Sunday, February 28, 2010

Stir fry from the garden

I made a stir fry with the chard I got from the garden. It was the first time I had chard and I must say it tasted better than I thought it would be. There was onions, chicken and red bell pepper.
Not much was added except olive oil, garlic and soy sauce.
I ate it with steamed rice and some garlic bread.

Bread Noobie

Last Tuesday I made bread from scratch. It was my first and second time making bread, I made two loafs. To state you need the basic ingredients:

Flour

Dry Yeast

Salt

Honey, can use sugar instead

Some eggs.

For fancier breads you can add herbs or other ingredients.

For normal white bread you must activate the yeast in ¼ cup of warm water and a teaspoon of honey or sugar. My first attempt of making bread I did wait, and the recipe I followed stated I needed more flour. I panicked so I added more water. DON’T PANIC because I added extra water the bread in the end tasted dry and very much like there was too much flour, so for the first timers out there just be calm and follow the recipe through.

Once the yeast is activated add a teaspoon of salt and slowly add ¼ cup of flour at a time. Mix well until the mixture is not sticky but not dry. There should still be some dampness to the dough. During this step you may add an egg if you like.

Now move the dough to the smooth counter top. Spread some flour on the counter so the bread doesn’t stick. Knead the dough for a good 10-15 minutes. Kneading for those that don’t know is simply flatting the dough to an oval shape, fold it towards you and then using the palm of you hand push the dough away from you. Once you have done that rotate it and repeat. The next step is to simply let is sit in a bowl for about an hour to an hour and a half.

Now that you have finished waiting you should preheat the oven. I did mine at 350 but you should double check for yours. The first attempt I did 375 for about 45 minutes, the bread was a bit burned on the bottom and a bit undone in the center so I adjusted it to 350 for about an hour the second time.

Deflate the dough, and while the oven is preheating knead the dough until the oven is ready. Place the dough in the oven. You can check if it is done by knocking on the bread, it should make a hallow sound.

Hold on before enjoying the fruits of your labor, set the bread on a cooling rack until it is cool on the outside, a cool is rack would be nice but if that’s not available try putting it an upside down plate or bowl so there’s the least amount of surface touching the bread.

The last step…you eat it .



Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Project Management

The first and second week of my internship I worked on evacuation maps and object specifications. So far it seems similar to studio, since both the maps and specifications start out with documentation. I had to make evacuation maps for Fromm hall. The object specifications were to create a folder that contained all dimensions of exterior objects on campus such as benches, poles and bike racks. So far it’s not too slow not too fast. There’s always something to do, scanning documents, looking up drawings, inspecting on of works in progress.

Monday, February 15, 2010

Corn Beef Hash

Corn beef hash is a simple recipe that requires

  • · 2 lbs of corn beef
  • · 1 large onion of your choice
  • · 7-9 medium potatoes


You can add more ingredients to your liking such as bell peppers, spinach eggs and etc.

There’s a variety of ways, which you can make the corn beef. You buy it in a can from the market or make it yourself.

To make it yourself you need a pot that big enough for the corn beef and be able to fill it with water. Corn beef is brisket so naturally its very fatty so you want to render down some of the fat. Once it’s in the pot and you have added the pickling spice which consistes of

  • 2 cinnamon sticks, broken 

  • 1 tablespoon mustard seeds 

  • 2 teaspoons black peppercorns 

  • 1 teaspoon whole cloves 

  • 1 teaspoon whole allspice 

  • 1 teaspoon juniper berries 

  • 1 teaspoon crumbled whole mace 

  • 1 teaspoon dill seeds 

  • 4 dried bay leaves 

  • 1 small piece dried ginger

Bring the water to a boil then bring the heat down a low simmer, there should be bubbling but very small ones. Let it simmer for about 2 hours and a half. The longer it cooks the more tender it will become, but the meat must always be covered with water.

Corn beef hash is good for left over corn beef from the night before since it takes so long to cook. Once the meat is done boil another pot of water. Quarter the potatoes and boil them for a good 15mins. They should not be completely cooked since we will finish them on a skillet.