More grains up our sleeve....
More grains...
Today, we went back to the kitchen with another chef instructor to gain experience cooking with grains using a variety of different cooking techniques. She put us in teams, gave us about two hours and a time for presentation and had each team create millet croquettes (either baked or pan-fried), polenta (baked or pan-fried), and collectively we pressure-cooked risotta, prepared a barley and wheat berry stew with sofrito topping (red peper, tomatoe topping with spices), and baked quinoa salad.
I was in a new team of three (we were the smallest team) and we had to figure out how to approach our dishes. We started with doing the mise-en-place or prep of everything we would need, looked at the recipes to see cooking times to know what to start in priority, and organized who does what. Although it went better this time around, it wasn't as smooth as it sounds. It's hard to rely on team mates and find out as you are cooking that they forgot about something they were supposed to prepare or said they would get in the mise-en-place stage. Or, they won't budge from the recipe to save on time or to try it another way. Everyone comes with their own ways in the kitchen and in life, and it's hard for us, including me, to leave the safety of what we do know.
The instructor told us, as they often do, that we should be totally focused and mindful in the kitchen always and there should be no side chatter or music. I like this fact, that when you are in the kitchen, all your senses are on and you are 100% present to create your dish. Without being present or communicating with team members, there have been fry pans overheating and almost catching on fire, several burns and cuts, food burning, pots overboiling, etc. Without even looking, the chef will say I think someone's oil is ready or it smells like something's about to burn, etc. Their senses are way up from years of training in the kitchen. I told the chef I think it's like those drug dogs in the airport, highly trained and focused to get their jobs done no matter what.
At presentation time, the chef had us put all of dishes in a row and we were to follow her as she reviewed and tasted each one, and asked us to add our comments. For example, the polenta was prepared by different teams and in different ways and she would ask which one looked more appetizing, which tasted better and what could we taste, what spice did this team use and do you like it... does it work with the dish or does it overpower it, do you like this dish prepared in this method or not, etc. It was amazing to see and taste the differences with the same recipe. I enjoyed this exercise and learned a lot. She was very positive and we learned even more from the mistakes people made in cooking.
Whole Foods...
In the afternoon, we had a lecture on whole food dynamics, including the concept of "expansive" or acid-forming foods, "contractive" or alkalnizing foods and "buffer" foods, introduced through the study of microbiotics. In short, they are opposite food energies that are always present but at each moment one energy is more dominant than the other. Expansive foods and cooking techniques move the energy outward and are more relaxing, i.e. sweet foods, raw foods, tropical fruits, alcohol, refined sugars, and cooking techniques like boiling and steaming foods. According to macrobiotics, that's why in summer or in warm climates people crave certain foods like salads, tropical fruit and raw foods to cool down.
Whereas, contractive foods and cooking techniques are moving the energy inward and are associated with salty foods, root vegetables, etc. That's why in cooler weather people naturally crave hot soups and stews and root vegetables, and cooking techniques like baking and boiling.
The goal is to keep a continuous balance between the two and avoid the big highs and lows that North Americans are usually experiencing from their foods. Therefore, by having balanced meals with a variety of foods and cooking styles, the big highs and lows should be reduced. For example, too much expansive food like refined sugar or excessive alkinity can make us hyperactive and depressed. On the other end, if we have too much acidity or contractiveness, we may become irritable and fatigued. Natural and chinese medicine can feel the imbalances in our systems before they show up as a diseases later such as cancer. Anyway, very interesting and we will learn more and I will have to start reading some of the food, health and healing books they gave us as part of our course.
Today, we went back to the kitchen with another chef instructor to gain experience cooking with grains using a variety of different cooking techniques. She put us in teams, gave us about two hours and a time for presentation and had each team create millet croquettes (either baked or pan-fried), polenta (baked or pan-fried), and collectively we pressure-cooked risotta, prepared a barley and wheat berry stew with sofrito topping (red peper, tomatoe topping with spices), and baked quinoa salad.
I was in a new team of three (we were the smallest team) and we had to figure out how to approach our dishes. We started with doing the mise-en-place or prep of everything we would need, looked at the recipes to see cooking times to know what to start in priority, and organized who does what. Although it went better this time around, it wasn't as smooth as it sounds. It's hard to rely on team mates and find out as you are cooking that they forgot about something they were supposed to prepare or said they would get in the mise-en-place stage. Or, they won't budge from the recipe to save on time or to try it another way. Everyone comes with their own ways in the kitchen and in life, and it's hard for us, including me, to leave the safety of what we do know.
The instructor told us, as they often do, that we should be totally focused and mindful in the kitchen always and there should be no side chatter or music. I like this fact, that when you are in the kitchen, all your senses are on and you are 100% present to create your dish. Without being present or communicating with team members, there have been fry pans overheating and almost catching on fire, several burns and cuts, food burning, pots overboiling, etc. Without even looking, the chef will say I think someone's oil is ready or it smells like something's about to burn, etc. Their senses are way up from years of training in the kitchen. I told the chef I think it's like those drug dogs in the airport, highly trained and focused to get their jobs done no matter what.
At presentation time, the chef had us put all of dishes in a row and we were to follow her as she reviewed and tasted each one, and asked us to add our comments. For example, the polenta was prepared by different teams and in different ways and she would ask which one looked more appetizing, which tasted better and what could we taste, what spice did this team use and do you like it... does it work with the dish or does it overpower it, do you like this dish prepared in this method or not, etc. It was amazing to see and taste the differences with the same recipe. I enjoyed this exercise and learned a lot. She was very positive and we learned even more from the mistakes people made in cooking.
Whole Foods...
In the afternoon, we had a lecture on whole food dynamics, including the concept of "expansive" or acid-forming foods, "contractive" or alkalnizing foods and "buffer" foods, introduced through the study of microbiotics. In short, they are opposite food energies that are always present but at each moment one energy is more dominant than the other. Expansive foods and cooking techniques move the energy outward and are more relaxing, i.e. sweet foods, raw foods, tropical fruits, alcohol, refined sugars, and cooking techniques like boiling and steaming foods. According to macrobiotics, that's why in summer or in warm climates people crave certain foods like salads, tropical fruit and raw foods to cool down.
Whereas, contractive foods and cooking techniques are moving the energy inward and are associated with salty foods, root vegetables, etc. That's why in cooler weather people naturally crave hot soups and stews and root vegetables, and cooking techniques like baking and boiling.
The goal is to keep a continuous balance between the two and avoid the big highs and lows that North Americans are usually experiencing from their foods. Therefore, by having balanced meals with a variety of foods and cooking styles, the big highs and lows should be reduced. For example, too much expansive food like refined sugar or excessive alkinity can make us hyperactive and depressed. On the other end, if we have too much acidity or contractiveness, we may become irritable and fatigued. Natural and chinese medicine can feel the imbalances in our systems before they show up as a diseases later such as cancer. Anyway, very interesting and we will learn more and I will have to start reading some of the food, health and healing books they gave us as part of our course.
posted by Caroline at 9:32 PM
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