Hello!

A blog filled with stories, pictures, recipes and mostly PASTA!

Story Time!

My mum is usually the one to be cooking everything at home. But that all changed when I turned 12! This was the first time I've ever helped out in the kitchen with my mum so I felt really proud of myself.

At home, my family usually makes pasta if we wanted something more than just another traditional Chinese dish. This time, we decided to make a filling pasta dish. So my mum starts off with boiling pasta from a box (Yes, from a box!). I, as the handy helper of the day got to stir in all of the ingredients in the pot. Me, as the little sous chef really enjoyed cooking with my mum even though I only stirred the ingredients in a pot. So as my mum keeps adding the ingredients, I just kept mixing and mixing and mixing until the 15 minutes of mixing was up! What we got to eat that day was a big bowl of Kraft’s Dinner!

Over the years of eating KD, I learned that I do not like mac and cheese. I would usually douse my KD with ketchup to get the gross taste out of my mouth, but sometimes I put a little bit too much and then all I could taste was ketchup. So now, I gave up on KD all together.

Most of you are probably thinking, “How can you not like KD?!”, “Giving it up is like suicide!”, or “You’re a crazy lady!!”. I’ve just grown old and tired of it, but now I moved on to better pasta dishes, like homemade pasta!!

Classroom Experience #1

May 18th, 2012 was a challenging day! We had to create a pasta dish within a short period of time in class. I don't mean quick and easy, minute maid, pasta from a box. I mean making it from SCRATCH! I had to create pasta dough (BY HAND!), roll it out, cut it, AND create our own sauce with some random ingredients provided. This may sound pretty easy, but it certainly was not. I felt like I was on a TV show called "Chopped"!

As the sauce was coming together with random ingredients that was chosen and were thought to be a good combination, I started tasting it to see if it needed more seasoning. We had to choose ingredients that would work well together with a mixture of sweetness, tart, and crunch for texture.

The final product came out surprisingly delicious. I was pretty impressed with what I can make with very little ingredients and I've realized that this is what chefs or people at home have to do! They don't really need a recipe to create something amazing. All they need are their taste buds!

Classroom Experience #2

CAKES, CAKES, CAKES, and FISHING all mixed into one!

Technically, we had an assignment in class which we had to design a cake about an international issue on food. We were placed into separate groups and my group chose fishing and what it is doing to the overall fish population. Each group was handed sheets of paper that talked about the disturbance of agriculture. I learned that in the past years, there has been a huge decrease in fish due to over fishing, pollution, and by-catching.

By creating these cakes that represent important issues, it allows us to realize how society can create long-term effects on the environment.

The cake that my group designed tells a story on how in the late 1950's, the fish population has increased so much that there is too much to count for. But to this day in the year 2012, the fish population has decreased dramatically and that the sea levels have increased. With more and more pollution, the clouds start to turn into a misty colour, which is resulting in darker skies.

Video Video!

Here is a little video that I thought you guys might find interesting. A video on how to make your own pasta dough from scratch and it is hosted by Chef Jamie Oliver.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0XVDpPBHho