Food waste

Songs about world hunger and poverty - Class III D

January 2015 - Class III D
In our world food and wealth are poorly distributed so we made a research on the most famous classic songs about world hunger and poverty. This is our work for the Expo 2015 project.

SOME CLASSICS

1) Band Aid was a charity supergroup  featuring mainly American, British, and Irish musicians and recording artists.  It was founded in 1984 by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise money for anti-poverty efforts in Ethiopia by releasing the song "Do They Know It's Christmas?" for the Christmas market that year.

USA for Africa (United Support of Artists for Africa) was the name under which 44 predominantly U.S. artists, led byMichael Jackson and Lionel Richie, recorded the hit single "We Are the World" in 1985. The song was a U.S. and UK number one for the collective in April of that year. This super group was inspired by Bob Geldof's Band Aid.

2) "Heal the World" is a song from Michael Jackson's hit album, Dangerous, released in 1991.

The video shows poor children living in Africa.

3) "Imagine" is a song written and performed by John Lennon in 1971. 

He asks us to imagine a world at peace without borders, hunger and wars. Is he a dreamer?

4) "Another Day in Paradise" is a song performed by  

Phil Collins, released in 1989. It is about  the problem of hunger and homelessness. 

When someone asks for our help in the street, do we pretend not to hear?

5) Village Ghettoland is a song by Stevie Wonder about poverty and marginalization, released in 1976.

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January 2015 - Class II D

For the Expo 2015 project we decided to talk about street food. So here you have some information about a typical British street food: fish and chips!

A Brief History of Fish and Chips

No one knows exactly where or when fish and chips came together. Chips arrived in Britain from France in the eighteenth century. The first mention in 1854 was when a chef included in his recipe book ‘thin cut potatoes cooked in oil’.

Around this time fish warehouses sold fried fish and bread, and Charles Dickens mentioned them in his novel Oliver Twist published in 1830.

There are claims to the first ‘chippie’ (fish and chip shop) from Lancashire in the North and London in the South of England. The trade grew to feed a rapidly expanding population during the Industrial Revolution.

Fish and chips also helped feed the masses during the First World War and were one of only a few foods not rationed in the Second World War.

fish and chips RECIPE

INGREDIENTS

·         For the Fish

·         55g plain flour

·         55g cornflour

·         Sea salt and pepper

·         1 tsp baking powder

·         75ml/1/3 cup dark beer

·         75ml/1/3 cup sparkling water

·         4 200g thick white fish fillets preferably cod

·         For the Chips

·         1kg potatoes, peeled

·         1 litre vegetable oil

·         Prep Time: 20 minutes

·         Cook Time: 20 minutes

·         Rest time for batter: 30 minutes

·         Total Time: 70 minutes

·         Yield: Serves 4

PREPARATION

·          

1.     In a large bowl mix together the all but 2 tbsp of the flour, cornflour and baking powder. Season lightly with a tiny pinch of salt and pepper.

2.     Using a fork, and whisking continuously, add the beer and the water to the flour mixture and continue mixing until you have a thick, smooth batter. Place the batter in the fridge to rest for between 30 minutes and an hour.

3.     Cut the potatoes into 1cm slices then slice these into 1cm-wide chips. Place the chips into a colander and rinse under cold running water.

4.     Place the washed chips into a pan of cold water, bring to a gentle boil and simmer for 3 - 4 minutes. Drain carefully through a colander then dry with kitchen paper. Keep in the fridge covered with kitchen paper.

5.     Meanwhile, lay the fish fillets on a sheet of kitchen paper and pat dry. Season with a little sea salt.

6.     Heat the oil in a fryer. Cook the chips for a couple of minutes. Do not brown them. Once they seem cooked remove from the fryer and drain. Keep to one side.

7.     Place the 2 tbsp of flour reserved from the batter mix into a bowl. Put each fish fillet in the flour, shake off any excess, dip into the batter then carefully lower each fillet into the hot oil. Fry for about 8 minutes or until the batter is crisp and golden, turning the fillets from time to time with a large slotted spoon.

8.     Remove the fillets from the hot oil and drain on kitchen paper.

9.     Heat the oil to 200°C then cook the chips until golden and crisp for about 5 mins. Serve immediately with the hot fish accompanied by Mushy Peas or by your favourite condiment.

mushy peas

 

INGREDIENTS

·         225g / 8oz dried marrowfat peas

·         2 tbsp bicarbonate of soda

·         Salt and pepper

·         Prep Time: 5 minutes

·         Cook Time: 30 minutes

·         Requires overnight soaking: 720 minutes

·         Total Time: 755 minutes

PREPARATION

·         Place the peas in a large bowl or stock pot, the peas will swell and so need plenty of room to expand. Add the bicarbonate and cover with 300ml / ½ pint boiling water and stir to make sure the bicarbonate has dissolved. Add the peas and leave to soak overnight, or for a minimum of 12 hours.

·         Drain the peas in a colander, then place in a large saucepan, cover again with cold water and bring to the boil. Lower the heat and simmer for approx 30 mins or until the peas have softened and turned mushy.

·         Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve hot with fish and chipsor a tasty meat pie.

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British tea: origins and recipes. Class I D

January 2015 - I D

For the Expo 2015 project we talked about one of the symbols of the UK: tea.

China’s Legend on the origin of tea

It is said in China that the first person to discover tea was Shen Nong (2700 BC), the father of agriculture and herbal medicine.  In an ancient Chinese medical book, called The Divine Farmer’s Herb-Root Classic, written during the Han Dynasty, it is said that Shen Nong tasted 100 plants in one day, consuming 72 different types of poison in the process; tea leaves were used to remove the toxins from his body.  Two other interesting versions of this story have also been documented.

In ancient times, people knew little about plants.  To determine which plants were edible, poisonous, or medicinal, Shen Nong tasted various kinds of plants every day.  Fortunately, Shen Nong had a transparent belly, making it possible for him to observe the reactions in his stomach caused by the plants he had eaten.  When he tasted tea leaves, he found that the tea leaves passed through his stomach and intestines, checking for poisons in the stomach and cleaning the intestines.  Shen Nong referred to these leaves as Cha, which has the same pronunciation as “checking the poisons” and became the plant’s current name (tea).

Another story, slightly different from the transparent belly story, is more reasonable.  It is said that Shen Nong took a rest under a tree after a long walk and lit a fire to boil water.  Some tree leaves fell into the boiling water.  Shen Nong drank the water and became energetic and refreshed.  After tasting 100 plants the previous day, Shen Nong believed that he had found a medicine that “tastes bitter.  Drinking it, one can think quicker, sleep less, move lighter, and see clearer.”

SOME RECIPES

Classic cucumber tea sandwiches

INGREDIENTS

·         1/4 to 1/2 white wine vinegar

·         1 thinly sliced English cucumber (peeling is optional)

·         1 loaf white bread (such as buttermilk bread)

·         Softened butter, or softened herbed butter prepared with mint, chives, cilantro, parsley, dill, tarragon and/or rosemary (Softened butter is far, far easier to spread on white bread than cold butter, so make sure to use butter that has been at room temperature for a few hours.)

·         (Optional) sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

·         Prep Time: 45 minutes

·         Total Time: 45 minutes

·         Yield: 36 finger sandwiches

PREPARATION

1.    In a shallow bowl, allow the cucumber slices to soak in the vinegar for about 30 minutes. (This step will improve their texture and add flavor.)

2.    Drain the cucumbers and pat them dry with a clean dish towel or paper towel.

3.    For every two slices of bread, spread both slices evenly and thinly with butter or herbed butter.

4.    Cover one side of the sandwich with sliced cucumber in one to two layers.

5.    Season with lemon juice and spices/herbs.

6.    Put the slices together, cut off the crusts and slice the sandwich diagonally two times to create four triangle-shaped finger sandwiches.

You cannot have tea without scones...

SCONES

INGREDIENTS

·         225g/2 cups self raising flour

·         55g/ 2 oz cold butter

·         1 level tsp baking powder

·         ½ tsp salt

·         150 ml /¼ pint milk

·         1 egg beaten with a little milk

·         Prep Time: 15 minutes

·         Cook Time: 15 minutes

·         Total Time: 30 minutes

·         Yield: 6 - 8 scones depending cutter

PREPARATION

·         Heat the oven to 205°C/400°F/Gas 6

·         Grease and flour a heavy baking sheet.

·         Sieve the flour into a roomy baking bowl then add the butter, baking powder and salt. Quickly rub the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.

·         Make a well in the center and using a dinner knife, stir in enough milk to make a soft, pliable dough.

·         Turn the mixture on to a floured board and knead very lightly until just smooth then lightly roll out to 2 cm / 3/4" thick.

·         Cut rounds with a 7.5 cm / 3" cutter or cut into triangles with a sharp knife.

·         Place on the baking tray and brush with the beaten egg and milk mixture. Bake near the top of the hot oven for 15 minutes or until golden brown and well risen.

·         Cool on a wire rack before eating.

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