Is this the End? (Reflection)

Almost two weeks ago I presented a Ted Talk based on my experience with cooking. I went on the first day, because then I was finished with my talk and the rest of the week of presentations I got to watch without being nervous. I went third for my day, Justin Ryan went before me and his presentation blew me away. It had awesome visuals, the story was an actual story that told a lesson, and it was delivered well. Then there was my presentation, I had gone with a simple black and white presentation because I believed that a Ted Talk was supposed to be more focused on the speaker than on the presentation slides themselves. This was not a thought that was shared with the rest of my peers, they all had well decorated slide shows, so I fell short on my PowerPoint.

As you can see from this little clipping from my feeble slide show, I tried to have lessons about with my talk. I just wanted to talk about my own experience and what happened to me. I felt that one of the first things I should have talked about was what went wrong. My biggest issues were coming from the whole reason I chose the cooking topic, my passion for baseball. I thought that the cooking would help me eat more nutritious foods to be a stronger person, but then as I worked out and talked to my trainers, they said that at this moment, I really shouldn't worry about nutrition I should just gain more mass. So more cooking? Yeah I guess so, I started cooking massive quantities of food after that. That was a fun time.

Now let's get to the presentation, my speech. I felt as though my beginning was strong, I hooked the audience by telling them about an email I sent to myself. This way I avoided the cliche approach  saying, "For my project", or "This is what I learned". It was downhill from there. Then I led into what I thought went wrong, this is coincidentally also where my presentation started to go wrong. I had lost the story that I was telling and began to ramble. I rambled my way all the way through until the end, this was probably the worst part of my talk. I was most likely incoherent for my conclusion. I don't even think my point was given to my audience. Wow I really messed up. But oh well, it's over with now. Except I don't really think that I am done with this project, I'll build on the basic skills that I learned over the past few weeks. And with that, it seems that this blog will be coming to an end, so I will...

(End with a bang, you can never escape)

(also when I found the picture above, this came up and I'm not sure why)

April 1st

Just documenting some more foods that I cooked. This is not a prank for April Fools day!

Tuna Melt

Cooking Angel Hair spaghetti

Final product of Spaghetti

Video from the Korean BBQs

Wait, cooking isn't just with eggs???

In a shocking turn of events, this week I cooked other food items than eggs. It is a crazy concept I know, but it is what the whole six week experience is about, learning new things. And this week I learned about cooking meats and how it is important not to under cook them so I don't get salmonella, mainly for chicken, but also not to over cook them so that the meat still retains its juices, mainly for beef. Today I was planning on cooking dinner for myself and making pasta, but then my dad told me to get ready because we are going out. I could not say no to him, so I followed along. We got in the car and went to a Korean barbecue. Here the food was given to us and we cooked it ourselves. What luck! I still got to do some cooking even though I went out to dinner. I made sure to cook the meat enough so that it wasn't raw, but also not too much so that it was about medium rare.

This was the set up

That round black plate with the gold rims was where the meat was cooked. Tonight I cooked for my family Bulgogi, which is marinated sirloin, and Galbi, marinated beef short ribs. If you look in the image and see the two square containers with the dark and light sauces in them, you can see bean paste and teriyaki sauce. The bean paste was recommended to be used with the Bulgogi and the Galbi. This was a great recommendation. The teriyaki was used with the chicken. With the barbecue came side dishes, I did not make this, but they are still important to the meal. We had some kimchi, fermented cabbage, this has a bit of a kick to it, a little spicy. There were also dumplings, kimchi soup, and vegetable pancake to name a few. But more importantly were the meats that I cooked. They were the main dish. But that's not all that happened this week. I got to cook cheeseburgers for myself.

First they had to be seasoned and molded into a patty shape

Then I cooked them

Then it was grub time

These were the best burgers that I made. Also they were the only, so I guess the competition was not all that fierce. I was aiming to get a nice pink in the middle so I would say that I cooked them pretty well. When cooking burgers it is important to keep all of the juices in the meat, but also to cook them all the way through. But when you cook them all the way through, you don't want the middle to be too cooked. So it turns out that some parts of cooking can be complicated.

