Donau Walzer: Munich to Passau

Mom and I were so excited to land in Munich and for our Viking ‘Danube Waltz’ Cruise to begin. But first, we had to take a bus from Munich to Passau to meet our boat, the Viking Legend. We got our bags and wandered past customs without being stopped; heard folks calling out to us “Ladies!”. They were the Viking people in red jackets. After waiting a few moments we were on the Viking bus and heading out for a half hour drive to Passau. I sanpped a photo of a Luftansa jet past our seatmates across from us.

Rather quickly, we passed over a canal we did not know the name of; but how stunning is this landscape? Plus, it is already spring here! Look at the leaves! Wow! A motorcyclist! Look how green the hills are! The forsythia are in bloom!

We could see this tower of white smoke from miles away and wondered what it was. Also, note the solar farms. When we got closer, we could see that it was a steam cooler from a nuclear plant.

We also notices Orthodox Catholic churches with onion domes dotted the landscape. Someone rides a large white horse. Old contrasts with new as an onion dome church looms up behind a solar farm. Down the road, we could see the foothills of the Alps. Another onion dome church. Another onion dome church. A twin tower gothic church. Another onion dome church. An onion dome and a Gothic spire church. Cyclists were everywhere! There was industry along the Danube as well. An onion dome on the river.

A larger onion dome church in Passau. A tour boat named after Sissi, Empress Elizabeth of Austria cruises in Passau. Colorful houses line the Danube in Passau. We have arrived!

I have returned from my voyage!

I am completely exhausted but we had a wonderful trip! The weather was Spring-like, Viking was amazing and the sights were stunning. I will post my hundreds of photos over the near future. Sit back and enjoy!

This was my dessert at the Le Meridien Hotel in Budapest; a chestnut marcaron. The hotel was the height of luxury as the marble bathroom floors were heated.

Dark Fruitcake from Better Homes & Garden’s New Cook Book

I have had great success with this recipe; my family all insist that I make fruitcakes every Holiday Season. This is the only one I have ever used; from the Better Homes & Garden New Cook Book. I think my Mother gave me this Cook Book as a gift, some time ago. When I got married, my husband had one too, though it was an older edition. We merged our copies into one. The first copyright is listed as 1953, the second in 1962.
Here are all of the ingredients before I prepare the fruitcakes:




In the first part, one combines the dry ingredients via a sifter. I have to use a huge pot, since I don’t have a bowl large enough:

3 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 treaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon allspice

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

Then the candied fruits and nuts are added and stirred until coated.

2 1/2 cups mixed candies fruits & peels

3 cups raisins

1 1/2 cups candied cherries

1 1/2 cups pitted dates

1 cup slivered almonds

1 cup pecan halves

1/4 cup candied pineapple

Here is what that looks like:
 
Next, in a separate bowl, I beat the 4 eggs until they were foamy. Then I added the 1 3/4 cups of brown sugar a little bit at a time until it was all combined. I then added 1 cup of orange juice and mixed that. Then I added in the 3/4 cup previously melted butter and again mixed it. Finally, I added in the 1/4 cup of molasses. Here is what that looked like:



The little bumps are the pulp from the orange juice.
Next, I poured this liquid into the dry ingredients, making sure to completely coat them. This is where I could have used a strong assistant!!!  When finished, the batter looked like this:
 

Since so many people in my family want fruitcakes, I have taken to using the smaller pans [7.5' x 3.5' x 2.5']. I also really like using Baker’s Joy baking spray with flour. What an effort saver that is!




I put the batter in the pans, filling them about 3/4 of the way up.




Then it is into to the 300ºF oven for 1 hour, after which I covered them with tin foil, to prevent the bottoms from burning. I checked them again in half an hour with a toothpick, but they needed a bit more time. Ten minutes later they were done!


Ta da! Next it is time to prepare the fruitcakes for the best part! Soaking them in the booze! I use Apricot Brandy.


