Saturday, 5 August 2017
Friday, 4 August 2017
Jo Wheatley's triple chocolate brownies
- Serves:8
- Prep time:
- Cooking time:
- Total time:
- Skill level:Easy peasy
- Costs:Cheap as chips
These naughty triple chocolate brownies, made by Great British Bake Off winner Jo Wheatley, are moist, chewy and most importantly, completely delicious!
Ingredients
- 100g dark chocolate, chopped
- 85g milk chocolate, chopped
- 115g unsalted butter, diced
- 300g caster sugar
- 1tsp vanilla extract or bean paste
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- 100g plain flour
- 50g self-raising flour
- 30g cocoa powder
- 80g Brazil nuts, chopped
You will also need:
- 20cm square baking tin, greased and lined with baking parchment
Method
- Preheat the oven to 170°C/325°F/Gas Mark 3.
- Tip the dark chocolate and 25g of the milk chocolate into a heatproof bowl. Add the butter and melt together, either in the microwave on a low setting or in the bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water. Stir until smooth and leave to cool slightly.
- Add the sugar, vanilla and beaten eggs to the melted chocolate and butter, and mix to combine. Sift both of the flours and cocoa powder into the bowl and mix until smooth.
- Fold in the chopped Brazil nuts and the remaining 60g of chopped milk chocolate. Spoon into the prepared tin, spread level and bake on the middle shelf of the preheated oven for 30–35 minutes.
- Leave to cool in the tin, then cut into squares and serve either as a cake or as a dessert with ice cream.
- http://www.goodtoknow.co.uk/recipes/534750/jo-wheatley-s-triple-chocolate-brownies
Clementinum in Prague is considered the most beautiful library in the world
Arguably, one of the most beautiful and admired cultural centers in Europe is the city of Prague in the Czech Republic, founded circa 880. The capital of Bohemia is home to the oldest university in Central Europe, dating back to 1348.
With culture and education this old, it’s only natural that Prague would be full of old libraries, and the most beautiful of them all is the Clementinum Library.
The Clementinum (Klementinum in Czech) which is a historic complex of buildings housing the national library, is not considered only the most beautiful library in Prague but in the world, as well. The complex was founded when the Jesuits arrived in Bohemia in 1556. The name comes from the chapel dedicated to St. Clement, built in the 11th-century. Later, in the medieval period, a Dominican monastery was founded in the same place, providing a home to the Jesuits.
In 1622, the monastery was promoted to a university which later became the third largest Jesuit university in the world. In 1653, 31 years after its establishment, the Jesuits began with the reconstruction and expansion of the complex, which lasted for more than 170 years, employing some of the most prominent architects of the time. The Clementinum was expanded on over 2 hectares, becoming one of the largest building complexes in Europe. It is today the second largest complex in Prague after Prague Castle.
Although it is still a beautiful example of Baroque architecture, you can find various kinds of architectural styles in the complex, due to its long renovation period. Besides the classrooms, the Jesuits built bedrooms, a print room, church buildings, a pharmacy, and of course, the library. In 1654, two years after the library from Charles University was transferred there, the Clementinum college and university were merged. The complex was run by the Jesuits until 1773 when their order was dissolved. Two years after the Jesuits left, the oldest weather recording lab in the Czech Republic began operating as a part of the Clementinum University, and it is still functional to this day.
Officially, the library was opened in 1722. The book collection dates back to the time of the Jesuits, and it still has books with white spines and red marks left by them. Currently, the library is a home to more than 20.000 books, most of which are foreign theological literature, with writings dating from the 17th century up until today. Some of those rare books were given to Google for scanning and will soon be available on Google Books.
The interior of the library is of a baroque style, and the magnificent frescoes on the ceiling are made by Jan Hiebl. The frescoes depict Jesuit saints, patrons of the university and motifs of education. The interiors have been untouched since the 18th century, with the portrait of Joseph II mounted at the head of the library hall, the Emperor who transferred the books from the abolished monastic libraries to the Clementinum Library. The library has a remarkable collection of terrestrial globes and astronomical clocks.
