The class with great today again using different assignments for Alex, who's the youngest in nice to, you know, very challenging as far as keeping his attention span. And so I give him a lot of extra things to do. Each student is participate. So that they are just feeling like you're not part of it. Um, and it would, well, the kids seem to be very much interested now. Now in creating recipes that they have their own. You know they're thinking about Grandma is brownies and someone hit me Sam. One of the students had mentioned, his mom's chili and then Miranda gave me a recipe for something she wants to try. So I think what I'm going to do further on is have them come up with their own recipe that they want to try and we'll see how that goes. So yeah, and went great today, no issues, everything went fine and the crackers came out really good.

Okay, so today we made vegan style cheese. It's our cheese crackers and so that each student was given a chance an opportunity to measure out the ingredients, we created a do and each student was able to, you know, feel the dough, learn, how do how when it sticks to your hands? How you flour the dough? How you keep it from that sticking, we roll the dough out into a pan Platt. E-flat teaching them. That, you know, if the flatter the dough is the crispier, the cracker is also I had opted out to not use the modes that I had originally planned. They were honking Halloween thing modes, but when I try the recipe at home, they were a little bit too thick and they didn't really come out like crackers. So we skip that and just made him square around. Also, the nutritional yeast, I read that it has MSG and for me that I'm sensitive to that. So I looked for and Alternative which was sway sauce. And then we also learned how to calculate difference and since it's not a dry ingredient, how to make it measure or dry ingredient using soy sauce. The crackers came in a good kids, enjoy them and happy. They came out great.

Okay, so today was a good day is for me as teaching. I had some students that were supposed to be in sports. That have somehow wound up in the gardening class because I guess that was only a classroom available. It wasn't an issue. They separately have them do their homework and those who did want to participate in gardening today they did. So, and when will the kids are engaged? They're excited. They ready too. Move forward.

It to think about how we were going to re harvest the garden due to the fact that this time of year, there are not a lot of blooms. So I showed them how we were going to take succulents that are going to be rooted and use, usually just uprooted. And then replant for garden space thinking about some of the seeds that we're going to get to harvest during this time of year. Year. And what would grow fastest, like radish? Things like that and because it was no blooms or anything in the Garden. Today, we decided to make rock art, that would be placed in the garden to bring color to the Garden. So they did rock painting anything that you find in the garden, butterflies dragonflies flowers, things like that.

Today was a good day. We actually did the vegan. Pumpkin spice cupcakes. This was for those who had birthdays in October, which was Alex and Zora. So, basically, it was a lot of ingredients. So, each student got a chance to measure out. The ingredients, we had learned the difference between dry ingredients and wet ingredients and how you mix the two together. When he had filled the cupcake cups and let them bake while they were baking. We were able to watch a round of Junior Chef which they enjoyed once they were done. All the students, get a chance to iced their cupcakes and they came out very good.

Today went good for the students were all engaged. They really were excited about the recipe. Even Alex, who is the one who is pretty much, the one that has a lot of energy and there's one kind of challenges me for his attention. Gave him a lot of things to do today. So that he could continue to focus more on the class and not, you know, get just distracted by other things going on around and the environment. Each student was very young, you know, into it, they really were engaged with a recipe. They asked a lot of questions about, you know, certain ingredients wherever they come from like where pumpkin puree come from, you know, why is it necessary to use salt when you mix any sugar, things like that? So they learned a lot about that. And then it went well for me because they were all engaged. They all got a chance to participate so it was really good thing. They the cupcakes came out really good. So it was a great day.

Today we did the pumpkin spice cupcakes. And I was the honor of the birthdays for October, which was Zora and Alex each. It was a lot of ingredients to the recipe. So each student got a chance to measure out the ingredients that were in the recipe. They got to learn the difference between dry ingredients and wet ingredients and how to use them, you know, some of them learned how to use. the can opener to open up scans also while they were baking and we got a chance to watch a round of Junior Chef, which they enjoyed

Being that it is near a school that I worked at before some of the students are now attending this school. So they remembered me and I remembered them. So it wouldn't weigh all the students seem engaged. They're excited to move forward to see, you know how we're going to mix the gardening with art and everyone was pretty much engaged in participated so went well today

With it being the first day. I just kind of got familiar with the students first introduced to each other, by their name, their favorite color talk about some of the projects that we would be doing throughout the workshop. Shared some of the artwork that I did that involves using elements from Gardens. Then we went to the garden and explored some of the things in the garden that I was not familiar with. Some of the plants that have been started but are dying that we would try to bring back or replant. Also there was a passion fruit tree which students were able to pick some of the right passion fruit and tasted. And yeah and discover different parts of the garden and you know how we were going to cultivate it moving forward.

