Leaves and Stamen

What could I possibly add to the most wonderful, tranquil gardens in London: Kew.  A haven for the Parakeets, the old and the very young.  Super for taking close-ups, but really would recommend a tripod to eliminate the shake of the camera.

The Lovely Kew Gardens

On a visit to Kew Gardens on Saturday in good spring weather, we walked to the quieter areas to the far left of the park, where a variety of pines grow.  Some of the bark was so beautiful, that I had to capture the silvery sheen and wonderful textures.

And of course, the underside of a ... (large leafed plant that great for standing under in rain)!

Sunday Smoothie

I can't be the only person out there, who has all the greatest of intentions when buying fresh fruit and vegetables.  I seem to wait till they're on the turn before doing something with them!

My daughter hates bananas.  It was a case of one too many.  Now I slip those frozen chopped up over ripe bananas into smoothies.  They do a great job of cooling down the fruit.  Today, it was a pineapple that was so over ripe that I had to put it in the fridge to keep the mould at bay, a bargain bucket punnet of strawberries and a glug of goat's milk.  No sugar needed.  Usually I use yogurt, but I was too lazy to get a spoon out, and pouring seemed so much easier.

Put into glasses and eat (too thick to drink).  A whole blender full was demolished, and a waddle to the park was all that was manageable.

Budapest, Hungary

A couple of different views of Budapest, taken last month.

From the Ludwig Gallery (Museum of Modern Art)

Although the exhibitions are good, the views from the massive glass panel windows are better.  One could sit there all day and watch the ants perform uninhibited.

West End Shopping Centre
I am not the greatest fan of shopping, especially in malls.  However, once in a while I don't mind a bit of window shopping!

White Glass @ the Victoria & Albert Museum, London

V&A, Contemporary Glass, Room 129

The Märit Rausing Gallery

The international glass displayed in this gallery is recent work by contemporary artist-makers and designers. To maintain this contemporary character, the displays will change as newer works enter the permanent collections. At times, there may be a temporary exhibition of invited work - either a solo or a thematic show.

Colorbox 1-5 is a glass installation in five pieces by Jun Kaneko, made at the Bullseye Glass Factory, Portland, Oregon, USA, 2006.


Jun Kaneko was born in Nagoya, Japan in 1942. He moved to the United States in 1963 and established his current studio in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1990. Kaneko started painting is his youth, but he switched to sculpture soon after his arrival in the United States, working mostly in ceramics, but also in other media such as bronze or glass. He is best known for his large scale ceramic sculptures or 'dangos' (the Japanese word for dumpling).

Gateau Pithiviers

Puff pastry with a marzipan filling (to you and me!)

Ingredients

• 300g of marzipan

    or

• 50g olive oil
• 125g unrefined brown sugar
• 2 egg yolks (but will probably only need one, so do one and see how you go)
• 125g ground almonds
• few drops of almond essence
• 2 tablespoons of rum

Pastry

• 2 x 225g packets of puff pastry
• 1 egg lightly beaten (can just use the egg white from above) with teaspoon water and a pinch of salt to glaze pastry
• icing sugar

Method
Mix oil and sugar, then beat in the egg yolk, almonds, vanilla to taste and rum.  Cover and chill until firm enough to shape.  Form into a round cake 10cm across, chill again till quite firm.
Roll out half the pastry into a circle 6mm deep and 20cm across.  Roll out the remaining half into another circle 4-5mm deep and 23cm across.  Place the smaller circle on a dampened baking tray, place the almond cake in the middle and brush round the edge of the pastry with water.  Place the larger pastry circle on top.  Firmly press the top pastry circle onto the bottom pastry circle all around the base of the almond cake.
With a small knife, cut evenly spaced indentations in from the edge of the double edge and fluff up.
Place the tray in the fridge for 20 minutes.
Brush the cake with the egg glaze and cut a cartwheel design from the centre to the edge of the top surface.
Bake the cake in the centre of a preheated oven (220 degrees centigrade) for about 15 minutes or until well risen and beginning to brown.  Turn down the temperature to 200 degrees centigrade and bake for a futher 30 minutes or until the sides are golden brown, firm and crusty.  If the top is browning to much, cover losely with foil, AND finish baking to ensure the pastry is cooked and flaky throughout.

Serve warm or cold.  Serves 8-10. 

Now for my slice with a cup of tea...