Instant Pot Cooking: Crème Brûlée

Now that it's coming to an end for 2017, I realized I have not made crème brûlée yet. Therefore I think it's time. Unfortunately I did not have a kitchen torch to create that crisp, brown, sugar top, but nonetheless, it was amazing! Last time I cooked something savory, pot roast, so this sweet dish is something different.

Crème brûlée is very easy to make. In the book, Instant Pot Obsession, by Janet A. Zimmerman, it provides us with a slightly different recipe than I'm familiar with. You need: egg yolks, vanilla extract, sugar (granulated and brown), heavy whipping cream, and water (Zimmerman). Baking it doesn't take too long compared to hours of chilling.

In the picture on the right are different size ramekins filled with a creamy mixture of yolk, cream, vanilla, and sugar. After I mixed all of these ingredients together, I stacked the ramekins in the Instant Pot. I then cooked them on high for 6 minutes and released the pressure for 10 minutes. An important part is the patience you have for them to cool. If you don't let them cool for the adequate amount of time, the top won't be stable enough to hold out the sugar for you to torch it. To avoid that, I chilled them over night just to be safe.

The tricky part about crème brûlée is the top. The cooling plays a part of it, laying a strong, even foundation for the sugar. For example, I got rid of the air bubbles by simply taking a napkin and tapping them. Once I placed a pile on sugar on each, I made sure that it was even throughout. If I had a kitchen torch, I would try and create a beautiful, brown top to break through to the creamy inside. "Watch them carefully, as they can go from browned to burned quickly" (Zimmerman 210). Burning the top takes away from the delicate tone of the dish.

Using the Instant Pot let me realize that there are so many ways to cook crème brûlée other than burning yourself with the hot water-bath fresh out of the oven. I'm excited to create more dishes using the Instant Pot!

Have you ever made or tried crème brûlée? If not, explain why and put it on your 2018 New Years Resolutions list!

Dog Training: Luring

Luring

Luring is a technique used to lead the dog to get the treat to get into the correct position. By definition, luring is "the process of encouraging the dog to follow a treat to get into the correct position," (Sundance, 44). Before reading about this, I unintentionally used the technique to teach my dog to do many tricks.  However, although luring can be used to teach majority of tricks, it cannot be used to teach tricks such as fetch.  

I used luring to make my dog sit and spin in circles.  When I used this technique I found that it was the easiest way to teach the trick.  Luring is easy to learn for both trainer and dog.  In addition, all I had to hold was the treat, unlike when I used a clicker.  The clicker tended to get in the way and I struggled to hold everything and multitask efficiently. 

Today I used luring to teach my dog to roll over. I was surprised how quickly she picked it up and that she picked up the whole trick right away.  Usually, she'll halfheartedly do the trick when I first teach her.  However, when teaching her to roll over, she easily understood where I was luring her with the treat.  In addition, I think the luring technique was more useful than other techniques such as molding her body to do the trick. 

To conclude, I believe that luring was by far the most simple, clear, and efficient approach to training my dog.  However, it has limitations and cannot be used for some of the tricks I want to teach my dog, so I will have to find other methods for these.  Overall, my dog reacted well when I used this procedure and I think that luring can be effective for other dogs too.

As I said before, I have used luring to teach my dog tricks without realizing it. Have you unintentionally used luring to teach your dog a trick?  If not, what trick would you like to use this method to teach?

Sundance, Kyra. The Dog Tricks and Training Workbook: a Step-by-Step Interactive Curriculum to Engage, Challenge, and Bond with Your Dog. Quayside Pub. Group, 2009.

Soccer Knowledge

Soccer by Jenny Mackay

Something important to know about soccer is that it asks for your body to do a lot therefore it is very important to eat good. Even the top professional players can not just rely on their strong muscles, they will perform better if they are giving their body the essentials it needs to be able to play.

Hydration is key to making sure your body is ready to play. It is good to drink water not only when you are going to play but even a day before that to prep your body. It is not good enough to drink lots of water on the day of your game. Water helps bring oxygen to the muscles and helps them contract quickly. A snack in between games is a good idea because it will give you energy, something like an orange or an apple with peanut butter.

All the healthy foods you can think of will help in the long run when playing soccer, it will help you feel better when playing and help you play to your fullest potential. Without these things your body can only do so much but with the right food you will be able to keep improving your skills and growing, not only physically but on the field as well.


