I have really enjoyed trying all of these new recipes this semester! I made a little collage to show everything I made, and I love looking at everything together. Overall I really loved this project and I am grateful that I had the chance to try so many new things!
Banana bread is so good at any time of the day! I love it for breakfast, I love it for a snack, I love it for dessert – and the list goes on! Last year I became obsessed with the chocolate banana bread from The Cove at UVic, and I wanted to try to recreating it!
This took me a little bit longer than some of my other recipes – but it was still very simple! I completely forgot to add the chocolate chips into the batter and so I had to push them in later. It worked out though and now I have banana bread for the week!
My Personal Ratings:
The Process: 8/10
I found this pretty simple! It was a bit tricky in my oven because the outside began getting dark a long time before the inside was cooked – and I started getting nervous that the outside would burn. However it ended up not being an issue and I’m very happy with the results!
The Taste: 10/10
Delicious! I’ve been loving having this all ready to go for really any time that I get hungry. It definitely lets me satisfy my banana bread craving without having to keep buying single pieces. I love warming it up in the microwave with some butter – or just grabbing some on my way out the door! I would definitely make it again!
A link to the recipe I referenced: https://www.recipetineats.com/apple-crumble/
I love all fruit desserts (except fruitcake)! I especially love pie and any dessert that is at all similar to pie. You can see from my last blog post that I having been having lots of apple desserts lately – and so here I present the latest. The apple crumble.
My roommate and I had talked about making this all week last week – and on Saturday we finally did. While I have made many apple pies, I do not think I have made a crumble since Grade 8 foods class. I was so excited to make one again – but I had no idea what to do or how it would turn out!
As I made it with my roommate, we were able to tag-team the process. I especially enjoyed peeling all of the apples for her to cut – it is just so satisfying! The whole process went much quicker than I thought it would and before I knew it – it was time to eat (although not before the delightful smell travelled all about our house).
My Personal Ratings:
The Process – 10/10
I am definitely biased to the recipes I make with friends, but this was just so much fun! I loved peeling the apples and putting everything together. It was so quick – and the smell was incredible!
The Taste – 10/10
Absolutely delicious! For reference, we made this Saturday evening and it was gone by Sunday night – and then we made another one Monday afternoon! That should really show our love for this crumble. It is everything I look for in a dessert (and more). I think the only thing that would top it off (although it is already a 10/10) would be vanilla ice cream! That might have to come soon…
Now, I am no stranger to yogurt bowls. Not at all actually, I have one for breakfast almost every day – and then sometimes another after dinner. I LOVE yogurt bowls. I think they are perfect in every way. So, when I started seeing people online making apple pie yogurt bowls I was immediately intrigued. Another thing I love just happens to be apple pie!
I saw a few different ways of making these, but the basic idea is that you mix caramelized apples, greek yogurt, and some form of oats. As yogurt bowls are my favourite thing in the world I already had granola and greek yogurt – meaning that all I had to do was make the apples.
I have not made caramelized apples before – but I asked a friend and she told me what to do. It ended up being a very quick process and in almost no time I got to eat my bowl!
My Personal Ratings
The Process – 10/10
I really have no complaints with this one. It was easy, quick, used ingredients that I already had, and created an incredible smell. It was so easy that I could even see myself making it in the morning before school.
The Taste – 10/10
DELICIOUS! I was actually surprised by how much this tasted like apple pie and ice cream. I loved every bite of this bowl and I wanted more almost immediately. Yogurt bowls were already a 10/10 for me and this made me love them even more.
Photo Taken at Finnerty Gardens!
This week, Kristen came to our class and spoke about how Outdoor Ed and Technology can work together. This was very interesting for me to think about, because I often view them as opposites. I tend to reduce these topics to their extremes – either children are inside staring at screens or they are outside and have forgotten about technology. This was a good reminder that there are so many ways that the 2 can be paired! I also realized that I have used technology as a tool while appreciating the outdoors so many times without realizing it! I use mapping apps almost daily, I am constantly taking photos of the outdoors, and I regularly use search engines to research beautiful nature spots. I also love Outdoor Ed and I think that it is so important to merge these concepts. I find that doing so helps me be less intimidated by technology and its constant presence in ours and our future student’s lives. Knowing that I can teach my students that they can still use tech as tool while appreciating the outdoors makes me excited to teach during this time.
During this class, we also went on QR-code scavenger hunt around Finnerty Gardens. There were 6 QR-codes hidden throughout the gardens and we walked around in groups to find them. I had so much fun doing this – and I am so grateful for it. I really appreciated the chance to get out of the classroom and walk around outside. I love being outdoors but I often get so wrapped up with school and work that I forget how nice and calming it is. I also realized that on that same day last year I also went to Finnerty Gardens! What a coincidence!