Today went. Well, you know, I still have younger students that need to constantly given that asked if not the kind of doing other things during class time. That's not part of the cooking class, but you know, I'm learning to that is, what is necessary? So today, the younger ones did prep for the toppings and I gave him a chance to Crunch up like the graham cracker crust and measure out the different. Toppings and cups and things like that. The other students were engaged the way, when today, we did the recipe, but we didn't turn out. As we thought, meaning, like the caramel did not actually taken up in time. It might have been a time issue, or it could have been just one of the ingredients that like totally changed, which was coconut oil. Lemon coconut milk. And it me should've been cooking. It condensed milk but it worked out Miranda one of his students suggested. We just use it as a topping which I like the thing to do is open up to express different ideas or how that alter the recipe. So I'm always looking to that. So that's a good suggestion. And so we just slice, the apples used to the caramel as a glaze top and then using the toppings like graham cracker crust marshmallows and nuts and I yeah it worked out even though we did not get the actual caramel apple, they did learn the first step of how to prepare caramel apples and you know how to insert the stick for dipping the apples and then I showed us demo. So it went great.

If we make caramel apples Beacon style, we prepped ahead, some students like The more younger kids that, you know, need more time to settle in and also to be given a task. So they had tasked of prepping for the toppings that are used on the caramel apples, such as, you know, smashing up, we used brand crack Your crust and cookies and things. For toppings, each student was given a chance to measure out. Some of the ingredients did some staring, we did discover That it didn't work so well, but it was fixed by when the students and she suggested, we just use it as a glaze over the apples. We come work pretty well. Now, I tried this before but I used a different coconut oil. I couldn't find condensed coconut oil, so I think that might have been the problem, but it worked out either way.

Today, we had a pretty good class the students. All we're engaged they all were excited about creating the quesadillas, trying the different seasonings. Even Alex, the youngest student, who usually is here and there and everywhere was very much more focused. I let him actually be the first to cook on. I think you guys have seen the video. So he is getting more adjusted to how the class is ran. Also the other younger student Avery doing a great job. You know, now that he's being more engaged with the other students, we did just have a little few things that need to probably be worked on. As far as Alex. Again, not sitting down and you know using the copy machine and doing other things which is is fair. Be difficult sometimes with you know a lot that's going on with the cooking to try to keep managing where he is and what he's doing but I often would just give him something to do. That's how the paper towels even if we don't need them. Just something to keep him engaged in part of the class.

today, we did a Vegan quesadilla recipe started the class first with you being a little sample of all the seasonings that we would use. So that this the participants could decide if they like certain ingredients that were going to be in the quesadillas. Each student was given a sweet potato. That was big even though the recipe call for shredding in I thought it would cut down time if they were baked ahead of time. Even In though I did bring a raw sweet potato for each student, to get a chance to use the great error or learn how to use a grater to grate the the sweet potatoes. But as far as the final recipe, we just used to bake sweet potato which we scooped out and just added it to the rest of the ingredients.

