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Archive for November, 2010

Apparently I Have SKILLZ

Nov 30

Posted by Shari B. in Natural Chef Culinary School | 3 Comments

Or at least, I left school feeling like I had pretty decent “skillz” yesterday.  :)

Day 1 of midterms is complete.  It went really well, I think.  Maybe I should thank Brendan Brazier for the great brain food I had before class.

We had a written segment that I finished pretty quickly, and then I moved on to the ingredient identification.  There were about 26 items and I think I missed 3 of them.  There were things like tamarind paste, burdock root, caraway seeds, fennel seeds, cumin seeds, buckwheat groats, sumac [which I mistook for ground annatto], adzuki beans, miso.  I felt great in this portion as well.

Then we moved on to knife skills as a group.  We had to do the following:

  • julienne a carrot
  • roll cut a carrot
  • brunoise green pepper
  • small dice green pepper
  • medium dice an onion
  • chiffonade kale leaves
  • mince garlic

Here’s how my plate looked:

It looks like everyone did a fine job:

I actually think I did well in the knife skills test, better than I had anticipated.  At least on getting the right sizes for the most part.  We’ll see when I get my actual grade because our instructor was going to sit down and compare pieces for overall consistency among other criteria.

It ended up being a really good day!  I can’t wait to get my grade!

Today I am working with grains and sauces, to prep for tomorrow’s Day 2 practical.  I made forbidden rice for the first time today (very pretty black rice!).  After writing this post, I’ll be making some polenta and millet, just to refresh my confidence with them, since I just don’t use them very often.  I feel fine about brown rice and quinoa, if I should happen to draw those from the hat, as they the two grains I work with most often.

Things will be really hectic until December 8.  First reason being: Friday after midterms are done, I’ll actually be cooking FOR THE PUBLIC! (Look out Boulder residents, ha ha!)  There is a large benefit that we students will be working in order to earn some externship hours.  I believe they said 200 people are attending and it’s with a very well known chef in the Boulder area (and he’s worked with Jamie Oliver!!!).  Some of us are plating and serving, some are prepping and I volunteered to work on the stove. (!!!!!) I’m insanely nervous because I’ve never worked in any type of restaurant setting.  But I need the practice and the experience of being under pressure while cooking, so I’m looking forward to it.

Reason 2 for hectic schedule:  I have a large assignment due on the 8th and thanks to studying for midterms, I haven’t put much time toward the homework yet.  So I’ll be cramming Saturday, Sunday and Tuesday to get it done.  Homework is NOT something I like to procrastinate on, but unfortunately that’s the way it goes this time.

So if blog posts are few and far between over the next week (or maybe just a tad shorter than usual), you know why!

Well friends, I think I hear the polenta calling from the kitchen. ;)   Enjoy your day and I’ll see you again soon!

– Shari B. =)

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Thanksgiving 2010 Recap – Part 2 (Dessert!)

Nov 28

Posted by Shari B. in Cooking | 4 Comments

Hey friends!

Sorry to keep you waiting for further info on the chocolate tarts – I just felt like that last Thanksgiving post got to be SUPER LONG!

MSP loves chocolate almost as much as I do, so rather than go with something pumpkin flavored for our dessert, we decided to use a ground almond tart shell (probably one of my favorites from school!) and fill it with a chocolate mousse.  I thought about doing the carob/avocado/dates mixture (chocomole) but decided to go with something a little more traditional.  Below are the recipes I used to make this delicious (and EASY) dessert.

Mini Tart Shells (makes four 4″ shells)
Adapted from an Original Recipe by Bauman College Staff

  • 1 cup very finely ground almonds
  • 1/2 cup garbanzo bean flour (or flour of choice)
  • 2 tablespoons Sucanat
  • a few pinches of sea salt
  • 2 tablespoons honey
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted

Mix the dry ingredients together first, then add in the wet ingredients and mix until well blended. Divide among 4 mini tart shell pans (the kind with removable bottoms), pressing mixture thoroughly into the bottoms and sides of the  pans.

Bake on 325 for 10-15 minutes, keeping a close eye on them.  They can go quickly from done just right to burnt.

