Reflection 15

Hello all. This week Phoebe and I have gone a different route. Since its the last week of the marking period instead of making something we've decided to make our own website. This website consists of all the foods we've made and blogs underneath them. This was originally a project for another class so we decided to combine the two aspect into one. I have to admit creating this website was really tedious. I took a lot of planning but in the end it was worth it. I think the most difficult part is making sure you are organized. When creating a website if you miss one step the entire thing can become messed up. It was fun combining our cooking skills and website making into one thing. We will show you the website in out presentation!

Reflection #13

This weekend I decided to put my skills to use. I wanted to make a dish that I could bring to Phoebes birhtday party. Since I know that she enforces strict paleo guideline I decided to get a recipe from paleogrubs.com and make something for her. I decided to make a blueberry lemon cake. I must admit, I made this entire thing by msyelf, however, it didnt come out as well as i hoped it would.

Ingredients:
2/3 cup coconut flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
Pinch of salt
5 eggs
1/3 cup almond milk
1/4 cup honey
1 tsp vanilla extract
6 tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp lemon zest
1/2 cup fresh blueberries

3/4 cup coconut cream, chilled
Juice of 1/2 lemon
2 tbsp honey
Dash of vanilla

The most difficult part about baking this cake was making the frosting. It was difficult to make it the right texture and weight. In addition, i had trouble with baking the batter to perfection. Overall, i was excited that i finally baked on my own. I made mistakes that i wont next time i attempt to do this. Anyways that's the point of learning. 

Reflection #14

The end of senior year is hectic. This weekend I wasn't able to work on my project because I had prom on Friday and then I went to Wild wood for the entire weekend. This weekend, however, it is forecasted that it will rain for the most part, therefore, I will use this time to work on my project and make a meal.    

Reflection #12

This weekend I made hamburgers for my family. They were considered paleo because of the organic grass fed ground meat I used and the fact that they weren't on buns. I took a different route in making these because I bought half pork and half beef and then formed the patties myself. I added a hint of salt and pepper for taste. I threw them on the grill after looking up how long to grill them for. I wanted to make them rare since I really wanted to taste the meat. To go along with the patties, the burger was comprised of lettuce tomatoes red onions pickles and mayonnaise. This was a fairly easy dish to make and it was really good. Splitting the meat was a great idea because the meats complemented each other and they made for a good combo. I learned that you can blend two meats and they can taste very good. Next week I'll be coming over to Phoebes for her birthday party and help her make something for the occasion.

Reflection #11

This previous weekend i missed the 20% time part in class. In addition, I went to two communions this weekend: one on Sunday and one on Saturday. Both of these were far away therefore I didnt have time to work on my project. However, that didnt stop me from indulging on a variety of different foods. On Saturday I went to a formal dinner party. There, I ordered a steak. The steak was cooked rare and it was delicious. For dessert, I had a cake pop. After having that cake pop, I got an idea that we should try making them. They are so delicious and fun! On Sunday the party was held at an Italian restaurant. I literally ate 10 Italian dishes ranging from chicken Milanese to lobster manicotti. All of the foods were delicious and i am happy to admit i went out of my comfort zone. I tried foods i havent tried before. I also learned that for this project i should step out of what  i usually eat and try new things. You never know if youll like it or not if you dont give things a try! Promise this weekend will be productive...

Reflection #10

20% time this week I prepared dinner for my family and my girlfriend. This entire week I was craving steak so I decided I should make it on my own on Saturday. So I went to Wegmans and purchased NY strip steaks. Right after, I researched a bit about what type of steaks there are and what methods of seasoning there are and how to prepare it. I came to the realization that it is so important how you cook the steak. I learned that the thickness of it can change how long you should grill it for. Well I took the measurements and followed the guidelines that it showed me online and made the steak. I prepared it with only salt and pepper so that the taste of the steak will be noticeable. Moreover, I grilled them medium rare since that's the best way to cook a steak to. To accompany the steak, I had a baked potato and spinach. The baked potato was fairly simple since I just wrapped it in tin foil and threw it on the grill. The spinach however, was much more difficult. I had to cook it. I also prepared it with garlic and olive oil and some salt and pepper. Overall I think I overcooked it. Next time I will know not to leave it on for so long. As far as it goes, I think the dinner was a success. The steak was cooked to perfection and the potato was yummy. I'm proud that I was able to make an entire dinner, learn about food, and use it as my project all at once !

Reflection #9

This week was quite productive in the making sense. I was allowed to come over my partner's hose and work on making paleo blueberry scones. The first problem we encountered was finding out that we didnt actually have blueberries. To compensate for this, we used strawberries as a substitute instead. The recipe called for almond flour and we were also missing that ingredient. At first, we attempted to substitute it with regular flour but that would unfortunately ruin the paleo sense in this meal. Moreover, we finally found tapioca flour. We wanted to check what the substitute between almond four and tapioca was but we couldnt find it. Eventually we took a risk and since scones are denser than muffins we took a guess on how much we needed. we used less since coconut flour is really heavy. in the end the scones came out perfectly. Quite honestly they might be the best good we made all year. Today i learned how making substitutions is easy when all ingredients aren't around and how to proportion ingredients to get the results you want!

