Kids in the Kitchen- Cinnamon Toast

The food that I decided to try to make was a Cinnamon toast. It looked like a really simple and easy recipe but the only draw back was that it looked unhealthy.

The toast as expected tasted delicious and was really simple to make. Another way to use this recipe is "The nifty mix for the toast is also delicious sprinkled over hot oatmeal." (Baird 10) 






The steps to make this recipe are to toast the bread. Lay on a plate or in a bowl and spread with butter. Sprinkle with cinnamon toast mix.

To make the mix you need to pour sugar and cinnamon into a plastic container and shake and mix it until it is blended.

The simple and easy recipe was a great new addition to the foods that I can make. 



Baird, Elizabeth. Kids in the Kitchen. Toronto: Madison, 1998. Print.

Post 3 New Guide to Skiing

Now that you have grown with your skills from the early stages to the beginner basics it is now time to start carving some turns.  

#1 Turning the skis uphill to a stop. Start with your body in a good traverse position (make sure that you are on the sweet spot of your skis) with your skis slightly edged into the hill and pick up some speed. When you are ready to turn simply roll your feet and ankles uphill and hold the edges on the hill. Try this many more times until you are not turning uphill anymore and are starting to turn down the hill instead. 

#2 Parallel turns downhill across the fall line. For this it is very important that you keep your legs in the "locked parallel" position this will make this step much easier. Do what you did in the prior step but have your shoulders facing downhill and you are just slowing yourself not coming to a complete stop. 

#3 Take these two prior steps and begin to master them. These seemingly basic steps are the stepping stones of becoming a great skier. 

Why Train the Voice?

- - - (Powell 98-9)

Constantin Stanislavski once said, "The three most important things for an actor are voice, voice and yet again, voice." The voice is so important acting because it's used as a tool for identity an self-expression, so actors should develop their voices in order to express what they want to say correctly.

Vocal training doesn't teach a person the correct way to speak. Instead, it teaches a person how to breathe, release tension, and find their own true voice. People's preconceptions of how their voice should sound gets in the way of letting their voice do what it wants, and creates tension. All people hold tension in their bodies in some way or another, and vocal training helps them release that tension so their voice will become clearer and more resonant.

My mom took the picture to the left at my most recent voice lesson. During voice lessons, I learn how to support my breath so that my singing doesn't sound breathy, and so my voice will resonate. Sometimes my teacher has me lie on the floor on my stomach next to her piano. If I'm breathing correctly, by back should rise and fall. This position also makes it easier for my voice to travel and resonate throughout my body. I learn what this feels like, with suggestions from my voice teacher, and can use the same techniques when I'm standing up.

Recently in voice lessons, I learned that I carry a lot of tension in my jaw. This is not good for letting my voice flow freely, so now my teacher and I work on releasing my jaw during my lessons, and I have also learned massages to help me soothe my jaw.

During voice lessons I also have learned how to use my authentic voice. Previously, whenever I heard a song, I tried to sing it just like the singer on the recording. Now I've learned how to make my voice sound like me, so that when I sing I won't sound like the original singer. I will have my own, unique sound that is so much more resonant than if I were copying the recording.

How many of you currently or are planning to do vocal training? If you currently are, how has it affected you? If you are planning to, what are reasons why you would like to train your voice?

Warm Banana Soufflés

For my third post I was feeling fruity so I made some banana soufflés. This dish was new for me because I've never made any type of soufflé before. "Soufflés are generally soft and smooth, easy to serve and eat, and stunningly varied in color and flavor" (Mildred 8). This special dessert is a great addition to any meal and "can put the taste of summer on your table any time" (Mildred 8). I will now show you the outcome of this recipe which came from The Good Housekeeping Illustrated Book of Desserts.


