Picture by Juha Pentikäinen

The 13th of December is the day of Saint Lucia, the only saint that is commonly recognised in Finland and Sweden. Our countries are very Lutheran, which is sparse, strict, no nonsense – path of reformist Christianity. So we don’t know anything of  dramatic saints with their terrifying life – stories, and our churches are quiet places with simple furnishings. But then, why did we take Lucia, an unknown Sicilian saint, to be so dear to us and be part of the Advent celebrations leading Christmas?

Lucia’s Day is widely celebrated in Sweden and in the Swedish speaking part of Finland. Usually a young maiden from the local community is chosen to represent her, looks are not important, but she should have a beautiful voice to sing with. Then she appears on streets and marketplaces, in schools, in old people’s homes, clad in white, wearing a crown of candles and singing the Lucia Song. Often she will bring some “glögi”, a Finnish Christmas drink and some gingerbread to people. Hardly anyone remembers her actual story (I recall she refused to marry because she wanted to lead a Christian life in chastity, and suffered a martyr death because of that) , she is simply the bringer of light in the darkest time of the year. Somehow I think she subconsciously reminds us of the ancient, powerful Nordic goddesses, when she stands there, brave, shining and solitary, crowned with living fire.

What is my personal relationship to Lucia then? When I was five years old and in the Kindergarten, I was not chosen to be Lucia, but instead got to be Virgin Mary in the Christmas play. But who would be comforted by a meek Mary that silently bends her head and accepts her faith, when there was a chance to be Lucia, who fights for her beliefs and leads the glorious procession? I was so bitter! As an adult I actually got to be the Lucia of my school, when I studied weaving in a swedish – speaking small town. I guess it is also slowly dawning to me that somebody who looks strong and solitary from the outside, might feel lonely and isolated inside.

These kind of saffron buns are in Sweden connected with Lucia, but in my childhood home they were simply baked before each Christmas, to be served with other Christmas delicacies. I must admit that I had to consult the internet in order to remember all the different forms they were baked in, but you can use your imagination! All kind of twirls and spirals is the idea. You should reserve about one and half hours to bake this.

Saffron Christmas Buns

About 25 pieces

2,5 water

25 g yeast

2 g saffron

1/2 tsp bourbon vanilla powder

1,25 dl sugar

7 – 8 dl wheat flour

1/2 tsp salt

100 g vegetable margarine, vegan butter or oil

The water should  be about 36 °C warm so that it doesn’t feel cold or hot when you try with your finger. Dilute the yeast to the water, and add the saffron and sugar and mix. Add some of the flour and then the salt. Continue adding flour until the dough has a nice dense consistency, feels heavy to the hand and doesn’t stick to the edges of the bowl. Then add the margarine or oil. The dough should stay quite soft, so don’t knead too much!

Let the dough rise covered in a nice warm spot, until it’s doubled up in size. It takes half an hour or so. Then cut it up to small pieces, and roll it into several bars that are about the thickness of your finger. Then make all kinds of fun twirly shapes, and decorate  with raisins.

Put your buns on an oven plate and let them rise for an additional 15 – 20 minutes. Then bake them in the oven in 225ºC for 10 – 15 minutes, until they are nicely golden brown. Melt some margarine or use a bit of oil to spread on the buns to make them look pretty. And yes, the raisins tend to always pop out, so try to press them firmly into the bun.

Usually these kind of buns are made with eggs and butter, and for the vegan version to succeed, it is important to not use too much flour in the dough, and to be patient enough to allow it to rise properly.

Here is what Tricia wrote about Lucia and Saffron Buns, and a non – vegan recipe for it.

O sa imi incep postarile pe acest blog nu cu multe cuvinte din partea mea(consider ca ar fi inutil) ,ci cu o poezie a lui Tudor Arghezi.Contine mai mult decat as putea sa spun eu pentru inceput.Adevarul este ca nici nu stiu ce as putea sa va spun decat ganduri bune, sanatate si putere de munca! Doresc,asadar, sa dezbatem aceasta poezie impreuna, sa fim uniti si sa fim prieteni asa cum numai omul prin a sa ratiune  poate sa fie.”Testament”:

Mẹ Hoa chúc mừng sinh nhật muộn Bún nhé. Hôm qua cũng là ngày sinh nhật công ty của mẹ Hoa nên mẹ Hoa lu bù quá mà quên mất. Mẹ Hoa thành thật xin lỗi con và chúc con một tuổi mới thật mạnh khỏe, vui vẻ và ngoan ngoãn như con vẫn luôn luôn vậy con nhé.

