Satiating my piqued curiosity in cooking know-how, I was so delighted with the idea to learn and hone my skills more from the usual gastronomy experience: I enrolled myself in a short cooking course class!
My motive is simple and personal; to learn the basics my own way, and when I finally become proficient, hopefully profit from this skill.
It was fun, and I now understand how cooking can be both addicting and "treacherous:" I'm out of shape. I didn't realise that this is what happens when you eat your body weight in food. I didn't think that those taste tests would make me grow fats in these places. It may not show in my photo, but my belly is bulging! #facepalm
My motive is simple and personal; to learn the basics my own way, and when I finally become proficient, hopefully profit from this skill.
It was fun, and I now understand how cooking can be both addicting and "treacherous:" I'm out of shape. I didn't realise that this is what happens when you eat your body weight in food. I didn't think that those taste tests would make me grow fats in these places. It may not show in my photo, but my belly is bulging! #facepalm
I discovered the fun in eating for your own gustation: to whip up meals according to your appreciation that brings out the creative cook in you in the process.
I took & passed my Institutional assessment on February 18, 2016. I was assigned my main dish which was Fish, so I made fish fillet with white sauce. It's a no-brainer actually, but better for a beginner like me. This dish is very easy to prepare. All you have to do is dip the Dory in flour and fry, and make the white sauce to pour.
I took & passed my Institutional assessment on February 18, 2016. I was assigned my main dish which was Fish, so I made fish fillet with white sauce. It's a no-brainer actually, but better for a beginner like me. This dish is very easy to prepare. All you have to do is dip the Dory in flour and fry, and make the white sauce to pour.
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| The Sassy Kusinera Chocolate-Cinnamon Muffin |
The tricky part of my assessment was the baking for my hot dessert, and baking is another class from cooking that I still have to take. Anyway, it was an epic fail. So I gathered my recipe, and I was suppose to bake carrot cake, and took my recipe. Half way through my cooking, for some reason, it slipped my mind and offered that I have an extra carrot and gave it away. Stupid huh? #facepalm When I came to my senses, it was too late for me and to admit that I made a blunder.
Then I panicked. #headdesk
Earlier in the activity, I took some ripe banana for whatever reason (and only as of this writing that I realised I could've made banana bread #headdesk), so I was "saved" and made banana fritters, which didn't really qualify as hot dessert, because the requirement was to bake. Ugh! Good thing, my assessor was really nice and gave me a chance to redeem myself and those of us who didn't know baking were given assistance. And so we were able to produce different flavoured muffins, mine was chocolate-cinnamon flavoured.
Then I panicked. #headdesk
Earlier in the activity, I took some ripe banana for whatever reason (and only as of this writing that I realised I could've made banana bread #headdesk), so I was "saved" and made banana fritters, which didn't really qualify as hot dessert, because the requirement was to bake. Ugh! Good thing, my assessor was really nice and gave me a chance to redeem myself and those of us who didn't know baking were given assistance. And so we were able to produce different flavoured muffins, mine was chocolate-cinnamon flavoured.
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| Cheddar Soup, Fish Fillet in white sauce, Vinaigrette and my poor excuse of Banana Fritters. |
Like I said, baking is still on the list of my to-do, so forgive the unmoist muffin.
For appetizer, I made vinaigrette, a simple blend of oil and vinegar concoction. The dressing is 3parts of vinegar and 1part of everything (pepper, salt, sugar & oil). From this experience, I learned that Sesame Oil is very good for this salad! The base or under liner can be a bed of lettuce. Your salad body can be more elaborate in variations, because this is the focal point of the presentation, as it is set on top of the base (bed of lettuce). Your dressing is what seasons the salad and makes it flavourful. I didn't really have garnishes for my appetizer due to limited ingredients. But garnishing is basically an added eye appeal.
My short-lived HRM course proved useful with my platting and folded napkin. Har-har.
