Japanese Cooking 3: In 3D

The third item on our Japanese menu is さしみ (sashimi), or raw fish.  In fact, “Raw fish is a unique feature of Japanese cuisine” (Suzuki 46). The fundamental part of sashimi is very simple to make. I mean, how complicated can raw fish be? The hard part is the seasoning.

You start off with a raw fish, which has been cleaned, gutted, and all that other pre-preparation jazz. Then, you cut it into pieces that are bite-sized.

There. Your sashimi is ready, if you want it to be. It’s as easy as that.

Now, on to the seasoning.

There are many types of seasoning that go with fish. It can be a simple dip in some shoyu sauce, or you could add garnishes like green shiso leaves, green onions, or various seaweeds.

The ingredients of fish, seaweed and other vegetables are what Japanese cuisine is well known for (Suzuki 8). It’s a festival of savory goodness, to be eaten at your leisure.

Diet for Dance: The Paleo Diet Part 5

During any diet, anyone can easily feel tempted by junk food cravings. The book says, "It can take some time to create new habits, and it can be difficult at first. But at the very least, it's worth eliminating these foods from your diet 100% for at least one month so that you can closely examine how you feel when you reintroduce them" (Sanfilippo 113). So how can you resist the temptations? My book mentions some good substitute foods (including the spaghetti squash as mentioned in my third blog) and states, "These can help you make the transition away from grains and factory-made packaged foods" (Sanfilippo 114). One day when I got a craving for cookies, I strayed from my book and found a recipe on Pinterest for gluten free peanut butter cookies. The recipe used almond flour instead of regular flour, and raw honey instead of sugar. Let's just say they weren't exactly the best tasting or feeling, but it was worth a try to end my curiosity. Would you try my gluten free, natural sugar, peanut butter cookies?

Diet for Dance: The Paleo Diet Part 4

I learned a lot throughout my diet, about my body, and its specific needs. At some points during my diet, I felt weak and tired. The Author of my book explains, "You are likely to feel significantly different after eliminating these foods" (Sanfilippo 113). I decided it was due to a lack of iron and protein. When suggesting protein intake the author of my book states, "The higher end range is recommended for more active or larger individuals, and the lower end for more sedentary or smaller individuals" (Sanfilippo 129). I then found ways to include more protein in my diet to help me feel stronger. One thing I added was a protein powder that I found. It had zero added sugar, was 90 calories, was packed with protein, and fit into the diet. I began to drink this for breakfast every morning. This was essential, because I had to make it through very long, tiring days. Going to school for seven hours, and then dance for three more is tough sometimes, but it's even harder when you feel weak. Luckily I figured out how to boost my energy and feel stronger, which helped me make it through the diet! Do you think you're getting all the essential nutrients you need in your diet right now?

Diet for Dance: The Paleo Diet Part 3

Something that helped me significantly throughout my journey, was the support from my mom. She helped me make healthy dinners to eat before dance, so that I could get the proper fuel and nutrients I needed to get me through the three hour practices. An interesting recipe that I pulled from the book was "Spaghetti Squash Bolognese". If you’ve ever had spaghetti Bolognese, it's the same sauce. The twist is, you use squash instead of pasta, to cut out grains. You also still need to find a way to get your carbs without eating grain. "There are plenty of carbohydrate sources aside from refined foods and grain products" (Sanfilippo 114). Squash can give you the carbs you need, and is much better for you than refined grains. All you have to do is bake the squash, and then when you pull it apart, it comes out stringy like pasta. It's not the same as pasta (a little crunchier), but I found it to be a very good substitute. Would you give my spaghetti squash pasta a try?

Diet for Dance: The Paleo Diet Part 2

One thing that was difficult for me to substitute was breakfast. I would usually have toast, yogurt, or a protein bar that contained added sugars. Luckily, my book provided many recipes for me to try. The author states, "While everyone can benefit  from real, whole foods, it is impossible to make a set of meal plans that work as-is for every person" (Sanfilippo 128). So even if I didn’t follow the book exactly, it provided many ideas and inspiration to branch off of. The book often suggested "Crustless Quiches" for breakfast. I am a fan of quiche (which, if you don’t know is basically an egg pie), so I really enjoyed this idea. One way I changed this to make it easy for my lifestyle, was bake them in a muffin tin. The author of my book states "Consider all of your options for food throughout the day ahead of time. Preparation is key!" (Sanfilippo 113). Putting the quiches in a muffin tin gave me little serving sizes, that were super easy to grab and go, versus one big pie. This worked especially well for my lifestyle, because I'm super busy at night with dance and homework. This causes me to wake up late, and then I'm usually racing out the door. My pre-made grab and go breakfast made it easier to eat healthier. Do you think you would be more inclined to eat healthier if all your meals were pre-made and easily accessible?

drawing oblique lines like GHIK, and perpendicular lines like  lm, to draw these lines your elbow must be placed away from your side for gh  not very far , but for i,k far away from your side as possible the dark left hand lines should be drawn first.

these are my attempts

Blog For Independent Reading Q2: Post 4; The Complete How To Kazoo by Barbara Stewart

For my fourth blog post, I wanted to get back to playing the kazoo. For this post I focused on the sounds the book suggested beginners worked on. Below is the picture of the sounds the book provided.

Considering I'm on a bit of a time crunch as I waited last to finish these posts and didn't record a video of me playing these sounds into the kazoo, I'll just go over how it went. Because I gave myself a good 2 week to refresh my kazoo playing after a year of not playing, I sucked. That or the kazoo wasn't producing the right sound. Or the sounds just weren't coming out as I thought they should've. But it just goes to show that regardless of what instrument you're playing or just with anything you do in general, you won't be perfect at it without dedicated practice. Back to the sounds of the kazoo, I found it hard to just produce the sounds on the list normally, and these weren't even the advanced sounds that the book offered. The one syllable sounds were fairly easy such as a, rrrr, and the others but overall I came to the realization at how hard the kazoo was to actually get behind. When played at a professional level. But, what are your thoughts on hobbies that didn't go as expected and were harder to perfect than you had originally thought? Did you continue to go on with this hobby or did you stop after it got too hard? Thanks for reading.

Reading and Writing Japanese Kanji Part 3

As I went forward learning Kanji from Adventures in Japan 1 I began taking new approaches when learning groups of Kanji since they didn't all relate to each other. Previously, I had learning the numbers 1-10 and the days of the week. In this post I will show my progress on learning specific words.

The book does the same here as in the previous kanji I learned by showing pictures of the word's meanings and then showing how it looks like the kanji. It was a bit tougher for these since there isn't a direct order to follow like counting 1-10 and days of the week Sunday through Saturday

So when learning these kanji, I had to mainly focus on the pictures and relate them to the words. 口 (kuchi) means mouth and the picture it uses is a mouth and shows that it looks like the kanji. This was very helpful and I was able to learn these Kanji quickly.

Blog 5: Health Benefits

Hello for the last time, everyone. In this final blog, I'll be detailing and rounding up some of the more important aspects of your health that can be improved by following through with this diet. With that being said, please, enjoy the rest of my blog.

Firstly, let's talk about cholesterol. Jonny Bowden writes the following: Cholesterol just might be the most misunderstood molecule in the whole world. John Abramson, M.D., professor of health care policy at Harvard University, says 'It is important to keep in mind that cholesterol is not a health risk in and of itself. In fact, cholesterol is vital to many of the body's essential functions.'" (Bowden 13). As such, a consistent cholesterol intake is needed, while at the same time making sure to balance it out with other molecules. In addition, recent studies may show that a low cholesterol intake may be the leading cause of heart disease, not the other way around. This is due to the cholesterol that your body naturally produces working in overdrive when you don't supply enough outside cholesterol for your body. With these factors in mind, healthy foods such as eggs should be the ideal source for cholesterol. 

Secondly, another important point frequently brought up in the book is fiber. "Fiber - particularly - soluble fiber - can also lower blood cholesterol levels and slow the absorption of sugar, which is highly important for people with diabetes. and for people with any blood sugar challenges" (Bowden 12). In addition to the benefits regarding sugar, having a high-fiber diet may also help with weight loss. This is due to a high-fiber diet filling you up for longer, as fiber has much more volume for fewer calories. With this in mind, foods such as broccoli, almonds, and any other food with high concentrates of fiber can help a great deal with weight management.

