Welcome to Our Cookbook

Welcome to Our Cookbook

In the fall of 2019, my two English 8 classes began their journey to becoming cookbook authors. Using examples from authors like Nigella Lawson, Ruth Reichl; popular food magazines; and my personal family cookbooks, we researched the components that make up a useful but also engaging record of family food traditions and set about documenting our own.

Each student was invited to contribute a recipe from their own (family’s) collection of foods or kitchen-related crafts. They found the recipe, followed it to test the recipe (or watched a family member do so), and took notes to find those little hints that somehow never make it into the written recipe. While they were permitted to copy the list of ingredients from the original, all other components of the recipe are their own, and they worked hard to give each recipe context, write clear directions, offer useful tips, and create helpful photos and illustrations. We hope readers feel they have succeeded and are able to recreate these dishes with their own families.

The narratives between the recipes represent the students’ memorable food and family experiences. We wanted to share what feasts and kitchen adventures have helped to shape us as a community. We hope that their memories will give readers insight into the experiences that teens value. Food is often best shared and I hope readers will see that our authors value how sharing food helps them to build relationships with friends and family.

From our kitchens to yours,

Ms Jennifer Cowley English Teacher

Introduction to Teachers

This project came about as I was searching for something new that would introduce my English 8 students to the inquiry process, align with my Term 1 theme about building community, and support our cross-curricular themes of numeracy and literacy. The fact that I’m a foodie with a vast cookbook collection made writing a cookbook a very appealing option. As I explained to my classes, food is unifying topic. It is the one thing we all have in common, and whether our experiences have been good or bad, or whether we’ve had any history of experimenting in the kitchen, we’ve all had experience eating. We began by brainstorming about our food memories and talking to people at home about significant foods and events. Then we examined different recipes and narratives to develop a list of criteria for selecting recipes and narratives that would be suitable for the scope of our work. Once we selected our focus, we cooked, documented, photographed, illustrated, wrote, revised, edited…and edited again. Finally, I assembled all their work into the form you see today. If you’d like to learn how to use this project in your classroom, I am offering a workshop at the January 2019 SD41 District-Wide Professional Development Day; district teachers can register on the district registration site. If you’re unable to attend, but would like access to the workshop materials, send your request for access to me via email at Jennifer.Cowley@burnabyschools.ca.

-- Jennifer Cowley

How to Use the Recipes

Every recipe should include the sections indicated below.

• Recipe title

• Photo or illustration of the finished dish

• Number of servings—may be by number of pieces, volume amount, or number of people served

• Preparation time—active time to prepare the recipe

• Cooking time—time needed to cook the food. Recipes that don’t require any heating should have no cooking time.

• Context paragraph—explains what the recipe is, where it comes from, and why it’s important to the author.

• Adaptation paragraph—lists possible serving suggestions and possible recipe adaptations. • List of kitchen equipment

• Table of ingredients o The table will include both the metric and US measurements for each ingredient.

o Metric amounts will consistently appear on the left, US amounts on the right (in the table and the procedures).

o The measurements throughout the recipe in bold are from the original recipe; those not in bold have been converted by the students to the best of their ability. Students were provided with common (though not scientifically accurate) conversions like 250mL=1 US c. , but such approximate measures will be less successful in baking recipes than elsewhere.

• List of processes to prepare the dish.

• Ingredient Notes—a list of tips about where to find ingredients or possible substitutes

• Photo or illustration of an important step in the preparation of the dish.

We have also provided a small space on each recipe, “Our Family’s Thoughts”, for readers to add their own notes and adaptations about the recipe.

The sample template and sample recipe we used as our format models follow.

Finished dish. [Photo or illustration] by [Firstname Lastnameinitial]

Equipment List • [list the kitchen tools you need for this recipe here in a bulletined list] •

[RECIPE TITLE (ENG. TRANSLATION IF NEEDED)]

Contributed by [Your Firstname and LastInitial]

Yield: Prep time: Cooking time:

[ X servings] [10 minutes] [20 minutes]

[Brief paragraph describing the recipe, where you got it from, why it’s important to you.]

[Brief paragraph describing when and/or how to serve the dish (serving suggestions), any easy adaptations you can make for new flavors or decorations (e.g. add ½ teaspoon of mint extract to the truffle mix before chilling & roll the finished truffles in green-coloured sugar), or different purposes (e.g. to make the appetizer a main dish, serve it with a green salad).]

Table of Ingredients

Metric Ingredients US [200g] [All-purpose flour] [1 2/3 c.]