Reflection #8

This is the first week this where i wasn't able to prepare a dish. First of all, my partner and I werent in town all weekend. Both of us were at college accepted student events, thus, disallowing us to come together and work on this project. Therefore, to compromise for my lack of work this week, i decided to do some research online about baking. I found out a lot from this website and i will take all of these tips into consideration next time i bake. 

https://www.dominosugar.com/baking-tips-how-tos/basic-baking-tips

Reflection #7 (Spring Break)

This is one of my favorite meals that we have made throughout all of 20% time. It was a traditional polish  dish that is actually quite difficult to make however I decide to make it because it is tasty, I wanted to educate phoebe about polish dishes, and it's actually paleo ! We made a cabbage stew with kielbasa. The thing is that it was a process. We had to wait for the cabbage to turn sour(I don't know how to explain this term in English). This was very complicated because we needed to keep the cabbage at the perfect temperature and for the right amount of time. For flavor we added mushrooms and cumin. Adding the kielbasa was quite easy because we just cut it up and put it in the pot. However, the cabbage gave me a hard time. What I learned is that sometimes cooking is a log proceeds. Everything needs to go right and it takes time. Some dishes you need to prepare in advance. Ultimately, this dish came out perfectly. It tasted just like my grandmothers. I am very proud of this because I was surprised that we were actually able to make this successfully.

Reflection #6 (Easter)

This reflection is a combination of my Easter progress as well as the flowing week which includes the majority of my Spring break. On Easter I helped my mom make a traditional Polish meal. The reason I chose to digress this week is to experiment with different foods and to add some variety to my project. This meal that I made wasn't paleo. First of all it was roast pork filled with dried fruits. I helped my mom with the entire process. What I learned is that fruits add flavor to the meat. In addition, they add moisture which allows the meat to not be as dry. A difficulty I experienced while preparing this meat was that I had to keep track of the temperature and I had to keep opening the oven and checking up on it. Pork is a typical polish meat that we have on Easter. The reason is because for the entire week we are not allowed to eat meat and finally on Easter (the final day) we feast! Let me tell you it was delicious !

Reflection # 5

This week Phoebe and I werent able to work together. However, that doesnt mean that we havent made any progress on the project! First of all, in class on Friday i researched what we should make. I took on this task because i knew that she was going to actually be making them therefore i wanted to contribute to the project this week by determining what phoebe should make. while searching for this i took into consideration a desert she can make that se can bring to her grandmas house. While searching, i found an awesome recipe for coconut macaroons on tasteofhome.com. Unfortunately, these cookies arent paleo. You can easily make them paleo, however, Phoebe argued that she wanted to make regular cookies this week. She had described to me exactly how she make them. She told me that the key ingredient was the sugar that made them stick together. what was hard about making these was that they had to be crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside. Baking them to the right temperature and for the right time was difficult. otherwise, it was just a typical baking recipe that called for mixing certain ingredients together.

Reflection #4

This week my partner and I made a BLT Fritatta. The lettuce part we substituted with spinach. You can use any mixed green but we decided for spinach because it is the most nutritious as well as delicious. We found the recipe for this meal on paleogrubs.com. The only change we made to the recipe was substituting the almond milk for whole milk. This was the only non-paleo ingredient we used. What made the bacon paleo was that it was organic and grass fed. This eliminated any of the toxins stored in the fat. While making this meal, we realized that we used too much spinach. For next time, i would use less of the ingredients to not try to overpower the tastes of them. Furthermore, we didn't butter the pan correctly therefore after we finished the eggs were stuck on the pan. While we were baking we didnt put it in a high enough temperature. The middle was still kinda raw. It is better to put the dish in the oven on a lower temperature but for longer. Due to time constraints, we rushed this process. Overall, this dish was definitely worth making and very delicious. Next time, we would attempt to make this without the recipe. It's fairly easy to make anyways.

Reflection #3

This week we opted for a simple and delicious meal. I had just come home from practice to a new batch of apples that my mom had just purchased. What better way than to start my weekend off with some delicious and juicy apples. Apples are considered pretty low-carb therefore, it suits perfectly for a paleo snack. To make the dish even yummier and more filling i decide to top it off with almond butter. Almond butter is a great replacement for peanut butter. It adds protein fiber and some fat and is less in sugar than peanut. I used organic because it is a lot better for you. This dish may seem careless , however, with the lack of time i had this weekend, i believe that i learned a valuable concept. Combining two things and making sure you get all your nutrient (protein,fat, fiber, etc). is very pleasing. Also, your body feels a lot better if you receive all of them. Also, i made this snack up all by myself without the need for a recipe or looking it up. My knowledge of the produce and deciding to match them up allowed me to make a very delicious snack. 

 

Reflection #2

Before:
This week Phoebe and I decided to go back to an old tradition, brownies! They were the perfect thing to make since we can use it to bring to our friends birthday party this weekend! In addition, we can combine an extra element that we decided on implementing this semester. Since we are familiar with making these brownies we are going to try to make them, without the recipe. Next week we will attempt to make something different but this week, for a change, we wanted to make something from memory.

