Becoming a food critic

Well, it is now your turn to review your own cooking and results.

The idea is that you write about the experience of cooking, the reason why you chose that dish, the process itself (clear or confusing instructions) and how you found it (easy peasy, a piece of cake, or rather complicated, too much time consuming, worth the time, way too elaborate, relaxing, inspiring, mouth watering). Maybe you could also refer to the ingredients, in case there was something that was either difficult or impossible for you to find, and what you used instead. It may also be a good idea to state whether or not you had cooked something similar before (a good chance to use the past perfect).

You will then tell me about the opinions that you got from those who dared to taste it, and of course your own, as regards flavour, texture and appearance.

Finally, you could mention if you reckon you will make it again, whether you would improve it somehow or stick to the same ingredients and instructions, and what kind of occasion it would be appropriate for.

Here is a list of vocabulary that you may find useful: 

FLAVOURS and TASTES /’fleivə/	PHONETICS		TRANSLATION
Bitter			Amargo
Sour	/sauə/		Agrio
Hot / Spicy			Picante
Mild			Suave
Salty	/o:/		Salado
Sweet			Dulce
Sugary			Azucarado / dulce
Sickly			Too much sugar
Fresh			Fresco
Bland			Not having a strong or interesting taste - Insipid
Acrid			Having a strong bitter smell or taste that is unpleasant
Stale			Rancio / pasado – stale bread
Tart			Having an unpleasant sour taste
Pungent	/’pᴧnʤənt/		Having a strong taste or smell
Disgusting			Asqueroso
Stodgy			Heavy and making you feel very full
Light			Not containing much fat
Fatty			Containing a lot of fat
Appetizing			Apetitoso
Delicious			Delicioso
Savoury - unsavoury	/’seivəri/		Having a taste that is salty not sweet – pleasant taste or smell
Zippy			Lively and exciting, specially in flavour
Tasty	/teIsti/		Sabroso / having a strong and pleasant flavour
Taste + adjective Taste of sth Taste like sth			It tastes sweet The ice tasted of mint This drink tastes like sherry
Tasteless			Soso / having little or no flavour
Tasteful			Attractive and of good quality (Clothes, furniture, decoration)
TEXTURES	PHONETICS	TRANSLATION
Chewy		Needing to be chewed a lot before it can be swallowed
Chunky		Containing thick pieces Chunky marmalade
Creamy		Thick and smooth, similar to cream, containing a lot of cream
Crispy		Crujiente
Crunchy		Firm and crisp and making a sharp sound when you bite or crush it
Crusty		Having a hard outer layer Fresh crusty bread
Dry		Not wet, damp or sticky
Greasy		Cooked with too much oil
Heavy		Large in amount or very solid Heavy lunch or dinner
Juicy		Containing a lot of juice and good to eat
Mushy		Soft and thick, like mush (mush: a soft thick mass or mixture)
Oily		Containing or covered with oil
Rubbery		Looking or feeling like rubber
Stodgy		Heavy and making you feel very full
Stringy		Containing long thin pieces like string and difficult to chew
Sun-dried		Dried naturally by the heat of the sun
Tender		Easy to bite through and cut
Thick		Not flowing very easily Thick soup
Thin		Containing more liquid than is normal or expected: the sauce was thin and tasteless
Tough	/tᴧf/	Difficult to cut or chew
Watery		Containing too much water, thin and having no taste: watery soup
Frozen		Congelado
How would you like it, sir /madam?		¿Cómo le gustaría señor / señora?
Have you seasoned the stew?		Sazonar / salpimentar
Burnt		Quemado  / Burnt toast
Well-done		Cooked thoroughly or for a long time / bien hecho, pasado
Medium		Al punto
Rare		Not done / poco hecho – vuelta y vuelta
Raw	/o:/	not cooked / crudo
Over-cooked = overdone		Muy hecho
Under-cooked = underdone		Poco hecho
Done to a turn		Just perfect, not overdone
Edible / inedible Drinkable (un-) / potable		Comestible Potable
More-ish		Informal: causing a desire for more (adjective)

A song around the globe

THE PLAYING FOR CHANGE FOUNDATION IS DEDICATED TO CONNECTING THE WORLD THROUGH MUSIC BY PROVIDING RESOURCES TO MUSICIANS AND THEIR COMMUNITIES AROUND THE WORLD.

A decade ago a small group of documentary filmmakers set out with a dream to create a film rooted in the music of the streets. Not only has that dream been realized, it has blossomed into a global sensation called Playing For Change, a project including musicians of every level of renown, that has touched the lives of millions of people around the world.

While traveling the world filming and recording musicians, the crew became intimately involved with the music and people of each community they visited. Although many of these communities had limited resources and a modest standard of living, the people in them were full of generosity, warmth, and above all they were connected to each other by a common thread: music.

