Costa Rican Culinary Workshop

Last week, I had the opportunity to attend a culinary workshop at K-State featuring a chef form Costa Rica. I wasn't exactly sure what to expect of Costa Rican cuisine except for fresh ingredients prepared in a simple tasteful way. That is exactly what I got, but the flavor was incredible

Before the lunch, we had a homemade salsa of sorts that included avocado, onion, red pepper, lime juice, lemon juice, and palm hearts. Palm hearts are the center part of young palm trees that are cooked down: they don't have strong flavor but take on the flavor of what they are paired with.

We had two lunches to showcase the different flavors and to take time to enjoy our food. Our first lunch is pictured above and included red snapper, rice and beans with onion and red pepper cooked in coconut milk, and pickled vegetables. I am not a bit fan or traditional coconut, it has a strong flavor for me. However, the coconut that was used to cook with was fresh and didn't have the strong flavor that American coconut does.

Between the two lunches, we had a blackberry sorbet. It was sweet and a nice fresh treat between the meals.

The second lunch (not pictured) was a sort of Costa Rican Sheapard's Pie. I say that because it was simple ingredients layered together and reminded me of the American dish. Rice was cooked with coconut milk, onion and red pepper was layered under chopped fresh green beans with onion and pepper. The next layer had marinated beef. The dish was topped with fried plantains. I had never had plantains: they completed the dish by providing a sweet crunchy flavor.

After the main portion of the workshop, we had a coffee tasting. I greatly enjoy coffee and it was neat to learn about the different origins of coffee. The one thing that I had never really payed attention to was the caffeine content of different roasts of coffee. The lighter roasts actually have more caffeine than dark roasts.

This was my first culinary workshop and I hope to take advantage of other opportunities like this in the future. I was able to attend the workshop because the registration fee was greatly decreased for students ($10 for the whole day) so they could learn from the experience.

I encourage students to seize opportunities like this whenever possible. It's a great way to meet new people and learn about other cultures.

A New Gluten Free Expereince

As I shared in my last post, I attended another gluten-free group meeting. This meeting featured a speaker from a local company that makes gluten free flour blends. We tried food items from the pizza blend and the pastry blend.

From the Pizza Blend we tried:
Pizza
Flatbreads
Biscuits

From the Party Blend we tried:
Cinnamon Rolls
Cinnamon Roll Cake (like pictured below)
Donuts

Here is a link to the recipes page on the AgVantage Natruals website (the name of the company). There are more recipes there than what we tried, but the products were all great.

Image source: http://oneordinaryday.wordpress.com/2009/06/28/cinnamon-roll-cake/

My favorites were the cinnamon roll cake and the donuts, but I really like my sweets! It was very helpful to learn about the combinations of flours and gums used in baking different types of products. If you would like any of the additional recipes I mentioned, just comment with an email address!

I had never thought of a career in the gluten-free baking industry, but it sure sounds like I will have to keep my ears open!

Perks of Changing Your Major

A year ago, I switched my major from food science to dietetics. However, this was not before learning a great deal about grain processing (I have also worked in a small flour mill and lab for four years). The reason this background is especially helpful is when it comes to understanding gluten free products and baking. Don't get me wrong, I am not a seasoned gluten free baker, honestly I've only tried once! But, I do understand why wheat is superior to other flours for baking...GLUTEN (the protein in wheat)... the exact thing that individuals with Celiac disease cannot have.

The hardest parts of gluten free baking (from what I've heard) stem from the moisture balance and protein levels. This is why in gluten free baking a blend of flours is used, and also why that blend can be different for various products.

Last night, I attended another gluten free group session sponsored by a local grocery store. The speaker was a representative from a local company that makes mixes for baking: the mixes are gluten-free, nut-free, dairy-free, and soy-free (so friendly for those with food allergies). The company claims that their product can be used in place of flour, for the same amount, in any recipe.

One of the main flours they use is sorghum. Personally, I have found sorghum products to have a gritty texture. However, these sorghum flours are milled so fine that there is not gritty taste! 

