Vegetables: All the Colors of the Rainbow

Our trip to NuGenesis Farm was a lot of fun. We got to give back to the community and
help a great organization with maintaining their property. I helped with removing bricks from a
pathway, did some weeding, and organized and decorated their meeting room. They were not in
planting or harvesting season so I do hope that the Garde Manger class next semester can join the
Basics class again for their trip. It would be fun to see NuGenesis Farm when they are in the full
swing of planting and harvesting.

Vegetable identification quiz was hard! I definitely need to get better with that. I knew it
wasn’t going to go well. Cooking the vegetables went much better. I love roasting vegetables! I made brussel sprouts with pecan butter this week. I’ve always called it brown butter but I learned the correct culinary term is beurre noisette. I have made beurre noisette many times. I usually make it with green beans and hazelnuts. The flavor combination between the brussel sprouts, the pecans and the beurre sauce. The part that I found fascinating was the heat element and how fast the butter turns brown and gives off the nutty aroma. Much faster than an electric stove! I liked it!

I also roasted rutabaga and parsnip with some olive oil, salt, pepper and a seasoning blend from Penzeys that I brought in. Ultimately, I am going to take the roasted vegetables home and make the Irish root vegetable soup again from St. Patrick’s Day. I just can’t get enough of that soup!

Need to get this off my chest. I am incredibly disappointed in Olivia! I spent weeks
encouraging her, helping her and I even worked with her in the kitchen when she was making up
time. I gave her a great tip on her journal. I told her to go back to day one and write her story,
conversational tone so it’s not stuffy and if she missed a week, like chicken, write about the experience making up the chicken week. Maybe I was being naïve but I truly thought she was
going to pull it together. Chef Jack was bending over backwards to give her every chance. I
know she is young and I was there once too with my priorities backwards. I guess I am looking
at it from the wisdom I have gained. This past week, I had a thought. I hate that I thought this but
it’s a fact. I started to realize that I don’t want her on my team. I hold no resentment towards her
as a person but when it comes to the kitchen, I know Nick will show up and rock it! I can’t say
the same for Olivia. Maybe her taking a step back is for the best. She can figure out if she really
wants it. That was the last thing I said to her. I don’t really know where her head is any more. I
did what I could and I have to leave it there.

I know where my head is! Panicked about the practical exam. I know it is completely
irrational. I have prepared for this exam for months and I will continue to prepare. I just need to
mise en place and calm down! I am pretty solid on the béchamel sauce so I think I will start with
that, plus its point value is pretty high.

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