Ingredients:

• cooking spray
• 3 medium sized bananas
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 egg whites
• 3 tablespoons powdered sugar

Steps:

1. preheat oven to 450 degrees, spray soufflés dishes with cooking spray
2. mash bananas with lemon juice and vanilla extract
3. beat egg whites with mixer until peaks form, gradually sprinkling in powdered sugar
4. gently fold beaten egg whites into banana mixture with rubber spatula
5. spoon mixture into soufflé dishes
6. bake 15 minutes or until soufflés are puffed and browned

Add a dash of powdered sugar on top to make it appear even more delicious.

The dish was perfectly cooked, make sure not to overcook or it might get crispy.

Notice how it looks fancy served on colorful plates and with a spoon!

Overall, I was quite pleased with the way this dish tasted. I was surprised for it to taste so good with just a few simple ingredients. I will definitely make this again since it was quick to make for a dessert. Well if you've never tried I soufflé before, I highly recommend this one for starters.
If you made a soufflé, how would you serve it and what toppings would you put on it?


Citation:
Ying, Mildred. The Good Housekeeping Illustrated Book of Desserts. New York: Hearst, 1991. Print.

Post 3 - Days and Months - French Fluency

Months and days are important in any time-keeping system. In French, the months and days of the week are very similar except for the fact that "[they] are not capitalized" like they are in English. (Rodchester, 42)

The days of the week are translated in this chart; 

Unlike English, "to say that you do the same activity every Monday..." (Rodchester, 42), you must add the article le (the) before it. 

An example is in the sentence 'Le lundi, je suis au gymnase.' 

Translated, this means that 'On Mondays, I'm at the gym.' Note that in the French version, 'lundi', or Monday is not capitalized.

Question: Do you see any patterns in the French translations of the days of the week?

Rochester, Myrna Bell. Easy French Step-by-step: Master High-frequency Grammar for French Proficiency--fast! New York: McGraw-Hill, 2009. Print.

The Art of Practicing: A Guide to Making Music from the Heart

The book gives me different type of way to play the piano for a different style, but through the process of learning those techniques in bouncing which gave me more understanding and specific details on how to exactly learn those techniques. It helps me learn more about staccato and give me more depth into the movement of my hand when playing in staccato. Playing the piano by springing the hand and arm up off the keys. "Springing forward from the fingertips provides a great deal of power with minimum effort, it's an easy way to make a loud sound on the piano" (Bruser, 122).

1. Springing fingertips up off the keys with a light bounce instead of your hand, to give a nice solid sound.

2. Lift your arms as your lift your fingertips off the key, to have a motion of transition and and strong sound in every key you play. And to help more on different techniques like staccato.

Shooting the ball

Basketball Skills and Drills

Krause, Jerry. Baskeball Skills and Drills. Human Kinetics, 2008. Print

"You should be in a strong, balanced position.

Make sure to check your feet and develop consistency on every shot. We prefer to slightly stagger our feet or slightly turn them. The anatomy is different for every one. You need to find what works for you.

Next, make an L with the shooting arm.

Focus on pushing the ball up and out. Your elbow should finish above your eyes.

Focus on pushing the ball through your fingers. Typically, you should either finish with your index finger pointing at the hoop or with your index/middle finger pointing at the hoop. Find what works best for you.

When you properly shoot "up and out" and "push through your fingers", you will get the proper backspin on the ball." (Krause 71).

When performing this drill the goal is to become a more accurate shooter. Make sure to shoot with your elbow under the ball, with your feet turned slightly, and with a high enough release so your elbow is above you're eyes.

When I did this drill I had a lot of success with accuracy. Sometimes my shots might miss long or short but never left or right.

The benefit of this drill is you will be an accurate shooter and scorer which will make you a deadly player defenses always have to account for. Coaches are always in need of a shooter.

