Blog Reflection

What I’ve done

I've posted on all things cooking. My first half of posts were all about the history of cooking and about the tools and preparation. I talked about what you need to do before you can start cooking and what you need to know about kitchen safety and the various utensils and their specific functions. The second half of my posts were about cooking various recipes.

My best post and why it’s good

I think my best post was The Ultimate Cheeseburger. I think this was my best post because it is one of my favorite food items. I love a good hamburger and it was cool being able to make myself a very good burger without having to go out and spend money to buy one. It is much faster and easier.

What I’d like to improve on

I want to improve on the idea of consistency. I admit that I was not always the most motivated to do my blogpost and i would skip a blog post here and there. I need to do more thinking about a topic before I decide to make a whole blog about something.

What I’ve learned about myself as a learner

I have learned that I need ALOT of reminders to get my work done. I also learned that I need to give more thought into a topic before I decide to write a whole blog for half of the year on something.

Where I’d like to go

I would like to make my blog more personal somehow. I want it to feel like something I'm really interested in instead of just a homework assignment. I want to do a new blog topic for next semester and I want to make sure it will be one I am interested in. For my new blog, I will look at the good things of my old blog and the bad things so I know what to do for next time.

The Ultimate Cheeseburger

Hey Guys!! Sorry I was not able to post last week. I was super busy with the end of the quarter tests and other projects. But I have good news. I actually cooked something.. and it was a success!! I made my own cheeseburger and it was just as good as any in a restaurant and it is so much cheaper.

In this post, I will be sharing exactly what I did so then hopefully some of you can take my experience and try it for yourselves. So without further ado, lets get started. And here we go!!


 

Obviously this is not exactly what it looked like but it serves the general purpose. I actually learned how to do this from my dad. Something he picked up in college from one of his old roommates. It was actually very easy and all it took were a few simple steps. I will list out the steps for you now.

1. Get beef and make your patty in the shape you want
2. Once it is formed, you put it into your frying pan
3. Once it is in the pan you then put whatever seasoning or spices you desire ( I personally use garlic salt and garlic powder)
4. After the seasoning is applied, the next step is just to turn your stove on to Medium-Medium High and watch the patty (do not leave for too long otherwise it will burn)
5. You will know it is ready when you cut open the middle just a little bit and you see if it is thoroughly cooked and if not keep it on the pan until it is
6. Once you decide it is ready, put it onto a plate
7. Then add whatever condements you would like 
8. THEN EAT IT!!!

That is how easy it is!! Only eight simple steps and you have a terrific burger and you saved a lot of money. Hopefully this will encourage you to try this and if you find something you like to do better then by all means please change it. Do it how you want to do it. Until next time!!!!

-Marky Mark
 

The Final Step

Hey guys! Sorry about the late post... I have been very busy and am just now getting around to it. So let's get started. For the past 3 weeks I have been talking about the fundamentals of cooking and the background. Today is the last post I will publish before I actually start experimenting and attempting to cook. So naturally this post is called "The Final Step."

You guys wanna know what the final step is? Well it is pretty easy. YOU JUST START COOKING.

You take everything that I have shared with you and start trying to do things for yourself. Don't be discouraged if you mess up at first either. If you do not fail, then you will never get better and improve your abilities.  You gotta keep going and learn from mistakes so in the future you do not make them.

I will be there with you guys every step of the way and trying new things along with you. I will mess up at times and other times I will make masterpieces. You just have to keep going and never give up. Please feel free to email me if you have any other questions or suggestions on how I can help you guys in your future endeavors. My email is markyocum15@gmail.com. I wish you guys the best of luck on all of your cooking endeavors.

One more thing, there will be no blog post next week sadly. But I will make one the following week and we will get back in the swing of things. Until next time!!!

-MarkyMark

The Fundamentals of Cooking (Part 2)

Last week I discussed some things that are essential and fundamental for cooking. But those were only a few things that you guys need to know. There is so much more to tell you guys about. And here we go!

As a beginner myself, I had no idea on what the cooking fundamentals were, so like any other confused teenager searching for answers, I simply searched "Fundamentals of Cooking." Simple as that.



