Author Archive
I never knew about nor watched Iron Chef before this activity, and after the practice round and the real round, I really enjoyed it because it caused each group to step out of their box and think about all the restraints that are put onto everyone during this time. I was not here on the first day of Iron Chef when the groups would be told the special ingredient and so when I came the next day, I was updated on everything. I trusted that my group would work altogether to choose a dish that would be impressive yet still be conscious of how long it was take to cook. My group chose butternut squash curry soup, I personally am not a fan of butternut squash due to it’s texture, but when it was puréed and made into the soup, I ended up liking the results. Everything was done during the second day of Iron Chef, and when time came closer to 9:45, we began stressing a little because our pot was not done boiling yet. We had to rush the boiling of the butternut squash and didn’t let it become very tender, so using the hand mixer was very useful. Since we had to take out the butternut squash sooner than supposed to, the curry mixture that it was boiling in didn’t end up tasting like the strength of curry expected. I was glad that my group chose a soup instead of doing a dish that’s very simple and is not very original; I like the idea of soup because it’s very versatile in which you can add anything or take anything out of the soup. Taste can easily be changed whether it becomes too salty or not salty enough, or whether it needs more spices or not. With that said, I enjoyed the whole process and idea of Iron Chef and would do it again if the chance came up. Although next time, if we choose to do soup again, to try and save time is to boil water need to as soon as class starts because the longer the ingredient boils for, the stronger the taste would become. This would also help with the time restraints since the countdown made us overwhelmed that the butternut squash would not be tender enough. Overall, I appreciated this activity because it’s not like any other food lab since each group had to make their own dish, and use a special ingredient but mostly because it would cause a rush of adrenaline in myself and everyone else in the class, and it was an exciting lab all in all.
Food insecurity is the inability to acquire or consume an adequate diet quality or sufficient quality of food usually because of the households financial ability. In the movie, A Place at the Table, Barbie and her kids and Emily and her family are suffering from food insecurity. Emily lives in a small home with seven other family members. They live in a rural area so there aren’t many grocery stores near. Being a large family with only a few people making an income, food tends to be stretched in order that everyone eats. They haven’t had vegetables in awhile and in their pantry, it consists of instant noodles, and canned soups. Every Wednesday, the town church feeds whoever comes, they were surprised because they were aware that families had insufficient food, but they weren’t aware of the amount of people suffering. Emily’s teacher used to suffer from the same problem when she was younger so now that she’s older, she goes out of her way to drop of bags of food to families including Emily’s to help them. Months later, it changed Emily’s habits at school in that the year before she missed 20 days of school whereas the following year she only missed 7 – 5 being when she had pinkeye and couldn’t attend. As for Barbie, she had the opportunity to speak to the government regarding food stamps and others suffering from food insecurity. Eventually, she was employed was a person that people call about food stamps. However now that she was making an income, she no longer qualified for food stamps and other financial assistance from the government – and so even though she finally had a job, it did not help because the money she was making was not enough to cover all her expenses for her and her kids.
Although Canada is a beautiful place to live, there’s still a large part of the population that suffers from food insecurity. Those with lower household incomes have a higher risk of food insecurity. According to Canadian data those who are to suffer from food insecurity are single mothers and Aboriginals groups. Single parents are at risk because depending on the age of the kids, he or she is usually the only one making an income for the family They are also limited to the number of hours that they can work because he or she may need to be home with their kids if income is insufficient for daycare and/or a babysitter. Aboriginal households are vulnerable to food insecurity because there aren’t a lot that have education, and without education a stable job isn’t dependable. There are also environmental factors that affect food security for Aboriginals; since the beginning, the Indigenous people have grown a relationship with the environment in which they live, however climate change and infrastructure has affected that relationship. Fishing and hunting were how Aboriginals traditionally made a living but now in this generation, more and more animals are dying due to climate change resulting in food insecurity within First Nation households.
