Advanced Foods: Final Project: Mini-International Foods Festival!!

"All good things must come to an end,"

and so it is with my delightful Advanced Foods class.

We have just had an absolute blast tasting our way around the world.

I decided our final project for this class needed to be a way of showcasing

all of the different elements of what my students have learned over the last semester.

What better way to do that than hosting a mini "International Food Festival."

I assigned the girls the task of choosing which country 

they would like to represent,

writing a paper about that country and its foods,

 then choosing 3 dishes from that country to prepare.

I also asked them to prepare a simple table presentation

 that displayed all of these elements.

We prepared enough for each student and teacher in our co-op to sample,

and what a wonderful morning we had together!!!

Ashlyn fell in love with the continent of Asia and chose 3 different dishes from

3 different countries.

Spicy Shirataki Miso Stir-Fried Noodles {Japan}

 and Stir-fried Beef with Snowpeas {China}

Korean Sweet Pancakes

{Hotteok}

Grace chose the country of England and prepared 3 delicious dishes.

Banoffe Pie and Blueberry Scones

Coronation Chicken Sandwiches

Rachel chose Jewish cuisine.

Delicious Pan-Roasted Cherry Tomato Soup!

Citrus Roasted Chicken and Kurabiye Wedding Butter Cookies

A "knock-your-socks-off Sparkling Limonana
which combined the flavors of lemon and fresh mint!!

Brea thrilled us all with her choice of Italy!

Her lasagna was incredible.....

.......as was this tasty Italian Cream Soda!

Everyone loved this!!!

What fun browsing around the children as they were sampling their

plates full of food and hearing their thoughts on what they were tasting!

Nearly each of the children chose their siblings food as their favorite!

Hilarious!

I'm not sure I've had more fun teaching than I have this year.  

This class "took the cake" and my students were so diligent and eager!

When God opened the door for our family to be a part of this homeschool co-op

I wasn't sure I would enjoy teaching high-schoolers.

What an amazing surprise it was for me to learn something new about myself!!

If I hadn't taken that step of faith, look at all the blessings I would have missed out on!!

God is so good!!!

Advanced Foods: Guest Teacher for Central and South America

Our very last guest teacher of the year for my Advanced Foods class

came to us representing Central and South America.

This lovely gentleman was born and raised deep in the heart of Mexico,

but has traveled extensively into both Central and South America

on different mission trips reaching people for Christ.

He shared many wonderful facts about the history of these cultures

and the influences on the foods enjoyed in these cultures.

We learned that the economy, agriculture, and geography of each country

heavily dictates the food available to them.

He gave us recipes for his world famous Mexican rice as well as

for migas (this is a scrambled egg dish with fried corn tortillas in it.)

His wife demonstrated how to prepare corn tortillas by warming/frying them

 quickly before serving. 

Finally, we tasted some lovely treats from his home country to round 

out our class!!

Thank you, Dr. Paco and Mrs. Lesa Guerrero for being such 

a blessing to my class!!!

We loved everything you prepared for us!!!

Advanced Foods Class: Making our own Central and South American Dishes

A funny thing happened when it came time for my students to pick

their own Central or South American dishes.

Without conferring among themselves,

we ended up with a dessert sampler plate that morning.

Two of my students made the exact same dish!!

The other interesting coincidence was that each dish they made

had sweetened condensed milk in it!!

The first dish that two of my students made is called Brigadeiro!!

Absolutely delish!!!

A little tricky to make and it was fun hearing both girls recounting

their similar adventure in creating this dish!!

Read more about it here!

This Tres Leches cake was moist and delicious!!

The tartness of this Brazilian "lemonade" knocked our socks off.

Also made with sweetened condensed milk, this beverage

got its refreshing flavor from fresh lime juice.

A taste sensation!!!

What a fun morning full of surprises from our friends living way south of our borders!!

Advanced Foods Class: Peru Gourmet Cafe

It's hard to believe that our school year is quickly coming to a close!!

We have had an absolute blast learning about different cultures

and their foods.

Our very last unit of the year is the food of Central and South America.

I have to say that it has been a bit of a challenge to find information

on this region of the world in regard to their food.

I'm not sure if it's because here in Texas we already have such

a strong Mexican influence in our state and the Latin foods

all intertwine somehow?

My students have all had and can identify Mexican food.

But I wanted them to understand the difference between Mexican

food and say.....Brazilian food.

Or Peruvian food.

So, our first experience with this cuisine came from a local restaurant

called the Peru Gourmet Cafe. 

What a taste sensation!!!!

We arrived right at opening on a Thursday morning, so we had the entire

restaurant to ourselves.

I told our waitress the purpose of our visit and she was

extraordinarily helpful!!

She gave us the history of some of the foods and made lots

of suggestions!!  I had asked help from friends

for dishes we should try, and our waitress was quick

to bring those to us!!

The food was delicious and beautifully presented!!!

It was a bit pricey, but the quality of the food was so worth it!!

I definitely recommend you try it if in the area and not interested

in Mexican or Tex-Mex!

"Chicha Morada"
This refreshing drink is made from purple (morada) corn, pineapple juice,

and cinnamon.  Definitely delicious, yet definitely different.

"Canchita"

Roasted corn kernels.

Yum!!!!

Fried Plantains

"Choclo"

Read about it here.

This was served to us lukewarm and was slightly chewy.

Sticks of mozzarella came with this dish.

Not our favorite.

My students and I shared this amazing sampler plate.

So many incredible flavors and textures!!

"Aji de Gallina"

This shredded chicken in yellow pepper sauce is to DIE for.

Exquisitely delicious!

"Arroz con pollo"

Chicken breast served over the tastiest rice you'll ever have!!

Our class favorite!!!!

"Causa Limena"

Cold (mashed) potato cake with vegetables and chicken.

My personal favorite!!

Reminiscent of an amazing potato salad.

"Papa a la Huicaina"

Boiled potatoes with a creamy yellow sauce.

This was also served lukewarm, but it had a great flavor.  

For a great copy-cat recipe click here! 

Such a fun experience for us all!!