In 1777, Empress Maria Theresa of Austria declared the university and library as open to the public. In 1781, the director of the library Karel Rafael Ungar established a collection of Czech literature, which he called Biblioteca Nationals. This has triggered the idea of creating a national library.
His collection still stands in the same place, at the head of the library hall. One year later, in 1782, it was transformed into a legal deposit library. In 1990, the Clementinum became known as the National Library. Besides the magnificent examples of Czech literature collected by director Karel Rafael Ungar, the library houses pieces written by Tycho, Brahe, and Comenius.
Today, the library is still functional. For several years there was a debate about expanding the space for future library collections as it was expected that the library would fill its capacity by 2010. So, in January 2006, the Prague authorities made a decision to sell one of the city-owned property to the National Library.
In the same year, an international architectural competition was started to get a design for the new National Library building. The architect Jan Kaplicky won the contest, and the final project is in the process of being realized.
Caprese Stuffed Balsamic Chicken
Prep Time
10 mins
Cook Time
25 mins
Total Time
35 mins
Caprese Stuffed Balsamic Chicken is a twist on Caprese, filled with both fresh AND Sun Dried Tomatoes for a flavour packed chicken!
Ingredients
- 4 (200-gram | 7-ounce) chicken breasts
- Salt and pepper , to season
- 1 teaspoon each of dried oregano and dried basil
- 2 roma tomatoes , sliced thinly
- 1/4 cup sun dried tomato strips in oil
- 4 mozzarella cheese slices (or cheese of choice)
- 12 basil leaves , divided
- 4 cloves garlic , minced or finely chopped
- 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180°C | 350°F. Cut a pocket about 3/4 quarter of the way through on the thickest side of each breast, being careful not to cut all the way.
- Season chicken with salt, pepper, and dried herbs. Pour 1 teaspoon of sun dried tomato oil over each breast, rubbing some of the seasoning inside the pockets.
- Fill each with 2 slices fresh tomato, 2 teaspoons sun dried tomato strips, one slice mozzarella cheese and basil leaves.
- Seal with 3-4 toothpicks diagonally to keep the filling inside while cooking.
- Heat 2 teaspoons of sun dried tomato oil (or olive oil) in a skillet or non stick pan over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and fry for 2 minutes on each side until golden.
- While the chicken is cooking, mix together the garlic, balsamic vinegar and brown sugar in a small jug. Pour the mixture into the pan around the chicken; bring to a simmer while stirring occasionally, until the glaze has slightly thickened (about 2-3 minutes).
- Transfer pan to the preheated oven and continue to cook for a further 10-15 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through and the cheese has melted.
- Remove toothpicks and drizzle with pan juices.
Thursday, 3 August 2017
Enchanted Woods
The tales tell of the strangest things,
But I hear only the soothing sounds -
Bewitched by the songs the forest sings,
I've crossed onto its hallowed grounds.
Bewitched by the songs the forest sings,
I've crossed onto its hallowed grounds.
Caressed by the whispers,
The rustling leaves;
The clinking cones among the pines,
The scent of the forest upon the breeze;
But pass the barrier of in-between,
And strange things happen -
A change of scene...
The rustling leaves;
The clinking cones among the pines,
The scent of the forest upon the breeze;
But pass the barrier of in-between,
And strange things happen -
A change of scene...
Fireflies of gold - they hover and drift,
Creatures emerge, they shimmer and shift;
Resembling the old, but so different and bold,
The forest reveals its gift.
Creatures emerge, they shimmer and shift;
Resembling the old, but so different and bold,
The forest reveals its gift.
Distant pools of brilliant blue water
Glisten serenely under trees that glow;
Surrounded by greenery with food to offer,
Welcome to the woods where magic grows.
Glisten serenely under trees that glow;
Surrounded by greenery with food to offer,
Welcome to the woods where magic grows.
