We've been busy, busy busy! So I'll post a recipe my sister sent me yesterday. She said it's absolutely delicious.
French Yogurt Cake
Ingredients
Nonstick vegetable oil spray
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest
3/4 cup whole-milk Greek yogurt
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
***
8 1/2 x 4 1/4-inch loaf pan
Preparation
Preheat oven to 350°. Coat pan with vegetable oil spray. Dust with flour; tap out excess.
Whisk 1 1/2 cups flour, baking powder, and kosher salt in a medium bowl.
Using your fingers, rub sugar with lemon zest in a large bowl until sugar is moist. Add yogurt, oil, eggs, and vanilla extract; whisk to blend. Fold in dry ingredients just to blend.
Pour batter into prepared pan; smooth top. Bake until top of cake is golden brown and a tester inserted into center comes out clean, 50–55 minutes.
Let cake cool in pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Invert onto rack; let it cool completely.
The recipe came from Bon Appetit.
Thursday, 9 August 2012
Wednesday, 8 August 2012
Two is a crowd
MD sent me a collection of unusual photos, including this one:
I did a bit of searching and found out the population has doubled recently.
Buford was founded in 1866, during the construction of the Transcontinental Railroad in Wyoming. At its peak, the town boasted a population of 2000.
Don Sammons moved to Buford in 1980 with his wife and son. In 1992, he purchased the town. His wife died in 1995, and his son moved away around 2007, making him Buford's only resident.
The town, consisting of a convenience store, gas station, and modular home on 4 hectares (9.9 acres) of land, was put up for sale after Sammons decided to move closer to his son.
The town was put up for auction on April 5, 2012, with the highest bid of $900,000 by two unidentified Vietnamese men.
I focused on just one of the pictures because I can't imagine living in a place like this by myself or with just one other person!
I'll publish the other photos another time. Thank you, MD.
I did a bit of searching and found out the population has doubled recently.
Buford was founded in 1866, during the construction of the Transcontinental Railroad in Wyoming. At its peak, the town boasted a population of 2000.
Don Sammons moved to Buford in 1980 with his wife and son. In 1992, he purchased the town. His wife died in 1995, and his son moved away around 2007, making him Buford's only resident.
The town, consisting of a convenience store, gas station, and modular home on 4 hectares (9.9 acres) of land, was put up for sale after Sammons decided to move closer to his son.
The town was put up for auction on April 5, 2012, with the highest bid of $900,000 by two unidentified Vietnamese men.
I focused on just one of the pictures because I can't imagine living in a place like this by myself or with just one other person!
I'll publish the other photos another time. Thank you, MD.
Labels:
unusual
Tuesday, 7 August 2012
Excited about the garden
I'm late again! We have been incredibly busy today, but it turned out to be a very good day.
We picked up the rest of the concrete blocks, then our neighbour offered to go with us to collect the timber in his van, so all the materials for the steps are now on site.
It's been very hot today, so after all the shifting of heavy stuff we went to a "vide grenier," which is like a yard sale, but communal. People display their bits and bobs around the village centre, etc. We picked up seven different containers which we're going to use for planting some pretty things. They include a handwash basin, some conventional pots, an old colander and a chamber pot!
I took this picture and I'm so sorry it's out of focus, but you'll get the idea.
We picked up the rest of the concrete blocks, then our neighbour offered to go with us to collect the timber in his van, so all the materials for the steps are now on site.
It's been very hot today, so after all the shifting of heavy stuff we went to a "vide grenier," which is like a yard sale, but communal. People display their bits and bobs around the village centre, etc. We picked up seven different containers which we're going to use for planting some pretty things. They include a handwash basin, some conventional pots, an old colander and a chamber pot!
I took this picture and I'm so sorry it's out of focus, but you'll get the idea.
Labels:
France
Monday, 6 August 2012
Quick joke
I'm late with today's post... We bought the concrete blocks and have been busy carrying them to the garden. All is well, no injured backs, but we have worked up an appetite and should sleep very soundly tonight.
Here's a short and sweet from Mrsgunka:
The wife left a note on the fridge:
"It's not working. Can't take it anymore!!! Gone to stay with my mother."
I opened the fridge, the light came on and the beer was cold....... "What the hell is she talking about?"
Thank you, MrsG.
Here's a short and sweet from Mrsgunka:
The wife left a note on the fridge:
"It's not working. Can't take it anymore!!! Gone to stay with my mother."
I opened the fridge, the light came on and the beer was cold....... "What the hell is she talking about?"
Thank you, MrsG.
Labels:
funnies
Sunday, 5 August 2012
Saturday, 4 August 2012
I couldn't resist!
View_From_Here sent me a blonde joke but I couldn't resist adapting it a little bit and making it about a famous brunette:
After having some trouble with passwords and secret questions, a certain former half-politician decided to follow password instructions to the letter. Better to be safe than sorry...
This is her new password:
"MickeyMinniePlutoHueyLouieDeweyDonaldGoofyJuneau"
When asked by an adviser why she had such a long password, she rolled her eyes and said:
"I know, it's unflippingbelievable! It has to be at least 8 characters and include at least one capital. Sheeesh..."
