Hi friends!
Hope your weekend is fabulous so far! The hike yesterday was terrific. We got in 8.25 miles with tons of up, uP, UP! My glutes are telling me today that I worked them quite well. For sure I thought it’d be my calves talking, but they are suspiciously quiet for the moment.
We had tons of time to chat and get to know each other. It’s always nice to make new friends! I had a lovely time and look forward to more hikes with her while she is here for our school term.
On the right side of this photo below from the hike, you can see some smoke off in the distance from a 250 acre wildfire that had started burning Friday afternoon (and fortunately is now contained):
So, on to the school recap!
I fear that school is flying by too quickly. I know that seems odd to say. Most people would like regular school to be done and over with, but this school is enjoyable and packed with SO DARN MUCH info every day that I feel like I don’t have enough time to practice and master before we are moving on to the next topic. Midterms are after Thanksgiving, and that seems right around the corner already! EEK!
This week we worked on:
- Monday: Stocks
- Wednesday: Soups & Stews
- Friday: Sauces
No photos from the Stocks class, but I do want to link to an article for you called “Broth is Beautiful” that our instructor suggested we read. I’m definitely sold on making my own broth going forward, as opposed to buying the storebought brands, as I’ve done in the past. Broths that include bones during cooking contain so many beneficial minerals, along with glucosamine sulfate, chondroitin sulfate, keratin sulfate, and hyaluronic acid (a component in the synovial fluid of the joints, helpful for arthritis). Just think of how your hair, fingernails, bones and joints, eyes (and much more) will benefit from the health-giving properties of a bone broth! So much GOODNESS in a low calorie cup!
And if you are making a vegetable stock (therefore without bones), be sure to add sea vegetables like kombu so that you can impart their minerals into the liquid. The mineral composition of sea vegetables is almost identical to that of our blood and easily assimilated into our bodies.
During Soups & Stews class we used the stocks we’d each made on Monday to flavor the soup recipes for the day. The stock I was involved in making was specific to curried soups/dishes which included the wonderfully aromatic spices like ginger, cinnamon, cardamom pods, cilantro.
Here are all of the beautiful and delicious soup creations:
Italian Fish Stew (1st pic) with Rouille on the side (2nd pic)
Butternut Squash Soup with Asian Pear, Apple, and Ginger
Hearty Mushroom Stew with Gremolata
Sweet Onion Soup
Curried Red Lentil Stew with Vegetables (this is the one my teammate and I worked on, using the curried soup stock I made Monday) – it was DELICIOUS:
There was also a delicious Mexican Chilled Avocado Soup with Sweet Corn Salsa that I know I took a photo of but that my camera must have eaten because I cannot find it anywhere! After all of the soups were complete and plated, we tasted each one and then reviewed our thoughts on the flavors. I was so impressed by everyone’s garnishing abilities! That’s an area where I really need some practice.
On Friday in Sauces, our instructor demonstrated one of her signature recipes, a delicious coconut milk sauce that you roast inside of a kabocha squash and then serve with the lids off to the side.
When serving, you scoop some of the insides of the kabocha out with the sauce. It’s so sweet and velvety. I can’t wait to serve this to dinner guests sometime soon!
Next we each made a basic aioli (essentially homemade mayo with added garlic) and then were asked to make it our own by spicing it however we would like. I chose to make mine spicy by adding in minced jalapeno, chives and spicy hot paprika.
Later, we each worked on a sauce recipe. I had Curry Carrot reduction (I juiced carrots for this one!) and the juice just did NOT want to reduce. My teammate, instructor and I turned a sauce debacle into a delicious triumph by using arrowroot powder to thicken this stubborn sauce. It was sweet and spicy – loved it! Still working on my presentation and garnish… getting a little better:
My teammate’s wonderful Adobo sauce (she has ‘MAD SKILLZ‘ when it comes to presentation!!):
There was also a Nut and Seed Cream Sauce that you would swear was dairy based – but it’s not! Another winner!
Lunch is served! Our Kitchen Manager made roasted veggies, roasted chicken and quinoa on which we could sample all of our newly made sauces:
We do a lot of eating at school, huh? 
No complaints here – I love trying all the fun food. I do aim to keep my portions in check though because otherwise it’s easy to overdo it when you are asked to taste 6-9 different recipes.
It was another great week and I only cut myself (lightly) once. The bummer about nicking a knuckle is needing to wear the GLOVE of SHAME. You have to put on a bandage, then cover that hand with a food service glove. So people know right away that you caught yourself with your chef’s knife! DOH!!
On Fridays we get assigned a new station for the kitchen clean-up rotation. Last week I had floor (sweep, scrub, then squeegee), trash & compost duty. Now I’m on the Sprayer & Sanitizer station. You come home looking like a wet rat, but you get a wonderful STEAM facial treatment in the process! LOL!
Have any of you ever worked in a restaurant or commercial kitchen in the clean-up area? What station(s) did you man?
Enjoy the rest of your weekend! See you next time!
– Shari B. =)
Tags: aioli, bone broth, Hiking, homemade stock, sauces, soups