This is a link to the recipe I referenced: https://www.noracooks.com/marinated-tofu/
Yesterday, I decided to cook tofu. Tofu is not something that I have a ton of experience cooking. I have thrown it into pasta and stir-fry many times, however I have not really focused on adding flavour to the tofu itself. I have seen my sister make it in many (delicious) ways and it always seems like a long process that I am just not patient enough to commit to. Due to this, I decided to try to find a simple enough method that I can make regularly.
I just looked up “simple tofu recipe”, and this marinated tofu recipe was one of the first things that popped up. I had a look and realized that, besides the tofu, I already had all of the ingredients! Immediately I was sold!
This recipe involved a lot of waiting (pressing the tofu + letting it soak), but I didn’t mind this too much because it gave me time to do homework and fold my laundry. I found that coming back and completing each step served as a good way to take breaks. While it technically took a long time to make – I spent most of my time doing other things.
Overall, I found the whole process very smooth! Each step was simple, and I love the way it turned out!
My Personal Ratings:
The Process – 8/10
I actually enjoyed making this! I honestly didn’t think that I would; I expected it to be too long and too boring to make. I really thought that I would make it just this once and then maybe again in months from now. However, I was completely wrong! This was relaxing and easy! I found it totally worth all of the time I spent waiting. I would recommend this as an easy way to make tofu and I will be making it again soon!
The Taste – 7.5/10
I love the flavour of this! Letting it soak in the marinade before cooking it really made a difference.
This week we had guest speakers from BCEdAccess; Kaori Lau and Neesha Blauberg.
The presentation started with each of us being given either a yellow, blue, or green piece of paper. Then we were told that those of us with a yellow paper could stay for the whole presentation, those with a blue paper could only stay for half, and those with green would have to leave. For a moment I was stunned – because I had a green piece of paper! Of course, soon after they let us know that we would not actually have to leave. However, the goal of this was to make us think about how we felt in this situation – whether it was us or our friends who were asked to leave.
Overall, this presentation gave me a lot to think about. Kaori and Neesha reminded us that technology is a necessary tool for helping students in need of more support. They also let us know a few things we can do when using technology to create inclusive classrooms. They suggested that we normalize this use of technology, advocate for funding, and find training for parents and other teachers. This is a very important topic for us to be thinking about, and I will make sure that I continue learning about it as I continue going through school as well as start my career.
The recipe I referenced: https://www.eatyourselfskinny.com/perfectly-roasted-broccoli-sweet-potatoes/
I have been wracking my brain trying to think about what to make! I look at recipes all day long, but most of them use tons of ingredients. I have found this discouraging because I do not want to buy a full portion and end up wasting a lot of it.
However, today I felt a lightbulb go off! I was craving a big bowl that was fresh, and sweet – but still savoury. I realized that I could go back to the basics and have some of my favourite vegetables in a simple way. I then came up with this combination of ingredients: rice, kale, roasted sweet potatoes and broccoli, and dressing. I went to the store, got my ingredients, and then began cooking.
Following the recipe to roast the vegetables was very simple. I enjoyed the process and it did not take much time at all! I also found this to one of the easiest recipes to clean up during the process. By the time my vegetables were ready everything was prepared and I was ready to eat! I also used a miso dressing on top and it ended up being delicious!
My Personal Ratings:
The Process: 10/10
This was so easy! It was easy and quick to prep, and used very few ingredients. I will definitely be making this again and I am already looking forward to it. It is a great week-night meal that I would absolutely make again.
The Taste: 9/10
This was delicious! It was sweet and savoury – and the combination of flavours worked very well. I also loved the combination of the cold and fresh kale with the warm vegetables and rice (and then the delicious dressing!).
This week we talked about AI and how it relates to education. While it is scary (at least for me), it is here and there is no getting rid of it. I find it valuable to have these conversations because I like hearing what other future teachers have to say on this topic.
Early in this class we had a Menti brainstorm where we all supplied a few words that represent what we know about AI. I know that there are a lot of mixed feelings about AI out there – and this reflected that. Personally, I do think that it can be very helpful – however I recognize that there are many issues with it.
I think that my biggest takeaway from this class is the importance of celebrating human creativity. We should teach students to use AI in ways that are helpful and critical. However we must also place extra emphasis on the beautiful things that humans have created, are creating, and have the potential to create. We need to show our students that they are able to create amazing things themselves. Even though they can use AI to do creative work that does not mean that they should – nor that it can come close to doing what they are capable of.
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