Making Lemon Granita!

Granita Al Limone

What is lemon granita? 
From the book: "The Granita is a cold dessert that is of typical Sicilian sweets. It is traditionally a semi-liquid concoction of water, sugar, and fresh lemon juice. The origins of Granita date to the Arabian domination of the island. The Arabs introduced an iced drink flavored with fruit juice or rosewater, often prepared with the snow collected in Mount Etna, and kept in "nivieri", freezers built of stone." (Grazia, 170).

What this means: Granita has many different variations and dates back to when Arabians controlled Sicilia, and in older times when stone was used as a freezing tool.

picture from the book of Lemon Granita

Ingredients;

The first step was to boil sugar and water for one minute to create a syrup. Once it had boiled, it was time to take off all heat and then add the lemon juice in. 

doesn't this look scrumptious?

boiling wow!

After that, all you had to do was put the syrup mixture into a bowl and freeze it for 2-4 hours. However, the recipe states that you should mix up the ice every hour, and only continue once it reaches a uniform consistency. I basically waited for it to resemble the picture which took 3 hours. I also bought an extra lemon for the sake of the picture #89cents@fredmeyer 

The final result:

fun quote from my dad: "why are you using shot glasses"

Review: YESSSSSSS it finally looks like the picture! I think this was maybe an overly simple recipe but that's fine with me. This was definitely my favorite Italian dessert to make because it tastes the best, looks the best, and was the easiest! It tastes like lemonade, but better. It is somewhere between maybe a lemon slushy and lemonade yet is quality. 

Questions: What is your favorite cold/ice drink? Do you still drink them in the winter?

p.s do you like the yellow background? Yellow and lemons are fun. Three best things in a girls life (or maybe just mine); lemonade, mac n' cheese, and cats.

Citation: Barilla, Academia. Italian Desserts and Pastries: Delicious Recipes for 100 Authentic Sweets. Vercelli: White Star, 2014. Print.

Oh look, it's a Llama

         I've always thought that stuff (animal) llamas and alpacas were cute; and when I came across this origami, I knew I had to do make it.

         The book "Origami Omnibus Paper Folding For Everybody" states that, "The llama is an animal of the greatest importance to the people who live high in the Andes Mountains of South America" (Kasahara 144). Which was news to me, since I did not know where Llamas specifically lived. This gave me more of a reason to fold it, since I now know more about it.    

The Llama directions were quite confusing. Instructions such as look at the structure in the next step, observe what it looks like, now fold it into that structure (Kasahara 144).  But after looking at the picture again and again, I managed to make the fold.
           In this specific origami, I learned that looking ahead in your diagrams is okay, and it will, for sure make your life easier when it comes to folding. You can look a step or two ahead even if the book doesn't say it.
            Overall, I thought my Llama turned out pretty cute, and I enjoyed making it.



            Question: Do you prefer to learn origami through books, or Youtube?

Citation: Kasahara, Kunihiko. Origami Omnibus: Paper-folding for Everybody. Tokyo: Japan Publications, 1988. Print.

Caloric Overload

TBH cheesecakes are delicious, which is why I chose to do my quarter 2 IRP on making cheesecakes. When I told my mom I was going to be making 5 cheesecakes before the end of January, she told me I couldn't because that just isn't healthy to be eating 5 cheesecakes in a bit more than 2 months. So, we went on amazon and bought a 6 inch spring form pan instead of the regular 9 inch pan, so that I would make a total of 5, half sized cheesecakes. For making cheesecakes, there are many things that go into it, other than just the ingredients.

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My quarter 2 IRP book: The Eli's Cheesecake cookbook
    By: Maureen Schulman


Quote #1:

"When she experienced that first cheesecake, she was surprised at how beautiful it was, with it's golden brown caramelized top. 'It had structure, and yet, it was a quivering custard inside,' said Jolene" (Schulman 67). 

Paraphrase: Basically this quote is saying how although tasty, a big factor of what makes cheesecakes so wonderful is their physical beauty (kinda like Dylan O'Brien).

Impact: This made me try to not focus only on the flavor and texture of my cheesecake, but also how it looks when it's done... Which didn't work too well for me oops.



Quote #2:

"The first few years of her work were characterized by trial and error. as Jolene switched from fifty-cake batches to a few hundred at a time, new issues occasionally arose: some of the cakes cracked, collapsed, or exhibited other imperfections" (Schulman 68). 

Paraphrase: This quote shows how although it is important for the cheesecake to look good (shown by the previous evidence piece), it's near impossible to get the perfect cheesecake on your first try.

Impact: This made me want to try harder to make it perfect (that didn't happen lol) to show that you actually can get a perfect cheesecake on your first try.

