I feel ya, poppa.

I remember my father used to get so disgusted. He was a chemistry professor at CUNY Staten Island, and his preference was for grad students, but he was forced to take at least one class of undergrads for basic chem every semester. I remember once talking to him when he was in a foul mood (which meant he was simply quieter than usual), and he shook his head and said, "They're so stupid." And he meant it -- it was a combination of factors as he understood it -- these kids were only there because they didn't know what to do with themselves, they were avoiding the real world of the job market, they didn't even try to comprehend what he was teaching, he knew and they knew it would have little meaning to their lives, and a good number of them were so poorly prepared by the education they had previously, that even if they weren't born stupid, they have now been rendered that way.

I taught my culinary class yesterday, six recipes of various complexities, from making breakfast sausage from scratch, which involved disassembling and grinding meat and fat back at temp with a self-made cure mix, to a simple granola recipe, where you combine everything except 2 ingredients by hand, toast it then mix the final ingredients. The kids were a bit amped on sugar for the beginning where I talk a little about the subject matter and go over the recipes, and I broke them into three teams of three. They self-determined the groups, and there was definitely an A team, a B team and a fuck-anything-up team. So I assigned the recipes accordingly, and let them all go with minimal guidance, to see what would happen.

The A & B team were fine, they asked some appropriate questions, no big deal. The C team made the granola first. I had gone over the recipe before hand -- do not add the dried fruit until the granola comes out of the oven. I even asked the class why do it this way, why not just toss it in (because all the ingredients are raw and baking will bring out the flavor, while the fruit have already have been cooked by dehydration, and would only burn them and make them bitter.) The C-team, of course, throws the fruit in and when I taste it after, I ask them what all the black bits are. They look at my dumbly. I taste a bit, and there is apple-tones matching an intense carbony bitterness. I ask if they put the fruit in before baking. More dumb stares. I pictured my dad looking depressed and shaking his head. I feel ya, poppa, I feel ya.


BREAKFAST: 8:30am, 4 buttermilk pancakes, water, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5


LUNCH: 12:15pm, hotdog, potato nik, kimchi, cheesy poofs, water, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5

SCHOOL DINNER: 6:30pm, challah french toast, hash browns, blueberry muffins, sausage patties, sweet iced tea,  1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5


EVENING SNACK: 11pm, cheesy poofs, french cous cous, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5