Nagasari

Nagasari is a traditional steamed banana rice cake (dessert) from Indonesia. It is creamy on the outside with smooth texture and sweet on the inside. The sweetness also depends on the sweetness of the banana. Nagasari is made from rice flour, coconut milk, bananas, sugar, and salt, wrapped in banana leaves.
Material
Grated coconut
Rice flour
Hungkwe flour
Sugar
Water
Bananas
Pandan leaves
Salt
Banana leaves (wrapper)
Equipment
Saucepan
Stove
Spoon
Knife
Strainer
Steamer
Skills
The skills needed to make nagasari is peeling, cutting, squeezing, stirring, boiling, and wrapping. Peeling and cutting are used when you take out the banana from the skin and then cut each of them into 2 or 3 pieces. Squeezing is necessary to make a fresh coconut milk. Stirring is needed when boiling the coconut milk, sugar, and salt. Also, stirring is done to mix the both of the flour with water. The flour stirring is a bit hard because sometimes the flour is hard to mix with the water so it takes some times andhas to be done carefully.

Process Journal (Design, layout, color, font, printing, unique)

BOOKS
Design (layout, color, font)
Based on the survey and also my opinion, people would like for the photo of each recipe to take one page. In other words, one page for the recipe and one page for the photo. It is revealed that teenager’s most favorite book format is comics. For the cover of the book, they would like for it to be colorful (more than 5 colors). Their opinion happened to be the same as my idea and my most compatible book form. As I have said in this research, colorful layout and comic form of book are my favorite things. As for the font, I do not ask them the question about font in the survey because since this personal project refer to myself as one of the resources. I only ask some basic things about the recipe book to people in order to know about their taste. I decided that the font should be big and of course, stand out with the colorful background (cover). For the inside of the book, the font should not be too ordinary in order to create interesting sense.

The comic is drawn by myself, with the font of the comic also being written by me, and also the coloring will be done by hand so that some of the recipe book will look natural. The designed characters in my comic will be the guide who explains about the origin or information of each of the foods in the book.

Overall this is the structure of my recipe book:
Cover
The picture of the cover
My intention of creating the recipe book
Table of content (each country section)
Title page of the country (with different design for each country)
Comic panel (discussing the background of the food)
Recipe of the food
Full page photo of the food
And so on until done (number 5-8)
Notes from me

Printing
It has been decided for the book to be hard cover and the pages of the book to be thick.

Unique
Based from the survey teenagers classify a recipe book as unique by “Big food picture with recipe (one page picture, one page recipe) with background of the food in comic format. Their most chosen answer is also the same as my thinking. By looking at this, I can conclude that it is very rare for people to see comic inside a recipe book. That was what I called unique, something that people rarely see or have never seen before. As for me, I have never seen a single recipe book with comic inside. It is very rare for me to be interested in a recipe book, so I decided to make the first most interesting recipe book that I can think of. I let out all my idea about “interesting recipe book” to my personal project.

How the information suited to the project?
The information suited to the project by letting me know the basic things to do later in the creating process of my recipe book. By doing the research above, I know the structure of the recipe book, layout, color, design, printing, and the font. Later in the creating process I already know what to do because of the information. They are the basic things that make up my project and my focus which is the book. One important thing is the “unique” part. Unique is my specification which has to be accomplished in this personal project. I know what people classify as unique and finally I can create an extraordinary recipe book that people rarely see.
Is the information reliable (authority)?
The information came from a survey and myself as the references. It is reliable because i take them from majority of answers and I find them reliable because they quickly answer my questions. As for myself as the references, I can answer the questions quickly since I can answer them based on my likings.
Is the information accurate?
The information is accurate because a survey, unlike a website cannot be found in another source because it is a direct information come directly from other people. As for myself, of course it is accurate because it comes directly from myself. To answer the questions and express my idea in my personal project, I simply let out my likings, interests, and ideas.
Is the information objective/not biased? (Objectivity)
The information is direct and there is no comparison, moreover the choices for my survey is objective so the information it gives is also objective. As for my idea, my information is also objective because I simply let out my idea without comparing my taste or interests to other that don’t like.
What information do I still need?
As for this part, the information is enough and all the section is this topic is filled out.
What new questions does my research bring?
The answers of the survey give me one single question, this time the answers happened to be the same with my ideas. My question is “If the answers are not the same with my idea and I keep on using my idea, will my personal project satisfy them?”

Evaluation of The Recipes Information

How the information suited to the project?
The information suited to the project by completing the content of my recipe book later. Recipe book contains recipe and the information above is the recipes that later will be the main part of my personal project. It is also the cause of the recipes that I can produce photos and also researching about the background of them which is the cause that I can create comics. These informations also help me to accomplish my goal. It is also connected to my AOI, Human Ingenuity which lets out my creativity by taking pictures and researching which later will be made into comic panels as my creativity. My goal is “to experience the making of asian deserts and compiles it in a form of book”. Without the informations above I cannot experience anything and my goal will never be accomplished. With the goal unaccomplished, my personal project is classified as a failed personal project.
Is the information reliable (authority)?
The informations come from 2 source, one is a book bought from a book store titled “Koleksi Resep Jajanan Pasar”. It is reliable because the one who wrote this was a woman that wishes for girls to learn cooking for their family. It can be seen from the preface of the book that she is an experienced person in cooking. The second source is internet. Many of the website I found is reliable because some other websites also have the same information and there is also some books about it.
Is the information accurate?
I think the information from the book is accurate because it came from an experienced housewife which that cooking is her part. As from the internet, I think it’s accurate because some other websites also have the same information and there is also books and blogs with the same information.
Is the information objective/not biased? (Objectivity)
I think the informations from both sources are objective because there is no comparison of food compared inside the book and internet. They talk about the reality which that if the food is popular in some country, they say so and not comparing things.
What information do I still need?
Some information about Bubur Mutiara and Orange in Syrup (the background of the food) are missing. It is very hard to find them on the internet. There are couples of website about their recipes but there is no information about them. They only say that they are desserts from a particular country. Actually both of them can be found in wikipedia but it is not a reliable source since people can edit them.
What new questions does my research bring?
My research for this topic does not bring anymore question except for the “skills” part. The skills part is written from my point of view because I already tried to cook all of them so that I can know what skills needed to make them. One single question from it is “How can I be better at this?”.

Processs Journal

Defined Problem/Background
Most people in life now, only think about fast food and buying food to save their time. Some people think that cooking is interesting especially when it comes to dessert and I was one of those people. I have a special interest in pastry and dessert. When I first came to this school I never thought of cooking but one of the subject in this school which is Design Technology has change my perspective towards food. I found it interesting and fun especially when I have to create a jam for my assignment. When I was first presented about personal project in grade 9, I immediately think about something related to cooking because it was my personal interest out of all things that I have experienced and enjoy. Personal project is not all abo ut impressing people but we have to like and enjoy it in order to create an amazing product that reflects ourselves well. One thing is that if I only created one single cooking it will be too usual for people. I wanted to make something extraordinary but the project has to reflect myself and I have to enjoy it. After I did some brainstorm, I decided that it would be desserts recipes book with unusual design unlike normal recipes book that I usually found in the bookstore to attract people because I like designing things and making desserts. I think this project is well suited for myself.

Goal: To enjoy the experiences of making Asian’s desserts and compiles it in a form of book

What are your inquiry questions? What kind of information are you looking for?
Guiding Questions
What does Nina - have for skills (dessert, books), like/dislike - dessert, like/dislike about books
Type of desserts, origin/ history, material, skills, equipment
3. Books - design (layout, color, font), printing, unique

Skills for Desserts
Based from all the cooking that I have done during the holiday, I find out about the things I am capable to do and things that I don’t about making desserts and book. First, in making dessert I am capable of cutting and shaping fruits like melon balls and making a melon bowl. I also can do simple things like boiling and cutting but not frying because I realized that I am still afraid of hot oil. I can make simple things like fruit salad, fruit in syrup, jelly and desserts that only involves simple skills. I cannot cut some fruits like avocado, because I don’t know the technique to cut it. In the end, I ended up using random technique as long as I can get the flesh of it to blend. I am not professional in creating traditional snacks like klepon and pisang goreng so I need the help of a professional like my mother.

I have the skill to decorate fruit, I realized so after I made a fruit salad with my own design. This is indeed the first time I ever make a fruit dessert but the result is not so bad instead, I think it is the greatest out of all of the desserts that I have made so far. I also found enjoyment in cutting and designing fruit.

