Going West, the Jasmine DK Shepard story

So at OTX West, y'know where I was an Americorps and now teach on a part-time basis, digital stories are a big deal. Windows Movie Maker comes standard on every OTX computer and honestly for a free computer you can make some pretty nifty movies with it.  Mostly we make slideshows just using pictures and audio. Everybody at OTX is supposed to do one and about half of have so far. Plus we talk about it in the Take Home Computer Program.

This video is a bit archival because it's based solely on my Americorps experience, not about anything that has happened since. I probably recorded the audio a year ago and pieced together the rough draft over the summer.  It needed more pictures, it originally had about 30% few pictures.  Check it out and let me know what you think.

Also you'll notice there's now a Hire Jasmine YouTube channel, subscribe to it and look for more videos in the coming weeks.

Where ideas are made

I try to have "brain-storming" sessions at home but when you live in a studio there's really no place to get away from media buzz.  However when I tote my laundry down a few blocks to the laundromat, I sit there for about an hour with little to do.  Because despite the nice flat screen you see, it's hard to hear over machines and they very rarely have captions on. Plus the only thing that catches my interest during the day is "Perry Mason" and "Streets of San Francisco" which wasn't on so I didn't bug the attendant about it being off.

When I was at Soko Gakuen or in the Green Building program at Laney, I took this time to study but as I'm not in school at the moment (thankfully). I just toted my notepad and wrote some ideas, future blog posts,  plans, and sketches. I probably wrote 5 pages and it's always nice to get some thoughts out. I love typing, my mother made me learn shortly after I started at Davidson, a super hard middle and highschool with lots of school work.  So I can touch-type and type fast and always read my notes afterwards, I didn't get great penmanship until college when I was indoctrinated with "Technical Writing". Like alot of engineers I write in all caps and it weirds some people out but you can always read what I write. 

It's quite late now though and I really need to get to bed, I have to get up early in the morning to go over to San Francisco for a class on "Climate Based Daylighting & Analysis" at PGnE's Pacific Energy Centre.  I'll be sure to tell you all about it!

EVO and Yoghurt Loaf Cake

Lost keys, bike tire blow-out, stepped on the cable of my external Hard-drive. Not a good day, I was all set to go to bed at 7pm to prevent anything else happening. But baking is my ultimate de-stress mechanism. I have a ton of yoghurt in my house, thanks to my Fage coupons. I kept seeing recipes for "pound cakes" and finally I saw one I liked, simple and to the point with all the things I've learned to love as a grown-up: lemons, olive oil, and greek yoghurt, and limoncello. I actually made 2 mini loaves, one of which I plan to freeze and one for later.




EVO and Yoghurt Loaf Cake adapted from Serious Eats

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• Pinch of salt
• 1 cup sugar
• Finely grated zest of 2 organic lemons
• 6oz nonfat yoghurt
  
• 3 large eggs
• 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup EVO (extra-virgin olive oil, get the good stuff make sure it's fresh)
  
• limoncella glaze (optional recipe below)

1. Getting ready: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Generously butter an 8 1/2-x-4 1/2-inch loaf pan, place the pan on a lined baking sheet and set aside. Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt and keep near by.
2. Put the sugar and zest in a medium bowl and rub the ingredients together until the sugar is fragrant. Whisk in the yogurt, eggs and vanilla. When the mixture is well blended, gently whisk in the dry ingredients. Switch to a spatula and fold in the oil. The batter will be thick and shiny. Scrape it into the pan and smooth the top.
3. Bake the cake for 50 to 55 minutes, or until it is golden and starts to come away from the sides of the pan; a knife inserted into the center of the cake will come out clean. Cool on a rack for 5 minutes, then run a knife between the cake and the sides of the pan. Unmold and cool to room temperature right-side up on wire rack. Add glaze while still cake is slightly warm.
   

Storing: You can keep the cake at room temperature for at least 4 days or freeze it unglazed for up to 2 months

Limoncello Glaze recipe from this link

• 3/4 cup powdered sugar
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 3 tablespoons limoncello
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1.5 teaspoons grated lemon peel

1. Mix the ingredients in a small saucepan on low heat, melting the butter, until it simmers.
   
2. If it's too thin, add extra powdered sugar by the tablespoon.
   
3. Spoon the glaze warm over your dessert, and allow to cool completely (over an hour).

Jasmine Shepard on Peralta Matters

So as you know, I recently finished up a 10 week program. During finals some of the heads of the program asked if I'd do an interview on Peralta Matters, the local show about Peralta Colleges. I was really nervous about it until I realised it was a bunch of nice AV folks. See, when I was at Davidson for middle and highschool I was on sound crew and to this day I still say "striking" whenever I turn on a light. Thanks to Hennessey one of the best teachers I ever had in my whole life.
They asked about what we learned and how one would take the introductory course and turn it into an Associates degree. Most surprising to me they mentioned my engineering degree and asked me why I decided on attending Laney. As I told them, there are lots of engineers out there and I have to make myself more competitive because I'm tired of underemployment.

