Every year my children love to take cupcakes into school for all of their friends. These are this years cupcakes.
All of the cupcakes were topped with edible glitters and really gave off a lovely sparkle.
This year i also made some cupcakes just for all of the teachers and staff at my children’s school. These were put in the staff room for everyone to enjoy.
Last Gadget Standing Nominee: FujiFilm Real 3D W3
Price: $599.99
I’m not sure if the world is ready to start taking photos in 3D, but FujiFilm sure came up with an attractive was to do it. The FinePix Real 3D W3 digital camera is the first compact consumer 3D digital camera capable of capturing both 3D still images and HD 3D movies at 720P resolution, thanks to its dual-CCD, dual lens system. You can view 3D photos and movies on the W3’s autostereoscopic widescreen display–no glasses required–and the HDMI output port lets you connect the camera to 3D TVs. Other features include Advanced 2D Mode, which takes advantage of the dual CCD/dual lens system to capture two different 2D images at the same time–zoom and wide angle, for instance, or two different sensitivity settings.
From today until Sunday 17 December 19 will take place in the courtyard of the headquarters of the Provincial Government of Sevilla la II Feria de Cuisine and Craft of the Province, an exhibition that offers visitors tastings of olive oil, ham Iberian cured meats, preserves, candies, liqueurs, as well as crafts or decorative textiles. 74 companies participating in this year.
From our hotel in Seville is easy access to it, as it is located in the center of the city.
The exhibition not only aims to promote food and crafts of the peoples and the promotion of domestic tourism, but is also a business success: the first year, sales were above the 700,000 euros.
In addition to the tastings are available in different stand and selling products, the sample has a large program: they create dishes such as paella and mushroom hunting, by the School of Hotel and province of Seville, is taught a seminar tasting cocktails and cocktails, the School of Hotel Gambrinus beer produces bores, and there are performances, like the children’s choir campanilleros Cañada del Rosal.
Admission is free for visitors and will remain open on Friday from 12.00 h. to 14.00 h. and 16.00 h. to 20.00 h. On Saturday and Sunday from 11.00 h. 14.00 and 16.00 h. to 20.00 h.
The Namibia Development Corporation’sgrapeharvest at the Naute Dam Irrigation Project near Keetmanshoop will be slightly less this year than last year due to weedkiller damage to vines. NDC production manager Japie Mar predicts a 59 per cent loss in production caused by the wrong application of weedkiller chemicals. This year’s harvest in the undamaged parts of the vineyards is above average, he said. According to Mar, about 110 000 boxes of grapes weighing 4,5 kg are earmarked for the European market. Only 10 per cent of the grapes is sold locally, Mar said.
“We would like to increase the volumes for the local market, but we’re producing for export.”A low demand for grapes in the local market also contributes to the short supply, he added. Government has allocated 40 hectares of land to the Naute Dam Project as part of a five-year strategic plan. Other crops such as dates will be added in future. Thegrapeproject employs 17 permanent workers and 140 seasonal workers.
Source
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So with Thanksgiving just past and now Christmas upon us, we’ve been doing a lot of baking in the Gone Bananas household! We’ve turned out pumpkin rolls, oatmeal cookies, sugar cookies, chocolate gooey butter cookies and most recently our favorite baking project was Ninja Bread Cookies!
No! Not gingerbread cookies… Ninja bread cookies!
They’re gingerbread men in ninja poses! 
My friend Susie found these super cute cookie cutters at www.perpetualkid.com and was itching to try them, so I whipped up some gingerbread batter from my fabulous, trusty Joy of Cooking cookbook and it didn’t take long for us to start playing with our food.
I call this sequence of photos the sneak attack or stealth ninja.
*Cue music*
Everybody was kung fu fighting… huh!
Those cats were fast as lightning…
It was a little bit frightening… huh!
But they fought with expert timing!
Oh oh-oh oooooh oh oh-oh ooooh!
HIYA!!!!
And…… Scene!
After a good half hour of playing around we baked our first batch and they came out perfect.