Personally, A Place at the Table had a significant impact on how I perceive life. One would assume that those who are starving and don’t have anything to eat are those that live on the streets or severely but that’s not always the case. Anyone around you could be food insecure, you just wouldn’t know because just from the way they look, you wouldn’t be able to tell. It was also really hard to watch that the government says they want to see a change in those who are struggling with hunger yet haven’t done much to follow their words. The main reason for that is because those who work for the government and those who are in power all have high incomes, so they don’t know how it feels to worry about where their next meal is going to come from, what their kids are going to eat or what financial cuts need to be made to have at least one meal on the table. Those who want to see change always say more than what they can truly fulfill leaving many with false hope – it’s easier said than done.
There are many things one person could do to make a difference whether it be a small or a big one. Volunteering for food banks would help the community because food banks typically rely on volunteers to keep them running. In school, there are many opportunities where students ask others if they have food that they’re willing to donate, and I think that’s a great way, because everyone does have different incomes, it’s normal to be making more or less than others and if help is needed in any way, they shouldn’t be ashamed in asking. Everyone has to right to have access to adequate food that fulfills all health and nutritional means.
When we made cheese in class I was expecting like a block of cheddar cheese, but when Mr. Brett did the demo I was sadly mistaken. At first, I was surprised at the amount of milk needed for the recipe we were using, and the fact the we needed to add vinegar to it when cooking. I’ve never made or had curdled cheese before so trying it out and making it was a new experience. Since we used 2L of milk in order to make the cheese, it took a long time for it to reach a certain temperature; it was also tiring because it had to be continuously stirred so that the milk wouldn’t stick to the bottom of the pot. After the very tiresome mixing of the pot and it reaching the specific heat needed, we carefully added the vinegar along the sides of the pot circling inwards like a spiral. Doing that part of the recipe was one that my partner and I had to be careful and patient about; we were told many times that if the vinegar was added to quickly or in the wrong spot, the cheese wouldn’t turn out well. So with that being said we were attentive adding the vinegar, and then stirring it in the correct way in order for the milk to curdle properly. Once we were done the cooking steps, we had to get rid of the excess liquids that were in the pot as well as within the curds using a thin piece of fabric. We put that fabric on top of a bowl, and we scooped out the curds placing them into it to let the fluid strain out. The next step once everything was scooped out was to physically bundle up the curds in the fabric and squeeze out any more liquids that we absorbed in the curds. This was hard to do because since the cheese just came out of the pot, it was hot to hold let alone squeeze. Eventually, we were able to tolerate the heat, and as time went on, it cooled down. Finally, when we chose the spices to mix into the curds, we chose oregano and thyme. After everything, I wouldn’t do it at home because it’s just very time consuming and it uses a lot of milk but overall, my partner and I enjoyed the lab and thought that the outcome of the cheese turned out really good in looks and in taste!
When consuming caffeinated drinks such as coffee, there are positive health effects that are proven by science. From the article written on healthline.com, it lists 13 benefits of the consumption of caffeine. For example, coffee can improve energy levels and make you smarter. Caffeine is a stimulant, and therefore it causes people to feel less tired; when caffeine is absorbed into the bloodstream, it flows into the brain where then caffeine blocks an inhibitory neurotransmitter called Adenosine. Once that occurs, a number of other neurotransmitters like dopamine, which causes you to feel happiness, increases and it leads to enhanced firing of neurons. Since caffeine has the ability to move throughout the bloodstream, then to the brain, it also improves various aspects of brain function, including, memory, vigilance, energy levels, reaction times, and general cognitive function. This fact is only one of the 13 beneficial effects that caffeine has on our brain and body, proving that caffeine does have positive health effects.
However, the article written on caffeineinformer.com lists how caffeine has multiple harmful effects on the human body. The first point stated is that more than 4 cups of coffee is linked to early death by increasing all-cause mortality by 21%. Second, caffeine consumption may raise blood pressure in those who are already suffering hypertension, and those who don’t normally consume caffeine. Thirdly, it increases risk of heart attacks in young adults. Although, the study conducted on young adults also were diagnosed with mild hypertension, leading to having four times more risk of a heart attack if they consumed the amount of caffeine equivalent to 4 cups of coffee. There are many more points that are listed on the article showing the harmful effects of caffeine on the body, but these are only a few of them.
