Week 6 at UIUC

            Hello all! Week 6 has come and gone. It is hard to believe I only have 2 weeks left in beautiful Champaign, Illinois.

            After weeks of working in the different dining halls, I had some free time in the beginning of the week to work on projects. I worked with Sarah, a student worker here at the University, to construct two bulletin boards for Clark Hall. The only constraints we were given were the two topics they had to involve. The first one had to do with food allergies, special diets, and what the dining halls here offer. The second had to be all about the dining halls, a la carte locations, and specialty restaurants, and what they offer. It took us a whole day to come up with the images and details we wanted to include and another full day to put them together. I have to say I think they turned out wonderfully! See for yourself:

Sarah & the Amazing Food Allergy Board

Myself & the Dining Hall Board

            On Wednesday, I had the opportunity to go back to Ikenberry and work in the kitchen with more recipe testing. There are two important things you must do when recipe testing. Because the C-Bord system inputs recipes based on 24 servings you must make sure to multiply each recipe by a factor that equals 24 servings. In addition, and most importantly, you must weigh each individual ingredient and the final yield weight to put in the system as well. For this particular recipe testing day there were four separate items prepared: vegan warm & nutty quinoa (with almond milk and agave nectar), warm & nutty quinoa (with half & half and honey), creamy spinach salad, and spicy pea salad. I am proud to say I made three of the four, and everyone who came loved everything. I also learned how to type out the recipes for submission.

           

               Thursday and Friday, I was back at FAR (my home away from home). I got to do even more recipe testing, which is my favorite thing to do. Unfortunately, there were many disappointments this time around; however, there were some surprises. Of the five recipes I made, only two were keepers, but they were delicious! The first was quinoa goat cheese risotto, but instead of pure goat cheese we used feta cheese. Did you know that feta cheese is 70% sheep milk and 30% goat milk? I didn’t. It tasted wonderful though, and I think most students are more likely to eat feta cheese than goat cheese anyway. The second success was Muhammara! For those of you who are not familiar with this dish (because I know I wasn’t), it is a spread or dip originating from Syria. The consistency is thick and slightly chunky or smooth, depending on how much you blend it. I will not lie, it does not look very appetizing with its orangy-red color; however, its unique mixture of roasted red peppers, olive oil, ground walnuts, breadcrumbs, and a blend of spices delivers a sweet flavor with a definite kick of heat at the end! I do not even like spicy food, and I could not stop eating it.

            I think my favorite part about recipe testing is getting to try new recipes and get ideas for when I go home. With week 6 gone and my rotations through the dining halls complete, I do not know what to expect with these next 2 weeks, but I know they will not disappoint!