This beautiful video is by John Eklund. I saw it first at Lights in the Dark’s Twitter site and wanted to share. I could get lost in this video.
Posts Tagged ‘travel’
Whose shorts am I grabbing?
July 28, 2012
Bermuda’s, of course – commemorating the settling of this island territory on this day in 1609 (more or less.)
Bermuda is located in the Atlantic Ocean; it’s capitol, Hamilton, is 32°18′N 64°47′W. It’s closest neighbor is Cape Hatteras, NC.
Bermuda remains a British territory and has an affluent economy based principally on tourism. Bermuda is best known for its shorts and its triangle.
What was I celebrating yesterday?
July 23, 2012Where did Superman get his start?
Where did Rock ‘n Roll get its name?
Where did Chef Boyardee begin cooking?
All of these things occurred in Cleveland, Ohio, where Moses Cleaveland landed on July 22, 1796. Here is a recreation of Settlers’ Landing on the banks of the Cuyahoga.
For more history and information about famous Clevelanders, go here and here.
What am I celebrating?
July 21, 2012
National Creme Brulee Day – July 21. How terrific is that – a dessert with its own holiday. . . and one of my favorite desserts to boot! This is one of the dishes that I try whenever I find it on the menu. And I have rules – just give me straight creme brulee. It does not need mango, or key lime, or chocolate, or anything else.
One of the best creme brulee I have had was in a little bistro in Paris off the Place d’Etoile. (Enough showing off.)
The absolute best creme brulee is made by my friend, Betty, who has the little white ramekins and the long-handled iron that she heats up on the stove in order to brulee each creme individually. She does not make these often enough.
There are a lot of different stories about the origin of this dish. Here is one of them.
And here is a recipe from Alton Brown:
Ingredients
- 1 quart heavy cream
- 1 vanilla bean, split and scraped
- 1 cup vanilla sugar, divided
- 6 large egg yolks
- 2 quarts hot water
Directions
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
Place the cream, vanilla bean and its pulp into a medium saucepan set over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat, cover and allow to sit for 15 minutes. Remove the vanilla bean and reserve for another use.
In a medium bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup sugar and the egg yolks until well blended and it just starts to lighten in color. Add the cream a little at a time, stirring continually. Pour the liquid into 6 (7 to 8-ounce) ramekins. Place the ramekins into a large cake pan or roasting pan. Pour enough hot water into the pan to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Bake just until the creme brulee is set, but still trembling in the center, approximately 40 to 45 minutes. Remove the ramekins from the roasting pan and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 3 days.
Remove the creme brulee from the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes prior to browning the sugar on top. Divide the remaining 1/2 cup vanilla sugar equally among the 6 dishes and spread evenly on top. Using a torch, melt the sugar and form a crispy top. Allow the creme brulee to sit for at least 5 minutes before serving.
What am I craving?
July 20, 2012
I’m still thinking about my doughnut, bacon, maple post from last week.
I was recently on a road trip and stopped (twice) at a doughnut shop (Dunkin Donuts) and was dismayed at the poor quality of the product. These shops advertise that they offer quality goods, (mostly) twenty-four hours a day. Not this time. The donuts were stale.
A bit later, on another trip, I encountered a stellar doughnut shop, on my way to the airport in Roanoke, Virginia (Krispy Kreme). It was all one could expect – friendly, white-haired ladies in aprons at the counter, a bright, clean shop, a wide selection of fresh, fresh doughnuts, a wonderful aroma. Doughnut heaven.
I know this is a frivolous post and doughnuts are nutritional instruments of the devil, but oh they can be so good. We don’t have many doughnut shops where I live. Ich ben wanting ein berliner.
What Magic Kingdom opened today?
July 17, 2012
On July 17, 1955, Disneyland opened its doors in Anaheim, California. Still a popular site, Disneyland has had a larger cumulative number of visitors than any other theme park on earth. (ref: Theme park attendance report 2010 and Wiki).
I may be the only person on the planet who has never been to a Disney location.
Aerial view of Disneyland 1956.
What are my books saying about me?
June 27, 2012
Have not posted for a while because I have been traveling – pleasure and then business – with limited connectivity. I saw this story this morning in the Wall Street Journal, “A House to Look Smart In.” It talks about how some people – 30 to 55 year-olds with money – are hiring people to design their libraries in order to look smart and well-read. There are probably other reasons that are not so cynical. The article also talks about luxury publishers and rare book dealers, as well as collection developers. All of this in opposition to the rise in e-publishing and the heralded demise of ink and paper books.
I particularly liked this quote from the rare book dealer, Donald Heald, “If you want to own a great atlas of London from the 18th century, that when you hold it in your hands you’re transported, there is no app for that.”
I have an e-reader and a Kindle and I still buy books and go to the library and lend and borrow books from my friends. I don’t know what that says about me, except that, as you know, I own over 300 cookbooks. More about them later.
What is there about the Strip?
June 5, 2012Visiting the Strip District in Pittsburgh makes for a pleasant day trip from my abode. These photos are from a recent trip.
We started at Wholey’s. There we found fish, meat, produce, condiments and more. I loved the display of jam, jelly and honey in lovely glassware and I had to buy some. The good luck brass pig was in the doorway on the way out (too bad he is out of focus.)
Traveled on to Wholey’s Kitchen store . . .
Then to Fortune’s coffee roasters.
Across the street is Pennsylvania Macaroni (and cheese, and bakery) . . .
We enjoyed the street scenes . . .
Then wandered over to Station Square and caught a ride on the Monongahela Incline . . .
Here is a sign we saw on the way out . . .
What’s your sign?
April 18, 2012One of my favorites was a sign I saw outside a restaurant in southern Ohio announcing its policy:
Dirty Ernie’s
Eat here or we’ll come and beat you up!
Unfortunately, I cannot find my photo of it.
These are good, too.
Gunsmoke and Knitting 