● A few weeks ago we finished our international units, which

unit was your favorite and why?

Overall, I enjoyed most of the dishes that we prepared for each country. I definitely learned a lot about each culture through its food and specific ingredients. In my opinion, the China unit was my favorite unit because all of the food that we prepared tasted really good. In addition, it was interesting to learn about all the sauces that are used to make each dish. My favorite food that we prepared in this unit was the General Tso’s Chicken because it was really flavorful and it was really good with the white rice. Since I really like Chinese food, this unit was really fun.

● What country do you wish we studied and what recipes

would you want to complete (besides Mexico, that will be

our final unit!)

I really wished we studied another Latin American country like Puerto Rico. Since some of my cousins are Puerto Rican, I’ve always loved eating Puerto Rican food whenever I visit. For example, I would have liked to prepare arroz con gandules (rice), Budin (bread pudding), and mofongo (plantains with meat and vegetables.) My favorite dessert from Puerto Rico is called Tembleque and it is a creamy coconut dessert with cinnamon. This country definitely has many flavorful cuisines.

Take a picture of one recipe we make during this unit and post on your blog while answering the following questions:

● We have completed many recipes from other countries throughout this semester. What is one challenging aspect of cooking recipes from countries?

Since most of the recipes that we make in class are new to me, it is challenging to know if my group and I are preparing it correctly. Although we have the recipe directions to follow, it is still difficult to know exactly what we have to do. For example, I always doubt myself whenever I combine ingredients together because I have a feeling that I’m doing it incorrectly. As a result of having doubts, this causes me to work at a slower pace. It’s not bad to work slowly but it does cause me to rush at the end of the hour.

● What have you most enjoyed about cooking recipes from other countries?

In the end, the most enjoyable aspect of cooking recipes from other countries is liking how the dish tastes. There are many recipes that I look forward to cooking because I’m excited to know how it would taste. I can be a picky eater sometimes so it’s good when I really like a dish that we make. Another thing I enjoy is working with new ingredients. I love learning about the countries culture through its ingredients and spices.

We are almost at MP3, check your grade on infinite campus and answer the following questions.

● Are you happy with your current grade?

My grade is a good representation of the effort I put in during each cooking lab. Therefore I am happy with my grade because it reflects the work I put in. My group and I try to follow directions as closely as possible which is why we are successful in recreating almost every dish. I feel like it’s more important to try your hardest than to have your dish come out perfectly because your plate won’t come out looking its best every time.

● What could you do for the rest of the semester to improve your grade/maintain your current grade?

For the rest of the semester my goal is to slightly increase my grade percentage so that I am 100% happy with it. I will continue to follow Mrs. Vogg’s directions so that I can maintain a good grade in this class. Also, I will work efficiently with my group and stay on task when we are cooking. My goal is to finish each cooking lab on time without having to rush.

What was the most challenging aspect of the summative lab?

This is our second experience with plating, what did you use from your experience last time, and what did you do differently?

The most challenging aspect of the summative lab was rolling the sushi roll because I did not know how to use the sushi mat correctly. It was difficult to make a perfectly tight sushi roll because the filling kept moving as I was moving the mat. For plating, I decided to pick the most visually appealing sushi rolls so that my plate looked appetizing. The techniques that I used from last experience were: arranging the food in a neat manner, using a side component, and taking good angled pictures. The only thing that I did differently was taking my time. Taking my time allowed my presentation to look better than last time.

We changed up how we did the postcards for this unit, which did you like better? Having to research all of the topics but then do small group presentations, or having to research on topic but then do a class presentation? Tell me why.

For me personally, I like having to research one topic and do a class presentation. For the China unit, the small group presentations felt too repetitive. Every group had the same information for each slide, since we all had to do every topic. The class presentation allows me to be interested in every topic because it is only repeated once. In addition, I like how we rotate topics for each unit.

What was the most challenging aspect of the summative lab?

The most challenging aspect of this summarize lab was definitely time management. I decided to take a risk and cook rice as my side dish, instead of choosing garnishes. The preparation was a handful because not only did the egg rolls have to be fried, but I also had to prepare the rice. As I was making my dish, I realized that I was short on time. I had to improvise and work as quickly as possible to present a visually pleasing and tasty plate. Thankfully, my group and I got everything done in the end.

This is our first experience with plating, what would you do differently during the next opportunity?

Since I ran out of time in the end, I couldn’t cut the egg rolls in half. I feel like I could have made my plate look better if I had just a couple minutes remaining. However, I was still proud with the outcome because it looked well executed. In the future, I will make sure to make time for plating so that I can use my creativity at its most potential. In addition, I would like to use garnishes and sauces.

What are your overall thoughts of our first unit? What did you like about this unit? What would you change?

My overall thoughts on this unit are mostly positive because I loved all the dishes that we prepared. Every dish had a tasty flavor and came out delicious. In my opinion, Chinese food is one of my favorite foods to order at restaurants. It was interesting to learn how the sauces were made. After this unit, I realized that the main ingredients in Chinese cooking are: soy sauce, sesame oil, and rice wine vinegar. The only thing I would change is to have more time on certain recipes. For example, I feel like the general tso’s chicken recipe could have been a two day lab because there was so much to do.

Why did you decide to take foods of the world?

Ever since I was young, my favorite television channel has been the Food Network. I loved watching Chopped and Worst Cooks in America. Cooking has always been a hobby of mine because I like to create a variety of dishes. I decided to take foods of the world because I would like to expand my knowledge on other countries food. I find it really fascinating to learn about the distinct flavors that each country has. In addition, I want to learn about other countries culture through food. As a result of liking all the other cooking classes from my previous semesters, I decided to continue taking cooking courses.

What are you concerned about and/or most excited for in the class?

Since we are learning about many different countries, this means that each one will have its own specific types of foods and flavors. My only main concern about this class is preparing a dish and not finding it appetizing because of how it tastes. Since I am not used to trying new foods, I am scared that I will not like a certain dish. On the other hand, I am most excited to use the skills I learn in this class and apply them when I am home. I am also excited to use various different skill methods for the food preparation.

Which unit sounds the most interesting you and why?

The unit that sounds the most interesting to me is the Mexican unit. This is because my favorite food is authentic Mexican food. Since my family and I are Mexican, we always cook dishes like enchiladas, pambazos, quesadillas, and chiles. This unit will allow me to compare how the preparation is done at school as supposed to my house. The reason why this unit sounds the most interesting to me is because I believe that Mexican culture is unique. Something about their food and culture brings joy in Mexico.

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton