On December 23, the Night of the Radishes is celebrated in Oaxaca. These impressive root vegetables are left in the ground past their normal harvesting time allowing them to assume fantastic sizes and shapes. Thought to have originated in 1897 as a strategy by market stand owners to lure worshipers to shop on their way home from church, Oaxacans since that time have been carving radishes into sculptures that are sometimes realistic and sometimes fanciful.
Often the sculptures depict a nativity scene.
But not always.
The festival does not end on December 23, but continues through the Christmas holidays in a curious blending of a harvest festival and religious observance.
This time, the Bakery Blogumentary features Honey Fluff Donuts in Ukiah, California. In August, we took a road trip from Portland, Oregon to San Diego, California. While driving on Rt 101 near Ukiah, California, we spotted this sign from the road and said, “donuts!” in unison.
It was lunchtime. We had to stop. And there were donuts.
And more donuts.
And, I never would have guessed it, but they also had noodle bowls.
“The Monastery of Saint Nicholas of the Cats is regarded as a sacred cat haven in Cyprus, as it’s name has been linked to felines for almost 2,000 years.
The original monastery was built in 327 AD, by Kalokeros, the first Byzantine governor of Cyprus, and patronised by Saint Helena, the mother of Constantine the Great. At that time, a terrible drought affected the whole of Cypus, and the entire island was overrun with poisonous snakes which made building the monastery a dangerous affair. Many of the inhabitants left their homes and moved off the island, for fear of the snakes, but Saint Helena came up with a solution to the plague – she ordered 1,000 cats to be shipped in from Egypt and Palestine to fight the reptiles.”
The monastery endures and today is run by six nuns and about seventy cats.
Today marks the anniversary of the repeal of Prohibition (January 1920 through December, 1933). This was accomplished by ratification of the 21st amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America.
It is difficult for me to believe that an amendment such as the 18th was ever proposed, let alone ratified, in the first place. It must have been a very different time, or I am just exhibiting my proclivity for leaving the Constitution alone.
Nevertheless, today is National Sacher Torte Day. So raise a glass (or not) and enjoy this Austrian delicacy, which was developed in 1823 by Austrian pastry chef, Franz Sacher.
This is a photo of the traditional coconut cream pie that we all enjoyed on Thanksgiving Day.
Dinner was at the Colonial Inn near Ligonier, Pennsylvania.
I have found (so far) that restaurants in Pennsylvania can be counted on to have coconut cream pie on the menu. Alas, this is not so closer to home. But I will keep looking.
This week we celebrate Thanksgiving. Thoughts turn to the pilgrims who traveled across the ocean seeking religious freedom in a new land, and learning how to plant fish along with their crops.
This time the bakery blog went further afield. The featured bakery is Bread & Cie, located in the Hillcrest area of San Diego. When we were on the left coast a few months ago, we stopped at Bread and Cie for breakfast and were delighted with the fare.
You see here a very Parisian baguette avec jambon et fromage and almond croissants with coffee – yum.
Look closely below and you can see the selfie I took in the cafe. We are sitting by the back wall and I took the photo into a large mirror.
More shots to give you a feel of the place. I think Bread & Cie is worth checking out if you are in the area.
A team of six students from De Montfort University in Leicester have turned a historic map into a realistic and detailed 3D animation of Tudor London.
The video shows the area around Pudding Lane in the City of London before the Great Fire of 1666. Some of the buildings are hypothetical, but all streets are based on original maps of the area.
The animation has won the top prize in a competition to produce a 3D animation of a real historic setting, run by The British Library and video game developersGameCity and Crytek.
“The haze effect lying over the city is brilliant,” says Tom Harper, panel judge and curator at the British Library. “Great attention has been given to key features of London, complete with glittering window casements and other atmospheric cues.”
This new book from Peter Reid and Tim Goddard. I saw it on Live Science. If you want to take a look at the constructions – inspired by reality and fantasy – without all of the ads, click on the Amazon Look Inside site. I think the Martian rover really is made out of Lego.
There is a plethora of cats on Sappy Cat Blogging this Friday . . .
Found in Down East magazine, this tabby named Slim commutes from Badger’s Island, Maine to Portsmouth, NH over the Memorial Bridge. Click here for his story.
Thanks to my friend, Cindy for these racing cats.
And to HMS Defiant for this little cat clip from Moonrise Kingdom. Click on the image for the video. If you have not seen the film, look it up on Netflix.
Often the sculptures depict a nativity scene.
But not always.
Gunsmoke and Knitting 