Not just any Apricot Brandy, mind you. I have learned the hard way. Don’t use Mr. Boston! I got bad reviews the year I used it – it will ruin the flavor of your fruitcakes! Get another Apricot Brandy. I am going with Hiram Walker this year.
Since it is not easy to get one’s hands on any cheesecloth hereabouts, I use handiwipes that I have laundered beforehand to wrap my fruitcakes with. Then, I overlay that with plastic wrap, as I have had problems with tin foil getting microscopic holes in it over the long times that I keep it in my fridge. Here is a photo of fruitcakes awaiting the booze:


Sorry that one is out of focus.
But my hands were steadier once I poured the booze on them!


By the way, I added the booze liberally. These cakes can be thirsty! I used about half of that 1.75 liter bottle on these 5 cakes. I will check on them in a couple of weeks and water them some more. So, here they are in my vegetable crisper in my fridge:


Ah! I love that drunk who died smell in my fridge! That is what gets me into the H0liday spirit!
Tra la la la, and whatever follows next!

Happy 2014!

We went to a party at our nephew's mansion and I was totally over-dressed. But the party was wonderful!

Happy 2014 to all my readers!

The Metropolitan Museum of Art: 3 Exhibitions

While away on Holiday vacation at my Mom’s house, we took adavantage of her proximity to the city and visited the Met. We had longed planned to see the Interwoven Globe and here is my report on that exhibit.

THE INTERWOVEN GLOBE – The Worldwide Textile Trade, 1500-1800

This was a huge exhibition and I learned a lot about textiles and their trades between the different countries in those early times. For example, I learned that India crafted patterns in the Chinese or Japanese fashions for sale and trade to European markets when Oriental styles were all the craze, and in the Indonesian style for trade to Java. I learned the origins of the palampores and chintz. I saw beautiful and tremendously detailed embroideries from all over the world in silk and other fabrics. Unfortunately, this exhibition ends on Jan. 5, 2014.

 

Palampore, first quarter 18th Century, India Coromandel Coast, cotton painted resist with mordant dyes. 44 x 72 inches. Chintz.



Palampore, mid-18th Century Indian Coromandel Coast, cotton embroidered with silk, 135 x 103 inches.

 

Panel with flowers, birds and animals, 17th Century. Chinese silk embroidery on silk with gilt wrapped paper thread, 100 x 80 inches.

Man’s morning gown, early 18th Century, India cotton painted resist mordant dyed. 54.3 inches long and 75,75 inches wide. Pine trees and prunus blossoms on red ground imitates Japanese patterns. Oriental style morning gowns became de rigeur in Europe at that time.

SILLA – KOREA’S GOLDEN KINGDOM 57 BC – AD 935

I had to see this show!It had two things that I adore: gold and Buddahs! Hmm. Those things don’t really go together, do they? But it was a really terrific show.


These gold earrings are second Quarter of the 6th Century and were found in the Bomun-Dong Hapjangbun Tomb. They are 3 3/8 inches long. Notice the fine granulation of the top loop, which was all done by hand. Yikes!

This is a chestlace from the end of the 4th Century that was found in the Wolseong-Ro Tomb ga13. It is made of glass, gold and jade. The comma shaped pendant is thought to symbolize power.

JEWELS BY JAR

JAR is Joel A Rosenthal, who now works out of Place Vendôme in Paris. The show had over 400 of his mind-blowing works. JAR is an expert in pavé jem setting. Here is a small sampling of pieces from the show:
 

Sorry about the poor photo quality, I took photos of post cards.

Needless to say, we were both exhausted after seeing all 3 of the exhibitions! Hope you enjoyed my report!

R.I.P. Laila

Our German Shepherd dog Laila passed away peacefully last night in her sleep. She was 14 years and 5 months old.
She was a brave, caring and loyal dog and we will miss her very much. She had a great temperment and made wonderful judgements her entire life. While not a real tail-wagger, I couldn’t have asked for a better dog.
Rest in peace my lovely Laila.