After reading both articles, and their points on whether or not caffeine has any beneficial effects or not, the conclusion I’ve come to is that there are proven positive health benefits when it comes to caffeine. Although, there are quite a few points when it comes to the harmful effects, they are only proven to be true when the individuals tested drank more than four cups of coffee, or diagnosed with hypertension, or those who didn’t regularly consume caffeine. There aren’t necessary any bad effects on people who consume a moderate amount of caffeine daily. Those who do only drink a cup or two a day of coffee are proven to show positive benefits to the body. Most importantly how caffeine itself can boost neurotransmitters within the brain providing the person with more energy and improving various aspects of brain function; and since caffeine is able to move about the bloodstream it can be beneficial anywhere within the body.
Websites:
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/top-13-evidence-based-health-benefits-of-coffee#section1
https://www.caffeineinformer.com/harmful-effects-of-caffeine
Croissants
I chose to reflect on the croissant lab because it involved multiple steps, and you had to make sure to read the recipe very thoroughly. This lab wasn’t one of the easiest, making it a challenge; it was one of the reasons for why I enjoyed making and baking them. Along with it being a not-so easy lab, it also required to have some patience when waiting for the yeast and dough to rise. When forming the dough, it was really tempting to knead the dough more than four times since kneading is amusing and fun to do. The next day when the dough finally rose, I was excited to roll out the dough, and form the shape of the croissants. Once the croissants were in the oven, the classroom started smelling good, therefore I was really anticipating the product, and how it’d turn out. When the timer went off, and we took it out of the oven,I noticed that the croissant shells were a nice golden-brown colour. The end product tasted great, it was crunchy on the outside, and soft on the inside. If we were to do this lab again, the only thing I would like to change is to add more egg wash on it so that the outside were to be more flaky. Overall, I enjoyed the croissant lab making it with my group, and I would make it again in the future.
Todd, D. (Ed.). (2001). Surviving Toxic Technology. The Commentary Page, The Vancouver Sun.
In the novel, Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, the way of society is solely based on their personal belongings, along with letting those consumer goods control their way of living. Although the story was written in 1953, as the years continue to go by, the book becomes more and more relevant to how society functions today in the 21st century. The fiction novel also relates to an article published on The Commentary Page of The Vancouver Sun called “Surviving Toxic Technology” written in 2001. The non-fiction article states the concern of how people are losing their sense of humanity due to the great influence of technology. In the movie, Wall-E, released in 2008, it shows how humans are greatly dependent on electronic devices and other materialistic items because of the continuous exposure to it at a young age. Within all these pieces, they share the same major themes in which are the main issues that are faced in their society, as well as today’s present day society.
In the beginning of Fahrenheit 451, the character of Montag seems to be living an exceptional and fulfilling life with his job and wife, Mildred, or so he thinks. When Montag met Clarisse, it changed his normal mindset and he began to perceive and question the environment around him. Clarisse was not an “ordinary” person in that society due to how she was as a person, she had her own opinions and enquired her surroundings “I like to smell things and look at things, and sometimes stay up all night, walking, and watch the sun rise” (11) – she symbolized hope, and prosperity in the society, unfortunately that was supposed as a threat to the government and corporations: resulting in her being killed. People nowadays don’t usually have their own distinct opinions on the important issues or are afraid of sharing them due to the judgement of others. Therefore, those thoughts are typically kept to themselves, thus resulting in issues that not necessarily everyone agrees with, yet are not willing to stand up for what they think.
The characters of Clarisse and Mildred in the novel are very different in a way that they are opposites of one another. Mildred only cares about the items she possesses, and items she wants to have in her possession. “How long you figure before we save up and get the fourth wall torn out and a fourth wall-TV put in? It’s only two thousand dollars.” “That’s one-third of my yearly pay.” “It’s only two thousand dollars,” she replied. “And I should think you’d consider me sometimes.” (9) Mildred says “we” to Montag as if she was one to contribute to the payment for the fourth wall in the parlor; even though she knew that another installment of a parlor wall-TV would use up a clear majority of his pay for that year. She disregarded anything he said because she is a selfish person who only cared about having the fourth wall installed for herself. Clarisse, on the other hand, has a very distinct personality because the way she acted was not accepted in the society they were living in. She didn’t necessarily have a care for all the technological devices that everyone else was absorbed in, which provided her with the free time to think, and become aware of her surroundings. Mildred did not care about a person like Clarisse because she was different and she didn’t want to associate herself with anyone not living along with the status quo of their way of living. People today are very relative to these two characters in which those who don’t wear the same thing nor talk the same way are thought down upon. Especially with social media surrounding everyone and everything 24/7 it creates the expectations for individuals to live up to; and if one did not satisfy nor follow those expectations, they were considered “different”. Those who weren’t consumers were thought of as unusual because they didn’t “blend in” to everyone else.
