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 .

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.

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.

Local food

This week for ESF we had to document cooking a meal using local foods. I wanted to do something simple because I get out of work at 5pm. After a little research I found this page http://www.localfoodswheel.com/local_foods.html it lists all the local foods and what is seasonal.  I some how decided on salmon, penne with arugula, chives and pine nuts. It tasted nothing like I thought I would, not in a good way.  Maybe it was the busy week but some how I forgot to double check where my ingredients are from, I naturally assumed Trader Joe’s is local, but I realized it wasn’t when Chris pointed it out. Growing up in the city of Arcadia, which is right next to Monrovia, I have always considered food from Trader Joe’s to be local.  So essential I cooked a seasonal dish that’s California grown.        

         1 pound skinless salmon fillet

         8 ounces penne

         1/4 cup pine nuts

         2 tablespoons olive oil

         1 tablespoon lemon juice

         kosher salt

         3 cups arugula

         1/4 cup chopped fresh chives

 

         1
Baked the salmon on 375 for about 25 mins

2.
While cooking the pasta, in a large skillet, toast the pine nuts over low heat until golden, 3 minutes; transfer to a bowl. 

3.
Heat the oil in the skillet over medium heat. Add the penne, salmon, lemon juice, and 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt and cook until heated through, 2 minutes. Stir in the arugula and chives.

 

Everyone’s dishes looked amazing. It was great getting to know all of you. Have a great summer. 

May 6^th marked ESF’s last field trip. Time went by so fast. We enjoyed our last meal together at Zazie’s, a nice little French bistro in Cole valley. It was my first time in Cole valley. The walk there was interesting, having been in the city for three years yet there are still place unexplored. After a nice pre game and discussion with Jessica, Jessie and Silver we were late for dinner. After hearing so much about Zazie’s during the school year I finally get to see what all the hype is about. Our group of 17 sat at a long table right underneath the light well. It is a small space but it has excellent lighting. I am surprised how little the space the chiefs have to work with. Looking at the menu, I wanted the fish soup provencale. It contained snapper, mussels, salmon, swiss & rouille, what’s not to like? Ok so maybe I don’t know what rouille is but I ate all of it. So according to wikipeida rouille is a sauce that consists of olive oil, breadcrumbs, garlic, saffron and chili peppers. It is often garnished with fish or soup and it was spread on my croutons. Most often rouille is used in cuisine in the Provence which is south east tip of France. I enjoyed the soup a lot; it was some kind of squash base. The seafood was very fresh you can taste the quality and went nicely with the swiss and croutons.

Then we headed to the golden arches, I was torn between fries and ice cream but I ultimately decided on a caramel sundae. Ok so we all know MacDonald’s ice cream doesn’t have the texture of ice cream, is it because it’s made out of powder or is it even made out of dairy? So out of curiosity and lack of desire to start on my final paper I looked up the ingredients that went into making a sundae.:

Sundae, Caramel SUNDAE MIX:  Milk, Concentrated Skim Milk, Sugar, Cream, Glucose (from wheat, contains preservative sulphur dioxide), Emulsifiers (433, 471 -contains soy oil), Vegetable Gums (407, 407a, 412, 466), Colou (160b), Flavour.                                                                                                                                              

HOT CARAMEL TOPPING: Glucose Syrup (contains Sulphite), Sugar, Water, Skim Milk Powder, Butter,

Whole Milk Powder, Flavour, Acidity Regulators (339,270), Salt, Stabiliser (440).

Contains milk and soy; traces of gluten and sulphites. 

Can barely reconcize half the ingredients but it seem like there no corn, well at least no obvious form which is surprising. 

The morning before the field trip I had class in the Koret. There was a banquet being set up in the meeting room as I walked through I was tempted to get a cup of coffee but it didn’t feel right so I got a cup of water. As I was drinking this cup of water I noticed a green stripe at the base of the cup and to my delight it read MADE FROM CORN. Which means the cup that holds my sundae was probably made from corn. Who thought food could be so versatile, you can eat it, your food can eat it and it can hold your food too at the same time, amazing. After reading Michael Pollens book Omnivores Dilemma,  I have whole different out look on food and think more about where did it come from as appose to what I am going to do with it. 

Chinatown

In the small city of San Francisco, Chinatown holds a valuable locations. Its next to downtown, North Beach, The Pier and its a skip and a hop away from the Mission and Castro.

