Twisted Pretzel

Things have been really busy in our kitchens and I haven't had much time to get things posted.  Students kept feeding their starters and began having an abundance of discards.  So it was time to cut the waste and put together something tasty! And what is better than soft pretzels!

This was the first complicated recipe that they had to follow. To save space, they had combined their starters into large jars, one per kitchen with six total.  Once they had enough discards, we were ready to start. At this point, we had put the starters in the fridge to slow the growth process of the starters. 

Before school, several students come in to prep the kitchens. They gather the necessary ingredients for the recipes and portion them out into six bins, one for each team. In addition, they gather the equipment that each kitchen will need to complete the recipe.  On the first day we made our dough. Because we only have about 40 minutes in the kitchen to get things done, we have to break the recipe up over several days.  This is great when dealing with recipes that need to rise because it breaks the procedure into natural steps. 

Students measured their starter discards and then began to add the remaining ingredients, mixing until they formed a good ball of dough.  We placed the dough into separate bowls and left them to rise. At the end of the day, seventh period was sure to place all the dough into the fridge for the night.
The following day the dough was ready to make into pretzels.  Students enjoyed rolling out the dough, some more successful than others.  It took several tries and a bit of extra flour, but they each eventually accomplished the task.

We stacked their pretzels and froze them for the following day.  This kept some of them from getting smashed and stopped them from a second rise.  The next day, they baked them and enjoyed them with while watching some Good Eats with Alton Brown!  Unfortunately, I often get too busy in the classroom to remember to snap some pictures.  And these pretzels got eaten faster then I anticipated!  Interestingly enough, we coated the warm pretzel in butter, but instead of salt, cinnamon sugar was the popular choice of coating. 
These kids are amazing and learning more everyday. I love my job and teaching these kids how great cooking from scratch can be.
Here's to healthier families! Cheers!

Our Class Pet!

In an attempt to learn about where our food comes from, my amazing students were introduced to "starters".  We started our first cooking lesson with the most basic of foods, BREAD.  A basic ingredient in bread is yeast.  Yeast has evolved over time.  As technology advanced, so did our choices.  In any supermarket you can now purcase instant, even rapid rise, yeast. But that's no FUN! 

We began to study the process of how yeast grows. Each team developed their own starter.  Being that yeast is a living organism, it had to be fed. So over the first few weeks of the semester, students practiced their measuring and mixing with daily feedings. They improved their communication and got familiar with their kitchens. They grew their sourdough starters and we were able to make tastey treats completely from scratch.

Here's their process:

First they mixed one cup flour and 1/2 cup purified water in a glass mason jar.  We talked about how it is important to use purified water because so much of our tap water contains minerals and chlorine, which will stunt the growth of the yeast.

Everyday they needed to feed their starter.  After discarding 1/2, they mixed in another cup of flour and 1/2 purified water.  They continued this process for two weeks.  As the yeast and lactobacilli fed on the flour (simple sugars), the yeast would "burp" and release gases, causing it to expand.  The lactobacilli is what keeps the starter from molding and going bad. 

Once their starter showed constant growth, they were ready to use!  I'll update you soon on their success with recipes using their starters! Sourdough Pretzels, Crackers, Pizza Crust, Cinnamon Rolls, YUMMY!

Challenge these kids to think beyond what is infront of them and they will step up and respond.  I am very excited that they are loving this project and learning where their food comes from.  Education is key to a happier, healthier family! 

Till next time!  Cheers!

The Bitter Truth

I am a mom to two healthy kiddos and one amazing husband.  Yes, I consider my husband one of my children.  Really?  Yours isn't?  Well then, bless your heart.  I am not sure mine would survive for long without me, which is completely my fault. And, he probably couldn't tell you exactly when he became completely incapable of tending to himself. Now, let me paint you the picture of my family:

We are a typical American, middle class family of four.  Possibly more dysfunctional than some, but we are definitely entertaining.  We love cooking, smoking (aka BBQ to the novice), football, and friends.  A perfect weekend to us is smoking a brisket and cooking all night Friday, and spending the day Saturday feeding friends and watching college football.  Now when I say we are carnivores, I do not speak of that lightly.  We have been known to cause meat comas in many of our friends, and vegetables are rarely spotted at these gatherings. We enjoy cream corn, tater tot casserole, beans and cobbler. And don't even ask which cobbler is better, peach or blackberry. Our Savior, Jesus Christ, and BBQ are two things sacred in this house. 

Okay, now to everyday life. I am currently laid off from teaching public middle school.  I like to bless my own heart for that, LOL. My husband works an average of 50-60 hours a week. Our kids are in 2nd and 4th grades at the public elementary school six blocks from home. We try to eat healthy during the week, pre cooking meals, having snacks ready.  As I have already explained, I am far from granola. I didn't make my own baby food. My kids didn't wear cloth diapers. Heck, I didn't even breastfeed.  But, I admire those that did.  I can say that I could have competed with the local dairy when I was pumping. We eat too much fast food, too much pizza, too many things that come in a box, and nothing organic.  We love meat, and only avoid red because it is too expensive.

So, I am busy trying to get a job, cleaning the house, doing homework, etc. etc.  I know, you feel me. Being unemployed has gotten me around to thinking about what I love to do, and that's cook. I have recently realized that I make more and more things from scratch. Not only do they taste better, they are so much healthier.

So in an attempt to clean up my family's eating habits, I am going to start trying to replace the items in my pantry with homemade options. I have recruited a good friend (and you can follow her blog also at http://thewhitesbackyardfarm.blogspot.com) to help me with this adventure and assist me with the recipes.  I am going to be posting as often as I can, new recipes, cost, pros/cons to making it yourself. Please remember, I am not a trained chef; nor do I have any authority on this subject.  I am doing my research and throwing my opinion out there. Feel free to give me feedback, and share your experiences. My main goal is to find efficient, inexpensive ways to remove processed foods from my family's everyday diet.

Check back soon to see the garden, making your own bread and butter, jelly and hot sauce. We have to start somewhere. Here's to a healthier family! Cheers!

Where have you been?

So, it has been a long time since I have posted.  Definetly haven't stopped cooking, but major life changes have interfered with my ability to find time... for anything.

Here is the short version:  I was hired in December as a Culinary Careers and Career Planning teacher at a local middle school.  I started in January, and am loving my job! So the direction of my blog is shifting slightly as I work to teach my students how to make things crunchy in their own homes. 

I plan to use my blog to show my students some things I have going on at home, and share with their parents what is going on in class.  Hope you all enjoy!