After rushing to uni this morning to give my presentation on media bias in Australian newspapers, I made my way back home and checked the mail.
“Huh?”
I looked at the package in my hands, slightly perplexed and more than a little puzzled. I poked it once, twice, three times. I started to pry at the tape, then thought better of it and put it on the kitchen counter.
“I know what it is!” My excited 5yo mind exclaimed. “it’s for me, it’s for me!”
“How on earth could that be?” questioned my logic, hiding from the hyperactive buzzing of my main mind, “You already got yours!”
“But-but-but-but - ”
“But nothing. We’ve got to ask her” interjected my logic, and momentarily icing my curiosity, I sent the one who knows a question - the answer to which had me eagerly tearing at sticky tape, then sitting back in awe and admiring what I held before my eyes.
That’s right, folks - a second postcard!
You might recognize this design here.
That’s right - I’ve been lucky enough to receive two postcards! There is a bit of guilt hidden somewhere which is occasionally poking me and advising that gloating is a bad thing, but receiving this postcard from the lovely Sally from Tip of the Iceberg was a wonderful and completely unexpected surprise.
Thank you, Sally, for sending this to me 
I showed it to my mother (who is Roman Catholic) and through it we shared a moment. Also, thanks again to Meeta for running the Postcards event, through which I have made contact with two new bloggers and received two wonderful postcards
Technorati Tags: postcards from the world, postcards, penpals
…but my arms around you for a brief moment.”
That is a beautiful quote by NZ author Katherine Mansfield, and I think it wraps up just how much a personal letter can mean. It can reach through space and time, and touches you in a way that SMS and emails cannot - there is a certain poetry in knowing that the piece of paper in your hands has been touched by someone else, their hand holding a pen and thinking of you as they wrote out letter by letter, word by word.
Today, in my ‘Issues in Electronic Media’ class at uni, we were discussing evolving technologies and the way they affect the way that we interact and communicate with each other - the history of the written word, calling cards, letters, email and sms. I voiced the opinion that I felt that since letter writing was such a rarity today, when I did receive a letter it touched me more than any email ever could - the physicality of the entire procedure and the effort required (not just to write, but also to go to the post office to buy stamps, and then mail it) speak volumes, as do the little imperfections such as spelling errors, slanted writing, cross-outs and smudges, it seems so much more tangible and real. It seemed quite poetic to me that after I voiced this opinion in class, I arrived home to receive my postcard from Meeta’s Postcards event!
Check out the awesomeness! The Monterey Peninsula looks like a beautiful place, and I have the lovely Calista of Amateur Shutterbug to thank for this beauty which now proudly sits on my wall
And I had to take a close-up of the middle of the card - sea otters are one of my all-time favourite furry critters! Extra bonus points for fuzzy animal cuteness
Thanks to Calista for sending me this cutie, and also to Meeta for running the event that enabled me to receive such a goodie! I can’t wait to take part again next time!
Technorati Tags: Postcards from the world, postcard, letters
Isn’t it amazing how many different ways there are of connecting the online blogging community. We are spread out all over the globe, and yet these blogs help us to share and connect with each other in all manner of ways - from food events such as those on Is My Blog Burning, Meeta’s Postcards event and the one I’ve just found out about, Blog Day.
I was perusing the blog world, doing my daily reading, when I stumbled across Paz’s post about Blog Day. Eh? Blog Day? Further reading and a browse of the Blog Day website made me realize that this is a fantastic idea - a day when we can share other blogs that we love with our fellow bloggers.
So everyone, let’s take part in Blog Day 2006 on August 31st 2006 and share the blogging love
Technorati Tags: BlogDay2006
After reading Jen’s post about making chocolate-filled sable biscuits, I decided to give them a try myself as I’m also quite a fan of Shannon Bennett’s book “My Vue”. Similar to a shortbread biscuit, these sable biscuits have an almost ’sandy’ texture upon the first bite, but very quickly dissolve into nothing but a sweet memory and leave you craving more. Below is the recipe with slight modifications, as I found the original didn’t quite work for me.
Sable biscuits ingredients
500g plain flour
50g cornstarch
400g butter, diced and at room temperature
250g icing sugar
4 egg yolks from small-medium eggs
pinch of salt
1. Preheat oven to 160 degrees C.
2. Sift flour and cornstarch, into a mixing bowl. Make a well in the centre of the flour mixture, then add butter and sugar and work till butter is completely mixed in.
3. Add egg yolks and salt, drawing it into the flour and work till barely combined (do NOT overwork the dough as it will make the cookie tough and doughy).
4. Roll the pastry into a log and wrap in clingwrap and refrigerate for 90 minutes - 2 hours.
5. Remove dough 1/4 at a time and briefly knead, then lay down on a lightly floured surface and roll out to approximately 3-4mm thickness. Cut out with a cookie cutter and place on a lined baking sheet spaced about 1cm apart as they may spread slightly.
6. Place each tray of biscuits into the refrigerator for about 10 minutes before baking as this helps create a crisper biscuit and helps prevent spreading during baking. Bake these for about 10 minutes, or till they just begin to gain a golden blush along the edges.
These biscuits are so delicate that this one cracked whilst I was gently pressing the two hearts together around the chocolate ganache.
You can see from this close-up that the crumb is delicate yet dense, this biscuit disintegrates in your mouth with barely any chewing.
The recipe for the ganache is super-easy, equal parts dark couverture chocolate and thin cream melted bain-marie style (in a bowl above a pot of simmering water, the bottom of the bowl must not be in contact with the water) till the chocolate has melted. Remove from the heat source and continue to mix till the chocolate has completely melted and mixed into the cream. Leave it to cool whilst giving it the occasional stir.
Yummo - look at that sweet smoothness!
Personally, I found that I preferred the cookies without the ganache as it was a bit sweet for me, but they’re perfect with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream 
Dessert for the dinner party - apple pie with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream and heart shaped sable biscuit
*Edit: Just got back from seeing my friend Marie-Laure, a lovely lass who hails from France, and upon tasting one of these she exclaimed that they reminded her of her mother as her mother also makes these. So there you go - tasty AND authentic
Technorati Tags: sable, ganache, biscuit, cookies, shortbread
I’ve been up since about 9am this morning in a cooking and baking frenzy for a dinner party tonight in celebration of my kid sister’s 20th birthday Whilst taking a break outside, I noticed that we’re regaining a bit of colour - something which has been sorely missed in my garden whilst winter held it’s firm grip!
I’m not sure what this plant is, it’s kind of lily-like except that the flower opens upside down - instead of the stames facing up, the petals open upwards and the stamens of the flower point south!
My cherry blossoms are out and about, shaking their delicate petals in the wind, and showering the ground with a carpet of pink.
And another picture, just because I love cherry blossoms so much
Technorati Tags: flowers, lillies, cherry blossoms, winter
