Let's party again!

[wiseheart]

Well, folks, it's *that* time of the year again: I'll be 53 next Friday. So, it's time for the annual game of "let's the threads collapse". Come in, make yourselves comfortable, have a good time and bring your friends. Last years we had some 400+ comments, now we're in for the new record. ;)

This entry will be bounced up each day until October 9, so that all those who want can participate.

Update: On October 4, we had 195 comments on 2 pages. Well done. We still have got 5 more days, so let's see what we can do in that time. I have to say, the conversations in the individual threads were absolutely delightful. *is happy*

Update #2: On October 6, we had 270 comments - sadly, still on only 2 pages. Only 3 more day left to reach the ultimate goal, which would be 444 comments on 4 pages. But the discussions are great, so at the very least, we have the quality, if not the quantity yet. And that's more important, I'd say.

Update #3: On October 8, we had 388 comments, on 3 pages! Yay! I'm not very optimistic about Page 4, but I think the 444 comments might come together by the end of the day itself.

Pre-birthday gifts:
Got a wonderful bakery book from Mum, titled "Muffins and..." well, I seriously doubt that the English language has a word for the rest. Germans might know what Pogatschen are. They are small, salty or cheesy cookies, made usually of yeast dough... a Hungarian speciality. We already have quite a few recepies, but there are some in that book I never heard of. It will be a delight to try them out.

Also, I got the box-set of 2nd Season Torchwood from the most generous the_wild_iris! Thanks, my friend, you really, really made my day after two rather stressful weeks. I can finally watch the only episode I missed while we were in Belgium - the one in which Owen becomes a zombie. Heh!

Pre-birthday preparations:
I baked some strawberry flavoured muffins tonigh - not from the new book, from the carton box, I'm afraid, but for the colleagues they will do tomorrow.

Mum's bravely going down to the hairdresser's tomorrow, because, as she told me, "I can't look like this on your birthday!" Well, after not seeing a hairdresser for months, there's some truth in it.

The day after tomorrow, we're going to the "Blind Crow" for lunch. Unlike in English-speaking countries, lunch is actually the main meal of the day over here, so it will be great. The "Blind Crow" is a very nice little restaurant, and we can reach it on foot, which is the main issue, as Mum can't climb into any busses yet.


Final update:
Well, folks, the party will still be going on until midnight, CET, but I'm already declaring it a great success. We've made it onto Page 4, we've broken through the 500 (!!!)-comment-barrier, and I'm very happy.

Thanks everyone for participating, especially altariel, rcfinch, solanpolarn, the_wild_iris, theromangeneral and lhun_dweller, who've been working diligently and tirelessly to help me break the record. Should I've forgotten anyone, I humbly apologize.

Comments

[katlinel.livejournal.com]

Pretty icon!

It was this one (http://www.petersyard.com/).

[solanpolarn.livejournal.com]

The icon is basically the logo for this website, which I really like.

That looks like a very nice place, but sadly a bit too far away from my current home in London. I do miss Swedish cafes sometimes, with their selection of cakes. While I am as partial as anyone to the Danish pastry type chocolate twists that you can get in places like Costa and Nero sometimes I get a craving for cardamom and cinnamon buns.

[katlinel.livejournal.com]

Cinnamon in cakes is lovely and there aren't enough nice cinnamon cakes around. Debenhams did do a cinnamon bun in their cafes but they were very large, heavy and stodgy. Cardamom in cakes is quite new to me but I am definite convert to those ones.

And I love that icon. I love that episode of Doctor Who, precisely because of that speech in the library and because it's all about saving the world through applied books and cookery. :-)

[solanpolarn.livejournal.com]

Cinnamon buns are a staple of Swedish baking -- there is even a day specially dedicated to them, Kanelbullens dag, which is Swedish for 'The day of the cinnamon bun'. It is a fairly recent idea, but a good one I think! Now that I look it up, I see it is the 4th of October so we haven't missed it this year! :-) Maybe I will try and make some tomorrow to celebrate. My cardamom buns turned out quite stodgy, actually. I think I may have kept the yeast too long, but my friends' daughters ate them happily anyway. Some of the Swedish recipes for cinnamon buns actually have cardamom in them as well: you put cardamom in the dough and cinamon in the filling -- turns out quite well. (If you are interested I do have a recipe I would be more than happy to share.)

Yes, I love that episode too! It was the second episode of Doctor Who that I saw and that scene in the library made me fall head-over-heels in love. A man/time lord who declares books are the best weapons in the world is always going to own my heart!

Looking at my previous comment I notice I didn't actually put in the link to the Virtual Chocolate website. I especially like their Chocoholics club. :-)

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

Erm.... *raises hand shyly* I'd like the recipe, please. I know I don't suppose to eat such things, either, but on rare occasions...

[solanpolarn.livejournal.com]

Swedish cinnamon buns
48 buns

Ingredients
Dough:
50 g of (fresh) yeast
100-150g of butter
0.5 litres of milk
0.1-0.15 litres of castor sugar
½ tsp of salt
2 tsp of ground cardamom
1.5-1.6 litres of plain flour

Filling
50 g of butter
0.1 litres of castor sugar
1 tbsp of cinnamon
raisins

For decoration:
egg
sugar or chopped almonds

Melt the butter, add the milk and heat to 37 degrees C. Crumble the yeast into a bowl. Pour the liquid over the yeast and mix until it dissolves. Add salt, sugar cardamom and most of the flour. Knead the dough, adding more flour as necessary, until it doesn’t stick to the bowl. Leave to rise for 30-40 minutes, or until it has doubled in volume, covered with a tea-towel. Knead the dough until it is smooth. Divide it into two equal parts.

Roll out each part into a large oblong piece about ½ centimetre thick. Spread the butter on it and sprinkle with sugar, cinnamon and raisins. Roll up the piece (with the filling on the inside) and cut into 24 slices. Put the buns in cupcake papers or on grease proof paper, cover with a tea-towel and let rise for 30 minutes.

Paint the buns with whisked egg and decorate with sugar crystals or chopped almonds. Try and push the raisins down into the buns to stop them getting burnt during baking. Bake the buns in the middle of the oven at 250 degrees C for 5-10 minutes.

I think the raisins are my (English) mother's addition, since bought buns don't contain them. They give an extra moisture and a different texture to the buns, which I think enhances the recipe.

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

Awww, thanks! *saves recipe*

I think they'll be ideal for St. Nicholas day. Perhaps I'll make some for my students - it's a big children's festival over here.

Erm... it says 1.5-1.6 litres of flour. How much would that be in weight? *ducks* Sorry, I have no idea about these things. Our recepies always give the dry ingredients in weight.

[solanpolarn.livejournal.com]

Swedish recipes tend to give flour and sugar in volume measurements as well. The conversion is 1 dl(=0.1 litre) is 60 g of flour and 85 g of granulated sugar. I hope you enjoy the recipe!

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

Oh, I see. Thanks. I'd like to promote you to my Evil Scientist(TM), but since crowdaughter has secured that position for herself years ago (it was some silly meme, actually), perhaps you could be my tactical advisor in my great scheme of world domination?

I don't only bake and write, I read books, too. Does that count?

[solanpolarn.livejournal.com]

I would love to be your tactical advisor! So long as you understand that I am also the minion to an evil scientist with her own lair who is offering me a cape for loyal service... :-)

Reading books always counts! I wish I had more time for that.

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

Hmmm... I can't offer you a cape, I'm afraid. But what about a baby dragon?

[solanpolarn.livejournal.com]

My own baby dragon? Count me in! :-)

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

I knew it would work! Because honestly, who could resist a baby dragon? Here you are! *points at icon*

[solanpolarn.livejournal.com]

Thank you! *carefully approaches baby dragon and admires it beauty, reaching out to stroke its delicate wings* How could anyone possibly resist a baby dragon, indeed?

Do you think it eats chocolate?

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

Well, it's a mythical creature, which - at least in China - is considered as the personification of wisdom, so yes, I think it would appreciate the awesomeness that is chocolate. Just don't overfeed it, or else it would fall off the sky. *g*

[solanpolarn.livejournal.com]

I'll be a responsible dragon keeper I promise! I will just have to eat the majority of the chocolate myself...

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

That's most selfless of you. But I haven't expected anything else from such a responsible person.

BTW, did you know that there's such a thing as a manual for dragon keepers? I saw it in a bookshop a year or so ago. I assume it was for children or for really crazed RPG-ers, but the idea is funny.

[solanpolarn.livejournal.com]

Yes, I too have seen dragon keepers' manuals in bookshops. I haven't actually looked at them inside, in case I found they were charming and I had to buy them. My book cases are over flowing as it is and I haven't got nearly enough time to read all the books I already have!

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

Oh, I feel your pain, believe me! I regularly have to sort out my library, as I live in a very small flat, and book-cases and shelves are groaning under the weight.

Half a year later, I realise that I can't live without exactly those books I've sold to the second-hand bookshop and start hunting for them again... Unfortunately, the flat remains the same.

I'd need something like Mandos' Halls that grow as time goes by to safely store all the books, videos and DVDs I have... or want to have.