Let me know what you think of the video!

Vegan French Toast

No, I haven't completely gone over to the dark side. I just like different kinds of food and challenging myself in the kitchen. I started out wanting to use the quart of milk that I need to use by Monday but then the thought of vanilla almond milk with walnuts and bread just enticed me more than cow's milk. So I'll save that for maybe some Alfredo. I sort of made the recipe as I went along, after a quick Google.

Vegan French Toast
Ingredients

1. 3/4 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
2. 1/4 cup silken tofu
3. 1tbsp sugar or equivalent (I used Equal)
4. 2-4 slices of sandwich bread
   
5. Hazelnut Agave Nectar (for topping)
6. Walnuts (for garnish)

Procedure

1. With a whisk smooth tofu
2. Add milk and sugar and whisk until smooth and a bit frothy
   
3. Dip bread in milk mixture soak both sides
4. On the stovetop heat a pan, using spray or butter to coate pan
   
5. Cook on each side till brown
6. Top with Agave Nectar and a few walnuts if desired

I had mine with some fresh ground Peet's Italian Roast. Talk about a great breakfast for dinner.

According to the corn farmers....

Now I'm from Georgia with family from North Carolina that has farmed generations so I'm all for the farmers getting what they deserve but this is ridiculous. I will simply post this article and let you decide. Let me know what you think!

High Fructose Corn Syrup Provides Many Consumer Benefits
Source

High fructose corn syrup often plays a key role in the integrity of food and beverage
products that has little to do with sweetening.

Here are some examples in popular products:

Baked goods	In baked goods, high fructose corn syrup: gives a pleasing brown crust to breads and cakes; contributes fermentable sugars to yeast-raised products; reduces sugar crystallization during baking for soft-moist textures; and enhances flavors of fruit fillings.
Yogurt	In yogurt, high fructose corn syrup: provides fermentable sugars; enhances fruit and spice flavors; controls moisture to prevent separation; and regulates tartness.
Spaghetti sauces, ketchup, and condiments	In spaghetti sauces, ketchup, and condiments, high fructose corn syrup: enhances flavor and balance – replaces the “pinch of table sugar" grandma added to enhance spice flavors; and balances the variable tartness of tomatoes.
Beverages	In beverages, high fructose corn syrup: provides greater stability in acidic carbonated sodas than sucrose; and flavors remain consistent and stable over the entire shelf- life of the product.
Granola, breakfast and energy bars	In granola, breakfast and energy bars, high fructose corn syrup: enhances moisture control, retards spoilage, and extends product freshness; provides soft texture; and enhances spice and fruit flavors.
Canned and frozen fruits	In canned and frozen fruits, high fructose corn syrup: protects the firm texture of canned fruits; reduces freezer burn in frozen fruits; and enhances fruit flavors.
Frozen beverage concentrates	In frozen beverage concentrates, high fructose corn syrup: has a lower freezing point, so frozen beverage concentrates have the added convenience of being pourable straight from the freezer and easier for consumers to thaw and mix with water.

School's out for now

I finally finished my classes at Laney College!  A couple of weeks ago I had my finals and on April 4th we had a small ceremony to recognise the accomplishments that our group have achieved. 
Over the past 10 weeks I learned alot about the world of energy efficient retro-fitting and green building in general.  I learned how to conduct a blower door test and how to do the relevant calculations, honestly that was my favourite topic we learned in construction class.  I love tests and calculations!  We had some really great teachers who had a real passion for what they do.  Every class I learned something different but I admit that "The Sustainable Built Enviroment" was my favourite class, it was twice a week and taught by John Shurtz.  We learned so much about green building materials, off-gassing, different types of insulation and construction, it blew my mind!  My family and friends have been on me to get LEED certification and I didn't really see the point until I took this class. Now I so want to become a LEED Green Associate and one day a LEED AP. 
For the past few months my interests in engineering had been waning, I figured I'd been out of school to long to have any hope of really getting an engineering position. That I'd have to go with technology education, which I do love doing but it's not what I went to school for. It's not what I've been striving to be since I was 7.  But now I see that I do have chance and that there are things that I can do to add to my engineering education that cost little to nothing.

The next step is to figure out exactly how I will describe this 10 week course on my resume' and to start trying to get out there in the "Green World" of Northern California.  I've already signed up for 2 classes at Pacific Gas and Electric (PGnE) one is called Integrating Energy Efficiency & Renewables in Home Retrofits  and the other is "Climate Based Daylighting & Analysis".  I really feel that my months of being underemployed are drawing to an end and I can't wait to start working and putting all the knowledege I learned at Georgia Southern and at Laney to good use.