Innovate - The micowave oven

I found an innovative product that the microwave oven.

History of the microwave oven

Pre-1700s

Most obviously people have been cooking food using the same cooking principles as a modern  oven forever. From roasting pits to cauldrons to earthen kiln-like structures, some form of oven has been around forever.
France was home to the first written historical record of an oven being built, constructed using bricks and tiles.

1700s

Around 1728, German-designed cast-iron ovens began being made in serious quantities. These were known as Five-plate or Jamb stoves. Then a Bavarian architect named François de Cuvilliés invented the first recorded enclosed oven, called the Castrol stove, also known as the stew stove. The enclosed nature of the oven was an innovation as it contained the smoke inside the oven, which had not been done before. Towards the end of the 1700s Benjamin Thompson aka Count Rumford invented an iron stove that allowed the user to adjust the temperature of the individual stovetops; a huge innovation at the time, and a step towards our modern stovetops.

1800s

The first gas oven was patented by James Sharp, however gas ovens were not a common household appliance until the 1920s. And in 1892 we saw the first electric oven; an early version of the electric oven was manufactured by a Canadian named Thomas Ahearn, and put into service at the Windsor Hotel in Ottawa.

1900s

Sure the 1900s must be associated with the development of that most convenient of cooking appliances: the microwave. An engineer named Percy LeBaron Spencer was researching microwave-producing magnetrons when he discovered that microwaves could cook food faster than the application of heat could. The first commercial microwave oven was produced in 1954.



Oven is very important in culinary industry, because basically, the oven is one of the basic equipment that never goes out of the kitchen, and I think the beginning and end of cooking are with the oven. The oven can make a variety of food, such as bread, cookies, pies, or grilled and toast, which I want, and I can cook at the time and temperature I want.
In a microwave oven, the food cooks in a fraction of the time compared to a regular oven.
This kind of microwave oven is perfect for those with limited space. Many people who live in apartments don't have very large kitchens. If people don't have room for a full-size stove this is a great solution. Moreover, one thing most people hate about cooking in a large oven is the cleaning you have to do afterwards. Since the size is smaller there is a lot less to clean.

Reference
Hurwood, 2015, A brief history of ovens, Canstar Blue.
http://www.canstarblue.com.au/appliances/kitchen/ovens/a-history-of-ovens/

Diets and Dietary Restrictions

I decided to a Mediterranean Diet for a this week.
Mediterranean Diet
: It is Southern European, and more specifically focuses on the eating habits of the people of Crete, much of Greece, and southern Italy (Nordqvist, 2015, para 1). Main ingredients are vegetable, fruits, seafood, legumes, nuts, balsamic vinegar, and olive oil. 
 
My typical daily menus look like

1.
 Breakfast : Quinoa with warm milk, sweet potatoes, fried eggs, yogurt
Lunch : Salmon Salad from Chef cafe
Snack : raw Almonds 1/2 cup
Dinner : Fried Salmon with olive oil, steamed rice, salad with blasamic sauce
 
2.
Breakfast : Sweet potatoes, earl grey tea
Lunch : Apple, veggie sandwich
Dinner : Chicken Pasta (Grazie restaurant)
 
3.
Breakfast : Apple, yogurt
Lunch : Steamed brown rice, baked salmon, saute green beans
Dinner : Chicken stew, steamed rice, salad with balsamic sauce, saute veggies with olive oil, red wine
Snack : Energy nut bar

 

This recipe I was trying to make for  Mediterranean Dieters.

 

Aglio e Olio with chopped olive & Pan Fried Salmon

 

Ingredients

 

• Spaghetti 200g
• Olive Oil 1/2cup
• Green Olive 5pcs
• Garlic 4cloves
• Red pepper flakes 1/4tsp
• Chopped Italian parsley
• To taste Salt and pepper

Method

 

1. Cook spaghetti in the boiling water (salt, oil) for about 12mins, then drain and transfer to a pasta bowl.
2. Combie sliced garlic and olive oil in the pan, cook over medium heat to toast garlic until golden brown, then add red pepper flakes, chopped green olive, and spaghetti.
3. Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper, then sprinkle the italian parsley.
4. Preheat the pan with olive oil, seasoning the 1 cut of salmon.
5. Pan frying the salmon quickly. (Do not overcooked)
6. Plating

 

 

Reflect on my experiences.

 

I've been on a really diverse diet for a long time. Mostly I have been on a diet with pills, the result was good, but if I don't manage it steadily, it start to get fat again. But the Mediterranean diet is the most healthy diet I've ever had, and I could drink a glass of wine a day, so I had less stress on my diet. Now I don't really want to continue this diet, because I love every food so much, but I will start this Mediterranean diet again later when I feel I need to diet. This assignment was really interesting experiment for me.

 

 

 

 

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Blog #2 Hug a Farmer

It was quite difficult to find a farm which is managed in winter, so I investigated a Tangerine orchard in Jeju Island of South Korea. Basically, I emailed her who is an owner of Tangerine orchard, I asked that about her story, after that she replied me very kindly.