   

I decided to try out www.marthastewart.com because Martha Stewart was a great cook.

As I expected, she had a lot to say on the matter. The first and most important thing is to know what kitchen utensils to use and how  to use them properly. There are a wide variety of cooking utensils to choose from. There are many different knives to use for different meals and dishes. As well as a great number of other necessary cooking utensils.

She suggested to go down into your kitchen and see how many different kitchen utensils you can name as well as their function. When I tried it out I saw that I still have a LONG way to go. But with dedication and practice I can get better at anything.

Until next time!

-Marky Mark

Cooking: The Fundamentals of Cooking

Before we start cooking and actually begin preparing meals, we gotta talk about about the basics and fundamentals of cooking. I am going to give you all the basic tools and knowledge you will need to actually cook.

I figured that the easiest way to get the fundamentals and basics of cooking, was too simply google "fundamentals and basics of cooking."



   

The very first thing that popped up was culinaryarts.about.com, so i started with that.

First of all, there are two main types of baking. There is dry heat cooking and moist heat cooking. Dry heat cooking deals with roasting, broiling, or sauteing and moist heat cooking deals with braising, steaming, or poaching. Depending on what you want to cook, you have to decide which method of cooking you are going to want to use.

This information is critical to cooking anything. Before you can actually cook a meal, you have to decide what you want to cook at that time and exactly how you want to cook it. This is very helpful for me because now I know that I need to stop, think, and plan before I can actually do anything remotely related to cooking.

Now that I know this, I will be more prepared for my future cooking endeavors. I hope that this information helped you guys as much as it has helped me. That is all for this week so tune in next week for some more info on cooking.

-Marky Mark

The History and Evolution of Cooking

Before I actually get into the specifics of cooking and start trying and experimenting with new foods and ingredients, I wanted to give you guys a little bit of a background on cooking and to give you a pretty good idea of how cooking started and how it became what we know today.

I wasn't exactly sure where to start, so i googled "history of cooking" and saw what options Google had for me.

                                   

At the top of the page, I found a website called allthatcooking.com so I figured that would be a good starting place.

What i found on this site was pretty interesting. I learned that the origins of cooking are not known for a fact. No one knows for sure how cooking started. This site suggests that when there were forest fires, early humans ate burnt animals and figured that they tasted better then just raw meat. But from that accidental discovery, cooking is now so huge that everyone knows about it. Throughout the thousands of years, people began to experiment and see what things worked and what things didn't work. Through this process, humans have learned how to create new foods constantly.

I find this extremely inspiring. It shows that anyone can learn how to cook. It doesn't matter where you come from, who you are, or what you do. You can do anything you set your mind to, and learning to cook can be very beneficial in life. It also teaches to not give up. If you do something wrong, try it again until you get it right.

After reading this article, I have a new resolve. That resolve is to not give up on my dream of learning how to cook. No matter how many times I fail or mess up, I am going to keep moving forward and doing my best. It is my deepest hope, that you guys don't give up on your dreams either. Just keep swimming. :)

-Marky Mark

Genius Hour: The Details

Hey Guys!! Welcome to "Cooking w/ Marky Mark." My name is Mark Yocum  and this is my Genius Hour project and through this next year I will be trying and learning a lot of new things about all things cooking. I will be looking up recipes on how to make certain things, actually cooking them, and giving you guys step by step instructions and tips. I will also be researching on the history of cooking in general. How it started, the most famous chefs, and other things of that nature. The reason I am doing this is because my AP Language teacher Mr. Reyes told me to do it hahaha just kidding. The real reason I am doing this is because I have always been fascinated about food and have always wanted to learn to cook. Your probably wondering why I haven't really started until now. The answer to that question is because I have never really had the time or motivation to actually do it. But because of this project, I finally have the opportunity and motivation to learn how to cook. I am also writing this blog and doing all of this research and experimentation for you guys, my readers. Through my blog I hope you guys can further your knowledge and experience in all things cooking and food. I am looking forward to sharing all of the things I learn with you guys and hope you guys will be inspired to try new things like I have. Until next time!

 -Marky Mark