tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-54706823902375469962024-03-05T05:32:26.426+01:00Efreet in the OvenHome to my baking & cooking experiments (mostly swiped from other sources, but with the occasional original recipe thrown in) and to my poor, but hopefully improving, attempts at cake decoration. Also The Fanbaking Project - where my passion for baking joins forces with my geeky side - and the occasional rant...Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger61125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5470682390237546996.post-55564678072683350872016-01-24T15:29:00.000+01:002016-01-26T19:23:00.696+01:00Up yours!<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">It's <a href="https://www.daysoftheyear.com/days/beer-can-appreciation-day/" target="_blank">Beer Can Appreciation Day</a>, y'all! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">This needs to be celebrated accordingly - and, apart from the obvious way... </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz1Ah86Ys1KwUoFd12d1jxXhUmDHj_R1ktwBhKnOb6NTE4jpkySn6435TrFMEyJbrm_gF8OmF5HbwVJt4Uc2_yD6MhEWUkEP7s56WVy_V7Uv2jocDjk7wcn1ficD7RDP0h0aemApo_EBFs/s1600/Beer+Can+Appreciation+Day+cat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz1Ah86Ys1KwUoFd12d1jxXhUmDHj_R1ktwBhKnOb6NTE4jpkySn6435TrFMEyJbrm_gF8OmF5HbwVJt4Uc2_yD6MhEWUkEP7s56WVy_V7Uv2jocDjk7wcn1ficD7RDP0h0aemApo_EBFs/s320/Beer+Can+Appreciation+Day+cat.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">(...which I, as a responsible adult, do most definitely not endorse, pinky swear...)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>*cough*</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">...I thought this would make the perfect excuse to try <i>that</i> funky recipe that makes not only beer, but the humble can itself, the true star of the process. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">And yes, I'm talking about <i>Beer Can Chicken</i> - or, as <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/FoodEmperor" target="_blank">the most baffling of YouTubers</a> would say,<i> </i>"<i>il pollo con la birra nel culo</i>". Uh... please don't bother Google-translating that. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/gdqPhyu0td8/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/gdqPhyu0td8?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Now even if you don't speak Italian (and, believe me, in this particular instance you're better off not understanding a word of it), the video should give you a fairly good idea of <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">how it's done</span>. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">In the end, though, I ended up picking <a href="http://www.howsweeteats.com/2014/04/our-favorite-beer-can-chicken/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+howsweeteats/smSp+(How+Sweet+It+Is)" target="_blank">this recipe</a> - from <i><a href="http://www.howsweeteats.com/" target="_blank">How Sweet It Is</a></i> once again, big surprise - which is a lot easier, and doesn't require a syringe... nor veggies. <i>Ewww, veggies. </i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>Aaand here it is... </i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVbdmEiWbauByxZZhcs0zn3Vt9rsJwv9oCRPaJOzlu5Sj69JOPKOpJEGs9CQK2UC9V-DUYn7JEW3m73SVUwfS62I36evq3Ka0_wLHMuAJA9tVusS86x6vgJpJ8ZtypaYTsD4yICBDGUQYk/s1600/Beer+Can+Chicken.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVbdmEiWbauByxZZhcs0zn3Vt9rsJwv9oCRPaJOzlu5Sj69JOPKOpJEGs9CQK2UC9V-DUYn7JEW3m73SVUwfS62I36evq3Ka0_wLHMuAJA9tVusS86x6vgJpJ8ZtypaYTsD4yICBDGUQYk/s1600/Beer+Can+Chicken.jpg" width="241" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">As you can see, I used a <i>Radler</i>-type thingie (for the tee-totalers out there: that would be a lemon-flavoured beer) that I would never <i>ever</i> drink, but actually works fine with the citrus slices in this recipe. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Taste aside, it was one of those slim, high cans and as such it was a perfect choice for the job at hand.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi65Ww0TxgyI5yITEFSskHSmwLJoRRQsym7YFHhfM8NbVQSU5KuYxTLZfri-o_P25OPhLgLcNn14NNJgFkVb3HStOLXmLncjrYBilpXwTQL031NdDr8E2lbErD4XHkE4bYcuJPsB5LCs2B3/s1600/Beer+Can+Chicken+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi65Ww0TxgyI5yITEFSskHSmwLJoRRQsym7YFHhfM8NbVQSU5KuYxTLZfri-o_P25OPhLgLcNn14NNJgFkVb3HStOLXmLncjrYBilpXwTQL031NdDr8E2lbErD4XHkE4bYcuJPsB5LCs2B3/s1600/Beer+Can+Chicken+1.jpg" width="281" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The chicken ended up wonderful, with crispy, slightly spicy skin and incredibly tender and juicy meat (although, let's be honest, the skin is what you should be excited about if you're at all human). </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I know, many of you will be too grossed out by the idea of putting a beer can "up there", be it because of that horrific urban legend about <a href="http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/bl_leptospirosis_coke_can.htm" target="_blank">the guy who died by drinking from a can that was contaminated by rat pee</a>, or beacause you're worried about the can itself releasing chemicals in your food. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Needless to say, I washed the can with the utmost care before the, ah, <i>insertion</i>. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">As for the possibility that the print on the can might be harmful... I'm no chemist, but I'm not that concerned tbh. So many people have done this and survived, and I'm not going to eat beer can chicken every day, either.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">In the end, of course, it's going to be your call. But if you're willing to push out of your comfort zone a little, give this thing a try. It's awesome!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHFLwYNs4ejL8jZ_kKe1M0newQS3L2pYUL2za4qP21tVm-VWG-dXRVM7raiHsepAAjuaXg9id_Sikkx5JTePfKTf3amyO0z90klw_hpy4pyaRZYbD3YrX5ZGe9u1Qy8ouo8rLr132ChUP7/s1600/Beer+Can+Chicken+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHFLwYNs4ejL8jZ_kKe1M0newQS3L2pYUL2za4qP21tVm-VWG-dXRVM7raiHsepAAjuaXg9id_Sikkx5JTePfKTf3amyO0z90klw_hpy4pyaRZYbD3YrX5ZGe9u1Qy8ouo8rLr132ChUP7/s1600/Beer+Can+Chicken+2.jpg" width="244" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I'll be honest: even now I can't look at the pics in this post without thinking of such choice pearls of SF as </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Bryant" target="_blank">Ed Bryant</a>'s </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>Dancing Chickens</i>, or <i>Snuff Movie</i> by <a href="https://en.wiki2.org/wiki/Nicoletta_Vallorani" target="_blank">Nicoletta Vallorani</a>.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">(No I'm <i>not</i> linking these short stories. I read both years ago, and I'm still scarred. </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">They are not for the queasy, and once read you definitely can't un-read them. You've been warned.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">So... yeah, I had my doubts too, but in all honesty the chicken turned out so perfect that this recipe's a keeper. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I think children would love it as well, since I remember how dryness was my main issue with poultry as a kid, and the beer makes even the breast meat really tender. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Oh, and one last word of advice: remember <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murphy%27s_law" target="_blank">Murphy's Law</a> is at work, <i>always</i>. Meaning: no matter what you do, the chicken <i>will</i> want to topple. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Place your can in an old pan, and place the pan on a larger sheet pan - you definitely don't want your oven flooded with beer and bird grease! </span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0Milano, Italy45.4654219 9.1859243000000145.2872319 8.86320080000001 45.6436119 9.508647800000011tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5470682390237546996.post-81946777135057607872014-06-23T20:28:00.000+02:002014-06-29T11:24:31.961+02:00I can stop worrying now...<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">...as I've been told at last that the <a href="http://efreetintheoven.blogspot.it/2014/06/just-your-friendly-neighbourhood-baker.html" target="_blank"><i>Spider-Man</i> cake</a> I've been fretting about over the last two days survived a whole night in the office's makeshift fridge, a bumpy hour-long car trip to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arona,_Piedmont" target="_blank">Arona</a>, and the heat of a summer day in the delightful Piedmontese lakeside town. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">My colleague was kind enough to send me this pic she snapped with her smartphone...</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0ittpOkk5P5gs5q-Uh5nppFbTSvOEUAkpv6Pyc_mmVy0dINvbpe-ug3SOD5ZrCpPWGkefBg6OO1tAawIqGd4PzLBIuRvKNPrLrpJBeE237iRAQij4Aw1nAgToPoxeOKO21uw3cOWCMPrh/s1600/party.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0ittpOkk5P5gs5q-Uh5nppFbTSvOEUAkpv6Pyc_mmVy0dINvbpe-ug3SOD5ZrCpPWGkefBg6OO1tAawIqGd4PzLBIuRvKNPrLrpJBeE237iRAQij4Aw1nAgToPoxeOKO21uw3cOWCMPrh/s1600/party.jpg" height="207" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Unfortunately she didn't take any photo of the cut cake, so once again I can't show you how it looked inside. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">But she </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">did</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> say the kids loved it, and she herself found it pretty good. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Gotta love it when a plan comes together!</span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0Arona NO, Italy45.7586155 8.558182399999964245.714301 8.477501399999964 45.802929999999996 8.6388633999999644tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5470682390237546996.post-69709744367304738052014-06-20T18:35:00.000+02:002014-06-30T10:55:22.528+02:00Just your friendly neighbourhood baker<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I don't know about you, but these days I feel as if I'm constantly trying to breathe broth. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Heat, humidity, and pleanty of sweat - <i>y</i></span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">ay summer!</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Just the ideal conditions for baking a cake, </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">right</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">? </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">(/sarcasm)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Anyway, a colleague - actually one of the attending physicians working with us on a rotation to pamper our beloved policy holders with medical advice whenever needed, or otherwise (<i>Look, mama! </i>More<i> sarcasm!</i>) - asked me for a <i>Spider-Man</i> cake for her adopted son Nhat, who just turned six. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">She wanted it to feed about 20 little ones, but other than that she wasn't particular. She showed me a model cake, covered with red fondant, with a blue web covering one wedge of it and a Spidey action figure plopped on top. Only she couldn't find that particular toy, but provided me with a <i>Spider-Man</i> candle instead.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I immediately thought of repeating <a href="http://efreetintheoven.blogspot.it/2014/06/poppin-my-red-velvet-cherry.html" target="_blank">my Red Velvet feat</a> from a few days ago, since that cake was really delightful, and dramatic enough to satisfy a bunch of kids. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Only with a bright red interior, I needed blue fondant for a nice bit of contrast, and a red web on top. The doctor was OK with me inverting the colour scheme, and pretty much left me free rein with it... </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCSq0ZGq_IBFKpxSp1giazSVsjOaAA4jRrtjVsO80wrE-B3_dKRwQNEF64O2wepBhohV2STxBnPjVGE5PnpJN7g4GvZOV4VudO7UkiHaep2vjdqzjfyGccaOCunwXPlaWnk6hu1Ds7A7v0/s1600/SpiderNhat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCSq0ZGq_IBFKpxSp1giazSVsjOaAA4jRrtjVsO80wrE-B3_dKRwQNEF64O2wepBhohV2STxBnPjVGE5PnpJN7g4GvZOV4VudO7UkiHaep2vjdqzjfyGccaOCunwXPlaWnk6hu1Ds7A7v0/s1600/SpiderNhat.jpg" height="210" title="Cluttered workstation is cluttered!" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">...and so, here it goes. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I thought it better to have the web cover the entire surface, so the kids won't need to fight about who gets to gain a spider sense by eating it. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I piped it with royal icing btw; I really wanted to use <a href="http://www.wilton.com/store/site/product.cfm?sku=pg_candymelts" target="_blank">Candy Melts</a>, but I just can't tame the darn things (shame, 'cause they taste lovely and have such bright colours!)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The writing is, likewise, a royal icing transfer, and all in all it was surprisingly quick to do, thanks to this <a href="http://www.dafont.com/it/the-amazing-spider-man.font" target="_blank">truly amazing <i>Spider-Man</i> font</a> you can download for free OMG!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJaFP-vY1wzg2uAFXT5AuvK9aZHaYx8YZ9mDCMexetn7fQbhlptnIHx6V-_V66pkXoUB-iyHyCVAD_z_D3JK-SqDxKDAC3UKRwNtTPQmkwPnHfIQiVWnGHP-H83E3Gevv2oO7g0PPx2DbD/s1600/Spider-Nhat2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJaFP-vY1wzg2uAFXT5AuvK9aZHaYx8YZ9mDCMexetn7fQbhlptnIHx6V-_V66pkXoUB-iyHyCVAD_z_D3JK-SqDxKDAC3UKRwNtTPQmkwPnHfIQiVWnGHP-H83E3Gevv2oO7g0PPx2DbD/s1600/Spider-Nhat2.jpg" height="245" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Since I needed a much larger cake this time, I hit the Internet for a recipe that was already adjusted for a 12'' round pan. (I know, I know... SO lazy of me! But, I was short on time as the party's tomorrow, so I really needed to take all of the guesswork out of the process to be on the safe side.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In the end, I picked <a href="http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/red-velvet-cake-with-cream-cheese-ice-cream" target="_blank">this one</a> from <a href="http://www.foodandwine.com/" target="_blank">Food & Wine</a>. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Unlike <a href="http://bakehappy.net/2014/02/super-moist-red-velvet-cake-recipe-2.html" target="_blank">the Bake Happy recipe</a> I used before, this one produces little to no dome, as</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> it is actually <i>meant</i> to bake low, like a German </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Torte. </i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I wanted a bit more height though, so I made two and stacked 'em - even so, I got <i>zero</i> waste from them, as they baked so amazingly flat I didn't need to cut anything from them. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">(This meant, unfortunately, I didn't get a taste of it - but, by the looks of it, I think I like <a href="http://bakehappy.net/" target="_blank">Bake Happy</a>'s version better. It was extremely light and soft, whereas this one feels heavier and kind of oily. Granted, the added sturdiness is a bonus in this instance, but in my personal opinion, <a href="http://bakehappy.net/about" target="_blank">Aikko</a>'s recipe is closer to the real thing.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I did none of the fancy ice cream and pecan praline thingie - even plain cream cheese icing was a no-no, what with it being for very young kids who might not like its sour-ish taste (which I <i>love</i>, btw!)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">So, alas, a <a href="http://www.bettycrocker.co.uk/Our-Products/Rich-and-Creamy-Icing/Rich-and-Creamy-Vanilla-Icing" target="_blank">canned vanilla frosting</a> it was, and plain American buttercream for crumbcoating. <i>The very thought</i> sickens me, but this way I'm sure the kiddos will not object... plus, I have to admit the hellish stuff is much stabler than anything dairy-based!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_XFcGiH7ndmNVxzETjAgsR_xu8biela6OPTKsTK2aCYztvA91SqBEVZEaAVzutDajYE4ttfpJkJr2SeNx8dEhwI54BTp6lmK7K5r65TA3uOhZzDfdTSBFdcpRXEj31RP7e9xHeTWUGk1q/s1600/Spider-Nhat1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_XFcGiH7ndmNVxzETjAgsR_xu8biela6OPTKsTK2aCYztvA91SqBEVZEaAVzutDajYE4ttfpJkJr2SeNx8dEhwI54BTp6lmK7K5r65TA3uOhZzDfdTSBFdcpRXEj31RP7e9xHeTWUGk1q/s1600/Spider-Nhat1.jpg" height="234" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Right, now I only need to carry the darn thing to work. <i>Ugh.</i> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">SOOOOOOO HEAVY...</span></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCSq0ZGq_IBFKpxSp1giazSVsjOaAA4jRrtjVsO80wrE-B3_dKRwQNEF64O2wepBhohV2STxBnPjVGE5PnpJN7g4GvZOV4VudO7UkiHaep2vjdqzjfyGccaOCunwXPlaWnk6hu1Ds7A7v0/s1600/SpiderNhat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0Milano, Italy45.4654219 9.1859243000000145.2872319 8.86320080000001 45.6436119 9.508647800000011tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5470682390237546996.post-48740975956741101592014-06-06T16:14:00.000+02:002014-06-30T10:53:11.129+02:00Poppin' my Red Velvet cherry<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I don't know which one is weirder - my family wanting to give an American dessert a try, or a rabid foodie like me having somehow overlooked such a pearl as Red Velvet cake. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">This is how it went. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I was having lunch with my parents last Sunday - something I have to do occasionally, although it never fails to put <i>lots</i> of strain on my nerves - and some baking-related reality was droning on in the background, like <i>Cake Boss</i> or something. And my family was all, "<i>Americans eat shite, trash food and greasy hamburgers is all they can manage, they have no taste all, they just can't compare with our culinary tradition, and all those fancy designer cakes they're so fond of doing taste like crap anyway</i>". (Do they know baking said cakes is my pride and joy? <i>You bet.</i>)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Then, out of the blue, my brother - who's something of a food snob as well, mind you - chimes in: "<i>I wouldn't mind trying Red Velvet cake. I hear it's not super sweet, and more on the tangy side</i>".</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Woot, my chance! </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">And now's when I spit out the ugly truth: <i>I myself am not sure how Red Velvet cake is supposed to taste!</i> Because yes, I've had a couple Red Velvet cupcakes in my town but, of course, there is now way I can ascertain how close they were to the real thing. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">In comes the Internet ofc... and, following some frantic browsing, I got a fairly precise idea of what Red Velvet should look, feel, and taste like. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I rounded up the top Google search results, discarded right away those recipes that would have given me anything else than the Platonic idea I had by then formed in my mind, and finally went for one that not only looked spot on, but is from my fave food blogger <i>ever</i>: <a href="http://bakehappy.net/about" target="_blank">Aikko</a> of <a href="http://bakehappy.net/about" target="_blank">Bake Happy</a>... who is - please allow me to refresh your memory on this point - the very same gal who's responsible for the <a href="http://bakehappy.net/2012/01/banana-bread-like-how-ma-used-to-make.html" target="_blank">banana bread</a> I've been making non-stop for <i>more than two years OMG</i>. I could think of no better references, really!</span></span><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> So... go have a look at <a href="http://bakehappy.net/2014/02/super-moist-red-velvet-cake-recipe-2.html" target="_blank">Aikko's Red VelvIet cake recipe</a>, then hop back here. We have some baking to do!</span></span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The recipe lists quite a few easily found ingredients you could substitute buttermilk with, but since this is my very first attempt at Red Velvet (and its outcome will shape my view of said cake forever and ever), I went all gung-ho about getting the original stuff. Thus, actual buttermilk it was. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">One thing I did my own way, though: I swapped the red food colouring for an equal amount of <a href="http://shop.lorannoils.com/templates/product.aspx?ProductGuid=0762-0800&GroupGuid=10" target="_blank">LorAnn's Red Velvet Bakery Emulsion</a> I had bought online on a whim ages ago, and that had been biding its time in my pantry ever since. It looks like thick, honey-like red gunk... but once whisked into your liquid ingredients, it not only imparts them a beautiful, vibrant red shade, but also acts as flavouring. Good stuff!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgfNGt4sE89pWhEdT8o3kz6mv4OhdefOp-uRLaHfIrMdy8jwTSziqEQipmIVH-PGP3pkcdkUu_jCk8HWkB6sD3K0jMRhsv-gMZGlmRNnf_Pi9GZP_C2ex6hjlNH5k3tweUwFsGtvyIvbj7/s1600/Red+Velvet+baked+bases.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgfNGt4sE89pWhEdT8o3kz6mv4OhdefOp-uRLaHfIrMdy8jwTSziqEQipmIVH-PGP3pkcdkUu_jCk8HWkB6sD3K0jMRhsv-gMZGlmRNnf_Pi9GZP_C2ex6hjlNH5k3tweUwFsGtvyIvbj7/s1600/Red+Velvet+baked+bases.jpg" height="226" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I got two 6 in. cakes out of the given doses, which was just the perfect size for this. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Only as you hopefully can see from the (fuzzy, blurry, smartphone-made) pic above, both of them domed quite much, which meant I had to cut what amounted to more than 1/3 from each base. And <i>yes</i>, of course the scraps won't go to waste, still I think I'll try lowering the oven temperature one notch next time I bake this into silicone moulds. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Right. Onward to the filling & frosting step!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgHaVogYwuKZEq59YxHCkF0E962VZ1EbatXUi8TXSssPgB0ZYdxEcK33IdQ5AkhTx1I2hucI-eLiV1BfZ2DsrdurFK2FabgVVfkGmyuW6ZAeBto0f-D9_0EHR83_VLG82GIyeJUNrTsuhe/s1600/cream+cheese+frosting.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgHaVogYwuKZEq59YxHCkF0E962VZ1EbatXUi8TXSssPgB0ZYdxEcK33IdQ5AkhTx1I2hucI-eLiV1BfZ2DsrdurFK2FabgVVfkGmyuW6ZAeBto0f-D9_0EHR83_VLG82GIyeJUNrTsuhe/s1600/cream+cheese+frosting.jpg" height="272" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Notwithstanding the heat, I opted for a traditional cream cheese frosting - because <i>yay authenticity</i>, remember? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I know it's nowhere as stable as buttercream (or even cream cheese buttercream) but in the end, my brother wanted tangy, so he's in for the full experience!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">By the way, I used <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quark_(dairy_product)" target="_blank">Austrian Quark</a> as my cream cheese, instead of the ubiquitous <a href="http://www.kraftrecipes.com/philadelphia/cream-cheese/original.aspx" target="_blank">Philadelphia</a>... which is creamy and fresh and absolutelt delightful in many ways, but no tangy at all. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Again, I've never sampled real cream cheese in America, but judging from online descriptions of its texture and flavour, what I got here must be pretty darn close! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Aikko covered her cake with crumbs all over, but I wasn't really sold on the idea. So I simply picked the biggest closed star tip in my collection and piped random rosette-like swirls all over the place. It looks impressive enough IMHO. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">(Plus, who am I kidding? My brother will scarf the whole thing down with barely a glance at my mad piping skillz...)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Waiting for him to come and collect his cake right now. Will it be enough to convert my family to the delights of American desserts? I wonder...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">EDIT AT 20.14 - I just spoke with my mother, and she said the cake's almost gone already. They <i>loved</i> it! Woot! (/does <a href="http://youtu.be/iFNLbAs3KAU" target="_blank">Snoopy happy dance</a>)</span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0Milano, Italy45.4654219 9.1859243000000145.2872319 8.86320080000001 45.6436119 9.508647800000011tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5470682390237546996.post-10515933564501653662014-04-28T15:36:00.000+02:002014-04-29T14:37:53.359+02:00[Cupcake Portraits] Discworld Personalities: Terry Pratchett<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">For those who really need to know, Terry Pratchett was born in Buckinghamshire in 1948. He's managed to avoid all interesting jobs authors take in order to look good in this sort of biography. In search for a quiet life he got a job as a Press officer with the Central Electricity Generating Board just after Three Mile Island, which shows the unerring sense of timing. Now a full time writer, he lives in Wiltshire with his wife and daughter. He likes people to buy him banana daiquiris (he knows people don't read author biographies, but feels it might be worth a try).</span></span> </blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">- <i>Good Omens</i></span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Time for a new Discworld personality to get a cupcake portrait! </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">But, who</span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> shall it be?</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Not a witch. Not a wizard. Not a guard either! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I confess I've toyed with a DEATH concept for a while, but then it occurred to me that there was another homage to be paid before that...