Post-Making:
WE MADE THE BROWNIES AND THEY'RE DELICIOUS. After making them we looked back at the recipe and realized we made it without coconut flour. This made them taste differently, however, in a good way! A difficulty that we experienced was obviously trying to make them without looking at the recipe. In actuality, it wasn't that difficult.  The brownies only call for three major ingredients and one of them is cocoa which is obvious. We realized that each other week we are going to go back to something we already made and try it without a recipe. And the other week we are going to try a new dessert.

Reflection #1

I spent this entire weekend in Reno Nevada for a fencing tournament. Therefore, I was not able to make it to school on Thursday and Friday. Fortunately, this is my last tournament of the season so I will no miss any more class periods I which we work on 20% time. I was able to make up the work by communicating with my partner and doing my part of te project. I had a laptop with me therefore I went online and searched for some paleo dessert recipes (remember this semester we are focusing more on the dessert aspect). This time around I found a new paleo website that I filled with low carb desserts. Te name of it is healthful pursuit.com This smarter we want to rely on less recipes and website however for the beginning we want to look aroun for different website an how helpful they can be.  Next week we will actually make the strawberry jam that we both agreeeed on.

20% Time Proposal

My 20 Time Project is going to be making paleo desserts. My final product/goal/accomplishment will be to be able to make a desert without the help of phoebes mom or any particular recipe.What I need to know about my topic to be successful are fundamental elements of baking and how to substitute ingredients in order to make them paleo. What will be easy about this project will be gathering the ingredients and measurements. What will be difficult about this project will be making the deserts without recipes. Most of this project will be done outside of class. What I will be doing in class will be researching the recipes and baking techniques.

Reflection #14

For twenty percent time this week, Phoebe and I made paleo banana bread. Although we made this recipe before, we used a different recipe this time to try to compare the two and to taste the differences. The major difference between the recipes was that this one called for coconut flour. Now, last time we used almond flour however we learned that almond flour isn't supposed to be cooked at really high temperatures. The recipe called for cinnamon, walnuts, and chocolate chips. We cheated a little since the chocolate chips aren't paleo :) The setback we experienced was that the bread came out way too greasy. The reason we think that it came out too greasy is that we put too much coconut oil in it. In addition, we should have baked it for a little longer at a lower temperature but since we were short on time we really didn't think of that. Overall, this recipe tasted a lot better than the almond flour one even though we messed up with the baking a little bit. Banana bread is really tasty so maybe we can try an alternative recipe next time.

Reflection #11

This week I observed my partner make coconut flour waffles. I didn't contribute in any other way except for measuring the amount of ingredients i need. The reason is because i wanted to learn how to make them and by first watching someone else make them i can later do it on my own. I decided to test myself by doing this and then seeing if i can actually do it by myself. The recipe called for coconut crystals, eggs, coconut flour, and cinnamon. These ingredients made it low carb and paleo. After my partner finished making them we tasted them and we both agreed that we put in too much cinnamon. This is a setback that we experienced. In addition, we thought cinnamon would make the waffles more tasty but the cinnamon took over the flavor. TO make it less strong, we add berries to even out the flavor.

Reflection #10

For the first time I am finally preparing a dish on my own without the help of my partner Phoebe. In addition, this is an exciting week for I am preparing dinner for my family. They should be in for a surprise (hopefully).  I made paleo salmon burgers. The reason they are paleo is because they are organic and I will be consuming them without buns so technically its just a salmon patty with vegetables. This meal was fairly easy to make and so healthy at the same time! They cook on the grill really quickly because it took 5 minutes on each side at 450 degrees. While they were grilling, I prepared the vegetables. First i took out the tomatoes and washed them and then sliced them accordingly. After, I took out red onions (cried a little) and sliced them. Lastly, I added my favorite ingredient to the meal, AVOCADOS! You can prepare the avocados by either mashing them or just slicing them in cubes. I prefer to just slice it. When the burgers are done, I put all of the ingredients stacked on each other and top it off with the sauce of my choice (I choose ketchup). What I learned while preparing this meal is that paleo meals aren't all that complicated to make,. For instance, this is just a hamburger with out the bread. I didn't experience any setbacks except for maybe burning the patties a little bit. They ended up being delicious and I'm happy I finally prepared something on my own.    

Reflection #9

This week, Phoebe and I weren't able to meet up because of the holiday weekend. Instead, I decided to go a different route and focus on the food that my mother prepared for thanksgiving. Unfortunately, she didn't focus on paleo food. I helped my mother make the turkey. First we buttered it up and let it sit n that for a couple of days. The day before thanksgiving my mother decided to season it, however, she used a special ingredient. She used apple juice and honey to cover it up .i KNOW that may seem odd but it made the turkey very soft and tender. The skin was golden and tasted very good. To top it off, she added some spicy seasoning to match the sweetness of the honey and orange juice (this was seasoned the night before). In the morning my mother put the turkey in the oven for about 4 hours on 500 F. What I learned by this experience, was that honey and sweeteners can be used to soften the meat and make it softer. A difficulty we endured was picking out the best spices to complement the sweetness..