Mẹ Hoa đang rất vội để đưa công ty đi nghỉ kỷ niệm ngày thành lập tại Sapa, mẹ Hoa sẽ đền cho con khi về nhé!

Yêu Bún,

Mẹ Hoa.

I also hit up my two favorite quick-grab Japanese eateries in the city. Situated right next to one another are Chiyoda Sushi and Cafe Zaiya!

I usually go inside Chiyoda first, since its food tends to be more expensive but of higher quality. Chiyoda definitely serves high-grade sushi, onigiri, tempura, and croquettes, my favorite! So when I saw the creamy scallop croquette in display, I knew I had to try it!

Its small size was not worth the $1.75, but the croquette was mighty delicious. Crunchy light coating of panko (Japanese bread crumbs, which is made without crust) fried just to the right amount stuffed with a warm seafoody filling that tasted like clam chowder.

Creamy Scallop Croquette

Just because Chiyoda’s onigiri is of higher quality than Zaiya’s does not mean that Zaiya does not have good onigiri. In fact, I love Zaiya’s fresh warm onigiri, because it has a home-cooked comfort food feeling. Plus, it’s cheaper, so I got a salmon onigiri and a spicy tuna onigiri. I was surprised at how delicious the spicy tuna one was. I think it may have just usurped the salmon its position of my favorite.

Another win for Cafe Zaiya is its built-in Japanese bakery! Although I had never really tried the cakes, I know they have yummy green tea pudding and yakimochi (yummy chewy sesame rice cake bread). This time, the green tea bread, pumpkin bread, and chocolate coronet caught my eye.

To be honest the green tea bread disappointed me. It was just a man tou (Chinese steamed bun) with a hint of green tea flavor. The only special thing about it is that there was a layer of thick sweet red bean on the bottom. But what strikes me odd is, why is there red bean stuffing on the bottom? Shouldn’t it be the filling inside the bread? I think I’ll stick with the chlorella from Koryodang.

Green Tea Bread (kind of muffin-like, don't you think?)

On the other hand, the pumpkin bun, which I had saved for breakfast this morning, surprised me with its deliciousness. There was a generous amount of pumpkin filling, which reminded me of Fay Da’s sweet potato bun, only Fay Da uses only a meager amount of sweet potato filling. Cafe Zaiya puts an appropriate amount of soft, slightly cinnamony pumpkin-pie-like filling. I approve.

Pumpkin Bun

But my favorite part of Cafe Zaiya must be the soft-serve ice cream. Green tea used to be my favorite here until I tried their black sesame ice cream. It is absolutely to-die-for, much better than Tenren’s black sesame bubble tea. The ice cream was super-smooth and rich with the wonderful scent of black sesame. Neither too milky nor thick, but still creamy and cold enough to be considered ice cream (versus frozen yogurt). The black sesame ice cream is definitely worth a trip to Cafe Zaiya.

Delicious soft-serve black sesame ice cream

Grade: B+ for the croquette and onigiris, B- for the green tea bread, B+/A- for the pumpkin bread, A for black sesame ice cream

Conclusion: Once again, Chiyoda and Zaiya prove to be pretty darn good. If you would ask me to choose between them, I wouldn’t be able to, because they are two different-styled eateries. Chiyoda is more refined and focuses on small dishes, whereas Zaiya has great breads and bentos.

Locations:

Chiyoda Sushi

(212) 213-0910

Cafe Zaiya

(212) 779-0600

Other Opinions:

Chiyoda Sushi (Yelp, Menupages)

Cafe Zaiya (Yelp, Citysearch, Midtown Lunch)

yummy leftovers from dinner tonight with the boyfriend at counter, a vegetarian restaurant in our neighborhood.

top portion: portobello slider with rosemary mayo on a tiny cute poppy seed bun. purple carrot skewers, cherry tomatoes, and olive skewers, and two carrot-cheese flowers. bottom portion: leftover confit fingerling potatoes, red quinoa-and-fennel salad, roasted eggplant with pom seeds and cumin, and red saurkraut. topped with a few carrot music notes and cheese stars.

doily, kids’ chopsticks, and the last gummy cherry candy.

