Food Science Cooking Club #3

Today's lesson topics included:

1) Box cheese - what is that?

2) Color genes

3) Dry cooking vs. wet cooking

The Mac and Cheese CHALLENGE

We made boxed mac and cheese, using the powdered cheese packet inside. We made mac and cheese recipe - for reals. We voted.

Box mac and cheese = 4

Mac and cheese for reals = 8

We liked both = everyone! Cheese and noodles,what's not to love?

Powdered cheese is processed and can have additives, they make it by spraying liquid cheese on a surface to dry. The little cheese droplets dry into a powder and are put into little packets. When rehydrated with milk and butter you get cheese (-ish).

Mac and cheese - for reals

Ingredients

2 cups milk

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour (or whole wheat)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 (10-oz.) block extra sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded

1/2 (16-oz.) package elbow macaroni, cooked

Step 1 Make a Roux (thickener for cheese). Preheat oven to 400°. Microwave milk at HIGH for 1 1/2 minutes. Melt butter in a large skillet or Dutch oven over medium-low heat; whisk in flour until smooth. Cook, whisking constantly, 1 minute.

Step 2 Gradually whisk in warm milk, and cook, whisking constantly, 5 minutes or until thickened.

Step 3 Whisk in salt, black pepper, 1 cup shredded cheese, and until smooth; stir in pasta. Spoon pasta mixture into a lightly greased muffin tins; top with remaining cheese. Bake at

400° for 20 minutes or until golden and bubbly.

Baked Veggie 'fries' - vegan styles

It's a potato of a different color! Different vegetables are different colors and have different genes. Jeans? No, genes!

Ingredients

3 Zucchinis

2 sweet potatoes

2 purple potatoes

1 tbsp Nutritional Yeast

1/2 tsp Garlic Powder

1/2 tsp Onion Powder

1/2 tsp Salt

1/4 tsp Pepper

Step 1

Preheat you oven to 425 degrees F and line a baking sheet with lightly greased foil.

Step 2

Wash & cut your zucchini, potatoes in half (horizontally & vertically) 1/2 inch thickness so they are even.

Step 3

In a large gallon sized plastic bag, combine all your seasonings & crumbs. You want to divide up veggies in half and throw them into the bag. Toss it around, shake it, dance. Once they look fully coated, line them on your baking sheet and repeat with the second half. Put the zucchini on one tray evenly spread out, and the potatoes on a separate tray. You may need the potatoes to cook an extra few minutes if they are not quite browning.

Step 4

Cook for 8 minutes, flip and cook another 8 minutes. You want them to be tender but finish them off with a quick broil to get that crispy texture. I usually go about 2-3 minutes.

Kale Chips

"I have never seen kids eat kale chips so fast!" - Robyn Dietetic Intern

Ingredients:

• 1 bunch kale

• 1 Tbsp. olive oil

• 1 tsp. salt

Directions:

1 Preheat oven to 350F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2 Carefully remove kale leaves from their stems and wash thoroughly. Tear into bite-size pieces and arrange on baking sheet, drizzling with olive oil and seasonings.

3 Bake for 10-15 minutes until crispy. Let cool and snack away! They will love you for it.

** Tip: for crispy, chip like kale chips, be sure kale is dry when applying olive oil.

This class was a huge success, everyone got to experience cooking and practice their cutting skills. Enjoy!