NE Highlights and Challenges | Week #4

This is a class assignment that I write about at the end of each week called Highlights and Challenges. If you are new to my blog I am enrolled at The Natural Epicurean Culinary Academy in Austin, Texas and this is my online journal (among other things!).

HIGHLIGHTS

1. Describe: What did you find especially exciting, interesting, inspiring, satisfying and/or fun this week in the kitchen?

This week I enjoyed cooking in a double lab scenario with a two person team. The list of recipes (about 5 recipes on average) gets roughly divided up in half between the two of us and we save the easiest recipe last so that whomever gets close to completing the other time consuming recipes can start on the last one. By the time we start the last one we begin plating and cleaning up our station. 

This week was an awesome week for me and my lab partner, Paula, because we almost plated first everyday! I sure do get satisfaction when we plate first, but even more satisfaction when we get complimented on how the food tastes! :)

The other cool thing I liked this week was FRUITS! We learned about fruits and sampled some interesting fruits that I have never seen or purchsed before. Fruits like, horned melon, kumquat, and guava were sampled. 

We made some great fruit recipes. Some of my favorites were, fruit salsa, grilling pineapple for fruit kabobs, watermelon salad and a strawberry soup. The garnish for the soup was so good!

We also had a lab about preserves that I found interesting. I liked the quick pickles we made in class and they turned out pretty good! I felt like that lab could have been longer or maybe I was just moving too quickly! I would have liked to make a marmalade instead of the beet horseradish, but that's okay I've got the recipe to make a marmalade at home :)

Here are some food pics for this past week:
Marinated Beets, roasted butternut squash, carrot salad with parsley and mint, and carrots with dried apricots and chipotle.

Turnip and rutabaga puree with leeks, warm fennel and mushroom salad, and stir-fried broccoli with mushrooms and ginger.

Roasted cauliflower with raisins and vinaigrette, sugar snap peas with scallions and dill, haricot verts with walnuts, cucumber salad, zucchini and yellow squash noodles.

Collard green coleslaw, mixed greens with cumin and paprika, stuffed collards, cabbage with mustard, sauteed baby bok choy.

Preserves! We made beet horseradish relish and quick pickles with onion.

Fruits! We made watermelon salad, strawberry soup, and a fruit salsa.

2. Reflect: In what ways have you begun to apply, develop or incorporate this and/or how does this influence your professional goals?

I'm feeling like I need to make some recipes from this past week on my own time since some of the recipes we were assigned were variations or completely new ones. For example, I love caggabe and cumin and the variation called for mustard instead of cumin, so I'd like to make that one as per the recipe. I think my family might like that one for sure. I like getting assigned variations of recipes, but that one in particular was the one I wanted to make. No worries at all about what was assigned, this is just an observation. I think it's good to have some variations so that when you share a recipe with someone you can let them know there is more than one way of cooking a recipe!

CHALLENGES

3. Describe: What did you find especially challenging or difficult in the kitchen this week?

I found it a bit challenging to study for the written part of the test since I initially thought we were only going to be tested on the current foundation course, but later confirmed that the written test does included both fundamentals and foundations courses! I appreciated Chef Diane's help with clarifying things the day before the test!

The other thing, which is minor, is the cleaning duties after lab.

4. Reflect: What might you do to meet and overcome these challenges or difficulties?

Since I have been on a two person team we have more that one role so I get a little confused as to what exactly my cleaning duties are, but again this is minor and I can just read the cleaning folder. 

As for preparing for any upcoming test I will get in the habit of asking "Is this portion of information on the test?" when I'm in class. This sounds like the best thing I could do for myself so I only study exactly what is needed. 

I'm trying out this new mind set about tests and being around others who are experiencing the same situation. For a long time I had this mentality when a test was coming I would worry and stress. That mentality is my ego. For now, I have decided to be calm and happy! I tried this new way of thinking and I felt pretty good especially on test day we had on Thursday. I even took a selfie:

Anyway, that's all for this week! Thanks for stopping by :)

NE Highlights and Challenges | Week 3

This is a class assignment that I write about at the end of each week called Highlights and Challenges. If you are new to my blog I am enrolled at The Natural Epicurean Culinary Academy in Austin, Texas and this is my online journal (among other things!).

HIGHLIGHTS

1. Describe: What did you find especially exciting, interesting, inspiring, satisfying and/or fun this week in the kitchen?

This week we discussed many things in our foundation series such as:

grains, beans, tofu and tempeh as well as a lecture about conscious cooking. 

The recipes that I was surprised by was the Teff porridge, black-eyed pea salad, chickpea sliders, sunflower cheese, and seitan! Teff, seitan, sun cheese...what are these crazy words :P It's good food trust me.

After class today I went to my favorite grocery store, Wheatsville Co-op, and bought and bag of Bob's Red Mill vital wheat gluten and made some seitan! I used the recipe on the bag and I plan on using it for sandwiches or maybe a stir-fry for dinner. It made my house smell like a restaurant along with the bread my husband made...mmmm!

