A Formal Goodbye to the Foodies Blogs

Dear Foodies.

I write this post on Christmas Eve (in Singapore) to formally wish you all a fond farewell and to announce the ending of our foodie blogs. These blogs won't be taken offline; rather, I'll keep them online for the sake of memory and archive purposes, at least for another year or two. But let me explain my reasons for officially ending the blogs here:

There's nothing sadder than a blog that purports to still be alive and kicking, but in actuality is dead. I don't want the same fate to befall our blogs--to have people post very, very occasionally and to have nobody comment or no other posts follow.

Think of this as a metaphorical "pulling the plug" on a comatose blog, and then preserving the blog in a bottle full of formaldehyde. But without the same problematic ethical issues which would arise if the blog were a human being.

I've enjoyed being part of this blog very much, and have enjoyed reading all the posts and comments you've all contributed to this online community!

Without further ado, I bid you all farewell and Happy Christmas!

Sincerely,

Dr. Tiff

Abscences make-up; Anyone Can Cook

For my slideshow, "Anyone can Cook", i chose to include a bunch of college students as the target of the picture. For one, this was a lot easier on me as i know many more college students than any other demographic and as a visual essay designer, in my opinion, it is best to present what you know. However, i also wanted to use college students because not only is my target audience composed of mainly college students but they are also generally regarded as busy, lazy, and inexperienced at cooking. So if they can cook, who can't? I wanted nothing but unique meals to show that there was a variety of things that anyone could cook. Each of the captions gave the University and first name of the person starring in the picture. Yellow Jacket was subbed out for Georgia Tech because, frankly, it sounds cooler and everyone in the target audience would know what it meant.

For the sake of appearance i added video clips to my slideshow. The Clip from Ratatouille was used primarily to introduce my theme and close my show out. I added Julia Child because i love her work, and she burned all of the dishes she designed. Though she did this intentionally, it added a new dynamic to the visual essay. Even if you mess up a few times, don't think you can't cook. Even Julia Child burns the occasional dish.

NOTE: Video Segment will be added to this blog once blogger's compatibility issues are fixed.

Wendys Rap

This is the Wendys Rap, we actually tried it on my local Wendy's...they laughed.  I think this was a pretty cool interpretation of what food can be used for.  Not only is it just to fill us but we can make movies with it, rap songs with it, and even some crazy art.  The idea of rapping at drive thru's caught on and eventually one of the fast food chains made a commercial using the rap as a gimmick for getting people to eat at their establishments.

- Giovanni Mannella

Food Fight!

This was a really cool video i found while searching on youtube for the term "food fight".  It seemes to be created by a bunch of still pictures instead of any digital animation.  The hamburger is my favorite, seems like its one of the most ruthless of the foodies!

- Giovanni Mannella

Missing Mom's Meals

Although I feel blessed to be born into a rich culture with a tradition of exotic foods, I have always preferred American foods over Indian. Maybe because my mom always cooked Indian food at home, and eating good American food was a rare treat. My parents always teased me, saying that once I left home, I would really miss my mom's home cooking. I resisted this claim, insisting that I would love college life, dining halls, and eating burgers every day.

Boy was I wrong! Although eating burgers and fries every day was appealing for a few weeks, it got old fast. I found myself missing my mom's Indian cooking. I love coming home now to get a taste of her cooking again. Whenever I come home, she always packs lots of food for me to take back to Tech.

I've decided that I'm going to learn a few Indian recipes and make them at Tech in the Spring!

Soan Papdi

Yesterday my friends and me had ordered some pizzas from Papa John's. As we relished upon those pizzas, all of us suddenly had a craving t o have something sweet. And that point struck me about those Soan papdi I had been preserving since I had come from India. So quickly this wonderful delicacy was brought and we had a great time eating them.

I have always been a great fan of this particular sweet known as Sona Papdi. It is made up of gram, sugar flour, flour, ghee (clarified butter), milk and cardamom. It’s an Indian delicacy. It generally has a square shape and has a crisp and flaky texture. I don't really know what to say about it more. But I would like to point out a website where I got a very simple and detailed way of explaining this delicacy.