Out of these discoveries, the Playing For Change Foundation was born and made its mission to ensure that anyone with the desire to receive a music education would have the opportunity to do so. The Playing For Change Foundation is dedicated to the fundamental idea that peace and change are possible through the universal language of music.

This is an example of what they do, I found it quite inspiring, as when you are walking down a street and there's a musician playing beautifully, as if it were the soundtrack of your own life. So here it is for you to enjoy too.

Jamie cooks summer

As most of you probably know, Jamie Oliver is an extremely successful British chef with a fresh and lively attitude towards food. His TV series are world-famous and he has written 15 cookery books. He has led a revolution in the way people eat in Britain, and has successfully accompanied thousands of parents in protest in an attempt to change school meals. Now food in many schools is better quality, fresher, seasonal, and much more healthier.

In this video he simply shows us his cooking ways for the British summer. Ideas for a picnic or a day out with friends, far from ham & cheese sandwiches. I hope you enjoy it.

He'll first tell you about how to make a gourgeous chilli con carne to take away, and I actually do think that his chilli con carne and guacamole are the best ever, so why don't you give them a try?

Then he will show you how to smoke fish using a bucket, a very handy idea for a beach day after going fishing!

Structures with a present tense to talk about the future

There are quite a few structures in English that require a present tense although they refer to the future. Let's take a look at a few examples:

If                                                     early, I'll give you a call.
Unless                                              early I won't be able to meet you.
In case                                             early I'll book the restaurant.
As long as                                          early I'll see you tonight.
When         the meeting finishes     I'll text you.
Until                                                 I won't be able to contact you.
After                                                I'll come round.
Before                                             I'll tell you what time I could meet.
As soon as                                       I'll drop by the pub.


Let's practise with a listening activity. 

You are going to listen to a man talking to a group of people about something they are going to do the next day. Fill in the gaps while you listen:

 

1. We're going .............. the weather gets much worse.
2. .................. that it doesn't rain too heavily tonight, I'll see you back here at 6 o'clock.
3. We won't reach the top of the mountain ................. we set out early.
4. You need a whistle ...................... you get separated from the rest of the group.
5. ................... you didn't bring large cameras.
6. ................... we all stay together, we'll have a great time.
7. I .................. you'd come a few weeks ago.
8. .................. we had dinner now.

Conditionals - Listening practice

As I told you in class, we're not going to see conditionals Type zero or one this year. However, here you have a listening that includes all four types. Listen to the audio twice. The first time, answer the questions, and then fill in the gaps with the right tenses the second time you listen to it. Piece of cake!


You are going to hear a spy, known as Double X, talking to his boss, Mr Seymour, about a photograph which Mr Seymour gives him. 

TASK 1. Answer the questions.

1. What does Mr Seymour want Double X to do? 

2. Why doesn't Mr. Seymour give Double X a better photo?

3. Who sent the photo to Mr. Seymour?

4. Why is the photo fuzzy?

5. How is it possible to make the picture clearer?

6. Who is in the photo?

7. Can you guess who sent the photo to Mr. Seymour, and why? 

TASK 2. Fill in the gaps.

1. If you .................. him, I ......................... extremely pleased.
2. If we .............. a better picture, we .................... it to you.
3. If she ................... us that, I ............................ to ask for your help.
4. It ................ me somewhere to start if I ......... where she'd phoned from.

5. It ................ a bit clearer if you ............ at it with your eyes half closed.

Somebody that I used to know - a song

This song will help you revise and add up new expressions to your vocabulary on relationships. Listen to the song while you fill in the gaps, and then find their synonyms among the words and expressions provided in the column on the right. I hope you enjoy it!

Somebody that I used to know

by Gotye

First fill in the gaps ___________ I think of when we were together Like when you said you felt so ______ you could die I told myself  that you were right for me But felt so lonely in your company But that was love and it's __________ I still remember. You can get addicted to a certain __________ of sadness Like resignation to the end, always the end So when we _______ that we could not make sense Well you said that we would still be friends But I'll admit that I was glad that it was ______ But you didn't have to __________ Make out like it never happened and that we were nothing I don't even need your love, but you treat me like a _______ And that feels so rough No, you didn't have to stoop so low Have your friends _______  your records And then change your number Guess that I don't need that, though Now you're just somebody that I used to know Now you're just somebody that I used to know Now you're just somebody that I used to know ________________ I think of all the times you screwed me over But had me believing it was always something that I'd done But I don't wanna live that way Reading into every word you say You said that you could let it go And I wouldn't catch you hung up on somebody that you used to know-oh-oh But you didn't have __________ Make it like it never happened and that we were nothing (oh) I don't even need your love,  but you treat me like a ________ and that feels so rough (oh) No, you didn't have to stoop so low Have your friends _______  your records And then change your number Guess that I don't need that, though Now you're just somebody that I used to know

Then match these synonyms to the words you wrote in the gaps. A pain The relationship had ended Pick up Sometimes Discovered Someone that you don’t know Pleased Stop our friendship Type of