The Mid Point

Funny thing... we're about at the mid-point of the year. I've definitely recovered from the initial stage-fright I had at the beginning of the first term, and I'm willing to try almost anything in Home Ec now, as long as it can be compressed into my time-frame of 41 minutes. And I'm bored. Not during class...no, class is far too busy for me to consider the luxury of boredom. I'm bored in theory. Now that I'm approaching some recipes for the third time this year, or I do the same recipe three times a week (like I do with the 6/7 classes), I'm getting kind of antsy.

A new group of 8s is in the midst of their first cooking lab. I'm ready to pick up the pace - but they're not. I don't think it's a coincidence that I come home on Apple Crisp lab day, and make a batch of apple crisp - something I rarely made before this school year. Partly, the lab proved how easy it is, so, why not? And partly, it smells so darned good ;-)

The 8s get more restless each term, and I keep trying to move things along a little faster to hold their interest, or at least to tear them away from their iPhones. Today's demo was just an introduction - here's how to prepare the apples, so go to it. They were, as I mentioned, restless. Until they tried it. Payback time. "This is harder than it looks!" Yes, it is. I've peeled a lot of apples this year. I make it look easy.

Some students, not content with the challenge of the task at hand, decided to further challenge themselves... or rather, a classmate. The Cinnamon Challenge, it's called. I guess he succeeded... although I certainly don't advise trying it. Most of the class was too busy to notice, but I decided that cinnamon is now a controlled substance. When one 8th grade boy tries something on a dare, others are sure to follow.

Regardless, they managed to get their apple crisps into the fridge, ready for baking tomorrow, although clean up didn't go too well. We'll debrief. Whether they like it or not.

Quinoa Brownies 2.0

I still haven't figured out why there was such a difference in this term's QBs and last terms. Granted, the grade 8s were woefully inattentive during the demo - so much so, that I'm wondering if I should have just cancelled the demo in progress, or the cooking lesson. I think making them struggle on was probably for the greater good.

Because they were so inattentive, all the "improvements" I made to the recipe instructions were for naught. Like good little automatons, they brought up their trays with bowls and measuring cups - even though I'd been VERY CLEAR that I wanted: someone to bring up their saucepan to start the quinoa; someone else to bring up a glass bowl to get the butter melting, another to start on their dry ingredients... face-palm...

Two of the girls spent a great deal of time analyzing the vanilla bottle. One of the ingredients was "alcohol". Back in their unit, they announced that they would be unable to eat the product because of the 1 millilitre of alcohol contaminated vanilla... it didn't (seem to) occur to them, that they could just OMIT it. (Someone, please calculate for me, how much of that 1 ml was alcohol) face-palm again. And a big sigh. Oh well, the boys of the unit were under no such restrictions and were happy to eat the extra portions.

Despite the frustrations, we were on task and on time at the end of the block. It was baking day where the oddities came through. Two groups found their quinoa mixture so thick that they couldn't get it out of the blender (I guess it was undercooked and absorbed the rest of the liquid ingredients overnight?) The brownies took longer to bake today... or they got in the oven later. Either way, it was the end of the block and the finished product was barely "done" enough to be removed. One group stayed late. I didn't even get to check to ensure the product was edible! Oh well, I'll get some feedback tomorrow.

The poor 6/7s. In they trickle, to a room that is saturated with the smell of chocolate. "What are we making?" they ask eagerly. "Nothing." is the teacher's heartless reply. "That was the grade 8s. You're cooking next week."

We're doing quesadillas and smoothies next week (not at the same time, although... that would, almost, work.) I think I'll put "Mudpies" forward as a bonus if-you're-good lesson.

Not what they're supposed to look like. I think the guys went overboard on the blender step.

P. S.  the alcohol content estimate... artificial vanilla is reportedly no more than 25% alcohol, so that 1 ml of vanilla contains 1/4 or 0.25 ml of alcohol. Divided by the six portions then each student is consuming 0.042 ml. Leaving it OUT would have been a workable solution. 
(Hmm... Do I still have some leftover rum balls around here somewhere???)


P.P.S the last of the leftover rum balls were gone. Made mudpies. All of the chocolatey goodness, but none of the zing.