Contemporary Plated Dessert

I just finished my second to last lab ever, Contemporary Plated Desserts and I loved it. The thing that I loved about the class is that we were given ingredients to work with that you wouldn't think would go in a dessert. We also had certain themes for each day where we had to use ingredients from that country in the dessert. This class gave me the opportunity to experiment and think outside the box, mixing flavors and textures.

Graduation...Jersey...Home

So Graduation was last Saturday and I can tell you that I was not paying attention during the ceremony at all. Well first of all my sister, mom and grandma came up on Thursday and then on Friday we went to Boston. While there we had to have one of Mike's Pastries cannolies. Then graduation was on Saturday at 8 am. Not sure why it was that early but it was. My uncle decided to drive up that morning from Jersey and arrived at 6am...again..CRAZY!!! He had to leave at 3:30am to be on time. I had found Leeta that morning at the Dunkin Donuts Center, that way I

knew someone that I would be sitting next to. During the speeches and stuff though no one was paying attention at all. On our left there was a group of people with blue hair and yellow t-shirts that said Team Kevin and during the ceremony one of them left and came back with nachos and cheese as if it was a basketball game. After graduation pictures were taken as usual and then we had lunch at Joe's American Bar & Grill. We then did a quick packing up of my things and drove down to Jersey for my Graduation BBQ at my aunt & uncle's house. It was great to see everyone, even though it wasn't for very long. We repacked everything on Sunday and drove down to South Jersey on Monday to take a hop back to Germany. For roll call for the flight was at 5:30pm and we got there and signed up at 1:30pm. This man who was a civilian and who looked like Morgan Freeman put our information in the computer and signed us up for the flight. We waited around in the terminal for 5 hours before getting on the flight although we almost didn't get on. We are so used to other places where they call you up to the counter by name to sign in. Well apparently they don't do that at McGuire AFB. So around 6 when they kept calling for people to check in for the flight we didn't think anything of it because we had already done it and then they announced that the flight was closed and that people should start moving to the gate. At this time we were confused because they hadn't called us and we still had all our luggage. My mom went up to the counter and they said the flight was closed and we explained that we had to get home and that we thought they would call up by name. They didn't want to argue so they took our bags (all 7 of them) without question and put us on the plane (there were 3 of us and 4 seats left). Once we got through security and we were waiting to get on the bus to go to to the plane the guys who had checked us in came out to give us our boarding tickets and said it took some time because we weren't in the system...which was weird because we signed in 5 hours earlier. They asked who it was and we said he looked like Morgan Freeman and they knew who we were talking about. Apparently he didn't put our information in right or something and he should have also taken our luggage when we checked in, which he did not do. So we were lucky to get on the plane. We made it to Germany by the following morning at 10am, went home and crashed (vegged out) the whole day.

Spirits

Yuck!!! That's what I have to say to that. This week in Beverage Appreciation class we tasted spirits. Vodka, Gin, Tequila, Whisky and Rhum. I do not understand how people can honestly sit a sip on these without mixing them. They are revolting. The Vodka had no taste, it was just a cool burning sensation that you felt in your nose. The tequila tasted chemically, like a margarita mix. The gin tasted like I was drinking a pine tree because of the juniper berries that it is made with and the Rhum tasted like leather with a sweet taste at the end. The Whisky burned, it was slightly sweet and mellow but it did have a hot burning finish to it.

If anyone does drink these straight up on ice or however, could you explain to me why you do so? And why you like them.

Dogfish Head Brewery

Today in Beverage Appreciation class we had a guest speaker from Dogfish Head Brewery. They are a craft beer company and are based out of Delaware. Craft Beers are only 5% of the beer market, but they are gaining more customers with every year and beer that is tasted. Bud, Coors and Miller feel threatened by these craft beer breweries and feel that they need to offer more flavored beers to their markets, except that all their flavored beers mostly contain adjuncts (added flavors, syrups and stuff) and not actual fruits, herbs, wood, etc infused into the beers.

