Welcome to my tales of cookery school, food and travel

The first 30+ posts of this blog describe my experiences as I complete a nine month cooking course - the City and Guilds Diploma in Food Preparation and Culinary Art. I did this after I moved out of full time employment and it was purely selfish - I love food, cooking, eating and drinking. Subsequent posts are about, food, travel and adventures.

Monday, 19 September 2011

Week 10: What happens to the food?

This week we study Nutrition. You know, vitamins, minerals, fats, proteins, carbs etc. Two four hour blocks that could readily have been compressed into a self-paced learning module on line, but there you go. Not much to report this week. 

Something I find out about, and that you may be interested in, is the "other" pyramid. We all know the food pyramid but did you know there is a liquid pyramid. Consumer has it on their site http://www.consumer.org.nz/reports/liquid-pyramid/the-pyramid and it is quite interesting to review in light of your average daily intake of beverages against the recommendations.

Some readers of this blog (yes, you are not a lone soul in the wilderness) ask what happens to the food we cook each day. If you'd seen me lately you'd know I eat a good bit of it. Generally, unless it is something like braised celery which goes straight in the bin, we all take our food home. If we have been cooking in pairs this sometimes involves trade-offs and negotiation but usually ends without the need for knives to be drawn in anger.

In my case I take the product of my days home to the hunter gatherer - this doesn't always work as we are in different places while I am at school - or share it with friends. For example, in recent weeks the civil servant and the mammographer have helped consume the braised topside (week 9) and the roast chicken (week 6); the consultant and the lady in waiting enjoyed the chicken fricasée (also week 6); the office administrator and the travel agent consumed the vanilla steam puddings (week 4). So far no-one has complained, but then they may just all be terribly polite! Don't hesitate to express your interest in being the recipient of upcoming delicacies! If timing and location work out, I'm happy to share.

Coming up - baking, where my pastry skills will developed (as one who generally relies on ready-rolled product I am keen to learn the tricks) and grilling.