Another dish I made was grilled cheese, which is not that hard. I plan on making spaghetti tomorrow (Originally supposed to be made today) and if it turns out well, I can add some images to this post tomorrow.

The biggest issue I had with the grilled cheese was that it did not melt the cheese enough to get that gooey, stretchy cheese center that is desired. But I still ate it so...

Side note: This week I gained around three pounds which is good because I need to gain weight for baseball, and it shows that I am eating more foods that I cooked because the snack foods are not substantially enough for gaining three pounds. I've tried already.

And an Interview?? (Interview)

Here is my expert interview in its entirety. I've learned a lot from Mr. deRAMUS. But not just over the past few days. I've known him for about a few years and he's taught me about life. I chose him as my expert interview because I know that he is a good person, and someone that I personally look up to. He enjoys life and does what he can to have fun, and be a good father. One summer his son and I were playing on a travel team together. We had a tournament in Baltimore and I could not go because I did not have a place to stay for the weekend (like a hotel room) because my dad wouldn't be able to come down until the Saturday night. So Mr. deRAMUS let me stay with him and Demetrius, his son. That was one of the first times I actually talked to him, and it was clear that he and I had different opinions on certain things, but that did not mean that he wasn't still kind to me, and I was also nice back. He taught me in that weekend that people are different and have different thoughts, people come from different places and have different lives. So if we could understand that everyone has different thoughts we should be open to learning. And that summer he really taught me about opening up to people who probably are different than me. I would probably be a very different person if I had never went to Baltimore with him that summer, and I am grateful that I did.

Full exchange below

1) I worked from high school through College in restaurants just so I did not have to rely on getting money from my parents. And in doing so, I learned to be independent. I continued to peruse the business because I became very good at it and ultimately wanted to open my own restaurant.

2) There are many great things about cooking, but I guess the best part is he the artistic expression from concept to reality.

3) You cannot persuade someone into cooking. It is either in you or it isn't. So I guess I would tell them just that!

4) Cooking has no time boundaries. It is a labor of love. It is by nature long hours, tons of pressure and stress, and once it gets into your blood, time and hours are nonexistent.

5) My favorite Meal to prepare would have a fish, a spicy vegetable, steamed rice, and a very light vinaigrette.

6) Cooking brings us together as a family, it helps us celebrate important land marks of our lives, brings us back to our childhood and evolves into tradition.h

Sorry so late Bobby

I hope this helps you. Good luck in your pursuit of baseball.

Regards.... Demetrius' Dad

Sent from my iPhone

On Mar 23, 2017, at 8:13 PM, Bobby Mcfarland <rmcfarland01319@gmail.com> wrote:

Oh I didn't know that, that's awesome! Thank you so much for taking time to do this for me, I didn't realize how busy you were. I really appreciate it!

On Thu, Mar 23, 2017 at 8:11 PM Maurice <czmaurice1@aol.com> wrote:

Sorry Bobby I got lost in my work. I'm opening a restaurant in Wayne pa and I had a lot to do. I'm on my way home now and I will get right on that as soon as I get in

Sent from my iPhone

On Mar 23, 2017, at 6:29 PM, Bobby Mcfarland <rmcfarland01319@gmail.com> wrote:

Don't want to be a bother, but I need the response tonight, thanks.

On Tue, Mar 21, 2017 at 10:14 PM Bobby Mcfarland <rmcfarland01319@gmail.com> wrote:

Haha no, I wish. It's pretty good, I'm pitching varsity and hitting on JV. How's Demetrius doing? They had a game today right?

On Tue, Mar 21, 2017 at 10:12 PM, Maurice <czmaurice1@aol.com> wrote:

No bother at all. I'll have this done by early tomorrow night. How's baseball going? Have you committed to a college yet?

Sent from my iPhone

On Mar 21, 2017, at 10:04 PM, Bobby Mcfarland <rmcfarland01319@gmail.com> wrote:

I would need them before Friday, sorry to bother you, have fun cooking!

Thanks again.