We did have a little hiccup in the class, Raphael, who is kosher and, you know, has certain things that he cannot eat. It wasn't about that more today. It was more about some, he didn't like, any of the fruits, he doesn't like melon and I said, well, there's pineapple, he didn't like the pineapple watermelon or anything, he didn't like any of the fruits that was there. So, I asked him, what kind of fruits do you, like he said, bananas I said, well, when you make this for yourself you can try bananas. I didn't bring bananas today but maybe you can try that but then I offered him the option of apples and he was able to do that, but he did need to take a minute, he was kind of upset and he's like, I do this is to I just need a minute. So I gave him a minute, let him know. Everything was okay. And then when he was okay to start back, I just kind of expressed to the Ask that sometimes food that we do not like, or we do not eat. We do have to think of as cooking. We sometimes cook for other people. Not just for ourselves, so maybe you can cook for someone else like smelling sir, you know? But he did choose apples for himself and everything worked out after that alexson Avery did great. Today, they were engaged Avery was really into building his nachos. Rose. And I did get someone this and then you're the best cooking teacher ever. So, that was good. So when will I think next time I will kind of watch and monitor more of some of the ingredients that I did discuss in the beginning, that did have some allergy, you know, like milk powder. Which is not actually no, but it's still milk. So I did address that in the beginning. So some of the kids did realize that they couldn't use some of the ingredients.

So, they were desert style, but we're supposed to resemble real nacho. So we used fruits that we, each student was given a cutting board where they were learn to chop up the fruit that I selected, which was already cut in large chunks, but they cut them down to bite size salsa, a pico de gallo, tight cuts and we discussed about how certain fruits with you replace what you really see in nachos. Like watermelon could be Tomatoes, the marshmallows could be like sour cream. Pineapples could represents a teaser, the cantaloupe. So all the students chopped up their fruits, then they also were given each a tortilla chip. I mean tortilla where they cut them into fours and we're able to learn how to cook those, although there were already Ready chips, prepared for the younger students Avery. And Alex, who are the younger students already have theirs Salsas cut up. So they just built theirs and interesting enough. Alex who's the younger student? Wanted to chop stuff route. So, I gave them some fruit and he was able to chop also like the other students. So I went well with that.

The two students that were the youngest I kept them engaged by giving them responsibilities of like, stirring the pots or measuring or watching the popcorn. And they did will, all everyone was engaged. They all enjoyed the recipe. They want to try it at home. A lot of them did want the recipe, which I will in the future, make sure that they all get a copy. We did just have one copy but I'll make sure they all get a copy. For our next class for our next recipe.

Class by the younger students who were given a demonstration on how to set up the popcorn maker, which they were able to watch the Colonel's turn into popcorn. After that, we went over the recipe. Wow, we read through it. I explain the difference between cups and half cups, teaspoons, and tablespoons. We did talk about the recipe and how old it is, and that I did it when I was a child and, you know, they could do for Halloween and Christmas and things like that. Like that different flavors. Then we went ahead and each student got a chance to measure out the ingredients or each got to turn to do. One part of the recipe to pour in the ingredients. We watched it cook on the stove till it came to a full boil. I actually prepared a glass of cold water for one of the students to assist to take it out of the refrigerator, so that we can watch the Carmel form into a ball, knowing that it was ready, each student was given popcorn and their plates. And then I went around and poured the popcorn onto, I mean, the caramel on to the popcorn and demonstrate how you form it into balls, each student form their balls and some of them wrapped it. In Saran Wrap to take home some of them, a teeth are and I had prepared some popcorn before the popcorn we meet today so that they were able to take some home and try the recipe at home.

With what happened today that I realized I'm going to have to be more prepared. With next course is that some of the students there is a Challenger for as managing the behavior in the classroom. It is the younger students which was brought to my attention that you know, they were the younger students and would it be better to have them? Them as separate groups, which I explained that that wouldn't work with just two students. It's not enough to just single out for group but that I would be okay working one-on-one with them. So mainly it would be just about managing more their behavior as far as what destruction of the class is. And you know, what is the expectation in the agreements that we all agreed on from the first day. What would happen in the classroom, but other than that, the class went pretty good.

So today the students, we basically got to know each other, what we did is we split up and with seven kids totally one, Mac went absent. So we divided into two groups. I work with one student to make it even we designed the name of a restaurant that chalkboard where they drew out the name of the restaurant. Odd after that came up and shared the name of the restaurant. What kind of food would be served their next? We also created a plate of food using magazines from food, wine magazines, where while they didn't used wine, but food magazines where they cut out images, where we would make a complete course which would include a protein starch and belt and then they came up and shared their plates and there. I got to ask questions about what foods they like. And what foods they didn't, like, what foods would they like to try of different cultures and that pretty much wrapped up the lesson for the day?