Wednesday, December 12, 2012

A Little Poetry, Tea and Cake

On Wednesday a friend who has recently returned from a holiday in India, invited a small group of women to her home for masala tea, nibblies and poetry readings.

I thought this was a lovely idea and decided to share a happy poem. One that brings me joy when I read it or hear it.  I can  "see" the daffodils come alive through the words of the poem  "I Wandered Lonely As a Cloud" (sometimes known as "Daffodils"), by William Wordsworth.  

For the nibblies, I contributed some Gingerbread Cake.  I haven't made it before and I found it had a nice, dense texture which was perfect for dunking in tea.  I left my cake plain rather than add a sweet topping because I knew there would be other sweet nibblies at the gathering. I  added some fresh ginger to the recipe in addition to powdered ginger but it was the fresh lemon zest that really gave it it's great taste. Not too sweet. Just perfect.

First I'll share the poem and then the recipe in case you'd like to try it too. 

I wandered lonely as a cloud

I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company:
I gazed---and gazed---but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.

William Wordsworth


A small piece of Gingerbread Cake, strawberries and Rooibos Tea

Gingerbread Cake 

2 cups (260 grams) all purpose flour
1 teaspoon (5 grams) baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 cup 113 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup (105 grams) light brown sugar
2 large eggs
Zest of 1 lemon (outer yellow skin of lemon)
1/2 cup (120 ml) unsulphured molasses (To prevent the molasses from sticking to the measuring cup, first spray the cup with a non stick vegetable spray.)
1 cup (240 ml) milk


Lemon Icing: (Optional)
1 1/2 cups (150 grams) sifted confectioners' (powdered or icing) sugar
2 - 2 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven. Butter and flour a 9 inch (23 cm) round or square cake pan with 2 inch (5 cm) sides.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, ground cinnamon, ginger and cloves.
In bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy (about 3 minutes). Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the lemon zest and molasses and beat to combine. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the dry ingredients and milk, alternately, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Beat just until incorporated.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with an offset spatula. Bake for 40 - 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes before removing cake from pan. Let cool completely and then, if desired, frost with the Lemon Icing. 
 
Lemon Icing: Mix together the sifted confectioners' sugar and lemon juice until smooth. (The icing should be thick but still spreadable.) Pour the icing onto the center of the cake and spread with an offset spatula. Some of the icing will drip down the sides of the cake.

This cake will keep for several days at room temperature. Can serve with softly whipped cream, lemon curd, or slices of apples sauteed in a little butter and sugar.

Makes one - 9 inch (23 cm) cake

 

Monday, December 10, 2012

I've Got Mail

I had a happy surprise today. I learned a few weeks ago that I had won a giveaway.  Since it was being mailed from Oklahoma, USA I was prepared to wait awhile.  My experience is that even a mailed package from California can take up to a month to reach me so I thought a package from Oklahoma would take a lot longer.

I was pleasantly surprised that I did not have to wait as long as I thought I might.

Isn't my little guy cute?!

A photo of Roarbert the Lion and his lavender scentsy pak.

Beth of Masterpiece blog, had this terrific Scentsy Giveaway. She let me choose my stuffed toy and preferred scent.  I chose Roarbert, The Lion and French Lavender as the scent pak to put inside. I love Kenya and I love lions so the choice was easy. I think Roarbert is adorable.

If you've never visited Beth, please do so here. She is an awesome woman of God who shares from her heart.

Thank you, Beth! 
I'll take good care of Roarbert.

Friday, December 7, 2012

It's a Beautiful Day!

Hi friends,

We've had a lot of gray skies and rain this past while so it is wonderful to get a patch of blue sky and sunshine now and then.

Here is what greets me today.




 


The wind whipped up this afternoon and changed the shape of the clouds. It also revealed all the fresh powder of snow on the mountain tops.




This is my submissions to Skywatch Friday today.
Enjoy your weekend.


Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Grassy Dancer

In my last post I mentioned I had been at the mall to see a movie. It so happens that the mall was also having special artisans and guests as part of the Christmas program. Every weekend there will be a different theme and different artisans.  It seems to be a great idea as I had never seen the mall so busy in all my years of going to it

Even Santa made an appearance.

I loved looking at all the brightly lit Christmas trees from my vantage point on the 2nd floor. Unfortunately my cell phone camera doesn't do justice to the sight.

I promised in my last post to share a short video of a young boy I saw giving a dance performance in the mall. As I watched him I was very impressed and felt proud of him as  he danced in the tradition of the Plains Indians.

