Final blog post!

Well it as been an interesting project to say the least. I have cooked many different things, things i am used to cooking an not. I still think my favourite part was making up my own recipes. As well getting all the food after to eat wasn't bad either. I just enjoy cooking its interesting trying to try different combinations of food and seeing how they turn out.
Some biblical through lines that would be connected to cooking are creation-enjoying, order-discovering, beauty-creating, etc.
Well to start off I think cooking can be related to creation-enjoying. I created some awesome foods and i did enjoy them. That is one of the best parts of cooking, enjoying the food afterwards!
Another good one is order-discovering. You start off with some simple ingredients and as you get better and better you know what tastes good together. Its a lot of trial and error but u discover what works well together.
Beauty-creating is also a relevant one, because the point of making the food is so its tastes good. As well if you want to be a really good cook you can even make the food not only taste good, but you can prepare it so it look aesthetically pleasing.

Well i have enjoyed doing this project, because I already did a bit of cooking. So not only did i get marks for cooking, I also got to enjoy the food afterwards.

baking at grandmas

Well My grandmother is one of the best cooking/bakers i know. So I thought I would try baking with her as I am not to fond of baking. We decided to make Apple Dumplings, I was hesitant my self. So to start off you grease a pan with butter, so the dumplings don't stick to the pan. Peel 2 apples, as well a core them. Then slice them into 8 apple slices. Then we had some containers of pillsbury crescents. So we used that instead of making our own dough. You then proceed to rap the apple slices up with the dough. After you have completed the 16 dumplings you have to make the sauce for the top.

 You melt a quarter block of butter in a pot. When it completely melts, you can add 1 and a half cups of brown sugar. mix until it is evenly distributed throughout the sauce. After that you add 1tsp of vanilla and 1tsp of cinnamon. mix this and cook it until it thickens slightly. Once the sauce is done you can poor it over the top of the dumplings and then you are pretty much done. The last thing you need to do is add a little bit of seven up to the bottom of the pan. This keeps the dumplings moist for while they are cooking. Now there was one little thing that could have been avoided, you are suppose to cook them for about 30-40 minutes. Well we kinda forgot to put on the oven so we sat there for 30 minutes before realizing the oven actually wasn't on.

Creation 2

Well I tried making another creation, and it turned out lovely. I have no idea what it would be called. I just got some ingredients that I thought would go good together and cooked this creation. I started off with frying a steak with Greek olive oil dressing. I find in gives the steak a nice zesty flavour. After the steak started to cook for a minute I added the potatoes which I cubed. I made them fairly small so they would cook fast and crisp easier. Then to add to the finishing touches I added some spinach, gouda cheese, parsley, salt, pepper, oregano, and a little bit of carolina BBQ sauce.

1st creation

I tried making my own creation, and it turned out quite well. I diced up some sweet peppers, red onion, and sliced some mushrooms. Just preparing them for when I start cooking. I then put my element on high, and added a little bit of olive oil dressing to the pan. I then added ground beef to the pan to cook it. While cooking the beef I add the onion to the pan to enhance the flavour. When the beef got cooked (not pink), I put the other vegetables in the pan. While that was cooking I added salt, pepper, and chipotle bbq sauce. After the peppers started to get a nice char, I figured it was ready.

My mom and dad had it and said it was really good, so I apparently didn't screw it up! I also liked it a lot so doesn't really matter if they liked it, because I loved it :)!

Burgers

Patties are one of my favourite things to bbq, if you put the heat up to high the patties start to catch fire and make huge flames. More than likely when barbecuing beef burgers they will catch on fire at least once. When this happens don't panic, just turn down the heat to low, and put the burgers on the top rack of the bbq.  I like my burgers with a little bit of char, and incase you aren't sure they are down you can cut them open and check for pink. If the burger still has pink that means it is still raw and should be put back on to the grill. When the patty on the outside starts to cook and and leak fat, I apply carolina style bbq sauce :). When I know my burger is done I apply the cheese to the patty.

Now for extra things on the burger you can have sliced up onions, raw/cooked. Slice up some tomatoes, breaks off some Romain leaves, and some sliced pickles. Now you can have a bun plain, or you can grill for a minute or 2. Then to finish off the burger you can add your assorted condiments.

perogies, farmer sausage, and caesar salad

Perogies, farmer sausage, and caesar salad—has got to be the best meal ever!!!!!!!!!!!! Well perogies if pre-made are easy to make. The best way to cook perogies is to boil them and then fry them. The perogies are done once they float to the top. One they are boiled they are still good to eat. I personally just prefer them a little crispy, so i would fry them in a pan with some onions. Farmer sausage is pretty easy to cook, just make sure all the lengths are about even. Put them in the oven, and once the fat starts to come out (white looking substance) they are done. Now caesar salad is one of the easiest things to make. Once the lettuce is in the bowl, I add croutons, and bacon bits. After that you add the caesar dressing to the bowl. Mix it thoroughly until the dressing is evenly distributed.

