Exercise 2-option #2 Gumbo (Antonio)

The food that I have chosen to investigate is gumbo, specifically Cajun gumbo. Gumbo has a tricky history that is usually associated with Acadian's who were originally from Nova Scotia and migrated to Canada. They were not happy with being coerced to pledge allegiance to Great Britain and so were forced to migrate again, and ended up in Louisiana. After settling in this area the pronunciation of Acadian turned into "Cajun". Since this group of people wandered so much they integrated many foods into their gumbo dish, which is why gumbo has many forms.

Gumbo is the perfect food to experience the culture of many peoples together.

***(All information above is referenced from the television show "Good Eats" hosted by Alton Brown, season 2 episode 12).

Ingredients
4 ounces vegetable oil
4 ounces all-purpose flour
1 1/2 pounds raw, whole, head-on medium-sized (31-50 count) shrimp
2 quarts water
1 cup diced onion
1/2 cup diced celery
1/2 cup diced green peppers
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1/2 cup peeled, seeded and chopped tomato
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 bay leaves
1/2 pound andouille sausage, cut into 1/4-inch pieces and browned
1 tablespoon file powder

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Place the vegetable oil and flour into a 5 to 6-quart cast iron Dutch oven and whisk together to combine. Place on the middle shelf of the oven, uncovered, and bake for 1 1/2 hours, whisking 2 to 3 times throughout the cooking process.

While the roux is baking, de-head, peel and devein the shrimp. Place the shrimp in a bowl and set in the refrigerator. Place the heads and shells in a 4-quart saucepan along with the 2 quarts of water, set over high heat and bring to a boil. Decrease the heat to low and simmer for 1 hour or until the liquid has reduced to 1-quart. Remove from the heat and strain the liquid into a container, discarding the solids.

Once the roux is done, carefully remove it from the oven and set over medium-high heat. Gently add the onions, celery, green peppers and garlic and cook, moving constantly for 7 to 8 minutes or until the onions begin to turn translucent. Add the tomatoes, salt, black pepper, thyme, cayenne pepper, and bay leaves and stir to combine. Gradually add the shrimp broth while whisking continually. Decrease the heat to low, cover and cook for 35 minutes. Turn off the heat, add the shrimp and sausage and stir to combine. Add the file powder while stirring constantly. Cover and allow to sit for 10 minutes prior to serving. Serve over rice.

Recipe courtesy of Alton Brown, 2007

Read more at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/shrimp-gumbo-recipe.html?oc=linkback

 

Writing Exercise Two - Randi Goney

 

I researched the recipe of Baked Flan, a popular Mexican dessert. I've always enjoyed Mexican cuisine as well as desserts, and I also remember talking about Flan in my Spanish class a few years ago.

 

You will need:

- 2/3 cup of  white sugar

- 2 cups of heavy cream

- 1 can (14 ounces) of sweetened condensed milk

- 1 cup of milk

- 5 eggs

- 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract

 

Instructions:

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit

2) In a small nonstick pan, heat the sugar to medium heat. Mix occasionally to distribute sugar until it is dissolved and begins to brown. Once brown, lift pan above the heat source (4 to 6 inches) to continue to brown sugar until it is a dark golden brown. When finished, pour caramelized sugar into a 1 1/2 quart casserole large loaf pan. Coat pan evenly.

3) In a blender, combined sweetened condensed milk, cream, milk, eggs, and vanilla. Blend on high for 1 minute. Pour over caramelized sugar.

4) Place the filled casserole dish into a larger pan and add 1 inch of HOT water to the outer pan. Bake in oven for 50 to 60 minutes, or until set.

 

As I mentioned above, Mexican food has always been my favorite outside of classic American food. Also, dessert is obviously the best dish served throughout the day, and so I decided to combine the two to research Flan. Flan originally originated from Rome, where they kept a multitude of chicken eggs for different foods. One was a custard cake, now known as Flan. The word Flan is derived from the Latin word "flado" which means flat cake. From there Flan took two routes, in Spain it became a well known sweet custard made with caramelized sugar. In England, Flan consisted of a pastry shell with an open top filled with custard and often mixed with nuts or fruits. 

