Saturday, 5 January 2013

Quinoa


         Many people would say that quinoa is one of nature’s superfoods. Quinoa is a nutritious gluten-free and low-fat whole grain. It is very high in protein, for each cup of quinoa you eat you get 8.14g of protein; this is why it is perfect for vegetarians and vegans.  Quinoa also doesn’t take long to cook, and doesn’t have a strong flavor which makes it easy to add to any dish.


Lab experience


One of my favorite cooking experiences was when my group made angel food cake. It doesn’t take a long time to make and it doesn’t have a lot of steps either. I really liked how flavourful, light and fluffy the cake could be using only a few ingredients. Even though this cake took very few steps, it was difficult because it is very time sensitive.

            For the mis en place we had to separate the egg whites from the egg yolks because we only needed egg whites for the recipe. Unfortunately we needed 11 egg whites for the recipe and my group ruined an egg. So we were an egg short and didn`t think our cake would rise as much, but there was nothing we could to about it. We measured all the other ingredients and wrapped all the containers up with plastic wrap. We put them in the refrigerator to keep them fresh.

            The next day, our group got the measured ingredients out and the stand-up mixer.  We had to whip the egg whites up as high as possible, and since we were one egg short we needed to make sure we whipped it very well. We had to slowly add the other ingredients like sugar and vanilla extract, leaving flour of to the side. The next part was the hardest. We needed to take the fluffy egg whites and put them into a bowl where we then mixed in flour. We had to be very careful because we did not want to deflate the fluffiness of the eggs. We needed to fold over the mix instead of stirring it and fold it fast so we could get it into the pan and put it in the oven.

            When the time was up, as indicated by Chef, we took out the cake keeping it upside-down while it cooled so it didn`t deflate. When we took it out of the pan, we compared our cake with Chef`s and even with one less egg we managed to have the same size of cake as he did.


Tourism Story: The Virgen de la Candelaria festival in Puno, Peru


  
The Virgen de la Candelaria festival takes place in Puno, Peru and will feature the quinoa grain for 15 days in February. Puno is in the southeastern region of Peru and is located in the continent of South America.  During the Virgen de la Candelaria festival there will be musicians and dancers starting on the main day of the event February 2, 2013. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations declared 2013 as the "International Year of Quinoa" because it is known worldwide as extremely nutritional food.

According to tripadvisor.com, if you’re looking for a place to stay while attending the Virgen de la Candelaria festival, the Titilaka hotel is the number one rating in Puno.  It has a 4 ½ stars and is located right of the edge of Lake Titicaca. Unfortunately, a hotel this nice is expensive. In February the rooms start at about $528 per night. The cost also depends on how long you’re planning on staying and what day you’re arriving on.  If that’s out of your price range, a better place to stay is perhaps Tierra Viva Puno Plaza.  It has 3 ½ stars, but starts at $70 in February.

            During the festival you might want to do some sightseeing.  A popular location is Casa del Corregidor, one of Puno’s oldest residences. Here, there are workshops, concerts and exhibitions that take place. An art gallery, bookshop and cafe-bar are also in Casa del Corregidor.  Puno also has shopping, restaurants and all sorts of activities and entertainment to make everyone`s trip fulfilling.


Titilaka:












Chucuito, Peninsula Titilaka, Puno, Peru
1 (866) 628-1777
Hotel website: http://titilaka.com/


Tierra Viva Puno Plaza:













Calle Grau 270, Puno, Peru
1 (511) 264 1579
Hotel website: http://tierravivahoteles.com/

Sources:

 <http://www.andina.com.pe/english/noticia-peru-candelarias-festivalgoers-to-enjoy-quinoa-delicacies-441126.aspx
 <http://www.lonelyplanet.com/peru/lake-titicaca/puno/sights>. <http://www.puno.com/>. 
<http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g298442-d535746-Reviews-Tierra_Viva_Puno_Plaza_Hotel-Puno_Puno_Region.html>.
 <http://www.gomapper.com/travel/where-is/puno-puno-located.html>. 
 

My Story


When I was younger, a couple of times my mom gave me quinoa and I didn’t mind it, but it wasn’t something I paid attention to. In April 2010 that changed when I decided I wanted to become a vegetarian.  Since I no longer got protein from meat, I needed to get it for somewhere else. At first I wasn’t getting enough; I was eating lots of pasta and other carbohydrates. Then when I realized how much protein I was missing I started eating a lot of peanut butter sandwiches and chili.  Then my mom told me that I couldn’t just eat that and she made a quinoa salad for me. I had had it a couple times and liked it and she told me how much protein I was getting. It looks like we had found a solution.

            Soon after, we started to use quinoa more. I remember one time my mom made a big batch of quinoa pancakes and we froze them and I would take them out and pop them in the toaster for breakfast every once in a while. They tasted so good and gave me so much protein to start my day.  Since quinoa doesn’t have a strong flavor we would add half a cup to things like chili to give me more protein then I was already getting.

            I started to realize how much one grain could influence my diet and my health. I still need to have a little bit more protein in my diet, but after doing this project I have found some good recipes I want to try. I am excited to try them because they might help me obtain the right amount of protein leading me to live a healthier lifestyle.

Restaurant Review: Lone Star Texas Grill



           On January 3, 2013, I went to Lone Star with my best friends Kelsie, Reilly and Reilly’s dad (Mr. Whale).  My first impression when I walked in the door was casual and rugged. The light in the room was dim and the walls were made of bricks. There were a lot of country/cowboy themed pictures and objects throughout the restaurant. The restaurant was very open and clean (the washrooms where clean too).  The room was loud, but wasn`t too crowded when we got there at about 7:00 pm so we were seated right away. Bullseye (the “name” of our waitress) gave us our menus and within a minute had already placed two warm plates of nachos and salsa on are table (they give you unlimited free nachos). Everyone loved the nachos; they were toasty and warm with the perfect amount of salt. Everyone but me enjoyed the salsa, it had a nice flavor, but it was a little too spicy for my liking.  Bullseye took our drink orders (I just got water and so did my friends), and when she came back we were ready to order our meal. I got vegetable quesadillas, Kelsie got fajitas, Reilly got sweet potato fries and Mr. Whale got soft tacos.
           While we waited for our meals to come we just ate the nachos, they never stopped coming, and as soon as we were done eating a new plate would appear.   During this time a birthday celebration was going on. They placed a big hat on a man’s head and made him stand up on a chair. Next they started to sing and got the whole restaurant to join in. It was really fun because everyone got involved. Approximately 15 minutes later our food came.  Mine came with a side of Mexican rice, refried beans, guacamole, Pico de Gallo and sour cream.  I really enjoyed my food and so did everyone else. I was surprised I liked mine so much because it had mushroom.  I don`t like mushrooms at all, but there was the perfect ratio of vegetable to cheese, and the mushrooms just blended in with the other vegetables. The only thing I didn`t like that much was that my quesadillas were a little too greasy. Besides that, they tasted lovey and they went really well with the sour cream.
            I don`t think we could have had a better waitress. She was well trained and knowledgeable in every way. She knew the menu inside and out. She answered any questions we had about the menu in detail and came by many times to see if there was anything we needed. I told her about the project and she sat and talked to me for a little while. I asked her if they get any of their products locally. She said no that at least 90% of their inventory is brought in. She was telling me about how it`s her dream to own a restaurant of her own. She started telling me about how to have a successful business. She explained that you need to have your labor cost, food cost and beverage cost under control and of course have good service. She was explaining how a man named Nils Kravis is now the president of Lone Star and in the next 7 – 10 years they`re planning on building 70 – 100 Lone Stars. Bullseye was really nice and sweet and even the manager stopped by to see how we were doing. All-in-all the service was excellent.
           If I had to say something that the restaurant could improve it would be that the food could be a little less greasy and perhaps they could offer something else to be on the side of the main dish. Everyone`s came with Mexican rice, refried beans, guacamole, Pico de Gallo and sour cream and it was good, but there was nothing special about it. I had a really good experience with this restaurant and will definitely be going back.

Meun link:
http://www.lonestartexasgrill.com/Menu

















































Information:

Kingston:

(Ontario St & Princess St)
251 Ontario Street
Kingston, ON, K7L2Z4
T: 613-548-8888
F: 613-548-3765


Mon-Thurs: 11:30am - 10:00pm
Fri & Sat: 11:30am - midnight
Sun: noon - 10:00pm


HOLIDAY HOURS
Monday December 24th - 11:30am - 7:30pm
Tuesday December 25th - closed
Wednesday December 26th - 4:00pm - 10:00pm
Monday December 31st - 11:30am - 11:00pm
Tuesday January 1st - 4:00pm- 10:00pm


For reservations please contact us
at 613-548-8888

Recipes


Moist Chocolate Cake

















Ingredients :
§  2/3 c. (160 mL) white or golden quinoa
§  1 1/3 c. (330 mL) water
§  1/3 c. (80 mL) milk
§  4 large eggs
§  1 tsp. (5 mL) pure vanilla extract
§  3/4 c. (185 g) butter, melted and cooled
§  1 1/2 c. (375 mL) white or cane sugar
§  1 c. (250 mL) unsweetened cocoa powder
§  1 1/2 tsp. (7.5 mL) baking powder
§  1/2 tsp. (2 mL) baking soda
§  1/2 tsp. (2 mL) salt
Directions
Bring the quinoa and water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Cover, reduce to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and leave the covered saucepan on the burner for another 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork and allow the quinoa to cool.
Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Lightly grease two 8-inch (20-cm) round or square cake pans. Line the bottoms with parchment paper.
Combine the milk, eggs and vanilla in a blender or food processor. Add 2 cups (500 ml) of cooked quinoa and the butter and blend until smooth.
Whisk together the sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. Add the contents of the blender and mix well.  Divide the batter evenly between the 2 pans and bake on the center oven rack for 40 to 45 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.  Remove the cake from the oven and cool in the pan before serving. Frost if desired.
Store in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week or freeze up to 1 month.
Serves 8 to 16.
Source:
Green, Patricia, and Carolyn Hemming. Quinoa 365 : The Everyday Superfood. N.p.:
     Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication, 2010. Print.

Santa-Fe Style Quinoa Salad













Ingredients:
§  1 1/2 cups water
§  1/2 cups mild/medium salsa
§  1 cup quinoa, well rinsed under cold water
§  1/2 teaspoon cumin
§  1/4 teaspoon salt
§  ground black pepper, to taste
§  1 (14 oz.) can black beans, rinsed and drained (or 1 3/4 cups home cooked black beans)
§  1 1/2 cup fresh or frozen corn, cooked, drained and cooled
§  1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
§  4 scallions, thinly sliced
§  1 tbsp. canola oil 
§  1 small jalapeno chili, seeded and finely chopped
Directions
In a medium saucepan, stir together water, salsa, quinoa, cumin, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium, cover and cook until the liquid is absorbed, about 15 to 20 minutes. Remove for heat and let stand for 5 minutes. Uncover pan and toss quinoa with a fork. Transfer mixture to a large bowl and let cool slightly.  While still warm, add the remaining ingredients to the quinoa mixture, tossing well to combine. Add salt and pepper to taste.  Serve slightly warm or let cool to room temperature.
Serves 6
Source: 
Darlene Mulvihill