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Original Plain Cheesecake

Recipe:

Why type up the recipe when you can just take a picture?

So I followed the recipe through all the funky baking instructions andddddddddd this is how it turned out:

It might look like I put the cheesecake on the table,
but I didn't, it still has the bottom of the spring form
pan on the bottom.

This time I actually did put the cheesecake on the table
but I made sure it was clean, unlike your mom's
browser history.

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Pros:

• Cheesecake
• Tasted good
• Golden brown
• Aesthetic in natural lighting

Cons:

• A bit overcooked which made it not as creamy as usual cheesecake
• My chunky oven mitt made a fat indent in the top of the cheesecake
• Cracked around the edges
• The crust tasted like BARF- gross af shortbread

Scroll down for scenery in my back yard!:

Question:

What's your opinion on cheesecake and what's your favorite flavor?

I 11/10 definitely want to hear from you so comment please 

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Schulman, Maureen, Tara Lane, Diana Moles, and Jolene Worthington. The Eli's Cheesecake Cookbook. N.p.: Eli's Cheesecake, 2015. Print.

Post by Kierra Long

Quarter 2 IRP Directions

Independent Reading Project

 Non-Fiction: Take Action! 

Quarter 2

 Learning Goals:

·       CSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.9-10.1 

Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.

·    CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.9-10.1
Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 9-10 topics, texts, and issues, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.

·       CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.9-10.2
Integrate multiple sources of information presented in diverse media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) evaluating the credibility and accuracy of each source.

Prompt: In the academic setting, non-fiction texts are directly connected to learning new knowledge.  However, non-fiction texts can also be quite practical: reading non-fiction texts can serve to improve your performance/skills in connection to a hobby/practice/sport/activity. For your Quarter 2 Independent Reading Project, you will read a non-fiction text whose content is closely connected to a passion in your personal life.  Over the course of the quarter, you will blog about the text that you are reading and the ways that it is helping you to improve your understanding/practice of your passion.  Consider the following question in relation to your reading: How are you using evidence from this text to improve your performance in your chosen activity?

Assignment:

Part 1: Select a non-fiction/informational text about an activity that you are interested in practicing.

 Part 2: As you are reading, apply the content of your reading to your actual life and blog about it.  Each blog post should directly:

·       Reference your text (in the form of a quote AND a piece of paraphrased information) 

·       Include a properly formatted MLA citation

·       Clearly explain the impact the reading has had on the activity in which you are engaged

·       Include a thought-provoking question in order to engage your peers.  

A minimum of 5 posts (and 10 text references) are required for full credit.  Make certain to use tags, so that other students with similar interests can follow your posts.  Each time that you post, you will also need to include your full name as one of the tags (Last, First).  Inclusion of images, and specifically images of you engaging in the activity, will make your blog posts much more engaging/interesting.

***NOTE*** 

Because blogger only allows 100 members per blog, each teacher will have an individual blog.  Your comments, however, can be on any of the following blogs:

Teacher	Blog Address
Bethea	http://sophomorebetheas.blogspot.com/
Hilmes	http://hilmesquarter2independentreading.blogspot.com/
Meara	http://mearaquarter2independentreading.blogspot.com/
Oshiro	http://msoshiro.blogspot.com/?zx=b305762b2c31189f
Robison	http://robisonquarter2independentreading.blogspot.com/

Part 3: Read the posts of your peers and comment (positive/uplifting comments only) on the insights they are gathering.  For full credit you will need 5+ comments. In each comment you will thoughtfully addresses the content of your peer’s post and directly references your personal research/experience.

Part 4: Respond to comments from your peers on your blog posts.  For full credit, you will need to respond directly and thoughtfully to ALL comments made on your posts.

Part 5: On January 30 (the end of the quarter), you will need to submit screen shots of all of your work.  You will want to include your original posts, your response to comments on your post, and the comments that you made on the posts of others.

Tips for Effective Blogging:

Here are some suggestions for being an effective blogger:

• WRITE engaging, thought-provoking, and intelligent posts that encourage others to respond.  Each post should have an argument, express a point of view, and indicate an openness to conversation (often by asking a question that invites reader comment).
• RESPOND to those who comment, to foster dialogue.
• IDENTIFY people named.  This is both courteous, and can let others know you're talking about them, which can encourage discussion.  If you are responding to someone's previous comment directly, let them know and use their name.
• EXPRESS an opinion, or at least a strong angle.  Give people something to talk about.
• ASK a question.  Make it clear that you are open to interaction.
• WRITE clearly and correctly.Apply English conventions that we have been learning in class.
• Respect boundaries and etiquette:  be kind and courteous.

Quarter 2 ends on January 30th!.

Your reading and blog posts should be completed by then.