On Tue, Mar 21, 2017 at 10:02 PM, Maurice <czmaurice1@aol.com> wrote:

Hey Bobby,
I'm in the kitchen right now but I will definitely answer these questions for you. When do you need this by?
Regards... Maurice deRAMUS

Sent from my iPhone

> On Mar 21, 2017, at 9:56 PM, Bobby Mcfarland <rmcfarland01319@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Dear Mr. Deramus,
> Hey, this is Bobby. For school I'm doing this project where I have to pursue something to learn for 6 weeks and I decided to do cooking. I have to write a blog and document my process. Another criteria is an expert interview, so I would just like to ask you a few questions about working with food:
> 1. Why did you pursue the culinary field?
> 2. What is your favorite part about cooking?
> 3. If you had to persuade someone to became a cook or a chef, what would be the first thing you tell them?
> 4. How is cooking different than the average 9-5 job?
> 5. What is your favorite meal to prepare?
> 6. Why is cooking an important skill for everyone to learn?
>
> Thank you for taking the time to help me out with this, I really appreciate it!
> Sincerely,
> Bobby McFarland

There's a video??? (Blog #5) (VLOG)

Sorry to those that were making bets about whether or not I would set my house on fire. At least I apologize to those who bet that I would because my total number of fires is: 0. Maybe I wasn't trying hard enough. Anyways, "You guys gonna get learnt today!" Yup, learnt is a word. At least it is a word that I use (probably why I have no friends). So for those of you who maybe don't understand fire, and would like to know why I didn't set my house on fire. Here are a few things to know:
1. Fire needs fuel to burn
2. Fire is hot
3. Fire needs oxygen
4. Some fires don't like water, because water kills fire
5. Oil fires are very bad, avoid them
6. Oil fires are most likely on the south side of town
7. This is the number of fires that I did not set
8. There are 9 parts to this list
9. I once set myself on fire
10. Two of these items were a lie

Fires are also useful to help cooking be lit. That's right, lit. And now you guys should check out my lit vlog. It really is just a way to learn how to make dipping eggs, or watch me be an idiot.

Huh? HUH? Great video right? Yeah don't tell me twice.

So here's the story guys, my interview is due, and the person I've been e-mailing has been responding but not answering my questions. I have gotten some facts about him, but he hasn't responded to the juicy stuff yet. He is opening a restaurant in Wayne PA, and I'll be sure to go there once it's opened. I'm very excited. Also, I am scared because if he does not respond to me, I'll probably just upload my e-mail exchange with him without the answers to the questions, look to see that e-mail being posted within the next hour.

HOLD UP

The video is supposed to be uploaded through Vimeo, my goal to become a famous YouTuber is failing. So I guess I'll upload the same video twice, but this time through Vimeo. But I'll keep the YouTube video up to try and get some views for my channel.

VIDEO ON VIMEO

Roasted and Toasted (Blog #4)

I cannot begin to explain what has happened within the past 24 hours. This week baseball started for the high school. So my schedule has not been regular ever since. Also we go 11-18 inches of snow. Actually it was more like 4, but we still got to miss school. This week I did some research on the culture of my ancestors to learn about what foods they cooked. So I googled Scottish foods, quickly I realized that the Scottish were not good at making food so I googled the other side of my family. When I went through Irish foods I stumbled upon a topic I don't think I've ever heard of in any history class (do you guys smell sarcasm?).

(Can you guess from this picture???)

Yup that's right, I researched the Irish potato famine. This was so devastating because the Irish depended on potatoes for their source of carbohydrates, which is basically the fuel for our bodies. And without these necessary carbs, it is easy to see why losing potatoes destroyed Ireland. This event took place between 1845 and 1852, it caused the population to fall by an astounding 20-25%.  I could never imagine that many people dying, at least 2 people in my immediate family would have died.

After I researched a little more about the potato famine, I tried to find some Irish foods and recipes. I found instead an easy way to get click-bait. "51 easy to make recipes" or "You'll fall in love with our 8th dish," you know, the stupid websites that I never fall for. Sidenote: the 8th dish wasn't even that good. So, I figured that after all of this research on the Irish foods I'm probably just going to be preparing some Italian meals. 

