f&n microteaching 4 - eggs, milk & poultry

In this week's microteaching, it was all about protein foods.. even though i've been eating ngoh hiang all my life, this is the first time i actually see anyone doing it, what more making it myself. The tofu cream cheese dip sauce is something new for me.. The baked fish rice was cheesy and all nice, while the egg tarts, which happen to be one of my favourite food, were so easy to make and yet taste fantastic! How we can make these foods healthier could be by substituting the milk used with low-fat milk, and using low-fat cheese for the baked rice. We can also reduce the amount of cream sauce that we layer in the baked rice.




Perfect layout & excellent presentation! =)

 

great teachers are never forgotten...

During times like this, in a "foreign" place called NIE, that i really miss my attachment days in Temasek Sec. People say you will miss something only when it's gone. How true that is. Miss Lim is a really true blue passionate, humble and loving teacher who never ever makes anyone feel stupid or looked down upon. Every day at Temasek Sec, my partner and i were given opportunities to learn as much as we could, without being judged. Even when we did mistakes, there was never an instance when she would flare up, instead Miss Lim taught us that in every failure there are opportunities for us to learn. I feel so fortunate to be placed under her care and guidance and i really learnt so much from the teachers there. Great teachers will never be forgotten from our hearts and minds...





f&n microteaching 3 - fruits & vegetables

As this week's lesson is all on fruits and vegetables, I anticipated that we would be cooking salads.. or some stir-fried vegetables dishes.. but we were surprised by an array of recipes that were light, fun and very delicious. The carrot cake recipe was so simple and very quick! The cabbage roll will taste delicious with rice, especially with the sourish spicy-ish sauce. The broccoli soup was creamy and flavourful and of course the fruit truffle was not only pretty but nice as well. All of them were so colourful and nicely presented. It's rare that we see fruits and vegetables being so appealing. The thing about these dishes are that they "hide" the vegetables in the foods so that people like me, who don't really like vegetables, do not feel like I am eating them! This would also make a good way to encourage kids who hate eating fruits and vegetables to try different ways in order to meet their daily requirements of food intake.



A nice presentation from the microteaching group...




The class' work...



nice to see, nice to eat

The way we present a food often gives a lot of impression on the taste, and the cook. Presentation has always played an important role in the way we serve our meals. A meal that looks nice on a plate gives us more appetite as well as adds appeal to the food.

In the examples displayed during lesson, many "flaws" in the ways the doughnuts were served were pointed out to us. From the important things such as choosing the right plate, putting the appropriate serving size and getting the best of the lot for display - to details such as the garnishing/topping and accompaniments - the art of serving is not easy to master. However, i believe with some practice and a few basic do's and dont's we all can serve a nice looking plate of irresistably delicious food...

Basic Rules & Tips For Plating

• Keep everything inside the plate. Nothing should be jutting out or spilling over the plate.
• Do not overcrowd the plate.
• Keep it simple. Foods should look attractive, but not overwhelming or silly.
• Everything should be edible. Don't garnish with large sprigs of herbs or other foods that cannot be consumed.
• Add height to the plate, the presentation should begin low at the front of the plate and grow taller at the rear.
• Think colour. If the dish is basically brown or white, brighten the plate with colorful garnishes and vegetables, but make sure the garnish suits the recipe.

Examples of Poor Plating Techniques

 

Doughnuts with raisins..?



Poor colour combination.. and tomatoes do not
go well with strawberry glazed doughnuts...



Serving plate not suitable.
Foods should not be served on melamine plates.



Two is too much... When plating, only serve for 1 person.

The Better Ones...



f&n microteaching 2 - meat

Last week's microteaching was all on meat, which we all loved cos they were all so spicy and delicious.. the main lesson learnt to me was that cooking is not that difficult.. sometimes i can get turned off by the long list of ingredients needed to cook meat dishes - but from the lesson, i realised that it does not take long to cook, we just need time to chop and prepare some stuff and then your meat dishes are ready in a jiffy... I understand that some people cannot take the smell of mutton, which can be a bit overwhelming, but when at home we can always substitute the mutton with other meats such as chicken or beef. On the whole it was a nice cooking experience, and definitely a filling one too. :)




Mutton Masala.. nice & spicy

 

f&n microteaching 1 - rice & cereals

Fun lesson indeed with great food! I loved the quiche, couscous and of course the pasta.. even when eaten cold at 2am they were still nice to eat.. hehe..

I don't know what it is about cooking but everyone has their own way of doing things i guess. Like how some people prefer food to be less salty, or more sweet..more sauce, less sauce.. well done or rare.. each individual has their own preference..and grading would be partly subjective. Those were some of the things going through my mind when we were having the lesson. Anyway, great work group 1!

not as easy as it seems...

I am sure anyone would know what a drawstring bag is, and most will own one.
I had mixed feelings sewing up the drawstring bag that we had to do for our first sewing assignment.
Initially it was fun sewing up the diagonal lines on the bag, until it got to the part where we had to flip here, turn there, sew between gaps - all that while ensuring that they were at the right alignment. I swear my lines were all crooked by the time i got to the last bit. =(
Nevertheless, this lesson has definitely made me appreciate drawstring bags more than ever. We should never take for granted anything that we use or wear in our daily lives...

sewing is... fun.

I tried to convince myself just that during the first Clothing & Textiles lesson.
It's been a year since i last touched a needle and thread.
The machine is super advanced, i just got blown away by technology.
It surely has never gotten more advanced than this.

And i tot my $300 sewing machine was an indulgence.

back to basics

The first practical session was all about reminiscing the good old days at TP where we learnt basic cuts, equipment names, measurements, etc.

(1) dice, (2) shred, (3) slice, (4) julienne, (5) chifonnade, (6) mince

We also learnt the names of equipment and utensils around the lab (we thought we knew the names of everything around the kitchen until.. today.) Anyway, the food lab is really such a beautiful place. If only the kitchens in the secondary schools are that clean and organised, and full of branded stuff. That would make teaching practical lessons a whole new experience.