Scallop Potatoes

In class today we made scallop potatoes out of very simple ingredients. I started by thinly slicing the onion and 2 potatoes. I then sautéed the onions until they were fragrant. In a separate pot I melted butter, milk, salt and pepper, and dry mustard and whisked it on medium until it was incorporated and bubbling. I then added in shredded cheese and whisked it again until the sauce began to thicken. I spread half the potatoes on the bottom of my greased baking dish. I then spread on the onions and half the cheese sauce, I topped it with the rest of the potatoes and cheese sauce and extra shredded cheese on top. I cooked it all in the oven for about an hour. These scallop potatoes were really good, next time I would add less cheese though, but I would eat these again for sure. When they came out of the oven the potatoes were tender and the cheese had melted and thickened really nicely. I would give these a 5/10 for nutrition because it has a lot of cheese in it. I think these would have tasted even better if I had put green onions overtop. Overall I think this recipe is really good, and easy to follow.

Sheperds Pie

In class today we made Sheperds pie. I started by cutting up the onions, carrots, potatoes and garlic. My partner then started to cook the potatoes in boiling water, while I started to cook the onions and ground beef. I sprinkled flour and poured some of the potato water overtop of the beef and onions. I then added in the carrots and kept cooking it all together. Once the potatoes had finished cooking we mashed them and added milk and butter to them. Finally we put the frozen peas and corn into the meat mixture and poured it over the bottom of the pan. We divided the mashed potatoes in half as well and put it overtop of the meat and veggies. Once we got home we then cooked the shepherds pie for about 25 minutes. This shepherds pie was amazing. The potatoes were creamy and the meat and veggies were perfectly seasoned and cooked. I would give this a 7/10 for nutrition and I would make this recipe again. I found this recipe slightly harder then some of out other recipes, but cooking it actually went really well!

Thai Curry Soup

Today in foods class we made Thai curry soup. We cut all of our veggies up and started to cook our rice for about 20 minutes. We then heated up a cast iron pan on medium heat and cooked our chicken, when the chicken had finished cooking we started to sauté the onions, garlic, and lemongrass. Once that had been cooking for a bit we added in our cut up sweet potato and later red peppers. When the rice had finished cooking we removed it from the heat as well and put it next to the chicken (which was on a plate) We added our curry paste into the veggie mixture and then we added our chicken broth. Once the potatoes were halfway cooked we added half a can of coconut milk in and brought everything up to a simmer, while we consistently stirred. We made sure to wash our dishes along the way, so we didn’t have to clean everything at the very end. We turned back down the heat and then let it finish cooking. We then added in our chicken and cooked it all together for about 2 minutes. We put the rice into 2 bowls and then poured the Thai curry soup overtop. This soup wasn’t as spicy as I expected it to be, I typically don’t like curry but I actually thought this was pretty good. This was my first time making curry so I learned a lot along the process of making it. The curry turned out to be pretty mild in spice, it was also so pretty because it was quite colourful. I would give this a 9/10 for nutrition because it includes all the food groups!

Spring Rolls

Yesterday in foods class we made spring rolls. We started by thinly cutting up carrots, ginger, garlic, cabbage, peppers, green onions and mushrooms. Once the veggies were chopped we started by putting olive oil in a cast iron pan and then cooking the ginger, garlic and green onion. We then later added in out pork mixture from a few days before. After that we added in the veggies and then cooked everything together before adding in salt, pepper, and soy sauce. Once it was done cooking we spread it flat on a plate so it could cool. We then began to wrap the mixture with spring roll paper, which was somewhat challenging to get it to stick. We also made a paste that we spread along the edges of the spring roll paper when we wrapped them so they would stick together. We heated up a small cast iron pan with enough oil to deep fry them and waited until the oil was really hot. We then cooked two spring rolls at a time until they were brown and crispy on each side. These spring rolls tasted like spring rolls that you would get at a restaurant. They were crispy and they had a great veggie to meat ratio. I would give these a 5/10 for nutrition because they have a lot of oil in them, but they also have tons of veggies and meat. I would make these again but just leave out the mushrooms because I don’t like mushrooms that much.

Vietnamese Spring Rolls

Today in class we made spring rolls, which we’re very easy to make. We started by thinly cutting up all our veggies including cucumber, cabbage, carrots, avocado and peppers. We then took spring roll paper and dipped it in warm water before rolling the spring rolls together. We placed the lettuce, white noodles, and the rest of the cut up veggies and then rolled it all together. These rolls tasted so fresh and they looked very bright and colourful. I would give these rolls a 7/10 for nutrition because these are full of veggies, so they are good for you. I would make these again because they tasted a lot better than I expected!

