From Wikipedia:
The OWL (Ordinary Wizarding Level) exams are taken at the end of a student’s fifth year at Hogwarts.
OWLs are offered in most subjects a student takes in their first five years, and many consist of both written (theory) and practical tests. Courses in which OWLS are offered are Ancient Runes, Arithmancy, History of Magic, Muggle Studies, all of which have written sections only; Astronomy, Care of Magical Creatures, Charms, Defence Against the Dark Arts, Herbology, Potions, Transfiguration, all of which have theory and practice exams; and Divination, which seems to have only a Practice section.
And Here at the NEACA this week:
The BOWLs– Like the Baking version of OWLs. A written (theory) and practical test on Health Supportive Baking and Pastry.
Okay, I know I’ve already referenced Harry Potter on this blog but for anyone who is a HP fan the best way I can describe this week and some of the anxiety about it is to compare it to how the Hogwarts students felt before their OWLs. Nerdy but true. Thank goodness their isn’t a Professor Snape at our culinary school ;).
The beginning of the week was pretty fun and laid back though. One highlight in the kitchen this week of our Baking section included making tons of fun and unique recipes that explored current trends in baking. We were able to work with aquafaba which is pretty amazing. I was able to work on a Gluten Free and Vegan Cake Donut Recipe and I really enjoyed decorating a few of the donuts in various ways. Here are some photos of our yummy creations from that day:
On Tuesday each student was able to make the same cookie recipe but we each developed our own Gluten Free Baking mix from scratch to see how each mix changed the outcome with the cookies. That was a really neat lab! All the cookies were pretty yummy too. See our creations here:
Wednesday we had our B.O.W.L aka Baking practicum and written exam. It went pretty well, but geez, I sure can feel the nerves and tension each practicum. I didn’t think I was going to be very anxious after studying a lot and running through the practicum recipes at home last weekend but something about being tested adds to the stress. I had nightmares about making scones the whole night before. It went well though.
In addition to the Baking exams we had 6 hours in our nutrition class on Thursday plus an exam to finish that course off as well. The last 3 weeks we have had Baking in the morning and Nutrition Science in the afternoon and it’s been interesting but exhausting and challenging. This week I think we all felt pretty ready to change up our schedules.
Another sad note- our classmate Kara was only signed up to stay through the Baking Section so we had to say goodbye to her and she’ll head back to her home and hubby in California. It went by to fast and we were all sad about saying goodbye to her. Also, our Baking immersion student, Devorah from Israel, left as well. Too many goodbyes this week!
Two more weeks and this Quarter is over! I can’t believe how fast the last 9 weeks have gone and how much new information has been crammed in this brain of mine. The cake donuts make it all worth it ;).
I hope you all have some “cake donuts” in your life lately as well.
Loves!
Ashley
Food For Thought
I enjoy using real chicken eggs and don’t have any problems with beating egg whites but did you know there’s a plant based food that will whip up in the same fashion as egg whites? It’s pretty cool. Aquafaba is the water that you usually drain off of your canned chickpeas (or other beans). It tastes fine in dessert recipes and it’s nice that you can use that beany water that usually gets thrown down the drain!
Here’s some more information: