QUESTION TWO: CULTURE

CHINESE SPRING FESTIVAL 

The chinese spring festival, widely known as the chinese new year in the west, is one of the most important traditional and public holiday in china.
he Spring Festival 2012 start in January 22 (Chinese New Year's Eve). 2012 is the year of dragon. The festival falls on the first day of the first lunar month (usually in late January and early February), and ends with Lantern Festival which is on the 15th day.  The New Year celerations may begin one or two days before the festival.
The festival is celebrated grandily across country with various cultural activities arranged. Firework shows, dragon dancing and lion dancing are the most common Chinese New Year activities.  Even days before the festival, Chinese families clean the house. The practice of house cleaning before the New Year is believed to sweep away bad luck and bring good-fortune in the coming year. Windows and doors are decorated with rnew year paintings.

Chinese New Year Food

Chinese New Year Foods are very important to Chinese people. All family members come together to eat at this time. Chinese New Year foods are not only delicious but it is traditional to eat certain foods over this festival. Chinese Dumplings, Fish, Spring Rolls, Nian Gao are usually seen as delicious and eaten at this time.

Nian Gao (Glutinous Rice Cake): In Chinese, Nian Gao sounds like "getting higher year by year". In Chinese people's mind, the higher you are, the more prosperous your business is. Main ingredients of Nian Gao are sticky rice, sugar, Chestnuts, Chinese date and lotus leaves.

Chinese Dumplings: Chinese Dumplings look like silver ingots. Legend has it that the more dumplings you eat during New Year celebration, more money you can make in the New Year.

Spring Roll: People like Spring Roll because they are nutritious and delicious. Spring Rolls contain pork and vegetable. They can be easily taken on picnics. They get their name because they are traditionally eaten during Chinese New Year Celebration.

WEEK 4: LEMON MERINGUE PIE

Lemon Meringue Pie

In week 4 we made lemon meringue pie it was a very complex and tasty dish. Overall i think that the dish turned out to be a success. Some things i did good while cooking the pie was the piping,it was very neat on top on the lemon curd and it looked very good, also the lemon curd turned out good and i kept on top of it to make sure it didn't burn or over cooked. The next time i cook the Lemon meringue pie i will use a home-made shortbread crust base because it wasn't very thick and just tasted like normal puff pastry, i will also pipe bigger amounts of meringue on in so that the pie isn't so sour and there is the sweet taste as well as the sour so it tastes good when all together.
When i tasted the pie the shortbread was very thing and dry, the lemon curd was sour and a bright yellow, kind of like a gooey texture on your mouth, the meringue was sweet and sticky it tasted very sweet. Overall the Pie was a success and it looked and tasted very good!

WEEK 3: HALLOWEEN THEME

Week 3: Halloween Theme 

In week three we had our own choice of cooking something that has an Halloween theme. As i didn't have anything to cook because i wasn't prepared or ready we helped a friend who cooked a cheesecake with a spider web drawing on the top. 

How we helped her was crushing up the chocolate biscuits and adding the butter to cook the base, while isobelle made the cheesecake filling, after the tin for the cheesecake was greased we put it all the together and put it in the fridge. We didn't get to taste the final product but we heard it tasted very good. 

Week 2: CHICKEN PARMIGIANA BAKE

CHICKEN PARMIGIANA BAKE 

In week 2 we made chicken parmigiana bake, it was a very easy and tasty dish. 

Overall I think that the dish worked out really well. Some things i did well was i kept on top of the recipe. I had the dish made and cleaned up with still alot of time to go in the lessons. 

The next time i cook the parmigiana Bake I would wait until i get home to cook it, because it had been cooked at least 3 times before we ate it the chicken was dry. I would also put more Cheese and breadcrumbs on the top just to make it a bit more crunchier and tasty on top and to get more of the actual Chicken Parmigiana taste! 

The dish was very tasty and it seemed to have alot of different flavours which i enjoyed. The dish we cooked would be very appealing to people at all ages because it isnt anything different or with mum food younger kids dont like and it is very basic! 

 

QUESTION ONE: Dietary Disease

TYPE 2 DIABETES

Type 2 diabetes is the most common form of diabetes, it affects 85-90% of people that have diabetes. It usually affects adults but more and more younger people including children are getting diabetes.
In Type 2 diabetes the pancreas makes some insulin but it is not produced in the amount your body needs and does not work effectively.
Type 2 diabetes results from a combination of genetic and  environmental factors. although there is a strong genetic predisposition, the risk is greatly increasing when associated with lifestyle factors such as high blood pressure, overweight or obesity, insufficient physical activity, poor diet and the classic apple shape body were extra weight is carried around the waist.
In type 2 Diabetes, most people dont get many symptoms at all, while other signs are dismissed as a part of getting older. By the time type 2 diabetes is diagnosed, the complications of diabetes may already be present. Symptoms Include: 

• Being excessively thirsty

• Passing more urine

• Feeling tired and lethargic

• Always feeling hungry

• Having cuts that heal slowly

• Itching, skin infections

• Blurred vision

• Gradually putting on weight

• Mood swings

• Headaches

• Feeling dizzy

• Leg cramps

when suffering from diabetes it can be very hard to find foods you are able to eat, this recipe was taken from  Annette Syn's Symply Too Good To Be True range of Diabetes Australia endorsed cookbooks.
THAI BEEF NOODLE SALAD
IngredientsDRESSING¼ cup fresh lime juice
¼ cup water
½ teaspoon crushed garlic
½ teaspoon crushed ginger
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon Thai chilli stir fry paste
2 teaspoons lemongrass chopped
1 tablespoon fresh coriander leaves chopped
1 tablespoon sugar
SALAD100g dried vermicelli noodles
400g raw lean rump steak
4 teaspoons Thai seasoning
cooking spray
4 cups gourmet lettuce
125g Lebanese cucumber sliced
20 cherry tomatoes cut in half
¾ cup capsicum sliced
1 carrot thinly sliced
15 snow peas thinly sliced on angle
⅓ cup shallots thinly sliced on angle
MethodTo make dressing:
1.       Place all dressing ingredients in a small mixing bowl and combine well.
To make salad: 1.       Divide salad ingredients equally over 4 dinner plates.
2.       To prepare noodles follow instructions on packet.
3.       Coat steak with Thai seasoning.
4.       In a non-stick fry pan that has been generously coated with cooking spray, fry steak until cooked to your liking.
5.       Cut into thin strips and leave to one side.
6.       Place noodles on top of salad then put rump slices over top. Pour dressing over salad.

Nutritional Information:Each serving provides: Total fat (g) 3.4, Saturated fat (g) 1.2, Fibre (g) 3.5, Protein (g) 26.8, Carbs (g) 19.3, Sugar (g) 8.5, Sodium (mg) 235, Energy (kj) 915, G.I. Estimate LOW

There is currently no cure for type 2 diabetes.