Gyoza

Today in foods class we made gyoza. We started by cutting the cabbage up finely and soaking it in water and salt. We then combined the spices, green onion and meat with the cabbage, and mixed it together well with our hands. Next we took dumpling wrappers and wrapped the meat mixture into the wrappers. Once of pans had heated up we cooked the gyoza for about 3 minutes before adding water and sesame oil into the pan. We let the gyoza cook for about 4 more minutes while we washed and dried the dishes. Once the gyoza was slightly brown and crispy we drizzled the gyoza sauce overtop and ate them. These tasted amazing and very fresh, I liked them a lot better then frozen ones you buy from the grocery store. I would give them a 6/10 for nutrition because they contain a lot of veggies and protein but they also have a lot of oil in them. I would definitely make these and eat them again because they tasted great!

Cheesecake

Today in foods class we made cheesecake, which is one of my favourite desserts! We started by making the crust for the bottom out of butter (which we melted) and graham cracker crumbs. We baked the crust for 10 minutes and then put it in the freezer to cool. Next we made the filling but creaming cream cheese until it was light and fluffy and then blending it with the sugar, sour cream, vanilla and 1 egg. Once the filling was done we washed the dishes and dried them before pouring the filling overtop of the crust. We baked the whole cheesecake together for about 40 minutes and then let it cool again. I put raspberries and blueberries overtop of my cheesecake which made it taste slightly fruity and more sweet. The cheesecake was so creamy and it tasted amazing! I would give it a 4/10 for nutrition because it definitely is not very healthy, but I would for sure make it again because it was so good! This cheesecake recipe would also have tasted great if it was a different flavour like raspberry or chocolate.

Sushi

Today in foods class we made our own California rolls! We started by rinsing the rice under water and then cooking it on the stove for about 10 minutes. Next we cut up peppers, cucumber and avocado into very thin slices, as well as diced the crab before mixing it with mayo. Once the rice had been cooked and then cooled we then started to roll our sushi. We spread seaweed and a thin layer of rice overtop before putting the veggies and crab in the middle of the sushi. We then carefully and highly rolled the sushi together with sushi rollers. Once the sushi had been rolled we then cut it into 8 pieces. This sushi tasted amazing, and exactly like it was from a sushi restaurant. I would give it a 7/10 for nutrition because it is about the same nutrition as normal sushi is. I would definitely make and eat this sushi again because it was surprisingly easy to make and it tasted so fresh and looked really colourful.

Pineapple Cake

Yesterday we each made pineapple dessert bars which tasted sweet and fruity and were easy to make. I started but melting butter and then combining it with graham cracker crumbs. After that I pressed it into a small pan lined with parchment paper and baked it in the oven for about 10 minutes. While the crust was baking I made the icing with butter, icing sugar, vanilla, and an egg. I mixed it all with an electric mixer and set it aside. Once the crust was cold enough I put the icing overtop of the crust and then made the pineapple whipped cream for the top. All I did was whip whipping cream and then stirred in crushed pineapples before spreading it overtop. This dessert was so fruity and sweet which made it taste tropical and amazing. I would give this a 5/10 fro nutrition because it has a lot of sugar in it. I would defiantly make and eat these again, I think it would also taste great if we had done strawberries or raspberries instead.

Cranberry Orange Shortbread

Today I made cranberry orange shortbread cookies. I started by blending cranberry and sugar in a foods processor and then I zested an orange and set it aside. In a large bowl I combined the rest of the sugar, flour, cut cold butter into cubes and then blended it all with a pastry blender until the mixture resembled fine cubes. I then added the zested orange, cranberries and almond extract as well as some orange juice and mixed it all together. I put the dough into a big ball and then rolled it out with my hands into a big log shape before sealing it in cellophane and putting it in the fridge for at least two hours. The next day I sliced the log into cookie pieces and sprinkled sugar overtop. I put the cookies on parchment paper on a cookie sheet and baked them at 325 degrees for about 12 minutes. These cookies tasted fruity and sweet, the flavour of orange and cranberry together was amazing. The cookies were soft but also slightly chewy, I would give them a 5/10 for nutrition because they have some fruit in them and not that much sugar but they have a lot of butter in them. Overall these cookies tasted better then normal shortbread cookies so I will defiantly make them again.