Life of an American teen

Poor Malibu-bu :)

2008-11-04T18:45:00.000-08:00

More car trouble Malibu-bu ( what I named my car) broke down again at Chick fil-A today, last time she broke down I had just came me from the auto shop and the mechanic said the alternator was going out, so I called my mom told her and she said bring it to Doraville ( 30 min away) where we purchased the car and they will fix on the way to Doraville the gages shut off, I couldn't see how fast I was going on the speedometer, the car was still driving but I pulled over to the nearest neighborhood, and turned the car off and she didn't start back up, the same thing happened today the tow truck guy said he used to sell car parts and he said if you have four alternators on the shelf from the factory, three out of the four will be bad, and we just got a new one from the dealer a month ago, so we'll see what happens.

The Taste of Ebony

2008-10-30T18:51:00.000-07:00

This week I was fortunate to go and help Cater for the Taste of Ebony, Taste of Ebony celebrates the unheralded contributions Blacks have made to the world of Culinary Arts. Its an organization that raises money for scholarships for young African Americans

DAY ONE

The location was in Norcross which is about 35min from my house, when I first got there after getting lost and passing the building 5 times I was extremely nervous, thinking what if they have us cook something we don't know how to cook, When some of the celebrity chefs arrived they were all energized yelling "are you guys ready to work" and putting us to work immediately we unloaded huge and heavy coolers, grocery bags, and boxes full of food, we cleaned and cut corn off the cob, removed the stems from alot of spinach ( our fingers were really green after) deboned $ 16 per LB of white sea bass( it was heavy, cold and big) cut small circles out of tortillas and fried them, cooked and tasted duck( it was really good it tasted like chicken but greasy and had a softer texture than chicken) and last but not least we learned how to crack and get all the meat out of the lobster, I found out that I'm allergic to lobster because after I shelled it, my hand were extremely red and itching I knew this because my mom is allergic to shrimp and the same thing happens to her after she peels shrimp, I can still eat lobster I just have to wear gloves when shelling them.

Day Two

Day two's location was in Atlanta which is an hour away I got there at 2:00 (not getting lost this time) my teacher wasn't there yet so i waited and when she arrived we unloaded another truck with all the prepared food and set up tables moved and helped the celebrity chefs get everything set up the celeb chefs were:
Leon Baker Warren Brown Sterling Burpee Jacqueline Cholmondeley Timothy Dean Brian Duncan Robert Gadsby G. Garvin Jeff Henderson Charlotte Lyons Steven McAfee
Andre Mack Morou Ouattara Darryl Petty Cliff Rome Connie Rousseau Marcus Samuelsson Allan Vernon Tre Wilcox Melba Wilson Marvin Woods. I was a great opportunity and I'm really glad that I went I learned alot of how the business is going to be standing on your feet for hours so I better get some comfy shoes.

Me with celebrity chef G Garvin he has a show on TV one and he has 7 cookbooks, I am applying for his boot camp coming up soon.
G. Garvin

Bill Bellamy

(Host)

Chef Jeff
Chef C. Lyons( middle) Morou Ouattara

I Love Food

2008-10-14T15:42:00.000-07:00

Today I went on a field trip with my Culinary Arts Class to Dekalb Farmers Market and Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts, I loved the farmers market because they had differant kinds of Cheese, Wine, Bread, Fish, Coffee, Spices Vegetables, fruit etc....http://www.dekalbfarmersmarket.com/ ( link for the website) Thats why I want to travel the world so I can taste how those differant foods are made, Then we went to Le Cordon Bleu for our tour before we went I wanted to attend school there but after we went I was positive i wanted to go, I was sold; If it was a car I would of bought it. After the tour the college students as part of their training, cooked us a three course meal and served us, It was fine dining setting lol!!!! my group didnt know what fork to use for the salad, Main course, or dinner I told them to work from the outside in.

First Course

Mixed Greens with Goat Cheese, Almonds, Cucunbers, Catamelized Shallots and a White Balsamic-Apple Vinaigrette.