Exercise 2 Recipe Research Bubba Spaulding

The food I researched is Kimchi. I found this side dish when I visited our local Chinese buffet restaurant. The funny thing about that is Kimchi is Korean side dish of fermented cabbage.

1 medium head (2 pounds) napa cabbage
1/4 cup sea salt or kosher salt (see Recipe Notes)
Water (see Recipe Notes)
1 tablespoon grated garlic (5 to 6 cloves)
1 teaspoon grated ginger 
1 teaspoon sugar
2 to 3 tablespoons seafood flavor or water (optional, see Recipe Notes)
1 to 5 tablespoons Korean red pepper flakes
8 ounces Korean radish or daikon, peeled and cut into matchsticks

1. Slice the cabbage: Cut the cabbage lengthwise into quarters and remove the cores. Cut each quarter crosswise into 2-inch-wide strips.
2. Salt the cabbage: Place the cabbage and salt in a large bowl. Using your hands (gloves optional), massage the salt into the cabbage until it starts to soften a bit, then add water to cover the cabbage. Put a plate on top and weigh it down with something heavy, like a jar or can of beans. Let stand for 1 to 2 hours.
3. Rinse and drain the cabbage: Rinse the cabbage under cold water 3 times and drain in a colander for 15 to 20 minutes. Rinse and dry the bowl you used for salting, and set it aside to use in step 5.
4. Make the paste: Meanwhile, combine the garlic, ginger, sugar, and seafood flavor (or 3 tablespoons water) in a small bowl and mix to form a smooth paste. Mix in the gochugaru, using 1 tablespoon for mild and up to 5 tablespoons for spicy (I like about 3 1/2 tablespoons).
5. Combine the vegetables and paste: Gently squeeze any remaining water from the cabbage and return it to the bowl along with the radish, scallions, and seasoning paste.
6. Mix thoroughly: Using your hands, gently work the paste into the vegetables until they are thoroughly coated. The gloves are optional here but highly recommended to protect your hands from stings, stains, and smells!
7. Pack the kimchi into the jar: Pack the kimchi into the jar, pressing down on it until the brine rises to cover the vegetables. Leave at least 1 inch of head space. Seal the jar with te lid.
8. Let it ferment: Let the jar stand at room temperature for 1 to 5 days. You may see bubbles inside the jar and brine may seep out of the lid; place a bowl or plate under the jar to help catch any overflow.
9. Check it daily and refrigerate when ready: Check the kimchi once a day, pressing down on the vegetables with a clean finger or spoon to keep them submerged under the brine. (This also releases gases produced during fermentation.) Taste a little at this point, too! When the kimchi tastes ripe enough for your liking, transfer the jar to the refrigerator. You may eat it right away, but it's best after another week or two.

I chose this dish because even though this dis is spicy hot the flavor is amazing. This side dish is the first thing I get when I visit the Chinese restaurant. 

During the Vietnam war the Korean government ask the Americans to help for their soldiers to obtain this dish. This was supposed to boost the moral of the Korean soldiers. 

Journal 3 Bubba Spaulding

Holding On is a book that I have to force myself to put down. When I start reading it I just cant stop. I wish some of the profiles were much longer than they are. The best part of the book is the people. How he found these people I dont know. Their stories are amazing. I could sit and listen to their stories all day long. I even have my wife read about some of the people. For example, after I read about Robert Shields I had my wife read his profile. You see, my wife is a psychologist and she analyzed Shields for me, that was interesting. I thought he had issues.

Tommie Bass is a special man. It really struck me to read about Bass. Isay starts the profile with a story told by Bass. I love that. Its like a movie that opens up with the action. It grabs your attention right away. Bass tells how he started his little herb business. I can only picture a little scrawny boy trying to haul a few pounds of herbs around. This first paragraph told us a lot about Bass. It tells about his fathers profession and how he got started in the herbs and how he started to get recognized in the community.

What really stood out to me about Bass was that he loved to help people. One of his first cures was the man trying to help his daughter with colitis. He would not charge this guy any money, even after the man offered him $5.00. Bass said, "Man, you mean to tell me that you think I'd charge you five dollars to get something to cure your little girl?" I read that like Bass was offended by the man for wanting to pay him. Bass was a good man. He wanted to serve his neighbors. Only if we all would do that, this world would be a better place.

The reading was easy. The language seemed to be like I would talk. But the funny think I thought was very interesting was that he referred himself as "we." It makes you wonder who the "we" are. It does me.

Journal Three from Alli

Holding On Analysis 

Part One

So far, in Holding On, my reading has been going great. I have enjoyed each and every profile. I love how each of these people have given a piece of themselves to our society. For me, that's one of the most interesting topics to learn about, how society is every changing. The strengths of this book are how they take each profile and make it individually special to each person that it's explaining even though its the same person writing them. For each and every person is unique in their own way. The weaknesses like we discussed in class are the bias' that the writers have for some of the people but in my eyes that really makes the people more real. They aren't just a profile in the book, they're connectable people that make an impact on people's lives. I have been pretty passive in my reading, for this book in particular I didn't want to over analyze each person but take in and think about what they have to offer as I keep reading. This is one of the only books that I have not actively read and I'm very happy with my decision.

Part Two

The profile that I chose was Robert Shields, the message that stuck out to me about him was how you shouldn't let a detail control your whole life. He let the obsession he had stop him from living his life to the fullest. The point where I am at in my life right now makes this theme really important to me because I have a blank canvas still. I have a full life ahead of me with a lot of decisions to make. The organization of this piece really made sense to me to include Shields' fear of being forgotten, it included his own words from his diary. The words are important because he took all of his time to write them. As this profile might be about an odd man that kept an insanely detailed journal to most, I take so many lessons from him. 

Journal Three - Antonio

The reading for Holding On is easy to get through because of the way the stories are told. Each profile is short and digestible, letting you reflect on a person's profile quickly then move to the next one. I enjoy these interviews because it gives views of people around the country that I would never meet in person. At times the chapters are not captivating for me, such as the dinosaur park one. To continue actively reading I try to take notes while I go, about things that interested me or words I did not understand.

The person that stood out most for me was the herb expert, Tommie Bass. Although some of his claims were extraordinary, herbs and teas can affect the body in many positive ways. I especially liked when he listed off various herbs and their uses for common complaints of people. He also came started young and never demanded a payment for helping someone, just the satisfaction of aiding them seemed to be enough for Bass.

Journal three from Rebecca

    

I love reading the book Holding On because of the stories you get to read. I love how they are all written in there perspective because you get to see how they tell their story. I also like how the stories all different from each other. I would recommend people to read this because you get to learn about people’s lives during different time periods.

     One of the profiles that I really enjoyed reading was Harold C. Cotton. I find it amazing that in North Carolina during the Civil Rights struggle that Harold C. Cotton was not only able to run a store but also integrated it as well. During 1952 the Brown vs Board of Education they were trying to segregate schools so children of a different color could have equal opportunity of a higher education. The reaction to the Brown decision was negative and in some cases was violent they had threats and even parents pulling their kids from public school systems. However Harold was lucky to have black and white people sit on the stand side by side peacefully. This was different from the brown case because the reactions were violent.

     The line that stood out to me was that Harold said "From now on, anybody that comes in here can get up on the stand. I don't care whether they close us up or not." This surprised me because he was brave enough to take a stand and do what he wanted to do. He didn't even get it okayed with the man who owned the property. He was very lucky that the man said " If your satisfied, I'm satisfied.”