The Journey to a Birthday Cake

Each year I bake cakes for the kids birthdays. 

This year my daughter asked for Doctor Who. I obliged.

 

Look! I cleaned!

Now I can start the REAL work. I've already preheated the oven.

This HAS to be done by tomorrow. That means a late Friday night tonight.

 

What? Don't judge me! This is what it takes! I'm sure the #Doctor would agree.

No custard here though.

The Chocolate Half is in the oven. Now I had to use a different pan because I had no 9x13's. Someone absconded with them. So I used the roasting pan that came with the new gas oven. This may be a better solution although I am not sure if this may rise too high. We'll see. I do want some bubbles so I only banged it twice instead of really thumping it to make it dense.

Ok, it's high, but I don't think it's TOO high. It certainly hasn't overflowed the pan, it's still got a shape and hasn't fallen miserably. I just have to convince everyone to be QUIET!!! in the kitchen.

Chocolate half DONE.

ALRIGHHHHHHHT. It turned out BEAUTIFUL. I am so glad the baking force is still with me. Double box method in a roasting pan and it's light, spongy, baked in a half hour, didn't overflow and smells great! 

The bad thing is... I only have one roasting pan. I have to wait for this to cool sufficiently so I can get it out of the pan, wash the pan, and start the vanilla half of the cake.

Why yes, that is a box of wine behind the cake, and I am partaking. 

Trivia: Did you know the Gallo winery in California stores their wines in MILLION gallon tanks? It's true.

Chocolate cake fully cooled and the top evened by cutting it with a greased string. 

The vanilla cake is the same so I won't show pictures of that until the two cakes come together. The vanilla is cooling in the fridge now.

Oh what's this then? I love this!

Chocolate and vanilla have come together in harmony. (mostly, except for that tiny slice in the middle that I am SO not worried about. yes, I had to slice off a bit of the top of the chocolate because it baked up much fluffier than the white cake did. No one will notice once the fondant goes on so ssshhhhh!

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you... Marshmallow fondant. 

Coloring next.

Swirly blue just like I wanted! :D

Rolling fondant, even marshmallow fondant takes real effort.

A normal rolling pin does NOT cut it for this job.

 

Covered, but even as fast as I tried to work the fondant got dry and cracked a bit. 

I'll deal with that later.

 

Windows! Not 95. No not 7 either. 

These windows are special.

 

 

Doors and a bow tie. Because bow ties are cool.

Don't. Blink.

This is what I did with the crack. Prisoner Zero has escaped!

 

5a.m. Saturday - DONE!

In the end I completed the cake. My fondant DID run dry finally and I did not get the piping around all the bottom edges done, but here it is, my daughters completed birthday cake :)

Making It: Better, Faster, Easier

Making It: better, faster, easier.

     One of the earliest modern conveniences in food technology that helped to shape food was the invention of a packaging material that could really take a beating. The lowly tin can is still prominent on our supermarket shelves today, though it was patented back in 1810. It was in 1847 when Allen Taylor figured out that you could use a machine to create the packaging faster. This machine would flange the end of the disks that were cut so that it wouldn't have to be done by hand. Once this first step was completed, progress was swift. A pendulum press and combination die came out that cut out most of the can, flanged it to fit to the can neatly, and punched a filler hole in one end. By 1883 the can was being cut, rolled, seamed, soldered and pressure cooked at a rate of 2700 cans per hour as opposed to 5 or 6 cans per hour by one persons hand in the beginning. The industrial revolution had sent food technology on it's way toward automation. (Busch, 1981)

     As our global population grows the need for faster production rises. Although we have had basic advances such as the conveyor belt system, and modern advances such as ovens that can bake 100,000 hamburgers at a time, automated production levels are still very variable. This means that there is lots of potential for those who want to make it faster, easier, and better. (Wells, 2010)

     The beer industry saw its first automation efforts in 1765 with pumps and automatic stirring mechanisms. This not only made it easier to produce the beer, but further restricted the introduction of bacteria which could easily turn a beer “sour.” Today it's not just the big commercial breweries that are beginning to use automation, but smaller craft breweries such as Ninkasi in Eugene, Oregon. TAG (The Automation Group) is a provider of automation equipment that can bring floor data such as temperature controls, mash times, adjunct processing and volume metering to a central hub of the brewery to ensure that Ninkasi wastes no time with a batch so they can move on to the next batch. This also has the pleasant effect of creating more consistent batches of beer. (TAG, 2013)

     Automation of beer has even reached down to the home brewer. A recent Kickstarter campaign has introduced the PicoBrew, an automated beer brewing appliance for the home. Put in the grain, the hops, the malt, the adjuncts such as flavoring, the water, then choose a recipe and turn it on. The PicoBrewer will infuse, mash, boil, transfer, and ferment for you with a limited amount of interaction by the brewer. (PicoBrew, 2013)

     The world food supply is sometimes sketchy at best and rife with all sorts of social difficulties such as rising toxicity levels and how we should treat the animals we eat. Experts in robotics handling of meat state that reducing human involvement reduces the cost of manual labor, improves health and safety by reducing contamination and solves many problems in ethical and aesthetic concerns. So what if we could simply print our food and avoid many of these difficulties? (Sorenson, 1993)

     Modern Meadow, building on a concept that has been around for a decade is creating a process in which they can “build” meat one cell at a time. This is part of a process known as 3-d printing. Stem cells, which are able to replicate themselves are cultured carefully, then laid carefully in the pattern the printer creates. The cells undergo fusion and printed cells can become a steak, a hamburger, a breast of chicken, a fillet of fish. (Mironov, 2007)

     There are still many difficulties with food printing, such as flavor, texture, coloration. The nice brown crust on a steak or burger is called the Maillard Browning effect. This has been modeled through moisture retention in microwave technology so as to accurately reproduce it in an automated environment. (Microwaves being another automation breakthrough) (Lu, 1995)

     These problems should not represent obstacles, but rather we should see the challenges as possibilities for automation in food technology. By combining information accessibility, scientific research, and creativity in biology, chemistry, and engineering, we can continue to provide solutions to the world's needs where food is concerned.

Bibliography

Busch J. (1981) An Introduction to the Tin Can. Historical Archeology. Volume 15:No 1: 95-104

Khodabandehloo, K. (1993) Robotics in Meat, Fish and Poultry Processing.

Lu, G. (1995). Effect of water content and amino acids on Maillard Browning kinetics in propylene glycol based modeling systems during microwave heating. Ho, C.T. Flavor Technology: Physical Chemistry, Modification, and Process. Washington, D.C. American Chemical Society. Pgs 40-47.

Mironov, V., Prestwich, G., Forgacs, G. (2007). Bioprinting Living Structures. Journal of Materials Chemistry. Volume 17: 2054-2060.

Moskvitch, K. (1/21/2013). Modern Meadow aims to print raw meat using bioprinter. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-20972018 (Accessed 10/12/2013)

PicoBrew LLC. (9/30/2013). PicoBrew Zymatic: Automatic Beer Brewing Appliance. http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1708005089/picobrew-zymatic-the-automatic-beer-brewing-applia(Accessed 10/10/2013)

Sorenson, S.E. (1993). Automation in the production of pork meat. Khodabandeloo, K. Robotics In Meat, Fish, and Poultry Processing. New York, NY. Blackie Academic & Professional. Pgs 145 – 147.

TAG (2013) http://www.tag-inc.us/home/tag/smartlist_62/ninkasi_brewery_oregon.html (Accessed 10-23-2013)

Wells, R. (2010) Bristow Boasts The Biggest Ovens In The World.http://www.newson6.com/Global/story.asp?S=13762638 (Accessed 10-23-2013)

Cubic Measurements

Common measurements

I recently had the opportunity to go shopping for a new stove. Sometimes when we are looking at certain appliances or yard work, we come across references to cubic measurements. Most people can get very flustered. Measurements can be confusing. When we are in a store looking at stoves for instance, some measurements will say 30 inches, and some will say 5 cu ft. What do these measurements mean?

This is a graphic of what a standalone or a slide in stove looks like.

When you see a stove advertised in inches, this refers to the width of the stove. This is good for those who need a slide in unit that will only fit in a certain space. Measure across the front of the space, this tells you how big a unit will fit.

Cubic Feet

When you see a unit measured in cubic feet. This refers to the inside measurements of length, width, and height, or the volume of your unit. The important thing to remember is that you need to get the measurements inside the unit. This works for both stoves and refrigerators.

Remember that area refers to length x width. To get the cubic measurement, you need to multiply length x width x height. If you have measured in inches, this will give you cubic inches. To get cubic feet, simply divide your answer by 1728. 1728 is 12" x 12" x 12",

For example:

You want a free standing stove. Your current stove measurements inside the oven area are 18" for the length, 16" for the width, and 23" for the height.

Multiply. 18 x 16 x 23 = 6624 cubic inches. Divide. 6624/1728 = 3.8 cubic feet. This is how big your current stove volume is. Now you can decide how big you would like your new stove to be. If you have measured in feet, make sure you measure to the second decimal or the hundredths place.

For example:

16 inches = 1.33 feet

18 inches = 1.5 feet

23 inches = 1.91 feet

If you just multiply 1.3 x 1.5 x 1.9, you will get 3.7 cubic feet which is close, but not quite accurate enough. The second decimal is important. 1.33 x 1.5 x 1.91 = 3.81 which rounds to 3.8. This is more accurate and will give you a much better idea of the measurements inside your oven. This can be especially important if you are ordering online. Amazon.com. In the title of the item you may see 5 cu ft. When you look for more information however, the product dimensions tell you the outside dimensions of the stove such as 27.7 x 29.9 x 46.9. The outside dimensions come to 22.5 cu feet. The 5 cu ft refers to the inside volume of the oven.

Remember that a stove can have the same dimensions outside, and yet have different volume dimensions inside the oven. Each manufacturer can be different.

Hopefully, this information helps you understand more about what you are looking at when you go hunting for your new appliance. 

Carbonation

Carbonation. We all know it happens. But do we talk about it much? Well, maybe beer geeks do.
I recently had someone on Google Plus circle me, found out I post about beer and food and quickly uncircle me. They were looking for more "Science" posts. But what happens in beer making IS science. The exchange of ions, the fermentation process. the transformation of proteins and sugars. Mmm...beer.
Ok, so I decided to take a little more "sciency...sciencey...science..ee...?" approach today. Lets talk about carbonation.
My beer is currently undergoing fermentation. The yeast that I put in the beer is changing sugars to alcohol. A byproduct of that is CO2. (Hey, can we find a scientific notation app for Blogger???)
Now note in the video that when we ferment, we allow that CO2 to escape.

Yes, I know, I know, "Why do you let it escape if you need the beer to carbonate anyway?"
I let the gas escape, because far too much CO2 would be produced and my whole bucket of beer would go...boom. It's what happens when you build up a lot of gas in a confined space. I don't want my beer to be evil, so, I set my CO2 free.
AFTER the fermentation has been done and I let the beer rest for awhile - it's hard work making alcohol after all, I then put the beer in bottles. In the bottles is a teeeny tiiiiny amount of yeast that was left in the bucket after fermentation. It's all I need. I add a measured amount of sugar to the bottles too.
Now what do you think happens when the yeast and the sugar come together in the same environment again? You've got it, they start cha-cha ing. Even as tired as that yeast is, it still has enough dance moves left to produce more CO2 even if it doesn't have enough to produce more alcohol. Just enough in fact, to carbonate those bottles nicely. Yes, the CO2 IS the carbonation that makes the bottle go HISS when you pop the cap off.
In the end, you have a lovely, bubbly bottle of ale or lager to enjoy at your leisure.

Meal in a Can

I recall quite vividly the last time that I was too tired to cook. Too tired to bake fish, to steam veg, to dust potatoes artfully with paprika and salt. Too tired to wait 3 hours for a roast. It was yesterday. I have learned, therefore, to be prudent when I do have the energy to do these things.

I buy whole fish on sale. I buy large cuts of meat for buy one get one prices. I use veggies and herbs from the garden. This year has been good to us, all the newly planted herbs survived, the mint, the sage, the marjoram, the thyme, the lemon balm, the parsley, the basil. We had a bumper crop of container snow peas!

The difference this year, is that I looked at the prices for ziploc baggies. Which for some reason have gone sky high! It galls me to use baggies anyway. All that plastic going to waste..and I started thinking, "Hey, plenty of freezer space. I have quart jars. What if I just froze a meal in a canning jar? A quart jar can usually contain enough food for one to two people. So this is what I did.

Tonight I cooked a whole salmon. Marinated it in apple cider vinegar, sprinkled it with salt and paprika, rubbed olive oil all over it, and stuffed it with sage and mint. That fish turned out really tasty! After we had dinner, I was still left with enough servings for six people. I put two servings of fish in a quart size canning jar with a wide mouth, then two handfuls of snow peas, and sliced potatoes on top of that.

The next time I stop work or school, weary unto death and think "I do NOT want to slice a potato tonight." I will remember that lovely fish meal and break out the can from the freezer. I'll dump the entire contents into a square baking dish, top with with some butter or instant sauce, bake it for 20 to 25 minutes at 350F and I won't have to worry whether my meal is going to cause me to die of cancer or give me high blood pressure from the amount of salt and preservatives that went into it.

I still have an entire crate of quart jars..and a whole shoulder of lamb.......

Half Mast

Half-Mast

Put not the flag at half mast for me

I am alive, not dead, in you

As long as you remember me.

I have not fallen.

I fought, and fight still,

in those that I inspired.

I did not cry when I died, I smiled,

for it was not an end,

only a changing of the guard.

-Linda Teppler

And now for something completely unexpected. The Unit Circle

The Unit Circle
The first time you look at this fat..hodgepodge of unrelenting chaos, all you can think is “My god, numbers EVERYWHERE, I'm supposed to remember THIS?”

Well, if you're using Trigonometry, it helps. It really does, please believe me.
Today I want to explain something about the Unit Circle. For all you types who have seizures at the thought of doing high school math, it may not be your cup of tea, but for even a small portion of us, it will become invaluable and maybe even a liiiiiittle interesting. When you want to know how tall something is for instance... or how many stones you will have to buy for that brand new ^%^%ing path from the house to the gate that you have to put in yourself because the estimates from the "pros" would have put your retirement at 103.

I will explain only one part of the Unit Circle. It's called the First Quadrant. I will restrict my explanation to only the angles, not the values that they are associated with.
Plain and simple, the Unit Circle has degrees and radians that are the angles you see inside a triangle. Each quarter of the circle is called a Quadrant. In each quadrant there are points that have both a degree, and a radian. Don't be intimidated by the name "radian" it just means that it has a pi symbol.
The circumference of a circle is 2 times pi, times r. The Unit circle always has a radius (from the middle of the circle to anywhere on the outer edge) of 1. This means the circumference of the whole Unit Circle is 2pi. The very first point we put on the circle is 0. It always starts at the right of the circle, and is the beginning of Quadrant I. The end of Quadrant one is the 90 degree angle right at the top of the circle.
Trigonometry tells us the story of the sides and the angles of triangles. So to get the points of Quadrant 1, we look at two "special triangles." The first is called a 45-45-90 triangle 

 and the second is a 30-60-90 triangle.

 These are both right triangles in which we place one 90 degree angle, and that makes the points that describe the angles on the Unit circle. One 30 degree point right after 0, one 45 degree point in the middle, one 60 degree point, and of course 90 degrees at the end of our first quadrant.

Now we have all the degrees we need. So what else do we need? Well, degrees, believe it or not, are not very accurate. Yes yes, I hear you yelling now "But ships and planes and stuff use them!" Yes, and they do a very fine job. But can you imagine trying to measure the tip of your pencil with a yardstick? This is what it is like for those who are using Trigonometry with sciences in which they need smaller numbers, finer, more exacting detail. Degrees sometimes just won't cut the mustard. So we have Radians. Radians is like using a fine tip sharpie to paint that moustache on Amerigo Vespucci's butt in your textbook, instead of that massive, thick nubbed pen which makes it look like he's...well..incontinent. con..ti..nent....get it? oh never mind.

At any rate, here we are. We know all our degrees, how do we get our radians? Well. We know that the entire circumference of a circle is 2pi. Try cutting that in half. Go ahead. Good!! it's pi. This is half a circle. 
Now, to get to the end of the first quadrant, or a quarter of the Unit circle cut pi in half.. ah yes, pi/2. This equals 90 degrees.

Well, we have two points already. We nearly have the whole thing solved. This may become...a little...tricky.
Cut pi in half again. Don't be shy. Just divide pi/2 by 2. Remember that when you divide a fraction by a number, you can get the answer by multiplying that fraction by the reciprocal of the the other number!

Did you get pi/4? So did I!! Guess what, that equals 45 degrees.

So what now? we have two angles left. How do we get 30 degrees? Well there are 3 points separating 90 degrees or pi/2 from 30 degrees just as there are two points separating 90 degrees from 45 degrees. So lets divide pi/2 by 3.
pi/2 divided by 3 = pi/6. Good job!

We have only one more radian to go to get all the degrees and all the radians on this quadrant of the unit circle. Stick with me, it's a brain teaser.
There is a difference of 30 degrees between 0 and 30, and 15 degrees between 30 to 45, then 15 degrees between 45 to 60. So if we add 30 degrees and 30 degrees, we come up with 60 degrees. Since we already know that 30 degrees equals pi/6, we should be able to add pi/6 to itself, and we will get....pi/3. When you go "but wait...I got 2pi/6!" Remember that 2pi/6 is a fraction and we must reduce. 2 goes into 6 a whole 3 times giving us pi/3.

Now you know the radians and the degrees for the first quadrant. By remembering the changes in the first quadrant of the unit circle, you can figure out every quadrant there after by adding multiples of pi/6, pi/4, and pi/3. But just in case you get stuck with radians, here is a tip. After you figure out all your degrees for each quadrant, you can change those degrees to radians, by simply multiplying the degree by pi/180. for instance,  Multiply 30 degrees times pi/180 degrees. The degrees cancel, 60 goes into 160 six times, and you are left with...

You can do this for any degree on the Unit circle and it will work. But do try to add multiples of pi/3, pi/4, and pi/6. Learn to see the patterns that occur between the fractions, and you will also reinforce your basic math skills. 
By the way ... you won't buy enough stone for the path to the gate. You'll go back twice before you do, then it will rain, making work impossible for two weeks. You'll stare broodily out the window wondering how the gods could hate you so much. You should probably quit your job and become a writer with all those violent thoughts. Make a million bucks.

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