</span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCCx5RlgQW17ZiJP9vmCzFl0MZ5ZcTygvE0ybFbhy0u5Za-Nw6saU7jLD1-dqiLYFqk1RIu-q-Mn_TsSUILEsUp39iwpWhYc0CQp06NfQzm6NxwgGA_HO-qFMq5Bp8lrBmZKESSDfA51kg/s1600/Pratchett_portrait.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCCx5RlgQW17ZiJP9vmCzFl0MZ5ZcTygvE0ybFbhy0u5Za-Nw6saU7jLD1-dqiLYFqk1RIu-q-Mn_TsSUILEsUp39iwpWhYc0CQp06NfQzm6NxwgGA_HO-qFMq5Bp8lrBmZKESSDfA51kg/s1600/Pratchett_portrait.jpg" height="320" width="263" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;">Image belongs to Paul Kidby @ http://www.paulkidby.net/</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">...because honouring the characters is all fine and good, </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">but what about the author himself? </i><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And, what better day to do this than his birthday?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The <i>Good Omens</i> version of Terry Pratchett's bio made it super easy to find my concept, yet I had a little problem right there - namely, I had <i>no idea</i> what a Banana Daiquiri was (or, for that matter, how it was supposed to be <i>pronounced</i> even!)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">So I did my fair bit of web-searching, and discovered it is basically a cocktail made with pureed banana, rum, <i>triple sec</i>, and lime juice. Debate is raging on between those who think it is <i>kosher</i> to throw in </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Crème de Banana </i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">liqueur as well, and those who are dead set against it. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Also, when pronounced correctly it sounds like "DUCK hairy". True story!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">So, to make a long story short - I picked what looked like <a href="http://allrecipes.com/recipe/fresh-banana-daiquiri/" target="_blank">the most widely accepted version of the cocktail</a> and made myself a nice, big glass. <i>All for the sake of research</i>, you know how it is. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Alas, much as I wanted to love it, I can't say I did - I'm guessing they add something to the banana puree in fancy pubs, because in its natural state it turns an icky brown in a matter of seconds, even with all the lime juice and alcohol and stuff mixed in. Also, the drink itself... it's not that it tasted <i>bad</i>, but it was thick and heavy and <i>far</i> too sweet. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Uh... Sir Pratchett? I love you to pieces, I really do - <i>but</i>, you like yourself some seriously girly cocktail. Sorry, but it's true. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Give me a Mojito or Black Russian any day!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Now about the cupcake version! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">You will need ripe bananas for it, although not nearly as squishy as you'd want them to be for <a href="http://efreetintheoven.blogspot.it/2013/07/banana-bread-forevah.html" target="_blank">banana bread</a>. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This is the ripeness stage you should be aiming for:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I found it easier to de-construct the cocktail, by making some seriously banany cupcakes and leaving it to the glaze to convey the booze-and-lime kick. The definite advantage to this approach is that</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> the rum doesn't evaporate in the oven!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Even if you, too, find the original cocktail a bit <i>meh</i>, I think I can safely promise you'll love these cupcakes. A kid-friendly version is provided, but honestly... it's just <i>not the same thing</i>, y'know? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"><b>Banana Daiquiri Cupcakes</b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><b>Ingredients:</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">* 2 </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: justify;">1/2 cups ripe bananas, pureed </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: justify;">* 3 cups all-purpose flour</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: justify;">* 1 1/2 tsp baking soda</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: justify;">* 1/2 tsp salt</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: justify;">* 3/4 cup butter, room temperature</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: justify;">* 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: justify;">* 1 cup light brown sugar</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: justify;">* 3 large eggs</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: justify;">* 1 1/2 cups buttermilk</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: justify;">* 3 Tbsp </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: justify;"><i>Crème de Banana</i> (or 1/2 tsp banana extract)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: justify;">* 1 tsp rum extract (optional - see recipe for the glaze, further down)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1. Pre-heat oven to 350° F. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">2. Sift the flour, salt, and baking soda into a bowl. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">3. Cream the butter and sugars (use a stand mixer if possible.) Once they've fluffed up nicely, add in the eggs, one by one. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">4. With a fork, whisk the </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: justify;">Crème de Banana </i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: justify;">or banana extract (plus the rum extract, if using) and buttermilk together. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: justify;">5. Set your stand mixer to its lowest speed, then add the dry ingredients and boozy buttermilk alternately. Pro bakers say you should start <i>and</i> end with the flour mix. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">6. Puree the bananas by throwing them in a blender and pulsing briefly for 2-3 times. Quickly add them into the mixer bowl, so they won't have the time to turn brown on you. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">7. Pour the batter into a cupcakes mold, lined with paper wrappers. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I got a crapload (it's a technical term) o' cupcakes out of these doses - over 50 for sure. I had a small crowd to feed, but you can feel free to halve all doses (the eggs are tricky; I consider 2 medium eggs to be a fair estimate.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">8. <span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.479999542236328px;">Carefully place a water-filled silicon cup on the oven's bottom. It will slowly evaporate and the humidity will make your cupcakes wonderfully soft and moist!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.479999542236328px;">9. Bake for about 20 minutes. Always test for doneness ofc; every oven is different!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.479999542236328px;">(</span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18.479999542236328px;">If using the boozy lime glaze,</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18.479999542236328px;"> I suggest you prepare it while the cuppies bake, as it should be poured on them while they're still warm!)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.479999542236328px;">10. Leave the cupcakes in the mold for about 5 minutes before removing them. Proceed to glaze them right away, then - once they have cooled down completely - frost and decorate them!</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.479999542236328px;">11. Crack open your favourite Discworld novel. Have a toast to Terry Pratchett. Enjoy your cupcakes while reading away!</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.479999542236328px;">The glaze is where the serious booze comes into play, so if you're planning to let kids have a cupcake or three, you'll want to skip the alcohol altogether, and maybe add an half teaspoon rum extract to the batter itself. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.479999542236328px;">I most definitely do NOT recommend this if you're making them for yourself - it's one of the perks of being an adult!</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.479999542236328px;">I was lucky enough to find this <i>gorgeous</i> British-style lime marmalade... </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.479999542236328px;">If you can't find it, you can simply make a simple syrup out of rum, lime juice, and sugar or honey. But the marmalade is a treat in itself, so if you can get your dirty paws on a jar, you'll be happy!</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: large;"><b>Rum & Lime Glaze</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><b>Ingredients:</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">* 3-4 limes</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">* Lime marmalade (or mild honey or sugar, diluted with more lime juice)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">* Dark rum (omit if making the cupcakes for kids)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Juice the limes. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>While the cupcakes are baking</i>, pour about 10 Tbsp lime marmalade and 4 Tbsp lime juice in a small saucepan. Heat on low fire, stirring constantly. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Turn it off as soon as it starts simmering.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Stir in some rum, according to taste; 6 to 10 Tbsp should be fine. (Guess how many I used?)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As soon as the cupcakes can be removed from the mold, poke little holes into them with a toothpick...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">...and pour about 1/2 Tbsp glaze on each. Most of the glaze should seep into the cupcakes - it helps if they're still warm - but it's ok if some of it pools on their top!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">As for the frosting, I didn't want some heavy buttercream, so I went for <a href="http://www.marthastewart.com/344305/seven-minute-frosting" target="_blank">Martha Stewart's "cloud frosting" (a.k.a. Seven-Minute Frosting)</a>, <i>minus the vanilla extract</i>. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Her recipe involves egg whites and a candy thermometer (and lots of whisking!), yet it 's not difficult to make at all. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And it results in a fluffy, creamy frosting which feels indeed cloud-like, and not overhelmingly greasy and sweet. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Plus, it's so shiny and pretty when piped into fluffy swirls!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Instead of vanilla extract, I put in a few teaspoons more rum and </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Crème de Banana </i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">in my frosting</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">, plus what was left of the lime juice. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I'll admit this compromised its stability more than a little, as the icing was very soft and prone to deflating when left at room temperature - yet I think it really helped to tie all the flavous together, and was totally worth it!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I wouldn't try keeping the frosted cupcakes for more than 24 hours anyway, and even so, I'd recommend storing them in the fridge. I use pasteurized egg whites for all of my baking but, as they say, better safe than sorry!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">You can always freeze the baked cupcakes, unglazed and unfrosted, until you're ready to eat them - they'll keep wonderfully that way!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">These cupcakes are very soft (read this as: they're <i>not</i> simply a</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> banana bread baked into a cupcake mold!), and since they're well soaked with lime and booze, they're <i>beyond moist</i> - simply irresistible!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Also, since they're supposed to mimic a Banana Daiquiri, they don't need much in the way of decoration. Simply stick a paper umbrella and a straw in them, top with a cocktail cherry, and garnish with a thin slice of banana - just like you'd do with the cocktail itself!</span></div>
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Efreet in the Ovenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09171394703152187439noreply@blogger.com0Milano, Italy45.4654542 9.186515999999983345.287268200000007 8.8637924999999829 45.6436402 9.5092394999999836tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5470682390237546996.post-72954795868184908382014-04-17T18:49:00.002+02:002014-04-30T16:14:52.682+02:00Awesome tips from teh Interweb<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The Internet is teeming with creativity and enthusiasm. To any blogger out there, this must be a given fact. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I know it is to <i>me</i>, and delving into it and embracing its openness - usually in its nerdiest declinations, be it fanart or fanfiction or my very own playgrounds, crafting and baking - is my favourite way to restore my sometimes dwindling love for, and fascination with, people in general. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Sure, there's bound to be the occasional riot, usually about a few persistent sore spots such as intellectual property etc. </span></div>
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<a href="http://youtu.be/y2sa1JtgEHQ" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;" target="_blank">A famous, well-respected creative guru snapping at the online community for no discernible reason</a><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> is sure to elicit lots of drama, and from time to time the issue of "Internet envy" is resurrected (and discussed </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">ad nauseam</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">)</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> as one "pro" blogger or the other is knocked off the pedestal. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">We all have our <i>ego</i> and there's no denying that.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Still, the blogosphere at large is made of generous, dedicated people who selflessly share their breakthroughs without any thought of getting something in return. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As perusers, we easily recognize the effort that goes into developing a recipe from scratch, and admire the creativity of a whole new design or presentation. Such skills may even get the blogger some well-deserved recognition. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">There are times, though, when a blogger's credit lies in sharing tips, tricks and tutorials. Such contributions won't cause anyone to drop their jaw in wonderment, and most of the times we'd be hard-pressed to remember whom we got them from. Yet their tips we put to use again and again, until we come to recognize that "something I read somewhere on the Internet" made our life much easier. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Those people are the real, unsung heroes of the online community, much as good teachers (mind you, the key word here is <i>good</i>) tend to be in the "real" world. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Today I'm going to showcase a few instances were a trick I read online taught me a better or easier way to do something. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I could list many more ofc, but this is enough for one post!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Let's start with my favourite - <a href="http://whatscookingamerica.net/Q-A/PotatoBaking.htm" target="_blank">a comprehensive article about how to bake the perfect potato</a>! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Baking potatoes, now, is one of those skills that are usually taken for granted, like roasting a chicken or boiling eggs. Anyone knows how to do it, but oh so few know how to do it <i>well</i> - and the lucky few, they might not even be aware of how big a difference it makes, and</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> how precious their knowledge would be to the rest of us</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">. They'll probably tell you they "do it the usual way" like their Ma used to</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">, and that will be that. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Back to our potatoes - the article I linked might sound overkill, but it really takes all the guesswork out of baking them. Thanks to it, my baked potatoes have gone from "good enough" to "simply <i>perfect</i> every single time" - and given my utter <i>love</i> of potatoes, this is saying something! </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigogQG-KmD0J5644dFgnii3nqM-8-4a-VucYHT9No2YDjyl4U2jtQei1MI-9LMMo4fyby8s5qMIJ6F6zR-4SETwyrao2SJZ3Y7gZi0pBPeg444LGN0SbeZ4N7LMEbWoxfb38BWGh6reRyu/s1600/Rincewind+mouse+&+baked+potato.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigogQG-KmD0J5644dFgnii3nqM-8-4a-VucYHT9No2YDjyl4U2jtQei1MI-9LMMo4fyby8s5qMIJ6F6zR-4SETwyrao2SJZ3Y7gZi0pBPeg444LGN0SbeZ4N7LMEbWoxfb38BWGh6reRyu/s1600/Rincewind+mouse+&+baked+potato.jpg" height="246" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">(I swear there <i>are</i> potatoes under all the melty cheese btw. As for the crocheted <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rincewind" target="_blank">Rincewind</a> mousie, that's just me being my usual geeky self...)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Aaand... it's potatoes again! Seriously, I can't get enough of them!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://efreetintheoven.blogspot.it/2013/11/to-england.html" target="_blank">My trip to England</a> back in November did nothing to assuage my baked potatoes obsession, this much I can tell you!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />Whereas the previous trick works well with huge potatoes that will turn all nice and fluffy in the oven, <a href="http://www.closetcooking.com/2013/11/loaded-smashed-potatoes.html" target="_blank">this one</a> from <a href="http://www.closetcooking.com/" target="_blank">Closet Cooking</a> is perfect for very small ones, and makes them delightfully crispy. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">You only need to pick your poison!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLDuxl_r9hp2YxgdXKvkoqaGzrzPtPnZn23rcwg8HyiK3BBb_16N3UMOj7I82crNSb0GKavL0OVO0NJhWLhAjpSeYYLtDpZPLCSQPZV5aJDnW2Dy18GyJx-yFuApqG718qAE43qlSatZeQ/s1600/smashed!.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLDuxl_r9hp2YxgdXKvkoqaGzrzPtPnZn23rcwg8HyiK3BBb_16N3UMOj7I82crNSb0GKavL0OVO0NJhWLhAjpSeYYLtDpZPLCSQPZV5aJDnW2Dy18GyJx-yFuApqG718qAE43qlSatZeQ/s1600/smashed!.jpg" height="266" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">All but one of the potatoes I used were the purple variety btw, but once boiled they turned a dull grey. They taste every bit as good as the regular ones, but next time I won't bother with the li'l pricey beasts - they're just not worth it!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Also, there is <i>no bacon on my potatoes OMG</i>. I must have been out of my mind. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>But</i>, I sprinkled crunchy fried onion crisps on top. Can we still be friends? Pwetty pwease? </span><br />
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</span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">For our next awesome tip we move away from potatoes, and on to pizza! Or rather, <i>French bread pizza</i> - three words that most of my fellow Italians wouldn't be able to pronounce without sneering, provided of course that they knew what they mean.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I do, as a matter of fact, like it better than regular pizza, which tends to be much of a hit-or-miss thing with me - I'll either love it altogether, or utterly despise it. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Here's where the catch is, I guess: I can get crazy demanding before I grant my seal of approval to a regular pizza, whereas all I ask of its French bread-based cousin is for the bread itself not to be all soggy and yukky. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Easier said than done, though - one might be lead to believe that a nasty, damp crust is the price to be paid for taking a shortcut instead of making your own dough. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Well, no more! Because <a href="http://www.melskitchencafe.com/about" target="_blank">Mel</a>, a self-professed soggybreadphobe, found out <a href="http://www.melskitchencafe.com/2014/01/french-bread-pizza-perfected.html" target="_blank">a way to prevent such plague</a>, and was good enough to share it with the world. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I have made French bread pizza "her way" twice, and it turned out perfect both times! </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">First time around I used homemade garlicky cauliflower sauce as a base, then topped it all with crumbled Stilton, some leftover Gouda, and of course bacon...</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">...while the second time I got a bit lazy (<i>lazier</i>, that is!) and used a storebought tomato/aubergine condiment, which I then rounded up nicely with aged Cheddar cheese and more aubergines in oil. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBfgI-pWsRoLvU0gCNUn25CY6je54WSOdvtj8n0b0h_U5Y_-ZauexiGjdZJ1lTZJlxLcWN4QKiACxo52wwfFVf4DlSNcdSBKRc5gaIpKLmHA_WtOsHveQRM82WZem6qswWiUiNF30YixAA/s1600/Ciabatta+pizza+w.+aubergines+cheddar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBfgI-pWsRoLvU0gCNUn25CY6je54WSOdvtj8n0b0h_U5Y_-ZauexiGjdZJ1lTZJlxLcWN4QKiACxo52wwfFVf4DlSNcdSBKRc5gaIpKLmHA_WtOsHveQRM82WZem6qswWiUiNF30YixAA/s1600/Ciabatta+pizza+w.+aubergines+cheddar.jpg" height="212" width="320" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Needless to say, I liked the cheesier one better! </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Easter is nearly upon us, so this is the <i>perfect</i> time to introduce this awesome <a href="http://www.cakespy.com/blog/2013/1/26/tutorial-for-children-the-art-of-stealing-easter-candy.html" target="_blank">guide to stealing candy</a>!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Kids everywhere should raise their praise to <a href="http://www.cakespy.com/about" target="_blank">Jessie Oleson Moore</a>, the <a href="http://www.cakespy.com/" target="_blank">CakeSpy</a>'s secret identity. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Dessert scholar and artist extraordinaire (I should know - I own one of her paintings! HA!), she has also been an accomplished candy thief since childhood. Who would have guessed?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Then again, candy stealing is a form of art in itself... </span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGja7uDlDRpO4a89E7h0yCJVrT2Notv2y5qOUCXOxGW38l9zJ2yDrpquGYp3ZFKl58cN6auutUiceu8u3u969L0NF2C5cnnppifAZc4UluAURnikmKxt833LlC6zXUkvG_P3guPeikekCI/s1600/pillaged+candy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGja7uDlDRpO4a89E7h0yCJVrT2Notv2y5qOUCXOxGW38l9zJ2yDrpquGYp3ZFKl58cN6auutUiceu8u3u969L0NF2C5cnnppifAZc4UluAURnikmKxt833LlC6zXUkvG_P3guPeikekCI/s1600/pillaged+candy.jpg" height="301" title=""Hehehehe... The perfect crime!" (/cit.)" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;">See? No indication of tampering whatsoever!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In conscience, though, I'm not sure it is right to teach kids how to steal candy. It is, understand... the <i>ethics</i> of it that I question. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Because frankly, if a kiddo aged six or more needs online tutoring on the matter, he/she simply <i>does not deserve</i> candy. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>My</i> generation sure needed no such prompting! Why, we were more than capable of coming up with <i>three different plans</i> in a single afternoon!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I'm sorry about this, but I really think there's much to be said for ancient Sparta's approach to pedagogy. (*)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Finally, two tips that need no pic-posting on my part, because they're pretty much self-explanatory: </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">- <a href="http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-boil-eggs-perfectly-every-time-cooking-lessons-from-the-kitchn-202415?utm_campaign=Feed%3A+apartmenttherapy%2Fthekitchn+%28TK+Channel%3A+Main%29&utm_medium=feed&utm_source=RSS" target="_blank">How to boil eggs perfectly</a>, every time. I stated before it's more easily said than done, but <a href="http://www.thekitchn.com/" target="_blank">The Kitchn</a> comes to the rescue... time tables and everything!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">- <a href="http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Eat-a-Banana-Like-a-Monkey/" target="_blank">How to peel bananas like monkeys do</a>. Not much to add, really. <i>Ooooook! </i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">DISCLAIMER: I am of course aware that plenty of similar tutorials are popping up on other blogs and on <i><a href="http://www.pinterest.com/" target="_blank">Pinterest</a>.</i> I have no way of knowing which one came first - nor the steam to try and ascertain it, frankly. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">So while I can in no way guarantee that the ones I linked are THE Ur-posts about each respective topic, this is</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> where I picked the tips up from first, so it is to their authors that I'll be forever grateful for many delicious lunches to come!