The little duchess

Half-chihuahua, half-pomeranian, 100% cute.

Majestic and moist honey cake

This was a keeper of a cake: still damp, still soft and moist even after two days. It was beautifully aromatic; the spices came out but weren't too insistent.

As for the majestic part, it was majestic how H and I managed to finish it off very quickly.

Adapted from Marcy Goldman's Treasure of Jewish Holiday Baking.

Ingredients
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp allspice
1 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup honey (original recipe called for 1 cup)
2 cups sugar (half cup white, 1 1/2 cup light brown)
2 large eggs at room temperature (originally, 3 eggs)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup warm coffee or strong tea
1/2 cup orange juice
1/4 cup rye or whisky (optional)
1/2 cup slivered or sliced almonds (optional)

Fits in three loaf pans, two 9-inch square or round cake pans, one 9 or 10 inch tube or bundt cake pan, or one 9 by 13 inch sheet cake. I made mine in a 10-inch tube pan.

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F. It's better to use nonstick pans for this recipe. Generously grease the pan(s) with non-stick spray. For tube or angel food pans, cut a piece of parchment paper to fit (cut out a hole for the tube to go through) and line the bottom of the pan. Spray the parchment with non-stick spray.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and other spices. Make a well in the centre. Add oil, honey, all the sugars, eggs, vanilla, coffee or tea, orange juice and rye or whiskey, if using.

Stir together well to make a thick, well-blended batter, making sure that no ingredients are stuck to the bottom.

Spoon batter into prepared pan(s). Sprinkle top of cake(s) evenly with almonds, if using.

Important: I placed the cake pan on two stacked baking sheets, which apparently ensured the cake baked properly.

Bake until the cake springs back when you gently touch its centre. For tube and angel cake pans, this will take 60 to 75 minutes. Loaf cakes will need about 45 to 55 minutes; sheet cakes, 40 to 45 minutes.

Let cake stand 15 minutes before removing from pan.

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When I made a challah a friend wondered if I had Jewish origins. This will get her asking again!

Pink poppy

We woke up this morning to this beauty blooming in the front yard. Interesting how the purplish heart is surrounded by dark smudges -- kind of like a black eye.

10 weekends of discovery

Last April I started a basic photography course in Vancouver, hoping to improve not only my knowledge of my equipment (Sony A100 when I started, then more than halfway into the course I bought a Nikon D90) but also how to take better, more compelling pictures. And, truly, I learned a lot. We took studio portraits of live models, we went to Granville Island to capture some of the sights, we did home projects to test and expand our understanding of focus, exposure, depth of field and the magical white balance. On the final day of the course, which was last Saturday, the instructor reviewed our mini "portfolios" and came up with what she thought was our individual best fives. Below are my five shots that she picked.



For the individual shots click on this link.
And I'm happy to report that I got an A :-)

Chicken wire and buttercups

Out of the corner of my eye I espied this link in a blog I frequent: "broke but gorgeous".

Which launched me off on a search to remember the things that bring beauty and inspire gratitude in a life that has metamorphosed into one of simplicity.

I am grateful for poppies that sparkle like red explosions in the rain.

For a husband who brings my book out of the rain.

For dogs that slumber sweetly and snore melodiously (bar the occasional whiffing and tumbling).

And for buttercups that grow in shade, in sun, and other odd places.

Golden struan

I'm fond of checking out baking books at the local library (which is incidentally a wonderful resource, staffed with helpful people!) and one book I waited for for a long time is Peter Reinhart's series on making bread. The one I'm currently reading is Artisan Breads Every Day: Fast and Easy Recipes for World-Class Breads. Because, even as a mostly stay-at-home wife, my time isn't unlimited, my plan of "attack" for this book is to tackle only "straight doughs" (i.e. recipes that don't require preferments like bigas and sourdoughs) and only recipes that make use of the flours and ingredients I already have on hand.

The first recipe I tried from this book is a struan loaf. The final product looked quite different from the tall, airy loaf pictured in the book, but tasted extraordinary as well, from the first bite to the last. The loaf stayed relatively light and moist, the crumb didn't go rock-hard. H and I liked the golden colour.



The recipe is available here. I didn't stray far from the basic recipe, but did substitute wheat germ for the wheat bran, and yogurt for the buttermilk. Since I had no honey on hand, I added a large spoonful of brown sugar to the mix instead.

Summer seed loaf

Three seeds: poppy, sesame, sunflower. Three flours: rye, bread and all-purpose. Mix, let rise, heat. Sumptuous, summer goodness!

Summer seed loaf
(Another incarnation of this).
This bread uses a sponge or starter, which really does result in improved flavour.

Sponge
1 1/2 cups (12 ounces) cool water
1 tsp instant yeast
1 1/2 cups (6 1/4 ounces) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (2 ounces) rye flour

Dough
2 tsp salt
2 1/4 cups (9 1/2 ounces) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (2 3/4 ounces) mixed poppy, toasted sesame, and toasted sunflower seeds

Sponge
Mix the sponge ingredients together, and let rest at room temperature, covered, for 3 to 4 hours, or overnight in the fridge.

Dough:
Combine salt, flour and seeds. (By blending in the seeds at this stage, they'll be better integrated into the dough). Stir down the sponge, and add the flour mixture. Mix and knead the dough until it's smooth and elastic. Place the dough in a greased bowl, turning to coat its surface with oil. Cover and let rise in a warm spot for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, until doubled in size.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly greased surface, and form it into a ball. Place on a lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheet, greased loaf pans, or shape into rolls. You may opt to slash the dough at this point, then spritz it with water. Cover and let rise for about 1 hour.

Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 450°F.

Bake the bread for 30 to 35 minutes, until it's deep golden brown. Remove it from the oven and place it on a rack to cool. Cool completely before slicing.

Yield: one large boule, 2 loaves, or 1 loaf and assorted rolls. Since I actually doubled the recipe, I came out with 3 loaves and 5 small dinner rolls, of which three were eaten straight out of the oven!

Wild blue

This year's discovery: the wildflower, lupine. I never paid it much attention last year. But this year, when the summer is looking like a wet rag and spring is all sodden, its vivid purple is a joy to behold from the back steps.



What do you call this shade of blue?

One space, many faces.

Photographers deal in things which are continually vanishing and when they have vanished there is no contrivance on earth which can make them come back again. - Henri Cartier-Bresson







More here.

Two movies

Years separate the releases of Pan's Labyrinth and Children of Men. I watched both and if I had known what I know now -- that Alfonso Cuaron had a hand in both movies (as producer in PL and director/co-writer of CoM) -- I would have had an "Of course!" moment. To this day Pan's Labyrinth terrifies me and stays with me in my mind's recesses as so few movies have done. I'm not really a cinemaphile. I watch the occasional blockbuster and adore the occasional sci-fi-thriller sort of film like Terminator (when Linda Hamilton was in it) and The Matrix trilogy. I went into Pan's with no expectations. I hadn't heard of the minds behind the film. Minutes into the movie, I was...floored. Blown away. The overwhelming surreal terror, the incredible fear and violence that came out of nowhere but was so judiciously used, the note of hope at the end...this movie, my friends, is a masterpiece. As so many people found eons before I did.

Children of Men was another low-key starter for me. It was one of those things you see in late-night cable programming and for lack of anything better to see I looked at the screen every now and then while Net surfing. But I was hooked. It is such a parable of a tale, a gritty glimpse into the future, that snakes its way into your mind. It didn't quite grab my heart like Pan's did. But it stays with me to this day.

Watch them both, if you haven't already. Cuaron is a f****** genius.