We tasted 4 different beers today and I have to say that it has my taste buds yearning to taste more craft beers. My favorite of all 4 beers that we tasted was the Midas Touch. It was like wine, but in beer form. It was sweet, but slightly dry. It was made with thyme, grapes, and honey I think. It is an ancient Turkish recipe from the 2700 year old drinking vessels discovered in the tomb of King Midas.

They have a variety of different beers and they try to incorporate flavors that one would not think would be in beer; such as, vanilla, maple, raisins, beet sugar, caramel, chocolate...you get the idea. They have seasonal beers and limited release beers. Another cool thing is that they take ancient recipes from hundreds of years ago and create a beer out of them. They have one from China, Finland, Aztecs and King Midas' tomb. Another interesting beer that I would like to try is called Pangaea which contains an ingredient from all 7 continents. That would be a flavorful drink to taste. I have to say though that once you taste craft beers you may never go back to Bud or those other beers.

http://www.dogfish.com/

Contemporary Issues in the Food Service Industry

You know I have to laugh at my class on Contemporary Issues in the Food Service Industry. All we do in class is give presentations on different issues and write article reviews. The first two presentations have gone already and they were about Going Green and Organics. I have to laugh though at some of the things that these students say. In the Going Green group they talked about Composting and the girl said that it sounds confusing when you hear it, but when you know what it is it's not. Now I was sitting there wondering how the word Compost sounds confusing. Anybody know? The other thing that I have to laugh at, and I don't mean to offend anyone, but it's funny how all these students and people think that recycling is this new thing and how it's amazing and the same with composting. Europeans have been doing it for years. Ever since I remember I grew up composting and recycling. It's so funny how a country that is meant to be up in the world is just starting these new concepts.

Today was the kicker though out of all this stuff. Today was about Organics. I had found this article the other day about how organics really aren't that much healthier for you and the only way to eat healthier is to add more fruits and veggies to your diet and less animal products. The group today kind of said the same thing, and the fact that there aren't any pesticides on the products to make you get sick. But that's not the kicker. The kicker is what my teacher said in reference to a girl's comment. The girl mentioned how they have linked growth hormones given to chickens and cows to the sudden growth and earlier puberty of children. Then my teacher said that it's true and they have discovered that the hormones given to cows to produce more milk has caused people to grow taller or just grow more in general. Now this was about 10 years ago when they started all this stuff with hormones and I drink milk everyday; not organic and it's not straight from a cow, so why am I still 5'2"? Shouldn't I be a couple inches taller? I just had to sit there and laugh to myself because I am pretty sure that it is mostly genetics that affects how tall you are, as well as how you carry yourself.

It's funny how we can get caught up in the topic and so want to say something that we don't even realize if what we are saying is true or not.

Hectic, hectic weekend

This weekend is going to be hectic, hectic hectic. Tomorrow begins the women's bible study for the college students. I am taking my American Government CLEP test on Friday morning, which I have yet to study for. There is also our leadership meeting on Friday morning and then preparing and getting everything ready for the Christmas party. Then on Saturday I am going to the Boston Pops Orchestra with Micah, Elyse, Kyle, Hannah and Melissa. I also have to do homework, read and other things. Crazy, crazy, crazy. I don't know how my mom did it at times with 5 kids going in 5 different places at all times. Props to her and all the other moms.

New Trimester

Hey Everyone,

I hope your Thanksgiving was good and you had a great and memorable time with friends and family. I know I had a great time with my relatives, sister and dad. I am thankful for many things, people and all the gifts and blessings that God has bestowed upon me this year. One of these blessings this past break was a car. I am very grateful to have one. It is so much easier to get around to the grocery store and CSF and things like that. Now the whole big thing is finding a job.


There are a lot of changes happening this trimester. First there are new classes, Acct., Hosp Law, Beverage, and Contemporary Issues in the Food Service Industry. Then there is the fact that we do not have a campus minister anymore and so all the leaders at CSF are going to have to step it up a notch and take on more responsibility. We are planning a lot of new things for CSF this year, different ideas to switch up our weekly meetings and also ways to get people from the church and students to interact with each other.