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">(*) Now before the International Educators Commitee sends in the thugs, or some righteous mom flames me in the comments: <i>it's called</i> irony<i>, peeps. Give it a try sometimes!</i></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0Milano, Italy45.4654542 9.186515999999983345.287268200000007 8.8637924999999829 45.6436402 9.5092394999999836tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5470682390237546996.post-10044025425448234212014-04-07T21:12:00.001+02:002014-04-07T21:33:01.714+02:00Gluten-Free Buckwheat/Almond Meal "Patronus" Cake<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">It's </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Gluten-Free Week</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> over at the <a href="http://kitchenoverlord.com/" target="_blank">Kitchen Overlord</a>'s place, which was a tough theme for me - I'm neither celiac not gluten-intolerant, thus I've never been overly motivated to research this particular branch of cooking. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Closest I ever got was half-heartedly baking a couple things for a colleague who is mildly sensitive to gluten (and doesn't even love sweets that much, I might add), but in those instances I merely bought the outrageously expensive specialty "flour" that comes with starch and metyl cellulose and stuff already mixed in. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buckwheat" target="_blank">Buckwheat</a> </i>flour, though - it's a waning ingredient, yet it is rooted deep enough in the Italian tradition (in Piedmont especially) that even I have done a bit of experimenting with it in the past. I love it because of its distinctive, very rustic quality - absence of gluten notwithstanding!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT_n53IQDfdAeNaeXFDfai99y3gMS3LvOQsR5OT33Z3A4zYPAMX-NjZ-wvmwUhOOpPe6FGeAnRQx-Jnk7TwQVq6jMjs-0vzYDSviT5IP3UclVHU-yOLc-3MBqCAoP8IKm4N65GcPymYlWk/s1600/Gluten+free+Patronus+buckwheat+cake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT_n53IQDfdAeNaeXFDfai99y3gMS3LvOQsR5OT33Z3A4zYPAMX-NjZ-wvmwUhOOpPe6FGeAnRQx-Jnk7TwQVq6jMjs-0vzYDSviT5IP3UclVHU-yOLc-3MBqCAoP8IKm4N65GcPymYlWk/s1600/Gluten+free+Patronus+buckwheat+cake.jpg" height="291" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This cake uses buckwheat as its main "grain", plus almond meal and chopped, toasted almonds for added body and texture. Although whipped egg whites are folded in the batter for a bit more volume, it doesn't rise much - but if you like your cakes dense, hearty and nutty, you'll enjoy it for sure. Even if you're no celiac, I promise!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Please head <a href="http://kitchenoverlord.com/2014/04/07/gluten-free-buckwheat-cake/" target="_blank">HERE</a> for the full recipe!</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">(I gave my cake a stenciled stag/buck head in honour of Harry Potter's <i><a href="http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Patronus_Charm" target="_blank">Patronus</a></i> btw. Cheeky, or what?)</span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0Milano, Italy45.4654542 9.186515999999983345.287268200000007 8.8637924999999829 45.6436402 9.5092394999999836tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5470682390237546996.post-79304382523045612342014-04-02T17:30:00.002+02:002014-04-02T17:37:14.486+02:00[T&T] Bar Harbor New England Style Clam Chowder<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I purchased this can of <i><a href="http://www.barharborfoods.com/" target="_blank">Bar Harbor</a></i> <i>New England Style Clam Chowder</i>, like, <i>ages</i> ago (thank God these things keep forever!) and finally decided to give it a try today, before the weather changes for good and pushes soup out of my mind for a further six months. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">It was an impulse buy in the first place, as I wasn't looking for clam chowder specifically - to be honest I hadn't even heard about it at the time. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">But it sounded interesting and yummy, and the can's so stylish and pretty that I couldn't help wanting it!</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh50MSRSfB_hUSZFjNyQQN5cghTafON8EnuE1WlCGebsRrZwaF73snfsDhu7B17qJXQpKsA90rTL3oH0X0pTDzNtGjJ9mMsE-ejVrCZ6749ja76BH_xW7iqseZDLR0EcqNpq1oqyr5joe8w/s1600/Bar+Harbor+New+England+Style+Clam+Chowder.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Bar Harbor New England clam chowder" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh50MSRSfB_hUSZFjNyQQN5cghTafON8EnuE1WlCGebsRrZwaF73snfsDhu7B17qJXQpKsA90rTL3oH0X0pTDzNtGjJ9mMsE-ejVrCZ6749ja76BH_xW7iqseZDLR0EcqNpq1oqyr5joe8w/s1600/Bar+Harbor+New+England+Style+Clam+Chowder.jpg" height="320" title="" width="193" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The blurb on the label goes:</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>All-natural seafood speaks for itself. </b> </span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: x-small;">The taste of wind, weather, and clear cold water; it's not a flavor that needs improving.</span> <span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small;">We create our New England Clam Chowder in small batches, like people on the Maine coast have been doing for generations - loaded with juicy clams and simple, all-natural ingredients. It's as close to fresh off the docks of Maine as you can get without being here.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>Bar Harbor is a special place. You can taste it!</i></span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Sooo... Not only I got myself an American staple, but one from <i>New England</i>! That mythical place that is and will always be, in my mind, peopled by the likes of Hester Prynne and the Deep Ones, Gordon Pym and the <i>Pequod</i> crew, not to mention every Stephen King character since the dawn of time! </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Now here's the opened can, filled with pearly white stuff </span>studded with clams and bits o' potatoes...</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH22Hruxl6HgZ_dmxxw2RJwplJ_MN8Ki14fTwHVVatUTBIBBKDJSxSRs764xHaO_ksrll2s3JpNLBDzMbcPXDAHgZfIQ06FGVnLFj2W4fMlLAsVnII1Rq3_F379_wuFRy84IFrqaXpVqDD/s1600/can.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH22Hruxl6HgZ_dmxxw2RJwplJ_MN8Ki14fTwHVVatUTBIBBKDJSxSRs764xHaO_ksrll2s3JpNLBDzMbcPXDAHgZfIQ06FGVnLFj2W4fMlLAsVnII1Rq3_F379_wuFRy84IFrqaXpVqDD/s1600/can.jpg" height="301" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">...and the same content, plopped into my trusty pink pan, log-style. Not its most attractive shot for sure!</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2I6PBDkAe0PnesY1r4Tv91d_LKLbv5C0tD4GaHutIqexYFbeY4lDPrn0mJOuLlv8YB1ppn9xXFDdu6ImSqz0DRnWJhrwKD1OZabe_R7neVY0Or5cWGqhTyPMj_sX1ypBTpEzWAykOG9dc/s1600/Clam+Chowder+log.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2I6PBDkAe0PnesY1r4Tv91d_LKLbv5C0tD4GaHutIqexYFbeY4lDPrn0mJOuLlv8YB1ppn9xXFDdu6ImSqz0DRnWJhrwKD1OZabe_R7neVY0Or5cWGqhTyPMj_sX1ypBTpEzWAykOG9dc/s1600/Clam+Chowder+log.jpg" height="272" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">(And FYI, since I know what you're thinking: no, my pan is not rusted. It lost part of its non-stick lining over time, but I still use it as it's a very convenient size for my needs - plus it was a present from my brother, <i>and</i> the lid's got a piggy snout on it. Which ends the whole argument as far as I'm concerned.) </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Now seriously - it's not flaking nor affecting the way my food tastes, so don't worry, it won't kill me!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I had enough soup to fill two bowls, and the first one I ate plain as the label suggested, with just a drizzle of oil and a pinch of black pepper. </span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyHia_PLZjrvWi8IQtlEoQ-xejkP8eKUeAGVYfNzaqIGbvqJEgrWGC42G7Z-2TObOLFcX4virK_4EXXval-V9kxStvOyLQE5jLoRmBtP8YvjXUrx1hrTy6EbLAqgCYEPmR1SW0Et9zaKIZ/s1600/Clam+Chowder,+plain.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyHia_PLZjrvWi8IQtlEoQ-xejkP8eKUeAGVYfNzaqIGbvqJEgrWGC42G7Z-2TObOLFcX4virK_4EXXval-V9kxStvOyLQE5jLoRmBtP8YvjXUrx1hrTy6EbLAqgCYEPmR1SW0Et9zaKIZ/s1600/Clam+Chowder,+plain.jpg" height="290" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">It tasted... good, I suppose, but really bland. I was a little disappointed, because I was expecting it to be a bit more interesting - then again, boiled potatoes (while hearty and delicious) are not exactly a powerhouse of flavour, and the clams themselves contribute more in the field of texture and chewiness than actual <i>umami</i>. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The consistency was delightful btw, not too brothy nor overly starchy, just like the ideal winter soup should be. And there is something deeply gratifying in finding <i>huge</i> chunks of actual vegetables and clams into a canned soup... that is to say, it makes me feel less lazy for resorting to it in the first place. Almost... <i>virtuous</i>, I daresay! </span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy1IMlrUYsV-8wiXhAHXoVQYfO-HRKGaF4ouLtOxgF6LJZtxwhY0qUNcOt1RTkJPB4DBgZSeT5Gi6OeWw0AhApFIZfTRVr1ErWFs_KYuoAlAX08ciwK3yivDUJHcbB4ej56cxWZhnEzEkx/s1600/close+up.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy1IMlrUYsV-8wiXhAHXoVQYfO-HRKGaF4ouLtOxgF6LJZtxwhY0qUNcOt1RTkJPB4DBgZSeT5Gi6OeWw0AhApFIZfTRVr1ErWFs_KYuoAlAX08ciwK3yivDUJHcbB4ej56cxWZhnEzEkx/s1600/close+up.jpg" height="186" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The second bowl, though, I muddled up with wasabi-flavoured <i>furikake</i>, plus a few <i>taralli</i> as impromptu croutons. American, Japanese and Italian ingredients in one bowl? <i>Yes, please!</i></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQECua51zTJdvuVIWeRmUCiHWM1Qk61h5XeA20zOK1uQsVST9fCHI8KZIK2nsXfHhrDG1B0xiRBnt7Bxqq7onBQjPfAbjl97DZWwh5Q9_X2-o4nIK6q1qTX3FpAwwVBn14rLTxoSQyACgL/s1600/Clam+Chowder,+fusion+style.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQECua51zTJdvuVIWeRmUCiHWM1Qk61h5XeA20zOK1uQsVST9fCHI8KZIK2nsXfHhrDG1B0xiRBnt7Bxqq7onBQjPfAbjl97DZWwh5Q9_X2-o4nIK6q1qTX3FpAwwVBn14rLTxoSQyACgL/s1600/Clam+Chowder,+fusion+style.jpg" height="245" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Needless to say, I liked this "bastardised" version much more. If you're shuddering at the thought, please feel free to blame it all on me being <a href="http://efreetintheoven.blogspot.it/p/faq.html" target="_blank">anosmic</a>, and thus unable to fully appreciate subtlety in flavours...</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Both bowls were good enough that I'd gladly pick up a can from time to time, were it available here; it's not worth ordering from abroad though - it's something I wouldn't mind eating a couple times during the cold season, but I don't foresee <i>craving</i> it as such.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I would however like to try cooking it from scratch. Great, one more recipe just got filed in my "To Do" folder... </span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0Milano, Italy45.4654542 9.186515999999983345.287268200000007 8.8637924999999829 45.6436402 9.5092394999999836tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5470682390237546996.post-32816037513799798962014-03-16T17:37:00.001+01:002014-05-04T10:10:03.344+02:00The Internet is for CORN!<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">First things first: if the title of this post sounds puzzling, you've been missing out on the most hilarious musical <i>ever</i>. I hate to be the one to tell you, but it's true. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It's called <i><a href="http://www.avenueq.com/" target="_blank">Avenue Q</a></i>, and you should if nothing else become familiar with this song... </span></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/kV7ou6pl5wU?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">HA!<i> Told</i> you so!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">...Wait, what are you saying? You only surf the Internet for <i>recipes</i>? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Sheesh, sure thing. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Look, I'm pointing you to a few favourite ones anyway. And what you do <i>afterwards</i> is entirely your business. Deal?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Let's start with soup, although this baby is so ridiculously thick with cheese (and goobed up with bacon!) that you'll want to cross your fingers behind your back when calling it such. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsezar9xOr-ieEdNQsWksr_AHEs_RT7x81iQEnN27p7zMp-EfoKPIQ96XZZaACXpl615V5CUuwpsNTVs-pLfl6t9bRVGEd55y-dWeQFnU_x2oQ7O78EDIMQMRmAXr3e9crhAqLAcrSJx4x/s1600/soup+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsezar9xOr-ieEdNQsWksr_AHEs_RT7x81iQEnN27p7zMp-EfoKPIQ96XZZaACXpl615V5CUuwpsNTVs-pLfl6t9bRVGEd55y-dWeQFnU_x2oQ7O78EDIMQMRmAXr3e9crhAqLAcrSJx4x/s1600/soup+2.jpg" height="320" width="314" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Now if you aspire to be regarded as a savvy surfer of the vast foodie ocean, you should have surmised already that a <a href="http://www.howsweeteats.com/2013/09/cheesy-corn-chowder-with-bacon-gorgonzola/" target="_blank">Cheesy Corn Chowder with Bacon + Gorgonzola</a> can only be a creation of <a href="http://www.howsweeteats.com/about/" target="_blank">Jessica</a>, the genius behind <a href="http://www.howsweeteats.com/" target="_blank">How Sweet It Is</a>. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdZheHbJCDIB3tJ3fDzEwXHiE9UKuCUNurQXcyvLp5xYcBD31gmKC13KBDfywxftDB0z32QdKArru84i4SCk0Y7qwQ6TbM8CraMleXlOf0XYUeyTsEpgaqbeq2Te8WljtjVmEnMlMqIGcz/s1600/corn+blue+cheese+bacon+soup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdZheHbJCDIB3tJ3fDzEwXHiE9UKuCUNurQXcyvLp5xYcBD31gmKC13KBDfywxftDB0z32QdKArru84i4SCk0Y7qwQ6TbM8CraMleXlOf0XYUeyTsEpgaqbeq2Te8WljtjVmEnMlMqIGcz/s1600/corn+blue+cheese+bacon+soup.jpg" height="221" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I sang her praises already in a previous post, so instead of hearing me harp on about how awesome she is, how about you jump to her blog directly, and see for yourself? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Next comes a revamped version of the traditional Shepherd's Pie... only I had to look it up online to discover it is, basically, a meat pie with a crust of mashed potatoes. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It sounds yummy, and to me it would be exotic enough even in its plain version, but this <a href="http://girlcarnivore.com/kick-it-up-southwest-shepherds-pie/" target="_blank">Southwest Shepherd</a> we're dealing with here has chorizo in it, and spices, and sweet potatoes all over the place. And <i>corn</i>, of course!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUGfxgbMqYYq0kMRuzMDZdlle4_JcuJcMtDIROq3_GTsmdVLHWyWg4fJKOKcX7ewjgywStM-QGFdNMbPYfem5et2KXaZzBeNzHg8_r_78yiHtcLT0gFXXNOS2Uc2Kksl8Rbm3sgh-cToKy/s1600/Southwestern+Shepherd.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUGfxgbMqYYq0kMRuzMDZdlle4_JcuJcMtDIROq3_GTsmdVLHWyWg4fJKOKcX7ewjgywStM-QGFdNMbPYfem5et2KXaZzBeNzHg8_r_78yiHtcLT0gFXXNOS2Uc2Kksl8Rbm3sgh-cToKy/s1600/Southwestern+Shepherd.jpg" height="219" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Now this dish, it's more delicious than pretty - and it <i>was</i> delicious despite the fact that I threw into it the black chorizo I bought by mistake back in December, while completely smashed because of all the sample chupitos I had chugged. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihq5TONWPL5pZmXRV8842sh4ThrshfRal0X03A5D6JWSy5eS77u8WMQM7TLu7cNm6dMQUmDWJF8RrI28RMTIpP5qls2Tq4BMT8HksSUpx3oc1Wpei8SpsLD7b__anRWXKPr-3tDkAo12OP/s1600/black+chorizo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihq5TONWPL5pZmXRV8842sh4ThrshfRal0X03A5D6JWSy5eS77u8WMQM7TLu7cNm6dMQUmDWJF8RrI28RMTIpP5qls2Tq4BMT8HksSUpx3oc1Wpei8SpsLD7b__anRWXKPr-3tDkAo12OP/s1600/black+chorizo.jpg" height="260" title="There's _blood_ in my sausage! Eeeew!" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I think it makes the ideal lunchbox fodder: you can plop a frozen square into your box, and give it a quick zap in the microwave to warm it up when you're ready to eat - and hey presto, you have a satisfying, filling, and shockingly balanced meal! (Pumpkin bread buns are a wonderful complement btw...)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://girlcarnivore.com/about/" target="_blank">Kita Roberts</a> a.k.a. <a href="http://girlcarnivore.com/" target="_blank">Girl Carnivore</a> is actually better known as <a href="http://passthesushi.com/" target="_blank">Pass the Sushi</a>, but like the dedicated carnivore that she is - and <i>boy</i>, do I love her for this reason alone, in this age of vegan nonsense! - she felt the need to run a separate blog for all things meat, plus the occasional fish. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Me likey!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Last but not least, this <a href="http://www.createdby-diane.com/2013/12/scalloped-corn-bread.html" target="_blank">Scalloped Corn Bread</a> - which is not even close to bread, honestly; much more like, a <i>frittata</i> with stuff thrown in.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Soooo</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> confusing... but<i> so good</i>! </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzBc7qAWBOkNMAv6EHuJzKNeIIS4RWfedG7MlXSOegrCHutJ4Sk_J0hqWzqnl61iwBhyphenhyphenJvj4V8Sv6SGp2DiXLdbALlTw0RBFF6H5Xge3caf3jkpJWOwITb4HhC5ufugGlBg674bPrG3j-3/s1600/scalloped+corn+bread.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzBc7qAWBOkNMAv6EHuJzKNeIIS4RWfedG7MlXSOegrCHutJ4Sk_J0hqWzqnl61iwBhyphenhyphenJvj4V8Sv6SGp2DiXLdbALlTw0RBFF6H5Xge3caf3jkpJWOwITb4HhC5ufugGlBg674bPrG3j-3/s1600/scalloped+corn+bread.jpg" height="258" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This crazy mash-up of canned cream-style corn, crushed saltines and eggs makes for a perfect, quick-and-dirty side dish that you can whip together easily with ingredients you are likely to have in your pantry at all times. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">(Me,</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> I'll admit I used pretzels instead of the saltines, since I was all out of them - still awesome!)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I stumbled upon a promising pic of it on <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/%E2%80%8E" target="_blank">Pinterest</a>, and immediately set out to trace the recipe all the way back to <a href="http://www.createdby-diane.com/" target="_blank">Created by Diane</a>. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I am a newcomer to that particular blog, so I still don't know much about its hostess - except that, <i>duh</i>, she's called <a href="http://www.createdby-diane.com/about-diane" target="_blank">Diane</a>! - but if her Scalloped Corn Bread is any indication of the average quality of the stuff she puts out, I think I can safely assume I'll be a regular in no time!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYE8mGCdYzWBMelVyQgY4rh5wzQNSSQNOhRkfI6kKnlf4mhPXZlfkbOHd5MgWD0nddHHX4RBBCMMkwJhPowVa3VHNDtrePQI1J7E9RiIelZj4PXTefyJoybA1z_2liZWSK1uI2VK6_wHsl/s1600/scalloped+corn+bread+++adobo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYE8mGCdYzWBMelVyQgY4rh5wzQNSSQNOhRkfI6kKnlf4mhPXZlfkbOHd5MgWD0nddHHX4RBBCMMkwJhPowVa3VHNDtrePQI1J7E9RiIelZj4PXTefyJoybA1z_2liZWSK1uI2VK6_wHsl/s1600/scalloped+corn+bread+++adobo.jpg" height="320" width="315" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Diane's family apparently has a tradition of eating her "bread" during the holidays, but I found it to be</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> a perfectly viable option for everyday occasions. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">It freezes wonderfully (which kind of surprised me, as egg-based things so often turn gummy in the freezer), and if you pre-cut it into smallish squares, brownie-like, it's a very handy way to round out your luncheon at work. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">A couple squares of it were enough to turn my <i>Adobo</i>-marinated steak into a single course I wouldn't be ashamed to serve to a guest - except I gobbled it all down myself in this instance, it was <i>that</i> good! </span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3Milano, Italy45.4654542 9.186515999999983345.287268200000007 8.8637924999999829 45.6436402 9.5092394999999836tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5470682390237546996.post-53253732419083829522014-02-14T14:50:00.002+01:002014-02-15T10:34:56.982+01:00Happy Valentine's Day!<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Yes, yes, I know.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">It is an empty, sad, commercial, possibly chauvinistic "holiday" that the florists lobby made up to force hapless guys into buying bunches of long-stemmed red roses at the exchange rate of gold. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Still, we are supposed to get chocolates as well, which is one thing I can't find fault with. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">So... may your admirers provide you with yummy treats today!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpmOzn9KobCkrtrqPCyOurXTsyrhNHqB12RZVgia-ilgTPwNROCPdCvJMxR2UvUJLEjvAFMTyq13uRB1z2WUMf1Y4kYMsBdBpLyBDYqfNlvI8F0JO7Erl-ctEqNoGK1XEa7XsQsSAF0GJH/s1600/mantis+Valentine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpmOzn9KobCkrtrqPCyOurXTsyrhNHqB12RZVgia-ilgTPwNROCPdCvJMxR2UvUJLEjvAFMTyq13uRB1z2WUMf1Y4kYMsBdBpLyBDYqfNlvI8F0JO7Erl-ctEqNoGK1XEa7XsQsSAF0GJH/s1600/mantis+Valentine.jpg" height="212" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small;">One way or another... </span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0Milano, Italy45.4654542 9.186515999999983345.287268200000007 8.8637924999999829 45.6436402 9.5092394999999836tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5470682390237546996.post-86655906189008554832014-02-03T11:17:00.000+01:002014-03-22T19:44:46.982+01:00Oni wa soto! Fuku wa uchi! <blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;">Get out, Devil! Come in, Happiness!</span> </span></blockquote>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">- Traditional <i>Setsubun</i> formula</span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Granted, the traditional Japanese wish may sound a tad dodgy, coming - as it is - from one who picked a mischievous li'l <a href="http://efreetintheoven.blogspot.it/p/about.html" target="_blank">fire demon</a> (<b>*</b>) as her online persona (and who isn't even Asian, for heaven's sake!)</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #545454; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black;">But, well, I kind of like the whole <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Setsubun" target="_blank">Setsubun</a></i> symbology. And since I haven't posted anything on New Year's Day, I will blatantly exploit this holiday (as well as the beginning of the Lunar Year of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horse_(zodiac)" target="_blank">Horse</a> three days ago) to catch up on the kind of stuff that normal people post on January 2nd. And <i>no</i>, I don't mean "detox" or "skinny" recipes. Ewwww, <i>the very idea</i>!</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">(<b>*</b>) Have you seen the new pic in my profile btw?<span style="font-size: small;"> It's by one of my favourite <a href="http://www.deviantart.com/" target="_blank">DeviantArt </a>members, and I love it more than I can explain. Isn't it the sweetest thing <i>ever</i>? </span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiryoLsw7H0M56_H-7-Yjfbed-m1LJeXFZHz3e2cHFgPgL9AFierL_Tii8vKKFDrlkexTKqDYn0ysNhk1d5pkwB9ojWAUekCFG405jL1ARA6blQYsC7ksjen51MkvQY8UgyQbwNFrgG7Id/s1600/Chibi+Efreet.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiryoLsw7H0M56_H-7-Yjfbed-m1LJeXFZHz3e2cHFgPgL9AFierL_Tii8vKKFDrlkexTKqDYn0ysNhk1d5pkwB9ojWAUekCFG405jL1ARA6blQYsC7ksjen51MkvQY8UgyQbwNFrgG7Id/s1600/Chibi+Efreet.png" height="320" title="Squee! Cuteness overload!" width="259" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14.7839994430542px;">Image belongs to YamPuff @ </span><a href="http://yampuff.deviantart.com/"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, Palatino Linotype, Palatino, serif;"><span style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 14.7839994430542px;">http://yampuff.deviantart.com</span></span></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> Now the reason why I commissioned a (literally!) sparkling new avatar, is that I am now seriously considering baking for a living. Not as my primary job maybe (not <i>yet</i>, at last), but hey... why not? </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I won't go into my working situation here, because it would be a long ramble which wouldn't probably even make sense to those of you who live in a less ludicrous country than Italy, but I have reasons to fear that the company I work for will undergo some serious pruning two years from now. Mind you - I say "fear" because this job is still my main source of income at the moment, but I almost hope for the worst to happen, since I'm too chicken to willingly quit a position I despise, and that is slowly seeping every ounce of energy, joy, and creativity out of me. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">So... for the time being, I am proceeding at baby steps. I am now a member of <a href="http://con.pa.it/">Con.Pa.It</a>, the Italian bakers' federation. I am gathering information about the legal requirements for opening my own business. And above all, I'm slowly working up my courage. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">This very blog, unassuming as it is, has been a huge factor in my attempt to build up my confidence. At the same time, though, there have been times when the mere thought of having to dig out my camera, stop every few minutes to snap WIP pics, clean the mess on my table for the "hero shot", and edit the photos afterwards - it has been enough to dissuade me from trying some new idea right away. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">There might be a problem there because, you see, if I ever take the plunge and turn my hobby into a proper job, I'll have to deal with the "boring" stuff - administration, balances and what have you - on a daily basis. Which, knowing myself, might very well kill all the passion I put into baking. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">So, what am I going to do? Wait and see, as they say. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">In two years' time I will be turning 40, and <i>that</i> sounds as good a time as any to change my life for good... </span></span></div>