In the movie, Wall-E, every human being is the same in a way that, they follow everything that the corporations tell them. At a very young age, they are taught to buy consumer goods rather than learning the simple aspects of life. Each person has their own levitating chair that brings them wherever they want to go, and built into that, they have a screen right up at their face, therefore it makes them unaware of everything else around them. Aside from their own personal screen, almost all the walls on the ship are covered in massive screens that continuously exhibit advertisements that lures the people into doing what is shown. This relates to Mildred in Fahrenheit 451; she wants the fourth wall in her parlour as a screen because her friends have it, and disregarding Montag’s financial problem with it, she constantly wants to be surrounded by screens and her “parlour friends”. Being brainwashed from an early age caused every person to be a consumer and less of a citizen; they all are unknowing of what’s really “out there” asides from their screens.
In the article, Surviving Toxic Technology written by Douglas Todd, it states the main issues of the generation then, and the generations to come. Even though the article was published in 2001, now in 2017 all the facts are becoming more and more of a reality. In Fahrenheit 451, Beatty’s reason for burning books is that they bring upon unnecessary emotions such as sadness, and worry. The use of technological devices has caused many people to become “isolated from other people, their communities, the rhythms of their own bodies and nature” because of that. Burning books was also was a way of censorship since “young people are sensitive,” and no one intentionally wants to burden themselves to have that type of mental state. The use of social media and technology has such a large impact on everyone because it follows almost every individual in this century everywhere; continuously being hooked on a screen diverts the attention of the natural flow of life.
The science-fiction novel, Fahrenheit 451, was written in 1953, yet somehow now in 2017 the storyline is becoming more and more of a reality. A large portion of the world’s population have access to an electronic device, or have it all around. As the world continues to grow, technology also continues to develop. There have been numerous inventions that has helped people live their lives “easier” but it has gotten to a point where it has been taken advantage of for it has caused multiple problems throughout the world. Therefore, as helpful and accommodating technology has become, there are limits to what extent they should be used. Using social media, and other apps are fantastic methods of entertainment, but it shouldn’t be the only source of entertainment. Having these marvelous gadgets should help whenever it’s needed, not wanted. They have the ability to create chaos in the world, yet at the same time. It should be used to the best advantage but not be taken advantage of.
In the short story There Will Come Soft Rains by Ray Bradbury, it contains an underlying warning that concerns our materialistic attitude and environment repercussions. The underlying warning is about how we as humans are so dependent on technology, and as time goes by it is only getting worse; for which we will eventually rely on devices and electronics to do everything for us. Although having the technology in this decade does “help” us live an “easier” life, it is not necessarily for the best. Aside from natural resources, our economy is run by consumer goods; we as humans have a need to have the newest version of advanced technology even if there is not really much of a difference from the previous phone – not caring where the waste goes. The story includes a house that has furniture that is mechanized to the inhabitants way of living. An automated voice that at a specific time everyday says a statement that the people in the house has to do. “Nine fifteen, sang the clock, time to clean.” The simplest things are said and done by the technological house, rather than by the people that actually live in the house. “Behind it whirred the angry robot mice, angry at having to pick up mud and maple leaves.” Advances in technology have greatly benefitted us as humans, at the same time, due to the advances in nuclear weapons and bombs, it also has the ability to destroy us. This photo represents the fact that the advanced in technology are taking over the nature around us. The house in the story everything is refrained from touching the house; eventually nature is the one that causes its destruction. It basically is stating that we need nature to live life, but nature doesn’t need us, and it very much has the ability to reclaim itself if humans disappear.
