Something Old, Something New

Leonardo da Vinci (April 15, 1452 – May 2, 1519)  was a true genius.   He invented this viola-organista during his time but the instrument was played for the first time last month.   It took over three years for Polish concert pianist and instrument maker Slawomir Zubrycki to build this instrument which was designed over 500 years ago. 

Check out this article for more details.

Car Talk

I think this car was trying to say something.

Garage Sale Haul

I could not resist getting these from the garage sale last Friday.

For cooking:  Angry Birds Spice Rack

For baking : nesting doll measuring cups

The heads measure 1 cup, 2/3 cup and 1/3 cup 

The bases measure 3/4 cup, 1/2 cup and 1/4 cup

Aren't they cute?  

I love the Russian nesting dolls.  Apparently they are called matryoshkas.

I had seen these in the stores but they were just too expensive to buy at the regular price.   It was a lucky find at the garage sale for this kid at heart.

Bread Company

Remember my last post where I had a recipe for No Knead Bread which I wanted to try?

Well here is the bread, complete with rosemary (from the "garden")!

We baked it yesterday.

Since it needed 4 1/2 cup of flour,

the loaf yield was quite decent.

I sliced the loaf and announced, "Bread!"

GI came over and got a slice.  He topped it with some sliced ham and placed it inside the oven toaster. (The sliced ham is something that GI had purchased from the grocery for his sandwiches. The rest of the family knows it belongs to him.)

I decided to toast a slice for myself so I nudged his slice of bread to the left and placed mine beside his.  When the oven toaster timer rang, GI came over to pick up his bread.

"Oh!  My bread has company!"  he exclaimed as he saw my slice of bread in the toaster.

"It was lonely,"  I explained.   

GI laughed.

Then I added, "My bread is lonely too. It's missing sliced ham."

(GI did not find that funny.)

Do I Need to Knead?

I keep on finding bread recipes online and recently I have been seeing more no knead bread recipes.  I think I am a bread magnet.   

In spite all the recommendation for low-carb diets, I love freshly baked bread (especially with butter!).

This love for bread is a result of the sourdough bread that Father would bring home from his business trips to the U.S.   We always looked forward to his coming home.   We would rummage through his luggage to see what treats he had brought home for us.  When we were younger, they would be toys, stationery and knick-knacks but as we grew older, Father would bring sourdough bread from Fisherman's Wharf, chocolates, Mauna Loa macadamia nuts and other goodies.

I actually don't mind kneading dough.  Ironically, it is the rising time that gets me down.   

We hope to try the first recipe since it uses more flour therefore will yield a bigger loaf. We tried the second one during my leave and it was gone in one sitting.   

====

Easy No Knead Skillet Bread (http://bakerbettie.com/easy-no-knead-skillet-bread/)

Ingredients

• 1 package active dry yeast (2¼ tsp if measuring from bulk yeast)
• 2 cups lukewarm water
• ½ TBSP kosher salt
• 4⅓ cups all-purpose flour
• olive oil
• rosemary

Instructions

1. Combine yeast and warm water in a large bowl or pitcher.
2. Using a wooden spoon add in 1 cup of the flour and then the salt and mix until combined.
3. Stir in the rest of the flour, one cup at a time, until completely incorporated.
4. Cover with plastic wrap or a lid that is not shut completely.
5. Allow to rise for 1 hour.
6. Do not punch down the dough.
7. Lightly oil the bottom of a cast iron skillet.
8. Sprinkle a good amount of flour on top of the dough and then cover hands with flour.
9. Take all of the dough and shape into a disk. (it will be sticky)
10. Place in the 10" or 12" skillet, cover loosely with a towel, and allow to rise for another 30 minutes.
11. Preheat the oven to 400ºF.
12. Drizzle a little more oil over the top of the bread, and slash the dough with a knife creating an X.
13. Sprinkle with coarse salt and rosemary leaves.
14. Bake for 35-40 minutes until the top is a deep brown color.