We even managed to give a few of them proper ninja attire!
I have to say I think my first attempt at ninja bread cookies rocked!
They were pretty tasty!
To join our Friday Food Fight, post a picture of your favorite food, meal, snack
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When I woke up this morning it was 16 degrees in Chapel Hill! I wanted a warm breakfast before heading off to work and had an ingenious idea: egg nog oatmeal! With the holidays right around the corner, last weekend I picked up some light eggnog made with reduced-fat milk, no artificial flavors, colors or preservatives. (Thank you Trader Joe’s!)
Here’s what I combined:
¼ C low-fat milk ¼ C light egg nog½ C old-fashioned oats
Old-fashioned oats take a bit longer to cook. I microwaved for 4 minutes on medium heat, stirred well, & let it sit for 2 more minutes to soak up all of the good egg nog flavor.
I topped it off with a fist-full of raisins, half of a sliced banana and a couple shakes of cinnamon. This breakfast is a good source of fiber, protein, calcium & even includes a serving of fruit!
It was delicious. I highly recommend it if you like a slightly sweet oatmeal.
Last night I met a friend at Spice Street in Chapel Hill. Picture a lavishly cozy restaurant with a lounge-feel to it. 
I’m a sucker for atmosphere and I can say that this place has it right! Here’s a picture from their website. The menu is a refreshingly unique fusion of Asian & Mediterranean dishes. Our server recommended the Seafood Risotto… so I went with that. It had shrimp, lobster, scallops & chorizo served over saffron risotto. Heavy, yes, but so delicious! I saved some for lunch today.
My evening tonight is a bit less calorically indulgent. After work, I’m headed to my favorite power yoga class. I recently started going 1-2 times per week and love it because I always leave a little bit stronger, calmer & totally exhausted!
I was very pleased to return a very special favor to a good friend. She needed a ride to the hospital for a routine colonoscopy. Considering that I have already “been there/done that” I was able to keep her thinking positively. Everything turned out okay and she tooted her way home in my car blissfully mellowed from the medications.
On the downside, I will be meeting with the surgeon on January 13th to discuss when to plan the 2nd surgical intervention. My case was presented to the group of GI docs and surgeons last week. It was a doctor group consensus that I have a partial blockage that needs to be resolved. This will solve part of the problems. I am currently on a low starting dose of a medication that might address the other problem. It has a downside of lowering blood pressure and mine is already plenty low. So, I monitor both my blood sugars and my blood pressure throughout the day. Today they upped the dose so if there are going to e problems they will probably be present soon enough.
I will be posting daily – my goal! These will be general postings about my observations of the world around me. I think you will enjoy my twisted displays of humor.
They bumped me from 12-hour pump cycle back up to a 14-hour pump cycle because I was having some serious sugar crashes during the time off the pump.
I’ve decided not to post anymore about this issue until after I meet the surgeon on the 13th of January. DON’T PANIC! I will still be posting but not about the upcoming surgery. I am not in a good place about the surgery and my chances for “recovery”. I will chat about this later. Right now, I just want to keep my strength about for the holidays. They are going to be draining me as it is – emotionally, physically and financially.
I am plugging along on TPN/iv nutrition. I’ve had problems with swollen joints, water weight gain, hair loss, bruises, cold feet and hands, sore muscles…..but I know it make take some time to tweaking my formula. I am trying to start a very light exercise program right now to build up so much of the muscles lost during the last year.
lisa came to visit me while i was house sitting in silver lake. started with a picnic at lacma, and ended our day at malo tacos.
the next morning we had brunch at alcove on hillhurst. delicious!
btw…three celebrity sightings all weekend!
the girls were thoroughly satisfied.
This entry was posted on December 17, 2010 at 7:00 am and is filed under food, life.