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</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #545454; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;"><br /></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0Milano, Italy45.4654542 9.186515999999983345.287268200000007 8.8637924999999829 45.6436402 9.5092394999999836tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5470682390237546996.post-53115802104449270852013-12-01T21:09:00.000+01:002014-04-13T19:53:25.971+02:00Hogswatch 2013 report - part 4<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">(<a href="http://efreetintheoven.blogspot.it/2013/11/hogswatch-2013-report-part-1.html" target="_blank">Part 1</a> - <a href="http://efreetintheoven.blogspot.it/2013/11/hogswatch-2013-report-part-2.html" target="_blank">Part 2</a> - <a href="http://efreetintheoven.blogspot.it/2013/11/hogswatch-2013-report-part-3.html" target="_blank">Part 3</a>)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Writing from London right now, and once again picking up from where I left off yesterday - which means, the SAUSAGE SUPPER!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Of the three pubs in Wincanton, we had been assigned to <a href="http://www.thedolphinhotelwincanton.com/" target="_blank">The Dolphin</a>, a charming blue-and-white building...</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9x3DNzbpMFYOD1S29tboWHwpRxTYs6nDh80FeA9FOClFqiyZn8ZO-nFt1w5kFr1b9uThHx8gOa7ThANkTFCNPk_4FzAy50hm60WgQgrpVpVGD1HGdgNhBdR2FxMe2Jq61bbrZlB6gXXKu/s1600/The+Dolphin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9x3DNzbpMFYOD1S29tboWHwpRxTYs6nDh80FeA9FOClFqiyZn8ZO-nFt1w5kFr1b9uThHx8gOa7ThANkTFCNPk_4FzAy50hm60WgQgrpVpVGD1HGdgNhBdR2FxMe2Jq61bbrZlB6gXXKu/s1600/The+Dolphin.jpg" height="237" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I'm dreadfully sorry I took no pics of the sausages themselves (which is <i>so</i> unlike me, now that I think about it)... but, to be totally frank with you guys, I was too busy eating them. What can I say? They were delightful, and well worth the wait! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I got a flagon of a really nice dry cider too, while poor sweetie touched no booze at all, since the legal blood alcohol level for driving in the UK is an uncompromising 0% - plus, he's getting pretty paranoid about driving "the British way" tbh!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Right afterwards we hopped back to <a href="http://www.thebearinnwincanton.co.uk/" target="_blank">The Bear</a> for a couple hours of naughty fun! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It was nothing too ribald, really; just plenty of adult jokes. The main hostess of the show was bubbly and bodacious and all around awesome - I have such a huge girl crush on her!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This morning we relished our last breakfast at <a href="http://www.horsington.co.uk/" target="_blank">The Half Moon Inn</a>, and by now we were pretty much aware of our fellow vacationers' identity. Some of them we had seen cosplaying even!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And, as always happens when I must leave a vacation place I've loved, I felt a little heartbreak right there. I snapped some more pics to remember it by, and the guy at the bar was nice enough to present me with a bag of pork scratchings (LOL!)</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRMjq_qECIsIsxmLC1H3Y9cJ4zkXKHmcs-97Nevm1eXjahwWQbRNrxiYngTpjLvjIofoIRPhbPmFtbXQe833f7cdkOw3Ds8r1wNVVFeWYZTc3vo_HFutMZYf8QXbZqrXWh1O5QVJj0YkVH/s1600/Pork+scratchings.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRMjq_qECIsIsxmLC1H3Y9cJ4zkXKHmcs-97Nevm1eXjahwWQbRNrxiYngTpjLvjIofoIRPhbPmFtbXQe833f7cdkOw3Ds8r1wNVVFeWYZTc3vo_HFutMZYf8QXbZqrXWh1O5QVJj0YkVH/s1600/Pork+scratchings.jpg" height="284" title="My... PRECIOUSSSSSSS..." width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The other chips I bought myself btw. Expect a <i>T&T</i> post soon(ish)!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The last day of the convention run pretty smoothly, with everyone in town by now accustomed to guards and wizards and barbarians running to and fro, or the sight of DEATH's scythe propped casually against a wall.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_HIEwYp6_hBd6m63MMMjnHS1r_dr1d3Or0MUL5IAWC7mu7WS3N-iVjYnIEVZaOO8UfPF5waznokD1oMk3NGEV3C8EcW-7B0-hANe3pGcNj4rDrtV-zkAra_qU4YNtmazxw4tDc14yjBoY/s1600/DEATH's+scythe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="LOL! " border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_HIEwYp6_hBd6m63MMMjnHS1r_dr1d3Or0MUL5IAWC7mu7WS3N-iVjYnIEVZaOO8UfPF5waznokD1oMk3NGEV3C8EcW-7B0-hANe3pGcNj4rDrtV-zkAra_qU4YNtmazxw4tDc14yjBoY/s1600/DEATH's+scythe.jpg" height="320" title="" width="240" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Some of the guys we had met yesterday brought us on a tour of the nerdiest block in Wincanton, where even the street names mirror those of Ankh-Morpork...</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEk-Zc-z36pqsqCaK2i_vKBQWm0tEXtmbElmkN9qBZmJS7JH0yuo81Dwep0iUAyQrvgChWv32UnRWjTyziO0xYZEVg9nxc0RNStJH-VDoZwdh2XYC4Xr3Z416rTGHw2LTvWyekHwo21bSX/s1600/Ankh-Morpork+or+Wincanton.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEk-Zc-z36pqsqCaK2i_vKBQWm0tEXtmbElmkN9qBZmJS7JH0yuo81Dwep0iUAyQrvgChWv32UnRWjTyziO0xYZEVg9nxc0RNStJH-VDoZwdh2XYC4Xr3Z416rTGHw2LTvWyekHwo21bSX/s1600/Ankh-Morpork+or+Wincanton.jpg" height="210" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">...then there was more acting at the Memorial Hall, plus the Charity Auction that was a real delight to watch, if nothing else because the auctioneer was the only Brit I had no trouble at all understanding. He was also nice and funny, and really turned what might have resulted in the most boring event in the program - the one you wish you could skip but don't dare to, because <i>Ewwww, come on, it's</i> for charity<i>!</i> - into a veritable highlight. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">After that we headed back to <a href="http://www.thebearinnwincanton.co.uk/" target="_blank">The Bear</a> - for the last time, alas! - where I got the most delightful pumpkin soup with a hint of curry, but still no pie. <i>Sigh!</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It would have been time for us to drive back to London if we were to return the rental car on time, but the next scheduled event was going to be a cake competition, and... well, <i>you understand</i>. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> Plus, uncontrolled voices floating around were hinting at the chance of another visit by The Man Himself... and I knew how much meeting him meant to hun. To me as well, of course, but <i>he</i>'d been so crushed at our missed opportunity yesterday (although he'd sooner lose his tongue than admit such a thing), and anyway I <i>had</i> been vieing for a way to throw him in Mr Pratchett's general vicinity. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So, in short, I kept rambling about <i>teh cakes</i> and how we owed so much money to the rental already that we could as well pay for an extra day. And, sure enough, <i>we stayed</i>.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And, weeeell... </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>OhmygoshIcan'teven.</i> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I am SO glad I was a little manipulative - fine, fine, let's make it <i>a lot</i> - because we now share a happy memory that I daresay will stay with us for a very long time. Just look at the two of us, the huge grins on our faces! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This would be, I suppose, the point where you're expecting me to tell you about when and how it was that I read my first <i>Discworld</i> novel, and what meeting my favourite author felt like. Only I won't, mainly because it's complicated. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">My first literary brush with Terry Pratchett is a bit of a <i>vexata quaestio</i>. And, technically, he's <i>not</i> my favourite author; that would be Neil Gaiman - whom I met twice and in both instances approached with respect and trepidation, as the one that in my eyes incarnates perfection in writing. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Gaiman is, and will always be, my favourite <i>writer</i> - but Pratchett, he's one of my favourite <i>people</i> in the world. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I stood speechless with sheer admiration in Gaiman's presence, whereas in Pratchett's I was tempted to give him a big hug, and maybe cry a little on his shoulder. Neil is </span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">the master I look up to; Terry is the wise old uncle I wish I had. One made me a better critic, as well as an even more passionate reader; the other played a huge part in making me... <i>me</i>, for better or for worse. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I'm not sure I can explain it any better than this, nor that I'd want to anyway. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It was getting <i>truly</i> late though, so we reluctantly gave up on the closing events, greeted our new friends, and went to recover the blasted rental car. Turns up we'd been fined for leaving it parked for longer than we were supposed to... but honestly, we were way past minding at that point!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We are now staying in the tiniest hotel room <i>ever</i> - seriously, there's no room to swing a cat in, as the locals are fond of saying - and we're feeling rather peckish. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So we're planning to look for an Indian restaurant or something, then go stick our noses around King's Cross station - <i>it's where Platform 9 3/4 is supposed to be, folks!</i> - and have a nice sleep, to recharge our energies for the long trip back tomorrow...</span><br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0London Kings Cross, Londra N1C, Regno Unito51.5308837 -0.1229001000000380451.214770699999995 -0.768347100000038 51.8469967 0.522546899999962tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5470682390237546996.post-63526289621717652162013-11-30T19:32:00.000+01:002014-04-11T20:50:17.801+02:00Hogswatch 2013 report - part 3<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">(<a href="http://efreetintheoven.blogspot.it/2013/11/hogswatch-2013-report-part-1.html" target="_blank">Part 1</a> - <a href="http://efreetintheoven.blogspot.it/2013/11/hogswatch-2013-report-part-2.html" target="_blank">Part 2</a>)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It's beginning to look a lot like Hog</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">swatch for sure!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR_oQ-WvD_cjPml5fKVjG4gJC1Uyze6TkZoxaYVsTXzkHermRbhOYVfSve1Oxt7aHT8ykVPPv0EvME_FAE7RR4n4crbgfZ9JjsrDft-R3Z7_sHJbFvUo3BExqsAPU6GN4_Plk0zvDHu5c0/s1600/naughty+Hogfather.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR_oQ-WvD_cjPml5fKVjG4gJC1Uyze6TkZoxaYVsTXzkHermRbhOYVfSve1Oxt7aHT8ykVPPv0EvME_FAE7RR4n4crbgfZ9JjsrDft-R3Z7_sHJbFvUo3BExqsAPU6GN4_Plk0zvDHu5c0/s1600/naughty+Hogfather.jpg" height="302" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">But, before delving into this day's recap, I need to tell you what we did yesterday evening, after we came back from Stonehenge.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Which was, basically, heading back to <a href="http://www.thebearinnwincanton.co.uk/" target="_blank">The Bear Inn</a>... where I ate another fish & chips (which was good, but not as delightful as the one I got from <a href="http://www.bridgefishshop.co.uk/" target="_blank">The Bridge</a> IMHO) and sampled a nice pint of red ale while waiting for the reading to start. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Eating at a pub in the evening is a different beast altogether btw, nothing at all like our restaurants in Italy. For one, you can stay for as long as you wish, even if you're done eating - I saw a lady who was happily knitting a scarf, and no one bothered her at all about that. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Also, people <i>you don't know in the slightest</i> will think nothing of sitting down at your table and chatting away... which was real fun on the occasion, as all the people in there were obviously Pratchett fans, but - well, it takes some getting used to. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The "Cautionary Tales" turned out to be a fun reading of a choice of short stories from <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0552163333" target="_blank">A Blink of the Screen</a> - good think I was already familiar with the collection too, because my grasp of spoken English is - how to put it? - somewhat disheartening for one who's been studying the language for most of her life. Ouch!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsVRs9JaQn2MurD29hFVKEzMzG_12dECMOTEEaNPe_Qdy954o1w0SsJm1vy5qFPpRZbxTppSLUjog4aAMtkPD9OBOdI24n3FYuscP8Af_GSGS24JbRUq3Yu3E463leaPXLbTgzD-lXqwA1/s1600/Cautionary+Tales.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsVRs9JaQn2MurD29hFVKEzMzG_12dECMOTEEaNPe_Qdy954o1w0SsJm1vy5qFPpRZbxTppSLUjog4aAMtkPD9OBOdI24n3FYuscP8Af_GSGS24JbRUq3Yu3E463leaPXLbTgzD-lXqwA1/s1600/Cautionary+Tales.jpg" height="239" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We left before it ended though, because we were so darn tired both of us... </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">...which brings us back to the current day!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Our B&B in Horsington has filled up nicely for the weekend, so much so that we've been moved to a larger room for breakfast this morning - could it mean that all the (apparently normal) people around us were fellow geeks? We surely were wondering... </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Once in Wincanton, we had another go at <a href="http://www.catcafewincanton.co.uk/" target="_blank">The Cat Cafe</a> - hun had a grudge against their fudge cake, I guess, since he was determined to demolish another chunk of it - then got ready to rock!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Unsurprisingly, the <a href="http://www.discworldemporium.com/" target="_blank">Discworld Emporium</a> was super crowded, and the first brave cosplayers were in full regalia already... </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5eyDR61vJocWMYaV04yuGeRxWryiLkYAxl43rDAL3S6Oyn5hi2_NJthtqD3NyCCXw3QoIYUjuSOmQFSrk4OsExmyi6B4Vmc5JmOfuUayM7FCwXx63-nWyugV513VtwOc5aNEKRqJ2FMBz/s1600/cosplayers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5eyDR61vJocWMYaV04yuGeRxWryiLkYAxl43rDAL3S6Oyn5hi2_NJthtqD3NyCCXw3QoIYUjuSOmQFSrk4OsExmyi6B4Vmc5JmOfuUayM7FCwXx63-nWyugV513VtwOc5aNEKRqJ2FMBz/s1600/cosplayers.jpg" height="190" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">...but, we were done with our purchases (my budget's dwindling!) so we went to see the Makers Market instead. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I've taken no pictures of it but, in a nutshell, it was an area where the artistically inclined were selling their Discworld-inspired creations. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I bought tons of stuff from a two-people-company called <a href="http://cowleysfinefood.com/" target="_blank">Cowleys Fine Food</a>, specializing in historically correct food i.e. meat and fish jerky, fruit leathers, and anything dried or smoked. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">They had "rats on a stick" for sale, both plain and ketchup-flavoured (LOL)... but also a whole line of horse jerkys under the hilarious name <i>My Brittle Pony</i>, dried llama strips - you can bet I got those, too! - and more yummy things such as absinthe-spiked marzipan. <i>Squee!</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Back to The Bear we went, for lunch - alas, no chance of a pie for today... - and Discworld-inspired games. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Turns out those evil masterminds from the Emporium had set up a table in there too, so even while I managed to stay away from the shop itself, I<i> still </i>ended up buying more stuff. But hey, I'm not complaining - I was able to purchase a Vetinari miniature, so all is peachy indeed!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The other highlight of the event was Mr <a href="http://peterdennisart.com/" target="_blank">Peter Dennis</a>, the guy who illustrated, among other things, the <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0857520741" target="_blank">Ankh-Morpork guide</a> and its even geekier counterpart, the <a href="http://discworldapp.com/" target="_blank">iPad app</a> (gotta LOVE IT btw!)</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDwL9T-QIgIlpuJDZjsdvolM_n-QQZ0mr6FOQt8gZnO-cmXbQc0LGmrdKz-hggGG4h59pCe-UU-apOwWQmdsm6pXgFm-7XxpTj7YMus5nIxp-CfsG9I2vh7TbQnfheFJCp8UAg8EwciOZ7/s1600/Peter+Dennis.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDwL9T-QIgIlpuJDZjsdvolM_n-QQZ0mr6FOQt8gZnO-cmXbQc0LGmrdKz-hggGG4h59pCe-UU-apOwWQmdsm6pXgFm-7XxpTj7YMus5nIxp-CfsG9I2vh7TbQnfheFJCp8UAg8EwciOZ7/s1600/Peter+Dennis.jpg" height="218" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The picture alone won't suffice to describe it - this guy was just sitting there, at his impromptu art station amid all the craziness, blissfully <i>inking a super-intricated, oh-so-detailed drawing while chatting away with fans OMG!</i></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhwYIfuaOS43_nkNhLh30JanBJgkgBEFC07HVMuqZkhdFMyUFUEpTU-EHzPIxnegOaBDre-7O8u7UaHP-DdIPAvM9KqVLd6r3Ex0YhX3HcDiDY85TxSD1DF4Nu3VPTF9L2wgefYr58VXvC/s1600/drawing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhwYIfuaOS43_nkNhLh30JanBJgkgBEFC07HVMuqZkhdFMyUFUEpTU-EHzPIxnegOaBDre-7O8u7UaHP-DdIPAvM9KqVLd6r3Ex0YhX3HcDiDY85TxSD1DF4Nu3VPTF9L2wgefYr58VXvC/s1600/drawing.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I could have watched him for hours! As it were, though, we had to run to the Memorial Hall for the main events, including the cosplay parade, some sort of variety show, a lecture about <i>The Folklore of Hogswatch - </i>and a chance to meet Terry Pratchett himself!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">By that point the convention was in full swing, with lots of cosplayers...</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOv-UAw9Rj27kxe8xtqNyQwi_dwjdQzp-B2n1fWKB40znXjm9JF6YDvlsxa9JFISzLBak86rKBwdTzet1Y1J7HxYwpP_Nd_6p4IWwOnFLS1ChJWdDW9hxsxz4R-fMgaVggSHUoBXc08GzN/s1600/cosplayers1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOv-UAw9Rj27kxe8xtqNyQwi_dwjdQzp-B2n1fWKB40znXjm9JF6YDvlsxa9JFISzLBak86rKBwdTzet1Y1J7HxYwpP_Nd_6p4IWwOnFLS1ChJWdDW9hxsxz4R-fMgaVggSHUoBXc08GzN/s1600/cosplayers1.jpg" height="263" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">...and, uh - chances to make new friends?</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0499RLh8oRozfPr_4zBTt3ONLFFI3EqdtVwvaG1yNvg0GrKLirOkc7K_RvHcSSOmQVT3THzMg9WtcFinh0-xnmwC_fAa2PNMVmLV-j2j0-DEbkb2LgsfMX8P4Oxi5pr9MSufFGgCJE11I/s1600/busted!.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0499RLh8oRozfPr_4zBTt3ONLFFI3EqdtVwvaG1yNvg0GrKLirOkc7K_RvHcSSOmQVT3THzMg9WtcFinh0-xnmwC_fAa2PNMVmLV-j2j0-DEbkb2LgsfMX8P4Oxi5pr9MSufFGgCJE11I/s1600/busted!.jpg" height="289" title="WE NEVER DONE NUFFIN!" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Well, anyway. The costumes were great fun. You'll have to take my word for that, unfortunately - I gave up trying to photograph the parade because of the time it took for my crappy camera to put things into focus.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">What followed was a super-concentrated recounting of every Discworld book up to now, and God help me, i</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">t was so spoiler-dense I just turned off the language-processing part of my brain there and then, and tried my best to just sit still and make bubbles until it was over. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The variety show was fun, too! The Seamstresses' choir especially made me giggle a lot, because I have the mind of a twelve years old and rejoice in double entendres. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">(I kind of hoped to upload it here for you all to enjoy, but buggy <i>Blogger</i> won't let me. Drat!)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">But, what of Sir Pratchett? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">He was there indeed, and was so nice as to invite fans to have a little personal chat with him. Only there were so many of us that there was no way he could talk to everyone, so all we saw of him was a retreating top hat... </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSRf9tgfsz0eCSQc9e3_e8r_f32vchG-Pm1Cfa1ux-TC5t9RJOtNcSwJt5S2iMULbQLl6mLMrI0JKw6OyqhWLo3uuxbx7YXuJlXUNInJ2uAaw1lT26lyiUMshMwr1boOQgpLmlllnJrhhg/s1600/top+hat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSRf9tgfsz0eCSQc9e3_e8r_f32vchG-Pm1Cfa1ux-TC5t9RJOtNcSwJt5S2iMULbQLl6mLMrI0JKw6OyqhWLo3uuxbx7YXuJlXUNInJ2uAaw1lT26lyiUMshMwr1boOQgpLmlllnJrhhg/s1600/top+hat.jpg" height="320" width="306" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Still, it felt strangely touching to even catch a glimpse of him, and the audience as a whole plainly shared the feeling. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I've been to quite a few conventions in the past, mostly SF-centered (oh what the heck, I'm talking <i>trekkies</i>, 'nkay?) but the athmosphere here was completely different. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">TV fans approach their idols with an aggressive, almost proprietorial attitude, as in: <i>"You're someone because of the likes of me, so shut up and </i>humour us<i>!"</i> Here, on the other hand, the crowd practically radiated gratitude, concern and, well, love. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">At the risk of sounding mushy, I have to say I couldn't imagine another fandom being this considerate. I am SO proud of my fellow nerds!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The following conference, by a prof. Jacob Loefgren - whose writings I will make sure to keep an eye upon - was short but utterly fascinating, dealing with a topic which is close to my heart: fandom as the most fertile grounds for the establishing of "folklore", as humans in general love to share traditions, and geeks in particular are the quintessential mythopoeic beasts. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Now what else is in store for us? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">...Why, the SAUSAGE SUPPER of course! And later on, some naughty fun with the <i>Pink Pussycat Cabaret</i>!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I can't wait! I mean, sausage <i>and</i> innuendo aplenty... What else could this girl wish for?</span><br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0Wincanton, Somerset, Regno Unito51.055688 -2.41600700000003651.0157655 -2.4966880000000362 51.095610500000006 -2.3353260000000358tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5470682390237546996.post-63622450110210218272013-11-29T19:20:00.000+01:002014-04-11T20:42:07.612+02:00Hogswatch 2013 report - part 2<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">(<a href="http://efreetintheoven.blogspot.it/2013/11/hogswatch-2013-report-part-1.html" target="_blank">Part 1</a>)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Yay we did it! </i></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">We actually </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">visited Ankh-Morpork</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Since, you know... the <a href="http://www.discworldemporium.com/" target="_blank">Discworld Emporium</a> technically <i>does</i> count as diplomatic grounds and everything...</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFTKa6Lt0ZYiUrrH_cls-XKjW148xwZ34MoGYK9cs3vhW64gOdlONPXlMw5HEHzi7thEYLv3jK8M0akkxcHJct3cLSgkw70MihWYV-BtDeZPOa9Kf9xzVwqinr9_N0rZnL00w7NwUGRBlQ/s1600/Ankh-Morpork+Consulate,+Wincanton.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFTKa6Lt0ZYiUrrH_cls-XKjW148xwZ34MoGYK9cs3vhW64gOdlONPXlMw5HEHzi7thEYLv3jK8M0akkxcHJct3cLSgkw70MihWYV-BtDeZPOa9Kf9xzVwqinr9_N0rZnL00w7NwUGRBlQ/s1600/Ankh-Morpork+Consulate,+Wincanton.jpg" height="251" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">...but <i>before that</i>, we tried out <a href="http://www.catcafewincanton.co.uk/" target="_blank">The Cat Cafe</a>. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I got a nice, if a bit watery, Italian-style <i>cappuccino</i> (still better by far than anything I've had in Germany, Spain, or France btw), while sweetie scarfed down a giant slice of chocolate fudge cake! </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0Ejl8yzb9TnYDyq0hSGqcfwTH5Cqx3Tq6qX4miZ_BSl-RPo3pms_cGvjbqPQV-z4m8SrywhII1j7DX84JqD0cSFrSB3fGTGG2m6SpSe-8X4WZmonurUdHQb9Frz3L6a7HoxygYI0oeBZD/s1600/chocolate+fudge+cake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0Ejl8yzb9TnYDyq0hSGqcfwTH5Cqx3Tq6qX4miZ_BSl-RPo3pms_cGvjbqPQV-z4m8SrywhII1j7DX84JqD0cSFrSB3fGTGG2m6SpSe-8X4WZmonurUdHQb9Frz3L6a7HoxygYI0oeBZD/s1600/chocolate+fudge+cake.jpg" height="219" title="SO yummy!" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">For once though, cake wasn't at the top of my mind!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Fellow nerds will understand me when I say that finally setting foot in this legendary place I had daydreamed about so much, nearly brought a tear to my eye. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6CYCQjNFVqSfwWkakYuzTb2v0obIarRrXIa_AbzAHbJ5PARGWQE4N2HdeOODhxOTsb9pEKv5eXKXhS4dfvR90IPcyZM7yc50PZ_-GdxSO23Ryp0-qQ1YFhCygYM5q0wN2FILwt7eBK1DT/s1600/Discworld+Emporium+window.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6CYCQjNFVqSfwWkakYuzTb2v0obIarRrXIa_AbzAHbJ5PARGWQE4N2HdeOODhxOTsb9pEKv5eXKXhS4dfvR90IPcyZM7yc50PZ_-GdxSO23Ryp0-qQ1YFhCygYM5q0wN2FILwt7eBK1DT/s1600/Discworld+Emporium+window.jpg" height="260" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I was not sure I'd be allowed to take photographs inside, so I didn't (law-abiding gal that I am)... but I did <i>secure</i> a copy or three of the program, to keep as a souvenir. I had to recover them from under a gorgeous but sleepy black cat, too... </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2ThAwrEg679K76zHEfjiKj-_8Zo6UPrqeX99DL6-vHsGOxr6nn74ta0N2YgxOEeTa4-IxRT46a6eE3RFju3QosZxr37SJLV5GY68FLB-Zg6-OdEIYPaRT-uLcYObPyD3J89rlU6ZxsS5Q/s1600/Hogswatch+2013+program.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2ThAwrEg679K76zHEfjiKj-_8Zo6UPrqeX99DL6-vHsGOxr6nn74ta0N2YgxOEeTa4-IxRT46a6eE3RFju3QosZxr37SJLV5GY68FLB-Zg6-OdEIYPaRT-uLcYObPyD3J89rlU6ZxsS5Q/s1600/Hogswatch+2013+program.jpg" height="320" width="231" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">And, boy, I bought <i>so</i> much stuff! Still not nearly as much as hun, though. Hah!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I got myself two kitchen aprons (that I will never use for fear of ruining them), a <i>Discworld Almanak</i> (so maybe I'll finally figure out how time is computed on the Disc), the official 2014 calendar illustrated by <a href="http://marcsimonetti.artworkfolio.com/" target="_blank">Marc Simonetti</a>, and a couple trinkets to send to Allyn - a knitting buddy of mine on <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/" target="_blank">Ravelry</a>, as well as a rabid Pratchett fan...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">...and, heaven help me, <i>miniatures</i>! Can't resist miniatures GAH! Even if it's been, what, <i>ten years or so</i> since last time I've painted one, and my eyesight's gone so bad in the meantime that I doubt I'll ever dare touch them with a paintbrush.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Still, I got Nanny Ogg, Rincewind, the Luggage, the Librarian and Casanunda (LOL)... and it took me a great deal of willpower not to grab every available character. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I was mighty affronted at the lack of a Patrician mini... <i>sigh!</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Back to food now - we thought we could as well have a look at <a href="http://www.thebearinnwincanton.co.uk/" target="_blank">The Bear Inn</a>, since most of the events in the program (including the public reading tonight) will be held in its premises. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The pub dates back to 1720 and specializes - why, of course! - in traditional English cuisine... so hun got himself some juicy meat, whereas I relished the most delightful baked potato <i>ever</i>, loaded with sour cream and melty Stilton cheese and bacon. So good I could have squealed!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5ZnhoDOT0g9bWU_hjiy009zyF5RAPmJgISbvI8H6cmJdOqKGa29E2EJP1hFCPHfwyNFwQO4GHwIu7lxGS8InjZxoedFhpkX1N0m4fS6H7jvq8_eX0qvpQt2OZ8kqs3OvUgQT3ZqbL7ctj/s1600/The+Bear+Inn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5ZnhoDOT0g9bWU_hjiy009zyF5RAPmJgISbvI8H6cmJdOqKGa29E2EJP1hFCPHfwyNFwQO4GHwIu7lxGS8InjZxoedFhpkX1N0m4fS6H7jvq8_eX0qvpQt2OZ8kqs3OvUgQT3ZqbL7ctj/s1600/The+Bear+Inn.jpg" height="291" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Then, since there was going to be pretty much nothing to do in Wincanton till late in the evening, except maybe going back to the Emporium and shedding <i>more</i> money - which the two of us may or may not have done, incidentally - we went to see the Stonehenge circle, which is about half an hour from there. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Soooo... here it is! </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-LIUCA_JJrpZ6w2kdEGKlgITXRzgQuLMNyHL39OuoJnjQNvnJjVAAFcsIXFhxsctI1_gW6UF3pQqzDu1rwaaMSh8J9ZvXCoBBx7LEQyxE3W0d6CB1FROwcBvoDOvJbOUq2deyzfScFfDT/s1600/Stonehenge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-LIUCA_JJrpZ6w2kdEGKlgITXRzgQuLMNyHL39OuoJnjQNvnJjVAAFcsIXFhxsctI1_gW6UF3pQqzDu1rwaaMSh8J9ZvXCoBBx7LEQyxE3W0d6CB1FROwcBvoDOvJbOUq2deyzfScFfDT/s1600/Stonehenge.jpg" height="169" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Notwithstanding its fame and World Heritage status, the site can only be reached by means of some half-hidden dirt road. A slippery mesh path, laid on the ground and leading to the circle, and a rope surrounding it were all the "security measures" we met. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Such a cavalier attitude towards a national treasure almost shocked me - yet on the other hand, it might simply mean that British people are much more respectful than we are... because, let's face it, Italians would have covered the standing stones with graffiti in a week's time. Ugh. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">All around us, grazing peacefully, were plenty of sheep...</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid1KhvZ6yEoUpmqOKsRueUgXH3AHtlLgAp48uHAox4PP_iLfDiDEbwkoASO-um-1yMpylwVFO_hoDHSyQqw7ic18XltTb5vAEEeBpteB8JPj6Vtl8BZrmMLmiPhKd9MJjoW3psQoVoFJlX/s1600/sheep.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid1KhvZ6yEoUpmqOKsRueUgXH3AHtlLgAp48uHAox4PP_iLfDiDEbwkoASO-um-1yMpylwVFO_hoDHSyQqw7ic18XltTb5vAEEeBpteB8JPj6Vtl8BZrmMLmiPhKd9MJjoW3psQoVoFJlX/s1600/sheep.jpg" height="207" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">...and the skeletal trees nearby were teeming with crows. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Seriously, there were so many, it kind of puts the average British writer's obsession with them in the right perspective!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5EsFWBeOwi-noqKweYKCBDKe2JiocsGf_FzrFKhm02NAS49vL2dV4NLYM6PNpU8JqkPg2hKH0JvaO5WBJAvM1yotouhB3QaGgnQJr8f5TuyWGUNUd1IX-u2w6e726MY_gZGOm8akKhIEQ/s1600/crows.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5EsFWBeOwi-noqKweYKCBDKe2JiocsGf_FzrFKhm02NAS49vL2dV4NLYM6PNpU8JqkPg2hKH0JvaO5WBJAvM1yotouhB3QaGgnQJr8f5TuyWGUNUd1IX-u2w6e726MY_gZGOm8akKhIEQ/s1600/crows.jpg" height="193" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Hun decided he wanted to capture the flight of a raven with the stone circle as a backdrop, and was driven half crazy by the dastardly birds taking flight in the precise moment when he lowered his camera. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Still, in the end he got his perfect shot!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3lA3giZ_XwQvef7maXmG0zPR-akNZ7cR1XFanlfRVyCj6OdWLpk_ubbS6UihrBxidFz625DxaVis7Pj7jTUrG4UUaa7p2E6wmtzaPJiJlc9nF6CTBKzAHrwTp_z6bDM_t62RoMl9weS1Z/s1600/raven%2527s+flight.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3lA3giZ_XwQvef7maXmG0zPR-akNZ7cR1XFanlfRVyCj6OdWLpk_ubbS6UihrBxidFz625DxaVis7Pj7jTUrG4UUaa7p2E6wmtzaPJiJlc9nF6CTBKzAHrwTp_z6bDM_t62RoMl9weS1Z/s1600/raven%2527s+flight.jpg" height="212" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Now I wish I could truthfully say the ancient magic that permeates the place sent a shiver down my spine yadda yadda yadda, but in all honesty, I was unsurprisingly underwhelmed.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I say "unsurprisingly" because I've never been one for monuments - I will admire them, sure, but to me any crowded street, buzzing with actual living people, is infinitely more precious and fascinating than the most grandiose building. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">And the stones, well... they aren't even particularly beautiful<i> per se</i>. If I can care about them at all, it is only as a tribute to the ingenuity of our Neolithic ancestors who somehow managed to drag them into place.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Once done with our bunch of prehistoric rocks, we sat briefly at the self service area just outside of the archaeological site. I bought a sausage pie for later, and sipped on a nice, cinnamon-spiked hot apple juice, while admiring the jewel-like starlings hopping about the place...</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8kY__WF2UtAsdHlmDjWURelJ17uItJUtE5Qf5JKdH8i05z3Etk4e_XKipEUGOWnDZ0q8uTzlt1i0WETlkYM-l_dXSXnhhtbzvvH_wQiT1ziI7Em_5TpC9_9HCqMhu4VrM4sohi55zjKhu/s1600/starling.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8kY__WF2UtAsdHlmDjWURelJ17uItJUtE5Qf5JKdH8i05z3Etk4e_XKipEUGOWnDZ0q8uTzlt1i0WETlkYM-l_dXSXnhhtbzvvH_wQiT1ziI7Em_5TpC9_9HCqMhu4VrM4sohi55zjKhu/s1600/starling.jpg" height="260" title="Look at the pretty plumage!" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Some guy sitting nearby was eating cake, and it was vaguely disconcerting to see more and more birds flocking to his table, unashamedly aiming for a go at the crumbs. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I, for one, couldn't help thinking of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Birds_(film)" target="_blank"><i>that</i> movie</a>... </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaVPqWTPLpupzn1RcR1eUBZPcowDad77802xUI2wEas6DwjDfHs6FBFSpRoh2eFq-3gYo-uA4mIgnKdkYvaRhjIv4GrNe3EfTqbl8Vk5BOZenwGGnFUGhZ3yN5hS-OXMc7_uDtf3pKj_OC/s1600/birds.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaVPqWTPLpupzn1RcR1eUBZPcowDad77802xUI2wEas6DwjDfHs6FBFSpRoh2eFq-3gYo-uA4mIgnKdkYvaRhjIv4GrNe3EfTqbl8Vk5BOZenwGGnFUGhZ3yN5hS-OXMc7_uDtf3pKj_OC/s1600/birds.jpg" height="161" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">...so in the end, we left the hapless man to be <strike>ravaged by sharp little beaks</strike> charmed by his new feathered friends, and went to explore our little corner of Somerset, with its red-brick buildings that look like they're out of an episode of <i>Murder! She wrote</i>...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">...the occasional semi-detached house, so reminiscent of old English textbooks...</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXMaMZO8bsOfvJ-a83lhLX6gFcxYW_nmYEvvc3XZLCjY3_1FOJ24LPqRvlPp_7s_IF3fYX2kfAgk0F_Y6YxFUD290g_VJQMtUdCZsxgXUFGY-Mdho-szMytGkl4jGw-2dM6E0RaRXsG2kc/s1600/red+bricks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXMaMZO8bsOfvJ-a83lhLX6gFcxYW_nmYEvvc3XZLCjY3_1FOJ24LPqRvlPp_7s_IF3fYX2kfAgk0F_Y6YxFUD290g_VJQMtUdCZsxgXUFGY-Mdho-szMytGkl4jGw-2dM6E0RaRXsG2kc/s1600/red+bricks.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">...and even a few thatched roofs. <i>D'aww! </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Time to drive back to Wincanton now - we definitely feel ready for some Cautionary Tales!</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0Stonehenge, A344, Amesbury, Wiltshire SP4 7DE, Regno Unito51.1788823 -1.826215499999989325.656847799999998 -43.134809499999989 76.7009168 39.48237850000001tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5470682390237546996.post-21475659373852884232013-11-28T12:35:00.000+01:002014-01-11T22:29:46.602+01:00Hogswatch 2013 report - part 1<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So you read the header and are itching with curiosity already, aren't you? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Geez, hold your horses, pard! Because the Discworld convention's technically starting <i>tomorrow</i>. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Thus for now, I'm just going to ramble about food, me and sweetie, </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">food</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">, and my first glorious day in England. But mostly FOOD.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Are you thrilled or <i>what</i>?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">First of all I want to show you the place where we're staying - the <a href="http://www.horsington.co.uk/" target="_blank">Half Moon Inn</a> in Horsington, a delightful little B&B with an appropriately quaint name. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">See? Very picturesque!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">(OMG am I sounding like Twoflower already?)</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitLhO3-QgVx78VhL_FT948UIvb_-pgKcuu3hbnQTpNgUtl7hvzhRjio8fwS3yUHxMCudOy1JKtGqDWNrYgdSUUr6TonGacklUwT4Jnv2x4T7_IxtwYcrdFmCLDtxQjSqVFJP6c9LBamG6B/s1600/Somerset+view.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitLhO3-QgVx78VhL_FT948UIvb_-pgKcuu3hbnQTpNgUtl7hvzhRjio8fwS3yUHxMCudOy1JKtGqDWNrYgdSUUr6TonGacklUwT4Jnv2x4T7_IxtwYcrdFmCLDtxQjSqVFJP6c9LBamG6B/s1600/Somerset+view.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The best thing about the place, though, is the <i>pub</i>! </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Of course, of course!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">See what I mean? It's <i>to die for</i>!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The fireplace! The dried hops wreaths! The comfy sofas!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">And well, yes - the </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">beer</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We ended up in this place simply because all the hotels in Wincanton were fully booked already, but I'm<i> so</i> happy about it! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The rooms are clean and super comfy and the breakfast buffet, while somewhat on the frugal side in comparison with <a href="http://efreetintheoven.blogspot.it/2012/10/eurochocolate-report-part-2.html" target="_blank">some other places</a> we've stayed at, includes homemade orange marmalade, which is one of my favourite things in the world...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">...<i>as well as</i> the traditional egg-and-sausages, if you're so inclined!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU8DKlrt1wEQFOSl9LzUSRql9zESHAGZeAYjkWobxsLq8nx585nAVqdukx0hAP57pzYWWdJHONms9RJ7mYSAhFvOajKg3uflGREtIBJ5HEqK-jBZgaP_bUyJ9dULS6KKVwo4hkDOLX4FOl/s1600/sweetie%2527s+breakfast.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU8DKlrt1wEQFOSl9LzUSRql9zESHAGZeAYjkWobxsLq8nx585nAVqdukx0hAP57pzYWWdJHONms9RJ7mYSAhFvOajKg3uflGREtIBJ5HEqK-jBZgaP_bUyJ9dULS6KKVwo4hkDOLX4FOl/s1600/sweetie%2527s+breakfast.jpg" height="240" title="Oh my gosh they REALLY eat this for breakfast!" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I didn't dare starting off my day like this, but sweetie <i>did</i>, and looked quite happy too!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Me, I fully mean to lose my English sausage virginity at the Hogswatch feast on Saturday - and <i>gosh</i>, this sounded <i>way</i> worse than I actually meant it to. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Sorry for the mental picture, peeps! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Well, since I grossed you all out just now, I'm going to show one more yukky pic...</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2BlERsEGQZXRr9tqqmv3ne9-mNcmNcrjVla3IBW4kTBQQJqDqJkfoaQDd8wqe6tv3Zx1IYGj-egAn4vqr2pPM7O0vdA3v8W8Hl2HkofTPEH3ySAT0qAzbee5qjTtHAMYI_7tBjGPWc9jN/s1600/bathroom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2BlERsEGQZXRr9tqqmv3ne9-mNcmNcrjVla3IBW4kTBQQJqDqJkfoaQDd8wqe6tv3Zx1IYGj-egAn4vqr2pPM7O0vdA3v8W8Hl2HkofTPEH3ySAT0qAzbee5qjTtHAMYI_7tBjGPWc9jN/s1600/bathroom.jpg" height="209" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Now this is actually not gross at all, as the bathroom was spotless like the rest of the room.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">But, apart from the lack of a bidet - which I won't dwell upon, as it already is the butt of too many jokes among us debauched Continentals - I want you to notice how hot and cold water come from separate faucets (something I haven't seen in use for almost 3o years), and how the washbasin is placed at crotch height. Feel free to draw you conclusions - <i>ewwwww</i>!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">(Once again, the <a href="http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/BrainBleach" target="_blank">brain bleach</a> is on me...)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Right after breakfast we thought we could take our smart Italian arses to Wincanton and secure our picks from the <a href="http://www.discworldemporium.com/" target="_blank">Emporium</a> before the con madness starts. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Alas, the shop was closed! We could see the personnel inside, dusting shelves and getting stuff ready. I was so giddy with excitement that I didn't even curse <i>that much</i>, and was content with simply snapping pics of the outside for the time being. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF5_N6Ba9T_tUKrypP8-uze50W3t-rmBWym7o9feI0rYkJXyECyOi1IiCNCa2p9JIy2O1MHYQExm6RXwOj5CjbHZOnwWDFvOeL9wTJtgDPcwbYAck4VsHuc_C224-wda8j64ksSkiApqFt/s1600/The+Emporium.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF5_N6Ba9T_tUKrypP8-uze50W3t-rmBWym7o9feI0rYkJXyECyOi1IiCNCa2p9JIy2O1MHYQExm6RXwOj5CjbHZOnwWDFvOeL9wTJtgDPcwbYAck4VsHuc_C224-wda8j64ksSkiApqFt/s1600/The+Emporium.JPG" height="320" width="261" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Apart from its geeky connection with everything Discworld, Wincanton is a lovely little rural town, so quintessentially English - like <i>everything </i>around here!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMdwQOpyimV8VSEoTipgrRvP6YzEYN_u-gSiXIvAwUUhXjuLF3JL9XiBGstjDUctrhq99625PYlmUH6BzzYb9-lUCtHYOgQAeG-X_JMV8vbvSc_vj6B2_2l0M9EkfwOz6MiauA3MQ38Uov/s1600/Wincanton.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMdwQOpyimV8VSEoTipgrRvP6YzEYN_u-gSiXIvAwUUhXjuLF3JL9XiBGstjDUctrhq99625PYlmUH6BzzYb9-lUCtHYOgQAeG-X_JMV8vbvSc_vj6B2_2l0M9EkfwOz6MiauA3MQ38Uov/s1600/Wincanton.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> It boasts many interesting buildings, like the old Town Hall...</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmoEO-1nX-GOmPH9dMmHzzsnxIHOKNbCHtLE_ENJemOjmm4O-94WKTHYSElwOQ_X54H-N3UNYt5cRnATNMytqWR18YnjlqPsvqlnJcKEiU4bH39uAVbJR8spisXMS7eit_63MWV8FfIEEh/s1600/Wincanton+Town+Hall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmoEO-1nX-GOmPH9dMmHzzsnxIHOKNbCHtLE_ENJemOjmm4O-94WKTHYSElwOQ_X54H-N3UNYt5cRnATNMytqWR18YnjlqPsvqlnJcKEiU4bH39uAVbJR8spisXMS7eit_63MWV8FfIEEh/s1600/Wincanton+Town+Hall.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">...plus it comes with three pubs, a Chinese and an Indian take-away, an Italian-style cafeteria, a butcher...</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm9N1CUiUpkoQ170y6W5O-DK038GB9kVL72021hOTXdRrQ8pCou9WFePTU6lAir7Fcv9tDbx0pj1Egg00HcKHbJsxB8hAyvBg-T_bgwgMAlMDP9-uiOVemsfFU9UlLoUI4rukxFuw1yWqh/s1600/butcher+window.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm9N1CUiUpkoQ170y6W5O-DK038GB9kVL72021hOTXdRrQ8pCou9WFePTU6lAir7Fcv9tDbx0pj1Egg00HcKHbJsxB8hAyvBg-T_bgwgMAlMDP9-uiOVemsfFU9UlLoUI4rukxFuw1yWqh/s1600/butcher+window.jpg" height="240" title="So. Much. Pork." width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">...and a real British bakery OMG!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYrGZaNHpqHJUTrUGPIZjqKkWhxlr6WjxCXEeNLoFXpVnFBn10aPBA58kIByqX046Zj5qPSKne5VvG4GhZVXG6CNe32uEaRUh946jUa7GLAbGL6FA2Ay4gbu618adWFN1tPLFxY13cPSK0/s1600/bakery+window.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYrGZaNHpqHJUTrUGPIZjqKkWhxlr6WjxCXEeNLoFXpVnFBn10aPBA58kIByqX046Zj5qPSKne5VvG4GhZVXG6CNe32uEaRUh946jUa7GLAbGL6FA2Ay4gbu618adWFN1tPLFxY13cPSK0/s1600/bakery+window.jpg" height="240" title="Pasties and fairy cakes and scones, oh my!" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Of course I got my foodie shopping done right away (while I still have some money left, as you might be guessing...)</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;">(Right, I'm buying booze. Sue me!)</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Then we got ourselves some proper, honest-to-God fish & chips from <a href="http://www.bridgefishshop.co.uk/" target="_blank">The Bridge</a> in Templecombe, which is famous around here for its fried fish fares. <strike>Yay allitteration!</strike></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">(Sweetie actually did a thorough online search and compared feedbacks. No kidding!)</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN5wojFsrwvMx_6ltL70T6MYelP54B8TMAP65DiIuOzXzSEDbAOLfFKIAxxD3D1lMo8XUt94JEFf8hhMmj-h_rUyPb3mbwk0vlC5Z1Jh2OGBFnnHnm7tOqVGXmMYiH7JgJhKfPA790A3Rj/s1600/fish+and+chips.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN5wojFsrwvMx_6ltL70T6MYelP54B8TMAP65DiIuOzXzSEDbAOLfFKIAxxD3D1lMo8XUt94JEFf8hhMmj-h_rUyPb3mbwk0vlC5Z1Jh2OGBFnnHnm7tOqVGXmMYiH7JgJhKfPA790A3Rj/s1600/fish+and+chips.jpg" height="199" width="320" /></a></div>
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Somehow I had picked up the idea that it would be fish <i>nuggets</i>, so the <i>huge</i> battered fillet scared the heck out of me. But it really tasted wonderful, and in the end I cheerfully devoured it all!</div>
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(Sorry for the crappy pic btw - it was taken outside, late in the evening with my cheap camera's flash. That was because the fried oil smell was so powerful that hun squarely refused to go eat it in our room LOL)</div>
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And now, to bed we go. Tomorrow's when the fun starts for real!</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0Wincanton, Somerset, Regno Unito51.055688 -2.41600700000003651.055688 -2.416007000000036 51.055688 -2.416007000000036tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5470682390237546996.post-40528134133410948612013-11-27T21:27:00.000+01:002013-12-23T12:35:28.609+01:00To England!<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Yes, yes, yes, I know. I was prattling about mudcake skyscrapers and Spider-Man cakes only yesterday, and now... I'M IN ENGLAND! For the first time <i>ever</i>! <i>Wheeeee!</i> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Who's excited? <i>I AM!</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Our adventure started this morning, when we tried taking the bypass that connects Rogoredo station (which is conveniently close to hun's home) to Porta Garibaldi. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Because we got here <i>by train</i>. From Italy. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Seeing how airplanes, you know... it's not that I hate them <i>for real</i>. I have only one gripe with them - namely, the fact that <i>they fly</i>. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">However. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The bypass train had some kind of problem, so we had to call a taxi to get to the correct station in time. But, <i>we did it</i>! Nothing else could possibly happen, <i>right</i>? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">WRONG!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Because once again, our train had some sort of mechanical hiccup - and dumped us all at some unheard-of station among the French Alps, waiting for a replacement train to pick us up.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1aohI8sT5DJYl6ySZqDw_mXvuA5O5fpWdIDExSXGtB-hlhgLGKBAEWHtw3wYiKv3OoFJIGCsU-aXfO-hpfvLrQwP_dpdnIk-1pG7ydFSmOXCSXXSJ_BCF3hB4PAMqk6TpgMmzGMXNUXBm/s1600/stranded+in+the+French+Alps.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1aohI8sT5DJYl6ySZqDw_mXvuA5O5fpWdIDExSXGtB-hlhgLGKBAEWHtw3wYiKv3OoFJIGCsU-aXfO-hpfvLrQwP_dpdnIk-1pG7ydFSmOXCSXXSJ_BCF3hB4PAMqk6TpgMmzGMXNUXBm/s1600/stranded+in+the+French+Alps.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">Can you see the snow? Geez. SO COLD!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">What was left of our first leg went smoothly afterwards, with our train crossing mile after mile of featureless French landscape... </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIx5AEgorkWAJnW5JFwE_BUZnoNvjnJNTX_8yMNbWB55_ZxAr1xg9go7HQEIFwoj1aRsVUEMPtZ2A75wsg_5hf8_oZpYnzjawzJPVLa2VebJ3eDxcvLch04JEnltrlGFEuyARm3RfvrDq-/s1600/French+flatland.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIx5AEgorkWAJnW5JFwE_BUZnoNvjnJNTX_8yMNbWB55_ZxAr1xg9go7HQEIFwoj1aRsVUEMPtZ2A75wsg_5hf8_oZpYnzjawzJPVLa2VebJ3eDxcvLch04JEnltrlGFEuyARm3RfvrDq-/s1600/French+flatland.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">...until we reached the Gare de Lyon in Paris. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Now before you ask: we did not see anything at all of the <i>Ville Lumière</i> - not that I, personally, cared in the least about it - as we had to madly dash to the Gare du Nord by mean of yet another bypass, which was horribly crowded, but thankfully punctual.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Even while the unexpected stop earlier on had eroded much of our time, we hopped on the next train just in time and enjoyed the ride under the English Channel and... </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">...TO LONDON!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb0ujs7jX1AFb7ou1cV_WN45qkc-e7_9HPkWBowVxInAL7NUvrkCA5R3s5aelYsGaqnfq0KtgMCrZbuMxLT4KoxxZ1Gw-jk30Wk83NuL6q9thVglFpjvDv_ItgEUc02YIZrfzuVkcRBPcT/s1600/London.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb0ujs7jX1AFb7ou1cV_WN45qkc-e7_9HPkWBowVxInAL7NUvrkCA5R3s5aelYsGaqnfq0KtgMCrZbuMxLT4KoxxZ1Gw-jk30Wk83NuL6q9thVglFpjvDv_ItgEUc02YIZrfzuVkcRBPcT/s1600/London.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Now you must understand I've been reading (and fantasizing) about London for so long that the town's largely a literary construct in my mind. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Sherlock Holmes and Peter Pan and Harry Potter and Jack the Ripper, </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">oh my! </i><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Actually </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">being there</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">, if just for a few minutes until we picked up our rental car - which was, by the way, a tiny cramped thing, and with the steering wheel on the wrong side as far as we're concerned - it felt, well... </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">awesome. </i><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIjDHS_BZYhNE81Qo2HjEB_6IXxim-k9Yj32stzEI-XyDIu95wwSpnsgCCXBDrSI3gK-FfAdyrxc01yaFXqbk8oRr7TaEHiQ7S_-kSMiRayQKSxIgBCPzArGwDf95Gks5XGkEE5q321q8r/s1600/London2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIjDHS_BZYhNE81Qo2HjEB_6IXxim-k9Yj32stzEI-XyDIu95wwSpnsgCCXBDrSI3gK-FfAdyrxc01yaFXqbk8oRr7TaEHiQ7S_-kSMiRayQKSxIgBCPzArGwDf95Gks5XGkEE5q321q8r/s1600/London2.