1. Balanced feet with a slight turn

 2. L with my arm, elbow right under the ball

 3. Index finger pointing to the hoop, elbow finishes above my eye.

Post #3 Learning proper chords

Primer Level - Technique and Artistry
Book: Piano Adventures
By: Nancy Faber and Randall Faber 



Now that I've mastered the basics on proper control and technique, the next step is to actually play some notes! Well in actuality, these notes string together to form what is known as chords. "Chords are the base principle of all music pieces, as the song typically revolves around a certain number of sequences." (25) An example of this can be seen with the piece "Canon in C Major" By Johann Pachelbel.

 This is the first piece I learned. The basic, or, main chord is of course; C major.


The chords that I am playing are called "triad chords". This is because I play 3 notes at the same time; and "tri" means 3. Hence, the name. You play these chords to harmonize the beginning of the song with your left hand. Your left hand actually plays four chords at a time, while your right hand only plays three.

The whole song goes is in order of left to right in each column: C, G, Am ,E, F, C, F, and G.

Although you can't see it, I'm having complete control over the flow of the song due to the way my stature of my body and the position of my hands. "A pianist needs to always prepare the next hand position." (21) With my fingers hovering over the keyboard with each note that I play, I am able to move one hand to a new position while the other hand is still playing. 




 

Suppose the song is a slow tempo. Would it still be beneficial for a pianist to plan his next key change? Remember, a pianist has to think AHEAD of the game when playing the next note; so over thinking might make things complicated.

Kanzashi In Bloom: Assembling a flower

Before assembling a Kanzashi flower, there are some basic things to know and consider. Having the right size of flowers is key, "Interestingly, the size of fabric square you use to fold each petal will be the same size s your finished flower" (Gilleland 28). Surprisingly enough, if you make your petals from 4 inch squares, the finished flower will be about 4 inches in diameter. Another key thing is to consider how many petals you are going to need. You can make the flower with any number of petals you like, but generally the larger the flower, the more petals you will need. The author advises, "More petals provide more stability, especially with larger flowers" (28). It is not the same case with smaller petals though. For example, "A two inch petal looks lovely with six petals, but ten petals would be quite crowded" (28).




1. Keep a steady hold on one petal, poke the needle through the base. The needle should be about 1/8" away from the edge of the petal and centered across its width.

 

2. Pull the thread through the petal. (make sure the petals are all facing the same way and in the order you want them in)

3. Repeat steps 1-2 with the remaining petals, until they are all strung side by side on the thread like beads.

4. Cut the leading end of the thread to remove the needle. Tie the two ends of the thread in a double knot. (Be careful not to pull the string too tight as the petals will need to be readjusted a few times to make a perfect circle)

5. Cut the loose ends of the thread off.

What is one thing you've made that you were so proud of?

Post 3--Shapes and Lighting

Although I've been working with watercolors for a while now, I still haven't really progressed much further than simple brushstrokes. Now that I have a good understanding of basic colors, values, and shading, it's finally time for me to move onto to painting objects.
According to Robertson, most shapes are round, square/flat, or cylindrical, and these shapes are paired together in various combinations to create various objects. The book provided photographs of cubes, sphere, and cylinders in various lighting; I used them as reference points when trying to recreate the pictures.

I began with trying to paint a cube with light from the front. The light from the front cast a slight shadow behind the cube. The further away from the camera, the darker the cube's faces because of the shadow that the light cast. In order to portray this shading using watercolor, "blend the paint... but use more values and blend it a little more smoothly" (Robertson 28).

It didn't turn out exactly the way I wanted; the top face is too dark, and the shadow is barely distinguishable from the left face, but with a little more practice I'll be able to create better values to paint realistic objects.

Which type of lighting do you think would be most difficult to draw or paint and why?






Robertson, Jeanette. Watercolor 101: Techniques for the Absolute Beginner. New York: Sterling Pub., 2007. Print.

Portabella and Spinach Quesadillas

This recipe is a fantastic dinner idea to make for your family or friends any day of the week. Using the ingredients you have in your home, you can make this recipe in under 45 minutes, changing the simple cheese quesadilla to a tasty mushroom and spinach goodness wrapped inside a golden brown quesadilla. This quesadilla recipe was taken from the book, Cooking In Style The Costco Way & under "Appetizers."