Second Course

Braised Chicken Breast With leeks, Garlic, Mushrooms, Mashed potatoes and Greens beans

Third Course

Whiskey and Raisin Bread Pudding with Creme Anglaise and Chantilly Cream

I've had bread pudding that was soggy but this was really good it had a little crunch on the top and a fluffy homemade cream on top the liquid its sitting in tast like melted vanilla Icecream.

Last week in Culinary Arts we made Mayonnaise that required alot of whisking, which was hard because my teacher said we have to find some way to steady the bowl , squeeze oil with one hand and wisk with the other hand by ourself, then we made some Vinaigrettes using the same method but now I know how to make homemade Mayonnaise that is cheapter and healthier than the stores.

Last trip/ job hunting

2008-08-08T18:16:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we went to Pigeon Forge TN for my grandma's birthday and we went up to the Gatlinburg the city they call it Smoky mountains because in the winter or fog season you see the smoke forms around the tops of the mountains and its really pretty unfortunately I left my camera home so I didn't get any picture, we stayed in a cabin that is way way up in the mountains (looked similar to the picture) the garbage's outside were locked in a gate and on top of the gate you could see where the bears scratched to get the food, it was a nice relaxing last trip before school Monday.Since I got home me and kura have been endlessly searching for a job which is hard, there are very few jobs for our age group within 10-15 miles of our house and this is my first job so on the application when they ask how much experience I have all I can put is babysitting and passing out flyer's I will keep on searching but I'm thinking I'll just go back to cooking for my aunts parties and events the last event I did for her was her annual Christmas party and that was a hit all of her friends were asking for my card so I can cook for there parties.

Back to school

2008-08-07T20:30:00.000-07:00

So Its back to school Monday and I'm Excited because I'll be In Culinary Arts 3/6 of my class periods, Wednesday I went to my Orientation and saw the kitchen I will be cooking in, it was huge there were huge appliances huge pots, pans, etc.. Last year Grayson went to state cook off and won 1st 2nd and 3rd place the winners received scholarships, this year I'm going for 1st place it will be tough but I'm determined to win it, Graduation is on May 23, 2009 time, date and place unknown.

A Tick

2008-07-25T11:09:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Me, my cousin and sisters went into the woods behind our house, to go exploring my Mom and Grandma told us go in there at your own risk because there are all kind of bugs, ticks etc.... so we went in anyway, This morning when I took a shower I saw a bump on my hip, I brushed it and it didn't come off and instantly I knew what it was A Tick, freakin out I yelled for Kura several times and she didn't come so I yelled for Ausha several times, she came and I was yelling "WHAT IS THIS ,WHAT IS THIS" "ITS A TICK HUH" and she said yeah and she grabbed a towel and ripped it out (making sure to get the head) and threw it in the sink we saw it wiggling then we washed it down the sing next time I'll listen to my mom and grandma and not go in the woods.

The Move

2008-07-24T18:07:00.000-07:00

While me and Kura were visiting in Utah, My Mom, Gma,Sister and Uncle moved to a new house and when my mom described the house, it made me anxious to see it, when I saw it I was excited because its so nice the only perk is theres a sceptic tank instead of plumbing, to think of a big tank with poo in it in the back yard under ground is GROSS and they have people come out and empty it every five years now thats a dirty job I would hate to do.

Below is my room and its still under construction im surley but slowly getting every thing in place.

There are horses in our backyard we just walk over and feed them carrots whenever they here us they come running over to the fence,We named this one Shadow and theres a lighter brown one we named Kota.

Cooking/Baking

2008-07-24T17:02:00.000-07:00

Whenever I Cook something I like to dress it up on a plate and make it look all pretty, like Gourmet Chef's do, and then take a picture of it, One day when i get enough pictures I'll start a album.
This is Chicken Alfredo with french green beans and Shrimp So since Me and Tiva like to bake and cook, Tiva came up with the perfect Idea to make little individual Fondant cakes, here is the fondant that took forever to knead, Me and Tiva rotated to give our arms a rest it was really fun and I cant wait till next year when we make another cake.

(L,R) Tiva's Cake, My Cake, and Christina's Cake Oh and I forgot to mention these cakes when we finally cut them were DELICIOUS

This is my cake around it says "LIVE,LOVE,LAUGH,PLAY" and at the top it says FAMILY