My classes this tri I think are not going to be hard and I am looking forward to my Beverage class the most. We are going to be tasting different types of drinks; water, coffee, tea, wine, beer, spirits, liquors, sparkling wines, etc. You get the idea. But this stuff fascinates me and I enjoy it a lot. I also like the class because there is no homework except for a project. My law professor is a fun individual who has tons of stories to tell about his time as a lawyer and all the cases he did or remembers. His head also contains a lot of facts and dates that you would not think someone could remember. I know I had trouble remembering dates of things if it was not important.

It rained all day today and so around 4pm my roommate Alissa and myself decided to go for a little drive to Smithfield crossing. We found the cutest Christmas hanger for out door at Kohls and then when we walked outside it was snowing. At that moment it finally seemed like December. Earlier this week it was in the mid to high 60s. When is it ever in the 60s in December in New England. This led to a night of hot chocolate and crafts.

Trimester is finally OVER!!

This tri officially ended for me today! YES! So excited for this break. It will give me a chance to just get away from Providence and think about what has and is going on in my life and here on campus. There are going to be many changes in the rest of the year to come.
I am now a member of Grace Harbor Community Church and am so excited about it. There are a lot of good changes happening within the church and I am excited to see where they go. Pastor Kevin has been talking a lot about church membership and the importance of being a church member and also the importance of the church. This is something that I have never heard before and has not been talked about ever, since I started as a Freshman.
This past week has been crazy. Monday and Tuesday were our "reading" days or study days before finals, so we had no classes, and my roommate Alon, our friend Hannah and myself went to the outlets for some shopping. I have to say, I did pretty well. I only got one thing for myslef and the other things were christmas gifts. Tuesday was our last TNT for the break and was out study TNT. We don't actually study during this time, it's more of a hang out. We talked about the mission opportunities for Spring Break, Florida & Russia. I am so pumped for these and am planning on returning to Russia to continue what has been started there by the students who have gone in previous years. Then we played a game of Cranium and ate pizza.
Wednesday morning I had a 9:20 final and woke up at 7. I just layed in bed for a while and then heard my roommate Alon in the kitchen exclaim "Oh my gosh." I knew it had to do with a mouse. We have been getting little visitors lately because of the cold days every now and then. So we had bought traps. They are plastic ones that react the same as the regular ones inside, except you don't see the dead mouse. Well this mouse was not dead and was trying to push the red flap down inside that was holding it back. We didn't know what to do because we didn't want to let a live mouse outside because it would come right back in. And we are cheap and wanted to re-use the trap. So Alon's fiance suggested first that we drop it out a window hoping it would die because we are on the second floor. We thought that since the trap didn't kill it a drop like that wouldn't either. Them he suggested we stick it in the freezer. So we put it in plastic bags a stuck it in the freezer. Needless to say when we went to empty the trap that night the mouse was not coming out of the trap so we had to just throw the whole thing away.
Today was a nice ending to a long day. I had a 7:10 final this morning and then another at 11:30. I then walked around the mall and bought some christmas gifts. Later tonight my roommate Alissa and I babysat Silas, our pastor's son, the cutest 2 year old ever, for a couple of hours. When they got back it was nice to sit and talk with Kevin and his wife Melissa about things and watch the Office with them.
I am really ready for this break. I cannot wait to see my aunts, uncles, cousins, sister and my dad. I am really excited to bake and cook and just to relax with no pressure, homework or running around. It will be refreshing. Hope you all have a HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

The Past Weekend

I have been really bad lately about posting new posts so I am going to try harder to post them more regularly.
This past weekend was a lot of fun. Thursday 6 of us went out to Chilis for the 3 for $20 deal and had a great time. At one point some of us were in tears because we were laughing so hard. Also we decided that one of my roommates was like a camel because she drank about 8 cups of water and did not have to pee.
Friday was fun becuase we got to go to a Brown Women's Ice Hockey Game. We were about the only people there and the one's with the most spirit even though we don't go to Brown. We had made signs for each of the players, were screaming and had painted our faces. It was a BLAST!!! We plan on going again, plus we get free tickets. Saturday was fun because it was such a beautiful day out and so some of us went to Newport. We walked along the Cliff Walk and saw the mansions, had lunch at Panera and walked around Thames Street. The only downside was that the bus was an hour ride......crazy.