Senior Seminar and Other Trials

I have been working really hard lately, and not sleeping a whole lot. Apparently my brain requires a significant amount of play to shut itself off. While hard work is great for the productivity factor, sometimes it sucks for the unwinding process.

And so, I find myself in the midst of a senior project that has me thinking I love food more than I can say. The ladies I have the privellege of calling my collegues in my major and I are doing a cooking class for our senior project. We've spent a little over a month gathering data, recipes, and ideas.

We took a trip to my home town to talk to Chef Carrie Wong at Extreme Chocolates about how to go about this whole endevor. She was gracious, generious, and fed us a couple truffles each! Amazing meetings always include some form of chocolate! Afterwords, we went to my parents' house and enjoyed the evening together.

A couple weeks later, we had our menu finalized and did some serious recipe testing. There was laughter, dancing, and a few awkward moments too, but overall, our menu was a success and we left tired and thankful to be a part of the food industry.

Do you wonder what the food looks like? So glad you asked! Here are some pictures from our menu testing last week.

Wild Mushroom Bruchetta

Prosciutto Wrapped Dates with Goat Cheese

Curried Pumpkin Bisque

 Sweet Potato and Kale Fetticini Alfredo

Pear Clafouti

Today, when our group met, we were in a flurry of activity, putting the final touches on our presentation and gearing up for tommorow's day of prep work before our final presentation: the class itself. I am tired, happy, and so grateful to have the opportunity to be a part of this team of wonderful women.

My major is being cut from George Fox University, as is my concentration of study. No longer will there be Family and Consumer Sciences offered or any Food and Nutrition in Business concentrations (or majors) offered. It is bitter sweet. I know the FCSC Department is dying; homemaking not being a high enough ambition for many women. I know that OSU has programs for those looking to further their education toward nutrion or the restaurant business. But these women have empowered me not to give up on my dreams, no matter how small to the rest of the world they may seem. They have taught me the power of having the disagreement and learning to work through it regardless. They have shown me what friendship means, and that I am ok, just my crazy, kitchen loving self. I love them all dearly, and I know that if they need me later on in life, I will be there in a heartbeat.

The beauty of food is that it not only nourishes the body, but it also uplifts the soul through the connnections made over it. There is nothing like cooking with someone to truly get to know who they are, what they are about, and how they view life. And if they don't cook? Well, I'm only too happy to cook for them regardless. That's the lesson I'm learning in the kitchen: every person is worth celebrating and feasting with, regardless of individual food preferences. We are all valuable.

So find someone wonderful to celebrate today with, and enjoy a meal together. Who knows? Maybe you'll find yourself at a table of friends where once were only strangers.