Jeremy and I are meeting in Italy for our first wedding anniversary next week. This morning, I called the bank to make sure they wouldn't block our cards while we were there ...
Me: Hi. My husband and I are traveling to Italy next week, and I just wanted to make sure you didn't turn off our cards when we start spending money there.
Agent: I'd be happy to help. Can you hold a second?
Me: Sure.
Hold music plays for a minute.
Agent: Is that in France?
Me: Is what in France?
Agent: Italy.
Me: No, um, Italy is a different country.
Agent: Oh, OK. I couldn't remember.
Monday, October 20, 2008
Monday, October 6, 2008
Double decker
The baking continues. Last weekend I made a flourless chocolate cake, which really was more like fudge than cake. It tasted good, but wasn't so interesting from a photographic point of view.
This weekend, I attempted my first tiered cake.
It was also my first attempt at Italian buttercream (made with egg whites instead of yolks). The bottom tier was yellow cake with coffee buttercream filling, and the top was chocolate with bittersweet chocolate buttercream filling. The frosting was mocha buttercream. We took it to church for a birthday, and it was all gone by the end of the social hour. My decorating skills need some work, but this is not so bad for a first try, eh?
This weekend, I attempted my first tiered cake.
It was also my first attempt at Italian buttercream (made with egg whites instead of yolks). The bottom tier was yellow cake with coffee buttercream filling, and the top was chocolate with bittersweet chocolate buttercream filling. The frosting was mocha buttercream. We took it to church for a birthday, and it was all gone by the end of the social hour. My decorating skills need some work, but this is not so bad for a first try, eh?
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Trip to Ghulab Kheil
This entry is from Jeremy, but posted by Masha because Jeremy's Internet was too slow to upload the photos.
These photos are from our late September trip to Gulab Kheil village in Dara district. Getting there involved a two-hour drive off-road, followed by a 30-minute walk. I went up with the USDA, military and our two implementing partners, to introduce the new USAID project: a tree farm where farmers grow fruit trees, sell the cuttings and saplings to other farmers for income, and then in 4-5 years, start selling the fruit. This village sits on top of a mountain, between two rivers that converge at the bottom of the valley. There is a lot of terracing going on.
Mud house on the side of the hill in Gulab Kheil:
Terraced farmland on the side of the mountain. You can see where it starts and stops. This tells you where they have been able to build irrigation canals and where they haven't. This land is irrigated by snow-melt-fed springs. The mountains are already dusted with snow. Winter is coming ...
Village leaders:
Looking south into the valley. We traveled from the north.
These are the stoves in which the locals bake bread. They put wood in the bottom, heat up the mud stove and cook bread inside. These are the fanciest I've seen.
Local scale. Wonder how they calibrate it?
And of course, cute kids from the village:
These photos are from our late September trip to Gulab Kheil village in Dara district. Getting there involved a two-hour drive off-road, followed by a 30-minute walk. I went up with the USDA, military and our two implementing partners, to introduce the new USAID project: a tree farm where farmers grow fruit trees, sell the cuttings and saplings to other farmers for income, and then in 4-5 years, start selling the fruit. This village sits on top of a mountain, between two rivers that converge at the bottom of the valley. There is a lot of terracing going on.
Mud house on the side of the hill in Gulab Kheil:
Terraced farmland on the side of the mountain. You can see where it starts and stops. This tells you where they have been able to build irrigation canals and where they haven't. This land is irrigated by snow-melt-fed springs. The mountains are already dusted with snow. Winter is coming ...
Village leaders:
Looking south into the valley. We traveled from the north.
These are the stoves in which the locals bake bread. They put wood in the bottom, heat up the mud stove and cook bread inside. These are the fanciest I've seen.
Local scale. Wonder how they calibrate it?
And of course, cute kids from the village:
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Cake
So, a couple of weeks ago, I decided that I was going to become a great cake baker. I ordered a comprehensive cake cook book and a couple of 6-inch round pans so that I could experiment without having to make enormous cakes. I started last week with a simple pound cake. It was all gone before I had a chance to take a photo, so I guess it was a success.
Yesterday, I decided to make a white velvet butter cake with maple buttercream frosting.
I assembled my mise en place (a fancy French term for "put all the stuff on the counter"), feeling very Food-Network-chef.
Apparently, though, it's not enough to just have your ingredients looking pretty on the counter. I was making the buttercream in a noisy stand mixer while the cake was baking, and did not hear the timer go off. By the time I realized what had happened, the cake was a tad overbaked. So when I tried to take the layers out, this is what happened:
The icing came out pretty, though.
And I used half of it to ice the layer that did not come apart. I guess it could have been worse.
Yesterday, I decided to make a white velvet butter cake with maple buttercream frosting.
I assembled my mise en place (a fancy French term for "put all the stuff on the counter"), feeling very Food-Network-chef.
Apparently, though, it's not enough to just have your ingredients looking pretty on the counter. I was making the buttercream in a noisy stand mixer while the cake was baking, and did not hear the timer go off. By the time I realized what had happened, the cake was a tad overbaked. So when I tried to take the layers out, this is what happened:
The icing came out pretty, though.
And I used half of it to ice the layer that did not come apart. I guess it could have been worse.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
My first adult sweater!
I finished this sweater earlier this summer, but didn't post photos, as it was originally intended to be a anniversary gift for Jeremy. While he was here, we decided to forego anniversary gifts this year, since we're taking a trip to Italy - not cheap - at the end of October. Now that Jeremy has seen his sweater, you can too!
Obviously, this is not Jeremy wearing the sweater. Truth be told, I could have made it a tad longer, and perhaps a tad looser, but I will try to stretch it out when I block it. [Note: For non-knitters, blocking is a process whereby you soak the finished item, pin it down, and let it dry. You can often stretch an item made from wool or alpaca while doing this.] But, it's only the first one. I'm sure there will be many more to come. And I'm still REALLY proud of myself!
Obviously, this is not Jeremy wearing the sweater. Truth be told, I could have made it a tad longer, and perhaps a tad looser, but I will try to stretch it out when I block it. [Note: For non-knitters, blocking is a process whereby you soak the finished item, pin it down, and let it dry. You can often stretch an item made from wool or alpaca while doing this.] But, it's only the first one. I'm sure there will be many more to come. And I'm still REALLY proud of myself!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)