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I squealed at each and every sighting of a familiar location - King's Cross! And <i>Baker Street OMG</i>! - while poor sweetie struggled to come to grips with Great Britain's utterly alien driving system. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I am sorry to say we did damage the rearview mirror first thing. Boo!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Reaching our final destination, deep in the rural Somerset region, took a further two hours, and we were mighty sleepy by the time we got here, super late on our estimated arrival. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Not that the fact prevented us from sampling our first ale right away, mind you! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I'll tell you more tomorrow about this gorgeous place where we're staying - <i>and stuff... </i></span><br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0Horsington, Somerset BA8, UK51.013355 -2.427169999999932825.491320499999997 -43.735763999999932 76.5353895 38.881424000000067tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5470682390237546996.post-78322792769534087852013-11-18T15:43:00.000+01:002013-11-19T23:38:52.793+01:00Once more unto the breach!<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Sorry sorry sorry!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I keep dropping off the blogging world, but... this time I have a good reason if nothing else! </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">See, I am finally baking again - my biggest cake<i> </i>ever (it serves 24), and my first go at... <i>stacked cakes OMG!</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Nedless to say, I'm frantic, tired and overworked, and dead scared about everything that could (and probably </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">will</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">) go wrong. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">And I'm feeling more elated than I've been in a long time. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I'm allowing you guys a sneak peek at my WIP...</span></span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixXnXluaQpFVp08bCVQgMRtVN1FE5NP9b8oJKkcpG9Jk2buTtH-2dtFczMqC-ifh3xyipwTScCl4Jn128OPRH1CpLRrfBIZLCVYvDjFPud5WHjCPdzJkuSOqf2nbsxr8lLfGvPbeiqigHn/s1600/update.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixXnXluaQpFVp08bCVQgMRtVN1FE5NP9b8oJKkcpG9Jk2buTtH-2dtFczMqC-ifh3xyipwTScCl4Jn128OPRH1CpLRrfBIZLCVYvDjFPud5WHjCPdzJkuSOqf2nbsxr8lLfGvPbeiqigHn/s1600/update.jpg" height="306" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">(Please ignore the clutter...)</span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">See? It's going to be for a <i>Spiderman</i>-themed birthday party, so there will be ol' Spidey climbing down the skyscraper once it's finished.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">And I'm going to put silhouette buildings all around the bottom tier, to make it look a bit more like New York. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">BTW this reminds me that I haven't shared my trusty "sturdy chocolate cake recipe" yet.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I'm not even sure I have a right to call it mine, honestly, as it's 99% an average mudcake, with a few very minor tweaks I introduced to make it extra durable. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">It's an awesome base IMHO, for children especially - it's rich and fudgey and extremely chocolatey, so that a single slice will satisfy even the sweetest tooth in the world.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Plus it's dense and sturdy (for carving or stacking), and it keeps for up to three weeks in your refrigerator. <i>For real!</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I'll have to convert the recipe in cup measurements before I can post it, so please stay tuned.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">For the finished cake too, of course! </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">(...Er. You <i>do</i> want to see it, don't you?) </span></span></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0Milano, Italy45.4654542 9.186515999999983345.287268200000007 8.8637924999999829 45.6436402 9.5092394999999836tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5470682390237546996.post-3592448180686973172013-09-23T10:58:00.000+02:002013-10-24T18:23:24.796+02:00YAY BIRTHDAY!<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Who's the birthday girl then? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">WOOT! <i>I am! </i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Lookie here, I even got my own <i>doodle</i>... </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzpZA8lVoppyIMFTk6ZkZTP2Yde6UgZT6pPq505UpF2qB89fE7j5vaSNuqM85AaTLsr1ka8BNGYv9uCtD9yVQhvGKsFe0GFSyAflqdcnY0diatVUTW6q8oIHSs4YJdB0ccaMRFmUlCUMpl/s1600/birthday12-hp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Thanks Google! You rock! <3" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzpZA8lVoppyIMFTk6ZkZTP2Yde6UgZT6pPq505UpF2qB89fE7j5vaSNuqM85AaTLsr1ka8BNGYv9uCtD9yVQhvGKsFe0GFSyAflqdcnY0diatVUTW6q8oIHSs4YJdB0ccaMRFmUlCUMpl/s1600/birthday12-hp.jpg" height="119" title="" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">...and <i><a href="http://www.etsy.com/" target="_blank">Etsy</a></i> sent me this lovely "cake"!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4S0VTvvOdKLhBtKjRiFaKNa62nz0wMsDsbS3TlbW43SaS-yE5gEUo1dJ1SRQR64T-oRAClmIIDBNUwF1sypk2brb02xm0evYtEyblktTrRMEwuRIw-oJUh3N44Pu2vaefZxBylXg-7-Ub/s1600/Etsy+cake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4S0VTvvOdKLhBtKjRiFaKNa62nz0wMsDsbS3TlbW43SaS-yE5gEUo1dJ1SRQR64T-oRAClmIIDBNUwF1sypk2brb02xm0evYtEyblktTrRMEwuRIw-oJUh3N44Pu2vaefZxBylXg-7-Ub/s1600/Etsy+cake.jpg" height="132" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I won't be celebrating that much today unfortunately, as I'm going to be stuck at work till midnight - but, I gave myself a nice little gift to enjoy in the meantime! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Wanna see what it is? </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj06mrkXxN6w-EwYZL2sfefLN1gMQzSyF2mgwKXoENwKf_DO6JD4snDiAkHdZzR-6HgAvLJ_TSFRPCfbSCNyzQWFhDLoGGcSwP-Wq9Tsr8damD6vlH7iqtz-389IQzyy-16PE9TOkLJlBa/s1600/skillet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj06mrkXxN6w-EwYZL2sfefLN1gMQzSyF2mgwKXoENwKf_DO6JD4snDiAkHdZzR-6HgAvLJ_TSFRPCfbSCNyzQWFhDLoGGcSwP-Wq9Tsr8damD6vlH7iqtz-389IQzyy-16PE9TOkLJlBa/s1600/skillet.jpg" height="218" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It's not one of those fancy cast iron skillets everyone keeps raving about, but the next best thing for sure: an <i>aluminium</i> one! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I've collected a nice bunch of recipes already, and I can't wait to try it out! <i>Wheeeeee!</i> Can you see I'm excited? </span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0Milano, Italy45.4654542 9.186515999999983345.287268200000007 8.8637924999999829 45.6436402 9.5092394999999836tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5470682390237546996.post-53005325857361483852013-09-21T10:48:00.000+02:002013-11-11T18:35:38.133+01:00A very Kirby birthday!<div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">It is <i>that</i> time of the year again. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Time to provide a nerdy birthday cake for my sweetie's kid, that is!</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I knew right from the start, alas, that this time around I wouldn't have the time to replicate the feat that was last year's <a href="http://efreetintheoven.blogspot.it/2012/09/of-new-beginnings-and-italian-plumbers.html" target="_blank">Super Mario Bros. cake</a>. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The theme was still going to be <i>Nintendo</i> videogames though, since the birthday boy's such a huge fan - thus, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kirby_(series)" target="_blank">Kirby</a> it was! </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Unlike Mario and Luigi, with whom I had a passing acquaintance if nothing else, I knew absolutely nothing about <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kirby_(character)" target="_blank">Kirby</a> and his friends. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">All I had to work with was this pic that my sweetie kindly provided...</span></span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaswBkz17zcfk4Bd_z-vZ0qK_8yTPeud8Wj0xxAdaQm0EXnxpEGUrwI55_tjnUj3ko04wNRfXiVskU4hEWx_RtyWOH4Ar9J8ip4QHnIVqYl0ICT1gyrrra73pE0g5Oxs6NiTPGGavlqonP/s1600/Kirby+Waddle+Dee+Meta+Knight+King+Dedede.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaswBkz17zcfk4Bd_z-vZ0qK_8yTPeud8Wj0xxAdaQm0EXnxpEGUrwI55_tjnUj3ko04wNRfXiVskU4hEWx_RtyWOH4Ar9J8ip4QHnIVqYl0ICT1gyrrra73pE0g5Oxs6NiTPGGavlqonP/s1600/Kirby+Waddle+Dee+Meta+Knight+King+Dedede.jpg" height="320" width="290" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The <i>Kirby</i> games and all related characters belong to <i>Nintendo</i> and <i>HAL Laboratory</i><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I fully meant to reproduce the four of them - Kirby, King Dedede, Meta Knight and Waddle Dee - hanging up to the star, just like this.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And that was when... <i>dun-da-da-DUN</i>... <i>DISASTER</i> STROKE! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Between me and you: that's not <i>really</i> true.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The ugly truth is, I've been a complete idiot and didn't check my fondant stash beforehand, so I only discovered at the very last moment that... It. Had. Gone. Bad. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Luckily I had a bag of marshmallows in my pantry, so I quickly whipped up a batch of homemade fondant. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The good thing was, I had a chance to flavour it to my heart's content and make it <i>way</i> tastier than storebought sugarpaste. But it was far too soft to model complex shapes out of it, plus - since my marshmallows were of the pink-and-white persuasion - getting a pure white base out of them was out of question, which meant I could only make characters that were pink-hued to begin with...</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5BNqR459x3v4GaDm3IUNiVZBAXVOs2xZNEEFB1Bg8tBzsfv3-z6icY-3iF0QLiA_6g4UEjEQFG6tagr2jdPVxI_eGEIjfB9SGtBk8HeDePctLjlQFg17rgNjrXAs9f8I11E_H1VgoRdBS/s1600/fondant+kirby+waddle+dee.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5BNqR459x3v4GaDm3IUNiVZBAXVOs2xZNEEFB1Bg8tBzsfv3-z6icY-3iF0QLiA_6g4UEjEQFG6tagr2jdPVxI_eGEIjfB9SGtBk8HeDePctLjlQFg17rgNjrXAs9f8I11E_H1VgoRdBS/s1600/fondant+kirby+waddle+dee.jpg" height="299" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Even their simple, spherical bodies ended up all squished. </span></span><br />
<i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Blah.</span></span></i><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">While not my better job by far, this cake tasted </span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">delicious if nothing else, as it was based on <a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=alice+medrich" target="_blank">Alice Medrich</a>'s </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Queen of Sheba</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> - a European-style cake, and possibly the closest you could get to a <i>Sachertorte</i> without receiving worryingly official-looking correspondence by some highly respected legal practice in Wien. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjagc28vpwR0C3H5ED8g2DX4nrCsiyVfZc8LdD4zj1cQaR7gZG9BxOkTge7T7lvffQIVIgIu7BbFIawmI9hzWh-X0xko71UaDLeJcTNtG7iOolNl7IzxDqw53sIu5J-x6ynmge2agPDpBEl/s1600/almond+egg+whites+chocolate.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjagc28vpwR0C3H5ED8g2DX4nrCsiyVfZc8LdD4zj1cQaR7gZG9BxOkTge7T7lvffQIVIgIu7BbFIawmI9hzWh-X0xko71UaDLeJcTNtG7iOolNl7IzxDqw53sIu5J-x6ynmge2agPDpBEl/s1600/almond+egg+whites+chocolate.jpg" height="262" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ground almonds. Egg Whites. Chocolate-based batter. So NOT a <i>Sachertorte</i>...</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The recipe's from her </span><a href="http://www.craftsy.com/" target="_blank"><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Craftsy</i></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> class, </span><a class="external" href="http://www.deviantart.com/users/outgoing?http://www.craftsy.com/class/Decadent-Chocolate-Cakes" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Decadent Chocolate Cakes</a><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">If you are a beginner and interested in baking with chocolate, you should definitely buy it! She gives tons of useful tips on how to work with this "difficult" yet yummy ingredient!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> I was in such a hurry in the end that I didn't even snap a pic of the finished cake... but my hun took a few during the party! </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Awww... Ain't he such a sweet and considerate guy? </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">(The star should have been
standing, though. <i>Sigh...</i>) </span></span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0Milano, Italy45.4654542 9.186515999999983345.287268200000007 8.8637924999999829 45.6436402 9.5092394999999836tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5470682390237546996.post-1368619643416138522013-09-12T11:47:00.000+02:002013-10-03T14:22:01.305+02:00Imma makin' Super Mario Bros. COOKIES!<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: justify;">Would you believe it? </span><span style="font-size: small; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">It's <i>that</i> time of the year again! Time to get into crazy baking mode, that is! </span></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Last year I made a </span><a href="http://efreetintheoven.blogspot.it/2012/09/of-new-beginnings-and-italian-plumbers.html" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;" target="_blank">Super Mario Bros.</a><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> cake for the 8th birthday of my sweetie's child. This time around I'm settling for a less ambitious cake, since unfortunately I lack both the time and the storage space to replicate that feat - but, I can do </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">COOKIES</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">!</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Many people see cookies as the easiest form of baking. I disagree with that. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Personally I find cakes to be much less troublesome; I can't think of more than two instances where I seriously messed up a cake (and both times it was because of a notable mistake on my part), whereas I've had countless cookie misfires, even while following recipes to the letter. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Meh. </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Not this time, though!</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Of course, it helped that the recipe is from that veritable cookie lover's Bible that is <a href="http://www.amazon.it/dp/1454703210" target="_blank"><i>Decorating Cookies: 60+ Designs for Holidays, Celebrations & Everyday</i></a>, by Bridget Edwards.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Same of you might remember me raving about <a href="http://bakeat350.blogspot.it/p/about-bake-at-350.html" target="_blank">her</a> (and her blog, <a href="http://bakeat350.blogspot.it/" target="_blank">Bake at 350</a>) back when planning my <a href="http://efreetintheoven.blogspot.it/2013/02/susan-sto-helit-gingerbread-cookies-or.html" target="_blank">Susan gingerbread cookies</a> - which I made for a party we never had. Drat! - only this time I picked a chocolate dough. Kids adore chocolate cookies and that's a fact!</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">(Plus, this recipe has <i>Nutella</i> in it. Your argument is invalid.) </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span></span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8Ga7QU5-cAc3J69a88xOoFf-lk3U5n4M_tcG9pfQivxEh3FBvsEoIcbxP0QpUm1Iau3NLX0njK-QMAAD-1lY5ZSzecezNPC3YNIj5rBL28w5rW4VUVhk5P5wTMzGFgJVktgL3FJ8WmrBe/s1600/super+mario+bros+cookies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8Ga7QU5-cAc3J69a88xOoFf-lk3U5n4M_tcG9pfQivxEh3FBvsEoIcbxP0QpUm1Iau3NLX0njK-QMAAD-1lY5ZSzecezNPC3YNIj5rBL28w5rW4VUVhk5P5wTMzGFgJVktgL3FJ8WmrBe/s1600/super+mario+bros+cookies.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Unlike my previous gingerbread experiment, these cookies baked flat and even and didn't spread <i>at all</i>. OMG I'm so happy about that!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">That might be because I've been using cookie cutters, as opposed to cutting manually around a template - which allowed me to work quickly, manhandling the dough as little as possible. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Also, I allowed the raw cookies a fair 10 minutes in the freezer before they went into the oven. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">And finally, I splurged on a few extra cookie sheets, so I didn't have to keep using the same one by refrigerating it with water between batches. I really believe it makes a world of difference!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Oh, and speaking about cutters: I got mine from <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/WarpZone?ref=shop_sugg" target="_blank">WarpZone</a>, an <a href="http://www.etsy.com/" target="_blank">Etsy</a> shop I am head-over-heels in love with. It's a nerdy baker's paradise!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">They 3D-print cutters in every geeky flavour you can dream of - from anime to <i>Game of Thrones</i>, from <i>Dr Who</i> to <i>My Little Pony</i>... You name it, they have it!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And if they don't, they can <i>make</i> one from your own drawing. How awesome is that? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I got the whole <i>Super Mario Bros.</i> range from them, knowing how huge a fan my hun's kiddo is... but I didn't want to mix up dozens of different icing shades all at once, so I stuck with three subjects: our two hero plumbers, <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paper_Mario" target="_blank">Paper Mario</a></i>-style... </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEJlzbNNot9s2iq9FOqKuku5KDRlpQySvLOyF36S-wxJXJN1FrPB2Z3DtXIlw7PVNVa4aiVugF6wib3TB0M2swSJkc_1q6ejMFHzjlsjF07d64ZdK-OQMR17EP04OMQrfv0fSjUWolypzL/s1600/Paper+Mario+Luigi+cutters.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEJlzbNNot9s2iq9FOqKuku5KDRlpQySvLOyF36S-wxJXJN1FrPB2Z3DtXIlw7PVNVa4aiVugF6wib3TB0M2swSJkc_1q6ejMFHzjlsjF07d64ZdK-OQMR17EP04OMQrfv0fSjUWolypzL/s1600/Paper+Mario+Luigi+cutters.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">...plus the iconic 1-up mushroom. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZsYLofU-564nYDvwBHypvYLKdoXIS5ZHMSHJk90ifNxm_o1PQ-HpbOP7qBwBHv-jxYSzXCyRy9mfarBD96GYXJlNWm7upUu3IjtNRx7zgucX0ixb60mUNEESQ5y3chszSEzbflN89pQGL/s1600/1-up+mushroom+cutter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZsYLofU-564nYDvwBHypvYLKdoXIS5ZHMSHJk90ifNxm_o1PQ-HpbOP7qBwBHv-jxYSzXCyRy9mfarBD96GYXJlNWm7upUu3IjtNRx7zgucX0ixb60mUNEESQ5y3chszSEzbflN89pQGL/s1600/1-up+mushroom+cutter.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Hee hee! Aren't they friggin' <i>adorable</i>? Squee! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">..And here are the freshly iced cookies! </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGiNYEBnHUf04pxqU246qw1bKkQkY-YfY5Rb80hn8U1w7jaa-n01CZu6zx_J4HN7ugri2lM4YdtpEUpXUFkoYgusP1ZCGo-czfgGZGUJP5OdnVpJ6HafnihBNR40lVgGaRO0Vxdb81a84h/s1600/super+mario+bros+cookies+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGiNYEBnHUf04pxqU246qw1bKkQkY-YfY5Rb80hn8U1w7jaa-n01CZu6zx_J4HN7ugri2lM4YdtpEUpXUFkoYgusP1ZCGo-czfgGZGUJP5OdnVpJ6HafnihBNR40lVgGaRO0Vxdb81a84h/s1600/super+mario+bros+cookies+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Since kids are going to eat them, I didn't trust raw egg whites and used <a href="http://www.wilton.com/recipe/Royal-Icing" target="_blank"><i>Wilton</i>'s Meringue Powder</a> instead. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I have mixed feelings about it, franky - it's super-easy to mix and takes colour well, and it doesn't clog up in the squeeze bottle's nozzle nearly as much as "real" royal icing. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">It seems to be sturdier, too - less brittle and crunchy, somehow more like candy melts than icing. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">On the other hand, it feels slightly chalky in my mouth, and the flavour, while not at all bad, is just <i>different</i>. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Still, better safe than sorry!</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2Milano, Italy45.4654542 9.186515999999983345.287268200000007 8.8637924999999829 45.6436402 9.5092394999999836tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5470682390237546996.post-82959545914327608622013-09-05T20:07:00.001+02:002013-09-10T19:26:35.704+02:00[Cupcake Portraits] Discworld Personalities: Carrot Ironfoundersson<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Carrot often struck people as simple. And he was. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Where people went wrong was thinking that simple meant the same thing as stupid. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Carrot was not stupid. He was direct, and honest, and good-natured and honorable in all his dealings. In Ankh-Morpork this would normally have added up to "stupid" in any case and would have given him the survival quotient of a jellyfish in a blast furnace, but there were a couple of other factors. One was a punch that even trolls had learned to respect. The other was that Carrot was genuinely, almost supernaturally, likeable. He got on well with people, even </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">while arresting them. He had an exceptional memory for names.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">For most of his young life he'd lived in a small dwarf colony where there was hardly any other people to know. Then, suddenly, he was in a huge city, and it was as if a talent had been waiting to unfold. And was still unfolding.</span></div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">- <i>Men at Arms</i></span></blockquote>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It has been a while, uh? </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Well, fear not! The <i>Fanbaking Project</i> is definitely on!</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">But I must confess, this third installment gave me lots of trouble. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">See, as the <i>Discworld Personalities</i> series took shape in my mind, I figured out I could stick to some kind of rotation to make things easier for myself, and in the end the one that made the more sense seemed to be a <i>Witch - Wizard - Guard - Random</i> sort of thing. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Which is to say, my third installment <i>had</i> to be a guard!</span></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Now I realize Vimes would have been the expected choice, and you peeps are probably waiting hungrily (</span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">literally!</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">) for his cupcake rendition. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: justify;">Fact is, Vimes terrifies me. He's such a complex character, and he changes so much from one book to the next - in short, I don't feel I can nail him down just yet. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: justify;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I needed someone <i>simpler</i> to portray in the meantime! </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And yes, you guessed it right - <i>Who could be simpler than Carrot himself? </i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPYBLj_oHOdfG7JJ0QmTutazgb1Ejfgsz9k9TZ7lp9mnkX27bmxpSGq9XE0gjHSvHlIZlqi-Jhnu5RXHxaq6fl3iRu3LBeCz6j-DcFB9gLjMzYiI0djVdL1DY6VLxzFT1jCbBbImBrXete/s1600/carrot+ironfoundersson.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPYBLj_oHOdfG7JJ0QmTutazgb1Ejfgsz9k9TZ7lp9mnkX27bmxpSGq9XE0gjHSvHlIZlqi-Jhnu5RXHxaq6fl3iRu3LBeCz6j-DcFB9gLjMzYiI0djVdL1DY6VLxzFT1jCbBbImBrXete/s1600/carrot+ironfoundersson.jpg" height="320" width="270" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image belongs to graffitihead @ <a href="http://graffitihead.deviantart.com/">http://graffitihead.deviantart.com/</a><br />
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(I don't think anyone who has seen that <i>Twins </i>movie can help picturing Schwarzy in the role...)<br />
