Home Economics | One Pan Lemon Olive Moroccan Chicken | Term 2 Week Seven

This is the slide show containing my and Rheanna's final assessment. It shows us things about our country of study, Morocco, and a lot about their food and such. Our practical assessment was cooking a dish called One Pan Lemon Olive Moroccan Chicken, and details about it and how we found it are detailed closer to the end of the slide show.

Home Economics | Couscous Salad | Term 2 Week Four

   - Teamwork Aspects -

Tasks

This weeks recipe was very simplistic and because of that, it left most of us with nothing to do. Besides cutting vegetables, cooking the couscous and making the dressing the most of the period was simply chatting with one another about the recipe.

Skills

As with most lessons, not many skills were required to complete the recipe. The only difficult part was convincing one of the group members to do the dishes again, even though they do them every week and shouldn't be complaining.

Improvements

With our teamwork, there was not much to improve upon. We worked well together and had fun.

 - Product Outcome - 

We had no mishaps and overall the outcome was good besides a slight imbalance in taste with the lemon juice.

Feedback

The feedback from ourselves we should not have had as much lemon juice as we did. While I am sure there were less than two tablespoons, the salad came out with an overpowering lemon taste

Modifications

Like mentioned in the feedback, it was especially lemony. There wasn't much we could do afterwards but that was something I would've greatly altered had there been a chance that I knew what I was doing.

- Next Steps - 

As mentioned we worked well together as a group and feel that there are not many steps we could take to further our cooking's development.

Home Economics | Chop Sui | Term 2 Week Three

   - Teamwork Aspects -

Tasks

With this week's food, there were very few tasks. The main tasks were chopping vegetables, doing the rice noodles, cutting the meat and cooking it all. This meant it was actually a very boring lesson since there was so little to do, however it did mean that we got everything done in time.

Skills

As with most lessons, not many skills were required to complete the recipe. The only difficult part was convincing one of the group members to do the dishes, even though they do them every week.

Improvements

With our teamwork, there was not much to improve upon. We worked well together and had fun.

 - Product Outcome - 

Our product came out as expected. We had no mishaps and overall the outcome was good.

Feedback

We didn't have much feedback from outside the group, however we noticed that it was bland. We feel as if some spices or herbs would've greatly improved the recipe. This was especially noticed when we added sweet chilli sauce to it, which made it much more tasty and enjoyable.

Modifications

Like mentioned in the feedback, it was especially bland. Spices, herbs, or some form of sauce would've greatly improved the taste of the recipe. When we added more soy sauce and some sweet chilli to the product it tasted much better. I also would've added other vegetables to it, such as corn or bean sprouts. I feel as if it would've improved the appeal of the recipe to others who wanted a healthier meal.

- Next Steps - 

As mentioned we worked well together as a group and feel that there are not many steps we could take to further our cooking's development.

Home Economics | Tomato Pasta | Term 2 Week One

   - Teamwork Aspects -

Tasks

During this recipe, we had different jobs that were assigned, such as cooking the pasta, heating the sauce, cutting ingredients and gathering. I can't exactly remember how they were given to each person, however, our recipe turned out good.

Skills

There weren't many skills involved with this recipe, as it was fairly simple. This led to us all being able to complete the required jobs that were given to us. The only task that had any difficulty was cutting the garlic to the correct size.

Improvements

There weren't improvements I would have liked to make to this recipe. It was good how it was but it may have been improved with adding some form of spice to it.

 - Product Outcome - 

Our food turned out well, it was to our own satisfaction and nothing went wrong with the recipe. The product tasted good and had no faults.

Feedback

There wasn't much feedback given as we were in a rushed period. The teacher only told us about our groups own responsibility as we were able to complete the recipe with the least amount of help.

Modifications

Like mentioned, the only modifications I would have made personally would have been to add some spice to it or add more flavourful ingredients to make the recipe more interesting.

- Next Steps - 

The next steps for my group would be to recognise the challenge of fewer members and overcome it by putting in more work to make up for the lack of contribution. This shouldn't be a problem again though, as we don't have another practical until next term, and at most the likelihood of more than two people away is extreme.

Home Economics | Souvlaki | Week Eight

   - Teamwork Aspects -

Tasks

During this lesson, it was a much more difficult task to create and execute the recipe. This was due to one of our members not being able to cook, and another had been assigned the task to create tzatziki for the entire class. This meant me and another teammate to cook the meat, cut all the salads and put together the souvlakis with great difficulty.

Skills

Not many skills were needed for this recipe, and neither were they put to the test as much as our ability to work as two people as hard as a four-person team. 

Improvements

Despite the lack of members, our souvlaki turned out very good. The meat was cooked thoroughly, the salad wasn't chunky, and the tzatziki was perfect.

 - Product Outcome - 

Feedback

The small amount of feedback we got during the hectic lesson was about how we cut the lettuce, and how it should have been thinner than previously cut, however, this did not affect the recipe.

Modifications

I don't believe there were any modifications I would've like to make to the recipe.

- Next Steps - 

The next steps for my group would be to recognise the challenge of fewer members and overcome it by putting in more work to make up for the lack of contribution. This shouldn't be a problem again though, as we don't have another practical until next term, and at most the likelihood of more than two people away is extreme.

Home Economics | Mix & Match Activity

Something that we learnt from the Mix & Match activity - 

When the settlers came they brought their own hunting methods and cooking methods, as well as animals of course. However, not only did they bring iron pots and pans, they introduced the newest hunting method of using a gun instead of trapping. This was not something new to the world though, only to New Zealand, where for generations, the Maori people had been using traps, spears, and other sharp weapons to gather their meat.


What can you see happening to our food fifty years into the future?

It will become more health-focused, rather than taste-focused. There will always be a delicious taste to the food we eat here in New Zealand, however, I believe we will see a new focus come onto the nutrients as the scientific research develops and reveals what certain foods do to our bodies. Most will likely sacrifice taste for a healthier diet.

What could you invent, change or directly effect relating to how food is produced at a cheaper rate?

Throughout time, humans have greatly affected the world. We cause pollution, extinction, and a great deal of pain. Without the right technological advancements, we will begin to cave in on ourselves and take the world with us. Solar panels provide an efficient way of gathering the electricity we need to develop ourselves as a people, and through the right technology, we could use that to impact how we eat. Land space in New Zealand is now being overcome by housing as our population rises quickly, this means the amount of land farming has is being cut down to nothing. This will soon greatly affect the country as we begin to import the country as we import fruits, vegetables, and with time we will be the ones who import meat. Something I have thought of that could prevent this from happening is instead of expanding how far the land plants are grown on is, going on to expand the height instead. Through the use of artificial light gathered by solar panels, we can generate light so plants no longer have to be exposed to the outdoors. Air can be filtered in through air ducts. Water and nutrients can be placed into the soil for a maximum growth rate. But how can we expand upwards? Think of apartments buildings, if you take an apartment building, the actual size of the ground it sits on is not nearly as large as it would be if each apartment was on the ground. If we were to take each apartment floor, filter air in, have sprinklers for water and create artificial light, we would be capable of growing much more vegetation than we would with just one level. I don't have the full science behind whether it would be able to be recreated in this manner, however, with the exceptional rate we are gaining knowledge on the subject of agriculture, we will know in no time.

Home Economics | Pad Thai | Week Seven

   - Teamwork Aspects -

Tasks

When we made the pad thai we were lucky enough that our teacher assigned roles to each of us. For, example, two of us combined the jobs of collecting ingredients and making the pad thai sauce so each did as the others, who were doing the chicken and noodles, needed.

Skills

Once again we were given a simple recipe that did not require many skills. However, we put what skills we had into making sure that the chicken was cooked evenly and that the noodles did not stick to the bottom of the pot.

Improvements

I don't think there were any improvements we could've made. Each of us shared the load, got on well, and cooked a good dish.

 - Product Outcome - 

Feedback

We weren't given much feedback from others, however, the others in my group have said that they would've prefered less pepper in the recipe.

Modifications

Like said, we believe we cooked a good dish, the only thing I would have wanted was thicker noodles and more bean sprouts in the recipe.

- Next Steps - 

I believe the group of us need to take as a whole would be to work this well together in the time frame with a more complicated dish. We were lucky to have our roles assigned and I think if we were to do this between ourselves at the start of the lesson we would be as good as we were this lesson.

Home Economics | Map of Diversity

For Home Economics, we created a map comprising of different pieces of information we have learnt and researched. I worked with two others and we each contributed to four separate maps that were used to make up the main map. 

The first had to do with simply naming some places and locating them, this is done with Key #1. These places are contributional to the vegetables and fruits that are grown in New Zealand.

The second key has to do with different settlers and why they came to New Zealand. For example, we have the Scottish down as settling in Dunedin for similar land to their own.

The next part goes without a key, and instead uses labels. These labels show where certain produce is grown. An example of this would be how wheat and barley is labelled to grow near Canterbury.

Home Economics | Mini Pizza | Week Six

                                              - Teamwork Aspects -

Tasks

We were able to assign tasks today, with only the four of us in the group instead of five. Two of my teammates took care of cutting the vegetables, another took care of the little meat were given to work with, and I worked with the dough for the pizza base. This allowed us to work much faster and more efficiently.

Skills

This recipe didn't require many skills from us all. The thing that required the most skill was likely the dough, and even that was simple enough. This means that not many skills were needed for each job or put to the test in any form.

Improvements

There wasn't much I could've improved upon with my group. The pizza tasted good and looked good. Every group finished early as well, meaning we got time to cool it down. 

 - Product Outcome - 

Feedback

Something we got feedback for was how we did the dough. It was the only thing that took much time and was definitely difficult. It was critiqued in how we were meant to almost cut the dough when mixing it. As well as how I pressed it down straight onto the bench instead of the tray.