Okay!! let me introduce her farm.


She is the owner of Tangerine orchard in Jeju Island of South Korea. She moved to the island 7 years ago.

She was a typical city girl so she used to live in Seoul. Besides she studied physical science in Ehwa Women's University, she was a teacher of elementary school for 5 years.
However, one day she had feeling of doubt for living in the city. Everything was so fast, complicated, and stressed. She studied about Jeju island for 2 years, and eventually she decided to move to the island with her family. Jeju Island's weather is warmer than other Korea regions relatively. Moreover, the atmosphere is peaceful, the sea is clean, and people are very nice.

She started to cultivate the Tangerine, but there were lots of failures for the first time. However, her family didn't give up, and  just have kept it up until succeeded.  Finally, she made it to cultivate the Tangerine. So she is selling the Tangerine to people successfully, and they also love it as well. There are two her philosophies, which are that one is " All crops have their own characteristics", and the other one is "Don't be greedy for selling more Tangerines". Because tangerine's sugar and acidity are the most important parts, it is better to cultivate carefully one by one. Now she is very happy to live in Jeju island with her family, and she is studying about other more crops.

#1 - Veal Cream Soup

 I went to St. Lawrance Market the other day to buy Meat ! I was thinking about kinds of meat, finally I decided to get a VEAL !! The reasons why I got veal are that firstly, I have never cooked veal before, and I LOVE beef and veal :)
So I got a VEAL CHUCK because I thought that some parts of beef & veal such as Sirloin, Rib, and Brisket are common to cook, but cooking the chuck was a new challenge for me who want to cook something new !
* The price was $ 7 per 1lb.

 

< The history of Veal >

 

100 BC
Centuries old delicacy of veal referenced in literature, history and scripture

MID 1900s
Holland-based veal system extends to U.S. raising calves on formula and in confinement

1970s
Sustainable/Organic movement begins to influence agricultural methods and practices

1990s
Group raised veal introduced in Europe; soon moves to U.S.

2008
Strauss Brands reintroduces the traditional art of natural pasture raised veal.

 

Reference http://straussbrands.com/our-meat/veal

 

 

The chuck which I cooked, it's muscles are very flavorful, when cooked on low heat for long time. Braising, stewing, and pot roasting are all perfect cooking methods. I was going to cook 'Veal Cream Stew', but I put too much liquid such as water inside the sauce, so I had no choice but to changed the menu. The reason why I decided to cook a veal with a cream sauce is when I was taking beef & veal's demo class, the chef was cooking a ' Veal Fricassé '. This food is made of beef with cream sauce, it is like a stew. I was truly inspired by the food and usually I like cream sauce, so it was good idea to cook the veal chuck cream stew. But I made a cream soup tho...hahaha

 

 

Anyways, I'm going to introduce the method of

VEAL CREAM SOUP !!

 

 

 < Ingredients >

 

Veal chuck chop 1 lb

35% Cream 473 ml

Water 100 ml

Button Mushrooms 7 pcs

White Onion 1 ea

Garlic 4 cloves

Broccoli 1/2 ea

Chilli Pepper 1 ea

Bay Leaf 1 ea

Vegetable Oil 1 Tbsp

Salt & Black Pepper to taste

 

 

 

 

 

              

 

< Method >

 

1. Wash and soak the veal chuck in the water to remove blood.

 

2. Strain it and dry with paper towels, marinade with salt , black pepper and vegetable oil.

 

3. Cut the Vegetables properly, blanxhing the broccoli.

 

4. In a sauce pot, saute the veal until light brown color and add garlic, chilli pepper and rest of the vegetables.

 

5. Saute properly, add water to boil, add cream (medium heat), add bay leaf.

 

6. Simmer it for about 15 mins, adjust the seasoning and simmer a bit more with nice consitancy.

 

 

 

 

 

 Ta-da !! Although there are lots of liquid, the tastes was GREAT !!

I also made a Risotto with this cream soup and rice, it was AWESOME !!

I think the Chilli Pepper was the best choice for greasy taste of this cream soup :) I didn't really taste the greasy taste. However the chuck should more braise in the soup because it was quite chewy. If I cook this food again, I need to spend lots of time for this.

 

 

 

 

 



Sweet Preserved Lemon !

A couple of weeks ago (before intersession week), I got 4 lemons from Cafe Production class. There are some extra lemons in the cart, I thought that maybe I can make preserved something with lemon, so I got it right away!!  HOORAY!!!:)

I made a Sweet Preserved Lemon during the intersession week. Making a Sweet Preserved Lemon as well as various kinds of fruits is so popular in my country. For example, grapefruit, strawberry, citron, and quince. The advantages of Sweet Preserved Lemon are easy to make, you can make drinking such as tea, ade and so on whatever you want, and the biggest advantage is good for health!


Now, I'm going to talk about the recipe!!