Nick Cannon revealed today in an interview with what everyone has been suspecting! Nick and Wifey Mariah Carey are expecting Twins. In an Interview with 92.3 FM Radio Station, Nick shared that the first person to learn that they were expecting Twins was President Obama:
“On Friday, you will see my wife perform in front of the President and the first family … and she opens the show with a song she wrote called “One Child” which is kind of ironic. It’s a festive holiday song … she even speaks of how she was inspired writing this song and being pregnant. So as she’s singing this song and goes backstage and has the opportunity to speak with the President and the First Family, and they even questioned my wife about ‘So what are you having, are you having twins?’ At this point she hadn’t told anybody anything … and because of the excitement, she was overwhelmed and she shared with the President that we are having twins.”
There has been speculation that Mariah was having twins after she referenced to the baby as ‘they’ in an interview last month.
I’m really happy for them! Congratulations to the happy couple!
I love almonds at this time of year, when the cold really bites and the body yearns for warm, comforting foods. I try to incorporate them into my diet as much as possible – eating them with my fruits in the morning, or soaking them overnight and eating them with honey and black pepper. That’s a must try if you feel the sniffles coming, by the way.
Almonds are generally great for the body – they are high in protein, aid digestion, lower cholesterol levels, they’re rich in Vitamin E and contain zinc, potassium, magnesium, iron, calcium and others.
Almond ButterSo I’ve been wanting to make a delicious spread to eat with bread or rice crackers – kind of a healthy snack between meals. Peanut butter is too acidic and so I came across this really simple, delicious recipe which is both vegan and alkaline.
1 cup almonds – preferably roasted, as that gives them a nice crispy flavour
1/2 tbsp Olive oil
Salt to taste
Blend together and voila – you have a nutritious, delicious spread. I poured some over my fruits this morning, added some raisins and had a very yummy, filling breakfast.
This banana cake was one of the easiest to bake. You don’t need a fancy topping on this cake: a simple sprinkling of confectioners powdered sugar does the trick.
Ingredients:
Combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a bowl.
Beat together the oil and sugar with a handheld mixer for about two minutes.Add the soymilk mixture and beat until just mixed.Add the mashed bananas and beat in. Make sure there are no big lumps remaining.Add the flour to the banana-soymilk-oil mixture in 2 batches, beating in after each addition until the mixture is smooth. Do not overbeat, though. Line a 9-inch square pan with parchment or wax paper. Oil the paper.Pour in the batter and bake 25-30 minutes in a 350-degree oven until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.Place the cake on a rack to cool.After about 10 minutes, lift out the cake by the parchment paper and place it on the rack to cool thoroughly.Dust the confectioners’ sugar over the cake.Cut into squares and devour!Winter is here and my vehicle knows it! My Chevy Tahoe is taking a beating with all the muddy snow going in and out of it. I try to keep it as clean as I can of course, but when my four children are parading in and out of it… well things get a little messy. The weather isn’t helping much either. Thankfully there are just a simple things I can do to help keep up with the mess and turn clean up time into a faster, easier experience. I took a swing on over to Carid online and looked around at the car floor mats for my Tahoe. I figure I could use an update for sure. At first I really wanted to go with something attractive and fashionable but then I found the RubberTite All-Weather Floor Mats. Perfect! They are simple, sleek floor mats that are designed specifically for my make, model, and year vehicle and they are ideal for the weather in my area.
LLOYD® - RubberTite™ All-Weather Floor MatsI really like the overall design and the variety of colors and shapes/prices. I looked around Carid’s site and found the mats that were perfect for me. I simply entered my vehicle information and was able to view all the different options for my Tahoe. The All-Weather Floor Mats are designed to trap liquid, mud, dirt, etc. I live on a gravel road in southern Iowa and with all the dust in the spring and summer and snow in the winter, the All-Weather mats will make a great fit! They are available in black, grey, tan, and crystal clear. I had a lot of options to choose from. I decided to go with tan because it matches my leather interior. I also had the option to purchase a couple of different styles. They have the one piece front mat, two piece front mat set, one piece back mat set, and cargo set. I went with both the front and back sets and for a good price too; only $44.91 for the front and $35.91 for the back set. They are solid, well made mats and should last a long time which is exactly what I need.
