Some Like it HOT!!!!

I love spicy food. In fact some of the best spicy food is the kind that sets my mouth on fire. But what makes food so spicy? In the peppers that we use to heat up the atste buds we will find a chemical called Capsasin. These plants naturally produce this chemical so animals wont eat their fruit. Most mammals cant stand the heat, but did you know that birds dont feel the burn. In fact the bright reds, greens, and yellows are used to attract birds so they will eat the fruit and spread seeds. When we eat the hot peppers we are feeling a reaction to the capsasin on our tongues. The more capsaasin, the hotter the pepper. Do a little research and find how much capsasin is in each of these peppers, and then list them from mild to hottest.

ps- Habeniro in Guacamole is my favorite!

Flavor Fave!

Hello 7th graders!

A while ago I was on a cruise with friends over spring break. Every night we would be served dinner and they had something new and exciting for us to try every time. The food was great but it was all things that I have had before. Untill the night of the captians dinner. First let me set the scene. Everyone is dressed in their very best clothes, we're talking as fancy as you can get. There's music, and the captain says a little toast before we begin eating. What they bring us to eat is something I have never had before. (which says alot)

On my plate is a giant, juicy, gravy covered lamb shank. The only problem is the bone is still in the meat like a giant turkey leg at thanksgiving. I do my best to try and use my knife and fork, but after a couple of tries I give in and pick up the whole thing. I had to have looked like a goof sitting there at my table gnawing on a lamb leg, completely forget that the captain of the ship has to be two tables away. But the thing is I was just lost in the flavor. This had to have been the best thing I have ever had to eat in my life. To top it all of there was a huge pile of mashed potatoes (my favorite kind of spud), and for dessert Cherries Jubilee.
Had to have been the best meal I have ever had.

Take some time to think about your favorite meal. It in no way has to be fancy, or elegant. I made sure my meal lost its elegance as soon as I took my first bite. Think of a meal that brings back those memories as the best thing you have ever had.

Fractal Food

Does this broccoli look real to you? It is in fact a type of broccoli called Romanesque. The type of pattern that we are looking at is called a fractal. A fractal is a geometric shape of any kind that is built from smaller, self-similar iterations of the same shape.

Romanesque can be cooked using any method that's suitable for broccoli or cauliflower, and may be substituted in any recipe which calls for them. My personal favorite way to prepare it it to break off the “level 1” spirals (it's easier to do this with the ones at the base if you first cut them loose from the central stem by running a short knife around it from the bottom), then steam them for between 15–25 minutes depending on how crunchy you like your vegetables.

Where else can you find fractals in the real world?

Banano-rama

Don't you just love the smell of fresh baked bread? We here's a great banana bread recipe to try out yourself.

Ingredients

* 1 cup granulated sugar
* 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
* 2 large eggs
* 3 ripe bananas
* 1 tablespoon milk
* 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 teaspoon baking powder
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1 teaspoon salt

Directions

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Butter a 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf pan.

Cream the sugar and butter in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

In a small bowl, mash the bananas with a fork. Mix in the milk and cinnamon. In another bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

Add the banana mixture to the creamed mixture and stir until combined. Add dry ingredients, mixing just until flour disappears.

Pour batter into prepared pan and bake 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Set aside to cool on a rack for 15 minutes. Remove bread from pan, invert onto rack and cool completely before slicing.

Spread slices with honey or serve with ice cream.

This loaf of bread will serve about 4 people. How would you change your recipe if you were going to make enough for eight people? 12 people? or how about only 2 people?

Going Shopping

We all love to eat out at restaurants, but we need to know how to plan meals at home as well. Create your very own meal plan for a whole week. For each of the seven days of the week write out what you'll eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Then come up with a shopping list of all the ingredients you will need to get at the store. The only problem is you just have $70 to spend for the whole week. What types of foods will be the better buy, and which ones will you have to give up for the time being?

Bob's Taco Stand

At Bob's taco stand you can make a taco any way you want. Each taco that you can make has to have one shell choice, one filling, and a topping. From the list of Bob's available items how many different tacos can you make? How will the combination change if you could have an additional topping on your taco?

Shells: Soft, Crunchy

Fillings: Beef, Chicken, Beans

Toppings: Cheese, Lettuce, Tomato, Onion, Chillies

Buffalo Wing Challenge

The challenge is to eat 50 buffalo wings in 25 minutes. Is this possible? At what average rate would you have to eat these spicy wings?

John Doe ate at a rate of 3 wings a minute for the first 5 minutes, but slowed down to only a wing a minute for the remaining time.
Will John be able to complete the challenge?

Create your own food challenge and post it here!