Ginger & Onion offers one of the finest dim sum experiences in the GTA. Below I will recount my experiences at G & O while providing you with a synopsis as to what dim dum is all about.  

In a nutshell, dim sum refers to a collection of light dishes served typically in steamer baskets or small plates. It is typically served in the morning time until early afternoon and the dishes are cheaper then they are at dinner, similar concept to a “happy hour”. Dim sum may also be referred to as “yum cha” which directly translates to “drinking tea”, this term can be used instead of “dim sum” to describe the entire dining experience. Standard teas offered are fermented black tea, chrysanthemum, oolong or green tea.

All of the dishes that I have tried at G & O have always been fresh and delicious. I have listed 10 of my staples below but there are dozens and dozens and dozens of others, so a typical dim sum order is by no means limited to the items below.

“chau siu baau” –  a steamed BBQ pork bun. The texture of the white bun is uniquely fluffy and the BBQ pork filling is sweet and savoury. This item goes great with the house hot sauce.

“siu mai” – refers to a steamed dumpling. The version I am a custom to consists of pork, shrimp, mushroom and a series of other ingredients topped with roe. This item is delicious in flavour, unique in texture and is complimented well with house hot sauce, red rice vinegar, soy sauce or a combination of each.  

“cheong fun” – is a steamed rice noodle roll. It is similar in shape to manicotti, however it is made from a wide sheet of rice noodle. My favourite renditions contain shrimp, pork or beef. These rolls are topped with soy sauce when served and have that standard rice noodle jelly-like texture. There is also a version of this roll which contains a donut like substance and is outstanding, it is served with a mixture of hoisin and peanut sauce and is to die for.  

“chicken feet” – a major staple in dim sum, is literally chicken feet and can be referred to as phoenix talons. It is steamed or deep fried prior to being simmered in a sauce consisting of fermented beans and sugar. Eating these feet takes practice as there are a lot of bones to maneuver around but the ROI is worth it.  

“crispy fried octopus” – the octopus tentacles are deep fried in a batter that tastes like that of a funnel cake?!? It is served with a sweet and sour sauce along with a mixture of salt and pepper, a dish similar to calamari.

“spare ribs” – pork spare ribs steamed along with fermented black beans. These ribs are served piping hot and sweet in flavour.

“ginger scallion beef tripe” – this particular tripe is derived from the stomach lining of a cow. It is lightly seasoned with ginger, scallions and garlic. Due to the unique texture and flavour it needs little seasoning and the whiter the tripe the better.

“har gao” – a steamed dumpling stuffed with shrimp either whole or chopped and may contain other ingredients such as bamboo, ginger, pepper and sesame oil. The wrap or outer layer of this dumpling is thin, translucent and chewy. In my experiences this item is one of the most popular dishes and pairs great with hot sauce, soy sauce or red rice vinegar.

“turnip cake” – a patty like cake made of shredded daikon, rice flour and water. Some versions contain dried shrimp, Chinese sausage and shitake mushrooms. The cake boasts great texture as the inside is very soft and chewy and the outside slightly crispy.  

In addition to the items above there are dozens and dozens of other delectable dim sum items available at G & O. One of the major highlights for me at this restaurant is their peking duck. It is not available as a dim sum item but we order it off the dinner menu because it is so good. The skin is perfectly crisp and mostly separated from the meat. We eat the duck as is and also with the pancakes (similar to mini tortillas), scallions, carrots, cucumber and hoisin sauce.

The dim sum is made available to you by trolleys passing between tables, however if you arrive in the heart of lunchtime or have a big group at the table who knows what they need, I highly recommend requesting a menu and filling in an order sheet.

Overall I always have a great experience at this restaurant. The menu is well priced, staff are very courteous and the restaurant is clean and well kept. If you decide to partake in some sum on a Sunday morning, I suggest you show up well early or be prepared to wait in line.

New video from Triple C’s featuring Bun B.

The thing about being POD nearly all weekend is that it’s like 36 hours of Wrestlemania as far as Kate is concerned. And her goal is to take me down to the mat. By Sunday afternoon, she nearly succeeded, and Sunday evening I had to gate the girls in the living room while I stole a few moments to make dinner all by myself. Flora was a mass of emotions too, which I attribute to two things: her dramatic personality and being tired. It was another weekend of doing A LOT, and not enough chilling at home.