If you are looking for a nice set of car floor mats for your car and want to grab them at a decent price, visit Carid. I recommend them to all my readers, you will not be disappointed.
click her to know how to prepare pea nut chicken curry….
Be the first to like this post.Sorry, I could not read the content fromt this page.Recommended by Carrie Wiatt
Want to serve something festive that won’t have you looking like Santa in the New Year? P90X nutritionist Carrie Wiatt’s twist on this holiday favorite has a great carb-protein-fat ratio that’ll help you stay healthy for the holidays.
Chill 6 oz. of the evaporated milk in the freezer for 30 minutes so it will whip better. In a saucepan over medium heat, whisk together skim milk, remaining 6 oz. of evaporated milk, eggs, and sugar. Rinse your whisk in hot water to ensure that no bacteria from the egg remain. Once you’ve done that, use a wooden spoon to stir the mixture on the stove constantly for 10 minutes until slightly thickened. (Do NOT boil.) Remove pan from heat; transfer mixture to a large bowl.and let it cool for several minutes. Place chilled evaporated milk and vanilla in a small bowl and whisk together until slightly thickened. Add it to the egg mixture and whisk for a few minutes more, until frothy. Refrigerate for 4 to 24 hours. If the eggs begin to coagulate, you can strain the mixture to remove the solids. Top with ground nutmeg before serving. You may substitute 1/2 cup of rum or brandy for vanilla. Makes 12 servings.
Preparation Time: 20 minutes (mixing), 4 hours and 30 minutes to 24 hours (prechilling)
Nutritional Information (per serving):
Almond-stuffed chicken with rice and peppers
DinnerThe easiest way to switch up a chicken meal is to add stuffing. It brings a whole new dimension to the meal. New flavors, tastes and textures how can you go wrong?
For the Chicken
Ingredients for Chichen and stuffing1/3 cup light garlic and herb cream cheese
1/4 cup slivered almonds, toasted, coarsely chopped and divided
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, divided
4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, washed and dried
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 1/2 tablespoon butter
In a small bowl, combine the spreadable cream cheese, 3 tablespoons of toasted almonds, and 2 tablespoons of parsley and set aside.
Cut a horizontal slit through the thickest portion of the breast to form a pocket. Stuff 1 1/2 tablespoons of the cheese mixture into each pocket; secure each pocket with a wooden tooth pick. Sprinkle the chicken breast with salt and pepper.
Cooking the chickenHeat the butter in a large non stick fry pan over medium heat. Add the chicken to the pan; cook 6 minutes on each side and then place on a baking sheet and place in the oven for 5-10 minutes at 400F until done. Remove from the pan; cover and let stand for 2 minutes. Top the chicken with the remaining tablespoon of almonds and remaining tablespoon of parsley.
Cooking Stuffed Chichen For the Long Grain Rice
Rice1 cup water
1/2 cup long grain rice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon of butter
In a small pot boil the water and add the salt and butter; add the rice and boil for a few minutes and then reduce the heat and cover. Simmer for 20-25 minutes until the water is gone then fluff with a fork.
For the peppers
cooking the peppers 1 each Red, Orange and Yellow bell peppers
3 cloves of minced garlic
2 teaspoons butter
salt and pepper
In a medium fry pan melt the butter until foamy then add the garlic and saute until fragrant. Add the peppers and saute until tender but not too soft; add salt and pepper to taste.
Almond-Stuffed Chicken with rice and peppersThis was an amazingly simple meal with an abundance of taste and texture. I really love the crunch of nuts in the stuffing it really is something different and it is so tasty! The whole meal takes only 30-40 minutes to prepare depending on your oven and cook time. I assure you there will be no disappointment here!
2PM is a South Korean boy band, originally a seven-member group, but currently consisting of six members[1] due to the sudden contract termination of leader Jaebeom following an Internet controversy in September 2009. They are managed by JYP Entertainment. The current members are Junsu, Junho, Nichkhun, Taecyeon, Wooyoung and Chansung.