Remove from oven and cool on a cooling rack.  When completely cool, push up through the removable bottom of the tart pan to release the sides from the pan then gently remove the bottom piece, taking care not to break the edges of the tart shells during the process.

Fill tart shells with your favorite pie or tart-like fillings:  fresh fruit, spiced purees (like pumpkin or sweet potato), or the chocolate mousse like we did!

Chocolate Filling

The recipe that inspired our filling and our cream was this one for Mom’s Blender Chocolate Mousse at epicurious.com.  This was LIGHTNING fast!  Here’s how we used it:

  • 3 egg whites
  • 1 cup high quality dark chocolate chips
  • 3/4 cup water
  • 2 tablespoons Sucanat

Crack the eggs and separate the whites from the yolks (save your yolks for use in another recipe, don’t throw them away!)  Set your whites aside and within reach of your blender.  Place the chocolate chips in your blender.  Heat the water and Sucanat to a rapid simmer over medium to medium-high heat, and stir well until the Sucanat is fully dissolved.

Immediately pour the hot Sucanat mixture into the blender over the chocolate, cap the blender and blend for a few seconds, then immediately add the egg whites and continue blending until you have a creamy chocolate mixture.  Pour into the 4 cooled tart shells and refrigerate until ready to serve (if lightly covered with plastic wrap these will keep nicely through the second day, but a third day is pushing it as a ‘crust’ will start to form on the mousse.)

Gingered “Cream”

  • TruWhip topping
  • ground ginger
  • small chunk of high quality dark chocolate

Just before serving the tarts, place some TruWhip into a small mixing bowl.  Use as much as you think you’ll need to top four tarts.  I have a certain someone in my household who can never have too much whipped topping, so that’s why there is no measurement here.

Sprinkle a few dashes of ginger into the TruWhip.  Using a rubber scraper, mix together.  Continue to sprinkle the ginger, mix and taste until you reach your desired level of “gingerness”.  I like a lot, so I went a little overboard.  ;)   Note that the ginger flavor will intensify over time, so go easy if you are serving this a while after mixing.

Top the tarts with the whipped topping, then run a small chunk of dark chocolate along a microplane to “dust” the topping with chocolate.  If you don’t have a microplace, you could use cocoa powder or even a little ground cinnamon.

You could even put on a few pomegranate seeds for color.

I like my pom in my dessert wine.  (BTW, if you are looking for a delicious dessert wine, try a moscato d’asti by either Bella Donna or Via Lattea – almost better than the dessert itself!)

Now go make some dessert and enjoy the last few hours of the long holiday weekend!  While I usually am sad that the weekends are over (especially holiday ones!), I’m definitely ready to take on Monday this week because it’s MIDTERM week and I’m just soooo ready to have it behind me so I can stop thinking (and overthinking) about it!

See you next time, blog buds!

– Shari B. =)

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Thanksgiving 2010 Recap – Part 1

Nov 26

Posted by Shari B. in Cooking | 6 Comments

Hi friends!

Ahhh Black Friday…  did you get up bright and early this morning to get some holiday shopping done?  (Or stay up all night before?)  We did not.  We’ve gone in the past, but it really seems in the last few years that there just haven’t really been any deals good enough to stand in the freezing cold for, not to mention lose sleep over.  Is it just me or do you guys think that the fun of Black Friday is being ruined by stores opening on Thanksgiving day, or at crazy hours like 2 AM?  I remember the first time I ever went Black Friday shopping – and it sure seemed like 6 AM was the first opening.  Last night Old Navy opened at 10 PM.  I feel for the employees of these stores, who end up missing out on part of their holiday.

But I digress…

How about some foodie talk?

Our Thanksgiving was quiet and relaxing.  It started on Tuesday night when I put MSP’s small chicken in the “citrus and savory” brine so it could soak for 12 hours.

Then on Wednesday night, Thanksgiving Eve, I made my dinner out of a mish-mash of veggies in the fridge.   And it was so darn delicious!!

Mushrooms, butter beans, green pepper, a tiny tomato and some shallots all sauteed up with some leftover Chipotle salsa and a little taco seasoning.  I’m finding that even with attending culinary school, my favorite dishes are the ones that are thrown together in a flash and provide tons of nutrients and flavor.

Since we were feeling festive we had to make a little toast as well (no, not an Ezekial toast… the other kind!).

The morning of Thanksgiving I woke up early to make a nice breakfast for MSP.  I was excited for this day filled with cooking.  He loves French toast, and I’d seen a recipe for a vegan version by Isa Chandra Moskowitz a while back that I’d had my eye on, for Pumpkin French Toast.  French toast and I have not been friends in the past.  And as it turns out, we still aren’t.  The change I made was using Ezekial bread, which should be fine since it’s a dense bread.  Here’s all you need to see to know I will not be making this again (nothing against the recipe):

Believe it or not, there actually was coconut oil in the bottom of my cast iron skillet.  The plus?  MSP was shocked that there was no egg in this recipe.  So for any of you out there who are vegan, give it a try.  Just don’t use Ezekial bread.  ;)

After breakfast, it was time to get a workout in.  We chose to use the Wii.  Boxing, soccer, and more.  (And we are even sore today from the boxing and the soccer squatting)!  We usually like to get a good walk in with the dogs on days we are off too, but ol’ girl Riley sustained a little injury on Tuesday at the off-leash park, so no walk for them.

She looks sad about it, doesn’t she? ;)

Zzzzzz….zzzzzz….zzzzz.

At noon, I hit the kitchen with my timeline of when to make what, and got busy.

The first thing I served was a recipe from school for BBQ Tempeh “Meatballs” that get wrapped in basil leaves.  It’s a fun little appetizer – the hubby enjoyed it, even being that it was tempeh and not beef.

I don’t post direct recipes publicly from our school workbook, since I believe that to be the property of Bauman College.  But here is a link for you with a very similar recipe to get the “meatballs” made and then you can top them with a sauce of your choice.

Next I got to work on getting the dough made for the homemade gluten-free bread (also another school recipe, with a few changes based on the flours I had on hand).  This one includes millet flour, sorghum flour, brown rice flour and buckwheat flour.  There is something about having fresh bread straight out of the oven that just ROCKS!

Getting ready to put on the egg wash:

Egg washing (action shot courtesy of MSP, LOL!):

And the finished product:

It was delicious: dense and crusty.  Loved it.  Loved it again this morning when I made my toast for breakfast.  :)

The roast chicken for MSP came out beautifully, served with a side of the carrots and onions from the roasting pan.  Here’s a roasting tip for you:

When letting the bird rest (whether chicken or turkey) after cooking and before serving, prop it up so that the breast meat is below the tail-end.  This way the juices will redistribute to the breast meat, which can typically be dryer than the rest of the meat.

On the side we had a Wild Rice Stuffing (loosely inspired by the recipe in the link). From a budgetary standpoint, I went with walnuts (cheaper than pine nuts) and used dried basil in place of the dried mint.  Whenever possible, I use what I have on hand so that I don’t have to add to the grocery list!

I had planned to make a lightened up pumpkin souffle, but changed my mind at the last minute and used up a large leftover baked sweet potato that I mashed up with some maple syrup and topped with some ground almonds and cinnamon.  (Probably tasted better than pumpkin with whipped egg whites, and in much less time!)

In an effort to incorporate some practice for midterms into my day, I made a dairy free white sauce out of soaked cashews, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, and onion/garlic powders (and WHITE it definitely is – this would make a great alternative to alfredo sauce):

So I mixed it in with some green beans and topped it with some toasted crushed walnuts, kind of like a green bean casserole:

What I haven’t learned in culinary school:  how to carve a chicken after cooking.  ;)

Here’s my meat-free Thanksgiving plate.  Let’s eat!

I’ll save the dessert for the next post!

Enjoy your holiday weekend friends!

– Shari B. =)

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Thanksgiving Wore Me Out!

Nov 25

Posted by Shari B. in Cooking | 2 Comments

Hi blog buds!

How was your Thanksgiving?  I hope that you all had a FABULOUS day!  I didn’t see a single down of football today, which is completely abnormal for me on a Thanksgiving day!  (Who won the games??? I don’t even know!)  I was in the kitchen pretty much ALL DAY, starting with breakfast of Pumpkin Banana (Vegan) French Toast and then back at it from noon to 6:00 for our Thanksgiving food.  (A meal for two.  Six hours.   Am I just really slow or is it just as time consuming to cook for 2 as it is for 10?)  ;)

Well, at least I feel less slow seeing how it was appetizer, meal, and dessert.  All from scratch.  Including the bread.  If I were a contestant on The Next Iron Chef, I’d have been required to do all that in like 30 minutes.  Um, in 30 minutes I’d probably still be deciding what I wanted to make!

I thought I’d share a few of the pictures, then come back for the next post with the details.  If I try to write now, I’d fall asleep on my keyboard!  I’m beat!

This picture MSP snapped today sums it all up – everything around me (including TIME) was a blur!

Happy hour bites:

The dinner:

The delicious dessert:

I’ll look forward to meeting you back here next time to talk more in depth about the recipes!   For me, it’s time to hit the hay!

Sleep tight, friends!  See you next time!

– Shari B. =)

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Thanksgiving Menu, Gift Idea and Stay-Fit Strategies

Nov 23

Posted by Shari B. in Cooking | 3 Comments

Hi FitFeat friends!

Happy early Thanksgiving!  I can’t even believe it’s here this week!  We wrapped up school for the week so now it’s time to really get the studying and kitchen practice kicked into high gear!

I thought it would be fun to share what we have on the plan this year at our house:

Appetizer:

Basil-Wrapped BBQ Tempeh Meatballs
(a school recipe)

***

Entree (for the meateater in the house):

Rosemary Lemon Roast Chicken with Pan Gravy
(soaked in a savory citrus brine prior to cooking)

***

On the Side:

Lightened Up Pumpkin Souffle

Wild Rice and Walnut “Stuffing”

Homemade Gluten Free MultiGrain Bread
(another school recipe)

***

Dessert:

Chocolate Mousse Tarts with Lemon “Cream”

***

I’ll be eating the sides as my meal, possibly with a green salad since the souffle, ‘stuffing’ and bread are all on the starchy side.  I threw in a couple of recipes that we’ve tasted at school so that MSP can enjoy them as well.  Hopefully it all looks pretty enough to take some pictures to share!  I’m so excited to get busy cooking!

EATS:  What’s on YOUR menu? (or if you’re headed to a kitchen/dining room other than your own, do you take a favorite dish to share?)

FEATS:  Do you participate in a Turkey Trot or other fitness activity the morning of Thanksgiving? I think the weather here will be clear but cold, so we’ll be indoors doing a full body weight training workout.  Getting a good workout in that morning is a tool I have always used to help keep me from wanting to eat everything in sight.  I find that I usually eat better throughout the day when the day starts with exercise.

Check out my “Stay Fit Strategies for Thanksgiving” post for some tips to help keep you feeling light this holiday season!

***

If you have any dog lovers on your holiday shopping list, Freedom Service Dogs are selling adorable 2011 Hero Dog calendars to raise money for their great cause.  If you aren’t familiar with them, you should check out their website.  Essentially they rescue unwanted or abandoned dogs, put them through an intensive training program, and then place them with injured veterans as service dogs.  Unlike some similar service dog organizations, they are not breeding dogs for this purpose.  Which means they are helping to not only save dogs from euthanasia but also helping with the overpopulation of pets.

(For the record, I’m not financially affiliated with FSD – I don’t receive any kind of commission for mentioning this calendar – I just think it’s a great cause and I know how hard my friend Jen works to volunteer for them!)

Have a wonderful evening and if you don’t make it back out here before Thanksgiving, have a BEAUTIFUL holiday!

– Shari B. =)

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A Friday Hello and Some Random Reading

Nov 19

Posted by Shari B. in Cooking | 6 Comments

Hi blog buds!

Happy Friday!  Wahoo!  I’m so excited for the weekend.  Mainly because next week I have one day of class and then it’s time for the extended holiday weekend!  Yay!

Yesterday was pretty uneventful.  It started with a simple breakfast – which I figured I better share so that you guys know that I still eat most of the same foods I ate BEFORE I started school.  Toasted Ezekial with raw almond butter, raw honey and a sprinkle of cinnamon and nutmeg.  Mmmm so good.  This is one of those things where I think, why waste a bunch of time on a gourmet breakfast when something like this can taste so good with only 2 minutes of time AND be healthy for me???

After a client session, it was time to get busy on the knife skills!

Making sure my first cut came out close to 2″:

Check.

Square off my edges:

Check.

Cut a bunch of julienne strips then measure for 1/8″:


Getting pretty close!

I can’t tell you how hard I find it to “EYEBALL” measurements like 1/16″, 1/8″, 1/4″.  Hopefully this is close enough for a passing grade.  ;)

Next stop for these beautiful carrots – a spicy carrot soup (as further practice for midterms).

Random reading notes:

If you are looking for ideas for wine to serve at your Thanksgiving table (or maybe to take as a gift for your hosts) check out this article at Huffington Post.

If you are interested in trying some simple, healthful veggie sides at Thanksgiving, here is an article that our kitchen manager forwarded to us yesterday written by Mark Bittman.

And if you are looking for a book to read about culinary school adventures, you might check this one out:

It’s called “Under the Table” by Katherine Darling.  She attended the French Culinary Institute in New York and then wrote about her time there (she currently writes for Saveur).  Maybe I am biased as a current culinary student, but I really enjoyed this book.  It was so interesting to see the similarities and differences between classic culinary schools and the natural chef route like I’m taking.  This book helped me feel a lot better about some of the anxiety I’d been feeling when in the professional kitchen at school.  If anyone is considering attending culinary school, this would be a worthwhile read beforehand.

OK friends it’s time to start my long commute to school – it’s INDIAN food day, yum!  Have a FABULOUS Friday and I’ll see you again soon!

– Shari B. =)

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Natural Chef Culinary School Recap: Thai Food

Nov 18

Posted by Shari B. in Natural Chef Culinary School | 5 Comments

Hi friends!  It’s FRIDAY-EVE!

I am getting so excited for Thanksgiving break even if it DOES mean a whole lot of studying and practicing of knife skills.  MSP will be off for a few days too, so it will feel like a six-day weekend!

Do you have your menu planned for Thanksgiving yet?  I do not.  I have some ideas I’m tossing around in my mind, but nothing finalized.  It’s just the two of us, so I can probably decide the night before and then zip to the store.  Nothing terribly elaborate.  Or it might be a mish-mash of my upcoming homework assignment where we need to develop 6 original recipes from each of the Ethnic Cuisine days in our current module at school.  Thai Pumpkin Pie?  Japanese Green Bean Casserole?  ;)

In today’s recap I’ll tell you about THAI food day. It was another delicious one!

One aspect of Thai food is that most of dishes are balanced using all five flavor senses:  salty, sweet, bitter, spicy (hot) and sour.  This makes for a wonderful experience on the taste buds!

Common Thai ingredients include galanagal (which is a root similar to ginger), thai chilis, lemongrass, kaffir lime (and leaves), thai basil, fish sauce, and of course coconut, among many others.

Apparently you cannot purchase kaffir lime leaves (legally anyway) in the US at this time due to a ban on importing them. It sounds like they carry a citrus bacteria that could threaten our citrus crops.  When I spent a little time Googling this, I found a lot of conflicting information.  Have you recently cooked with kaffir lime (or the leaves) and had your local store tell you they were banned?  I’ll have to ask next time I’m at the store and see what they tell me.

My assigned recipe for the day was Green Papaya Salad.  I had never eaten a green papaya before and wasn’t sure what to expect.  You peel the green (unripe) papaya, shred it using a vegetable julienne tool, shred some carrot, and toss it with a sauce that contains lime juice, fish sauce, garlic, brown rice syrup and Thai chili.  Add in some cherry tomatoes, chopped toasted peanuts, fresh Thai basil and cilantro.  It was actually quite tasty!  The dressing was SO tart I was a little worried, but once it was all mixed in it ‘quieted’ down a lot.

My single serve presentation:

And the full bowl (with thanks to my kitchen manager for showing me how to make these adorable little carrot flowers!):

The rest of the day’s recipes included:

  • Lemongrass and Coconut Milk Soup (Tom Kah)
  • Pad Thai
  • Red Curry Squash with Brown Jasmine Rice (Kang Hunglay)
  • Thai Lettuce Bites (Miang Kum)
  • Rooibos Thai Iced Tea with Coconut Milk

This tea was delicious!  You steep the rooibos with spices and vanilla bean, then chill it, add it to a glass with a little ice, add a drop or two of stevia if you like, and top with whisked coconut milk.  The way the coconut milk settles into the tea makes for a fun presentation.  I will definitely serve this when I have people over.

My camera has been taking really blurry photos lately in the lighting at school (yes I know, I should probably be blaming the person behind the camera rather than the camera itself) so most of the pics aren’t turning out well at all – which is why you don’t see any other photos today.  My iPhone actually does a much better job, so for the next few days I’ll try using it instead and see if it looks better for sharing with you.

Do you eat Thai food?  What is your favorite dish?

Have a THAI-rrific Thursday blog buds!  ;D

– Shari B. =)

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Natural Chef Culinary School Recap: Mediterranean Days

Nov 16

Posted by Shari B. in Natural Chef Culinary School | 9 Comments

Hi FitFeat friends!  Happy Tuesday!

First I just want to say what GREAT comments on the ‘time flies‘ post – I LOVE reading how you all try new things and get some food inspiration here.  That just makes my day, every day!  Thank you so much for commenting!

Currently at school we are in our Ethnic Cuisine module – this is the module I’ve been waiting for!  And it has not disappointed!  Today I’ll tell you about our cooking from Western Mediterranean (Southern & Southeastern Europe) and Eastern Mediterranean/North Africa.

Some of the Western Mediterranean ingredients we discussed were olive oil (of course), capers, pomegranate, purslane, artichoke, quince, anchovies and rosemary.  Two fun facts about rosemary:

Smelling rosemary is thought to stimulate the brain and memory! Hmmm, before I work on studying today, I better take a big sniff!  ;)

Rosemary is considered a love charm (a symbol of remembrance and fidelity) so it is often used at weddings, historically both in the bride’s wreath as well as in favors given to the guests.  So next time you attend a wedding, see if any of the food is cooked with it!

Another notable culinary tip we learned is that southern Italian cooking (more coastal) uses a lot of olive oil as its fat (and more seafood) whereas northern Italian cooking uses more butter and other dairy.

We had a wonderful olive oil tasting for our snack one day, along with the delicious gluten-free breads we’d made on Savory Baking day.  There were also olives brought to us from Spain by our kitchen manager (who was recently there for his wedding – I should have asked him if they had rosemary that day!!), plus some delicious cheeses made from goat milk and sheep milk, some quince paste (deliciously sweet!) and pomegranate seeds.

Olive oil tasting should be done from lightest flavor to deepest flavor, much like you do with wines.  Our deepest flavored oil that day was truffle oil, which was very fun to try.  There was also a smoked olive oil, which I actually liked, but wasn’t really favored by anyone else in class.

After our fill of oils, it was time to hit the kitchen. My assigned recipe that day was Chicken Marbella.  This was a whole chicken that I broke down into parts, then marinated in sherry, red wine vinegar, oregano, garlic, capers, green olives, and prunes.  (Yes, prunes!!)  Then the chicken was patted dry, and added to a hot skillet for a nice brown sear on the skin, after which all of the marinade was added to the pot for the chicken to braise in.  I had to try a bite when we ate that day and I must say it was delicious!  I especially loved the flavor combo of the prunes and the olives.

Other delightful recipes made that day included:

  • Cannellini Beans with Green Chard
  • Fennel, Orange and Mint Salad with Herb Roasted Olives
  • Greek Lemon Soup (Avgolemono)
  • Provencal Artichoke Ragout
  • Rustic Wild Mushroom Risotto

It was quite a feast!

On the Eastern Mediterranean/Levant and North African day, I was assigned Morrocan Mint Tea and North African Carrots with Harissa.  Harissa is a pasted condiment made from dried hot chilis (soaked), cumin, coriander, garlic and lemon juice.  I made the paste from scratch, then it was used to flavor the carrot dish while they cooked.

And somehow didn’t take a photo of my own dish!

But I did capture most of the rest.

  • Levant-Style Stuffed Cabbage with Yogurt Sauce

  • Moroccan Chicken with Preserved Lemon

  • Baked Falafel with Tahini Sauce

  • Fall Vegetable Tagine over Couscous

  • Tunisian Beet Salad with Orange Blossom Water and Pomegranate

It’s been a delicious couple of days at school, eating our way through the Mediterranean!   Hope you enjoyed the TOUR!

Do you have a favorite Mediterranean dish?  Do you eat it when dining out or do you cook it at home?

Have a TERRIFIC day!  See you soon!

– Shari B. =)

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Time Flies When Tests Are Around the Corner

Nov 14

Posted by Shari B. in Natural Chef Culinary School | 8 Comments

Hey blog buds!

I hope you’ve had a marvelous weekend so far!  As I type this, I can’t believe how fast time is flying by.  Can you believe we’re only 11 days away from Thanksgiving?  2010 has truly ZIPPED by in a blink!

And with Thanksgiving being close, that means we’re only 15 days away from the start of MIDTERM WEEK at school!

Which explains why I’ve been a little MIA lately.  Between now and December 3rd, time will be a little tighter than usual.  Friends and family will begin to wonder where I disappeared to, I fear! (More on that later…)

In the meantime, here are a few of the things I’ve been up to lately.

KOMBUCHA - my most recent batch was a blend of green and black teas and it was the best batch yet.

It even got fizzy!  FINALLY!

But the truth is, I’ve not been drinking it nearly as fast as the batches brew, so I am storing my kombucha culture in the fridge for a while and taking a few weeks “off”.  And if the culture doesn’t survive, I won’t have to worry about withdrawal symptoms ;) now that it’s back on the shelves at the store.

SQUASHING - I sliced the top off of a gorgeous delicata squash, planning to cut it down the middle and bake it in two halves as a side dish.  However, the shape of the piece I lopped off looked like an adorable little flower so I decided to just cut it into rings and bake it like that instead (and glazed in maple syrup).  Aren’t they cute?

BARGAIN SHOPPING – it seems someone mentioned this to me before but one of our local health food stores puts their produce on sale for a DOLLAR a BAG when it’s getting a little close to being TOO ripe.  Check out my $1 loot!

Four organic red/orange bell peppers and three organic mushrooms!  For a BUCK!!!

So I proceeded to roast my red peppers over an open flame:

Then I let them steam, covered, in a bowl for 15 minutes or so, peeled off the skins, deseeded & destemmed them and waiting in the fridge.  Chances are I’ll be making them into a pureed sauce of some sort this week.  :) The house smelled amazing, too!  This is one of those things I would NEVER have done before attending Bauman.  One, because I probably just would have purchased roasted red peppers in a jar.  But two, if I would have decided to make my own, I’d have probably put them under the broiler.

However, roasting them like this right over the flame makes it feel like you are camping – in your kitchen!

PREPPING FOR MIDTERMS – last but definitely not least, this is where most of my time has been going.  I’m spending a lot of time going back through all of the power points from each class, all of my notes, attempting to catch up on reading, practicing knife skills (we were told this week our knife cuts WILL be measured with a ruler!!), and trying out some sauces/soups/grains/salads for our kitchen practicals.

Trying to cut something to exacting sizes such as 1/8″ x 1/8″ x 2-1/2″ is actually not that easy!  :)

Almost 1/2″, but only almost!

Improv cauliflower soup (mmm this turned out really well!)

And then after all the hustle, bustle and busy busy, THIS happens when I try to read my school books (and MSP sneaks pictures!):

Out like a light the minute I sit down.

Rascal thinks studying is hard work too!  ;)

The next recap I do for you about school will cover some of our Ethnic Cuisine days, Mediterranean and Thai.  So delicious!  I’m loving this module so far!  See you again soon!

– Shari B. =)

Natural Chef Culinary School Recap: Health Supportive Desserts

Nov 10

Posted by Shari B. in Natural Chef Culinary School | 10 Comments

Hi FitFeat friends!

