Project #1

Project #1: Feeding the Body, Feeding the Soul, Building a Culture

In this project, you are asked to focus on a single edible ingredient from the farmers market. This ingredient is a material resource. Our goal is to understand where this material resource comes from and how it was produced. (As preparation for this assignment also see Object Implosion exercise.)

Goals:

At the farmers market, interview a grower/farmer about where your ingredient comes from and how it is produced. If you are looking to procure outside of the farmer's market, do equivalent research work about the background of your ingredient. 

Procure the ingredient (may be purchased, foraged, home-grown, etc.)

Prepare a simple recipe for a communal lunch held in class. Consider what you are making, how you are making it, and why you are choosing this specific dish. See specifics about meal preparation below. Think of it as making a small taster bites enough for 6 people, not a full meal. 

Total cost of procuring ingredients is not to exceed $10.

This project is a good opportunity to think about where our food resources come from, how food/cuisine is part of one’s heritage, and how food creates culture. 

Deliverables:

• story of the ingredient based on your interview/research or speculative fiction + reflection on the process (1 page paper in PDF form) Due: 10/9 at 11:59pm

• 1 simple dish for the communal lunch prepared with the ingredient from the market Due: 10/10 in class. + Please also prepare to tell us about the ingredient and the dish. 

Grading

Please review grading rubric as posted below.

About the meal preparation:

Observe good food hygiene: Wash hands before handling food items, clean utensils and surfaces before using them, wash/rinse fresh produce well, cook food throughly, store and refrigerate prepared food properly.

Please prepare your dish head of time. In class, we have about 30minutes to reheat dishes (if needed) and finish preparing them for the table.

We have the following equipment in class: 2 hotplates (for using metal pots and pans), 1 teakettle, 2 microwaves. Compostable plates, small plates, cups, and utensils, napkins.

Please bring cooking tools, pots/pans, etc, whatever you need for preparing, reheating and presenting your dish. Just like you would for a potluck. (In other words, if you are bringing soup and you would like to heat it, please bring a metal cooking pot+lid. If you need to cut ingredients into pieces, bring a cutting board+knife. Etc...)

Your dish may be a family/culturally/emotionally significant recipe, something that you have prepared many times or something that you had just invented. Consider the implications either way you decide to go.

Focus on highlighting the chosen single ingredient, which will be the main protagonist of the dish. But your dish may also have (may also need) some supporting actors: a few other ingredients, spices, garnish, etc.. Consider what else and why you use. 

Not all dishes need to be cooked. It's perfectly fine to serve raw food items, as long as you are paying extra attention to proper food hygiene (including storage and transportation).

Be mindful that some people have food allergies. This should not keep you from choosing an ingredient, but communicate with everyone in class about what's in your dish. (for example, a little tag with the dish's name, your name and the list of ingredients would be helpful to display with your dish).