Are you wondering what I was talking about with "the past 24 hours" well that's a little bit of a surprise. But just to let you in on the secret, I was in the kitchen until about 12:00 A.M. and here's a picture from the horrific night.

What is it with Russians on YouTube? (Blog #3)

The cooking process is extremely complex, and so far I have mastered nothing. I can say that at this midway checkpoint the only thing that I can do sufficiently is crack eggs (sufficiently meaning with a success rate above 50%). I started to run out of ideas of what I can make and go off of my general knowledge, or lack thereof. So I decided to watch a few videos on cooking. Sadly to say, this week was not a week filled with much cooking. But in a video I just watched, mental practice can be just as good as physical practice (Link to the video click HERE).

(Still image from the video)

Now clearly this was an awesome video, I mean there was baseball involved, go check it out.

But this set me up for a good week of learning, although I knew I was not going to be cooking all that often. Baseball season is coming up and tryouts are March 6th- March 8th. I have been working since early November, maybe even October, in preparation of these three days. I am a pitcher and would like to be one of the top on the team. But not all of my work guarantees success. Anyways, this whole week, although cooking was basically out, I still mentally prepared. I practiced cracking imaginary eggs. STOP!!! I know what you are probably thinking, this is some bull squirt that you are writing to make up for not cooking, No, I actually sat in a chair imagining cracking eggs, and even learned how to crack an egg with one hand. But when I tried to break the egg with one hand it got a lot messier than the video. 

(See I was not kidding)

I literally watched this video on repeat for about 20 minutes before I attempted to crack an egg with one hand. I failed. But I also learned through this how to crack an egg more easily with two hands. But, let's talk about my title, get a little meta. I was browsing YouTube in class, usual classroom activities, and came across this cooking channel. Now something you may or may not know is I watch about three to four hours of YouTube a day, so I can say I am well knowledgeable on what goes on with YouTube. So I was going through and found this channel on cooking, and found some guy with a Russian accent who teaches cool things about cooking. And he probably makes pretty decent YouTube money. People must love the Russian accent, I do. But you guys should really check out his channel, even if you don't want to cook, he has some cool foods that he makes. But be careful on the internet because you never know what you will find. For example, you might find two chefs who teach you how to make easy meals. Sounds pretty normal, but throughout the video they get high so I will not be linking their channel or providing images, but I'm sure you can find the video if you really wanted to. They did however give some really good ideas for lunches that I made.

(I know it looks... AMAZING)

Just kidding, the presentation could be better, but looks can be deceiving, because it was the bomb.com. But I will have to leave you on that note because my computer is dying and I cannot find a charger. But remember I before E except after C.

Eggs... So Many Eggs (Blog #2)

HAHA, face reveals are cool right? I sure hope so. Well here I am enjoying some of my dipping eggs and toast. Peep a few of my siblings in the background. So let's get real for a second guys, cooking is hard. I never knew that the process of: cracking an egg, heating it up, flipping it over, adding salt and pepper, and finally serving it. How could these 5 simple steps be so complicated. The first issue that I consistently encountered just so happened to go hand in hand with the first step in the egg cooking process. I can't crack eggs without breaking the yolk.

(This stuff is hard)

(Don't be deceived, the yolks both broke)

Victory!!!

Finally, in this last picture, my first successfully broken egg. The yolk did not break. I could cook this egg to perfection. But then as fate would have it, cooking an egg would throw more obstacles at me. I cooked the bottom of the egg perfectly. The whites of the egg were actually white (personal victories ftw). Then came the next step, flipping the egg. This was one of the hardest things that I have done to date, and this past weekend I threw a baseball 80 mph. So I journeyed over to my sink and prepared mentally for the flip. This aerial 180 across the y-axis was dangerous. I had to do it in such a way that the egg was on it's reverse side, but the yolk did not break. So I threw the egg in the air and... I dropped the pan in the sink. It was extremely disappointing. My parents were screaming, the dog was barking, I was crying, egg got all over the kitchen counter and floor.  Just kidding. But how awful would that have been? What really happened was that I had actually flipped the egg without breaking the yolk. I added salt and pepper, and then finally put it on a plate. My first presentable egg was made. 

