Chocolate

The difference between dark chocolate and white chocolate is that in dark chocolate there are solids and cocoa powder. Although in white chocolate there aren’t any solids or cocoa powder, instead there is cocoa butter mixed with sugar and milk.

Chocolate originated in Central and South America as this is where the cacao tree is native. It got to Europe by Christopher Columbus and Henry Cortez as they did not realize the value of them, how valuable they were to the natives.

Some chocolate companies and their products are:

Cadbury - Crunchie, Picnic, Top Deck, Snack, etc. 

Nestle – Chocolate melts, Kit Kat, Aero, Smarties, etc.

Lindt – Lindor Gift Box, Lindor Blocks, Lindt blocks. All blocks and gift boxes come in different flavours.

Positive benefits of eating chocolate:

•          Chocolate is good for your heart health and skin health.
•          Chocolate can boost your mood and make you feel less stressed.
•          Some fats in chocolate do not impact your health.

Too much chocolate has bad side effects, such as:

•          Obesity, weight problems that can lead to heart attacks.
•          Kidney stones, chocolate contains chemicals, oxalates that associate with a high risk of kidney stones.  
•          Migraines, Tyramine is a chemical that is a lot of food and chocolate is one of them foods and this chemical can cause migraines.
•          Caffeine is in a lot of foods and is extremely bad for your health if you have too much of it. It can also prevent you from seeping so try not to have chocolate before bed.
•          Chocolate is very moreish and the more you eat the worse it is for your health.

     

 Fair trade chocolate is organised to help provide farmers with improved trading conditions. It gives farmers a higher payment and mainly focuses on developing countries. It is a very good organization that helps out the farmers in developing countries and plays a big part the chocolate industry.

Apple Galette

On Wednesday 23rd October 2013 I made apple galette. I made a good size apple galette and put a good amount of apples on my galette. It was very hot when we made apple galette and this meant the pastry was really hard to make because the butter in the pastry was melting and making the pastry fall apart. So something I would do differently next time is make the apple galette when it isn't so hot.

The apple galette was delicious. It was sweet with a smooth but crunchy texture . The pastry and apples were golden brown. Overall, the apple galette not only looked good but tasted good as well.

Carrot & Walnut cupcakes

On Sunday 20th October 2013 I made carrot and walnut cupcakes. I iced the cupcakes well and put the right amount of batter in the cupcake cases. Something I would do differently next time is place my cupcakes differently in the oven.

They were tasty and moist. They were golden brown and looked delicious.

Cook book review

Junior Masterchef Official Recipe Collection

The Junior Masterchef Official Recipe Collection cook book is a great cook book for children. It has easy and more challenging recipes. It has excellent recipes in it that have been cooked by children. It has extra information about different techniques and ingredients. Overall it is a great cook book that is informative and clear. I would definitely recommend it to mothers, children or anyone in general.

Chocolate Brownies

On Wednesday 17th October 2013 I made chocolate brownies. Something that went well was the size of the cooking tray I took to school. The dish wasn't to deep and the brownies mixture fitted in well. One thing I would do differently next time is have more time. I didn't have enough time which meant that my brownies weren't cooked properly.

The brownies tasted amazing, although they were a bit sweet. They had a smooth texture with a crunchy outside. They looked really dark going into the oven but came out of the oven a lighter colour. Overall though the brownies both looked and tasted sensational. 

About me

My name is Courtney Robinson and I am 13 years old. I love animals and hope to become a veterinarian when I get older. I love to cook and enjoy doing cooking at school especially. I have a lot of pets as I live on a farm, although my favourite animal is a horse by far. I spend a lot of time doing stuff with my horses as I love them so much. My two horses, Mouse and Girl are my world. I don't like school as I don't get to spend a lot of time with my horses but in the long run I will spend my whole day with horses when I become a veterinarian. Nothing will get in the way of me becoming a veterinarian so right now school means a lot to me.

Sweets Around the World

Country	Dessert Name	Ingredient used	Would we eat it in Australia?
France	Chocolate Soufflés	Eggs & chocolate.	Yes
Italy	Gelato	Milk, cream, sugar.	Yes
United Kingdom	Trifle	Cake, jelly, custard.	Yes
Eastern Europe	Babka	Flour, yeast.	Yes
Germany	Jelly donut	Flour, jam, sugar	Yes
Russia	Russian tea cake I	Flour, butter, sugar.	No
Norway	Norwegian butter cookies	Flour, extracts, butter.	Yes
Spain	Churro	Flour, sugar.	Yes
Greece	Baklava	Phyllo, nuts.	Yes
Austria	Sacher Torte	Sponge cake, apricot, icing.	Yes
Iceland	Snuour	Cinnamon, chocolate.	No
Middle East	Basbousa	Semolina, farina, syrup.	Yes
Moroccan	Koabel Ghzal	Pastry, almond paste.	No
Peru	Arroz con Leche	Rice, milk/water.	Yes
Canada	Maple Taffy	Maple sap, snow.	No
China	Tangyuan	Glutinous rice flour.	No
Korea	Tteok	Glutinous rice flour.	No
Japan	Namagashi	Fruit jellies/ sweetened beans.	No
Sri Lanka	Watalappam	Coconut, milk, eggs.	Yes
South Africa	Koeksisters	Dough, sugar.	Yes

Anzac Biscuits

On Wednesday 9^th October 2013 I made Anzac biscuits. Something that I thought went well was the way I used my time wisely, the measuring of the ingredients and reading the recipe properly so I knew exactly what to do and how to do it. Something that I would do different next time is leave my Anzac biscuits in the oven for a bit longer.

The appearance of my Anzac biscuits was really good. They were golden brown and looked round with smooth edges. They tasted delicious, they weren't too sweet but were extremely moreish and had a smooth texture.

It is tradition to roll the Anzac biscuit dough into a ball and then flatten the ball with a fork …

Washing up is fun!

Are you tired of getting in trouble by your parents because you didn't want to do the washing up? Well you can make it a pleasant, easy and fun job. You can have a bit of fun with the bubbles, watch television while doing it and so many other things. It is good to do it fast but if you do want to do it fast and get it over and done with, then make sure you do it properly so that you don't have to do it again. We all know that wouldn't be fun. This is just a simple and fun way to do the dishes. This is me having fun washing up...