As I mentioned before black-eyed pea salad was great. I have never liked them before, but that's because I ate them without any flavorings so it was bland and not very memorable. This salad will be something I'll make for the family to try along with the seitan.

Here are some photos of this week's recipes we made at school.

This is dolmas, risotto cakes, pan fried rice cakes, and a summer black bean salad.

This photo includes granola, Teff porridge, vegan cheesy grits, cereal bars, and muesli.

This has black bean hummus, black-eyed pea salad (Texas caviar), baked beans with tofu, and Indian chickpea sliders.

This last group of food includes tempeh kabobs, orange ginger glazed tempeh, tofu in tomato cream sauce, and tofu migas. 

Oh and check out this bean pic. Chef Inge whipped these up in a pressure cooker. Aren't they lovely! Black, chickpea, pinto, butter, and I believe navy beans :) 

The other thing that I liked this week was the lecture about conscious cooking and self care. I appreciated the importance of taking care of yourself through quality food, yoga, meditation, or whatever it is you prefer to do to release stress. The instructor actually took us outside and we did some light exercises, which might have looked weird to people driving by, but that's what you would expect to see in Austin. A bunch of culinary students in uniform out on the lawn tapping our chakras :P I liked it and I felt really good afterwards!

2. Reflect: In what ways have you begun to apply, develop or incorporate this and/or how does this influence your professional goals?

I'm thinking that I'd like to get back into yoga because I remember how it made me feel. But I'd rather wait for that to happen after I complete this culinary program. Yoga was a peaceful place for me and I liked the serenity I felt afterwards. 

After our seitan demo today, as I mentioned earlier, I had to make this immediately. I get so inspired watching Chef Inge demonstrate to the class new recipes and/or techniques that I want to try them when I get home. I have been feeling that way a lot lately. I'd like to get into the habit of making my own stocks on the weekends. I have been making granola lately and it is so easy to do and the ones you buy at the grocery store are so expensive! 

CHALLENGES

3. Describe: What did you find especially challenging or difficult in the kitchen this week?

It was challenging to go from a group of three to a group of two in lab because I was mentally preparing myself to do a certain thing, but then stuff happens, which is out of my control, and I was a little discombobulated temporarily. 

My partner and I looked at each other and then laughed it off! It's not the end of the world and we made it work. We were exhausted and it's a little funny to see us walk to our cars after class because we are total zombies. I am so tired and can't think straight.

4. Reflect: What might you do to meet and overcome these challenges or difficulties?

It's a matter of perscpective and being able to look at things/situations for what they are and keep moving forward. 

Thanks for stopping by! See you next week :)

Mixed Berry Shortcake

I've been meaning to post this, but school has kept me very busy. 

This is a cake that I made using Chloe Coscarelli's recipe from her book Chloe's Vegan Desserts

I baked two 9" layers, but only used one and froze the other one for later. It turned out really well and it's a favorite! 

It has a whipped coconut frosting and fresh strawberries! So delicious and I love this time of year when the berries are in abundance. 

If you are interested in making vegan desserts check out her book. The recipes are easy and there are plenty of good pictures so you can see how the recipe is suppose to turn out. I actually have a couple of her books and every recipe I made tasted good.

She has recipes on her website that you can try out!

NE Highlights and Challenges | Week 2

This is a class assignment that I write about at the end of each week called Highlights and Challenges. If you are new to my blog I am enrolled at The Natural Epicurean Culinary Academy in Austin, Texas and this is my online journal (among other things!).

HIGHLIGHTS

1. Describe: What did you find especially exciting, interesting, inspiring, satisfying and/or fun this week in the kitchen?

This week went by so fast! That's a good thing because I am exhausted. There were demo's, and a lot of cookery in lab class this past week. I counted about 20 recipes we made in lab and it was a blast. The timing, plating, cooking (both wet and dry methods), and getting a burn on my arm all meant a lot to me. It was the hands-on that I like when I'm learning new techniques and also collaborating with the team was a positive experience. I appreciate getting to know them.

I found out that I really liked fried green tomatoes and I enjoy plating! 

Oh, and I passed my ServSafe exam! I am now certified as a food protection manager in case I want to open my own restaurant. Hopefully we will get hard copies of our certificates soon!

Here are some cookery pics of the food we created this week.

These are four different stocks (made by the entire class): dashi, mushroom, roasted garlic and herb, and a sweet vegetable stock. 

From those stocks we made sauces! We used those sauces in most of these dishes in the picture below (except for the salsa verde, which I hand chopped!). We made a roasted red pepper coulis, tomato sauce, veggie demi-glace, and a wild mushroom jus.

These next pictures are based off a wet cooking method. This means that we cooked these either by braising, steaming, poaching, etc. We made braised cabbage, fennel, and leeks, steamed carrots, vanilla poached pears with a sad chocolate drizzle, and a winter veggie stew with kale. Note, avoid chocolate drizzle if it is too soupy! 

