Minneapolis Trip and More!

Hi everyone!  Sorry that this post has taken so long, I have been quite busy.  Last weekend was alot of fun here in Grand Forks!  On Friday, I saw a movie with some friends.  On Saturday night, we went down to the Grand Forks county fair.  At the speedway, they had a demolition derby.  I had never been to one before that.  It was really loud, but really exciting too!  On Sunday, we drove to Minneapolis to catch a Twins game at Target Field.  Our tickets were on the top row, but we had a great time and the Twins won!  That night, we met some business partners and had a fantastic dinner at a local restaurant.  We ate so much!  On Monday morning, we visited the Catallia Tortilla Plant in Egan, MN.  We learned about the story of how Catallia Foods came to be and toured their factory.  Afterwards, the owners treated us to a Mexican breakfast with burritos and some other great food.  I had a fantastic time learning about the business relationship and how it is linked to a foodservice operation.

On Tuesday, I worked more on the retail grab and go bag concept UND is bringing into their convenient store locations.  We are building several vegan, vegetarian, gluten free, and low calorie meals that will be placed in a bag and sold at a certain price.  The meals will consist of a sandwich, salad, whole piece of fruit, and a dessert.  UND hopes to get them on sale by the time school starts.  I also met with some staff members from the daycare center and the apartment community.  They shared with me their operations and how they work with university dining on a regular basis.  The apartment coordinator gave me some ideas on community programming that he would like to have for his residents. 

I worked on July 4th since I like to keep busy and really didn't have my family to celebrate with.  On that day, I wrote up a lesson plan for the apartment community.  We agreed it would be best to make short and to the point presentations that could be shared at the community's monthly meals.  Therefore, I made quick presentations on some unique foods, how they could be used, and where to get them in Grand Forks.  I also built in a plan to bring samples of a dish of that food to share wit the residents.  The five foods we will present will be chickpeas, avocado, farro, quinoa, and bok choy.  During the day, I also recipe tested with the kitchen manager.  We baked some monster flavored dessert bars and nutella pumpkin cheesecake bites. Both were very good!  That night, I went to the Grand Forks fireworks with some friends.  The fireworks were really pretty since the sky was clear, a full moon was out, and they get fired right over the river.

Our pumpkin nutella cheesecake bites looked a little like this.

On Thursday, I met with the catering manager.  She showed me her operation and how she goes about scheduling, billing, promoting, and planning catering events.  It was really cool to see the whole process that goes behind the scenes.  In the afternoon, I recipe tested again and cooked up some chile lime marinaded chicken kabobs and made a vegetable dip.  The recipes weren't bad, but they could be improved on!

On Friday, I did some office work and updated the menu, the community education piece I wrote, and a price spreadsheet.  I also led a presentation for the kitchen staff.  The presentation was about how much an impact proper handwashing can make.  I used a special lotion and powder that glows under a blacklight.  With these, I made a point that improper handwashing can leave germs behind and spread them.  At the end of the day, the dietitian and I met with a family and an incoming student who had special diet needs.  I really enjoyed meeting with the student and listening to his story and condition.  I really think I would like a position where I can meet with students and accommodate to their needs to make them feel more at home.  

Well, that is it for this week.  It's hard to believe I only have two weeks left!