Notes from a bemused canuck
Damian and I have been in Barcelona since Sunday. I love the food, but the eating schedule is kicking my ass. Having lunch at 1pm is late, but dinner at 830pm is a killer. And of course, even then, we’re the first ones there waiting for the restaurant to open. Silly guiri…
The view of the University of Barcelona courtyard from the math department, where we are currently meeting.
150g very finely chopped (riced) carrots
30g light tasting oil (eg sunflower, canola)
45g light brown sugar
1 large egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
pinch of salt
100g wholewheat flour
20g quick oats
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
Pre-heat oven at 350F/175C.
Whisk together “wet” ingredients: carrots, oil, sugar, egg, vanilla and spices. Set aside.
Mix all the “dry” ingredients in a separate bowl. Reserve
Set up a muffin pan with 5 baking paper cups.
Mix the content of the dry bowl into the wet bowl and DO NOT MIX STRONGLY. Since we want the least amount of gluten development possible, use a silicon spatula to gently mix everything until all the flour is hydrated but not over mixed.
Bake for 15-20 minutes.
225g good-quality high-cocoa chocolate
175g butter, melted
250g sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
95g all-purpose flour
30g cocoa powder
1 tsp salt
Preheat the oven to 350F/180C. Line an 8-inch (20 cm) square baking dish with parchment paper.
Chop the chocolate into chunks. Melt half of the chocolate in the microwave in 20-second intervals, saving the other half for later.
In a large bowl, mix the butter and sugar with an electric hand mixer, then beat in the eggs and vanilla for 1-2 minutes, until the mixture becomes fluffy and light in color.
Whisk in the melted chocolate (make sure it’s not too hot or else the eggs will cook), then sift in the flour, cocoa powder, and salt. Fold to incorporate the dry ingredients, being careful not to overmix as this will cause the brownies to be more cake-like in texture.
Fold in the chocolate chunks, then transfer the batter to the prepared baking dish.
Bake for 20-25 minutes, depending on how fudgy you like your brownies, then cool completely.
Slice, then serve with a nice cold glass of milk!
I try and not think about anything. It only causes problems and leads to anxiety.
Working from home today. Stepped away from my laptop for 5 minutes to make myself a coffee. 5 MINUTES.
I thought this only happened in the movies.
I had an email composition screen filled with gibberish and 8 open remote desktop connection prompts.
CATS!!!
500 g bread flour
1.5 tsp salt
1.5 tbsp sugar
1 packet yeast
350ml milk
60 g butter, cubed, softened
Dough
In a stand mixer bowl, combine the flour, salt, sugar and yeast. Pour in the milk and mix approx. 5 minutes with the dough hook. Add the butter and smooth everything out for approx. 5 minutes until you get a smooth, shiny dough. Cover and let rise for approx. 2h at room temperature.
Shaping
Cut the dough into 8 pieces, form balls. Press the handle of a wooden spoon in the middle of each ball to obtain the typical shape of a small milk bun. Place the milk rolls on two baking sheets covered with baking paper, cover and let rise for approx. 30 min at room temperature.
Egg washing
Brush the milk rolls twice with beaten egg.
Baking< Bake each sheet approx. 15 min. in the middle of the oven preheated to 220C. Take the bread rolls out of the oven and let them cool on a rack.
So it happened. Boris banged a gong and had beef-and-stilton-filled mini yorkshire puds. Nigel was smug but didn’t get his booze and fireworks because of council ordnance bans. A new 50p coin was (re-)issued. A “we’re sorry, we’ll be back” message was beamed on the the white cliffs of Dover.
While the world didn’t end from one day to the next, the “real” fun hasn’t begun yet. We’re in the transition period now. Things kind of stay the same. We still pay EU dues, but have no representation in parliament. Now, the government really needs to get all its long-term agreements sorted out before the timer runs out. Boris is already trying to be bombastic, but he’s soon going to realize that the “position of power” he’s claiming to have exists only in his head and not in the real world. The US is already salivating at the prospect of having access to the NHS (to raise drug prices) and food markets (to dump less regulated products like chlorinated chicken).
As an unexpected consequence of my weight loss, all of my rings are too big now. One I can reform to tighten, one I can move to a different finger, one can’t be resized because of what it’s made out of. This one however has to be made into a pendant because, as soon as my finger gets slightly wet, it goes flying. As in, I’ve already almost lost it down a bathroom sink at work and, this morning, I had to fish it out of a cafeteria recycling bin.
The Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) has released their very own stock photo library packed full of hilarious images of Canadian stereotypes. Hockey, maple syrup, poutine, moose, they’re all there and they’re totally free to use as long as you give proper credit.
The point of the stock photo library, explains the CIRA, is to enable people to “add a little Canada to your website,” with some “maple syrup-infused visual masterpieces.”
I must incorporate one (or more) of these into my next deck for work.
Image credits: All photos by CIRA/.CA.