The End, or is it?

Hey guys,

This is it! The end of I-search. But is it the end of my education on cooking? I think not. In these past four months I have learned a lot about cooking and all it entails. I can't deny that it had it's ups and downs: I have met friends, and I have written hate poems. Despite the road being rockier that I thought it would be, I feel like I can appreciate what I've done even better because of those bumps. It's like the phrase "you can't have light without the dark". I wouldn't fully appreciate what I've learned if there hadn't been difficulties. They are all a part of life. The fact that I have overcome these obstacles gives me hope and confidence that I will be able to in the future. This project has opened my eyes to the limitlessness of my abilities, and has allowed me to take seemingly difficult tasks and turn them into very achievable goals. I can't say that I have mastered cooking - I don't think I ever could, no can really - but my knowledge will always keep growing.
So, even though my I-search journey is at an end, my cooking education will never stop. I might even come back here sometimes and write about the new cooking adventures I am sure to have.

Education is a never ending road.

Until next time (however far off that may be),

Lauren

Final Dinner: three course meal

I've almost reached the end of this exceedingly long project, and all I have left to do is document my final dinner.I decided on an Italian theme: a salad with an Italian dressing, spaghetti, and chocolate chip & orange zest canollis. I had initially invited some friends over along with my family, but they either got sick or had other obligations. So, I ended up cooking just for my family (yet again).I woke up early so that I could make it before I went to work. I used a recipe from food network(Alice Jo's to be precise), but in the ,my mom coached me through her famous spaghetti recipe. Here are some pictures of the prep work all the way into the crock-pot (once again, have you noticed that I've used that for almost every single cooking experience. It's because my mom is pretty much married to it and she's the one that's been helping me) for some simmering:

My dad wanted to see all the ingredients.Keeping my fingers tucked in! I chopped those onions SO erratically, it was a mess.A spoon in your mouth stops the crying! :) It works!
I had to break up the meat (with my thoroughly washed hands) and cook it with the onions (just like with the beef brisket!)Into the crock-pot it goes, with all the homemade tomato sauce my parents make.I thought this picture demonstrated my awesome handling of spices! :)

In go the mushrooms, yummm.

Taste test: it was DELICIOUS! I could have eaten it cold!After I had prepared the spaghetti, I moved on the the salad. I put in some cherry tomatoes, carrots, and mushrooms. This only took me five minutes.


And with the salad comes the vinaigrette that my mom always makes. It looks nasty when you're making it, but when it's finished, it tastes pretty darn scrumptious.

At this point I took a five minute break and cleaned up all the dishes/utensils that I had used. After that, I moved on to the canolli filling. I had to go to Hiller's and special order the canolli shells because they didn't sell them just by themselves.
The cream was delectable, if I do say so myself. :)Here's all the ones I made.By this time, I had only ten minutes before I had to leave for work, so I quickly (and elegantly) set the dinning room table.When I got back home (around 6) I had only a few little things to do. First, I put the pre-prepared garlic bread in the oven and started cooking the noodles.
Me cutting up the garlic bread.
I was trying to make breaking the noodles look cool so when I was pouring them in, naturally, they fell all over the counter. It was a moment of grace, that I made my dad delete.

And finally!!!! Here is the end product!!!!!!!!!!: (and that isn't wine in my glass it's cran-rasberry juice, because I love it! :) )Yay! My final meal (for a grade)!! I really enjoyed cooking this meal because not only was it easy and fast, but I loved eating every part of it. This is a dinner party-worthy meal for sure! :) So, question number 2, the answer is YES I CAN!

PS~ Sorry this post is so long, I just wanted you to get the entire "final meal" experience from start to finish, so there you go. Next will be my final post.

