Exploring Veterinary Program (Leo)

~Exploring Veterinary Medicine~

     For many years, I have had a passion for animals, and have decided to pursue veterinary medicine.  Recently, I joined a veterinary group, founded by the Exploring Organization.  Exploring is designed to give high school students career experiences in certain fields.  This particular group is hosted by Weare Veterinary Hospital and led by a veterinarian there.  In addition to other benefits of Exploring,  leadership skills are taught through the leadership board composed of the participants.  During one of our first meetings, elections were held for the positions of President, in charge of overseeing the group, Program Vice President, responsible for initiating and coordinating field trips, Administrative Vice President, responsible for the program logistics, and Secretary and Treasurer, a combined position in charge of taking minutes and responsible for finances.  I ran for Program Vice President and was elected to the position.  Thus far, we have discussed the job descriptions of different veterinary positions, been taught how to perform exams on both dogs and cats, been shown how to take and assess blood samples and other tests, taken a full tour of an emergency hospital, and had a lecture from the ophthalmologist there.  Most recently, I shadowed a veterinarian and technician at Weare Animal Hospital from 8:00-11:00 and observed a Great Dane neuter.  I look forward to future opportunities in this incredible program

Our Trip to the Planetarium (Aidan)

~Planetarium~

Hi. I'm Rus. We went on an exciting trip to the planetarium to learn about the Apollo missions. We first learned about something called max Q. Max Q is when a rocket hits twice the speed of sound. If the rocket does not break it will disintegrate. Another thing we learned about was different orbits. The inner orbit and outer orbit are the two different kinds of orbits. If you want to get into an inner orbit you have to go slowly. Once you get into an inner orbit you start to speed up. To get out of an inner orbit you have to speed up when you leave an inner orbit you can enter into an outer orbit. When you enter an outer orbit you slow down. To drop back int an inner orbit you slow down. When you hit an inner orbit you speed up. So in orbits you speed up to slow down and slow down to speed up. We also learned about some of the missions. I had so much fun at this exciting trip to the Planetarium!

Blueberry Cornbread (Siobhan)

~Blueberry Streusel Cornbread~

This blueberry cornbread is a delicious variation from regular cornbread. We found the recipe in a Cuisine at Home magazine and have been making it ever since!

Ingredients

• Streusel:
• ¹⁄₂ cup all-purpose flour
• ¹⁄₂ cup packed brown sugar
• ¹⁄₃ cup yellow cornmeal
• 6 T unsalted butter sliced
• ¹⁄₄ tsp salt
• Zest one lemon (or a dash of lemon juice)
• Cornbread:
• 1 ¹⁄₃ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 ¹⁄₂ cups sugar
• 1 cup yellow cornmeal
• 1 T baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• ³⁄₄ cup milk
• ²⁄₃ cup buttermilk
• 4 eggs beaten
• 1 stick unsalted butter (melted)
• ¹⁄₄ cup vegetable oil
• 2 T fresh lemon juice
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 ¹⁄₂ cups frozen blueberries or fresh

For the streusel, pulse 1/2 cup flour, brown sugar, and 1/3 cup cornmeal in a food processor. Add sliced butter, 1/4 tsp salt, and zest or juice. Pulse until the mixture comes together in clumps. Transfer to the freezer while you prepare the cornbread.

 For the cornbread, sift together 1 1/3 cups flour, sugar, 1 cup cornmeal, baking powder, and 1 tsp. salt. Sift a second time.

 Whisk together milk, buttermilk, eggs, melted butter, oil, lemon juice, and vanilla. Stir in the flour mixture just to combine. I like to use a rubber scraper for this step.

Transfer batter to a skillet or two small cake pans. I used two 8-inch pans. Bake cornbread for ten minutes at 400 degrees. Remove from oven and top with blueberries, then the streusel. Bake 25-30 minutes more. The cornbread is done when the top is firm and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Click here for the blueberry streusel cornbread recipe printable.

Happy Thanksgiving 2015 and Deconstructed Holiday Turkey Recipe (Siobhan)

~Happy Thanksgiving~

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! We had a wonderful Thanksgiving and hope you did too. Today I have some pictures and a recipe to share with you!

Mom did the turkeys this year for Thanksgiving. She found a Deconstructed Holiday Turkey recipe that was absolutely delicious. 

 On Tuesday night she brined the turkeys and added salt, honey, garlic, bay leaves, thyme, sage, peppercorns, allspice berries, and celery leaves.

 Then she covered them with cold water and ice and let them sit overnight. 

 On Wednesday she roasted all of the meat and made gravy with the turkey juices.

 Mom also made 'turkey stock.'

I made a dark chocolate salted caramel oreo pie. Click here for the recipe post!

Uncle Matt and Aunt Renee treated us all with some incredible appetizers. Smoked mussels, dates, olives, cheeses, meats, and crackers. So delicious!

 We had turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, stuffing, rolls, Mom's Green Beans Gremolta, stuffed shells, and a broccoli casserole. For dessert we had apple pie, pumpkin pie, and my Dark Chocolate Salted Caramel Oreo Pie.

 On Thursday (Thanksgiving Day) Mom put the turkeys in a 20 quart turkey warmer. Then we brought it over to Grandma's. Everyone loved it!

Click here for Megan's Deconstructed Holiday Turkey and Sage Gravy recipe printable.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Click here to see last year's 2014 Thanksgiving post.

Dark Chocolate Salted Caramel Oreo Pie (Siobhan)

~Dark Chocolate Salted Caramel Oreo Pie~

I always love doing pies for Thanksgiving. I love baking, and hunting for amazing pie recipes is so much fun. This year Mom did the turkeys for Thanksgiving, and we were very busy, so I wanted to find a pie that was delicious, but easy. This 5-ingredient chocolate pie was perfect!

Ingredients

(Yields 2 chocolate pies)

1 package family-size oreos 

1 cup(12 tablespoons) butter, divided
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 1/4 cup heavy cream, divided
2 (12 oz) bags dark chocolate chips

 First, crush your oreos in a food processor or blender. Stir with 8 tablespoons of melted butter until well mixed. Press crust into two 8-inch pie pans. Freeze for 10 minutes.

 Mix 8 tablespoons of butter with brown sugar in a saucepan. Cook on medium heat, whisking constantly until bubbles form. Keep cooking for 1 minute. Remove from heat. Slowly whisk 1/4 cup heavy cream into the mixture. Pour into crusts and freeze for 35-40 minutes until the caramel is chilled and set, but not frozen.

 Bring the remaining 1 cup heavy cream to a simmer over medium heat. Pour over chocolate chips. Let sit for 1 minute, and then whisk until very smooth. Pour chocolate over caramel and freeze for 30 minutes or store in fridge.

 This pie was SO good! It is very rich, so plan on cutting small slices.

Enjoy!

Click here for the Dark Chocolate Salted Caramel Oreo Pie recipe printable.

Click here to see our 2015 Thanksgiving post.

Central and South American Regional Meal (Siobhan)

~Central and South American Regional Meal~

Our latest regional meal was from Central and South America. We had a lot of fun putting together a delicious meal full of Mexican food. I'm putting all of the recipe links throughout the post...

Leo and Mom made some Salsa. It was amazing!

Click here for the Yummiest Salsa Ever recipe printable.

Rus and Leo made Black Bean Soup with lots of yummy toppings.

Click here for the Mexican Black Bean Soup recipe printable.

Elim and I made Empanadas for our main course.

Click here for the Empanadas recipe printable.

For dessert Tert, Filia, Mom, Elim and I made this Tres Leches Cake.

Click here for the Tres Leches Cake recipe printable.

We also made Mexican Hot Chocolate. 

Click here for the Mexican Hot Chocolate recipe printable.

Alma Mater Academy Kitchen Staff :)

Click here to see all of our regional meal posts.