Modifications

Like said, there weren't many more modifications I would've like to have made to it. Some chilli sauce may have been nice to add to it, but it was perfectly fine without it as well.

- Next Steps - 

The next steps my group needs to take is to look and listen. We seem to understand what we hear and process that, however, I would've gone uncritiqued with how I worked with the dough had I looked at how my teacher cut it while mixing.

Home Economics | Sushi | Week Five

                                              - Teamwork Aspects -

Tasks

Within this lesson, we unknowingly assigned tasks. We gave everyone tasks to complete as it was a very mobile lesson, we were in a different surrounding compared to the usual kitchen we work in. This kitchen was much smaller, didn't have as much equipment, and the addition of working with five people at one table did not assist the situation. That's off-topic though. For example, we were able to assign me and another of my teammates as the people putting together the rolls and rolling them.

Skills

Once again, our skills went unassessed as we each delegated tasks to each other and our selves. Like said, my teammate and I had experience in rolling sushi from making it at home (it went horribly). Because of this we took on the task and were able to use our skills to the best of our ability.

Improvements

There wasn't much we could improve upon besides time management. We ran into the next period and had to run to our next class. This could have been solved by taking care of cleaning up faster and being more prepared with ingredients and cleaning up the mess.

 - Product Outcome - 

Feedback

Without a lot of time for doing anything besides cutting and putting together, there wasn't too much feedback given to us. However, our teacher did compliment us on how we rolled the sushi and spread the rice to let it cool.

Modifications

I don't think there were many modifications we could have made to the sushi itself. It was done to the best of our ability. The only thing we could have done was have put soy sauce in the rice itself so the flavour could spread throughout it. 

- Next Steps - 

Like every week, delegating tasks and discussing where each our skills lies is something we really should be doing. This is so we know we are using each of our teammates to the best of their ability for the groups best outcome.

Home Economics | Fish & Chips | Week Four

                                                - Teamwork Aspects -

Tasks

Once again, we did not exactly assign tasks to everyone. We instead took it upon ourselves to volunteer for each task that was given out. For example, one of my teammates took it upon themselves to cut the fish into pieces.

Skills

As we still have not had time to talk one on one with each other, we have not exactly pinned down each of strengths. But, we are beginning to realise who takes on tasks the best within the group due to their skills. For example, I realise I am able to get the most accurate measurements, something that was a weakness for another of my teammates.

Improvements

Something we could have all improved upon was reading the recipe through and discussing what we each needed to do. For example, we, unfortunately, cut the fish incorrectly. This could have been improved upon by listening better as the teacher explained how we were meant to cut it.

 - Product Outcome - 

Not ours, we didn't get a picture.

Feedback

As said, we cut our fish incorrectly, this lead to some speculation from our teacher whether it would cook correctly or evenly enough for eating.

Modifications

Something we would have done differently if how we could have cut the fish, of course, as well as how we seasoned our chips. We did not add salt or pepper to the seasoning, and that left the chips without the flavour we would have prefered.

- Next Steps - 

The next steps for our group would be deliberation between jobs and skills, as well as the deliberation of the recipe. We did a lot of things wrong within the lesson, and most of it was due to this.

10 Key Dates in Food History | Home Ec

For Home Ec, we have had to depict 10 different years, what happened in those years that influenced New Zealand, and add at least five pictures.

The different years and significant happened was already given to us, so we had to rewrite it and put it into a presentation. I chose the dates 1814, 1840, 1882, 1907, 1920, 1937, 1945, 1958, 1971 and 1990. I chose these because they were each a good distance apart and depicted something large happening in New Zealand.

Home Economics | Jam Drops | Week Three

                                    - Teamwork Aspects -

Tasks

Our tasks weren't exactly given out, more aligned as we each volunteered to take care of different tasks we needed to progress with the recipe. For example, one of my teammates took up gathering and measuring almost immediately, which named them the ingredient gatherer for the session.

Skills

We didn't exactly deliberate what skills each of us had, more so it was the case again of volunteering and learning of where we each had our set of skills lie within a cooking environment. For example, one of the teammates took up mixing the ingredients straight away, this led us to unknowingly naming them the mixer for that session.

Improvements

Some improvements we could make is properly assigning tasks and learning of each other's skills before deliberating jobs to people without the skills to complete the task. 

 - Product Outcome - 

Feedback

Nobody but our group were able to sample the food so we didn't get much feedback on that part, however, throughout the period our teacher told us multiple times how we could improve how we completed the recipe and what we were doing well. For example, she told us about how we could stop the egg curdling by adding some of the flour prematurely. 

Modifications

The only modification I would have made to the way we cooked our jam drops is how much jam was within the biscuits, I would have added more into it, however, we were pressed for time and didn't take it into consideration much.

- Next Steps - 

The next steps for my group would likely be deliberation between us, especially before the recipe's completion as to what skills we each have and which jobs we will each take. I believe this would greatly assist our ability to work together as a team.