I can sing a rainbow…

Well maybe not, but continuing in the tradition of glorifying other peoples’ cupcake experiments – check out out these lurid rainbow cupcakes.  Rainbow Brite would be proud.

My favourite 12th century epic (you know you all have one…)

I think if there is any medium for expressing my like for, and interest in, historical epics the web is probably the place.  They’re a little obscure, you may have had to do a degree like mine to have even heard of similar things (either that or you belong to a medieval recreation group), and the web is where obscure interests flourish.  And I’m not talking about the damsel in distress/heaving bosoms/unkempt (yet tameable) wildman type historical epics.  I mean epics that were written during historical periods.

I have a particular fondness for The Song of Roland.  It is a form of epic known as a Chanson de Geste, or Song of Deeds.  These stories told tales of heroes and the very manly and heroic deeds that made them great.  Which curiously enough in earlier years included a few male bonding sessions where they all get together and have a good cry over the unfairness of it all.  This particular Song of Deeds describes a vast battle in northern Spain in the valley of Roncevalles (Roncevaux in French).  Roland and his men valiantly fight for Charlemagne against the Saracen/Muslim/generally un-Christian rulers of Spain.  Although the battle is worthy (or so the verse written at the time indicates), Roland’s rearguard is overwhelmed by the sheer force of the enemy. 

This story has drama, brotherhood, pain, sacrifice, honour, treachery and bloody battle.  I was sold on the descriptions of people being run through with lances or swords and having their spines pushed out the back of their bodies (who says TV is the most violent entertainment medium).  If you can get into the rhythm of the verse and put aside modern ideas of cultural tolerance (and the fact it’s possibly not quite truthful) it’s a good read.

Link mix tape vol 2

 

Lonely Planet are cutting jobs due the global financial crisis and dropping guidebook sales.  It leaves me wondering, are people not buying guidebooks or holidaying because of finances or are they finding more up to date and relevant information online?

Get fit battling the Dark Side a la Obi Wan.

Will anyone watch The Watchmen?  I’m certainly planning on it.

Only in Japan (I hope).

Mmmm cupcakes…

Continuing in my quest to test out my new and improved oven functions I cooked up some cupcakes the other night.  I had to search a while on the internet to find a cake recipe I was happy with.  Most of them had extraordinary amounts of egg or sugar in them.  The one I ended up using had moderate amounts of each and produced lovely sweet cakey cupcakes.

I used a basic butter cake recipe from Best Recipes.  Ingredients and directions as below.

• 185 grams butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tspn vanilla essence
• 3 eggs
• 2 cups SR flour
• 1/4 cup milk

Preheat oven to 180 degrees.  Cream butter, sugar and vanilla.  Add eggs to butter mixture one at a time, mixing well between additions.  Add flour and milk, mix well.  Divide evenly between patty cases or muffin pans.  Cook for 15 – 20 minutes until cooked through and golden brown.

I found this made between 12 and 14 cupcakes.  In addition to the plain cake mixture I added a dollop of the Strawberry and Rhubarb jam (that I bought at the Tamborine markets) to the centre of each cupcake before baking.  I didn’t ice them at all because the jam made them sweet enough, but they turned out beautifully.  Although there weren’t a dozen left by the next morning, the remaining few were snapped up quickly at work.

Local colour

Some of the best parts of staying one place for an extended period is the chance to watch places change, or to suddenly notice something you’d overlooked before.  Such is the case for this large statue that as far as I can tell was originally erected to overlook an art and craft market.  Some artistic locals thought he might look better with a V for Vendetta makeover.

Don't you just love his lip colour? It's very Ronald

Comfort food

The other night I made a Bread and Butter pudding.  It was delicious and squishy on the inside and sugary and crunchy on top.  I made up the recipe as I went (I figured I could only stuff it up so  much).  I buttered 5 or 6 pieces of bread and placed them in a baking dish.  In a bowl I whisked together 3 eggs (2would have been plenty), a cup or 2 of milk, 2 tablespoons of caster sugar and a dash of nutmeg (cos it’s yummy).  I tipped this mixture into the baking dish, making sure all the bread was covered.  I then sprinkled brown sugar and a little bit more nutmeg on top.  Then it all went into a preheated oven at 180 degrees for half an hour.  This is the result.

Best baking idea ever?

I have only three words – Froot Loop Cupcakes.  Best baking ever? Or devil’s cupcakes?  You decide.

Favoured book vol 1

Many moons ago when I was still in the midst of my first degree I liked to wander through the campus bookstores.  The second hand book mart threw a few good finds my way but the best place to go (when I could afford new books) was Wordsmiths.  It’s a bookstore/cafe on my old campus that housed an enticing selection of books, whether they be sci fi, fantasy, art, history, or Penguin Classics.  During a sale of their old, leftover stock (mish mash piles of books ranging from the sublime to decidedly boring at super reduced prices) I came across what was for me, THE find of finds. 

Doesn't this cover make you want to read his books?

Faces of Fantasy is a photo essay of some of the best known and loved modern fantasy authors.  It includes a full page portrait photograph and a short essay from each of the writers detailing what fantasy means to them.  These snippets of ideas behind the writers are fascinating. Over the years I’ve found myself reading and rereading favourites umpteen times.  Sadly I can’t reproduce them here for fear of copyright laws worldwide but Neil Gaiman’s contribution (his picture also graces the front cover) illustrates the fantastical gap between The Writer and The Man in curious and compelling terms.  George R.R. Martin’s contribution is also a favourite, vividly outlining why he thinks people still seek the ‘other’ in fantasy stories.

This book of beautiful photos and essays cost me slightly more than a cup of coffee would these days and I must say, it was money well spent.

Link mix tape vol 1

Essential food blogs (according to the Times Online).

Economic pressures hit UK Libraries.

It’s a week old but check out the AV Club’s latest review of comics and graphic novels.

The perennial online privacy debate – this time it’s Facebook’s turn.

Mid-week baking post

Since the thermostat on my oven was fixed I’ve had a hankering to start cooking more interesting things again.  Previously the oven only had two temperatures – inferno hot or off.  This led to some unsatisfactory baking results such as charcoaled cake and biscuit surfaces and still gooey interiors despite long cooking times.  Biscuits could be burnt in 5 minutes.  I’m now coming to terms with the fact I have to return to preheating the oven and abiding by recommended cooking times (it’s all so novel! – and certainly takes longer). 

Needing something to do with the apples I bought at the Tamborine Markets, I decided that an apple cake might be the way to go.  Cake batters are generally pretty easy (at least the ones I choose to cook are) and it would save me from having to attempt pastry again so soon.  I thought this apple cake recipe looked delicious, so I gave it a go.  I may have to find some more food blogs to get recipes from, even though Smitten Kitchen clearly is awesome and has lovely photos.  Branching out and trying new things is good.  So, here is my pic of the cake I created (don’t let the photo put you off, it really was tasty).

I didn’t make it in a tube cake pan like on the site but just cooked it in one of my springform cake tins.  Because my newly fixed oven now cooks slow (instead of so fast everything is burned the moment you turn your back) I had to cook it for approximately 1 hour and 50 mins instead of the recommended 1 hour 30 mins.  I tested the cake at this point but it was still clearly not cooked all the way through.  The extra 2o mins was perfect and the cake turned out delicious.  I took it to work and it was gone in matter of hours (which is why I don’t have a picture of what the cut cake looks like ).