Beeeeeeeeef Brisket! ...Yummmm

So a couple weekends back I decided to venture in to the land of lunch. When I got there I though, why not make some delicious beef brisket sandwiches? And I answered myself: There's not one good reason why I shouldn't! So, my mom and I went to Hiller's yet again and raided their shelves for the best prices on beef (and other ingredients) we could find.
I looked up a beef brisket recipe on Food Network and found one by the Food Network Kitchens that seemed delicious.
The recipe called for the beef to be cooked in the over but my mom (who loves to make this) decided on changing it to a crock-pot, "for a slow cook finish".
Making it was relatively easy, I just had to follow the directions from the website (and the slightly altered directions from my mom). Here are some pictures of the prep process:

My hand is literally blurred by the vigor of my pounding the garlic up.
Onion and garlic prior to the decapitated stage.

Onion and garlic all sliced and ready.A huge, and I mean HUGE piece of beef sizzlin' with the onions and garlic (one of which landed on my hand and burned me) I seasoned that thing like crazy! My hand went numb from crushing the pepper and salt...And into the crock-pot it goes for the next 7-8 hours.

All of that took me about twenty minutes, which was a good thing because I had to leave for work ten minutes later.

**7 hours and 45 minutes later**

I took the beef brisket out and it smelled SO GOOD! I had to cut it up which was a snap because it fell apart with the slightest touch. I poured myself a glass of cran-rasberry (the best juice EVER), added some fritos (also yum), and piled the beef onto a bun.
Here's the final product:

My dad thought he should take a picture with the bun off to show case what I actually made.
Ta-da! It tasted delicious (as the recipe promised it would) and I got to use the leftover meat for the next nights dinner. Success once again!

I finally felt prepared for the ultimate challenge:
DINNER!!!

TEEN TO TEEN PERSPECTIVE

Here's my last survey. It's from a teenage boys perspective, so hopefully it's a little bit different from the last two. I'm just putting the survey and my response together so as to save paper down the road. Here it is: (his answer first, my response second)

Cooking Survey

Name: Geoff Ginter

Age (roughly): 17

1. Do you like (i.e. enjoy) cooking?

Yes, it’s fun and besides, who doesn’t like eating?

Saying it like it is. I’ve always love his logic.

2. Are you the main meal provider in your house?

No.

He is a fan of stating the facts and nothing else. Not that that’s a bad thing per se, just gives me less to reflect on. I kind of saw this coming (I was surprised when Caiti said she provided some meals, so I really had no hope of a teenage boy, call me a sexist).

3. What is your favorite meal to make?

Fettuccine alfredo or grilled cheese.

These seem like they would be relatively easy, which makes sense to me because I feel like he’s a teenage boy who cooks so he can eat and he doesn’t want to wait to do it. If that made sense, then great! If not, I’m sorry for the run-on. I’m pretty much just trying to say that these two meals fit his personality (to me at least).

4. How old were you when you first started to cook?

About 12.

Was it cookies? A fried egg? A beef brisket? Tell me, Geoff, because this gives me very little to work with. Okay, since you gave me so little, I have to imagine what happened myself. This is what I imagine happened (just go with me): So, it was a normal Tuesday for little Geoff. He was sitting in the kitchen doodling on his notebook and watching his mom cook dinner. Being the curious little boy he is (and wanting to avoid his homework, that to him is easy but useless), he asks his mom if he can help. She is thrilled that her little Geoffykins wants to cooking with her, and agrees waving him over to the kitchen counter where she is chopping up some veggies and chicken from the previous night for some delicious chicken and vegetable soup. She hands him the cutting knife (albeit with some hesitation) and instructs him on how to hold his fingers in to avoid chopping them off too. Little by little, he cuts the celery and carrots. When he is finished, he dumps them into the little pot brewing on the stove. That night at dinner, his family praises him for his perfectly cut veggies. That night was the night he fell in love with cooking. The End. So, that’s what I think happened. Hopefully he won’t read this and ruin my story with the truth.

5. Give me the lowdown on an average meal:

Usually a meal had a protein as the main dish with a carb/starch and vegetables on the side.

He took the same (very literal) route as Caiti, with slight (manly) variations. Maybe they both answered like this (and my mom answered me more like I meant to be answered) because I was there when my mom answered it and I told her specifically what I wanted and the other two did it during seminar when I was busy with something else. Either way, it was a good answer.