It’s been a busy busy week again here.  I’ve been cooking up a storm and working on our most recent homework assignment for school.

How are your poached eggs going?  Anyone give a try to a new technique?

When I last wrote to recap school fun, I’d left off at Vegetable Proteins and Fish.  Since then we’ve been focused mostly on Health Supportive Desserts, Intro to Natural Desserts and Savory Baking.  All I can say is, “Mmmmmm!”

On Health Supportive Desserts day, I was assigned a pumpkin tart recipe.  The crust is made with finely ground almonds, sorghum flour, maple syrup, maple sugar and coconut oil.  It tastes just like a graham cracker crust!  I was so crazy about this crust that I’ve made it twice at home since, making it with different flours.  The pumpkin for the filling was freshly roasted and blended with cashews.  Here are my Twin Tarts:

A few of us got to work separately on the same recipe – I love when we do this because it’s so fun to see how each of us does something a little different.  Here are the other pumpkin tarts:

The other half of the class created Raw Fruit Cobblers with Raspberry Coulis and again it was fun to see everyone’s individuality with the same recipe:

In our homework assignment, one of the 5 recipes we were to create included a dessert using alternative ingredients.  I decided to try using the agar agar with some coconut milk to create a custard of sorts, as well as an almond wafer inspired by our tart shell from school.

Want the recipe?  OK, twist my arm.  ;)

Coconut Carob ‘Tapioca’ Custard with Almond Crisp Wafers

Coconut Carob Custard by Shari Becht
Almond Crisp Cookies adapted from Tart Shell by Bauman College Staff
Serves 4

The healthy fats in the coconut milk react with the agar agar to create tiny ‘tapioca-like’ grains, providing interesting texture to this dessert.  The almond wafers for dipping provide crunch as well as a bit of lightly salted flavor contrast.

Ingredients

For the Almond Crisp Wafers
¼ cup very finely ground almonds
2 tablespoons garbanzo bean flour
½ tablespoon Sucanat
pinch of sea salt
½ tablespoon honey
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon coconut oil (unrefined), softened

For the Custard
2/3 cup water
2½ teaspoons agar agar
1 cup coconut milk + ¼ cup water
2 teaspoons carob powder
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon sea salt
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon, ground
1½ tablespoon maple syrup

  1. Preheat oven to 325.  In a medium mixing bowl, mix almonds, garbanzo bean flour, Sucanat and sea salt.  Add honey, vanilla extract and coconut oil to same mixing bowl.  Mix until all ingredients are thoroughly blended to a paste-like consistency.
  2. Place almond wafer mixture onto a small baking sheet.  Cover with a piece of wax paper and roll out to ¼ inch thickness.  Press a round cookie cutter (about 2½“ diameter) into the mixture, forming 4 round wafers.  Bake until the edges turn golden brown (about 10-12 minutes) then immediately remove to a cooling rack.
  3. In a small saucepan over high heat, bring 2/3 cup water to a boil.  Add agar agar and stir continuously until it has dissolved, about 1 minute.  Continue boiling for 5 minutes until agar agar begins to gel.
  4. In a small bowl, combine coconut oil, ¼ cup water, carob, vanilla, sea salt, cinnamon and maple syrup.  After the agar agar begins to gel, add the coconut milk mixture to the saucepan.  Return to a boil, then remove from heat.  Divide evenly among 4 ramekins (about 1/3 cup each).  Refrigerate for 45 minutes, or until custard has set.
  5. Just prior to serving, press a cookie perpendicularly into each custard – it will stay upright in the dish for presentation.

My suggestion is to eat this the same day.  The agar agar can get pretty tough on the next day.

Joan, this might be a place for you to use up your carob chips (melt them in with the coconut milk, in lieu of carob powder).

Well friends, it’s time to get my workout done then head off to school.  Today is the start of our Ethnic Cuisine module (Day One:  Mediterranean!)  We’ll be working on Ethnic Cuisine until Thanksgiving, and then when we get back from that long holiday weekend, we have MIDTERMS!  Time is flying by!

Have a fabulous day, blog buds!  See you next time!

– Shari B. =)

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