As I’ve mentioned in the past, much of my nutrition coursework entails food preparation. (Remember my muffin experiments? How about my first attempt at pastry?) The most recent chapter in the food prep saga is foodservice management. This week marked the beginning of our rotations in the on-campus dining hall, where I once again get to don my lunchlady ensemble.

Sexy.

Yesterday morning, I was assigned to the “expo” station, which was featuring pho for the lunchtime menu. Although I was a little apprehensive at first, I soon got to know my veteran supervisor, and it ended up being quite fun and educational. A few things I learned on Day 1:

• Efficiency is king. The two of us managed to pump out 100 servings of pho and prepared for the dinner menu within the span of an hour. If I were working alone in my kitchen, making a single serving, I probably would have taken the same amount of time.
• Nutritional information is just an estimate. Although there was a very precise recipe written out for each cook, I saw very little measuring going on. (“ Does that look like an ounce to you?” “Uh, sure.”) I’m not criticizing the lack of precision—just making an observation.
• Nobody knows what “pho” is. I spent much more time explaining what the dish was than actually serving it. College females just ain’t into pho apparently.

I head back to Lunchlady Land tomorrow, so I’m sure I’ll have much more to report in the future!

On the breakfast menu was a batch of trail mix-topped oat bran.

Lunch was a re-make of a college favorite. As some long-time readers may recall, I used to get a Crunchy Broccoli Salad at The Loop at least once a week. I miss that crunchy goodness, so I decided to make it for myself at home—I even went to the trouble of getting Ramen noodles for the topping (truth be told, I made Seth buy it, as I was afraid I would be judged by the cashier for buying such rubbish).

Once home from a seriously rough day of class, I made a batch of stuffed acorn squash for Seth and me. (This was actually carnival squash, not acorn squash).

I’ve still got some work to do—good night!

Filed under: Meals