E N D
ORGANIC FOODS By: Chase McKinney
Thesis My project is about the benefits of organic foods. I am exploring the art of organic cooking and how it varies from ingredients and the quality of the product. I am also growing various herbs for my project. I plan to create an organic dish for my product and for the judges to taste.
What is organic food? • The term organic is used generously these days, but the only true organic foods are certified by the United States Department of Agriculture, or USDA, as being from 90%-100% organic foods. Organic foods do not contain pesticides, hormones, or other chemicals.
I chose organic foods because I have always been interested in the subject. In this project, I hope to better my cooking skills and become more familiar with the kitchen. I am also glad I will be exploring further into the world of organics, including organic gardening. I wish to get more skills by learning about growing organically with my herb garden. WHY ORGANIC FOODS?
3 random facts I have found several interesting facts out about organic gardening. • Organic farmers use other plants to draw pests away from there main crops, instead of using chemical pesticides. • Organic chefs use herbs and spices to flavor and sweeten but not overwhelm the food, or make it less healthy for you. • The different methods used to have fully organic livestock and the differences in the meats.
Product: Main Dish • For my main dish, I have made organic lasagna. The lasagna I am making is a meat lasagna, but there will not only be meat in it. All ingredients used were USDA certified organic. It takes around and hour to prepare and cook this dish.
Product: Main Dish • This dish comprises of lasagna noodles, ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese, spinach, and ground beef. • I also added spices, such as oregano, rosemary and basil.
Product: side dish • For my side dish, I have created an organic salad. I made this salad out of Hearts of Romaine lettuce and baby spinach. • To add flavor I made croutons out of hemp bread, used balsamic vinaigrette as dressing, and added carrots and cheese.
Product: dessert • For my dessert I have made a raspberry cheesecake from scratch. To make this item, I used lots of cream cheese, sugar, flour, sour cream, eggs, and vanilla extract. To add the raspberry flavor I pureed them and added them to the batter.
Mentor My mentors name is Max. I have known him for about a year, he is my friends father. He's from Colorado. He has told me much about organic cooking , and what he's experienced in this area. He has never worked as a chef, however he has grown organically and has cooked organically for many many years.
Visual aids • My visual aids will be the food I prepare for the judges, a PowerPoint presentation depicting what I learned throughout this project. I will also include pictures to document all I have learned and the steps I went through to create this meal.
What I’ve learned and challenges: • I have learned how to cook organically. I also learned about growing organically, and how different it is from conventional foods. I also learned about raising livestock organically, and how much more humane it is. I’m very happy I had the chance to create this meal and learn how to do so. • The biggest challenge I will face is finding time to work with my mentor, as we both work often. • Another challenge is paying for all the materials I need. What I learned My Challenges
Thanks for watching! PowerPoint by Kendall Chase Mckinney