I like many things, food is one of them, and another is science. But I usually think of them as completely separate things. So I was really surprised when I walked into my chemistry class one day and saw food ingredients. For as long as I’ve been in school, food has always been kept separate from science, we’d do labs in the classroom and then go to the cafeteria for food. The first rule of lab safety is “no food allowed” because of the possibility of accidentally ingesting harmful chemicals. So I was really confused when I looked up at the whiteboard and saw a recipe. The ingredients were pretty typical: milk, heavy cream, sugar, and vanilla, but the process was ridiculous. We combined all of the ingredients in small ziplock plastic bags, then we took larger bags and filled them with ice and rock salt. This is where the chemistry comes in. The water from the ice and the salt combine to form a solution, and we took advantage of the colligative properties of solutions. The colligative property that we took advantage of is that as a solution increases in concentration, its freezing point decreases. So by adding a lot of salt to ice, we created a super cold solution that, according to Mr. Carley, would be cold enough to freeze the milk cream and sugar mixture into ice cream. I wasn’t convinced, so I skeptically followed the recipie. I combined the ingredients in a smaller bag, sealed it, put it into the larger bag with ice and rock salt, and then I shook it for a while. After about 10 minutes I saw the result, inside the smaller bag was a velvety, silky frozen treat. I took a spoonful and it was smooth and delicious. Chemistry had never tasted so good.

Vikram M

This weekend, our family had our grandparents over. We cooked a feast.  We ate a pork shoulder, that we marinated it in ketchup, brown sugar and Worcestershire sauce. We were in the mood for a big hunk of meat.

To accompany the pork, we made some corn muffins with cheddar and jalapeno. That was surprisingly easy, too. It was delicious, since we never eat southern food at all.

For a salad, we made an apple fennel slaw. We got the recipe from Paula Deen. My beautiful mother took charge of grating the apple and fennel, since i'm not really used to cooking all this type of food, and I was simply to lazy to go through all that work. After that, we made a vinaigrette of grainy mustard, balsamic vinegar and lemon juice. This salad is so fresh and delicious, it makes the perfect accompaniment to a rich pulled pork dish. And the best part is that you can throw it together in less than ten minutes.... or at least my mom can.

There is really nothing better then  sharing food with the people you love. Plus if you mess up they understand, and won't judge you! I feel grateful that my grandparents love coming to my house and eating my ... and my mom's food. Food is a bonding unit in our family, and I am so happy because of that

  Hamburgers have always been one of my favorite foods and we have them almost weekly at my house. Whenever I go out to eat with anyone I can't help but get a hamburger no matter where we go. There have even been times when I've ordered burgers at steak house, an action that is heinous to many avid carnivores. However, I just don't think anything can beat a slice of ground meat on a fresh roll. As you can imagine, over my life of eating hamburgers religiously I have tried multiple different varieties of burgers. There's always the classic hamburger with nothing on it but ketchup, but I've always found that boring. I like my food to be full of flavor and that just didn't cut it for me. The cheeseburger isn't much better in this regard either. As you can tell, I'm a guy who doesn't really like change, but after a few years of these two rather boring variations I decided to try something new. The first really different variation of hamburger I ever tried was a mushroom and swiss burger and I absolutely loved it. It opened up my mind to all new toppings for burgers and I started to experiment with different variations even more. I tried everything from sliders to a cheeseburger with two grilled cheese sandwiches in place of buns, but I still felt the burger had more potential. Just a few months ago I found one hamburger that met all of my possible hamburger needs. It was in a small restaurant called Aroma in Wethersfield, MA. It was a hamburger topped with cheese, more assorted classical toppings, and then a fried egg on top. Given that the time of day was roughly between breakfast and lunch it was the ideal for me and I have never enjoyed a burger as thoroughly as I enjoyed that one. If ever you are passing through Wethersfield I would highly recommend you swing by Aroma and get this burger.

                                                              Pat R. 

            My long weekend consisted of a trip to Maryland for the Patomac Memorial Day Soccer Tournament. I left Friday after school, and from then on I encountered both good and bad food experiences. On Saturday night the entire team went to the Macaroni Grill. My dad reminded me of how we would always go there when I was very young. As well, he told me of all of how the waiters and waitresses all would sing. This time around, we didn’t see many singing servers. Instead, we had to twist one waitresses arm into singing. Most of the current waiters and waitresses are hired for their ability to work, not their singing ability, but a few still are able to keep a tune. Ordering was a mess as we had 16 kids ordering drinks and entrees as well as all of the parents and their coach. Altogether, we had a party of around 30 people, all snacking on their delicious bread and asking for refills on drinks. When we finally ordered all of our meals, I decided on getting the Ricotta Meatballs and Spaghetti Bolognese. It was a good meal, but nothing I would consider exceptional. I remember making a Bolognese sauce in the first semester that used the ricotta cheese and a few other meats like veal, beef, and I think bacon. The meal I made seemed to be better than what I ordered, but still I couldn’t complain with my trip to the Macaroni Grill. It was still a fun eating experience.

            The Monday I was set to head home I had breakfast at my cousins’ house. We had scrambled eggs with crescent rolls and sausage. What was interesting was how my cousins ate their eggs. On nearly everything they eat they add hot sauce. Their house is always stocked with a variety of flavors and heats of hot sauce. They never shy away from a chance to use the sauce and the same holds true for when they ate their eggs. They added ketchup and a variety of hot sauces and even persuaded me to try it. It was a new experience for me and I thought it tasted pretty good. It gave a different flavor to the eggs and had a nice spicy kick. I am sure I will try it again on my own. Before, I had never thought to add anything like hot sauce to scrambled eggs, but new food experiences like that can really expand my pallet and help me stay open to new ideas. Keeping an open mind can be very important when dealing with all new types of food.

~Wesley M.

Last week, I learned that one of my favorite restaurants in Newtown, Asia Pacific, has closed.  I had gone there to eat dinner with my family only to find scaffolding inside and a sign out front reading “Fusion 2.0, coming soon”.  Now, not only did I feel this restaurant had some of the best sushi to offer in Fairfield County, but I also felt that they served some of the best Asian fusion around.  It was the very first place that I ordered a three course meal because I couldn’t decide what to get! Their kani salad was always presented beautifully in a large, Asian bowl, while their pan fried dumplings, as well as the sauce they came with, were to die for.  I had had the Teriyaki chicken once, and that too was delicious.  The sauce was light and sweet, and the chicken and vegetables blended together perfectly. However, my favorite dish there had to be the butterfly sushi roll.  It was a California style roll, topped with some sort of battered fish and filled to the brim with avocado, eel, tuna, and cucumbers.  It was topped with some sort of eel sauce, as well as a spicy mustard based sauce, and the contradicting flavors always turned out wonderful.  The presentation was astonishing too, since their sushi chef never presented it the same way.  Sometimes he drew a giant butterfly on the plate out of eel sauce, and sometimes he arranged the rolls in a circle with eel sauce hearts around the outside. It was honestly never the same, and it amazed me every time!  It’s a shame they’ve gone out of business, and I’ll definitely miss their food.  Hopefully Fusion 2.0 will be able to either meet or beat my expectations!

 Frankie B

With summer coming up on us so soon, I am looking forward to all of the fresh summer foods I will be eating all season. Obviously, summer is the time when families crack out the BBQ and grill up some tasty, savory meats. For example every Fourth of July, our family invites over a group of friends, neighbors, and family and enjoy the classic summer meal of hotdogs, hamburgers, coleslaw, potato salad, etc. All of it is just so delicious!

As soon as I taste certain foods, memories just flow back to me from summers past. Every summer, I spend at least a week at my grandparents’ house on Long Island. My grandparents have a boat, so everyday we go down to the water or the beach to spend the day and relax. At the club where the boats are kept, there is a cute little, very family-style restaurant where we always eat. Every time I go to the club, I am sure to order any kind of fish. Just being close to the beach and the boat puts me in the mood for seafood. And no one prepares the crispy fish with a light lemony sauce better than this club.

Another thing my family and I love to eat is grilled vegetables such as peppers and onions, shrimp, even pineapple, put onto wooden skewers. When we sit out on the deck, with the sun setting, a breeze breaking up the day’s heat, and ice cold drinks in hand, eating these fresh summer foods make me feel so relaxed and refreshed. It really is the best time of the year!

Colleen F.  

Occasionally when my family feels up to it we have pizza night. My mom buys the fresh dough from the store and we wait around and talk while it gets to room temperature and then stretch it little by little. My dad gets really into it when he starts trying to flip it around in the air like they do in pizza restaurants. He is pretty good but when I try it is never successful. We spread the dough across the tray and then stick it in the over. The pizza can be round, square, or any other form depending on whose making it. The cool thing about pizza is that you can pretty much put anything on it and it will taste good. When my mom is the only parent home, we usually make our pizza with lots of vegetables, such as spinach, mushrooms, peppers, and of course cheese and sauce. On the other hand, when my dad is home, the pizza is filled with different types of meats. He likes to add little pieces of sausage or bacon and sometimes chicken. Making pizza is also a good way to get rid of the leftovers because we can put anything that’s in the refrigerator on top and it seems to go well with the pizza. Everyone likes pizza and it is a fun and easy activity to do for dinner. I also feel like it is not as greasy or big as the ones you buy at the store. Although, I am not a huge fan of take-out pizza, my favorite in Newtown has got to be Franco’s pizza Bruschetta. It has no tomato sauce but it topped with stringy, cheese, grilled chicken, fresh tomatoes, onions and basil. I strongly suggest it.

Another fun thing that we tend to do in the summer with pizza is at our friend’s house. They have a nice outdoor patio with a brick oven on it. They fire it up when we’re eating dinner outside and it takes no time at all to make a pizza. It tastes so good like that. Sometimes they let everyone make a pizza for themselves with all different topping of their preference. I honestly think that I will invest in a brick oven like theirs when I am older and have my own house because it is so fun and a crowd pleaser. -LJ