6. Do you think there’s a difference between cooking and baking?

Yes, cooking is combining ingredients and preparing them through various methods. Baking is usually for yeast based food (i.e. bread, cakes, etc.) and always involves an oven. So I suppose it could be said that baking is a subdivision of cooking.

Always so literal. Can you tell that he’s a science guy? I can. He likes to break things down and so it makes sense for him to make baking a subdivision. I guess it is, but only in basics. Baking by itself is completely different from cooking it many, many different ways.

7. Do you express your personality through your food? How?

Not especially because cooking well requires a lot of patience and I am not an especially patient person.

Ha. Geoff is a funny guy. I, however, don’t agree. I feel like he expresses his personality through what he chooses to cook (i.e. – grilled cheese). It shows his priorities: he doesn’t need to make something fancy and time consuming, he just has to eat.

8. Do you feel that having to cook has affected other aspects of your life?

Yes, it has improved my interest in experimentation.

This is pretty much the same as the first two participants. Cooking (when people are confident in what they’re doing) is experimenting with foods. This makes me think of people at the beginning of time having to figure out from scratch what goes with what and, more basically, what is edible. That must have taken a LOT of experimentation.

Cooking vs. Baking: who will win?

Ever since I've started this project, people have been giving me their opinions on cooking and baking. I've heard both sides: cooking is easier, you have so much more freedom! or baking is easier, you just have to do what the recipe says! So, I'm here to break down their arguments and see which one I side with (I actually already know, but this will be like my thinking process of the past three months).
Without further adieu:
In the right corner we have...COOKING!

He is much more relaxed (type B, you could say). Precise measurements aren't necessary and if you don't have a recipe, don't fret! Just go with what feels right! your weapon choice is also limitless: the oven, stove, crock pot, you name it he uses it!

In the left corner we have...BAKING!

He is much more specific (type A, you could say). Precise measurements are mandatory (if you want it to turn out)and if you don't have a recipe: what are you doing!? your weapon of choice is limited, but he is so much more familiar with it, he doesn't need anything else!

DING DING DING! Go!


There's a lot of scuffling around, but let's just cut to the end...

AND...BAKING IS THE WINNER!

Surprised? I'm not. If you didn't know which one I was rooting for, I gave a huge hint (I am type A all the way). I am the type of person that needs exact instruction. I am not comfortable with winging it when I barely know how to cook in the first place. I still don't even know how much salt to put on meat before it goes in the oven...So the idea of following the rule to a T is pretty much my MO. Another plus, is that everyone loves desserts, while cooking is very open to peoples likes and dislikes. Even though some say that there are more dishes to do when baking, I say bah! cooking has just as many, just different types of utensils. Another huge bonus is the lack of anything raw (besides eggs which I can handle).Oh look! It's my inspiration holding a nasty raw turkey!

In conclusion: Cooking is okay (it will probably become more comfortable to do when I've had more practice), but baking will always win!

Response: Caiti's survey

I decided to keep her answers on this post so as to have easy reference access. Hope it helps. And without further adieu: (her answers are not in bold, my response is)
1. Do you like (i.e. enjoy) cooking?

I really enjoy it! It allows me to be creative and try new and exciting things.

Very similar to mom’s response, and if she’s as skilled as my mom, this is a good thing for her and her family. I am always amazed when I find a fellow teen that enjoys cooking; it’s so rare (or not discussed, I have no idea why)! I wonder (broadly about teen cookers in general) what they like to cook and when they do it (because as already mentioned, my mom pre-plans our meals, and since I don’t plan my meals other than arranging to simply eat, it seems kind of unlikely for me to scoot into her schedule and then actually follow through.) As it so happens, this survey answers the questions I usually ask of them (how convenient, right?) So…on to the next question/answer/response to these questions…
PS~ about 3/4s of this response is in (parenthesis), it’s weird.

2. Are you the main meal provider in your house?

Usually my family splits things up during the week, but it is not unusual for me to make the whole meal for my family for much of the week. When I am home alone, I will make myself a complete meal. No takeout!