Eve Estelle
Art http://nikulina-helena.deviantart.com/
Art http://nikulina-helena.deviantart.com/
Vintage Luggage Labels: The Art of the Suitcase by Richard Davies
Walk up to the reception desk in any hotel today and ask for its luggage label, and you will receive a puzzled expression. Luggage labels, also called baggage labels, are long gone. However they used to be a small but eye-catching part of the so-called golden age of travel from approximately 1900 to the mid-1960s.
We are primarily talking about hotel luggage labels as hotels, particularly the so-called 'Grand Hotels', led the development of these small labels. Hotel chains and many of the world's most notable hotels produced luggage labels, which today remind us that travel wasn't always about budget airlines, overbooked hotels and security line-ups.
Don't think of luggage tags - the small and unremarkable tags where you add your name, address and flight number before boarding a plane. Luggage labels were a form of advertising that hotel staff would apply, using a sticky gum, to the suitcases and trunks of travelers arriving at their establishment. Back in those days, suitcases were rigid affairs, which made it easy for porters or concierges to stick on their label.
Browse vintage luggage labels SHOP NOW
For the hotel, they were free advertising. For the traveler, they were a badge of honor if you stayed in prestigious hotels or visited fashionable places, or if the suitcase showed you were a seasoned traveler. Is there a more fascinating travel accessory than a well-used classic brown leather suitcase plastered with luggage labels of hotels from Lake Como to Paris?
Once a label had been applied to a suitcase, it was not coming off. Therefore the vintage luggage labels that exist today were never stuck on a trunk or a case. Perhaps the guest asked for extra labels after a particularly good vacation or tipped the bellhop generously in order to obtain a handful of particularly beautiful ones. No matter how the labels survived intact, there is now growing interest in original luggage labels by travel-loving collectors.
Labels fell from favour as soft luggage started to replace rigid suitcases, and as the grand independent hotels were bought up by chains with centralized marketing departments.
Luggage labels from 1900 to the 1960s were closely aligned to the travel posters of that era, even sharing the same designs sometimes. Whereas vintage copies of beautiful travel posters are often now priced at more than £1,000, original luggage labels have remained more affordable. It's possible to buy original hotel luggage labels for anywhere from £5 to several hundred depending on condition, hotel, illustrator, scarcity and style.
Vintage Luggage Labels
There are several important illustrators who contributed immensely to this area of graphic design. Dan Sweeney was an American illustrator who provided artwork for books, posters, magazines and luggage labels for the Hong-Kong & Shanghai Hotel group. Italian graphic artist Mario Borgoni was known for his art nouveau labels and posters.
As well as the Internet, original luggage labels might be found at antique shows, flea markets, car boot sales, and rare bookstores with decent ephemera sections. Be mindful that reproductions do exist and that sticker books of luggage labels are also easy to find.
Lot of 15 Luggage Labels, circa 1940s
Tuesday, 1 August 2017
Lammas
The Corn King gives his life for the land,
We toast his sacrifice with Ale in our hand,
And eat the bread from the harvest made,
As sheaves of corn to the earth are laid.
Transformation surrounds us,
The harvest turned to food and drink,
Now is the time to learn and think,
Of what we can do to grow even stronger,
As the summer recedes and the nights grow longer.
We share our rewards and bless the earth,
That brings our fruitful abundance to birth,
May our well earned bounty reward our toil,
As we harvest the seed and the grain from the soil.
And eat the bread from the harvest made,
As sheaves of corn to the earth are laid.
Transformation surrounds us,
The harvest turned to food and drink,
Now is the time to learn and think,
Of what we can do to grow even stronger,
As the summer recedes and the nights grow longer.
We share our rewards and bless the earth,
That brings our fruitful abundance to birth,
May our well earned bounty reward our toil,
As we harvest the seed and the grain from the soil.
Blessed Lammas!
Unknown
Art Wendy Andrew
Art Wendy Andrew
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