Here's a selection of photos from things done in the days betwixt holidays this last month. Some crafty stuff, some baking stuff, some decorations... A decently festive month, indeed.
Showing posts with label holiday. Show all posts
Showing posts with label holiday. Show all posts
Saturday, December 24, 2011
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Father's Day Carrot Cake
It has come to my attention recently that for the most part people don't need more stuff, and so instead I bake them gifts for most of the assorted Hallmark holidays. It's actually more effort on my part, at least physically, and it's something we can share, instead of another [tie/bouquet] thoughtful but nonetheless impersonal gift. Books don't count, obviously, one can never have too many books.
That being said, I made carrot cake for my dad for this Father's Day, which also meant the most cautious drive from NoVA into MD possible, so as not to lose the cake in a sudden stop or turn. I think I watched the cake more than the road. hm. Any minute now he'll cut a slice, and then I can post this! Unfortunately I don't have the recipe with me to include (and I don't mind keeping it a bit of a secret), but you can easily find it in the Williams Sonoma Essentials of Baking book I'm sure I've touted before.
I'm not sure whether it's harder to zest a squeezed citrus, or to squeeze a zested one. Either way, once it lacks some cohesion it's difficult to handle. Sometimes I forget things like: Orange juice comes from oranges, therefore "juice of one orange" could theoretically come from a carton, not the fresh fruit I just squeezed to death.
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This is possibly my favourite frosting: cream cheese, white chocolate and orange juice (and butter). It's pretty sweet, thanks to the white chocolate, but has that cream cheese tang and then the orange flavor. I'm also a sucker for cream cheese pie crust, which gets used most frequently for the awesome cranberry apple pie I make in the Autumn and Winter.
Anywho, Happy Father's Day to all, but especially to mine.
That being said, I made carrot cake for my dad for this Father's Day, which also meant the most cautious drive from NoVA into MD possible, so as not to lose the cake in a sudden stop or turn. I think I watched the cake more than the road. hm. Any minute now he'll cut a slice, and then I can post this! Unfortunately I don't have the recipe with me to include (and I don't mind keeping it a bit of a secret), but you can easily find it in the Williams Sonoma Essentials of Baking book I'm sure I've touted before.
I'm not sure whether it's harder to zest a squeezed citrus, or to squeeze a zested one. Either way, once it lacks some cohesion it's difficult to handle. Sometimes I forget things like: Orange juice comes from oranges, therefore "juice of one orange" could theoretically come from a carton, not the fresh fruit I just squeezed to death.
This is possibly my favourite frosting: cream cheese, white chocolate and orange juice (and butter). It's pretty sweet, thanks to the white chocolate, but has that cream cheese tang and then the orange flavor. I'm also a sucker for cream cheese pie crust, which gets used most frequently for the awesome cranberry apple pie I make in the Autumn and Winter.
Anywho, Happy Father's Day to all, but especially to mine.
Friday, December 24, 2010
Obligatory, but festive!
As it turns out, borrowing someone's computer can be very frustrating when it's significantly different from your own. Apologies for poor formatting etc in this post, but wanted to get it up in time to say Merry Christmas!... in a somewhat timely fashion.
Eenywho, just some photos of the cookie-making marathon last weekend. I'm fairly pleased with the results: iced sugar cookes, braunekuchen (molasses/spice cookies), truffles, banana-chocolate-chip-mini-muffins (of hyphenage +1) and raspberry oatmeal ribbon bars.
Monday, July 5, 2010
Happy 5th of July
For years when I lived near Annapolis I thought I wanted to be on the National Mall to see the Fourth of July Fireworks. Surely, they would be greater than the average display, something on par with the Weasley brothers' display in Order of the Phoenix. And the crowds would be remarkable and dynamic, the experience thrilling!
Well, we didn't go down to the Mall tonight, because it would be a long walk on a very hot day. Instead, we watched from the end of Arlington Ridge Road, where there's a small park that overlooks 395. From there we had a full view of all the monuments along the Mall, the Pentagon and the airplanes landing at National Airport, and of course, the fireworks exploding over all of it.
As it got on towards nine pm, cars began to park along the highway below us, first a single row on the shoulder, then double parked in the far right lane, then triple parked across most of the road. The hillside around us filled up and police helicopters circled, just in case. As dusk fell we could see small explosions of sparkling lights on the far horizon, likely fireworks displays in nearby suburbs of DC. The Mall fireworks themselves were not any different or more beautiful than those I had seen in the past. I suspect that physically being on the Mall makes all the difference.
In the photo (from my phone, hence low-quality) you can see the Washington Monument to the right of the fireworks.
On the way home and late into the evening local North Virginians set off screaming rockets and snapping crackers, accompanied by the crackle of the nearby Arlington display finishing up for the evening. The scent of exploded firecrackers wafted across town and down the street before blowing away down river.
If I had a camera with me then I would show you... Sometime towards the middle of all the explosions and lights, a plane flew between our vantage point and the Mall, silhouetted against the flying sparks, briefly, before fading back into the dark night sky.
Well, we didn't go down to the Mall tonight, because it would be a long walk on a very hot day. Instead, we watched from the end of Arlington Ridge Road, where there's a small park that overlooks 395. From there we had a full view of all the monuments along the Mall, the Pentagon and the airplanes landing at National Airport, and of course, the fireworks exploding over all of it.
As it got on towards nine pm, cars began to park along the highway below us, first a single row on the shoulder, then double parked in the far right lane, then triple parked across most of the road. The hillside around us filled up and police helicopters circled, just in case. As dusk fell we could see small explosions of sparkling lights on the far horizon, likely fireworks displays in nearby suburbs of DC. The Mall fireworks themselves were not any different or more beautiful than those I had seen in the past. I suspect that physically being on the Mall makes all the difference.
In the photo (from my phone, hence low-quality) you can see the Washington Monument to the right of the fireworks.
On the way home and late into the evening local North Virginians set off screaming rockets and snapping crackers, accompanied by the crackle of the nearby Arlington display finishing up for the evening. The scent of exploded firecrackers wafted across town and down the street before blowing away down river.
If I had a camera with me then I would show you... Sometime towards the middle of all the explosions and lights, a plane flew between our vantage point and the Mall, silhouetted against the flying sparks, briefly, before fading back into the dark night sky.
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