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As he is introduced to us in <i>Guards! Guards!</i>, Carrot could easily be mistaken for your average <a href="http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/LawfulStupid">Lawful Stupid</a> character. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I mean, come on - he's some sort of red-headed, law-abiding jock who considers himself a dwarf by adoption, and always does things by the book. It looks like he's a bit of an oaf, if a hugely sympathetic and cuddly one.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">But from </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Men at Arms</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> onwards, we get to know him as a much more well-rounded character. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">To begin with, he is the rightful heir to the throne of Ankh-Morpork - which he knows all too well but, even since Vimes made him see how monarchy is a bad idea indeed, he has a conspiracy of silence going on, to the point that he often negates the obviousness of it in such a blatant way, it's hilarious</span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">.</i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Also, he's shown to possess a keen intellect, a sharp eye for details and a love of books (although his punctuation skills when writing are nothing short of abysmal) - y</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">et he remains very much the honest, jovial, trustful fellow we knew (and loved) from the start. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><strike>The only fault I could find with him is his debatable taste in women - but hey, the guy's a dwarf; he likes his grilfriends </strike><i style="text-decoration: line-through;">hairy</i>. Just don't get me started about this. No, really - <i>I'm serious. </i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">To me, the point with Carrot is that he's the proverbial glass you measure your view of the world against. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">He's my BFF Flavio's favourite character, and he reminds me of him in many ways - they both believe everyone is nice deep down, and that any controversy could be easily settled if only people were willing to have an earnest talk about it. To the likes of him, Carrot's strenght lies in his guileless nature, as his very attitude and example make people hate the idea of letting him down.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Less optimistic-minded people like yours truly, on the other hand, would be tempted to say that such a view is far too naive, and Carrot only manages to get away with it because of his royal charisma. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Who's right? No one knows for sure, with the possible exception of Sir Pratchett himself - and <i>he's</i> not telling. Because in the end, this is the true power of books IMHO: that while tricking you into believing you're only discussing fictional situations and characters after all, they make you look deeper into yourself and your beliefs. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">But enough with philosophy, and back to<i> </i>cake - <i>carrot</i> cake, that is!</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Which may seem an obvious enough choice, but believe me - Carrot's name was not the sole reason for it! </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Fact is, carrot cake is as simple and reliable as a dessert could get. It's healthy and sensible and traditional - <i>my version especially</i>, since it doesn't include nuts, fancy spices, chunks of tropical fruit or anything. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Just your basic, comforting, by-the book ingredients, plus a slosh of beer to honour the character's dwarfish upbringing... </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"><b>Carrot Cupcakes</b></span></div>
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<b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Ingredients:</b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">* 1/2 cup butter (softened)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">* 1/2 cup + 1 Tbsp 1/2 light brown sugar</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">* 2 eggs</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">* 175 g grated carrots (about 2 cups - see instructions)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">* 1/3 cup beer (I used <i>Budweiser</i> - see instructions)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">* 2 cups self-rising flour</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">* 1/2 tsp baking soda</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">* 1/4 tsp salt</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">1. Scrape the carrots to remove all the dirt, grate them, and <i>allow them to dry thoroughly</i>. (Don't skip the drying part, it's important!)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;">Also don't use the smallest holes of your grater, as I found out that if the carrots are grated too finely, your cupcakes will turn out soggy and dense, and will go bad pretty soon.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEYbVzXMJlsEJcrFqETEYhDXEfkSlQIhb-D2hT4MY9StKufxzZotryfeHEVEo_cTlWcdiifa-lmnhVMk_ZdOGEHrsGrXq-DO2hoAIMVEFEDjhuWu5Ngq-MynIr0wPnrmydZ9iRjMmc92eq/s1600/grated+carrots.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEYbVzXMJlsEJcrFqETEYhDXEfkSlQIhb-D2hT4MY9StKufxzZotryfeHEVEo_cTlWcdiifa-lmnhVMk_ZdOGEHrsGrXq-DO2hoAIMVEFEDjhuWu5Ngq-MynIr0wPnrmydZ9iRjMmc92eq/s320/grated+carrots.jpg" height="257" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">If you can grate them as coarsely as mine in the pic, the quantity you'll need is 2 cups, full but not super-packed. If you own a scale, you'd probably be better off weighing them! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">2. Pre-heat oven to 320° F.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">3. Sift the self-rising flour, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">4. Cream the butter and sugar. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">5. Whisk the eggs slightly, then slowly add them into the sugar and butter mix, one Tbsp at a time or so.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">6. Check that your carrots are really really dry and dump them in. Add the beer as well. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;">It will look like an ugly mulch. Keep mixing! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Before going on with the recipe, allow me to spend a few words about <i>teh beer</i>. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Professional chefs will usually tell you not to cook/bake with booze you wouldn't want to drink, but in my experience, baking with beer is a bit of an exception. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Believe me, I've tried baking these with a couple beers I love - a refreshing, hops-rich Bock, and a wonderfully rich Amber Ale - and in both instances I got a nasty, bitter flavour in my cupcakes, and a creepy sticky texture. I almost gave up on the carrot/beer concept altogether. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The one that did the trick in the end, was humble </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Budweiser</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">: it made my cupcakes wonderfully light and soft, and the beer flavour in them is not overwhelming and pleasantly sweet...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">7. Add in the flour mix, one couple spoonfuls at a time. Your batter will magically look like batter again!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">8. Line a cupcake mold with wrappers; I picked some silvery ones to suggest the guards' armour. The batter is enough for 12 cupcakes <i>(but if you go with the "crown baked inside" decoration that I'm showing you further on, you'll get 22-24 - KEEP READING!)</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">9<i>. </i><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px;">Remember to place a water-filled silicon cup on the oven's bottom before baking. It is the secret to get soft, moist cuppies!</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">10. Bake for about 35 minutes, or until the cupcakes feel soft and spongy to the touch. Test for doneness with a skewer - there's lots of wet ingredients in these babies, so you might have to adjust your baking time somewhat. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">11. As soon as the cupcakes have cooled down a little, seize one of them. Read it its rights, <i>then</i> eat it. And afterwards, y</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">ou</span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">can</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> write home about it. There, you're done! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">At the risk of sounding immodest, I will say I'm really happy with this recipe, and I'm not even a fan of carrot cake usually - and <i>no</i>, I don't have a bias against veggies in my desserts, and <a href="http://efreetintheoven.blogspot.it/2013/01/cupcake-portraits-discworld.html" target="_blank">you should know as much</a>. It's just that<i> </i>carrot cakes are typically soggy, with a slightly slimy texture that I can't stomach. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Now these cupcakes, they're like an airy, fluffy, delicious sponge cake. You can taste (and see!) the carrots inside, but they don't feel weird and chunky under your teeth; and there's a hint of mellowness from the beer, although it's light enough that it doesn't feel like an "adult dessert" at all (you'll have to judge this for yourself, of course, but I'd say these are safe for even kids to eat.)</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1S732VXTIiCcDtRt25nabVJpo01RmWFLdf28sH6Ji24Dz9mch6dCZb1FCNwF0DsXPhjFUA7ewb5BHyauZirsbPVjWidi0w-2JO3nJRvpQxco1ZGclUEkHgF3nypduwk-Nu9FTqKpWnkug/s1600/inside+texture.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1S732VXTIiCcDtRt25nabVJpo01RmWFLdf28sH6Ji24Dz9mch6dCZb1FCNwF0DsXPhjFUA7ewb5BHyauZirsbPVjWidi0w-2JO3nJRvpQxco1ZGclUEkHgF3nypduwk-Nu9FTqKpWnkug/s320/inside+texture.jpg" height="302" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">They're yummy as-is, or topped with a dusting of powdered sugar and cinnamon if you really can't stand not to have a hint of spice with your carrot cake. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Or you could make some <a href="http://allrecipes.com/recipe/cream-cheese-frosting-ii/" target="_blank">cream cheese icing</a> to go with them, like I did for the photo shots. It's runny and messy, and I think its sweetness kills the cupcake's subtler flavour, but it's what you'd traditionally pour on a carrot cake proper, and - what with this being a Carrot-inspired recipe - I wanted to stick to the rules as much as possible. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>...But, wait! Is there no decoration</i> at all <i>on them? </i></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Sad but true. As fun as sculpted badges, swords, and regulation books would have been, I learned from <a href="http://efreetintheoven.blogspot.it/2012/10/cupcake-portraits-discworld.html" target="_blank">bitter experience</a> not to put fondant on top of slushy frosting - and <i>this one</i>'s even soupier than Granny's! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So, I went down a different route this time, and baked the decoration <i>inside</i> the cupcakes. Thus, when you cut them... </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">...Carrot's distinctive crown-shaped birthmark is revealed! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It is an easy enough technique, if a bit time-consuming. I don't know who came up with it in the first place; I've seen lots of tutorials online and I have no idea which one's the original. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Basically, to make these you'll need to mix two batches of batter, and to tint one darker. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Powdered food colours would be ideal for the job; liquid ones take forever (guess which kind I had on hand, uh?)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It doesn't look like there's a huge difference in the pic, but the colours will darken as they're baked. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It's also worth reminding here that since the batter itself is orange, you'll have an easier job making it darker if you use a contrasting colour such as blue or green, as opposed to red or brown. You can add a bit of black too, but don't overdo it!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Next you need to grease a sheet cake pan and pour the darker batter in it. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Bake it for slightly longer than you would the cupcakes, as you'll be cutting up the resulting cake, so you need it to be firm. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I happened to have a crown-shaped cookie cutter, but you can easily freehand the outline, using a paper template as a guide - the simpler the shape, the better! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Just make sure that your cake cut-outs aren't too big to fit vertically inside a cupcake mold! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Mine <i>were</i>, so I trimmed off the base... </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOoBB93BvEbuep_xZtuCbCZk4aFbwLHi4kiSGXaYyzF7slGtVlLz0uMxiTqiydKu1hYbbfbKRkAuy0nEHRGmYe2kgG4SBlK845b0Gcb1IflCCEchgGVc8s3BjvTkY4IgLldjAOqaIMKtj1/s1600/crown.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOoBB93BvEbuep_xZtuCbCZk4aFbwLHi4kiSGXaYyzF7slGtVlLz0uMxiTqiydKu1hYbbfbKRkAuy0nEHRGmYe2kgG4SBlK845b0Gcb1IflCCEchgGVc8s3BjvTkY4IgLldjAOqaIMKtj1/s320/crown.jpg" height="320" width="216" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">...and stuck one little crown inside each wrapper, after putting a bit of the lighter batter on the bottom to help it standing. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Remember: ALL THE CROWNS MUST FACE THE SAME WAY IN THE MOLD! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Don't fret about the cut-outs being completely covered in batter; it will rise anyway, and if there's still some darker bits sticking out in the end, they will be covered by icing. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Mine are actually <i>way</i> overfilled - the batter didn't spill out, but try to resist the urge to put in so much! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As you take out the baked cuppies, YOU MUST FIND A WAY TO REMEMBER WHICH WAY THE CROWNS ARE FACED - because if the cupcake is cut at the wrong angle, of course you won't be able to make out the shape. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">You can simply mark the bottom of the wrapper with a pencil, or cut shield-like "badges" out of golden paper and glue them on the front of the wrappers - I went with the latter solution, as it also worked to reinforce the whole Watch theme. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This was all there is to it, really. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Enjoy your Carrot cupcakes, and please let me know how you liked them! </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEbW_yZoimfM8otCt4yh-LhTVQ9qQojJGExBXZPqTUC3Mg1a2AHSxKi8ZfFigOkWi61u8RnTSHusYrpLnkGAuMNIkq2_9FxtNbEy04leq4fvw4xwVyKwXr1xBWUggegCGWRDD-oQt0-Dfi/s1600/Carrot+Ironfoundersson+cupcakes+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEbW_yZoimfM8otCt4yh-LhTVQ9qQojJGExBXZPqTUC3Mg1a2AHSxKi8ZfFigOkWi61u8RnTSHusYrpLnkGAuMNIkq2_9FxtNbEy04leq4fvw4xwVyKwXr1xBWUggegCGWRDD-oQt0-Dfi/s320/Carrot+Ironfoundersson+cupcakes+2.jpg" height="208" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaJPtSs5uKCwFZXTyJ-Vfr348coPghfYrUWzsI_E9bN3-RRW3l0c-g1iXqvr8VvLc_KZTxm1kCNo_kF616bD6zuQbDVkNcl7vTB94l5px5NnXTlacZO0js-bBBASFFfRkDCdU6h8gqECaA/s1600/Carrot+Ironfoundersson+cupcake+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaJPtSs5uKCwFZXTyJ-Vfr348coPghfYrUWzsI_E9bN3-RRW3l0c-g1iXqvr8VvLc_KZTxm1kCNo_kF616bD6zuQbDVkNcl7vTB94l5px5NnXTlacZO0js-bBBASFFfRkDCdU6h8gqECaA/s320/Carrot+Ironfoundersson+cupcake+3.jpg" height="270" width="320" /></a></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0Milano, Italy45.4654542 9.186515999999983345.287268200000007 8.8637924999999829 45.6436402 9.5092394999999836tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5470682390237546996.post-73389110431039801912013-08-04T15:02:00.000+02:002014-03-22T16:41:25.612+01:00Fruit is HEALTHY!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">How many annoying blog posts about the weather being so hot have you read this week? </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I'm betting the topic is almost as likely to get the <i>"OMG DELETE"</i> treatment as the tired old "How <i>can</i> it be August <i>already</i>? Where has the time <i>gone</i>?"</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I mean, it's summer and it's <i>supposed</i> to be hot, duh, no big news here, right?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Still, I will say this: there <i>is</i> such thing as too much heat. I mean, surely some sort of line must be drawn at a point when even <i>I</i> can't bear turning on the oven? </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The only positive aspect of this situation is, I'm eating plenty of fruit. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Of course, me being - well - <i>me</i>, you can't really expect me to munch on a peach and be done with it. So, I'm going to share with you a bunch of recipes by other bloggers that I have personally tested, and utterly adored. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Which are, being fruit-based, inherently <i>HEALTHY</i>. Wow, don't you feel righteous already? </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I'm getting the weirdest one out of the way first - and let me tell you, it took a huge leap of faith for even me to be persuaded to put fruit into my <i>pasta</i>. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I mean, you know by now I despise food bigots, and will happily mix flavours and influences from all over the world in the same meal - and in the same dish - if so I fancy.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I don't even <i>like</i> pasta that much, so I don't share the reverence some of my fellow countrymen have for its tradition.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Still, I couldn't honestly say that the idea of topping spaghetti with fresh peaches didn't freak me out a little. Which is strange, really, since I've already put fruit in every possible course except main until now, and always loved the result... </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu2yjOsrbuVFP8lIeBkd6chkj34z0vV5UlTgOQbqi16Z-32oAr2sFoY6P1-z86Y3KcGEL5R656QB8ylbPeMownIa8-CE9y8Klg76x1eGijEcFMSAtn4X1tQR1XjoyNXdDGQQ2mZQ7plYvn/s1600/peaches+basil+marinade.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu2yjOsrbuVFP8lIeBkd6chkj34z0vV5UlTgOQbqi16Z-32oAr2sFoY6P1-z86Y3KcGEL5R656QB8ylbPeMownIa8-CE9y8Klg76x1eGijEcFMSAtn4X1tQR1XjoyNXdDGQQ2mZQ7plYvn/s320/peaches+basil+marinade.jpg" height="265" width="320" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: justify;">Basically what I'm trying to convey is, I really needed the suggestion to come from someone I trusted. Luckily for me, </span><a href="http://justhungry.com/about" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: justify;" target="_blank">Makiko</a><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: justify;"> of </span><a href="http://justhungry.com/" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: justify;" target="_blank">Just Hungry</a><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: justify;"> is exactly that, and more!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Her blog is my go-to reference for Japanese recipes mainly, but because she travelled extensively through Asia, America and Europe, she developed a cosmopolitan view of food (among other things) that I immensely respect and admire. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Another thing I </span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">immensely respect and admire is her pic-taking mojo - how do you make a bowl o' marinade (with shredded basil leaves and chunks of peaches in it to boot!) look pretty? </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Get the recipe for <a href="http://justhungry.com/pasta-peaches-and-basil" target="_blank">Pasta with Peaches and Basil</a> from her directly, and gape at her photos with me - they're so much more appetizing than mine! </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikb4J2nWO5U6imqKkM3Eps7QUZl1GAOHpwAmaSK-kZqf9mHkLnBRQOD1WighOShokL3U9HWF-co4iNtjFps4MpHXrnZmYYkF8clYhxLAQo6nbPBPjEBVSZwQyfdD9UI6TyMFwkgsFPNN_M/s1600/peach+basil+pasta.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Look! Healthy!" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikb4J2nWO5U6imqKkM3Eps7QUZl1GAOHpwAmaSK-kZqf9mHkLnBRQOD1WighOShokL3U9HWF-co4iNtjFps4MpHXrnZmYYkF8clYhxLAQo6nbPBPjEBVSZwQyfdD9UI6TyMFwkgsFPNN_M/s320/peach+basil+pasta.jpg" height="250" title="" width="320" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">(Hey, but I <i>did</i> put it on a <i>purple</i> plate! Serious <i>colour theory</i> going on here, b*tches! Do I get bonus points for that? <i>Do I?</i>)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Onwards to the next treat, and once again we're marinating our fruit first thing - this time it's huge, sweet, gorgeous dark cherries into balsamic vinegar! </span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB6Pa3cb2BtaAhiXU85GFue69FmczoqcCzmNnCDRgeq8EAD4meSeWryaLX0i2H7y38dMD2w_Z_I9DZUOqs30C_KGkQfgUTmwEQHhtDYpy-Uzf2pJURPKOY45-FiXkYkHXzANmK48or_3aK/s1600/balsamic+cherries.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB6Pa3cb2BtaAhiXU85GFue69FmczoqcCzmNnCDRgeq8EAD4meSeWryaLX0i2H7y38dMD2w_Z_I9DZUOqs30C_KGkQfgUTmwEQHhtDYpy-Uzf2pJURPKOY45-FiXkYkHXzANmK48or_3aK/s1600/balsamic+cherries.jpg" height="320" width="309" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Here's when your cherries get roasted - which makes them way yummy and jewel-like glossy... </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU1ZJpxUODWCDDFfqJHgzd6-jYuFyMpnFWGnAeoPbRPfJS2cYwFFlFKJHHGqGn_NN4xyOJPzahM5K6rvolaw6AVVIeE4pt0UsLsPIgKLLobgwkMJ78fidhJIa6TqbuXEMX_BVRMsXDO8S7/s1600/balsamic+cherries+baked.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU1ZJpxUODWCDDFfqJHgzd6-jYuFyMpnFWGnAeoPbRPfJS2cYwFFlFKJHHGqGn_NN4xyOJPzahM5K6rvolaw6AVVIeE4pt0UsLsPIgKLLobgwkMJ78fidhJIa6TqbuXEMX_BVRMsXDO8S7/s1600/balsamic+cherries+baked.jpg" height="281" width="320" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">...and finally they're smothered with Brie Cheese and chocolate (yep, you heard it right!) and turned into the most blissful grilled cheese <i>ever</i>!</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_fAtMuaGNvuNzMxOHwT3SOspXSExN3WFYzSnRP6ujMHePNIRA4fy9l_dsntli4MgudNRJ51y0fI3tnl6j00h17iJYIBpLOa_LrJaQpRjaemms0e-9zRVtgVnVDu2yrNuI0dCFKdXwWmfn/s1600/cheese+sandwich+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="HEALTHY!" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_fAtMuaGNvuNzMxOHwT3SOspXSExN3WFYzSnRP6ujMHePNIRA4fy9l_dsntli4MgudNRJ51y0fI3tnl6j00h17iJYIBpLOa_LrJaQpRjaemms0e-9zRVtgVnVDu2yrNuI0dCFKdXwWmfn/s1600/cheese+sandwich+1.jpg" height="283" title="" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The genius behind this lunch/dessert hybrid is <a href="http://www.closetcooking.com/p/about.html" target="_blank">Kevin Lynch</a> of <a href="http://www.closetcooking.com/" target="_blank">Closet Cooking</a>. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">His blog I discovered only recently, but I'm loving it to pieces! First of all, Kevin's <i>a guy</i> and this fact alone makes for a refreshing point of view in a girl-dominated foodie world. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Also, I kind of have a crush on his rationale for blogging... </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I came to realize that my meals were boring
and that I had been eating the same few dishes over and over again for years. It
was time for a change! I now spend my free time searching for, creating and
trying tasty new recipes in my closet sized kitchen.</span></span></blockquote>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Way to go, bro! Seriously, what's not to love in this man? </span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2C7ryPxunMjYwiVnz_fhAj_s481fRv1ntYNIFmz9ylGr3ymLOdL7WYHEOenirM0ZV5t1erg2SZQLLun4BQlhoi6MD1tF2zgrjhLvGYU5tLP3bbjSi7YKq1jJII6eozfkhkwpaYdXsXpre/s1600/pan-roasted+balsamic+cherries.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2C7ryPxunMjYwiVnz_fhAj_s481fRv1ntYNIFmz9ylGr3ymLOdL7WYHEOenirM0ZV5t1erg2SZQLLun4BQlhoi6MD1tF2zgrjhLvGYU5tLP3bbjSi7YKq1jJII6eozfkhkwpaYdXsXpre/s1600/pan-roasted+balsamic+cherries.jpg" height="238" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The recipe for <a href="http://www.closetcooking.com/2013/07/balsamic-roasted-cherry-dark-chocolate.html" target="_blank">Balsamic Roasted Cherry, Dark Chocolate & Brie Grilled Cheese Sandwich</a> is wonderful as-is, but </span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I found the chocolate flavour to be a tad overpowering, so the second time around I adjusted the cheese-to-chocolate ratio slightly.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Also, since I'm a lazy bum who hates cleaning her oven, I pan-roasted the marinated cherries instead of baking them. I liked this version better, honestly, but it's of course just a matter of personal preference - also, I see lots of possibilities for experimenting with other fruit and types of cheese here!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Which seamlessly leads me to... </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">...this veritable <i>pièce de résistance</i>! </span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqhpJ6ju5xndMrwGfJ0vYizapoySJTWH6id6nwV5wAIzszU0FWRN0rQGrkYpzRRd3BtKS_lKGOhvVL-YELgd02Hj7T-S_PahYTQCAm9DLO_x9Gi-pCs2cgg0ZOoe2ObVZ1BVzjidOArsAc/s1600/bacon+blue+cheese+figs+raw.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqhpJ6ju5xndMrwGfJ0vYizapoySJTWH6id6nwV5wAIzszU0FWRN0rQGrkYpzRRd3BtKS_lKGOhvVL-YELgd02Hj7T-S_PahYTQCAm9DLO_x9Gi-pCs2cgg0ZOoe2ObVZ1BVzjidOArsAc/s1600/bacon+blue+cheese+figs+raw.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I don't know how well you can see them in the pic above, but there are <i>figs</i> on this pizza. Gorgeous, honey-sweet, HEALTHY figs...</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">...and then, of course, there's bacon and fontina and sharp gorgonzola. <i>What? </i></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVrK3UorTkmkVzV4g_C060yxcJwO81VYdrtbvOW_XSB-q4rd8_Hb_d1nKYVLtStmpfOI5EzP4r9lB4GpMFhOrQEXh_CDtvlldyI0YVguFWc2RiceSOecvmTkfLsxvXDn9CPorUaLRFHKeD/s1600/bacon+blue+cheese+figs+pizza.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="SO. VERY. HEALTHY. " border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVrK3UorTkmkVzV4g_C060yxcJwO81VYdrtbvOW_XSB-q4rd8_Hb_d1nKYVLtStmpfOI5EzP4r9lB4GpMFhOrQEXh_CDtvlldyI0YVguFWc2RiceSOecvmTkfLsxvXDn9CPorUaLRFHKeD/s1600/bacon+blue+cheese+figs+pizza.jpg" height="240" title="" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">A <a href="http://www.howsweeteats.com/2013/06/fresh-fig-bacon-blue-cheese-pizza/" target="_blank">Fresh Fig, Bacon + Blue Cheese Pizza</a> could only be the brainchild of <a href="http://www.howsweeteats.com/about/" target="_blank">Jessica</a> of </span><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="http://www.howsweeteats.com/" target="_blank">How Sweet It Is</a>. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Now her blog, it's one of the very first ones I found out and kind of loved - and I say "kind of" here because her recipes tend to be very hit-or-miss with me. I mean, she loves anything cheese, which makes most of them (such as, uh, <i>this one</i>) super extra gorgeous in my book. But she also loves melon and avocado and mascarpone. <i>Ouch. </i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Also, you know that friend everybody has, who is invaluable in that she'll recommend her favourite movies and TV shows and whatnot - and you know that you can pretty safely shun them, and watch the ones she didn't care for, and be sure not to be disappointed? </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">She's kind of that to me. Honest, it's such a sure hit, it is uncanny. But her blogging voice is so lighthearted and fun and playful that I drink up her opinions as hungrily as her recipes, and of all the foodies I'm following, she's the one that feels like the closest friend to me (even though she doesn't know, LOL!) </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">...OK, so I gave you lots of food for thought today (as well as, y'know, <i>food</i> plain and simple.)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">How about you start doing something for your health now, and treat yourself to one of these recipes - or <i>all three</i>? </span></span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0Milano, Italy45.4654542 9.186515999999983345.287268200000007 8.8637924999999829 45.6436402 9.5092394999999836tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5470682390237546996.post-29293983599549990202013-07-19T14:51:00.000+02:002013-08-01T22:01:35.891+02:00Guinness Black Bottom Mint Cupcakes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>"Well, you</i> can <i>bake with</i> Guinness<i>, you know. It makes chocolate taste even more chocolatey."</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Honestly, mentioning such a thing to my sweetie in casual conversation? You'd think I should know better by now. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I had to make it happen in my kitchen. Which is totally fine with me btw, because it gave me an excuse to buy a four-pack o' <i>Guinness</i>. And the recipe only calls for <i>one cup</i>! See what I'm gettin' at here? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">To be honest, Stout is not my top choice beer-wise - I'm kind of more of a Red Ale girl. Give me one of those rich, sligtly caramel-flavoured, amber-hued beauties any day!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">For baking, though, no beer ever gave me better results than <i>Guinness</i> - and not for lack of trying, believe me! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">(Hint, hint: a little something might be boiling for the <i>Discworld Personalities</i> series. Stay tuned...)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A Google search for "<i>Guinness</i> chocolate cupcakes" produced a ton of results, most of them St. Patrick's Day-related. Which is shame becaaaause, well, this is an awesome combo and deserves to be enjoyed all year long!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">And among them all I easily picked </span><a href="http://www.lemonsforlulu.com/2013/03/03/guinness-black-bottom-mint-cupcakes/" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;" target="_blank"><i>Guinnes</i> Black Bottom Mint Cupcakes</a><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">,</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> by </span><a href="http://www.lemonsforlulu.com/about/" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;" target="_blank">Tanya</a><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> of </span><a href="http://www.lemonsforlulu.com/" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;" target="_blank">Lemons for Lulu</a><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">...What? They have <i>mint.</i> Your argument is invalid. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Now this is the point where I'd usually do a quick introduction of my fellow foodie, but hers is a blog I was totally unfamiliar with. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Now that I've tried these cupcakes though, I'm definitely going to add it to my feeds - they're beyond awesome! </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Go grab the recipe NOW!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBNa8rZ1RuCBJeiYl3mpgDrWzkUMSN9QM6zAoh9ako1FM59sbo6T7CWubjLFA6zxORIE65dAt9b-FrrrDIrHVPmE2k0IMXkulPDuDs8as7YTWm4mK9OwRZklDwyFgH1Vu78-2nX1MlL6dk/s1600/GuinnessMint.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBNa8rZ1RuCBJeiYl3mpgDrWzkUMSN9QM6zAoh9ako1FM59sbo6T7CWubjLFA6zxORIE65dAt9b-FrrrDIrHVPmE2k0IMXkulPDuDs8as7YTWm4mK9OwRZklDwyFgH1Vu78-2nX1MlL6dk/s1600/GuinnessMint.jpg" height="320" width="242" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">These cupcakes turned out rich but not overly heavy, and with the perfect degree of moisture as far as I'm concerned (yes, there <i>is</i> such thing as "too moist" - I don't like cakes that are all sticky inside!)</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDDk_iXnoAnT7DnR5i87QrV-69vZzPrnBdmK7rbnuHK257Ktf2fCCd-_PRh61S_yGVCHTIiGQAxQeKcrN1dQY8Eg1TLeck0g50KBpNZyXsWzk0qdssaClH1a_IG124V1Ttgh3q9NSWzQiT/s1600/GM2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDDk_iXnoAnT7DnR5i87QrV-69vZzPrnBdmK7rbnuHK257Ktf2fCCd-_PRh61S_yGVCHTIiGQAxQeKcrN1dQY8Eg1TLeck0g50KBpNZyXsWzk0qdssaClH1a_IG124V1Ttgh3q9NSWzQiT/s1600/GM2.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Another thing I love about these babies, is thay they need no frosting, which makes them super easy to handle and carry around... <i>although</i> if you were to soak them with peppermint ale and spoon a nice big dollop of After Eight ice cream on one of them, no one would complain for sure! </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">They are delicious warm, room temperature and chilled, and freeze quite well. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">You know what they say about happiness not being for sale? Well, <i>Guinness</i> is! </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">And with <i>Guinness</i>, you can treat yourself to a batch of these cupcakes. Which is the same thing, or pretty darn close!</span></span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2Milano, Italy45.4654542 9.186515999999983345.287268200000007 8.8637924999999829 45.6436402 9.5092394999999836tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5470682390237546996.post-5622489141656310112013-07-15T17:27:00.000+02:002013-07-15T20:27:49.594+02:00Banana Bread FOREVAH!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Picture this: you are wandering the aisles of your favourite ethnic grocery, scanning row after row of enticing, mysterious products. You are tempted to buy them all... <i>but,</i> your inner censor reminds you, <i>you don't even know what they </i>are<i>! How do you learn how to eat them? </i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">At which point, of course - because you're a natural rebel and won't take this kind of sh*t by some pesky Jiminy Cricket - you grab a random jar and plop it in you basket. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">And your choice falls on <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dioscorea_alata" target="_blank"><i>ube</i> (purple yam)</a> - because of its lovely colour, possibly. Or because Fate guided your hand. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Now when you're dealing with an exotic ingredient, you have two options: you can either scan those glossy <i>haute cuisine</i> magazines to see how some famous chef used it to add to his latest creation's mystique, or search for blogs by faraway foodies who regard it as everyday fare. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Can you guess which way I go? </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Thus it happened that I stumbled into <a href="http://bakehappy.blogspot.it/2012/09/ube-macapuno-cake.html" target="_blank">this recipe</a>, that I promptly proceeded to <i>not bake at all</i> - seriously, I ended up eating my <i>ube</i> with a spoon and filing the cake for future reference, so this post has nothing to do with it <i>at all</i>. Just bear with me for a while, ok?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Look, the point of this whole story is: I discovered this wonderful blog called <a href="http://bakehappy.blogspot.it/" target="_blank"><i>Bake Happy</i></a>, by a sweet Filipino girl with a difficult name: <a href="http://bakehappy.blogspot.it/p/about.html" target="_blank">Aikko</a>. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Of all the fellow bloggers I touched briefly upon, she's the one I feel closer to. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">She has a dull-sounding job and bakes as a hobby, and you can tell she loves every moment of it. To me, living on the other side of the world, her ingredient lists feel exotic - yet her desserts come through as homely and comforting, with none of the pretentiousness of some experimental p<i>âtissiers</i>.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Much like me, she updates her blog erratically, with a fun mix of personal stories, super-cute decorating tutorials and recipes. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">She truly is a <i>happy</i> baker, and I wholeheartedly believe that - while recognition is good, and money <i>definitely</i> would be great - <i>this</i> is what creating desserts is all about. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Among her recipes there is one I have baked more times than any other <i>in my whole life</i>, and no kidding. One that I find myself craving every few days, so much so that I keep making it even now, in the middle of July, when the mere thought of turning on the oven makes me cringe. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">It's <a href="http://bakehappy.blogspot.it/2012/01/banana-bread-like-how-ma-used-to-make.html" target="_blank">her mother's banana bread</a>. Trust me, you're going to LOVE it!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy0ALhwiluyu0do7aoI54bY1yqBbKkloD5KewssUAG5NEYvxmeYYuYlaHBOkTayzZDnxr7NLe5TCBmlr2WD1xTY8zrO1-PkfZvQCNfgMah2IgTCbc9sUX6a_4xIPuZMEN4wsHeh_nOUgNN/s1600/Banana+Bread+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="201" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy0ALhwiluyu0do7aoI54bY1yqBbKkloD5KewssUAG5NEYvxmeYYuYlaHBOkTayzZDnxr7NLe5TCBmlr2WD1xTY8zrO1-PkfZvQCNfgMah2IgTCbc9sUX6a_4xIPuZMEN4wsHeh_nOUgNN/s1600/Banana+Bread+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I won't overwhelm you with tons of WIP shots for once, as Aikko's put up a great tutorial already and, let's face it, her pics are far better tham mine could ever hope to be (I'm digging the hot pink background, gurl. I honestly am.)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Only one thing I will add, just because I believe it's worth repeating <i>ad nauseam</i>: for this recipe you need your bananas to be ripe. And by "ripe" I seriously mean, <i>this</i> ripe: </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC9PkJBtEGa4hw7xqY8yymZm0VE4B08ksoxkCVlDPZrp51B4ApWIhOmWAogIcT4pVppWstZKNfYWjD4v6VhyphenhyphenmZdRASmeoxhcU219FXf9aaP_jMHmAk6guX_6tSDzKpAQSUsta3DaZ-32YO/s1600/THIS+ripe!.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="253" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC9PkJBtEGa4hw7xqY8yymZm0VE4B08ksoxkCVlDPZrp51B4ApWIhOmWAogIcT4pVppWstZKNfYWjD4v6VhyphenhyphenmZdRASmeoxhcU219FXf9aaP_jMHmAk6guX_6tSDzKpAQSUsta3DaZ-32YO/s1600/THIS+ripe!.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I won't say I'm at a point where I buy bananas to deliberately let them go all brown and squishy, because that would make my life a very sad business, I guess. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">But, hey... friends don't judge, right?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Now here's a (stunningly bad) close-up of the baked bread. Can you make out the little brown flecks in there? They're proof that there are no artificial flavourings inside this baby. Just real, honest-to-God bananas! </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz9LQ5dCt9kvaBOxPFoc6QahxmNCaquIX_1EftgcrtUBtBmHF719OfoPbzrf3pYl9dgCW_7AkyQsZaNGi-1i4Ogh5aQwNeHn7KU94zkBrIrxp6fjlGBuMYDDGl-NcEENHW2zn0tMCgporU/s1600/Banana+Bread+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="279" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz9LQ5dCt9kvaBOxPFoc6QahxmNCaquIX_1EftgcrtUBtBmHF719OfoPbzrf3pYl9dgCW_7AkyQsZaNGi-1i4Ogh5aQwNeHn7KU94zkBrIrxp6fjlGBuMYDDGl-NcEENHW2zn0tMCgporU/s1600/Banana+Bread+1.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">This bread is yummy as it comes out of the oven, but will turn more and more awesome the longer it sits on your counter. If properly covered, it keeps at room temperature for a surprisingly long time - I store mine under a glass dome and it lasts me for over a week!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">(Of course if you really want to, you can freeze it as well. I like to bake it in a Bundt pan, as opposed to a more traditional loaf shape, so it's easier to portion and freeze in single servings...) </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW0bVTfIIEa2iQz49zRa63GH7cvhpxvAgOIPOOAOn5oKxrloY6S-NEMGPKyz1cgmSMuo6g_1O7GK1XPiR044OdmcEELF1lwbFEkygS6LSmTjqsQl0kKs5C2TBxxL53S3eBNKwulBfAO8qH/s1600/Banana+Bread.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="219" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW0bVTfIIEa2iQz49zRa63GH7cvhpxvAgOIPOOAOn5oKxrloY6S-NEMGPKyz1cgmSMuo6g_1O7GK1XPiR044OdmcEELF1lwbFEkygS6LSmTjqsQl0kKs5C2TBxxL53S3eBNKwulBfAO8qH/s1600/Banana+Bread.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Now this banana bread is as simple as it can possibly get, which is the very reason why I love it so much. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I mean, I know people out there bake all sort of things into their banana bread - pineapple chunks and spices and nuts and chocolate chips - or drenching it with booze... and I've tried many such recipes and enjoyed them all... but <i>this</i> is the one I keep making over and over again. It's a breakfast staple as far as I'm concerned!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Still, if know me <i>at all</i>, you'll have noticed by now that I can't leave a good thing darn well alone. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">So here my evil brain goes, <i>"What if I bake it exactly the same, only swapping the 'nanas for some other fruit?"</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">...like MANGOES, for example! Since they are, like, my favourite fruit <i>in the world</i>? </span><i><br /></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRn5KYHbdWZRV5zI0mnXVgSjx7yeBHX2PlxODNAXZ06iM5owOj4VYcGgaINcO60dZaDCmLmwekLRvxetwXEQkIAgX0wuwVbXA-LmbC6OdzTnNdM02PjiCKWS7j9uYJgQMXDNFkBUm817SV/s1600/mango!.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRn5KYHbdWZRV5zI0mnXVgSjx7yeBHX2PlxODNAXZ06iM5owOj4VYcGgaINcO60dZaDCmLmwekLRvxetwXEQkIAgX0wuwVbXA-LmbC6OdzTnNdM02PjiCKWS7j9uYJgQMXDNFkBUm817SV/s1600/mango!.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Enquiring minds want to know, and all that. So I made it happen.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>FOR SCIENCE!</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The mango bread didn't rise nearly as much as its banana counterpart, and ended up much more dense (although still moist and delicious.) </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I couldn't taste the mango in it, which was kind of disappointing - then again, I'm 100% anosmic, so maybe someone with an average sense of smell would have been able to detect the fruit. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Smothered with mango sauce and teamed up with fruit salad and a dollop of (guess, guess?) mango jam, it still made for a filling, refreshing summer lunch!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">It's surely something worth experimenting with, using different fruit - apple butter for sure, and maybe pureed prunes? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">But for my breakfast needs, I think I'll stick to Aikko's (and her mother's) recipe - it's just <i>that </i>good!</span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0Milano, Italy45.4654542 9.186515999999983345.287268200000007 8.8637924999999829 45.6436402 9.5092394999999836tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5470682390237546996.post-14610047357941507242013-07-05T20:52:00.000+02:002013-07-24T21:07:12.263+02:00Superhero Cupcakes - at last!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Remember <a href="http://efreetintheoven.blogspot.it/2013/02/shit-happens.html" target="_blank">back in February</a>, when I told you I was making superhero-themed cupcakes for the opening session of my friends' new RPG campaign, set in the <i>Marvel</i> universe?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Well, as you know, that batch... didn't turn out as expected. So I took a page from any good supervillain's book and bided my time. Planning ahead. Waiting for the next special session...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">...which could logically, at that point, only be the <i>closing</i> one. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>(Insert cheesy flash-forward effect here,</i> s'il-vous </span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">plaît<i>...)</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And here are, at last, my superz cupcakes!</span></span></div>
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<img height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_QZS1JAt_-wKU9h_V5_cdrXDdwtxbaxz8yvzbvhAHEJ2bikBS95nf0j0MvyVxeLySlTYX2oU0DwmDRauWdPz8Vn_SPCadODN9uzSujJq4CA-f5aezYMLw6Niit8Yu4h-J-aaXYB0FPHbv/s1600/superhero+cupcakes.jpg" width="320" /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I knew Flavio wouldn't be able to attend the session, which is kinda sad, I presume (since, unlike me, he's a rabid superheroes fan). But to me, my uber-picky BFF's absence meant that I wouldn't be limited to chocolate cupcakes anymore! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Before going into <i>that</i>, though, I have to tell you about the decorating part - although I know my readers are smart and will have recognized the edible sugar sheets already!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXEIST9oXL_8WEl_yxvWjRPPVl79Z8Hk6qVmjrFbyFsQaoer05MdTzp3c6AYSAjnum50pZ3o26KvB7wRGsIrpaNTz5RtpIZ2zmDHxkveyTuTdOeDnKbtwegkRDp8RXHEj-J_q4toLTyHfk/s1600/Wilton+sugar+sheets.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXEIST9oXL_8WEl_yxvWjRPPVl79Z8Hk6qVmjrFbyFsQaoer05MdTzp3c6AYSAjnum50pZ3o26KvB7wRGsIrpaNTz5RtpIZ2zmDHxkveyTuTdOeDnKbtwegkRDp8RXHEj-J_q4toLTyHfk/s320/Wilton+sugar+sheets.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I used <i>Wilton</i>'s, and boooooy... is that stuff brittle!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>And</i> pricey. Did I mention pricey?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Now seriously, this is all there is to it. I cut some spikey balloons - there must be a proper definition for these LOL - in outrageously garish primaries, then sketched your typical superhero comics sound effects with a food marker, and cut these out as well. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I used tiny sewing scissors and lots of patience, and <i>still</i> had managed to break many of the onomatopoeias... </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">(See? I <i>can </i>use the correct technical terms when I want to!)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Although you can't see them from the photo above (which is the only one I had the time to take before the cuppies were carried away - so much for me <i>planning ahead</i>, all evil mastermind-like...), the wrappers were as relevant to the superhero theme as the cupcakes themselves. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I bought them from one of my favourite </span><a href="http://www.etsy.com/" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;" target="_blank">Etsy</a><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> shops, </span><a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/cakeadoodledoo" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;" target="_blank">cakeadoodledoo</a><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> - I got the boy design only, at 15 € (plus shipping) for a set of 12. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I truly recommend you Tricia's shop, really - her wrappers and favour boxes are funny, creative and extremely functional. You might, of course, balk at the cost, but for that very special occasion once in a while, they're well worth splurging! Plus, <i>Wilton</i>'s laser-cut wrapper packs don't come for much cheaper either... and Tricia's are handcrafted!</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj6U564-pqfaeLR8OehC9AJ7xHoonOc6uDdDni7xyvpeHVMHYpSR3UDzlsIcFSULkIiD4Eg84InV1mUbGJleDPBIfpV1UxNq9UyQFAJL-J7kD74ehFLL2NT_t-b46FrI__mMMA_shaa-Gh/s1600/wrappers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj6U564-pqfaeLR8OehC9AJ7xHoonOc6uDdDni7xyvpeHVMHYpSR3UDzlsIcFSULkIiD4Eg84InV1mUbGJleDPBIfpV1UxNq9UyQFAJL-J7kD74ehFLL2NT_t-b46FrI__mMMA_shaa-Gh/s320/wrappers.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;">Image belongs to Tricia @</span> <a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/cakeadoodledoo"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;">https://www.etsy.com/shop/cakeadoodledoo</span></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>(The following pics were stolen by my sweetie with his trusty smartphone during the gaming session itself, btw...)</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0mrhGcEgcuzKqATCDvOXcLSPSssS7UOYv9VGrIrkzEmou-O2iYLkKb0h4fOcbKzINIwSzDadCjxG48QCWGrTG86-aUnHdFzSMjBoGh6y1z6eVJQ7Fw38NAmny-nBRB0ygduqOPyeWqFrO/s1600/superz+cupcakes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="244" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0mrhGcEgcuzKqATCDvOXcLSPSssS7UOYv9VGrIrkzEmou-O2iYLkKb0h4fOcbKzINIwSzDadCjxG48QCWGrTG86-aUnHdFzSMjBoGh6y1z6eVJQ7Fw38NAmny-nBRB0ygduqOPyeWqFrO/s1600/superz+cupcakes.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As you can see, the edible paper sort of softened into the frosting. This is actually <i>supposed</i> to happen btw!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The food marker bleeding, on the other hand, was unexpected and a bit of a bummer... but I guess it's my fault for using a very soft, cream cheese-based frosting. I bet it wouldn't have happened, had I used proper buttercream or ganache instead... oh well! </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTrwFgLWDPVztabfhnCvHr0KTepwqBSreCko2v-3tsHVuM5mYnZIff7Eh8DkMnSVkfFaf4orE8mwvv6S5dxThOJaCLnA5hlzewKppa2NZwbVx3ejCzIHYWV8jPXqj63JX02i2RdyhVN3qa/s1600/gamers+in+session.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="317" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTrwFgLWDPVztabfhnCvHr0KTepwqBSreCko2v-3tsHVuM5mYnZIff7Eh8DkMnSVkfFaf4orE8mwvv6S5dxThOJaCLnA5hlzewKppa2NZwbVx3ejCzIHYWV8jPXqj63JX02i2RdyhVN3qa/s1600/gamers+in+session.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Now about the cupcakes themselves! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">They were lemon-flavoured, as I still have plenty of the gorgeous lemons I brought back from my blitz holiday on the Amalfi coast. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The original recipe's called <i>Lemon Blossom Cupcakes</i> and it's from a cookbook called </span><span id="btAsinTitle"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Cupcake-Diaries-Recipes-Memories-Georgetown/dp/0062090607/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1374668830&sr=1-1" target="_blank">The Cupcake Diaries</a></i><span style="text-transform: capitalize;">, </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">by Katherine Kallinis and Sophie Kallinis LaMontagne - but you can get it from <a href="http://www.foodlibrarian.com/2013/07/lemon-blossom-cupcakes-from-georgetown.html" target="_blank">here</a> as well, courtesy of Bundt-loving blogger <i>extraordinaire</i>, <a href="http://www.foodlibrarian.com/" target="_blank">The Food Librarian</a>!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">(She's absolutely right about the grated zest quantity btw... My lemons were <i>huge</i> but </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">1/2 cup just doesn't make sense. I used 2 of them and called it a day - and I think more than that would have been overkill actually!)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The cupcakes turned out delicious and very lemon-y, if a bit too dense and buttery for my taste. I'll take crumbly over moist any day, but that's just me - I have uncontrovertible evidence that the gamers loved them as they were!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8EpxJTXVspRjIvwpiKjbfxK7NskimKXKQUglkLpaat0S9UVUPUN56t8WzLWjf1YpDpAJIk-TAA4ujCph39kbqlo5yf_H-KAI99zpjU9mOb02PSBGT5LeTTh4qej2mljOWJjbj_xxIVddi/s1600/om+nom+nom+cupcake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="...See?" border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8EpxJTXVspRjIvwpiKjbfxK7NskimKXKQUglkLpaat0S9UVUPUN56t8WzLWjf1YpDpAJIk-TAA4ujCph39kbqlo5yf_H-KAI99zpjU9mOb02PSBGT5LeTTh4qej2mljOWJjbj_xxIVddi/s1600/om+nom+nom+cupcake.jpg" title="" width="320" /></a></div>
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