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| by Matt Nolen |
Friday, December 10, 2010
Friday, December 3, 2010
early St Lucia's Day
So I'm still going through Ikea withdrawal, especially after getting an email about their "Swedish Holiday Smorgasbord". Because of that, I decided to make Lussekater, or Saint Lucia buns! I always remember St. Lucia's from reading American Girl books when I was little. St. Lucia's Day is a Swedish holiday celebrated on December 13th. It was around before Lucia was even a saint (as in, before Christianity), and was traditionally the day of the winter solstice (I suppose before they realized it actually wasn't?). In the book I read when I was little, the Swedish-American was Kirsten, and she wore a wreath with candles on her head and gave her parents breakfast on the morning of St Lucia's Day, which happened to include St. Lucia buns, all because she was the oldest daughter. Plus she had two looped braids hanging from the side of her head, which were awesome. See?
And here they are:
They are AMAZING! And you should try them, so here is the recipe, from the cookbook "The Swedish Table".
Lussekater
16 rolls
1 T sugar
1/4 c warm water
1 pkg. dry yeast (2 1/4 tsp)
1/2 c butter
3/4 c milk
1 t saffron
3 c all purpose flour
1/4 c sugar
2 egg yolks, beaten with 1 T water
raisins
In a bowl, combine 1 T sugar, warm water, and yeast. Let sit 10 minutes or until yeast begins to bubble.
In a saucepan, combine butter, milk, and saffron. Heat until warm and the butter is melted, but do not boil. Let sit until temperature falls below 110 degrees F. Add milk mixture to yeast in the bowl. Add flour and 1/2 c sugar and stir until combined and the dough is smooth and workable. If necessary, add more flour, up to 3 T.
Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 1 minute. Transfer dough to a lightly oiled (or buttered) bowl, cover loosely with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm place for 45 minutes to 1 hour.
Divide into 16 pieces. Roll into 1" X 6" lengths. Coil ends in opposite directions, forming tightly curved S-shapes. Let rise for 1 more hour.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Brush buns with egg yolk and place raisins in center of curls (two for each bun). Bake 10-15 minutes, but don't let the raisins burn!
Evidently they freeze well too. I kind of feel like making a whole bunch and sharing them with everyone, because they are that good!
And here they are:
They are AMAZING! And you should try them, so here is the recipe, from the cookbook "The Swedish Table".
Lussekater
16 rolls
1 T sugar
1/4 c warm water
1 pkg. dry yeast (2 1/4 tsp)
1/2 c butter
3/4 c milk
1 t saffron
3 c all purpose flour
1/4 c sugar
2 egg yolks, beaten with 1 T water
raisins
In a bowl, combine 1 T sugar, warm water, and yeast. Let sit 10 minutes or until yeast begins to bubble.
In a saucepan, combine butter, milk, and saffron. Heat until warm and the butter is melted, but do not boil. Let sit until temperature falls below 110 degrees F. Add milk mixture to yeast in the bowl. Add flour and 1/2 c sugar and stir until combined and the dough is smooth and workable. If necessary, add more flour, up to 3 T.
Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 1 minute. Transfer dough to a lightly oiled (or buttered) bowl, cover loosely with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm place for 45 minutes to 1 hour.
Divide into 16 pieces. Roll into 1" X 6" lengths. Coil ends in opposite directions, forming tightly curved S-shapes. Let rise for 1 more hour.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Brush buns with egg yolk and place raisins in center of curls (two for each bun). Bake 10-15 minutes, but don't let the raisins burn!
Evidently they freeze well too. I kind of feel like making a whole bunch and sharing them with everyone, because they are that good!
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Flanders Fields
Some of the museum studies grad students took a "field trip" to the National World War I Museum in Kansas City today, and I can't believe I had never been there before! It was surprising how nice of a museum it is-- one of the best history museums I have been to.
We were lucky enough to have the curator give us a run-down of some behind-the-scenes information regarding their 25,000 square foot expansion, such as how important it is to know architectural terms (every once in a while I do find reasons why my year studying architecture was not a waste...) and how they went about designing the interior and having cases built for the expansion.
He also explained the different types of visitors in museums: streakers-- apparently me since I run around quickly to everything (and still manage to learn a thing or two), and scholars-- my three other friends who moved slow enough so that they could read every label. Maybe it was the fact that they did their undergraduates in history, and I in anthropology, but I just did not feel the need to spend as much time there as we ended up doing. Still, being able to make it through the museum twice gave me enough time to take mental notes on things that work well in museums.
