Week 2 Blog

 This past week we have eaten from two restaurants and attempted to replicate two dishes. The theme for this week was Central and South American food so we stopped at two food carts. The first was a Mexican food cart in Beaverton named Cemitas Poblanas where we ate cemitas and fajitas. The second was a Colombian Food Cart in downtown called El Pilón where we tried empanadas and arepas. Both were fantastic and distinct in taste. Following the first meal, we made chicken fajitas which were fairly easy to make and incredibly delicious once we were done. Our second dish that we made was arepas. This was easily our most difficult recipe to create as we had to use a specific flour and be very intricate with our proportions and cooking. A moment where we had a good laugh and learned a lot was when we created the dough. Halfway through mixing the ingredients together to make the dough, we realized that the texture was nowhere near where it should have been. With a large grin on my face as I thought this was spiraling into a complete disaster, we began adding more and more of the special flour to the mixture. Since this wasn't helping our texture, we had to use our knowledge that we had learned so far to add milk into the mixture to create more of a doughy feel. Surprisingly this worked and our dough began to hold shape. I was not only impressed with our groups decision making skills in the kitchen but also appreciative of the laugh we all shared. 

I have definitely learned about the importance of proportions and how the ratios of flavors can impact a dish so greatly. The arepas showed us that we went overboard with the flour and how precise we need to be moving forward, especially on dishes as delicate as arepas. I guess I have also simply learned my way within the kitchen. Whether that is sautéing vegetables or knowing when chicken is done, I feel like I have learned a lot of common knowledge within the kitchen. 

I think the main goal that I have made strides in within this week is exploring the food culture in Portland. I learned about new dishes from each of the food carts this week. For example, I grew up with my family cooking a lot of traditional Mexican food but I have never heard of cemitas. I feel this is valuable because not only am I learning about the food culture in Portland but I am learning about foods from cultures that I thought I already had a grasp on.

At this moment I don't have many questions. However, this week has prompted me to wonder about the regions that certain restaurants cook food from. For example, I am curious to know what Northern Mexican food tastes like compared to Southern Mexican food. Are they similar enough to be categorized into "Mexican Food" or should they have their own category?