What is your favorite healthy snack to munch on?

Myths about Diabetes

There are many myths about diabetes. Some of those myths are definitely wrong and you should avoid believing. Here are the top 5 I found the most interesting and/or important to avoid:

Myth #1: Diabetes is only caused because one has ate too much sweet food
Diabetes is not always caused by to many sweets, it is also caused by a malfunction in the pancreas (type 1), or "hormonal imbalances that make your cells resistant  to insulin-type 2 diabetes" (Trisler 63). If you want to monitor or minimize risk of diabetes, you have to watch your carbohydrate intake, so things like bread, potatoes, and peas are just as bad as sweets like M&Ms or Almond Joys.

Myth #2: Type 2 only concerns overweight/obese people
It is a truth that overweight or obese people have a higher risk to diabetes, but that doesn't mean that they will have diabetes, people with thin and healthy physique also have the same risk. The only difference is the amount of risk.

Myth #3: Drinking lots of water helps prevent diabetes
If you continue to eat foods with extra sugar, you still may develop diabetes. Drinking lots of water will only help or prevent dehydration you get because of diabetes.

Myth #4: People who have high levels of glucose in the bloodstream, when tested, are diabetics
Not all people with high glucose levels in the bloodstream, when tested, have diabetes. High levels of glucose in the bloodstream can also be caused by stress, sleeplessness, or medicines that contain steroids. Although people who experience these occasions can be at higher risk to type 2 still.

Myth #5: Eating bitter melon can lower your blood sugar level
Bitter melon is a small melon that grows mostly in Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean. According to Barbra P. Trisler, "Bitter melon contains a substance called 'Charantin', which may help lower the blood glucose. However, research has shown that the amount of Charantin in bittercmelon is not sufficient enough to lower the blood glucose levels effectively. A diabetic would need to eat 600 grams to 1000 grams of bitter melon, to try and control their blood glucose for the day" (Trisler 70). This means that although bitter melon does in fact lower your glucose levels in the blood stream, a person with diabetes would need to eat about 3-5 cups of bitter melon per day to keep your levels balanced.

DISCLAIMER: This article provides information regarding the subject matter covered. However, information provided does NOT replace medical or professional advice. The author specifically disclaims any liability that is incurred from the use or application of the information.

Works Cited
Trisler, Barbara P. The Ultimate Guide to Diabetes Type 1 & 2. Barbara P. Trisler, 2017. Print.
American Diabetes Association. “Types of Carbohydrates.”. 2017. Website.

Do you have any myths you believe in? if so, be sure to comment below ones you have found or believe in.

Beauty 101: Eyeshadow

The finished look 

Eye shadow is a powdered cosmetic used on the eyes to provide definition or color. In Bobbi Brown's Bobbi Brown Makeup Manual, she explains eyeshadow as to be used to help accentuate the eye and make color stand out (Brown, 94). I will be using a mix of dark shades to accentuate my eye and oranges and reds o make my brown eyes stand out more. I will also use a couple different formulas of eye shadow.
For this tutorial I will be using the She palette by Colourpop Cosmetics.

Step 1

1. Start by putting an orange color in the crease. This will act as a transition shade. Transition shades are useful for eye makeup by providing a color that makes darker and more bold shades easier to blend and look smooth over the eye. I used a fluffy dome-shaped blending brush for this.

2. Next, I used a red color in the crease and outer corner of the eye. This is the darkest color used. A denser brush than the last works better for this because I want this color to be more bold and pigmented rather than the transition shade that I wanted lighter and blended out further. Because this color is still in the crease, I wanted it to be blended smoothly with the transition shade so I made sure I used a fluffy brush rather than packing brush that is used for packed, intense color on your lid.

Step 2

3. The next step is to use a shimmery pink shade over the bare space on your lid. I used a flat packing brush for this since only the edges needed to be blended out from the lid. Once I picked product up on the brush, I used rosewater spray to intensify the color. After the pigment was placed, I used a blending brush to blend out the harsh lines.
4. Once the top shadow is done, I used a small brush described by Brown as a "Eye Smudge Brush: A small-head brush with a slightly rounded point. This brush has soft, flexible bristles that help smudge liner to create a smoky look" (Brown, 12) to add the orange color we started out with and the red shadow from the second step under my eye from my outer corner to the further end of my iris.
5. The final step is to add mascara and false eyelashes. I used the Ardell Soft Touch Wispies 162 Black and the Loreal Lash Paradise Mascara to add volume and length to my naturally stubby lashes

Step 5

Step 3

Step 4

 Have you ever used eye shadow before and if so, how did it go?

Brown, Bobbi, et al. Bobbi Brown Makeup Manual: for Everyone from Beginner to Pro. Springboard Press, 2011.

Chess: Pawn Formations and Sacrifices

Eade, James. “Sacrifices: Understanding When It's Better to Give than to Recieve.” Chess for Dummies, For Dummies, 2016, pp. 125–187.

Sacrifice is the act of giving up something for another thing of higher value. However, in chess a sacrifice is the intentional lost of a valuable piece. Here is an example that you might believe is a sacrifice but it is actually just a trade, capturing the enemy's queen at the cost of your knight. Although, every move in chess could be considered a sacrifice (a sacrifice of space or material) for a lead in development. That means that there are many types of sacrifices in chess from temporary to permanent. One of the most important types of sacrifices are gambits, "We refer to sacrifices that occur in the opening phase of the game as gambits. Gambits almost always involve the sacrifice of material for a positional advantage" (Eade 127). The reasoning for gambits is if you can get into an attacking position quicker you can win back the sacrifice.

The images above show a simple sacrifice or gambit. After I moved my pawn from f2 to f4, the enemy pawn captured my pawn. By sacrificing my pawn I gained control of the center square d4 (also as I mentioned in my previous posts having control over the center gives an advantage).

The next subject is pawn formations, different arrangements of pawns can change the game. According to the book, pawn formations have been tested and they do give you an advantage when used correctly. Pawn formations will also help the player understand where pieces should go to complement another (Eade 157). Recognizing enemy pawn formations can also help you counter them.  Here is an example of the Stonewall Formation, in this formation you guard the center and attack the sides. So, by memorizing the popular ones (and their flaws), you'll have an advantage against some of your opponents.

Question: Do you think sacrifices are required for success?

Dog Training - Take a Bow

Geller, Tamar, and Jonathan Grotenstein. 30 Days to a Well-Mannered Dog: the Loved Dog Method. Gallery Books, 2011.

12/29/17

"The great thing about 'taking a bow' is that you can teach it without any real effort, like when you're half awake in the morning, still too tired to get out of bed," Geller says, in her section of Cool Dog Tricks. Taking a bow is basically what your dog does when they stretch, and also where we get the yoga term "downward dog." I probably should have started with this trick, seeing that it was the easiest to achieve and took the shortest amount of time. But that does not mean there weren't any hiccups along the way.

I first had to condition her to bow on command, since she was so used to bowing as a stretch rather than a trick. In order to do this, I had treats ready and I would place the palm of my hand on the floor to guide her into the bowing position. "When he does, narrate the behavior by saying, 'bowwwww' in a drawn-out voice" (Geller 269). The first few times, she would just lie down, or she would sit. Every time she would do the wrong gesture, I would shake my head and say "no." I ended up demonstrating the bow for her, hoping she could mimic me. Finally, she got the idea after I had bowed a few times and she was shown a treat. Once she was in the right position, I said "bowwww" and rewarded her with a treat. This was how I would get her to associate her stretching form with the word bow, so she could perform it quicker and easier the next time around. 

In her section for common coaching mistakes, Geller advises, "Don't move on to the next step just because your dog has done something 'right' once or twice - make sure that he's really mastered that particular step before raising the bar" (Geller 268). I commanded her to bow 6 or 7 times and only counted it if she could perform it on the first try. A few times she would lie down, then quickly get up in the right position. I continued placing my hand on the floor and drawing out the word "bow" to keep consistency so she wouldn't get confused. Eventually, she was able to bow on command, it would just take her a few seconds. 


To raise the bar, I tried commanding her with only my voice and no gestures. At first, she stared blankly, so I had to go back to placing my hand on the floor, but eventually I took my hand away and since she was used to doing it over and over again, she performed with only the help of my voice. It wasn't always automatic, but she was doing it. Geller had said that this trick was a good icebreaker for kids who are wary of dogs. I will definitely try this at the next house party. 

In terms of tricks, how advanced is your dog?
Do you think this would be a good trick as an icebreaker for kids?
What other tricks do you think could match this level of ease and efficiency?