No-Knead Dutch Oven Bread  (http://www.motherearthnews.com)

1/4 tsp active dry yeast
1 1/2 cups warm water
3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting. You may use white, whole wheat or a combination of the two.
1 1/2 tsp salt
Cornmeal or wheat bran for dusting 

1. In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in water. Add the flour and salt, stirring until blended. The dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let the dough rest at least 8 hours, preferably 12 to 18, at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees.
2. The dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Lightly flour a work surface and place dough on it. Sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let it rest for about 15 minutes.
3. Using just enough flour to keep the dough from sticking to the work surface or to your fingers, gently shape it into a ball. Generously coat a clean dish towel with flour, wheat bran or cornmeal. Put the seam side of the dough down on the towel and dust with more flour, bran or cornmeal. Cover with another towel and let rise for about 1 to 2 hours. When it’s ready, the dough will have doubled in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.
4. At least 20 minutes before the dough is ready, heat oven to 475 degrees. Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in the oven as it heats. When the dough is ready, carefully remove the pot from the oven and lift off the lid. Slide your hand under the towel and turn the dough over into the pot, seam side up. The dough will lose its shape a bit in the process, but that’s OK. Give the pan a firm shake or two to help distribute the dough evenly, but don’t worry if it’s not perfect; it will straighten out as it bakes.
5. Cover and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the lid and bake another 15 to 20 minutes, until the loaf is beautifully browned. Remove the bread from the Dutch oven and let it cool on a rack for at least 1 hour before slicing.

Failures are Brave Efforts

The fear of failure can be debilitating.  It is not a nice feeling.  Take it from me.  I know. 

I think it is fair to say that nobody likes to be a failure but it is inevitable for everybody to experience failure at one point in time or another.

  

When we fail, we are always reminded to learn from our mistakes.   

The Ode to Failure adds these other things ...  

Accept limitationsLet go of need to be perfectOffer self-kindness

\ 

The video came to me at the right time.  Among other things, I've been afraid to take my test. I have been carrying around a learner's permit since 2010 and although it expires January 2015, unless I get my full licence, I would always need MacGyver in the car with me if I wanted to drive. (And he is the sort that gets dizzy when he's not driving.)  When I filed for my two-week mandatory leave, I asked MacGyver to help me schedule a driving test.  My test was scheduled for 10AM today.  I woke up at 4:30 and 5:30 this morning.  I was obviously worried.  Yes, the fear of failure creeping in again!  

As I waited for my testing schedule, I decided that this video would get posted regardless of the outcome of my driving test.  I didn't want to post it earlier this week because it might jinx my driving test.   But after MacGyver and I had a serious talk yesterday (about me and my issues), I was reassured that regardless of my success or failure, he would be there for me.   It helps to know that.  It really does.

I am posting this so I can view this video when I need to remind myself that it is all right to fail.  Failures are brave efforts.

Where Should We Go This Saturday?

OR

It would be nice to go for a hot chocolate 

or something at McDonald's 

but it is a warm day in spring

besides MyGirl and I already have

our FREE SLURPEE vouchers.

7-Eleven it is!

In House Gallery

These were among the paintings on display at our ground floor lobby in September.

The price tags were a staggering AUD470 for each.

But one can still enjoy the paintings without paying the price.

I love the way these are three paintings become one.

I find perspective drawings intriguing.

And who would not want to spend time 

relaxing on a beach or taking a dip in the water?

I love this one simply because it reminds me of home.

Number 5 is Alive

The buses almost always have advertisements on their sides.  I could not help notice the ones advertising Grand Theft Auto V.

[Most of the buses have individual posters.  This is the collage version.]

Why?  Aside from there being so many of them, I found it odd that they had to spell out the "FIVE" within the "V".   (I wonder whether this is for the benefit of the kids that play the game before they learn their Roman numerals.)

On the day I had taken the Grand Theft Auto photo, the next bus had this -- Forza 5.  

I therefore conclude that Hindu-Arabic numerals are more straight to the point and that there are way too many people playing games (for both these games to get to version five).

Pass the Popcorn

Am in the middle of my two-week mandatory leave, and as so far, all I have to show for it are additional inches and pounds.  Being at home enables me to be online or watch movies, and snack all throughout the day (Bad!). 

One day, we decided to have some popcorn.  Although we don't use oil to pop the corn (thanks to the air popper MacGyver got from a garage sale a couple of years ago),  if we don't drench it in melted butter, we coat it with caramel. (Good and bad!)

What can I say?  It's just so easy to make the caramel that it practically begs to be added to the popcorn.   

Ours would be a simple combination of 1/2 c sugar + 1/4 c butter + 2 T honey. 

Many of the recipes call for the brew to be boiled without stirring for 7-8 minutes after the sugar has melted.  I just let the caramel boil for a while.   I still have to figure out what that extra cooking time is all about.  

Does that mean I need to make another batch?  (Really BAD!)