So I gave up on trying to do a nice video because I didn't read the instructions carefully.
Recipe 1
Fluffy French Toast (Uses pan-frying)
15g all-purpose flour
167ml milk
0.5g salt
1.5 eggs
5g ground cinnamon
5ml vanilla extract5g white sugar
6 slices of bread (I had to improvise that day, so I used only 3)
-In a large mixing bowl, pour in the flour, slowly whisking the milk, salt, eggs, cinnamon, vanilla extract and sugar until smooth. (It came out like the picture above)
-Heat a lightly-oiled frying pan over medium heat.
-Soak bread slices in abovementioned mixture until saturated, cooking each slice till golden brown.
End result (Gotten from the website, http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/fluffy-french-toast/detail.aspx, due to lack of image. Therefore, image does not belong to me.)
It was something like that, just slightly undercooked and the pieces too saturated.
Changes made:
-I added more cinnamon to add to the taste
-Used only 3 pieces of bread due to lack of material
Comments:
I messed this one up quite badly, forgetting to bring my materials and everything else that day. In addition, I should have followed the recipe when it told me to use only a certain amount of a certain ingredient (i.e. cinnamon). It made the dish taste too much like cinnamon and eggy to the point that the pieces of bread tasted like cinnamon cake. Also, due to over-saturation, the bread became extremely soggy, making it extremely difficult to flip the pieces while pan-frying.
Modifications to be made in the future:
-Thicker slices of bread
(The bread I obtained was slightly too thin and therefore could not be placed in liquids for too long a time, which caused problems when pan-frying)
-Remember to divide the ingredients properly before starting on it
(In my haste to ensure that the dish is made, I forgot to divide the portions of ingredients needed, therefore causing me to be left with a lot more wastage than necessary)
-Follow recipe
(Trying to add to much of something leads to one's demise. I added too much cinnamon and vanilla extract, giving the slices a brownish hue and making them look absolutely unattractive.)
Recipe 2
Blueberry Muffins (Uses baking)
47.5g all-purpose flour
45g whole wheat flour
75g white sugar
11g instant oats
18g wheat germ
2.5g baking powder
2.5g baking soda
1g salt
72.5g blueberries
0.5 banana
1 cup buttermilk
0.5 egg
7ml vegetable oil
2.5ml vanilla extract
12.5g oat bran
30g walnuts
-Preheat oven to 175 degrees C. Line muffin pan with paper cups.
-In a large bowl, stir the all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, sugar, instant oats, oat bran, wheat germ, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Gently stir in the blueberries and walnuts together.
-In another large bowl, mix the mashed banana, buttermilk, egg, oil and vanilla extract.
-Mix the wet and dry ingredients together with the '8' method.
-Spoon result into muffin cups. Make sure they fill the top as well.
-Bake for around 20 minutes.
Changes made:
-Left out the oat bran
(Difficult to find and probably expensive)
-Added 40g dried cranberries
(To ensure that muffins are not too wet)
-Added 0.25 tsp cinnamon
(Add to enhance local flavour)
-Left out walnuts
(Expensive and not easy to find)
Comments:
Not too bad, but I forgot to divide the amount of eggs needed, so the muffins ended up too eggy and they were a garish yellow. The muffins were fluffy and the blueberries bursting in the mouth. It was an interesting experience. I also forgot that vanilla extract was supposed to be in the wet ingredients section, so I may have added too much vanilla extract. Also, if they are not with any blueberries, the muffins themselves are quite plain.
Images (left to right - dry ingredients, wet ingredients, mixed ingredients):
Practical Examination
Chocoberry Muffins (Modification of 2nd Recipe)
It is exactly the same as the above, with some changes made.
Changes made:
-While spooning batter into cups, dark chocolate chips were added.
(Decreases chance of muffins being bland)
-Left out banana
(Lack of banana, substituted with more strawberries)
-Strawberries added
(More fresh compared to dried cranberries)
-Fruits were pureed instead
(Less chance of lumpy batter)
Changes observed:
-Muffins turned purple (they were edible, at least...)
-Took a longer time to bake
2a) Evaluate your final product based on taste, mouthfeel, texture and colour.
My muffins were slightly undercooked, with slightly lumpy, undercooked parts which I suspect are the wheat germ and instant oats. It was also gooey and resembled Poison Cooking.
http://images.wikia.com/reborn/images/d/de/PC_Cookies.png
Yeah. Something like that.
2b) Did your dish meet the requirements of the coursework question? How so?
I believe it did. Maybe not fully, but it managed to meet most of the requirements. For example, the availability of the ingredients. As foreign as buttermilk may sound to all of us, it can actually be found in NTUC for an okay-ish price and the fruits' prices are bearable as well. All of the ingredients listed above were found in NTUC except for the wheat germ, which was available at a baking store.
Also, the muffins were easy enough to make, only requiring the knowledge of the '8' method, which is used to mix dry and wet ingredients together.
In addition, the dish is versatile enough, being flexible to changes made. For example, another user left out the oil, substituted the banana for applesauce, added cinnamon and all-spice as well as Craisins (I have no idea what they are, but yeah.)
c) List down your strengths
-Able to modify the recipe such that it actually tasted better
-Able to finish batter in around 15 minutes
-Finishing most of the wash-up 15 minutes before time was up
d) List down your weaknesses
-Unable to remember the fact that vanilla extract is a liquid and should not be mixed with the dry ingredients first
-Turning on the wrong switch, therefore not pre-heating the oven
-Unable to control colour because the change was impromptu
-Did not try making it beforehand so underestimated the amount of time needed to bake the muffins
e) If you could do it again, how would you improvise it to make it better?
I should consider adding food colouring to make the muffins look less like Poison Cooking and more muffin-like. Also, I must remember to finish up with the preparation before moving on to washing-up. I should also place the chocolate chips in the centre instead of scattering them about because the muffins had a tendency to detach themselves from their non-chocolate half.
Images (from left to right - pureed berries, berries, wet ingredients, dry ingredients with vanilla extract, mixed ingredients, muffins baking, final product) :
Evaluation
1a) What aspects of Home Ec did you like?
I liked the fact that I managed to learn how to cook and experiment during those 8 weeks. Also, I think that I managed to bond with my classmates by stealin- I mean, trying their food. One rarely sees her classmates' cooking side, so...
1b) What aspects of Home Ec did you not like?
It would definitely be the fact that we had theory for more than half of the lessons that were so kindly bestowed unto us. It is understood that Term 4 is short, but Home Ec would have been a lot more interesting and fun if we had more practical sessions instead of theory sessions.
1c) Identify your strengths.
-Being able to modify my muffin recipe so that they actually tasted better instead of worse
-Researching, I suppose? It was interesting to learn so much about food online.
1d) Identify your weaknesses.
-I forget to divide the portions of ingredients regularly, thus making the ingredient(s) I used too much of to be so overpowering that the dishes made would taste extremely weird.
-I can't pan-fry anything for nuts. As of yet, I am uneducated in the art of pan-frying foods.
-Having the discipline to hand in my work on time.
1e) List down at least 3 learning points that you have gained from this coursework.
-Time management, no matter how small the task is, is important.
-Read the instructions with one's brain in place.
-Remember to read assignment sheets as soon as possible so that one will not be caught by surprise ever again.
-Make an effort to memorise important things like timetables and recipes.
That's it. This blog shall be taken down in a months' time, at the end of October. Have a nice day. Bye.