These last few pics we used a dry cooking method. Dry cooking means you cook with oil, fat, the radiation on hot air, or metal to transfer heat (no moisture is used and any moisture from food evaporates; liquid escapes from a pan as vapor).  Some types of dry cooking are stir-frying, sauteing, grilling, roasting, baking, etc.

We made roasted eggplant rounds and asparagus spears, baked sweet potato steak fries, grilled okra and yellow squash, pan fried green tomatoes, roasted portabella mushrooms, and sauteed pears and apples with cherries, and a vegetable stir-fry.

2. Reflect: In what ways have you begun to apply, develop or incorporate this and/or how does this influence your professional goals?

I'm reminded that the culinary industry, just like my previous professional career, is about working with others. How you approach others, your tone, your intention, and your goals as a group matter. 

CHALLENGES

3. Describe: What did you find especially challenging or difficult in the kitchen this week?

It was a little challenging for me to find a groove with my new team members in the beginning. This was the first week where we actually cooked together so I can only guesstimate that we were all trying to get a rythm established. In the end, we had a successful week. We plated our food first before the other teams two days in a row! Hi-fives for everyone :)

4. Reflect: What might you do to meet and overcome these challenges or difficulties?

A couple of things come to mind. One, is to be aware of how I approach others and to be a good listener and observe the situation with kindness. We have a common goal which is to succeed in this program and why not lift each other up! There is no need to be a ego monster.

The other thing is this Gallop strength finder questionaire I took today. I'm curious how my results, along with my classmates, pan out. I believe it identifies what your strengths are and then that information is shared with my group so we all know a little more about each other. Sounds interesting and I'm glad I participated. 

That's it for this week! 

NE Highlights and Challenges | Week 1

This is a class assignment that I write about at the end of each week called Highlights and Challenges. If you are new to my blog I am enrolled at The Natural Epicurean Culinary Academy in Austin, Texas and this is my online journal (among other things!).

HIGHLIGHTS 

1. Describe: What did you find especially exciting, interesting, inspiring, satisfying and/or fun this week in the kitchen? 

This being my first week was very exciting, more so than being nervous, and the day went by so fast. I felt like I was taking a big step forward in my future just by showing up to orientation. I arrived a little early and saw that all of our supplies were neatly laid out and of course I sat front row. I didn't want to miss any information that Chef Rosa was going to dish out! 

The agenda that was given was a thoughtful touch because it let me know what to expect the first two weeks of class and allowed me to anticipate what was going to happen next. 

I thought the information about the kitchen brigade, equipment and tools was interesting. It was validating for me to know that my Vitamix, Le Creuset dutch oven, and Cuisinart processor were great investment pieces to have in my home.

The really fun part about class this week was using our new knives! The lab was called knife skills 1 and we learned the basics (parts of the knife, how to hold a knife, types of knives, etc.) as well as dicing veggies! Here is a photo of my veggie cutting skills. Yeah, I need to practice, but it was fun!

The other great part about this is my classmates. They are all so eager and have a positive attitude and I'm grateful that it's a small sized group of people to have this experience with. 

The other thing I liked were the demos! This is where we see Chef Inge demonstrate some recipes and provide objectives and of course we got to sample three soups. Mmmmm, food!!! 

Lastly, this may not be important to some, but for me it is and it's the location of being in south Austin. I am now in close proximity to some of my favorite places, for example Wheatsville Co-op, Mr. Natural, Alamo Drafthouse, and others. 

Lot's of good things happening for sure!

2. Reflect: In what ways have you begun to apply, develop or incorporate this and/or how does this influence your professional goals?

As I was driving home I was thinking about the week and how I felt and I have come to the conclusion that I am on the right path. There is no doubt that I struggle with or have that sick feeling in the pit of my stomach when I think about becoming a personal chef. I just love food. They way it makes me feel, the time and effort that goes into creating a meal for someone, and to be able to share my skills with others so that they can create plant-based meals themselves.

When I'm in my kitchen I think about how to stand when I'm about to chop and how to hold my knife. As I mentioned before I need more practice and looks like we will be having a lot of potato themed meals in my house :P

CHALLENGES

3. Describe: What did you find especially challenging or difficult in the kitchen this week?

A couple of things, knife skills and sitting during the demos. 

4. Reflect: What might you do to meet and overcome these challenges or difficulties?

Let's start with sitting in the demos. I now realize that I will have to stand a lot more during our demos. Before I started this program I worked in an office and I had a standing desk. I had been using a standing desk for a couple of years and it has served my body well. I thought I could sit throughout the entire demo, but by doing so my back hurts. So from now on I plan on dividing my time between standing and sitting.  This is what my standing desk at my old job looked liked in case you were curious :)

As for the knife skills, I realize that lots of practice will help me so it's not something that is out of my reach. I am capable of improving!  I also have to be more conscious of the 'little things' like my standing position and cutting more evenly (line up my knife accordingly). Here are a couple pics from this weeks knife cutting lab. 

Thanks for reading my highlights and challenges. See you again next week!