2PM is one of the two subgroups branched out from the eleven-member (before Jaebeom’s departure) boy band One Day, the other being 2AM. They debuted with the song “10 Jeom Manjeome 10 Jeom” (10? ??? 10?, lit. 10 Points Out of 10 Points), which showcased their acrobatic dance styles.[2] They achieved their first No. 1 song with “Again & Again”.
Source::http://photopol.us/2010/12/16/peter-hoffman-sometimes-wonders-what-if-nietszche-or-kierkegaard-took-photos/
My girlfriend in high school told me her photography class was fun, and I loved the skate photos in my monthly Thrasher, so I took the class. The teacher was terrible because he was preoccupied with being a wrestling coach, but the upside of that was that I pretty much got to do whatever I wanted in class, so I had fun. Fast-forward a few years to when I was 20 and living in New Zealand going on surfing road trips with some new found friends and I felt like I needed to take tons of pictures, probably for the first time in my life.
A Hasselblad, or Leica M6, also Contax g2. I try to keep it simple. My clients usually want digital so that’s just Nikon D700 and a few small primes. I love shooting film though and would do so exclusively if I could.
Yikes, there isn’t one. I’d say I get the ideas and the drive to make new work when I’m outside being active. That usually means trail running but sometimes surfing or snowboarding. The most visually present inspiration in my work is probably my concern about and love for nature. A lot of the time I am looking for elements of nature within a man made world, and questioning the relationship between the two. I’m probably an optimist at heart but I photograph out of concern, curiosity and frustration in many cases.
Also I’m inspired by different writings, particularly existentialism lately. It’s sort of an absurd thought but sometimes I wonder what if Nietszche or Kierkegaard took photos? How would that look? I often think that photography, at least in terms of how I practice it, is much more akin to writing than it is to painting, or illustration. If I read something that I feel changes the way I perceive the world then often the first thing I want to do is make pictures. I know that might sound a bit strange and may not necessarily show in the actual photos I make, but that’s the sort of thing that gets me going.
I find that the greater challenge is forcing myself to get out the door to shoot even if I have an open day. It’s not that I don’t want to, it’s just that when I wake up and the light isn’t perfect and my bed is just so good and I probably won’t find anything or meet anyone today and what’s the point of this project anyway and do I really have the money to be sending 5 more rolls to the lab and maybe I should market myself today instead and…. you get the idea. Beating that is harder than finding time. I have about three bodies of work that I am currently working on that can all be advanced within my area if I am successful with getting myself out the door for the day.
I guess I don’t think of photography in those terms. I’m just interested in compiling a collection of work that communicates some cohesive notion about the time and place we are in. My foundation is that of a photojournalist and although I realize I am a completely subjective being I photograph things as they are, be it space, people, things etc. The one thing I’m not interested in is creating a fantasy or another world. I really just want to make pictures that cause people to question or reconsider their surroundings.
I just had some work (Bryan House) up at the Fotografia Festival in Rome, and I’m getting published in the American Photography 26 edition, but other than that right now I’m mostly concentrating on making new work. I get really hesitant about putting much work out there right now because most of it is not what I would consider a complete thought, yet.
I’m not really sure that any of my images are really unique, but I hope that when I die, if someone stumbles on a shoebox of my prints they might get specific a sense what the world I saw was like. I hope that my catalogue is an honest representation of who I am and the world I’m in. That’s about it.
Off the top of my head, probably Timothy Leary or Augustine of Hippo. Not for the pictures necessarily. I look at portrait shoots as a chance to have a conversation with someone, and the portraits are a byproduct of my connection with that person. I’d love to talk to those fellows.
I’d love to go back to New Zealand and photograph a town called Piha, as well as most of the Islands really. I’m mostly shooting things that are at least loosely related to water right now, so anywhere with coastline. If I had a camper van and some good friends, surfboards and bicycles that would all be great too. I spent a summer on the road solo…company would have helped at times. There are a few places in Canada in in the Nordic countries I would love to photograph too, but I’m looking at those as more long-term goals.