For appetizer, I made vinaigrette, a simple blend of oil and vinegar concoction. The dressing is 3parts of vinegar and 1part of everything (pepper, salt, sugar & oil). From this experience, I learned that Sesame Oil is very good for this salad! The base or under liner can be a bed of lettuce. Your salad body can be more elaborate in variations, because this is the focal point of the presentation, as it is set on top of the base (bed of lettuce). Your dressing is what seasons the salad and makes it flavourful. I didn't really have garnishes for my appetizer due to limited ingredients. But garnishing is basically an added eye appeal.
My short-lived HRM course proved useful with my platting and folded napkin. Har-har.
For my soup, I made my life easier and made Cheddar soup. A thick soup which is made out of fresh vegetables as the principal ingredients, thickened with flour and with a mixture of milk.
Ingredients:
1c water (I used stock instead)
1c diced Potato
1/4c shredded (or diced, but I preferred shredded) Carrots
1 head of chopped White Onion
Half a teaspoon salt
Pinch of pepper.
The white sauce is a mixture of butter, flour, milk, grated cheese and ham.
Procedure: Boil potatoes, carrots and onion in broth or stock for 10 minutes, whilst making the white sauce. For the white sauce, melt the butter first, and gently add the sifted flour. Mix together until smooth. Slowly add the milk. Add the cheese until melted. Then add the chopped ham.
Add the white sauce to vegetable.
Serve hot.
For my entrée. First, I sprinkled a little salt and rosemary on the Dory and dipped into flour to fry. After frying the fish, I set it aside to make the white sauce. My white sauce was a mixture of butter, flour, milk (or stock), and since we didn't have lemons, I substituted Kalamansi juice instead. Poured it on my platted Dory. At this point I will admit that I failed to use my brains and forgot to put garnishing to make it more delectable. Truthfully, I enjoyed this entrée with steamed rice. Haha.
So anyway, my canape was a pathetic excuse for a finger food, so let me skip that for later.
My take on the whole experience: educational and liberating,
the sense that I realised I could still learn how to better my cooking skills and use my creativity, and faced my fear with knives (shiny sharp things that can slit fingers *shudders*).
Before the assessment, we were given 10 minutes to mentally sort our ingredients for our recipe, and another 10 minutes to gather them; resourcefulness is the name of the game. And I will admit that I still need more practice and experience in various cooking methods and cuisine. I didn't know that learning things out of my comfort zone require keeping an open mind - cooking can be an expensive hobby I must say.
Ingredients:
1c water (I used stock instead)
1c diced Potato
1/4c shredded (or diced, but I preferred shredded) Carrots
1 head of chopped White Onion
Half a teaspoon salt
Pinch of pepper.
The white sauce is a mixture of butter, flour, milk, grated cheese and ham.
Procedure: Boil potatoes, carrots and onion in broth or stock for 10 minutes, whilst making the white sauce. For the white sauce, melt the butter first, and gently add the sifted flour. Mix together until smooth. Slowly add the milk. Add the cheese until melted. Then add the chopped ham.
Add the white sauce to vegetable.
Serve hot.
For my entrée. First, I sprinkled a little salt and rosemary on the Dory and dipped into flour to fry. After frying the fish, I set it aside to make the white sauce. My white sauce was a mixture of butter, flour, milk (or stock), and since we didn't have lemons, I substituted Kalamansi juice instead. Poured it on my platted Dory. At this point I will admit that I failed to use my brains and forgot to put garnishing to make it more delectable. Truthfully, I enjoyed this entrée with steamed rice. Haha.
So anyway, my canape was a pathetic excuse for a finger food, so let me skip that for later.
My take on the whole experience: educational and liberating,
the sense that I realised I could still learn how to better my cooking skills and use my creativity, and faced my fear with knives (shiny sharp things that can slit fingers *shudders*).
Before the assessment, we were given 10 minutes to mentally sort our ingredients for our recipe, and another 10 minutes to gather them; resourcefulness is the name of the game. And I will admit that I still need more practice and experience in various cooking methods and cuisine. I didn't know that learning things out of my comfort zone require keeping an open mind - cooking can be an expensive hobby I must say.
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| The Kitty Apron high-speed sewing project I made and submitted on 3/5/2015 at the Tanza, Cavite Training Center. |
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