Lingberg Photo

This postcard size photo was in a big plastic tub of hundreds of unsorted photos. I paid a dollar for it. I'm not a collector of aviation history or particularly interested in Lindberg, but it was an interesting enough photo to pick up. I looked up Major Brereton, and apparently he was the commander of the Fort Sill Base at the time.
There were a couple of photo of zeppelins and the airfield as well and they obviously part of the same set. I wonder if they are worth anything. Probably not.

The Boat

Found Photos - Interiors

I found this set of five photographs also at the antique paper fair. They must date back to early 20th century - I'd guess 20's or 30's.

They are most unusual in that they show the interiors - multiple rooms - of a house. These kinds of photographs are not very common even today.

The actual photos are pretty small: 3 2/8 x 2 2/8 inches. They are probably contact prints.

I scanned them in at high resolution and it picked up the paper's texture as well, but also gives a better view at some of the finer details.

I'm dying to know what those tall pointy objects on top of the dresser might be.

Cucumber Salad

I rarely ever order salad in a restaurant. I'm not fond of iceberg lettuce and goopy dressings. At home on the other hand, I often make this simple and refresing cucumber salad, especially in the summer time.
Ingredients

• ca 1 pound cucumber
• 1/2 cup water
• 4 tbs vinegar
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt

Peel the cucumbers and slice them very thing. Put them in a bowl and sprinkle on the salt, mix it in. Let it sit in the fridge for half an hour. When time is up, in a bowl mix water, vinegar and sugar till the sugar is dissolved. Adjust water/vinegar ratio to taste. Gently squeeze the liquid out of the sliced cucumber and add them to the water mix. Done. Acceptable additions are: thinly sliced shallots, green onions or purple onions.

Square America

Judging from the hair styles, these photos were probably taken in the late 50's, early 60's. The borders must have been white originally. Color photos age far less well than black and white. Most of the saturation and the warm tones are gone from these. I like this subtly otherworldly coloration. It works especially well with the one of the train and the boy with the broken arm. That picture thanks both to its composition and subject feels transcendent to me.

Rock On A Rope

Hungarian Cherry Tart (Cseresznyés Lepény)

I'm not even sure if it qualifies as a tart, but I don't know what the correct English terminology is. In Hungarian deserts of this type are called "lepény." It is simple to make and is delicious.

Ingredients

• 6 large eggs
• 1 cup of sugar
• 2 sticks (8 oz) butter
• 1 cup of flour
• 2 tbs rum (optional)
  
• 1-1.5 pund cherries pitted
• 1/2 tsp vanilla

Preheat over to 325 degrees ºF.
With wooden spatula or food processor mix butter and sugar till smooth. (Starting with butter at room temperature makes it easier.) Mix in the yolks of the eggs one by one. Beat the egg whites till stiff. Alternating, little by little mix in the flour and the beaten egg whites. Gently fold them in so the egg white doesn't break completely and the mixture stays light. Finally add the vanilla and the rum. Rub butter on the inside of a baking pan. Coat it with granulated sugar (just as you would with flour). Pour in the batter. Sprinkle the cherries on top. Bake till top is golden brown and toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean. Let it cool for at room temperature. Dust it with powdered sugar before serving.

Other fleshy fruits like plums, peaches, apricots can be used as well.

The original recipe requires one package of vanilla sugar, but it is hard to find in the US, so I replaced it with vanilla.

From Fellini's Lost Photo Album

I call them found photographs, as in "found objects."

I went to check out the Vintage Paper Fair in Glendale. Most of the fare, especially the postcards, were pricey compared to what they usually are in antique stores. However I found one stall where there were boxes and boxes of photographs, almost all snapshots, for $ 1.- each. Perhaps not the cheapest, but fair. I must have spent at least an hour looking through them, and only saw a fragment.

The above photo was my best find. The woman in the busy floral blouse leaning in from the side, eagerly looking into the camera and trying to nudge her child do the same, but he is looking out of the frame, while two people in the background are apparently discussing shrubbery. It is an absolute masterpiece. Something about this photo reminds me of the films of Fellini, or even more, Woody Allen's homage to Fellini, Stardust Memories.

Valley Photos - May 25, 2008

More Photos of the Valley.

Perfect Cheesecake

The problem with most cheesecakes is that they are heavy and dense. Not this one. This is a Tyler Florence recipe that I found on the Food Network website, which despite its recent Rachel Ray infestation is still a good source of recipes. I made slight changes only, my approach is a bit more hands on. In my opinion you shouldn't be afraid to get your hands dirty in the kitchen.

Crust

• 2 cups finely ground graham crackers
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 stick unsalted butter, melted

Filling

• 1 poound cream cheese, 2 (8 oz) blocks, softened
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 16 oz sourcream
• zest of one lemon
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Crust first. Preheat oven to 325˚ F. Combine crust ingredients till evenly moist. Easiest to do by hand. Lightly coat the bottom and sides of an 8" springform pan (or pie pan - see bellow) nonstick cooking spray or butter. Pour the crumbs into the pan and by hand press them on the bottom and 1" up the sides. Refrigerate for 5 minutes.

Make the filling next. In a large bowl with a wooden spatula mix the cream cheese till it's smooth and creamy, for about a minute. Add the eggs one a time, switch to an electric mixer and beat slowly till combined. Gradually add sugar and beat again till smooth. Add sour cream, lemon zest, vanilla. Mix it well, but make sure it's not over-beaten. Do not forget to periodically scrape the sides of the bowl with a spatula. Pour the filling into crust.

Set the pan on a large piece of aluminum foil and fold up the sides around it. The foil must be the extra large variety, regular size will lead to disaster. Place the pan in a large roasting pan and pour boiling water into the roasting pan untill the water is about half way up the sides of the cake pan, but bellow the foil edge. The foil must keep the water out. Alternately you can be lazy like me and skip all this trouble and use a regular pie pan. Bake for 45 minutes. When taking it out of the oven it will be still very jiggly. Resist the urge to cook it longer, it will solidify as it cools. Cool in the pan at room temperature for 30 minutes, then chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours.