Food Science Cooking Club Class #2

Today’s lesson topics included:

1) Knife Safety/ Proper Cutting Technique

2) Raw vs Roasting – How does roasting work?

3) Phytochemicals – Nutrition Rainbow!

4) Antioxidants – Where can I find them?

5) Emulsion – Oil and Vinegar, Friends or enemies?

Knife Safety

Our student chefs are focusing on how to feel confident cooking in the kitchen by learning the safety protocol of how to use utensils properly! Today we will learn to hold our knife with a claw and to hold our vegetables with another claw to make sure to keep our fingers tucked in!

Roasted Vegetables

Vegetables taste different when they are roasted, any vegetable can be roasted! Try roasting a variety of vegetables to find a new favorite! Food Science Tip: Spreading the vegetables out into a single layer increases the surface area exposed for the vegetables to brown and will allow the vegetables to cook thoroughly, faster!

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425°F.

2. Wash vegetable of your choice.

3. Chop vegetables into bite-size pieces.

4. Toss with olive oil in a bowl until all pieces are coated!

5. Cover sheet pan with parchment paper or foil.

6. Spread vegetables evenly in a single layer on sheet pan.

7. Sprinkle salt and pepper to taste!

8. Bake at 425°F in the oven for 25 – 30 minutes.

*Vegetables such as potatoes, sweet potatoes, beets, and carrots will take a little longer to roast – allow them to bake for at least 45 minutes!

Garden Rainbow Frittatas

Some vegetables we like raw but who likes to eat raw vegetables for breakfast?! These frittatas are a colorful reminder of all of the benefits of antioxidants – and to help increase our daily vegetable intake for the whole family!

Food Science Tip: How do eggs become a frittata? Eggs are a protein! When we cook eggs, the protein in the egg coagulates. When a protein coagulates it goes from runny or more liquid egg, to solid!

Ingredients:

4 eggs

⅓ cup milk

⅛ teaspoon salt

⅛ teaspoon pepper

3 ounces shredded cheddar cheese

⅔ cup chopped roasted broccoli

¼ cup chopped roasted red bell pepper

2 tablespoons chopped roasted carrots

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350°F.

2. Beat eggs, milk, salt and pepper in a medium bowl until blended.

3. Add cheese, broccoli, red bell pepper and carrots; mix well.

4. Spoon evenly into 8 (greased) muffin cups, about 1/4 cup each.

5. Bake in 350°F oven until just set, about 20 to 22 minutes.

6. Cool on rack 5 minutes. Remove from cups; serve warm.

Homemade Italian Dressing

Making your own salad dressing is a great way to know what exactly is going in your salad and to highlight your favorite flavors and try creating your own recipe!

Food Science Tip: Salad dressing is an emulsion – but only after we shake it!! If we don’t shake our salad dressing the flavor will be different because the oil and vinegar do not like to spend time together and separate in the bottle! By shaking the salad dressing – you are able to create tiny droplets of oil that disperse through the vinegar – and creates a great taste!

Ingredients:

6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

6 tablespoons white vinegar

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning or Italian seasoning packet

Dash of salt

Dash of pepper

Shake shake shake shake shake!! Enjoy!

Rainbow Pasta Salad

Ingredients:

2 cups Tri-Color Pasta (rotini or preferred shape)

¼ cup diced or shredded carrots

¼ cup diced red or yellow bell pepper

¼ cup halved cherry tomatoes

¼ cup shredded or grated parmesan cheese

2 tablespoons of homemade Italian dressing

Directions:

1. Cook pasta according to package.

2. Drain pasta – set aside or chill drained pasta.

3. Slice and dice red or yellow bell peppers.

4. Slice and dice carrots.

5. Chop broccoli into bite size pieces.

6. Slice cherry tomatoes in half.

7. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl with cold pasta.

8. Mix well – enjoy!