That said, I’ve spent a large portion of my life wanting to and trying to leave the Midwest, and though I have in fits and spurts I always end up back here. Now that I’ve accepted this and am actually quite okay with it, I feel it pretty important to make Midwestern work. I think there is a lot of uncharted territory here (photographically speaking) and I’m here to try and explore some of that. I won’t lie, my recent forays into surfing on Lake Michigan are a big part of why I’m okay with living here now. For the work I feel strongly about doing, I’m in exactly the place I need to be at this particular moment. In a year it may change.
I take my film to the lab and then pick it up. For digital I use Lightroom. I really try to minimize my computer time. That’s not where you make photography. I hardly use photoshop anymore, which makes me happy. If I do it’s pretty much all curves adjustment layers and cloning out dust from scans.
I pretty much like the stuff I have. I rarely photograph anything shorter than 35mm and longer than 85mm so I’ve got it covered. Maybe I’d get another lens (50) for my Leica, and that new 35 1.4 for the Nikon, and spend the rest of the money on a better scanner and really just endless film and processing.
This changes but some constants are William Eggleston, Trent Parke, Sam Abell and Michael Kenna. Lately I’ve really gotten into work by Gus Powell and Saul Leiter. There is so much good work out there now though, it’s pretty cool. I like them all for different reasons.
The things that have helped my photography the most were 1) Ohio University letting me into their grad program for photojournalism and 2) The fellowship I got for the National Network of Forest Practitioners where I pretty much drove around and shot documentary work of people and their relationship with the land for an entire summer. I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t be anywhere without those opportunities. That said, I’m still trying to figure this whole “career” thing out…
You should check out the work of my friend Ross Mantle. *ed. note: oops, we already did – last week.
I like a lot of ambient and hip-hop instrumental type stuff for editing, Blockhead and RJD2 etc. Also jazz….Hird and the Bad Plus are a couple good ones I’m digging at the moment. I’m still big into hip hop and punk rock though….Pennywise, Bad Religion, Tribe Called Quest, Aesop Rock are some constant favorites.
Going running is key to my functioning, so, the forest preserve or anything outside where I’m not being constantly reminded of things like traffic and strip malls is good. Other than that yea I’ve got a favorite watering hole I hit up with my friends, but they have bad cover bands on the weekends so it’s mostly a Tuesday night thing.
I’ve never thought about that. Most of my favorite images just sort of happen when I’m living my life, and I usually don’t know that I like something until days or weeks after. If it’s an assignment I feel pretty good about maybe I’ll go on a long run afterward. Then again, if it’s one I’m pretty frustrated by I’ll probably do the same thing. I love Chicago pizza…Lou Malnati’s followed by Giordano’s.
This always changes for me, which is partially why I keep making photos, I guess. Lately I’ve been photographing the streets of Chicago quite a bit which has been a new and interesting challenge. I was teaching high school kids downtown this summer and I often went out shooting after class as a way to unwind. I think about 30 min before I made this photo (see first image below) a guy threatened to bash my head in, but he spoke more eloquently and graphically than that. Photographing in public is always an adventure. I have my reasons for liking it, but you can take from it what you will.
I can’t judge photographers based on one picture. I feel that’s like reading a page of a novel and making an assessment. It just totally short changes the work. The photographers that I admire all have great bodies of work. I’ll show the portfolio from Alec Soth’s Dog Days Bogota book. This is possibly my favorite photo book, despite the fact that I feel like this one gets looked over in his catalogue.
No. If it did I would pick up a hammer or something. Yea there are shoots where I may have to do something I’m not into, but I really try to minimize this. If I get to meet new people or see a new place I’m happy, even if one would think the place might be boring. I had an assignment recently where I was sent to a strange town I’d never been to and the editor told me to just do what Eggleston might do. There’s not much you could say to make me more excited. What’s better than getting hired for shooting how you want to shoot? Days like that will make me put up with a decent amount of nonsense and still love the medium.
I seem to always have this wool hat that my late grandfather bought in Ireland some decades ago. I don’t always wear it, but it’s usually nearby.
Aquarius
©PeterHoffman