Spaghetti and Meat sauce

To create meat sauce, you need to start with the meat. I prefer ground beef, but chicken isn't bad either. You put the ground beef in a skillet, and cook it with white onion. I personally prefer white onion for frying over the other onions because it crisps better. When there is no more pink in the pan from the meat you can start adding your other ingredients. I diced up sweet peppers, this adds a little bit of texture and colour to the sauce. I sautéed up some garlic as well to add flavour. I also added tomato sauce and tomatoes. I added some seasoning to the sauce such as, salt, pepper, and a little bit of oregano which adds a little bit of sweet to the sauce.

I then went on to make the spaghetti, this is a very simple process that few can mess up. You wait until the water is boiling and then you add salt to the water. The reason for doing so is it tastes better, and the noodles wont stick to each other. After that you add the noodles to the boiling water.You need to stir the spaghetti a lot to make sure it doesn't stick to the bottom or to each other. The noodles are ready, when you taste them and you get it to the texture you like. I Then pored the noodles into a strainer, and washed them to get the starch off. I then put the noodles back in the pot, and then you are ready to eat.

Salmon and potato wedges

Well i did my first attempt on making a dinner since i made this blog. I made salmon and potato wedges. The potato wedges were fairly simple. I peeled them with a potato peeler, cut them into wedges, oiled the potatoes with a brush, and seasoned them with montreal steak spice. I then put them in the oven on 400, the time they stay in depends on how thick the pieces are and how crispy u want them. Salmon is pretty easy, i put it in a pan, seasoned it, and put it in the oven. You know the salmon is done when the white fat is seeping to the top of the salmon. Now I did mess up a little. I didn't add enough oil to the potatoes so a lot of them stuck to the tin foil. Besides that minor set back all the food tasted great.

Taste test 1

Well i had a friend come and help me out, and taste my food. So i made breakfast again. I made scrambled eggs, hash-browns, and sausage. I tried making every thing i made last time except the waffles. I added extra cheese to the scrambled eggs which i think tasted better, i also added more oil to the hash-browns and cooked them longer which added a delightful crunch. My friend said all of it was super good, and he liked the extra crispy hash-browns.

So i think i got breakfast down, and i am going to move on to other foods.

Breakfast

Well i figured i should start off with breakfast, so to start i made some breakfast food. I decided to start off with some easy things, as it is my first attempt at cooking for my passion project. I made hash browns, bacon, waffles, and scrambled eggs. The hash browns were pretty simple to make, all u need is a pan, spatula, olive oil, and the hash browns. So you will need a lot of oil if you want to get the hash browns crispy. So you cook them until they are a golden brown, but taste them to see if they are done. Then i made bacon, you literally just put it in the pan, and flip it from time to time. If you want it crispy you will have to leave it in longer, and wait until the bacon starts to turn a little black. The scrambled eggs are quite simple to. I don't have a non-stick pan, so i needed to add some olive oil to the pan. The hotter you have it the faster the eggs will cook. So i cracked a few eggs, and put them into a bowl. I then added milk and cheese, and then stirred it until it was thoroughly mixed. I then poured it into the pan and let it cook. You need to scrape the bottom of the pan so the eggs don't get a leathery brown skin on the bottom, and it exposed the wet egg to the bottom of the pan. The eggs are done when there are no more liquid left in the pan. Then I made waffles, to start off you put ingredients in a bowl. You are suppose to start with the dry ingredients, then add the liquid. So I poured 2 cups of flour,  4 teaspoons of baking powder, 1/4 teaspoon of salt, and 1 table spoon of sugar into the bowl. I then added 3 eggs, 3/4 cups of milk, 1/2 cup of vegetable oil, and 1/2 a teaspoon of vanilla extract. After that I stirred it until it was mixed thoroughly. I then got my waffle maker, and added oil on it so the waffle wont stick to it. You make sure you don't put to much batter in it or it will over flow. That happened to me the first time, it started to seep out through the side. You know its done when the green light on the machine says done. Here are some pictures of the breakfast.

Batter

Waffle Maker (overflow)

Finished Product

Scrambled Eggs w/ Cheese

Bacon

All in all the cooking i did was pretty easy to make, and you get some great breakfast. The one down side is there are a lot of dishes to clean up afterwards. I plan on making another breakfast, and have some one taste test it for me.

First Post

Hi, im Jordan Asman. I have always wanted to cook and bake beautifully. In this passion project, it will really help me be able to practice, and try making new things. My main goal in this project will be making something with out a recipe, and having it turning out good. I also don't want to just make dinner foods, but breakfast, lunch, and dessert to. My grandma, and one of my teachers (Mr. Watson), will be my mentor. They will help me cook, bake, and give me guidance on how to prepare the meals. I  plan on taking pictures of my foods, and share how it went. I will give some tips, on what to do, as well what not to do.