Deep Breath, and Go!

This week during senior project class I have made a lot of future plans for next week. On Monday I went and helped Mrs. Halla with RBCTI at her church. I helped her serve and set up the food for about sixty people. Next week I am going to cook the meal for Monday night. So this is a really big responsibility and a lot of food. I think I am going to do a really good bean soup that is pretty easy to make with zucchini bread and some chips on the side. Also I called my grandma this week to see if she knew any families or individuals who could use a meal. She thought of two families and next Thursday I am going to bring a couple a meal. I have not planned this meal out yet but I am planning to do that this weekend. I also signed up for more cooking classes. There is this place in place in Greenville called the Cooking Station. I signed of for a three lesson package even though I cant go to the third one because I am going to be in Nicaragua. The first class (tonight) is going to be strictly on desserts, the next one is on baking bread, and then the last one is on cake and fondant decorating. Next week I also want to bring in something for the senior buffet that everyone will like. I have a busy week coming! 

Food Network anyone?

The shows that come on the food network are so much fun to watch! I don’t know how anyone can watch them and then not want to cook after. I like to watch Fabulous Cakes, Cake Boss, Ace of Cakes, and Top Chef the most. After I took the cake decorating class, I have a whole new appreciation for it. I understand the time, difficulty, and tediousness that goes into it. Everyone is always so surprised by how expensive they are but it actually is not that bad. All the supplies and icing that go into making those cakes is incredibly expansive. And plus, it is the most time consuming and tedious job I can think of. It requires incredible patience and creativity. Their job is defiantly not an easy one. Then on Top Chef, the challenges they have to do are so crazy, and then what they come up with is incredible. They have all these recipes on the top of their heads all the time and they are put through so many challenges and still come up with incredible results. I was watching Top Chef last night and one of the challenges was to go in Target and collect all the supplies and foods that were available in Target and cook a meal for a hundred or more Target employees all in the Target store in the middle of the night within three hours. It was intense. But the food looked so good still! One guy used a iron to make grill chesses, it was very innovative. He won that challenge and got 25,000 dollars too. They are also so good at just throwing things together without a recipe. It always amazes me what they can make and create with the limited amount of supplies and time they are given. But anyways, I think the food network is a great excuse to watch TV and could inspire anybody to want to cook. I know I want to!

Angelo, from Top Chef (he is my one of my favorites) 

Yes, that is a cake car. (guy from Cake Boss) 

What do you think?

Something I have often though about, especially last semester in econ class, is if cooking is a valuable trait or talent. We live in a nation where fast food and convenience is key. Not only is fast food for you, but also most of the packaged foods in the grocery stores are horrible for you and full of chemicals that clog up in our bodies. There are so many “packaged” deals and already made meals. Cooking is a lost art in my opinion. But is it valuable and worth doing anymore? I personally think it is. I think that cooking is something that everybody should know how to do. Cooking is can be a family event and sitting around the table brings people and families together. In America, it is all about getting things done, and getting what you want here and now. There is no time to cook and sit with your family and friends. When I went to Europe, sitting down to eat was a very long process. Nobody seemed to be in a hurry all the time. They genuinely seemed to be enjoying each other’s company. In the grassy are in front of the Eiffel Tower, hundreds of friends gathered around with elaborate meals and food. Here, it is like a grabbing a coffee is the only bonding time friends have over a meal. I think the way most of us treat cooking and mealtime is very impersonal and rushed. Eating and sharing a meal seems like it is just a thing to do in order to prepare you for your next task and refuel your body to get things done. It is hard to say that when I am sitting down and eating that I am not thinking about what I need to do and what comes next. During our lunches at school, we are always quizzing each other and studying for an English quiz. Studying isn’t a bad thing, but I think lunch is the one part of the day where it is completely okay to talk and laugh with friends in school. Like I said before, I was amazed at how so many people sat around talking and eating for hours during a meal.  Also, I think that cooking meals is healthier most of the time. Microwave meals and fast food is so bad for us, most people do not realize what it is doing to your body. What disturbs me most is that people know and can recognize that they are fat and are probably making their kids fat but they don’t do anything or change anything. They keep things the same just because it is easy and quick. What happened to caring for our well-being and bodies? It is not that hard to turn off the TV and go get some exercise. The funny thing is that at most gyms there are TVs attached to the treadmills and elliptical and yet America is still the fattest nation in to world. 

Ooey Goey Butter Bars

During this week for senior project I made Ooey Goey Butter Bars. That was the desert I made for Mrs. Halla’s event at her church on Monday nights. I also made them for my discipleship group that I meet with on Sunday night. And then I made another batch for the senior class this week. I got all positive remarks and comments. They were also really easy to make.  I will defiantly be doing those again.  Also this week I had a meeting with Mrs.Garison and all the other leaders clubs in beta club. We talked about the problems and what we need to do within the next week and month. I am going to have a meeting sometime early next week and approach them with different ideas. Mrs. Garison told me that Mrs. Seballos is looking for some help from the hospitality team. I talked to her later that day and she spoke to me about getting some servers for a parfait breakfast for the students going to Guatemala and then later fix food, breakfast casserole type dishes for another breakfast for the students going to Guatemala. And then she wanted servers for a mother son, father daughter dinner dance type thing in the spring. I am trying to think of some other ideas also. I also want to try and take another cake decorating class in the near future now that the rigor of my semester has calmed down. I am still deciding what dessert to bring for next week!