I love that Kate is so tough, I do, but when getting her removed from a location requires brute force, it is difficult to admire her pure bull-headedness and wiry strength. Saturday she and I had a tete-a-tete at Beaver Valley’s Festival of the Trees that required me leaving Flora with Bella to let Kate ride out the tantrum (with me) in the car. It was quite something, I tell you, not made any easier by the fact that at one point she wanted either her stuffed monkey (George) or her stuffed bunny (Cuddle) and we had neither with us. Note to self: the kiddie survival kit requires a stuffed animal. Stat.

Then Sunday, I thought we could ride out naptime at the OTB Bicycle Cafe fundraiser/Steeler game we attended. I was wrong, and when it looked like she was going to insist on inflicting bodily harm and/or chocolate stains on other attendees, I figured we’d better load up & head out. (Flora, incidentally, was an angel). I got some very concerned looks as I headed out the door with Flora hauling her wheeled backpack and Kate pretty much hanging upside down from my head. (We made it home safely, everyone.) Napping was no longer an option by the time we rolled in, and I just prayed to make it to bed time. (We did. There may have been a lot of shouting.)

On the plus side, Dan and I attended a little get-together Saturday night for which I invented a new recipe that we are calling Pesto Fagioli.

4 cloves garlic
1 15 oz. can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
A big handful of basil (1 loosely packed cup, maybe)
1/4-1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
Olive oil

Throw everything except the olive oil into a food processor. Add the olive oil while pulsing until it is the consistency you prefer. Next time, I am going to try to make it chunkier; it was too smooth to my taste.

The basil lends this a lovely green color (really!) so this is a good one for the Christmas season. Or St. Patrick’s Day.

(As to the Year in Review: My favorite recipe from 2009 is the vegetarian corn chowder I stumbled upon. I think I’m going to have to make this again soon! Just reading this recipe gave me a hankering. Now, to find the time.)

Avem scenariul urmator. Am de ales dintre trei lucruri laolalta cu alti oameni. Unul din acele trei lucruri imi place dar pe celelalte doua nu le suport. Logic, aleg ce imi place. Dar oamenii aleg cele doua lucruri care mie nu-mi plac si se face un baraj.

French braids into two buns secured with pins.

French braids into two buns secured with pins.

I’m trying to decide if I’m more in love with the disheveled bun in Yeojin Bae’s S/S10 collection or some of the looks. Well as much as I covet this hairstyle I don’t see myself being able to tackle wearing it anytime soon, seeing that I have virtually NO HAIR . Thankfully Bae’s designs help subside my pain, oh so dramatic I know I know! Australian designers always seem to be  a bit ahead of the curve in fashion. As I took a quick look back on some her past collections it was very evident. It’s super cold here in NJ/NYC, and these looks from Bae have me longing for any type of hot weather. I love the exaggerated draping in the jumpsuits and adore how she paired it with that amazing blazer, by far my fav look.  It’s nice to see visible diversity throughout a collection as long as each piece is relevant. Visit Bae’s site to indulge in the full collection!

Don’t forget to visit TamSam where i’ll be guest blogging this week!

“Când vezi un om bun, încearcă să-l imiţi; când vezi un om rău, analizează-te.”

El este Dragos Gardulescu.Probabil ca voi il cunoasteti drept Puya.A trecut prin toate incercarile posibile pentru a ajunge in sfarsit la stadiul in care este acum.A fost arestat in Belgia,acuzat pe nedrept de falsificare de carduriA fost o absenta a lui de cam 2 ani..pana acum.De la melodia Undeva-n Balcani a inceput cam totul,si acum a aparut Change.Daca nu va place tipul de muzica folosita de el,macar incercati sa va uitati la versuri.Oare are dreptate?Poate sa fie considerat Puya un model?

Thanksgiving Leftovers Sandwich: Leftover turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy, corn, cranberry sauce, mac & cheese, spinach balls, puerto rican rice, brussel sprouts, pearl onions, BACON, white castle hamburgers and ravioli inside a foot long bun.

Source:
http://thisiswhyyourefat.com/post/258422664/thanksgiving-leftovers-sandwich-leftover-turkey