Make Traditional Soan Papdi:

1. Step1

   Heat ghee in heavy saucepan.

2. Step2

   Combine all purpose flour and gram flour and add to saucepan.

3. Step3

   Stir on low heat until golden brown.

4. Step4

   Remove from heat and let cool, continuing to stir occasionally.

5. Step5

   Combine sugar and water in smaller saucepan and bring to a boil. Then add the milk.

6. Step6

   Strain the mixture when a skin forms on the surface.

7. Step7

   Continue to boil until thick and stringy. The mixture should form two and a half separate threads when pinched.

8. Step8

   Pour the sugar syrup into the flour mixture.

9. Step9

   Beat well until the mixture begins to form flakes.

10. Step10

    Pour onto greased cookie sheet and roll with rolling pin to 1 inch thickness.

11. Step11

    Sprinkle with charmagaz and press down lightly with palm.

12. Step12

    Cut into 1-inch squares.

13. Step13

    Store in an airtight container. This will make enough for four to eight people.

    
    

    Citations: http://www.ehow.com/how_2061654_make-soan-papdi-diwali.html

Home Coming :)

Its been almost 4 months that all the International students have not got to taste their home food. But no more of it, as the exams approach they also bring with them that its almost time for everyone to get back home. Everyone would be having their own countdown calendars as to how many days are left for them to get back home. I also have one. But more importantly everyone is waiting to eat home cooked food specially cooked by their mother. I bet no one would say a "NO" for it. So lets look forward to the end of this semester with a big smile. As end of semester approaches, it gets even bigger with all great food to eat and live with near and dear ones.

Keep yourself healthy and fit

There are many chemical processes that are going in one’s stomach at any given time of the day. Because of this food consumption of food is very essential. These chemical activities are carried out by enzymes which break down the food that we eat to give our body the strength to do our daily work which can either be physical or mental. Because of this it is very important that students and small children eat proper healthy food. Eating healthy food would give the body essential vitamins, calcium, and other different things that required for the body to concentrate on their work. One would be thinking as why am I posting this here, it is to make one aware that this time of the year where all have their exams going on. I would suggest one that one should eat all type of nutritious fruits and vegetables which would give one enough energy and thus keep them concentrated. Also I would recommend everyone to have lot of juices and keep themselves hydrated.

Rice

On the first day of class, Dr. Tiff asked us to name our favorite foods and to tell the class why we liked it so much. I said rice because you can do so many things with it. I have not changed my mind about my favorite food, despite Brittain constantly ruining it. I am not a Brittain hater, but I just don't like their rice. Rice is NOT supposed to be crunchy! Their rice is overcooked and tasteless. Have they ever heard of rice pilaf or brown rice or different rice casseroles? Rice is such a versatile food and the people at Brittain should learn that.

Homemade Food

It's the time of the semester when most students here at Tech are longing for homemade food. After a grueling but fun semester at Tech, I am eagerly looking forward to returning home to Dubai and enjoying all my favorite food that wasn't available in college. I am mostly implying Indian food but there is a host of other foods which I am looking forward to. Before coming to Tech I almost took homemade food for granted and never appreciated how good it tasted. Now I feeling that there is no food like homemade food. Food at Tech was decent in the first few weeks but became monotonous after a while with the same old dishes served again and again. It's only a matter of days before I am enjoying all the food I have ever craved during my time at Tech. Then again ironically, due to this class I have come to know a lot of facts about food which I had no clue about before. So it's not too bad.

Meal Plan at the Student Center

It might be hard to believe but I discovered last week that I could use my meal plans in the student center. I wasted no time at all. As soon as I received this important piece of information I made my way to the student center. Coincidentally the dining hall was closed for some time to prepare for the dead week feast. The food available through the meal plan was the buffet at the left hand side of the food court, the salad bar and one glass of a fountain drink. Seemed pretty reasonable. As expected the food wasn't exactly extra ordinary but it was something different and anything other than dining hall food always tastes better especially if you are having it for the first time. The only drawback would be your lack of freedom to choose different kinds of food. For example the dining consists of various stalls and bars but the student center dinner is confined to a very small array of items. Overall it seemed decent and I would probably be having more of it in the future.

Breakfast at Brittain? Yes Please

Lately I have been up early enough (or up late enough depending on how you look at it) to eat breakfast at Brittain. And I've come to realize that this is the best meal of the day that the dinning hall has. The omelets are amazing, you don't feel weird eating a waffle, and you have the feeling that all your food is fresh. Next semester I might have to start waking up and actually enjoying breakfast... or not because sleep is good too

A Dead Week Diet

Today I just came to the realization that my diet last week largely consisted of Rice Cakes and Red Bull. I had a few actual meals here and there, but the dining halls and food court are nowhere near where I study. And eating just takes too much time. I think GT should hire street vendors during dead week and and place them around campus

The Little Chefs Cookbookette

Holiday Dinner at Brittain

Yesterday from 5 - 8 was Brittain's holiday dinner. The dining hall was closed from 2 to 5 in preparation, which annoyed me because I went to get lunch at 3, but it was well worth it!

I went around 6 planning on just getting a burger or something, but I ended up staying for close to 45 minutes and pretty much pigged out :-P

The got rid of all of the normal food, and had all different, very good, food. Where the grill is they had baked chicken, some beef thing, candied sweet potatoes, cornbread stuffing, and an asparagus dish. At encore they had crepes and chocolate covered strawberries (which I love!). At the burrito bar they had milkshakes, and at the sandwich area they had pumpkin pie, apple pie, and cake. They had waffles on a stick (and an ice sculpture) in the lobby. They also had eggnog and apple cider.

As for the dining room, it was very much in the spirit. The lights were dimmed, and all the tables had green and red table cloths. They played Christmas music, and all the employees had Santa hats on.

It was a wonderful treat, and it was very depressing going today when everything was back to normal.

No Thanks, Freshman 15!

As you all know, I interviewed the Georgia Tech nutritionist as part of our cookbookette. Before you have an appointment with her, you have to write down everything you eat for the three days prior to the meeting.
When I met her, we went over my food journal together and I discovered that I had way too many starches in my diet and not enough colors!
Why is Erin bringing this up, you might ask. Today I went to Juniors for lunch and I got a very tasty cheesburger basket. These baskets come with fries. The cheeseburger was very filling and as I started to eat the fries, I started to feel a little sick. I thought about their lack of nutritional value and the probable amount of grease that went into making them. In the end, I decided to throw them away.
I have learned a lot about nutrition and food in general over the course of this semester. From this point on, I hope I'll be making healthier choices when it comes to what I eat!

Help One Help All

As I was streaming some videos on youtube, I came across this video and wanted to share it with our section. I wanted to tell and make each one of us feel lucky and totally blessed that we live happily and get to taste so many variety of food. Whereas in this big world there is a community which does not even get a meal forget about dishes of their choice. So I would like to make a humble request that one must enjoy what ever they eat. Also if we cannot help this small community by actually reaching out to them we can make make an effort by reducing or not wasting food at all.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaPyP2tsmwg

Black Friday

Every year after Thanksgiving, my mom, sister, and I go shopping very early in the morning. We leave around 3:30 in the morning to go shopping. Even though many things we buy or look at will be in stock later, it is the crowds and holiday rush that kind of gets us in the Christmas spirit early. Somewhere between our going from store to store, we stop at Waffle House. Waffle House this early in the morning on Black Friday is as busy as it would be during the normal breakfast rush. It was crowded, music was playing... I love the Christmas season! Between being with family, listening to Christmas carols, eating food, Christmas gift shopping this is the most wonderful time of the year!

Thanksgiving Soup

Every year, my dad makes his famous homemade soup. Yes, we eat your traditional turkey, ham, stuffing, and sweat potatoes. But after every Thanksgiving meal, my dad takes all the left over Turkey and makes a stew out of it. Im not sure of all the ingredients but I do know that it tastes great. He whips it up pretty quickly so i assume its pretty easy to make. Its a tradition in the Bard family and something that keeps us coming back.