I was too far away to get a good shot but this will give you an idea of the regalia of the young boy who is wearing white and turquoise.  You can see it much better in the video below.  The female dancers are wearing jingle dresses. I didn't get a chance to watch them dance as I had an appointment to get make.


I'm not fully sure but I'm fairly sure *wink, that the young boy is dressed as a Grass Dancer and he is dancing in the spirit of the Grass Dance. I am not an expert on the dances so I've taken this short description from a website.

The Grass Dance style is a very old dance rich in history that has become very popular. In the old days, it was the job of the grass dancers to flatten the grass in the arena before a pow wow. The name "grass" does not come from the stomping of grass, but it comes from the old habit of tying braids of sweet grass to the dancer's belts, producing a swaying effect. Today, Grass Dancers resemble a multicolored swaying mass of yarn or fringe on the dance floor. The Grass Dance is a very fluid and bendable style, with the dancers trying to move their fringe in as many places as possible at once. The Grass Dance style was born in the North, but its popularity has spread South, and now this beautiful style is available for everyone (Source: http://www.thinkquest.org/pls/html/think.library)

 For information about the Grass Dancing regalia please click here.

I have embedded a short video of the young boy dancing.  It will give you a better idea of the regalia he is wearing and his footwork.  Pardon the shakiness right at the beginning of the video.  It gets better as it goes on.  I thought I had a second video to upload.  Somehow I seem to have lost it. If you find any problems with this video, please let me know. I may have to upload it again.


This is my submission to Our World Tuesday today.


I hope you enjoyed this short introduction to the Grass Dance and the young boy's performance as much as I did.

Sunday, December 2, 2012

Anna Karenina

From time to time I like to participate in memes; my favourite ones being Skywatch Fridays and Our World Tuesday.  I used to participate in Scenic Sunday too except that it doesn't seem to be so active.  The last week on line was from October. Oh well, I will present anyway *wink.

I was at a local mall yesterday to see the new version of the movie "Anna Karenina". It is a movie I have seen before when Greta Garbo played the role of Anna.  I saw it as a child and the tragedy of Anna's story made such an impact on me that I never forgot the film.


Many years later, I read the book while on a journey to Kenya. I enjoyed the book very much though I felt it was overly long.  Of course this classic, by Leo Tolstoy, was translated from Russian into English and that likely had a bearing on the length of the book too.



If you take the time to view both the original trailer for the film and the trailer for the latest remake, you will see  just how differently the films were marketed to the public.


The actors Jude Law, as Aleksei Karenin the, husband to Anna, as played by Keira Knightley, are superb.  Aaron Taylor-Johnson, plays Count Vronsky, Anna's love interest, but I don't think he fully succeeded in bringing his character to life.  He looked great in his military uniform and carried himself well as a Count and as a cavalry officer.  But I did not feel a depth to the character that Count Vronsky needed to portray so we can understand why Anna would throw away her life for him.  In the book you get a better sense of why Anna finds him irresistibly attractive.

The other thing I did not like about the film is that it is set in a theatre.  This means you are constantly watching set changes glide in and out of the screen while you are trying to follow the story line, The sets are absolutely beautiful, but I personally did not like this approach.  I found it all quite distracting and unsatisfying.  When Count Vronsky falls off his stead at the racetrack, I would have far rather watched him ride his horse on a real track rather than on the theatre stage.  The theatrical approach worked for some of the film but overall I don't think it really worked for most of the story.  Finally, some of the actors, like the one who played Ann's brother, Steva, had a "campy" approach to his character and I don't think it was the right approach for the tone of the story which is rather serious.

The way this film is shot in a theatre and with some over the top, actors reminded me a lot of the film "Moulin Rouge".  However,  "Moulin Rouge" was a musical and I loved it.  "Anna Karenina" is not a musical and I didn't love it.  By the time two hours had passed, I was tired and eager to get out of the theatre but there was still more film to see.

I wouldn't discourage you from seeing this film.  Unlike me, you might actually enjoy the theatre setting.  You will definitely find the costumes and sets both sumptuous and beautiful. In addition, the tragic story of the consequences of illicit love does come through strongly as a result of  the marvellous acting of Jude Law and Keira Knightley.

While at the mall I was also fortunate to have seen a surprise dance performance.  I managed to capture it on video and will be sharing it in a few days.  Please come back and check it out as it is rather unique and will be a treat for you.

A Few Days in March ~ Skywatch Friday

Hello friends and fellow bloggers. I hope Spring is treating you well so far. It's been roller coaster weather where I live with mostly ...