Image Source: http://www.mississippi-crops.com/2013/02/09/2013-grain-sorghum-hybrid-recommendations/

Above is a picture of sorghum. The grain is small seeds about the size of a kernel of wheat, but round. Sorghum is lower in protein than wheat, so in order for it to act like wheat flour, it must be mixed with higher protein ingredients. This understanding is an important part of gluten-free baking that I can share with future clients as a dietitian.

We tried many products and those will be posted next along with links to those recipes!

Growing Pains

This past week has brought all sorts of personal and professional growing opportunities...so many in fact at times I feel as though I'm a young child with growing pains. They would come sporadically and suddenly when I least expected it!

In addition to internship supervisor transitions, I have summer class, graduate school application drafts, and preparation for activities I am planning/leading this fall. All of these opportunities are wonderful and I have gone to great lengths to streamline the types of activities I am involved in, however it catches me off-guard when it all comes at once!

Anyway, enough about that. The past few weeks in the EFNEP office have seen a great deal of progress. I am over half way done scripting and creating handouts/worksheets for over 20 activities that will correlate to the pregnancy nutrition lessons. I am hoping to finish the scripts by the end of the week, which I know will give me a great sense of accomplishment.

The August TEFAP list came out two days ago. I love looking for recipes to use with this list because it lets me be creative with the serving information that is being shared with clients across the state! In addition to generating the recipes and creating a Nutrition Facts Label using special software, I will soon (hopefully this afternoon) begin working on guidelines for turning over the TEFAP handouts!

Image source: http://www.mpull.com/blog/growing-your-sales-pipeline-using-lead-management/

Change

Today, I just have a few thoughts on change. Change can be a scary word but it is an inevitable part of life and learning. Like the quote below states, it is our response to change that determines our fate. We can choose to dig our heels in our current ways, or we can learn about the change and accept it after learning about it!

If we fail to change, we are only harming ourselves by means of our own ignorance. So do we run towards change full speed ahead, not necessarily. I have learned that it is best to be informed before proceeding with change. By approaching change with caution, you can make an informed decision!

A Whole New World...

Wednesday I had the opportunity to attend a gluten-free group meeting. I didn't really know what to expect but was pleasantly surprised! The meeting was hosted by a local grocery store dietitian. She and her two student interns for the summer (part of the coordinated program at K-State) prepared numerous pizza crusts and pizzas for the group to try. All were made with mixes, doughs or frozen pizzas that could be found at the grocery store.

My knowledge of gluten free baking is fairly limited. I understand that a gluten free diet is free of wheat, barley and rye products. In replacement for wheat flour, various flours and starches are combined to achieve the desired consistency and properties (which varies by product). Flours and ingredients that are commonly mixed (from what I've seen) include: rice flour, tapioca flour, potato starch, and xanthan gum. My only experience with gluten free baking was making muffins for a friend: they didn't turn out that well either!

I was welcomed by many members of the group: there were over 20 that attended. We all tried the various pizza crusts and pizzas. Some were much better than others. One of the members brought a cauliflower crust recipe for everyone to try. Her recipe included cauliflower, egg, cheese, and spices.  

The group was very supportive of me being there to learn about a gluten free lifestyle and some explained personal challenges with baking gluten free. I was so appreciative of this opportunity to learn more about gluten free eating and can't wait to attend next month!

Sidenote: There was also a sample of a new chocolate chip cookie product that was quite tasty (and that's by my standards)! I included the product label for anyone who is curious!

Questions...

From a young age, I had never really believed in the saying, “There’s no such thing as a dumb question”. I firmly believe that questions are an important way to learn and communicate with others. However, before posing a question it is imperative that one does research on the topic in question. Many simple questions can be answered by doing a little digging. The digging, on the other hand, may turn up deeper questions which answers cannot be found for: this is when it’s important to ask questions. When phrasing the question, it is important to include what has been researched, this serves two purposes. One to indicate to the individual you are asking that you have put thought into the question and are truly interested. Second, it helps avoid a response that directs you back to what you've already read.

Questions are an essential component to learning, but it’s all in how you word the question!