There are actually two chinatowns in San Francisco, the one downtown is considered "Old Chinatown" and Clement St. is considered "New Chinatown" Generally "Old Chinatown" is an older generation, the first wave of chinese immigrants settling there. New Chinatown is a melting pot of Asian culture, not just Chinese but there's , Vietnamese, Thai, Korean, Burmese. Settler were a later generation compared to the settler of Old Chinatown. They were attracted to the low rent in the Richmond district.

Dim sum is from the southern part of China, mainly the province of Canton and its neighbors. Old Chinatown is comprised of mostly Cantonese chinese which is why Dim Sum is so popular. Dim Sum means snack in chinese. According to Wikipedia it mean touch heart but that is a direct translation. Thats why the dishes are small and divided up into many pieces. Dim sum is traditionally a social event. Aunts, uncles and grandparents will all out out to eat with the whole family, have tea and talk about anything, thats why dim sum restaurants are always so loud. Tea is the main part of dim sum, the whole point is to drink tea while you ingest food. Tea help digestion and wash down the greasy food.

The way the food is priced is that all the dishes are separated into 3 categories, small, medium and large. So if you order pork dumplings thats a medium order, the woman pushing the cart will stamp your ticket with a medium stamp. When its time to pay they calculate all the stamps.

Now I know many people at my table tried new things on Saturday. I will try to explain some of the dishes.

First off the Chicken feet.

The dish is called Phoenix claw

Phoenix claw is cooked for a very long time, this is how the meat turns from skin tight to fall off the bone.

I here are the ingredients and how to make it.

Ingredients

• 1 lb chicken feet

• 2 quarts oil

• 2 quarts water

• 1 ounce fresh ginger

• 3 pieces star anise

• 2 ounces chinese parsley roots

• 2 ounces maltose sugar

MARINADE

• 2 tablespoons oyster sauce

• 1 tablespoon sugar

• 2 tablespoons soy sauce

• 1 tablespoon sake

• 1 ounce chopped chili pepper

• 2 garlic cloves, minced

• 1/2 teaspoon white pepper

• 1 tablespoon black bean sauce

• 1/2 teaspoon sesame seed oil

Directions

1.
Wash feet, chop off toenails and cut into quarters.

2.
Heat oil to 350 degrees. Mix chicken feet with maltose and fry until golden brown, about 7 minutes. Remove and drain.

3.
Boil water and add ginger, star anise and parsley roots. Add feet. Bring to boil again, then reduce heat and simmer 90 minutes. Drain.

4.
Combine marinade ingredients. Marinate feet 24 hours. Before serving, steam feet, marinade 15 minutes. Serves 3.

Thanks to www.recipezaar.com

The cow stomach is translated as cow scraps in Chinese.

the dish consists of cow stomach, white turnip, and lung, not liver. Eating animal innards is not uncommon for Chinese cuisine.

The dish is starts with a pot of boiling water, then the stomach and the spices are added. I don't know the specific spices but i know MSG is one. Anyways It is usually served with pigs blood and a side of spicy oil.

The cow stomach is not most peoples cup of tea.

FYI there were pigs ears and jelly fish if you guys are interested in going back and trying something new

Dim sum dishes have been passed down for centuries making part that are cheap and usually throw out into tasty dishes.

I was definetly an experience going with a group that was not familiar with dim sum.

Cooking a delicious meal

Cooking a delicious meal 

Last weekend I documented a dinner I cooked for my Eating San Francisco class.

I made a Shrimp scampi type of pasta with steak and for dessert there were chocolate covered strawberries. 

The pasta consisted of garlic, butter, shrimp, and cilantro. 

 I cooked the steak first because my girlfriend was craving it. It was seasoned with salt and pepper, and cooked to medium rare.

For the pasta I first melted the butter and then put some garlic into the pan. After the flavor of the garlic comes out I add in the shrimp. Shrimp cooks really fast and very easy to tell when it is done. Once the shrimp is cooked I add the pasta. On top of the pasta I drizzle some olive oil. Before it is done, I add in the cilantro, I really like the smell/flavor of cilantro.

The chocolate covered strawberries were made the night before, and chilled in the fridge till dinnertime.

She didn't want to be in this photo because she is a girl... and other stuff.

Just look at the plate in front of her, most of the steak is already gone. 

Enjoying chocolate strawberries and watching Friends after dinner.