At Palmen Garten in Frankfurt.
Monday, February 16, 2015
In purple
In a matter of 2 weeks from when I last visited the Palmen Garten, spring seems to have erupted from the ground already in the 1 degree temperature. I can't wait to be able to read books outside while picnicking.
Baby furniture
I always wondered how one can manage to decorate a room while accommodating baby stuff. I would like to think it's not as challenging as I thought, if you try to buy wooden stuff with bright colors that are not pastel (Japanese favorite). Happy to find red and orange to be a neutral color between the adult stuff and baby stuff and across differing cultures.
Sunday, February 8, 2015
Imari porcelains from Sweden
Of course these are originally from Japan, but I managed to buy these off of Bukowskis Market's auction from Sweden. It's assessed to be from 18-19th century and genuine Imari from Kyushu. I got it for an incredible deal, because the auction happened to end at an inconvenient time and there was no bidding war. Funny (and nice) how these old Japanese stuff can be more easily and cheaply (re)purchased in this part of the world!
The plates would go super well with these lacquer bowls as the most recent and appreciated gift from mom.
Sexy blueberry buns
I made blueberry buns improvising Jamie Oliver's sexy Swedish bun recipe. These are really, really, really good. Have one each night with a glass of cold milk and you will stay happy.!
Ingredients: A) For the dough - 20g of fresh yeast, 60g of butter, 500g of milk, 80g of sugar, 1 tea spoon of salt, 800g of flour, 10g of sour dough, 2 eggs, 12g of fresh cardamom. B) For the filling - 300g of frozen blueberries, 1 lemon worth of juice, and 2 lemons worth of lemon zest. C) For the oven pan - butter and brown sugar.
Steps: 1) Melt the butter over heat and mix with milk, to make a body temperature medium. 2) Break the yeast into pieces, and mix with 1), sugar, salt, 500g flour, sour dough, eggs, and crushed cardamom; then after dough becomes elastic, add the rest of the flour to make it into a dough texture and let it rest for 1 hour. 3) In a separate bowl, mix to make the filling (leave 1 lemon worth of zest). 4) Knead the dough flat and fill with majority of filling mix; fold it 3 times, then cut into 1.5-2cm strips to be rounded up into rolls. 5) On an oven pan, put some butter and brown sugar, then line up the buns and add the rest of the fillings on the rolls and sprinkle with the remaining lemon zest. 6) After letting it rise for 30-45 minutes, bake in a 180 degree oven for 20 minutes.
It is important to separate adding the flours to make an elastic dough. Once you bake these, freeze them in a plastic bag at night, so that you can enjoy a warm microwaved one everyday for the next few weeks.
Ingredients: A) For the dough - 20g of fresh yeast, 60g of butter, 500g of milk, 80g of sugar, 1 tea spoon of salt, 800g of flour, 10g of sour dough, 2 eggs, 12g of fresh cardamom. B) For the filling - 300g of frozen blueberries, 1 lemon worth of juice, and 2 lemons worth of lemon zest. C) For the oven pan - butter and brown sugar.
Steps: 1) Melt the butter over heat and mix with milk, to make a body temperature medium. 2) Break the yeast into pieces, and mix with 1), sugar, salt, 500g flour, sour dough, eggs, and crushed cardamom; then after dough becomes elastic, add the rest of the flour to make it into a dough texture and let it rest for 1 hour. 3) In a separate bowl, mix to make the filling (leave 1 lemon worth of zest). 4) Knead the dough flat and fill with majority of filling mix; fold it 3 times, then cut into 1.5-2cm strips to be rounded up into rolls. 5) On an oven pan, put some butter and brown sugar, then line up the buns and add the rest of the fillings on the rolls and sprinkle with the remaining lemon zest. 6) After letting it rise for 30-45 minutes, bake in a 180 degree oven for 20 minutes.
It is important to separate adding the flours to make an elastic dough. Once you bake these, freeze them in a plastic bag at night, so that you can enjoy a warm microwaved one everyday for the next few weeks.
Saturday, January 31, 2015
Zeppelin
We visited the Zeppelin Museum in the suburb of Frankfurt Neu-isenburg, where I used to live as a child and where the founder/operation of Zeppelin had been.
If you think about it, this balloon riding concept is such a romantischer idea, crossing the big ocean in a balloon when there was no airplanes around, but also because it will never ever see the light of day again. At least, a 200m+ balloon filled with explosively flammable hydrogen will never pass today's OHS Occupational Health and Safety standards.
Germany had created and led the operation of Zeppelin. But all countries ended their operation due to the bursting of the balloons while flying. The last German Zeppelin called Hindenburg was 245m long and had already been regularly crossing the Atlantic to the US, until in its last trip burst into flames right above the landing place, in a matter of 34 seconds (the speed of hydrogen traveling!).
But in anycase, the design of the Zeppelin is beautiful, and it is quite a romantic thing to think about a grand operation that will never be seen again in this form, in spite of any technological advancement in the future.
"I cannot get over it. The Zeppelin is in the zenith of the night, golden like the moon, having taken control of the sky. Our cosmos has burst; the stars and the moon blown away, the envelope of the sky burst out, and a new cosmos has appeared." by DH Lawrence, Zeppelin during WWI.
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