Recipe:

1 10-ounce package frozen chopped spinach

4 10inch flour tortillas

2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese (or any cheese you prefer)

2 tablespoons butter

6 ounces Monterey Portabella Mushrooms, cut in 1/2-inch slices

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 tablespoon minced garlic

Guacamole (optional)

Sour cream (optional)

Steps:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Prepare spinach according to package directions. Squeeze out liquid.
3. Place tortillas on a baking sheet, sprinkle with cheese, and bake until cheese has melted, approximately 4 minutes.
4. Melt butter in a frying pan over medium heat. Add mushrooms and garlic and cook.
*Cook mushrooms for 7 minutes until tender then add in spinach, cooking for 3 minutes* (Casey 30).
5. Divide the mixture among the tortillas and then fold tortillas in half.
6. Heat oil in a frying pan over medium heat. To ensure you're quesadillas are crispy and fully cooked, "fry the quesadillas until golden brown, about 3 minutes per side" (30).
7. Cut into wedges and serve with guacamole and sour cream if desired. Make 4-6 servings.

Have you ever made or seen something similar to this mushroom and spinach quesadilla before, perhaps with different ingredients? If so, what ingredients were used and if you were to recreate this version what ingredients would you add? 

The Art of Practicing: A Guide to Making Music from the Heart

Practicing the Piano also requires a good posture and a comfortable position for me to practice. Having a good posture and a comfortable position will help me to practice with more freedom and use my full potential. Also won't have any muscle cramps or strains. "Good posture allows free movement of all the breathing muscles, including the diaphragm, the thoracic muscles, and all the abdominal. Collapsing the spine and chest constricts these muscles" (Bruser, 81).

1. Sitting in an upright position to prevent any strain during your practice

2. having your wrist level with the arch of your hand would be able to hit the keys more comfortably and easily and to able to having more weight of the arm to drop into the keys.

Drawing Techniques

Tradition methods of application can be easily used if acquiring helpful tools aren't easy. Some of the most used methods are hatching, cross-hatching, side stroking, and blending.

Hatching is when you draw very close parallel lines to achieve a good tone or shadow in a drawing.

Cross-hatching is the application of single hatch marks over previously drawn ones. To cross hatch myself, I added lines on top of the original hatch marks in the previous picture.

Side Strokes are accomplished by using the side of a pencil point or crayon to draw wide marks or a tone. Note the appearance of the side strokes is depending on the surface your drawing is supported with!

Blending is a useful way to achieve broad areas of a drawing. That being said, it's easily used to cover up large blank areas of a picture. The technique has been used for centuries to manipulate harsh edges. This can be tricky because using the blending technique too often can break the unity of a drawing, as it is said in the book: "Blending can destroy the integrity of a drawing, so it's important to avoid overusing this tenchique" (Thomas 13).

Now that you've seen a few drawing techniques, which of these do you think will create the best-looking portrait drawing?

Thomas, Joy. The Art of Portrait Drawing: Learn the Essentials Techniques of the Masters. New York: F+W Media, 2012. Print.

Christmas Crafts, Part 3

I originally decided to do two Christmas crafts, but when I saw these, I knew I had to make them. These are probably the most expensive crafts I'm going to do. They are called Hot Chocolate Ornaments. I needed to buy clear plastic ornaments (which I learned are not cheap), to hold the stuff in. They were way bigger than I anticipated, so the whole ornament fit about 5 packets of hot chocolate. I also made two flavors of them as well. The peppermint flavor had candy cane pieces, chocolate chips, and mini marshmallows, while the milk chocolate flavor had chocolate chips, sprinkles, and mini marshmallows. To put them in, I had to use a funnel. Funneling them in made them look nicer, and they sold out very quickly at the holiday bazaar I worked at.