste and make a delicious meal. In our hash we used eggs, turnip, potato, bacon, pepper, onion and garlic. We had to par cook our potatoes and turnips before adding them to the onions, so that they would cook all the way through and get crispy in the hash. My partner and I decided to par cook our turnips and potatoes in the microwave, versus boiling them and it was not the most efficient move. The microwave removed the moisture from the vegetables, but it did not cook them enough, so they were not cooked enough in our hash. I had a new partner for this lab, so it felt different being in a new unit and working with someone I don’t know very well, but we worked well together! I do not love hash to start with, so this was not one of my favourite dishes. It felt thrown together to me and that the ingredients did not match very well together. I rated this dish a 2.5/5 as I felt it lacked flavour and the vegetables needed to be in bigger chunks, so they aren’t so small and hard to get on your fork. I would not make this dish again as it felt random and I would rather eat each item in the hash individually.

Veggie Frittata your way

For this lab I got the opportunity to customize and make a veggie frittata to my liking. This was my first time making frittata, but I felt pretty comfortable making it as I often make omelettes, which is a similar dish. Frittata Is an egg breakfast staple dish, along with quiches and omelettes. I filled my frittata with broccoli, spinach and cauliflower, with cheddar cheese sprinkled on top. In this lab I had to pre cook my cauliflower and broccoli, by roasting them in the oven, which was a new skill learned because I have never roasted vegetables before! This dish really opened my eyes to just how easy it is to take traditional eggs and throw in a few more ingredients and you have yourself a super healthy meal. This is a perfectly balanced breakfast as it covers many food groups and would be a great way to kickstart your metabolism in the morning. I absolutely loved this lab and have made it so many times since, as it is pretty quick and easy to make and provides me with lots of nutrients. I rated this dish a 5/5 because of all the delicious flavours and the fact that it is great for you.

Basic Crepes

For this lab we made basic crepes, with a filling of our choice. This was my first time making crepes and I thought it would be a much harder process then it turned out to be! The crepe recipe consisted of 6 simple ingredients and the cooking process was simple as well. In my group everyone was struggling making their crepes perfectly thin, but I had some beginners luck and was able to make my crepes thin and help everyone else achieve thin crepes. The product standards were to be golden brown and thin, so we can fold in our filling. My partner and I made a blueberry filling which went great with the soft crepe. We also made our own whipped cream which added another layer of sweetness to this delicious dish. I rated my crepe a 4/5 because I loved the dish but I felt my filling could’ve been sweeter and cooked for a little longer to make it softer. A personal success I had in this lab was the fact that my crepes turned out so well and thin on my very first time making them!

Shakshuka with Feta

For one of the last breakfast labs we made shakshuka with feta! I was absent from school the day this lab took place, so I got to make my dish at home. This dish originated from North America, but is a traditional breakfast food served in Israel. This was a dish full of tons of flavours and textures and something that makes it so appealing is all the colours of the dish. My goal going in to this lab was to create all the flavours the dish was supposed to have. I believe my shaksuka was fairly flavourful but it could’ve used some more pepper and paprika. The method for this dish was egg cookery, knife skills with all the veggies and sautéing the veggies. I believe my shakshuka did reach my desired product standards of being flavourful, appealing to the eye, colourful, rich and having tender eggs, yet this meal was not my cup of tea. I rated this a 2.5/5 just because this dish seemed a little random and the ingredients were not well matched in my opinion. Having the eggs in the middle of the soft peppers, onions, tomatoes and arugula did not provide textures as all the ingredients were soft. I felt that the flavours of each veggies matched with the egg did not work and my taste buds did not like it. On the other hand, my family who I cooked for liked the dish but they agreed the flavours of the ingredients were not well matched. I would not make this dish again based on my experience with it this time.

Design Your Own Breakfast Sandwich

For the breakfast sandwich lab I had the opportunity to build my own sandwich and choose what I put inside. My sandwich consisted of 2 strips of bacon, a fried egg, a hash brown patty and creamy avocado spread, all built inside a homemade English muffin. I have never tried a breakfast sandwich before and I was really surprised how great it was to eat all my favourite breakfast foods inside a English muffin. For this lab we were cooking and planning on our own, so I found it challenging to work so independently and come up with a plan on my own. I made my English muffins at home 2 days before the lab and it was a very difficult process. I had to be very patient with the dough, as it took a long time to rise and be ready to bake. The English muffins did not turn out to the texture and appearance as the ones you get in the store, but I could definitely taste how homemade and preservative free my muffins were! The most difficult part of the lab and the biggest learning curve I had during it was making the English muffins, as it was like nothing I have ever made before. We did this recipe because it was a great introduction to working and planning independently and because you got to personalize your sandwich to your liking. I gave my sandwich 4 stars out of 5, because of all the amazing textures contrasted with one another, from the crispy bacon and hash brown patty, to the soft creamy avocado spread. I think I could’ve used a few more flavours, maybe even some heat just to add another layer of depth to the flavour. If I were to Make my sandwich again I would add in some more veggies just for some more crunch and flavours.

Eggs Your way

For the “How do you like your eggs” foods lab I made a fried egg. We had multiple options of how to make eggs, but I chose a fried egg to make because its not something I really ever make. I found the fried egg was very easy to make, but I felt a lot if pressure when it came to cracking the egg because I didn’t want the yolk to break! Luckily my yolk did remain whole and it was cooked completely through, which was my preferred consistency. Both sides of my egg were golden brown, with their edges slightly crispy and the white of the egg was cooked, which meant my egg met product standards. For this lab I was back cooking with a group so I found it challenging to have four of us trying to utilize all 4 burners on the stovetop, but we cooperated really well and took turns in a way that everyones eggs turned out just how they wanted to. I was most proud of myself for choosing an egg I don’t regularly make, instead of choosing scrambled or cooked in the shell eggs, which I make all the time. I served my egg on a English muffin which I toasted so you could really feel the difference between the crispy muffin and the soft egg. I rated this dish a 4/5 because it felt like it needed more to go with it and it needed some more flavours to go with it. I will definitely make this dish again as its a great breakfast food because it gives you protein which starts your morning off right!