knowledge

It's humbling to realize in one day that I only experience one tiny corner of the world. But its so neat to be able to learn about other corners of the world from where I sit at my desk. The amount of knowledge we can share in just seconds with the internet is awesome. Here are some corners of the world I found fascinating today:

My sister living and working in Bolivia

A school employee in the midwest eating the same lunches as her students

A passionate foodie and hilarious writer from my hometown

A man appreciating all the beautiful, simple things in life


A food loving photographer from San Francisco with recipes for delicious, fresh food and stunning photos to go with it

What's going on in your corner of the world?

s'more muffin

Graham cracker crust+ chocolate muffin+ home made marshmallow= s'more muffin

Chef suggested doing a little research for a s'more muffin, so this morning I showed up with chocolate muffin recipes, marshmallow recipes, and a graham cracker crust recipe. It is so cool to have a vision and then see it through to fruition.

Reason #34,789 why I love this industry: creating.

3 hour lunch

When you have a good group, it is one of the best things that can happen to you at CIA. Your group is the collection of individuals you will travel from Skills III through Garde Manger with. These are your class mates and you spend 5 days a week with them bonding, laughing, sweating, busting your butt, stressing, and cooking. I've been thinking that I've had a good group since the start, but after sharing lunch with them for 3 hours and laughing so hard our stomachs hurt, it's confirmed: they're awesome.

the hidden waffle

It wasn't until I had been a student here for about 3 months that I finally ate a waffle for breakfast. Not because I didn't want one but because I didn't know where to get them. There are waffle griddles in the dining hall, but no waffle batter in sight. That's because its in the refrigerator below the griddles. I had no idea. The batter can't be stored on the counter in plain view because it is full of butter, eggs, and buttermilk. It was my job this morning to make the waffle batter cups. When I made one as a tester (to ensure the quality of course) I was so glad that someone decided to mix flour, butter, sugar, baking powder, eggs, salt, and buttermilk together to create such a warm fluffy treat. I'm even more glad that I know where to get them.

banana carrot blueberry

It may sound like an unlikely combination but it was pretty yummy. I used carrot juice, frozen bananas, Banilla yogurt, and milk to create a rich orange smoothie. Then frozen blueberries and orange juice whirled together to create an icy deep blue counterpart that was poured into the glass alongside the carrot smoothie, to create a 1/2 and 1/2 look. The two could be drunk separately (alternating sips from opposite sides of the glass) or swirled together for a combo effect.

smoothie station

I'm infamous in my house for dirty dishes. I used to make smoothies and leave the sticky blenders on the counter to dry in all their strawberry banana glory. Smoothies kept me occupied during the time before I wasn't allowed to use a knife on a regular occasion. They were more complicated than I expected and I loved trying new ingredients and weird flavors--- and I can only think of one smoothie my mom wouldn't drink although there were dozens I found disgusting.

Now that I've entered breakfast class, we serve smoothies on our buffet and I have the honor of blending up our specials. Each day we feature a dairy and non-dairy option to accommodate those avoiding dairy or those who are lactose intolerant. Here's the smoothies featured so far:

Jeff's Juice (Cranberry Orange--- named after my Florida native class mate): frozen cranberries, orange juice concentrate, orange juice, plain yogurt, milk, half and half, sugar, and ice

Jovany's Jamba (Coconut Banana Tamarind-- named after one of my favorite classmates): coconut milk, frozen bananas, tamarind puree, soy milk, yuzu juice, sugar, ice

Coconut Banana Kiwi: coconut milk, frozen bananas, kiwis, soy milk, pineapple juice, Vanilla Rum, sugar

Chocolate Cherry Banana: chocolate milk, frozen cherries, bananas, Banilla Yogurt (banana+vanilla), cocoa powder, sugar, Creme de Cassis

Mixed Fruit: frozen fruit salad-- honey dew, cantaloupe, pineapple, grapes, strawberries, bananas, strawberry puree, pineapple juice

The mixed fruit smoothie was my favorite so far. The Coconut Banana Kiwi was super good until I added the kiwi, which once blended made the back of your throat itch. My chef warned that there's an enzyme present in kiwi that makes for a really unpleasant feeling. I was careful not to over blend the smoothie and Chef said it was okay, but I don't like kiwis in smoothies.

breakfast class

There is a certain thrill associated with being so totally different than everyone else. Very few college students will ever have the experience of waking up at 2 a.m. and cooking breakfast for their school. I had that experience today and it's pretty cool because its so totally weird.