After doing the cooking for my personal project, I realized that I am not that good in cooking and that I still have much to learn. I am not giving up and I am willing to learn because after all cooking is my interest.

Like/Dislike for Desserts
Even if I like to make desserts the most out of all courses, there are desserts that I dislike too. I don’t like desserts that is using fruits or other ingredients that I don’t like as the main ingredients. For example Avocado that is the main ingredient for Sinh To Bo, a Vietnamese avocado smoothie that I created or lemongrass leaves as the main ingredient of lemongrass tea. I also dislike desserts that are using too much cream or milk because they make my stomach feels sick. Not only the ingredients, if the recipe of the desserts are difficult to understand or too complicated I would not make them. I dislike desserts that are taking too much time to make.

I like desserts that are using my favorite ingredients as the main ingredients, sweet flavored, and not taking too much time to make it. For example desserts like fruit salad or jelly. Everything that involves fruit, agar-agar, or jelly is my favorite type of desserts because they taste good, simple, and not taking much time to make. The rate of difficulty is not that high either.

Skills for Books
The only way I can think of in creating an interesting book is to create a comic book. It is my hobby to draw a character in a blank paper. I am not that good in writing and expressing my ideas, the only skills for book that I have is to draw and make a short comic. At first, I was thinking to combine an encyclopedia about the desserts that I am making and the recipe of them but I think they will be too boring and I cannot write that much. Looking at my skills, I came up with an idea. The idea is to make a recipe book that is compatible with my skills in book. This leads to my idea which is to make a recipe book with comics inside.

I also have the skill to design by using Adobe Photoshop since I like to use photoshop even if I am a beginner. I know the basic skills to use photoshop and all I need is to let out all my creativity towards it. I was thinking to use this skill to create a cover for my recipe book.

In the process of creating a good recipe book, photos of each recipes are required. In other words, I need a photographic skill in order to produce a good photo which will be used in my recipe book. Considering it, I have never been interested in photo and I don’t know anything about how to produce a good photo. After taking photos in my cooking in this holiday, I realized that I can only take an ordinary photo. Experiencing this, I brainstorm about how can I solve this problem. After I have been thinking for several days, I came up with an idea to overcome this lack of skill. I decided to take an ordinary photo like I usually do, then I will edit it using Adobe Photoshop. As I said before, I have the basic skill to edit photo so this way I will be able to work to the fullest to create good images for each of the desserts that I have created. In conclusion, I need 2 skills required to create my recipe book. They are drawing skill and design skill (using photoshop)

Like/Dislike for Books
I dislike types of books with a little amount of image, books with small images, books with no colors, books that is only contains texts, thick book, and books with small fonts size. I think of the types of books that I mentioned before as boring and they are not entertaining at all. I think book with colors and images will provide a fun time for the reader. For example thick novels or encyclopedia books without image, they are the types of books that I dislike. The information contained are difficult to be absorbed because they are not entertaining.

I like books with an appealing and colorful cover, full of images, and provide a medium sized fonts. They are appealing and fun to read. The type of book that I like so much is comic book. For me they are fun to read, entertaining, and informations contained are quickly being absorbed into my head so it is easy to understand things through comic books. I often read a knowledge book in the form of comic book called Educomics they give knowledge through each story and it was easy to understand it and moreover, they are colorful. They really inspire me, and giving me new ideas which is very helpful for my Personal Project. Not only an education comics, I also like usual comic for entertainment. Out of my liking of comics, I decided to create some comic panels for each of the food in my recipe book. Not only teenagers my age, some adults also like to read comics so I think comic is the most appealing and interesting type of book.

How the information suited to the project?
The information above is considered as the start of my project so of course start is important. The information helps me to decide things to do such as what kind of format should the recipe book be, skills needed for this project, and what kind of desserts should I make in order for them to match with my taste. It is because I know all of them that I can decide things interesting for my book. Without knowing them, I cannot step into the next step which is cooking. Without knowing all of that, I cannot start anything. It is also connected to the AOI Human Ingenuity, I answer all of the information above based on my thinking and I freely lets out my idea for creativity which represents the AOI.
Is the information reliable (authority)?
The information comes from me directly and I think of them clearly so it is reliable. First of all, I have to know my interests and taste for books and desserts. I am the target audience for my project and I simply lets out my taste about desserts and books for the start of my project.
Is the information accurate?
The information is accurate because it is a primary information, it comes directly from me and it cannot be found in other source other than me. It is accurate because I simply know my interests and taste and I just write down how I feel and what I want.
Is the information objective/not biased? (Objectivity)
The information is objective because I answer right to the point without clearly comparing anything just because I don’t like them.
What information do I still need?
The information is all written and so the information is enough for me to start my project.
What new questions does my research bring?
There is no new questions brought from the research above bring because I simply write down how I feel and there is nothing to ask for.

Kolak Pisang

Kolak pisang is an Indonesian dessert made from coconut milk and bananas. It uses a natural sweetener known as gula jawa or palm sugar. Kolak pisang also has many variations of ingredients they are cassava, sweet potato, jackfruit, and palm seeds. Kolak pisang is very popular and can be found on restaurants and street vendor. Kolak can only be eaten in one day, it cannot keep longer even it’s stored in refrigerator. The coconut milk used is squeezed from a freshly grated coconut.
Material
Pandan leaves
Freshly grated coconut to make coconut milk (thick & thin)
Palm seeds
Banana
Palm sugar
Water
Equipment
Saucepan
Spoon
Knife
Grater
Strainer
Skills
The skills needed to make Kolak Pisang is cutting, grating, boiling, squeezing, and stirring. Cutting is needed to cut the banana, some people ended up breaking the banana meat. Actually there is the skills to cut the banana faster without damaging the inside. It is to peel the upper part of the banana and easily take the meat. Grating is needed to grate the coconut, it has to be carefully done because it can bleed fingers. Boiling is a usual skill in cooking but it is the main skill in kolak pisang, needed to boil all ingredients in a saucepan. Squeezing is needed to make a fresh coconut milk, has to be carefully done to make a thick and thin coconut milk. Stirring is a usual skill, it is needed to keep the kolak from being too burnt.

Double Skin Milk

Double skin milk, also called milk custard, or Shuang Pi Nai in chinese, a famous dessert known as delicious and nutritious and also a type of Tong Sui. It is a specialty of Guangzhou, China. Both young and old people like this dessert. It is actually a simmered milk with a mixture of egg white and milk as the cover. The quality of this dessert depends on the selected milk (must be fresh).
Material
Egg white
Full cream milk
Sugar
Equipment
Steamer
Stove
Chopstick
Saucepan
2 bowls
Skills
The skills needed in order to make this dessert is boiling, mixing, and steaming. Making this dessert may seems simple but we have to be extra careful in the first making. When the skin of milk forms in the bowl, make sure to pour the milk into another bowl without breaking the skin. Boiling is only normal, we only need to boil the milk. Mixing has to be done carefully so that the sugar, egg whites, and milk completely fused so the taste will be great. Steaming is done normally at the end.

Coffee Jelly

Coffee was first introduced to Japan in the 19th century. Japanese people were very slow to take coffee drinking because green tea has been a national drink for approximately 1000 years. Japanese people believes that coffee contains certain elements that bring benefits for skin. They found a creative way to use coffee, and so delicious desserts have been made from it. Coffee jelly is very popular in Japan.
Material
Coffee
Sugar
Gelatin powder
Whipped cream
Equipment
Saucepan
Stove
Spoon
Serving cup
Skills
The skills needed to make coffee jelly is very basic and simple. Quite similar to Orange Kanten Jelly. They are boiling and stirring. One thing to pay attention with is that we cannot stop stirring till the gelatin powder completely fuse with the coffee. Lack of stirring will resulting a rough texture on the jelly surface because some of the powder is still there.

Klepon

Klepon (coconut rice ball) is an original traditional recipe from Indonesia, the javanese cuisine. Klepon is a boiled rice cake filled with palm sugar, and rolled with grated coconut. The color is usually green using an extract from Suji leaves. In Sumatra, people refer to klepon as onde-onde but in Java, onde-onde refers to rice cake that is coated with sesame seed paste and filled with green bean. Klepon is usually eaten as a snack in the morning or evening.
Material
Glutinous rice flour
Water
Suji leaves
Pandan leaves
Palm sugar
Coconut
Pinch of salt
Equipment
2 Large plate (for grated coconut & flour)
Saucepan
Pot
Grater
Bowls
Skills
The skills needed to make klepon, they are shaping, boiling, and grating. To make klepon is simple but we have to be careful and quick. Shaping is needed in order to make the flour into balls but we have to be careful so that when boiled, the palm sugar will not pop out of the ball. When shaping we cannot hold the dough for a long time because it will softened and we cannot shape it anymore because it fuse with the palm sugar. Grating is needed to make grated coconut. Actually grated coconut can be bought but it will not be as fresh as our own newly grated coconut. When grating, we must be careful with our finger by not grating a really small pieces of coconut because it will wound the finger.

Peaches in Sweet Glaze (Chinese Dessert)

Peach is a very popular fruit in China, it has many cultural stories and legend. A long, healthy, and prosperous life is the highest goals of humanity. Chinese establish many symbols to represent it. One of the symbols is peach. The peach tree is a chinese symbol used to represent longevity. The wood of the tree was said to prevent evil, and so ancient warriors crafted weapons from the wood of the tree. It is also said that taoist magic was made with the petals of peach flower, it is said to be able to put men into love. It is said that the peach plant in the Kun Lun mountain would produce fruit only once every 3000 years. Peach originally came from China and has been cultivated since 1000 B.C.E. In chinese culture, peach tree is considered as the tree of life and also the symbols of immortality and unity. The flowers are used by chinese bride. Since it’s very popular many types of desserts have been made from it.
Material
Peaches
Honey
Sugar
Water
Equipment
Steamer
Heat-proof bowl
Knife
Spoon
Serving bowl
Skills
The skills needed to make this dessert is also simple. One of them is actually to peel the peaches but since peach is very difficult to find in Indonesia, I have to use the canned one so this skill is no longer needed. Stirring is also needed. One thing to pay attention for is to stir until the syrup thickens and there is no need to rush. For the original one, peeling, cutting, and stirring are needed but for my cooking only cutting and stirring are needed.

Imo Yokan

Yokan is a variety of wagashi. Originally, Yokan is a thick jellied dessert that is made from read bean paste, agar, and sugar. Though Yokan had been famous in Japan for a long time, originally it was a chinese snack. In chinese, the word “Yokan” is translated as Yang Geng, meaning “sheep broth”. It was because the main ingredient which was gelatin was made from cooled and congeal sheep broth. There is a rumor that in the fifth century in ancient China, a high ranked general started a war against his own country because he refused a bowl of Yang Geng.

This dessert was introduced to Japan in the 12th century by Buddhist monks, because they were only allowed to eat vegetarian food they had to find a way so that they can eat the sheep broth. They replaced the Yang Geng with a dark colored broth made from red bean soup and mixed it with agar which is a seaweed substance that turns into jelly when boiled. The result was an original Yokan from Japanese, made with red bean paste. There are 2 types of okan, mizu yokan and neri yokan. The only difference between the two is that mizu yokan is softer. There are many varieties of yokan
Chak Yokan = A yokan made with green tea
Kuri Yokan = A yokan made with steamed chestnuts
Yoru no Ume = A yokan made with dainagon beans
Imo Yokan = A yokan made from satsumaimo sweet potato

Wagashi originated from the Yayoi Era around B.C 300 - A.C 300, at those times wagashi is no more than natural fruits, berries, and nuts.
China greatly influenced the Japanese with the grain processing skills and the Buddhist culture introduced during the Nara Era (A.C 710 - 784), then people started to make Mochi and Dango (another type of rice cake). However, at that time, they were used for religious purposes and were considered exclusive by average person. The basic forms of wagashi today are from that era.
During the late Muromachi Era (A.C 1336-1573), foreign trade happened in Japan. The trade with Portugal and Spain influenced the making of wagashi because of new recipes and ingredients from those country. The introduction of sugar changed the formula for sweetness.
In the early Edo Period (A.C 1603-1867), the wagashi trade was experiencing great development in Kyoto, Edo, and other regions. Average people started to enjoy them. Wagashi started to be used in tea ceremonies, afternoon snacks, and gifts.
During the Meiji Era (A.C 1868-1912), Western cakes and desserts started to entered Japan and they greatly influenced the development of Wagashi.
During the last part of Taisho Era, the word “Wagashi” was used to name the Japanese confectionaries in order to differentiate them from the Western ones.

Throughout the centuries, Wagashis have been influenced by foreign culture but they have always contain the sense of Japanese art. Wagashi is a very important part of Japanese culture and it will grows as new skills come along.

Material
Satsumaimo sweet potatoes
Sugar
Agar-agar (kanten) powder
Water
Equipment
Spoon
Knife
Saucepan
Cup
Stove
Strainer
Rectangular containers
Skills
The skills needed to make imo yokan is peeling, cutting, boiling, stirring, and mixing. The recipe of imo yokan is simple but a lot of simple skills are needed to make this dessert. Peeling the sweet potato has to be done quickly because this sweet potato easily turns black. Cutting has to be done with extra strength because the sweet potato is hard before it’s being boiled. Boiling is normal but be sure to add enough water to cover the sweet potato so that all part of it will be soft. Make sure not to turn off the heat before the sweet potato softened. Stirring is being done normally when we stir the agar but be sure to keep stirring so that it will dissolve. Mixing is needed twice, first is to mix the sugar and the mashed sweet potato and second when mixing the water and the mashed sweet potato. It has to be done quite long so that sugar will completely mixed with the sweet potato and so that the sweet potato fuse with the agar water. This way, the result will be nice with a yellow imo yokan.

Research Note

Defined Problem/Background
Most people in life now, only think about fast food and buying food to save their time. Some people think that cooking is interesting especially when it comes to dessert and I was one of those people. I have a special interest in pastry and dessert. When I first came to this school I never thought of cooking but one of the subject in this school which is Design Technology has change my perspective towards food. I found it interesting and fun especially when I have to create a jam for my assignment. When I was first presented about personal project in grade 9, I immediately think about something related to cooking because it was my personal interest out of all things that I have experienced and enjoy. Personal project is not all abo ut impressing people but we have to like and enjoy it in order to create an amazing product that reflects ourselves well. One thing is that if I only created one single cooking it will be too usual for people. I wanted to make something extraordinary but the project has to reflect myself and I have to enjoy it. After I did some brainstorm, I decided that it would be desserts recipes book with unusual design unlike normal recipes book that I usually found in the bookstore to attract people because I like designing things and making desserts. I think this project is well suited for myself.

Goal: To enjoy the experiences of making Asian’s desserts and compiles it in a form of book

Skills for Desserts
Based from all the cooking that I have done during the holiday, I find out about the things I am capable to do and things that I don’t about making desserts and book. First, in making dessert I am capable of cutting and shaping fruits like melon balls and making a melon bowl. I also can do simple things like boiling and cutting but not frying because I realized that I am still afraid of hot oil. I can make simple things like fruit salad, fruit in syrup, jelly and desserts that only involves simple skills. I cannot cut some fruits like avocado, because I don’t know the technique to cut it. In the end, I ended up using random technique as long as I can get the flesh of it to blend. I am not professional in creating traditional snacks like klepon and pisang goreng so I need the help of a professional like my mother.

I have the skill to decorate fruit, I realized so after I made a fruit salad with my own design. This is indeed the first time I ever make a fruit dessert but the result is not so bad instead, I think it is the greatest out of all of the desserts that I have made so far. I also found enjoyment in cutting and designing fruit.

After doing the cooking for my personal project, I realized that I am not that good in cooking and that I still have much to learn. I am not giving up and I am willing to learn because after all cooking is my interest.

Like/Dislike for Desserts
Even if I like to make desserts the most out of all courses, there are desserts that I dislike too. I don’t like desserts that is using fruits or other ingredients that I don’t like as the main ingredients. For example Avocado that is the main ingredient for Sinh To Bo, a Vietnamese avocado smoothie that I created or lemongrass leaves as the main ingredient of lemongrass tea. I also dislike desserts that are using too much cream or milk because they make my stomach feels sick. Not only the ingredients, if the recipe of the desserts are difficult to understand or too complicated I would not make them. I dislike desserts that are taking too much time to make.

I like desserts that are using my favorite ingredients as the main ingredients, sweet flavored, and not taking too much time to make it. For example desserts like fruit salad or jelly. Everything that involves fruit, agar-agar, or jelly is my favorite type of desserts because they taste good, simple, and not taking much time to make. The rate of difficulty is not that high either.