(Did I say that I added salt and pepper? I totally didn't.)

From this point on my success rate has been about 60%. I must have cooked at least twenty eggs in the past week, and my dog ate about 15 of them. After many hours of contemplation (about 10 minutes) I decided that I should try a new way of cooking eggs. So my next goal is to make a poached egg. Before Friday, I did not even know what a poached egg was, so clearly I am an uncultured cook. This next challenge looks to test my minimal knowledge of eggs, but I am prepared. I mean, I have made a few really good eggs, so good that I ate them for breakfast instead of forcing my dad to cook me something. But isn't that the whole purpose of you learning how to cook? Obviously it is, but cut me some slack I'm only fifteen *a tear rolls down my cheek*

Sorry about that, here are some of my success stories.

(Note the way the light reflects off the eggs, showing my path towards redemption)

But throughout this process, I believe it is important to always remember the people who motivate me. Of course my parents are supportive, and I push myself. I do this for baseball, which I have basically dedicated my life to. But my largest supporter is my dog. Chase is a huge fan of my mistakes. He gets too eat them after all. So even when I mess up, the food is not wasted.

About Me

Many would call me a kind soul, it is said that I am one of the most caring people in the world. Also, I like to create alternate realities that are nothing like the real world. Judging by my profile picture, it is clear that I am not human. Although I am not a border collie, a fifteen year old boy is not considered human. If I were to describe myself with one word, I would choose: Devious. Now this skill may not be useful in the six week endeavor I am embarking on, but it helps me finish projects that I push off until the day before they are due. I am resourceful and hardworking, and find gramar and spelling dificult. Also I may be known to lie. If you were to follow me around for a week, I would call you a creep and punch you in the gut, but you'd find me playing baseball everyday after school. You would also see me sleeping a lot, because I am worn out everyday after baseball practice, but hey, you're the one following me around. Also, this really is not an about me post, it is more like a dictation of the thoughts in my head at the moment. Anyways, I thought that in this crazy mess, that will most likely confuse you, I should mention that I am the fifth child in a family of six. If you would like to contact me look at the information below.

Phone Number: 4 (don't call me)
Email: rmcfarland01319@gmail.com
Address: You already followed me around for a week, you should know.

If you are interested in watching me in a sick baseball edit, (I appear for approximately 4 seconds) watch the video below.

Opening the Floodgates (Blog #1)

My first thoughts as I begin this mandatory six-week journey is, why did I choose cooking? I've just unleashed a furry like no other, my free time is going to be taken away by boring instructional books telling me the amount of foods to put in each meal, how to properly set food on fire, and being scolded by my parents for making terrible food. I have little experience with cooking aside from making scrambled eggs (I can only make scrambled eggs because I break the yolk every time I crack an egg). But I am darn good at making scrambled eggs, so I figured why not try cooking?

(Not actually my eggs, just googled scrambled eggs)

I thought this opportunity would allow me to learn a life skill, learn about a different world that I have seen every day, but never ventured near. I see cooks every day, at restaurants, fast-food places, and at home because my parents cook about six days a week. Maybe this project will help me understand their struggles, or maybe I don't want to know the horrors that they face. Some checkpoints I will set up are different meals I will be able to prepare. I will start with breakfast, then lunch, then dinner, and if I am feeling a little extra in the fifth or sixth week, perhaps a dessert may come into school. I'll most likely be tracking my progress through the amount of tears shed because of my cooking, probably in a small graduated cylinder. Each week a new cylinder will be used to collect the tears, and over time the amount of tears should go down. Hopefully.  Or I can measure my progress by tracking the number of meals that I can cook successfully (meaning I can eat the food without wanting to regurgitate it). This numeric value will help quantify this qualitative journey into Hell's Kitchen, where Gordon will surely kick me off in the first week.