Procedures

1. [A numbered list of steps to prepare the dish]

2.

Ingredient Notes • [If your recipe includes any unusual or hard to find ingredients, explain them here and describe where people can buy them and/or what they can use instead. If it doesn’t, delete this section.]

Step [X with summary]. [Photo or Illustration] by [Firstname Lastnameinitial]

Our Family’s Thoughts

Finished mini-loaves. Photo by Zoe (https://zscupoftea.com/2009/12/14/pump kin-gingerbread-spice-cake-scd-gfcf/, licensed under CC-BY-NC-ND 3.0) *

Equipment List • Measuring cups and spoons • A scale (if using metric) • 1 large saucepan • 1 wooden spoon or heat-safe spatula • 1 medium bowl • 1 sturdy whisk • 1-9” x 13” non-stick baking pan • Baking spray • Toothpicks

BOILED RAISIN CAKE

Contributed by Jennifer C.

Yield: Prep time: Cooking time:

12-18 servings 20 minutes plus 1 hour cooling time

40 minutes plus cooling time

For me, Winter means cold, beautiful lights, family, and traditions, but more than anything else it makes me want to bake. My maternal Grandma was a fantastic baker, and she passed on many of her skills to my mom. One of my favourite dishes they’ve passed down is Boiled Raisin Cake. One of the reasons I love this cake is that it's so easy to make, but also because it makes the house smell amazing and reminds me of family time with Grandma.

This cake is best served slightly warm, so eat it fresh or heat it for a few seconds in the microwave. It’s really good served plain or with custard. You can frost it if you want, but it doesn’t need it, just sprinkle it with icing sugar if you want to dress it up. Because this is a moist cake, it lasts quite a while and the spices get better with time. After several days (usually more than a week if it lasts that long), the cake will begin to dry out but don’t despair! Just crumble it up in a bowl and pour warm butterscotch pudding on top; we used to use Jell-O Cook and Serve pudding but it’s hard to find now. Check online for a good recipe.

This can also be baked as mini-loaves, but you will need to adjust the cooking time. These make great gifts. Bake them in disposable foil pans and wrap well with plastic wrap after the cakes have fully cooled.

Table of Ingredients

Metric Ingredients US 300g Raisins 2 c. 400g White sugar 2c. 500ml Water 2 c. 240g Margarine (not spreadable) 1 c. 5ml Ground nutmeg 1 tsp. 2ml Ground cloves ¼ tsp. 10ml Ground cinnamon 2 tsp. 360g All-purpose flour 3 c. 10ml Baking soda 2 tsp. 2 Eggs, beaten 2

Procedures

1. In a large saucepan (big enough to mix the flour into later), add the raisins, white sugar, water, margarine, nutmeg, cloves, and cinnamon.

2. Bring to a boil while stirring.

3. Simmer for 10 minutes.

4. Cool to room temperature (about an hour), so the eggs won’t cook when you stir them in.

5. Once you think the fruit mixture is almost cool enough to use, turn the oven on to 350F/180C. Make sure the over rack is in the centre.

6. Grease a 9"x13”x2” (33cm x 23cm x 5cm) non-stick pan (or butter-flour-parchment if you're not using a non-stick).

7. In a medium bowl, mix the flour and baking soda together.

8. Mix the flour mixture and the beaten eggs into the (still slightly warm) raisin mixture The baking soda may start to bubble and foam a bit, but that’s okay. Mix really well with the whisk or spoon to prevent flour lumps. If you use the whisk, knock all the raisins out when done.

9. Pour the batter into the prepared pan (or pans if you’re doing mini-loaves).

Ingredient Notes • Use whatever kind of raisins you prefer. • The recipe as written is dairy free. You can use butter if you want, but don’t use oil as it will change the texture of the cake. • For a healthier cake, you can use whole wheat flour for half the flour amount. • Gluten-free flour mixes can replace all the flour, but GF cakes tend to dry out a bit faster.

Step 8, adding the flour mixture. Photo by indiancookingmanual (http://indiancookingmanual.com/2017/02 /mahua-pua-madhuca-longfolia-dessert/, licensed as CC-BY-NC-SA 4.0). *

Our Family’s Thoughts *While the photos in this sample are from other sources, students are required to either take their own photos or produce their own illustrations.

10. Bake for about 30 minutes (a bit shorter for miniloaves) or until golden and a toothpick test is mostly clean (if you hit a raisin it won't be).

11. Remove and allow to cool.

12. Serve slightly warm.

13. Store tightly covered.