Food lab #10: IRON CHEF shanghai noodles with meat, broccoli and Wasabi sauce

Shanghai noodles with meat, broccoli and Wasabi sauce 

food lab #9: Pasta with Alfredo sauce

Pasta with Alfredo sauce

• What were some challenges you faced during your lab? How did you deal with them?

In this lab, we decided to make the pasta ourselves which was a challenge for many of us because non of us, including me, didn't know how to do it correctly. After we started the dough, the texture of it wasn't right which started confuse us; but after a few minutes of mixing the dough with hands,it became okay and ready to be flattened and cut. when we were cooking the pasta, we forgot to add oil to the boiling water which made our pasta to stick to each other but with adding some olive oil before putting the sauce on it, the problem was solved .

• How can this lab be altered to suit one’s preferences/cravings?

well, Pasta that we made was a simple one so it had a flat taste. for making it flavorful, one can eat it with different sauces that suit that person preferences better. for example, if some one is vegetarian or vegan, he or she can enjoy a tomato and garlic sauce while some people like to have ground beef or dairies in their sauce. as long as Pasta is served with different sauces, anyone can enjoy it.

• Does this food remind you of any  family recipes? Which one? Talk about it.

At home, my mom cooks a really special kind of pasta sauce which is incredibly delicious! it contains curd, cumin, fresh parsley, some chopped basil and garlic. Basically, you have to chop and mix everything together and cook it on medium heat for about 15 minutes till its lava like and cooked. then you season it with black pepper and salt!it's ready to be served in anytime after that!!

food lab #8: Banana Bread

Banana Bread

• What is your biggest ‘take away’ or lesson that you learned during this food lab?

My biggest take away from this food lab was to NEVER EVER bake banana bread without adding baking powder because if you do not, your banana bread will be a thin, not fluffy, miserable cake- like thing that does not look good at ALL! Also, I learned every time we have a food lab, we should choose a checking- person who reads the recipe carefully and makes sure that each step is followed perfectly.

• Who might be interested or enjoy your dish? Why or why not? Be specific. (ie. children if colorful, etc...

This dessert is a joy- bringer! it is a dish that everyone can enjoy in any age! It would be a great choice for people who love having picnics! Also, it would be a really good homemade gift to give to your new neighbor or if your invited to a party. Also children will love it because it tastes so good because of the natural flavor of bananas and also is eatable with all kinds of juices and drinks such as tea, coffee or milk. High school students can make it and sell it to raise funds for charities because it is easy to make and most of the people like its taste. All and all, it can be interesting for most of the people who enjoy a simple, delicious dessert.

• How can you add your own creativity to personalize the dish?

As we did in this food lab, you can add chocolate chips and oats to make it something more than a simple banana bread. also you can serve it with jam, butter or nutella for more flavor!you can also add nuts such as hazel nuts or peanuts to create a stronger flavor. Also you can add coffee powder to it to create a banana- coffee flavor which can be interesting for some. you can also put some sliced pieces of banana when you are pouring it in to the molds which gives you a texture of the actual bananas.

food lab #7: Fruit smoothies

Fruit Smoothies

• Where or what types of places can you envision this dish be served at. discuss in 1-2 sentences. (events, sports, and etc…)

Fruit smoothie is a great choice for hot summer days when you feel dehydrated and you need something cool and also delicious. It would be a perfect drink to serve in formal meetings, birthday parties, weddings and even simple gatherings because firstly, it is so easy and fast to make! secondly, it is healthy and full of vitamins and thirdly, it is cost- efficient. ( you can mix any fruit that you have in your fridge with a little honey, yogurt and ice and your drink is ready!!)

• What do you think was the inspiration behind this food lab?  Was the inspiration successful? How does this connect to our course.

In my opinion, the inspiration behind this food lab was firstly, the start of hot days, which is the best time for having cold drinks. Secondly, to learn how to work with blenders properly (safety cautions, leak checking and also some brilliant hacks such as using tin foils instead of a lead!) and lastly, to face the challenges of competing in a food competition for the first time in this course. I think the inspirations were so successful because it was a really fun lab and I learned a lot on that day! for example I learned how to manage my time so I can compete in a real competition and also, I learned how to make a healthy smoothie in less than 10 minutes! I think it is really connected to our course because most of the things we learn about in the class are connected to healthy diet and healthy eating! so I think making a healthy and simple drink really helped us to use the things that we learned in our class in a positive way.

food lab #6: Fish & chips

Fish & chips

• What were some challenges you faced during your lab? How did you deal with them?