We were lucky enough to have the curator give us a run-down of some behind-the-scenes information regarding their 25,000 square foot expansion, such as how important it is to know architectural terms (every once in a while I do find reasons why my year studying architecture was not a waste...) and how they went about designing the interior and having cases built for the expansion.
He also explained the different types of visitors in museums: streakers-- apparently me since I run around quickly to everything (and still manage to learn a thing or two), and scholars-- my three other friends who moved slow enough so that they could read every label. Maybe it was the fact that they did their undergraduates in history, and I in anthropology, but I just did not feel the need to spend as much time there as we ended up doing. Still, being able to make it through the museum twice gave me enough time to take mental notes on things that work well in museums.
To divide the entrance from the exhibits, there is a glass bridge and a poppy "field" underneath. They are not live, but there are 9,000 of them-- one to represent 10,000 deaths as a direct result from the war (there were many deaths later on from disease, etc.). I had forgotten about their symbolism until my mom saw the picture and mentioned the poem by John McCrae:
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie,
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
(The curator explained to us that the real reason these flowers grow so well on the former battlefields is because of an increase in nitrates as a result of the soldier's bodies.)That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie,
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Sunday, October 3, 2010
fly girls
In elementary school, I once did a report on Women Airforce Service Pilots, or WASPs, as they are often known. These were the 1,074 women who became the first to fly aircraft for the U.S. military during World War II. They were non-combat, so only flew in the continental US and Canada, and mostly ferried planes to different locations. I always found their story fascinating, and today I was lucky enough to have the chance to meet a few of them! The occasion was the Dole Leadership Prize ($25,000) from the Dole Institute of Politics at the University of Kansas being awarded to Texas Woman's University to enhance the WASP National Archives, which are located on the campus and partially available online to the public.
I drove out to New Century Air Center, in New Century, Kansas, which is just southwest of Kansas City, and met up with a few other museum studies graduate students. Near one hangar, we watched while many old and brightly-colored planes flew in and landed, or chose not to land and instead show off for the crowd, and that was exciting to see too. It was only after the final planes landed that I realized some of those flashy pilots were actually the WASP ladies! There were ten in all, and three of them held a stage interview and question and answer session. There were lots of great stories, my favorite being how when one of the women had her physical before entering flight school, the doctor promised her when she got out of the service, she would never be able to have children. She went on to have TEN (two of which were in the audience). We heard stories about how one girl "accidentally fell out" of the bomb bay, but was able to pull her parachute in time, and the reason why one of the women decided to become a pilot was after taking a $5 ride in a daredevil plane with her grandmother when she was a young girl in the 1930's. It was great to hear all these stories, and the museum advocate in me is equally glad there is funding going toward preserving these stories and making them available for everyone else!
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| "Bee" Falk Haydu |
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| One of the other ladies (up front) |
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
museum rescue!
I've been finding a blog for everything lately, and luckily many of them have been full of helpful information. For one class this semester, the Nature of Museums, our group project is to determine a need or issue within our local community history museum, which is run by our local historical society. Unfortunately, after reading the 80-page report compiled by a museum consultant, it's obvious why I had only ever ventured into the museum once, spent 5 confusing minutes in the basement level, and walked right back out. This museum needs a LOT of work-- everything from very little community involvement to the inside of their brochures being printed upside down.
Our group has decided to tackle the issue of space analysis. I was happy to choose this because having studied architecture for a year, I can finally put some of that not-to-be-forgotten knowledge to work! I must say, however, that the museum itself is located in the most beautiful building in town. Construction was finished by 1888 and consisted of three main stories. There's a split-level marble staircase and ceilings up to 22 feet high, along with a separate type of wood trim for each floor (ash on the first floor, white oak on the second floor, and yellow burled pine on the top floor). It was originally used as office space and a bank, with the building owner's mortgage company on the third level, and housing for him and his family in the very top--sort of a large attic. Overall, it's just gorgeous, and that museum is lucky to have the space! I'm eager to see what our group can come up with...
Our group has decided to tackle the issue of space analysis. I was happy to choose this because having studied architecture for a year, I can finally put some of that not-to-be-forgotten knowledge to work! I must say, however, that the museum itself is located in the most beautiful building in town. Construction was finished by 1888 and consisted of three main stories. There's a split-level marble staircase and ceilings up to 22 feet high, along with a separate type of wood trim for each floor (ash on the first floor, white oak on the second floor, and yellow burled pine on the top floor). It was originally used as office space and a bank, with the building owner's mortgage company on the third level, and housing for him and his family in the very top--sort of a large attic. Overall, it's just gorgeous, and that museum is lucky to have the space! I'm eager to see what our group can come up with...
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