I love that: “No takeout!” It’s awesome! I wish I did that… She is such an adult/responsible. I have to say that her answer surprised me; even though I knew she liked to cook, I didn’t think she would actually cook regularly for her family. I thought of it as more of a hobby (I guess that’s more baking than cooking).

3. What is your favorite meal to make?

I am really into grilling chicken and fish.

Whoa! She’s a grill user? Wow, she’s even more into this cooking thing than I thought. Now, I won’t argue that both meals are delicious once made, but making them and seeing them in all their raw glory? I’ll take a pass on that, thanks.

4. How old were you when you first started to cook?
I first started baking when I was five, and I would help my mom make Christmas cookies.
Aw, how cute! :] I wish my mom liked baking (versus just cooking), then maybe I would have made Christmas cookies at age five and went on to become an awesome baker-ess!
5. Give me the lowdown on an average meal:

Our average meal has a salad, vegetables, protein, and a grain.

Again, I will state that I don’t really like this question; it’s WAY too broad, but what can you do. Caiti decided to go the literal route (which is completely cool) and told me the basics of an average and healthy meal. This seems pretty accurate to what I usually eat, so all’s good here.

6. Do you think there’s a difference between cooking and baking?
Definitely! Baking is a lot harder I my opinion because it requires exact measurements where as cooking leaves a lot more room for error.
Again, so very similar to my mom’s answer. (possible collaboration is being considered). I feel like she’s going to be my mom (cooking-wise) in thirty years, which in itself isn’t exactly a bad thing given my mom’s awesomeness at cooking. It seems that so far cooking is preferred over baking. We’ll see what contestant number three says later this week…
7. Do you express your personality through your food? How?

Yes, I love to express creativity and it allows me to try out things I may not have done before.

As stated above, she likes to cook more that bake. This could reflect her personality: she likes loose structure and creative freedom in her “art”- i.e. cooking.

8. Do you feel that having to cook has affected other aspects of your life?

It has made me consider a career in culinary and affected my decisions for college.

Ah, a cooking career. I was going to write a post about this career choice and my thoughts on it, and now that Mr. Cronin has so graciously given us an extension on this project I might be able to. When I asked this question I think I was trying to get people to say that they’re more responsible because that’s what I wanted myself to learn from this, but surprisingly, neither mom nor Caiti nor (soon to be) contestant number three. I really didn’t consider this as a possibility because it is so far off anything that I would even consider for college, but this rant is for another time.
So, there’s my first teen perspective (from a girl). One last one is coming soon (from a teen guy) that is predictably (if you know the person who took it) short and to the point.
Until next time.
Lauren

Survey 2: a teens perspective

For my second survey, I interviewed Caiti Darish a fellow AP Englisher and friend. When asked, she graciously accepted to do this survey during seminar. So, thanks Caiti for taking the time! As you will see, her answers are much more reasonable lengthwise (thanks for that too!). My response will be in the next post.

Cooking Survey

Name: Caiti Darish

Age (roughly): 18

1. Do you like (i.e. enjoy) cooking?

I really enjoy it! It allows me to be creative and try new and exciting things.

2. Are you the main meal provider in your house?

Usually my family splits things up during the week, but it is not unusual for me to make the whole meal for my family for much of the week. When I am home alone, I will make myself a complete meal. No takeout!

3. What is your favorite meal to make?

I am really into grilling chicken and fish.

4. How old were you when you first started to cook?

I first started baking when I was five, and I would help my mom make Christmas cookies.

5. Give me the lowdown on an average meal:

Our average meal has a salad, vegetables, protein, and a grain.

6. Do you think there’s a difference between cooking and baking?

Definitely! Baking is a lot harder I my opinion because it requires exact measurements where as cooking leaves a lot more room for error.

7. Do you express your personality through your food? How?

Yes, I love to express creativity and it allows me to try out things I may not have done before.

8. Do you feel that having to cook has affected other aspects of your life?

It has made me consider a career in culinary and affected my decisions for college.