Skills for Books
The only way I can think of in creating an interesting book is to create a comic book. It is my hobby to draw a character in a blank paper. I am not that good in writing and expressing my ideas, the only skills for book that I have is to draw and make a short comic. At first, I was thinking to combine an encyclopedia about the desserts that I am making and the recipe of them but I think they will be too boring and I cannot write that much. Looking at my skills, I came up with an idea. The idea is to make a recipe book that is compatible with my skills in book. This leads to my idea which is to make a recipe book with comics inside.

I also have the skill to design by using Adobe Photoshop since I like to use photoshop even if I am a beginner. I know the basic skills to use photoshop and all I need is to let out all my creativity towards it. I was thinking to use this skill to create a cover for my recipe book.

In the process of creating a good recipe book, photos of each recipes are required. In other words, I need a photographic skill in order to produce a good photo which will be used in my recipe book. Considering it, I have never been interested in photo and I don’t know anything about how to produce a good photo. After taking photos in my cooking in this holiday, I realized that I can only take an ordinary photo. Experiencing this, I brainstorm about how can I solve this problem. After I have been thinking for several days, I came up with an idea to overcome this lack of skill. I decided to take an ordinary photo like I usually do, then I will edit it using Adobe Photoshop. As I said before, I have the basic skill to edit photo so this way I will be able to work to the fullest to create good images for each of the desserts that I have created. In conclusion, I need 2 skills required to create my recipe book. They are drawing skill and design skill (using photoshop)

Like/Dislike for Books
I dislike types of books with a little amount of image, books with small images, books with no colors, books that is only contains texts, thick book, and books with small fonts size. I think of the types of books that I mentioned before as boring and they are not entertaining at all. I think book with colors and images will provide a fun time for the reader. For example thick novels or encyclopedia books without image, they are the types of books that I dislike. The information contained are difficult to be absorbed because they are not entertaining.

I like books with an appealing and colorful cover, full of images, and provide a medium sized fonts. They are appealing and fun to read. The type of book that I like so much is comic book. For me they are fun to read, entertaining, and informations contained are quickly being absorbed into my head so it is easy to understand things through comic books. I often read a knowledge book in the form of comic book called Educomics they give knowledge through each story and it was easy to understand it and moreover, they are colorful. They really inspire me, and giving me new ideas which is very helpful for my Personal Project. Not only an education comics, I also like usual comic for entertainment. Out of my liking of comics, I decided to create some comic panels for each of the food in my recipe book. Not only teenagers my age, some adults also like to read comics so I think comic is the most appealing and interesting type of book.

Type of Desserts
My goal is to enjoy the experiences of making Asian desserts. Looking at my goal, I decided to choose simple and easy recipes in which the ingredients are easy to get in my society. I decided to match the type of desserts with my skills. This is the first time I get to make desserts and so I choose the best way so that I can make a good result while I learn the proper way to make desserts. I decided to create 20 desserts from Asia with more amount of desserts from Indonesia, China, and Japan because they are mostly easy to find and also people are familiar with it by looking at the amount of recipe books from those country sold in bookstore. By searching for the recipes from books, internet, and asking people. After trying the recipe I find out the material, skills, and equipment. I came up with the following results:

Sweet Potato Soup

About 5 days ago, I made a sweet potato soup which is a dessert from Hong Kong. Desserts from Hong Kong and China are similar, you can find this dessert in both country. This dessert is part of Tong Sui (sugar water), a Cantonese specialty and are rarely found in other regional cuisines of China. There is a wide variety of Tong Sui in Hong Kong and Malaysia. Usually eaten in Winter.
Here is the recipe of Sweet Potato Soup:

Sweet Potato Dessert (Hong Kong Style)
Ingredients:
1 sweet potato (about 350gm)
3 cups water (cover the sweet potato)
rock sugar (to your taste)
2 to 3 slices of ginger

Method:

1. Bring water to the boil, add ginger into it.

2. Quickly peel sweet potato and cut into small pieces as it turns black easily. Put them into the boiling water and turn to medium heat once the water boils again.

3. Add rock sugar to your taste when the sweet potato turns soft. Serve hot or cold.

I didn't find any difficulties in making this dessert. It's just that no one helps me in recording so it's a bit difficult to do both.