Ingredients : Lemon - 4 ea
              Sugar - approximately 400g
              Jar - make sure use the disinfected bottle with hot water



Method

1. 1st washing stage : Rub it hard with coarse salt.
   2nd washing stage : Soak in the baking soda water for half an hour.
   and then pour hot water and quickly wash it with cold water.
* There are a lot of pesticide on the surface of lemon, make sure clean it properly!

2. Slice the lemons up.
3. Get rid of all the seeds.
                           (cause of bitterness!)
4. Put lemons into the jar.

5. Evenly sprinkle the sugar between the jar with layered lemons and then mix properly.
       Lemon : Sugar = 1 : 1

6. Seal properly and eat after 3-5 days when sugar melted then just put in the fridge.

One week later, I tried this with hot water, it tasted.........so GOOD !!!
It was sweet and a little sour !! I didn't feel sourness too much. I really love it :)
I worried about the bitterness, but luckly there was no bitterness in there. The failure was the quantity of sugar. I supposed to put the sugar with the weight of lemon equally, I didn't do like that. Because I didn't have a scale in my home. I will make this again next time, and I would like to try to make different Sweet preserved fruits.

Fruits

Before I go to Canada, I have watched a travel program about Toronto, they have introduced the St. Lawrence Market. The market has been about 200 years, there are a lot of  things such as vegetables, fruits, meats, cheeses, and some food courts. So when I came to Canada last year, finally I went there. It was such a nice place, this market became one of my favorite places in Canada. Fortunately, my school is very near the St. Lawrence Market now, so a couple of days ago, I went to St. Lawrence Market after class.

 

 

After looking around, I decided to buy a Papaya and Cherimoya. I have never had theses fruits, because I know the Papaya before but I didn't have chance to eat it. Cherimoya was uncommon fruit for me, I saw this fruit for the first time. So I wanted to try this fruit. The Papaya's price was $ 3.99 per 1ea and the Cherimoya's price was $ 5.10 per 1ea.

 

 

 

Papaya is native to Central and northern South America and has become naturalized throughout the Caribbean Island, Florida and several countries of Africa. Additional crops are grown in India, Australia, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, and the U.S. state of Hawaii.
The tasted like a sweet pumpkin, but the seeds were very bitterness. There was almost no aroma, the texture was very soft and juicy. If I were to cook this fruit, I would like to make brunch. Spread the sliced papaya with parmesan cheese on the toasted bread.  poached egg on top.

 

 

 

 

Cherimoya, also spelled chirimoya, is the fruit of the species Annona cherimola, which generally is thought to be native to Ecuador, Colombia, Peru and Bolivia then transported to the Andes and Central America.Today, cherimoya is grown throughout South Asia, Central America, South America, California, Hawaii, southern Europe, East Africa, Kisii in particular and northern Africa. Cherimoya felt like Avocado, it was very sweet and sour! It is the sweetest fruit that I have ever had. Tasted like a variety of fruits such as pear, pineapple, and strawberries. However, there are a lot of large black seeds inside, I was uncomfortable to eat. If I were to cook this fruit, I would like to make a salad or jam.

Sensory Evaluation - Adobo

Hi !! Everyone, how are you?
 
Nowadays the weather is getting cold more and more, September is already coming to an end, and October, the month of fall, is just around the corner.
 
This week, I would like to talk about "New" food that I have never had before !

It is Philipino food, I live in homestay for about 7 months. My hostfamilies are from Philippine, they are very kind and they are always cooking Philipino food  every single dinner, so I have been eating a variety of Philipino food quiet a long time. There are lots of unique food made from a tropical fruit and seafood.

Okay ! Let me introduce about one of Philipino food!

The name of this food is 'Adobo '
According to Wikipedia, "Adobo is a popular dish and cooking process in Philippine cuisine that involves meat, seafood, or vegetables marinated in vinegar, soy sauce, and garlic, which is browned in oil, and simmered in the marinade." When I saw this food at first time, I was hesitated to eat it. Because It was almost dark brown color (not like that picture..), even something smells like sourness, I did not want to eat. However, the taste was entirely different from I thought. The meat was very soft, not tough because of acid in vinegar, and especially the part of fat was gummy!! Adobo was not sweet, bitter, moreover, it was a little sour, and salty. I would like to suggest something to eat with rice. 



Braised Short Ribs

Adobo is one of my favorite Philippine food, because it tastes
like Braised Short Ribs of Korean food. there is a difference between the Adobo and Braised Shorts Ribs, and it is vinegar. In Korea, we usually use a lot of acidic fruits such as pineapple, kiwi, or pear, radish for meat marinade . On the other hand, in Philippine, I have never thought about it at all,  they use vinegar for grilled fish as well as many other food dishes. I was greatly inspired by this part.


I was really enjoyed this food, also I would like to eat it again!! Because most Philippine food are made with strong scented spices that doesn't appeal to me personally, but by tyring out this food, it brings me back some memories about delicious food back in Korea. I believe that these experiences create new awareness and break my stereotype about cooking.