Thank you for the inspiration, View.
After having some trouble with passwords and secret questions, a certain former half-politician decided to follow password instructions to the letter. Better to be safe than sorry...
This is her new password:
"MickeyMinniePlutoHueyLouieDeweyDonaldGoofyJuneau"
When asked by an adviser why she had such a long password, she rolled her eyes and said:
"I know, it's unflippingbelievable! It has to be at least 8 characters and include at least one capital. Sheeesh..."
Thank you for the inspiration, View.
Labels:
funnies
Friday, 3 August 2012
No giggling!
We haven't had a joke in a while. This one was sent to me by Mrsgunka:
A nurse got a new job at a new hospital. Her boss thought that she knew everything about the job, except for ONE THING:
"Never laugh at a patient, no matter what."
"Of course I won't laugh," the nurse said. "I'm a professional nurse. In over twenty years I've never laughed at a patient."
Three days later, the hospital received a new patient, who was assigned to this new nurse.
"I have a problem with my sexual organs," the man said.
"Okay, just drop your trousers for me," the nurse responded.
He proceeded to drop his trousers, revealing the tiniest penis the nurse had ever seen. Length and width, it couldn't have been bigger than an AAA battery.
Unable to control herself, the nurse started giggling, then almost fell to the floor laughing. A few minutes later she was able to regain her composure.
"I'm so sorry," said the nurse. "I don't know what came over me. On my honor as a nurse and a lady, I promise it won't happen again. Now tell me, what seems to be the problem?"
"It's swollen," he replied.
Thank you, MrsG.
Labels:
funnies
Thursday, 2 August 2012
Very cheerful
In a new craze which is sweeping America, joggers are covered in paint as they attempt to complete a 5km run.
It looks lovely! It also looks remarkably like Holi, in India:
It looks lovely! It also looks remarkably like Holi, in India:
Labels:
nice stuff
Wednesday, 1 August 2012
A pair of duhs need help...
I'm sorry today's post is so late. We've been looking into the cheapest possible way to make a staircase for the garden.
Perhaps somebody could help? The height from the ground to the top is around 1.3m (just over 50 inches). The width is around 6ft 3 in. It seems the cheapest option is to make something out of timber.
We're stumped!
Perhaps somebody could help? The height from the ground to the top is around 1.3m (just over 50 inches). The width is around 6ft 3 in. It seems the cheapest option is to make something out of timber.
We're stumped!
Labels:
help
Tuesday, 31 July 2012
Monday, 30 July 2012
Cat emotions
The use of emoticons can be traced back to the 19th century, and they were commonly used in casual and humorous writing. Typographical emoticons were published in 1881 by the U.S. satirical magazine Puck.
Here's a table of some popular emoticons, accompanied by the corresponding facial expressions.
Catmoticons?
Here's a table of some popular emoticons, accompanied by the corresponding facial expressions.
Catmoticons?
Labels:
funnies
Sunday, 29 July 2012
Lovely to see honest, sporting behaviour
I was so engrossed watching the women cyclists and spotting familiar sites that I neglected to prepare a post...
Well done Netherlands, Britain and Russia. Congratulations to all the competitors for taking part in such a long ride (on some lovely roads) and being so gracious at the finishing line.
Saturday, 28 July 2012
Friday, 27 July 2012
Thursday, 26 July 2012
Wednesday, 25 July 2012
Tuesday, 24 July 2012
Monday, 23 July 2012
Beauty in flight
Mrsgunka shared these great pictures:
Thank you, Mrsgunka. Peacocks are very beautiful creatures, but this was the first time I've seen them flying.
Thank you, Mrsgunka. Peacocks are very beautiful creatures, but this was the first time I've seen them flying.
Labels:
birds
Saturday, 21 July 2012
Busy, busy, busy
I don't have time to select anything for today's post. I've spent the day making tarts for an European Soiree tonight. We do it every year and the way the tasks were assigned to each group, the Brits are in charge of desserts on this occasion (last year we did the salads).
I made four strawberry, raspberry and blueberry tarts. They look good and I hope they taste ok. I'm proud of my crème pâtissière, the best I've produced to date.
I have to get ready and there's a queue for the shower, so I'd better hurry up!
I made four strawberry, raspberry and blueberry tarts. They look good and I hope they taste ok. I'm proud of my crème pâtissière, the best I've produced to date.
I have to get ready and there's a queue for the shower, so I'd better hurry up!
Friday, 20 July 2012
Sad
I'm not in the mood for jokes today. My heart feels heavy after reading the news about the senseless killing spree in Aurora, Colorado.
I feel very sad for the lives cut short and my thoughts go to the families and friends of the victims.
How can we hope this will be the last time such a tragedy happens in the US when the gun lobby is so incredibly powerful?
I feel very sad for the lives cut short and my thoughts go to the families and friends of the victims.
How can we hope this will be the last time such a tragedy happens in the US when the gun lobby is so incredibly powerful?
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