The fist challenge that we faced was the lack of communication! Me and my teammates didn't have enough communication so it was a hard job to organize everyone. The second challenge was that we " accidentally " fried our halibut first instead of our " try- fish". The last challenge and I think the hardest one was the lack of agreement on literally anything! Everyone had different ideas and it was hard to make all of them work at the same time!

• I liked/Didn't Like… at home I could alter this food product by…

I, unfortunately, didn't like the size if the fish cuts and if I want to make it at home, I will make them a little bigger and also thinner. The fries were awesome but I didn't like the little potato fries! ( they were too hard to eat!). I would omit them and instead of them, I would make regular fries.

• How can you transfer some of the concepts, skills, and procedures that you learn in this lab to new situations inside and outside the classroom.

In this lab, we learned how to work with hot _like really hot! oil which was the first time for me! ( we learned how to reduce the amount of oil splashes and also how to prevent it from burning!). Also we learned how to be quick- handed! because frying the fishes one after another was something that needed both speed and caution so it was a fun ting to experience and learn! and it is also really helpful because frying can come handy in many ways not only for fish!

food lab #5: Bruschetta

Bruschetta

• What factors contributed to your success? What would you do differently the next time you did the lab?

In my opinion, us working as a team and everyone having a responsibility such as slicing the tomatoes, slicing basil and garlic, preparing toasted bread and washing the dishes helped us to do a acceptable job in the food lab. Also, the fact that we had already practiced knife skills in the past labs helped us to do the cutting and slicing parts faster and better. For the next labs, the only thing that I would like to change is the amount of each item that we are going to use in cooking. In the past lab, we had a lot of toasted breads with a little amount of mixed basil and tomatoes and that caused a little bit of problem for us.

• Where or what types of places can you envision this dish be served at.

This dish which is a really light appetizer which can be a healthy and delicious alternative to the unhealthy snacks such as onion rings, french fries and many else. Bruschetta is so easy to makes and it takes almost 30 minutes to make almost 50 of them. It can be served in almost any gathering such as sport events, weddings, parents and teachers nights, parties, and even as a snack for children during lunch time.

• What other meals would taste good with this particular meal that we prepared at the food lab?

This dish is an Italian appetizer which is made of three main ingredients that are used in most of Italian meals; tomatoes, cheese and basil. any kind of pasta will taste good with this dish because they both have this special Italian flavor that kinda match each other. Also, this appetizer, if served with soup, will have a wonderful taste. I cannot think of any Persian dish ( the culture which I am almost an expert on the foods that are served in it) that will go with bruschetta because Persian flavors are so different from Italian ones.

Added Preservative Assignment: BHT

Butylated Hydroxytoluene

• What is it made of?

It is primarily made from the chemicals p-cresol & isobutylene. P-cresol is a chemical that is a mosquito attractant while isobutylene is a flammable substance one hydrocarbon away from common butane.

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• What it does and why it is added to the food(s)?

BHA (butylated hydroxyanisole) and BHT (butylated hydroxytoluene) are widely used by the food industry as preservatives, mainly to prevent oils in foods from oxidizing and becoming rancid. BHA and BHT may have some antimicrobial properties, too. BHT is even sold in supplements, as an antioxidant.

• What are the side effects of BHA and BHT?

There’s an ongoing controversy about the safety of BHA and BHT. Most researches have been on animals and test tubes, not on people. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) categorizes these food additives as GRAS—generally recognized as safe—which means they are widely considered safe in specified amounts. However, anything that is not natural has its own harms and side effects. In this case, BHA and BHT can cause Hyperactivity, Angioedema, Asthma, Rhinitis, Dermatitis and Tumors.

• Why HUMANS should avoid it?

Humans should avoid BHA and BHT for following reasons!!

* It is not natural and is made in science labs which means our bodies are not used to consuming it.

* It will change the taste, smell and the color of the food in a negative way.

* It will destroy some of the nutrition that exist in different foods.

and at last.. It can reduce the livers' ability to metabolize fructose and alcohol.

• some of the famous foods that contain noticeable amounts of BHA and BHT: