Author: Kinga Wiśniewska
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The Kite Runner-Half Way Review
The Kite Runner, written by Khaled Hosseini, illustrates flashbacks ofAmir’s childhood in Afghanistan. The book begins with the narrator, Amir, explaining how his childhood and his memories from when he was 12 shaped him into the person he is today. Then, we are introduced to a boy named Hassan. Hassan and his father Ali are servants for Amir and his father, Baba. Although Hassan is a servant, he is the boy that Amir has the most memories with. The two boys grew up playing together, reading books aloud, for Hassan is illiterate, and they also caused a lot of trouble by shooting walnuts at the neighbour’s pets. However, Amir mentions that he does not describe Hassan as a friend due to ethnicity differences, different religious views, and the fact that he is their servant.
During my reading, I was able to sense foreshadowing from two scenarios. I believe that the following two scenarios are a hint that there will be war, tension, and separation between the two boys. The first sign of foreshadowing was when Amir does research on his family and religious history. Amir has found that his religious group, the Pashtuns, brutally suppressed the Hazaras, Hassan’s group. Secondly, a communist takeover has begun in chapter 5, and the boys are frightened with any gun shots. The next day, Hassan is hit in the head with a rock from a notorious bully named Assef. Assef shares that he is pleased with what is happening with the government, and he states that the Hazaras are polluting the area. Assef’s actions also make me believe that Hassan will be shot in the near future, but with a gun instead of a simplerock.
I fear that Amir will not defend and protect Hassan if the government attempts to abolish all Hazaras. There have been many situations that Amir has not truly defended Hassan. One situation that Amir did not defend Hassan was when Hassan got blamed for pelting the neighbour’s dog with walnuts, but in reality it was Amir’s idea. Similarly, Amir did not truly defend Hassan as Assef was physically and verbally harassing him. Hassan did the majority of the speaking, and Amir almost said that Hassan is not his friend, and is just his servant. This makes me believe that Amir will have the opportunity in the future to protect Hassan, but he will chose not to.
A part of the book I can somewhat relate to is Amir’s crave for family approval and love. I am very close with both of my parents, and I truly do enjoy spending time with them. I always go to my parents for advice, and I enjoy sitting and talking to both my mom and my dad. However, Baba does not enjoy Amir’s company, and Amir is constantly wishing to bond with his father. If I was Amir, I would be unbelievably devastated, for family is the most important aspect in my life.
May Lab Reflecfion-Homemade Pasta
During the month of May, I was only able to start the pasta lab, for I was away the majority of the month. Therefore, this is the only group lab I am able to reflect on. I also chose to reflect on this lab, for each individual group member was able to create their own ball of dough. Although some of the work in the lab was independent work, we worked together while we were stretching the pasta. I did not have high hopes and confidence in myself while I was creating the dough. Containing the egg did take time and patience, but I was able to create the dough successfully. My product turned out much better than I was expecting. I realized that I cannot give up while the dough feels very liquid like, for it just needed some time, mixing, and kneading. My group was very helpful and we gave one another tips about how to create the dough properly. Luckily, nobody in my group had to restart their dough. As my group was stretching our dough, we did rip the dough a tad, but we were able to quickly restart and create a nice thin pasta. I enjoyed this lab a lot, for the recipe was sweet and simple, so I can easily recreate the lab at home. When I create this lab at home, I will incorporate dough into the egg mixture much more slowly. This will help relieve stress, and then my product will turn out wonderfully. 
March/April Lab Reflection-Eggs Benedict with Hash browns O’Brien
1.Why did you choose to reflect on this lab?
I chose to reflect on this lab, for it truly changed my opinion on eggs benedict. Originally, I was not quite a fan of the idea of an egg based sauce, but the hollandaise sauce tasted completely different than I expected it to. The butter gave the sauce a very nice creamy texture, and the lemon juice was a very nice splash of flavour. Aside from the eggs benedict, I also chose to reflect on the unique way to change up a plate of hash browns. My whole life I disliked the taste of green peppers, but I found that they mixed very well with the onions and potatoes in the hash browns. I also have never cooked green pepper before, so I learned that I do prefer green peppers cooked compared to raw peppers.
2.Did you enjoy the lab? Why or why not?
I really did enjoy this lab, for it taught me an easy breakfast to prepare for my family. I also learned new techniques that I have been able to use in the kitchen already. The day of the lab, I went home and made eggs benedict for lunch. I placed a canning lid in the bottom in the bottom of my sauce pan, as I was just taught at school. I also used a slotted spoon to removed the poached egg from the water, and I found it was a lot easier to use a slotted spoon compared to a regular spoon. I have prepared this recipe multiple times for my family, and I am very glad I learned new cooking techniques.
3.Did your product turn out the way you had hoped? If yes, what helped? If no, why did it not?
When my group prepared this lab, I was in charge of preparing all the ingredients, and making my own poached egg. However, I did not watch my lab partner make the hollandaise sauce. The sauce she made had an extremely thin consistency, and Mr.Brett believed that the butter may have been poured in too quickly. I wanted to have a nice creamy hollandaise sauce for my meal, so I chose to remake the sauce so I also would not lose marks for not preparing the meal properly. I got help to pour the butter very slowly, and the sauce turned out perfectly! I really enjoyed the sauce, and it changed my opinion on eggs benedict. The hash browns did stick to the pan a bit, so I may need to reduce the heat or addd more fat to the pan next time.
4.Did you group work well together during the lab? Why or why not? (i.e. were there any issues that came up/how did you solve them?)
My group worked very well with preparing everything for the lab, but some problems did arouse while we were preparing the sauce. As mentioned above, the sauce was not made properly the first time. As I asked my partner to assist me with the sauce, she strongly refused and became quite upset that I simply asked for help. She did not want to help me recreate the sauce, for she did not want it on her eggs benedict. However, I chose to remake the sauce for I wanted to know what hollandaise sauce tasted like, and I did not want to lose marks because the sauce was not prepared properly the first time.
A Place At The Table Video Response
1.What are two examples of food insecurity identified in this movie? What were some of the ways in which the individuals involved coped with their predicament? Were they successful? Why or why not?
Food insecurity is often connected to homelessness, but that is not always the case. In the movie, we were introduced to a large family of 7 who owned a little house in the town of Collbran, Colorado . Although Rosie and her family lived in a home, and Rosie was able to attend school, her mother’s income every 2 weeks totalled to $120. Therefore, maintaining a sufficient amount of food in their household was extremely difficult. They were denied assistance from the government, and had to rely on friends for food. Rosie’s family did receive snacks and instant meals from Rosie’s grade 5 teacher, and they were luckily able to receive a hot meal each Wednesday at their local church. Rosie and her family are quite lucky to live in a very supporting town, but they will forever be food insecure if the government does not improve their role in preventing hunger.
Barbie Izquierdo is a single mother who lives in Philadelphia with her 2 children. Food insecurity has truly affected her family, for it caused many health issues to appear in her son. Just as Rosie’s family, Barbie was denied food stamps because her income was $2.00 above the illegible income. Barbie joined a group called “Witnesses,” and spoke at the White House with other single mothers who are unable to receive food stamps, and who are truly food insecure. Witnesses gave her the opportunity to work and assist other families who are also food insecure. Although she was not successful at start, her motivation allowed her to escape food poverty, and she recently graduated from St.Josephs College.
2.What specific demographics in our country might be more at risk of experiencing food insecurity? Why are they more at risk? Is there anything historical that might have caused this increased risk?
Aboriginals are at the greatest risk of experiencing food insecurity, for the government has not made farming easy for them. Aboriginals were given the worst land to farm on, which made it very difficult to harvest produce. In addition, the drought that occurred during the Great Depression created worse conditions for the poor land that the Aboriginals were given.
Single mothers with children are also at great risk of experiencing food insecurity, for they are often unable to work much while their children are young. They will be brining a lower income in to their family, and it may cause them to skip meals in order to feed their children.
3.What is your personal reaction to this movie? Did you have any preexisting ideas about food insecurity? Were you surprised by some of the information that was presented? Why or why not?
This movie left me feeling shocked, for I first believed that this would be a movie discussing how food insecurity is a problem strictly for homeless people. I did not realize that my neighbours or classmates can be just as food insecure as Barbie or Rosie’s family. I was surprised to hear that 1 out of every 2 American’s will be on food assistance at one point of time in their life. I wish that the government could focus more time and money on decreasing food insecurity.
If you were in a position to directly or indirectly influence the issue at hand (such as a politician or policy maker) what would you do to help? What policies do you think could aid those that are hungry? OR What is a way that you could make a difference today? How would you go about making that difference and change?
In the movie, Barbie discussed that she was taken off food stamps the instant she made above the illegible income. However, she was still in an unsteady state, and was unable to bring full meals to the table each day. I believe the government should increase illegibility standards, and I believe that once you are above the illegibility, your family should still be illegible to receive food stamps for an additional 3 months.
February Lab Reflection-Mom’s Apple Pie Jam
1.Why did you choose to reflect on this lab?
I chose to do my reflection on Mom’s Apple Pie Jam, for it was one of my favourite labs so far. Also, I have never made jam by myself before, I have only watched my mom make it. This lab was much more elaborate compared to the Wacky Cakes or Crêpes, for my group needed to finely chop a lot of apples and carefully pour the hot jam into hot jars without breaking them.
2.Did you enjoy the lab? Why or why not?
I really enjoyed this lab, for knowing how to preserve fruit is a good skill to have. Now I will be able to buy fruit in bulk, and make delicious jam with the fruit. This specific recipe will be very useful for me, for I have over 15 apple trees in my backyard.
3.Did your product turn out the way you had hoped? If yes, what helped? If no, why did it not?
I usually do not like big chunks of fruit in my jam, so I decided to take some extra time to chop the apples very finely. As I expected, this made the jam much more enjoyable for me and I loved it! However, I still found the jam a little bit too sweet, even though the sugar quantity was reduced.
4.Did you group work well together during the lab? Why or why not? (i.e. were there any issues that came up/how did you solve them?)
My group worked very well as always. Arezou and I both minced the apples together to speed up the process. We did have difficulty pouring the jam into the jars, so we decided to have one person hold the jar with a cloth close to the pot, while the other person poured it into the jars.
5.If you were to do this lab again, what might you do differently? Why?
If I were to do this lab at home, I would most likely add less sugar if possible, for I am not a fan of very sweet foods. Another possibility could be to add more apples instead, for we reduced the recipe to 3 apples instead of 4.
Placki Ziemniaczane (Polish Potato Pancakes)
Safety First Cheat Sheet
Français Hors Classe-Andrew, Rilley,Kinga
Schwartz est une charcuterie hébraïque plus ancien et plus célèbre de Montréal. Schwartz est célèbre pour leur viande fumée. Maurice et Reuben Schwartz ont fondé Schwartz en 1928 sur le boulevard Saint-Laurent. La recette est restée la même pour 88 ans. Typiquement, les gens commandement un sandwich à teneur moyenne en matières grasses, des frites, du cornichon, de la salade de chou, du poivron rouge et un soda de cerise noire. Schwartz est plus populaire et tu peux commander leur viande fumée sur l’internet. Un 7 livres paquet de la viande fumée est à peu près $108. Tu peux aussi acheter de grands conteneurs des cornichons, des poivrions, des olives et du moutard. Ils ont aussi fumée la dinde et le poulet. Cependant, Justin Trudeau a dit qu’il n’aime pas Schwartz, parce que le restaurant est très simple.
