Vegan Ventures

Teen Cooking Club ventured into a Vegan menu on Veteran's Day 2017.  For those readers who are unaware, vegan diets eliminate all animal byproducts.  Meat, dairy, and honey are also eliminated from this diet.  "NO CHEESE?!" screamed a few unsuspecting students.

Soup's On!

Once we covered the basics of what not to expect, we rolled up our sleeves and got chopping.  Despite no cheese, the apparent main food source in the minds of these students, the menu was filling and easy to accomplish on a cold Friday afternoon.  Soup is a great entry into a vegan diet.  It's easy to avoid meat, while getting lots of flavor and substance using beans and greens.  Cookie and Kate provided this yummy Spiced Lentil Soup, which included curry powder.  Insert the olfactory scent of the kitchen here.  

Sweet Treats

When veggies are involved, I stress to students to "Try it!  We made it together, so it won't kill you.  If you decide it's not for you, the round file is in the corner."  They laugh at the idea of a trash can being a round file, but they respect my efforts and give the required taste.  Not everyone liked the soup, but those who did came back 2 or 3 times!

A sweet addition to our menu involved no-bake cookie balls.  The Beaming Baker posted this recipe for No Bake Peanut Butter Coconut Bites (Vegan, Gluten Free).  Since they were gluten free and no-bake, this seemed like a simple recipe to tackle.  I swear the holiday off of school and the phase of the moon had a portion of my students in a tizzy!  Just look at the top left corner of these pans---that is not the best work of my budding chefs.  I believe we need to focus a class on meal presentation.  At least these treats disappeared in zero seconds flat.

Chewy Cookie Bars

The last recipe on our menu was a suggestion from a patron.  These Reese's Chewy Chocolate Cookies are tried and true in her vegan home, but we ran into some issues.  Switching the butter with a vegan replacement was not much trouble.  Using "fleggs" in place of chicken eggs offered a great lesson. {A flegg combines ground flax seed and water to create a gelatinous mixture quite different from the average egg from an animal.}  Despite following this recipe step by step, the group of students found the mixture to be tough to blend and very dry.  We added extra oil and water to adjust the issues.  Baking the mixture in a pan to make bars rather than cookies allowed them to be quicker to prepare, since class was quickly coming to a close.

Come and Get It!

Despite our concerns about the cookie bars, they also disappeared within seconds!!!  Families were arriving to pick up their charges, so younger siblings and curious parents tasted the foods we cooked.  Everyone was surprised to eat simple food that tasted so good.  Only one family of the group lives by the vegan diet, but everyone decided it's an easy solution to cook healthful foods that have a low impact on our environment.

Clean up!

Kitchen chores are the least favorite of my students.  I stress that balance is important to life, so with fun comes responsibility.  Sometimes it's a struggle to get these students to clean up, but I love when I catch them in the act without any prompting. <3

Last chance to create with Me!

This wraps up another fun-filled year in the kitchen with teens.  Join us in December to catch a recap of the annual Make & Bake Gifts event.  Filomena Jack will bring her stuffed creatures to teach some sewing skills.  Craft Farm will enlighten students with some kitchen chemistry while making lip balms.  We will also test an old-fashioned corn flake candy wreath recipe, plus add in cinnamon-sugar pretzels.  It is always a great way to get into the holiday spirit.

Thanks for visiting!

xo,

Erica

Cake Boss

With a Summer Reading theme like, Build a Better World, it seemed appropriate to build something in Teen Cooking Club.  This month, we asked who could build a better cake.

Cake Bakers....GO!

Considering a time restraint of just under 2 hours to cook, decorate and judge the confections, boxed cake mixes were provided to each team.  The worry of correct measurements of dry ingredients in a flurry was eliminated.  One "rule" for the designs was to create a vehicle.  The definition of a vehicle was to be as open and creative as each team wanted, so they had to support their creation with a good story.  

Getting started at the Union Hall

We have a huge space to bake and decorate at the Local 1000 Union Hall.  With a double oven, all teams were able to prep their cakes and have them cook at the same time.

Remember your cake and start timing!

Each team was responsible for their cake being baked and not burned, 

although I helped with the removal from the hot oven. 

Cooling is Quick in the fridge

Some teams were wise to cool their cakes in the refrigerator.  With a warm cake, icing will slip right off and ruin the design.  There was a ton of candy provided to used as decoration.  More than enough candy to use, but I noticed a lot of sneaking of the treats....

but that's what I planned to see 😎.

Cook, prep, and WASH THOSE DISHES!

Each team was required to follow all instructions, involving the cooking, prep, and clean up of their cakes.  Before judging could take place, each creation needed to be placed on a separate table and each team needed to sanitize and take down their stations.

Quick to Complete

Some teams finished so quickly, I'm not sure they even discussed a plan before they started decorating.  I strolled to each station to check in on progress.  A few teams willingly shared their ideas, but a few chose to be secretive, considering this was a competition.

Blue is the Hue

Although there was a full rainbow of food coloring to use, almost everyone chose blue for their icing.  It is an easy "sky" or "ocean" or alien steel, according to one silly group.  Once all cakes were ready for judging, a representative of each team shared a statement to support their submission.  This peer focused public speaking is a great skill.  Having to supply a story off-the-cuff provided priceless descriptions.

Magical Rickshaw

The clown of the club created a Magical Rickshaw, meant to transport travelers to unbelievable lands.  Most of us jokingly questioned, "where is the rickshaw?"

Fly Away Home

On occasion, there was a shy creator who couldn't give much support to their vehicle story.  This hot air balloon is beautiful, but lacked a colorful story to let the imagination soar.

Butterfly

The butterfly cake will take you to a magical insect world with one bite.  The cake is the vehicle, not the butterfly.  This is like a doorway for entymologists.

Hot Air Inspiration

Another hot air balloon developed in the class.  This one is called "Sky Rider" and can take it's passengers anywhere, anytime.  I wonder if I'd need a work excuse to take a flight...

Just a Truck

The shyest team created this truck.  It was difficult to get a short story description of this vehicle.  At least there were smiles shared in the presentation.  

Public speaking is not an easy task.  Small classes like this are a great start.

Time Travel

A clock is a wonderful vehicle and very creative entry for this contest.  This team left details up to the imagination.  They called this cake, "Time Machine," because time will take you places you've never been and to places you might not wish to visit, like the dentist!

OUtta tHiS wOrLD!

Aliens took over the making of this cake.  Disaster and despair were paired with an alien invasion with this cake called "Candy Crush UFO."  So much candy!!!

Cotton Candy Blowout

The detailed description of this sugar rush of a cake swept us all away.  A budding chef and imaginative story teller said this cake "transports you to a land of sweetness.  

Cotton candy is like a firework.  There is an explosion of sweetness is every bite!" 

I'm Faaaaallllllllliiiiiiiiinnnnnng!

My personal favorite of all the entries was "Fallout Boy." The girls who worked well together creating this masterpiece said "it will transport you to a rainbow land."  I believe the whole class was impressed by this submission.  Considering everyone's wonderful teamwork and the nature of summer, each participant received a McDonald's ice cream certificate, because they are all so cool.  Cakes were split to share with families at home and leftover candies will be saved for October when we create "Freaky Eats."

Thanks for visiting!

Teen Cooking Club will commence in October 2017.

See you then.

~erica