This blog post is for reflecting on how I think my presentation went, and also how I think the entire Genius Hour 2 went! Starting off with the presentation, I think I did pretty well. Once again, I think it was a good idea to make a video, as I was not constantly stuttering or repeating words. I think it was also good that I barely put any words on the slides, and put pictures instead. By doing this, people actually had to listen to the video instead of just reading the words on the slides and getting bored. I think it also made it more interesting and gave proof of my progress. I’m also very glad that I chose to do a before and after in my presentation because I think this definitely showed my progress, as well as what measures I took to improve. Focusing more on the entirety of Genius Hour, I’m pretty proud of all of my progress and dedication! I managed to upload all of my blog posts on time (usually). Adding on, cooking these dishes took me a long time. When I mean long, I mean very long! Each dish took me around 2 hours… This kind of made me want to choose something else to do, but in the end, I persevered. But I’m happy to say that as Genius Hour went on, I managed to make a few dishes in 1 hour, which is a big improvement! As for my expert, I actually managed to find one! He was very kind and gave me tons of helpful tips and tricks that I was able to apply to my final dish.

I am very, very happy that I decided to choose cooking this Genius Hour. I have learnt so many skills, and I have improved so much compared to the beginning of Genius Hour. I have also been frequently helping my mom out in the kitchen, so I think she’s pretty happy that I chose cooking for Genius Hour as well. I’m really proud of all the hard work and dedication I put into this project, and I am more than happy to be able to be walking away with all of these newfound cooking skills!

Bye!

Hi! This week is the final week of Genius Hour! I think that I have improved tons, and I have also helped my mom out in the kitchen way more. I’m really glad I chose cooking as my Genius Hour project! Since it is the last week, I am making butter chicken again. However, I’ll be using my expert’s tips to make it better!

(Same recipe as last week.)

This dish was really, really good! Using my expert’s tips, I made the butter chicken as best as it gets! It was everything I wanted: creamy, smooth, and delicious. Firstly, I made sure I marinated the chicken overnight so that the spices had time to soak in. However, per his suggestion, I marinated it with yogurt as well. To fix the problem I had with the tart flavour of the crushed tomatoes, I added tons of heavy cream and yogurt! This seemed to definitely work, as it wasn’t as tart as before. Additionally, I made sure to add a lot (and I mean a lot) of sugar. This actually helped balance the flavour of the crushed tomatoes too! Last but not least, the problem I had with all the chunks in the sauce. I blended the sauce with an actual (and not handheld) blender this time. This did the trick, and I was left with a creamy, smooth sauce. I think it was way better not having to chew pieces of garlic and onion like I had to last time. Overall, the tips my expert gave me were super helpful, and I’m grateful I was able to reach out to him! I’m pretty proud of this dish, and I’m excited to showcase my success (and failures..) in my final presentation!!

Video: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1PIZL8Edx-oCf7P0GmB4CKW7zK6ldv267/view?usp=sharing