Lastly, a point of importance is fat. "They've been studied for their impact on behavior, feeling, and thinking. Nearly every study of behavior problems - from simple lack of concentration to actual aggressive behavior problems - has shown that people with these problems have low levels of omega-3 fats in their bloodstream" (Bowden 10). Knowing this, as well as the fact that they help with things such as anti-inflammation and circulation, steps should be taken to ensure that you consume the correct type of fats. Things that contain trans fats should be avoided, but monounsaturated fat is healthy and necessary for your health. Precaution should be taken in what type of fats you consume, so research is key to a healthy fat intake. Things such as nuts and olive oil carry healthy amounts - and types - of fats.

Thank you all so much for viewing this collection of blogs. It was certainly an enjoyable experience keeping up a healthy diet, and I encourage everyone to do the same. Since starting this, my health, weight, and behavior have seen improvements. With that all done, thank you all for the comments you read, and here's a prayer that our grades will be fine coming out of this.

Blog 4: Healthier Eating Highlights

Hello, and welcome to the 4th installment of my blog series. This particular one concerns some more "out there," foods that I thought to highlight so people could try something potentially new. Also, since I've done a table for each month, there won't be a table for either this blog or the final one.

Highlight - Jackfruit

Jackfruit, a plant native to East Asia, is one that I had no knowledge of prior to reading my book. Jonny Bowden, the author of my IRP book, says the following about jackfruit: "While the fruit has a lot of vitamin C, it contains hundreds and hundreds of nutrient-rich seeds that have a lot of protein, calcium, potassium, and iron" (Bowden 142). In addition to this, the large fruit also contains important B-complex vitamins, among other things. It should also be worth mentioning that jackfruit tastes pretty great too, having a chewy consistency and a sweet flavor. Dried jackfruit can be found in places like Wholefoods.

Highlight - Mangosteen

Mangosteen, referred to as "the queen of fruits," in Southeast Asia, not only plays an important role in Southeast Asian medicine, but has a lot of health benefits. The fruit contains a heavy amount of xanthones. which are naturally occurring plant chemicals. "Xanthones are a yellow pigment than can offer protection against most types of cancer" (Bowden 148). In addition to helping against cancer, they have uses as a medicine, having both anti-inflammatory and antibacterial effects. Along with all of this, they contain important B-complex vitamins as well as minerals such as copper, manganese, magnesium, and potassium. Also, the fruit generally comes in two forms, the whole form and the juice form. While I can't say much for the whole version of it, but I can say that the juice version tastes like somewhat bitter peaches, but in a liquid form. This particular fruit can be found at a 99 Ranch.

And with that, we've come to the end of this blog. The next and final blog will regard the general health benefits from maintaining a healthy diet, and how it has helped me personally. Once again, if you have any questions, be sure to comment them below.

Blog For Independent Reading Q2: Post 3; The Complete How To Kazoo by Barbara Stewart

For my third blog post I want to focus on the care for a kazoo. There are plenty of things to consider when taking care of a kazoo. These things include the material your kazoo is made of, where you’re playing the kazoo, how you play the kazoo, etc. For this blog post, I’m going to be talking about how you should care for a metal kazoo. Or as the book referred to it as the King Kazoo. One of the most important things to know about caring for a kazoo is to know it’s parts. In the pictures below I have a page from the book which labels the parts of the king kazoo as well as my own king kazoo.

The importance of knowing a kazoo’s parts being that knowing the parts allows you to better understand where things go and how things works. For example, if the kazoo isn’t producing sound properly, you could point to either the resonating membrane or the turret. This then could for either a replacement or something like tightening the turret to keep the membrane secure. Fun fact about the membrane according to the book is that, “Until recently, the resonating membrane used in metal kazoos was made exclusively of an animal membrane, stretched and held in place by a tiny circular frame of cardboard.” (Stewart 20). Luckily, due to rising sheep prices for resonator materials, resonators are now made of polyurethane plastic, waxed paper, or glassine weighing paper. On the topic of resonators, one should always be careful with the volume they play their kazoo at. Because in the book it says, “If you play the kazoo too loudly (fortissimo), the membrane might break.” (Stewart 53). Sadly, I’ve had a run in with this situation as I played one of my older kazoos too loudly and ended up ripping the membrane apart which rendered the kazoo unplayable and unrepairable as the turret didn’t allow for a membrane replacement. Back on the topic of kazoo care, common tools that can be used to clean a kazoo are pipe cleaners, cotton swabs, small hammers (to fix dents), toothbrushes, etc. Really anything that can get into the barrel of the kazoo to either scrub, apply, or fix things with the kazoo will suffice.

The other thing one should be weary of when operating a kazoo is where you’re playing the kazoo and other possible mishaps. Examples being humid climates where biological growth can affect the kazoo, incorrect technique, a defective vibrator, an upside down diaphragm, having thumbs or fingers over the end hole or the vibrator, a dented body, or a broken hummer. As well as all of these possible situations listed by the book in the picture below.

Well, that about does it for this blog on care for a kazoo. If you have any questions or comments on the kazoo, music, or care for instruments, leave them below and thanks for reading.

Blog 3: Healthier Eating for the Month of January

Hey there fellow bloggers, and welcome to the really rushed version of my blog as I try to complete this before the end of 6th period. I would give you some answer that I intended to do this sooner or something, but I was just being lazy.

Anyways, if you've seen my previous blogs, you know what the table on the right is. For the uninitiated, I essentially keep track of all the healthy foods in my book, and put them into an excel spreadsheet. The foods may look similar to the previous month, which can be chalked up to laziness and ease of access to certain foods.. There's not much to say here, other than that remembering to consistently go out and get these mentioned foods can be quit the hassle (as you can see by some of my missed days.)

Highlight - Bananas

According to Jonny Bowden, the author of my IRP book, "Bananas are convenient and relatively low in calories (about 100 calories per banana). And let's not forget the major role potassium plays in the body, helping to maintain cell integrity, fluid and electrolyte balance, and, most important, a steady heartbeat" (Bowden 111). In addition to the low calories and high amount of potassium, Bananas also contain a high amount of fiber. Specifically, bananas contain Fructooligosaccharides (FOS), a fiber that greatly helps the bacteria in your stomach break down food. So, in addition to all the health benefits, bananas also help you breakdown the nutrients in other healthy foods that you may consume. In addition to this, the superstition that bananas have high amounts of sugar, is just that: a superstition. While they do contain some sugar, it's far less than you might think, as the glycemic load of the average banana is only 10. 

Highlight - Tea

Now, being British, I consume a lot of tea (as you can see by my excel chart,) so I was overjoyed to see all the health benefits of it. According to Jonny Bowden, "The key to health benefits of tea can be found in a large group of protective plant based chemicals generally known as phenolic compounds, or polyphenols. Plyphenols, like other antioxidants, help protect cells from the normal, but damaging physiological process known as oxidative stress" (Bowden 298). In addition to this, tea can help prevent both strokes and heart attacks, can fight cancer, can help blood vessels function, etc. Not only is a cup of tea recommended daily for health benefits, but it tastes good as well. (Also, as a side note, the tea I'm referring to is bagged tea, as opposed to tea leaves.)

Welcome to the end of this blog. Please, be sure to comment, (or don't, cause then I would have less work to do,) and leave your feedback below. Stay tuned for my next blog where I highlight 2 much different foods on my next blog, as apposed to the typical things I've reviewed so far.

Blacksmithing Post #5 Grinding, Quenching and Finishing

After a couple hours of annealing/normalizing, the blade was ready to be ground down to the correct thickness.(sadly didn't get any pictures of me actively grinding down the knife, but got post grinding photos)

Post annealing

                                                     Post grinding, which causes a sort of scaly look
Grinding was finished, leaving the knife looking very scaly and uneven, so it was time to belt sand the blade down so it was even.(Once again i was working alone so i didnt get any photos of me actively sanding the knife)

Next up is quenching it, you heat the knife to almost white hot, then dip it in oil, chanes the molecular structure again, hardening it further and setting the grain of the knife(which stops it from cracking and breaking)

One way to check if a tool is quenched well, you can run a file down it, if it skids, but doesn't actually bite into the steel, then it is quenched well, this knife let it bite in a bit, so it wasn't perfect but it was very close.

The second to last step is hardening, there are different levels of strength, each for different types of tools, i wanted this knife as hard as possible so i wanted it to become yellow, to do this you heat the knife up to 375, and then quench it again, this can be done in a forge but it is very hard to estimate so i used an oven.

after the final hardening, i sanded it again, and that left this, the finishing product:

Original design

Miscellaneous cool looking forge photos: