Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Mid-Autumn Festival!

I have taken 3 classes so far, and boy, I've got sufficient material to entertain me for hours. =_= There's nothing to mention about that actually, so... What am I going to write about in this post?


Let's see... Yesterday was the Mid-Autumn Festival! -"Okay, but.. What is that and why is it worth mentioning?" you may ask. 

Well, it is a festivity that is celebrated by Chinese people in the 15th day of the eighth month in the Lunar Calendar. (I feel like I'm filling this blog with Asian tendencies instead of Gastronomy in general o-o) Anyway, people are accustomed to eat Moon Cakes, lit lanterns and perform Dragon Dances. I particularly like festivals, probably because beautiful colors and lights are being displayed, joy and excitement are in the air; and also their purposes have something to do with a myth or a deity (HUGE Fan of that). =) 

Returning to the main subject: the edible element, we've got the Mooncake! I'll quote the Master-Source of Research nowadays: "Typical mooncakes are round or rectangular pastries, measuring about 10 cm in diameter and 4–5 cm thick. A thick filling usually made from lotus seed paste is surrounded by a relatively thin (2–3 mm) crust and may contain yolks from salted duck eggs. Mooncakes are usually eaten in small wedges accompanied by Chinese tea."

I'm not sure if I'm into that as I'm not a huge fan of Chinese sweets or any other "ornamental/traditional" pastries. I don't know why, I love candies and sweets, but it has to be an exquisite combination of flavors in order to capture my likings. What do I eat without hesitating? Certain Chocolates and Ice Cream! (Don´t like those with little lumps or nuts in it =S) I guess I'll have to figure out what my tongue fancies in the world of sweets and pastries.~

Eat a at least 1 fruit everyday, your body will thank you. ;p

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

The Beginning


Two days ago I had my First Cooking Class!

There's something that always happens to me on the first day: I inevitably get lost. After figuring out the way to the classroom, asking for directions and explaining to all of them my purpose in there (after all, it was a university I've never been), I finally got in time to try on the clothing that we'll be needing for the classes in the kitchen.

I have 19 really different classmates, with extremely different backgrounds; but whose purposes juncture in the same goal: Learning the Art of Cookery. I had an optimistic beginning, even though I didn't share much (nothing, actually) in my first class. I'm really quite and sullen at first, not my intention, but I open up slowly and end up being really friendly. =)

The teacher explained some basic terms about gastronomy and right after that she gave us a tour through various cuisines around the world and what was distinctive of each one of them. I'll have to read, watch, practice and taste a LOT, but in the end it'll be fun ^^

I'm gonna have lunch now.

Wash your hands before every meal. See ya next time!

Saturday, September 3, 2011

Oriental Flavors

Last night I went to this family dinner, but it was not like the usual ones. There weren't 10 tables full of family members and friends, nope. It was 1 unique table with my grandpa's generation. I was going to say that I was the youngest, but fortunately, I wasn't. There was this tiny girl with 10 years old barely and I was amused to know that she's taking classes at the same place I did when I was her age. It is so nice to know that this place still has its doors open. =)


Anyway, I'm here to talk about the tastings of that evening. It was Chinese food!





So, I couldn't take any pictures, sorry for that, but if I describe the menu, there was no Chop suey, nor Chow mein, nor little egg rolls.


For the entrée there was this soup with Chinese zucchini in it, and then a dish with a selection of algae, cow meat, fried calamari and roasted pork, very popular in big dinners. After that, came a dish full of jumbo shrimps, tofu with calamari, spinach, pork, chicken, a delicious fish and of course: RICE.


Anyway, all of these dishes are served in a round table with a round thingie up on it, right in the middle (I'll have to search its real name later, this is embarrassing =.=) and its purpose is to aid the sitting people in the process of serving their own food, in a way which you don't have to "pass" any plates, just roll the thingie and voilá!, there is your desired dish. I find this very useful, at least for the Chinese gastronomy, as it is in their culture to share several types of dishes, unlike most of the western's, where everyone has their own plate with certain amount of food in it.


This is all for now. I have to head to my Japanese class, or I'll be running late x_x
Eat healthy. See ya next time!

Thursday, September 1, 2011

Cooking with words

Hello there, reader. 
It's really late tonight and my mind has been wandering around from early hours. An idea popped into my head, and because it grew incessantly I had to take it out: I decided to start a blog to focus on my Cooking experience for the next 9 months.


I will be starting a "short" course of Culinary Arts next week and I'm really excited about it! I'll be posting about my gastronomic classes, techniques and recipes that may entertain the user in their computer-off time. I'm like a lvl 1 in this matter (such a noobie...), and my purpose (as obvious as it sounds) is to become a great cook after gaining all this knowledge and experience =] 


I'm also considering to upload some images of dishes and treats that I find interesting to share, not only the ones from the classes. Might take away the linearity of the posting.  


Well, wish me good luck and see ya. <3
Remember to brush your teeth after every meal ~