Cold and Classic in Cape Town

That first wave pushed me deep, I got wedged between two rocks under the thick Sea weed. I was panicking for about 3 seconds, thinking of pipe line underwater cave stories. But I it was all good.

Ginger Cake - Quick and easy

 

yield: Makes 8 to 10 servings

active time: 15 minutes

total time: 2 hours

This dark, moist cake gets its deep flavor from blackstrap molasses, which may not sound appealing on its own but is wonderful in this cake.

Ingredients 

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 4 teaspoons ground ginger
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 cup blackstrap molasses*
• 1 cup boiling-hot water
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten

• Accompaniment: lightly sweetened whipped cream

Preparation

Preheat oven to 180ºC with oven rack in middle position. Butter a pan of around 22cm.

Whisk together flour, ginger, and cinnamon in a medium bowl until blended.

Beat together butter and brown sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at high speed until pale and fluffy, about 5 minutes.

Whisk together molasses and boiling water in another large bowl, then whisk in baking soda (mixture will bubble up and expand).

Add flour and molasses mixtures alternately to butter mixture in 3 batches, mixing at medium speed until incorporated. Beat in eggs until smooth. (Batter will be thin.)

Pour batter into springform pan and bake until a wooden pick or skewer inserted in center comes out clean, 55 to 65 minutes. Cool in pan on a rack 10 minutes, then remove side of pan and continue to cool cake on rack at least 30 minutes more. Serve warm.

Recipe found at http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Ginger-Cake-109041#ixzz1BRwiVPNp

 

"Ginger is a fiery root with rough beige skin and hard, juicy, pale yellow flesh"

A quote I found in the BBC archives

Portugal/Spain mit vater

November/December 2010 -  my re-introduction to surfing after 4 and half months on the couch in Zürich. Caught up with the Lipke brothers in Lagos, hung with Barron Von Rupp in Lisbon, then me and dad checked out a few galleries through Spain, and discussed the finer points of distraction on the long drive north.

Music - Laka-Koffe by Detektivbyran

Pixies - Cactus

I find other blogs much more interesting when there's music involved. I guess the only reason you'd visit a blog is if you have some interest in what the person has to say, so if you've made it this far you'll probably be interested to know I love the pixies right now, and this song in particular.

The Garden of Earthly Delights, 1503-1504 - Hieronymus Bosch

A day in the Prado art Museum with dad was way more interesting than I would have imagined, and I never would have bothered if my dad hadn't made it a priority. We waited for 1 hour in the rain outside but it was definitely worth it. The complexity of the imagination, and the vision of men, living 500 years ago in a deeply stratified and religious Europe was really amazing to see.