Red Velvet

Something I can’t seem to get enough of lately is red velvet. I eat red velvet cupcakes, red velvet brownies, red velvet cheesecake, red velvet cookies, red velvet cake, red velvet EVERYTHING. What I love about it is that it isn’t so sweet so you so don’t feel that bad after eating a lot of it. Another thing is, that it’s something different and not just a normal cake. This is definitely something you should try sometime! Here’s a recipe I got from the food network, let me know how it turns out!

Ingredients

For the cake:

• 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened, plus more for the pans
• 3 cups cake flour (sift before measuring)
• 3 tablespoons unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 3 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 tablespoon red food coloring
• 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup buttermilk

For the frosting:

• 4 8-ounce packages cream cheese, softened
• 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
• 2 pounds (about 8 cups) confectioners' sugar
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon salt

Directions

Make the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter two 9-inch-round cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper; butter the parchment. Whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl.

Beat the granulated sugar, 12 tablespoons butter and the vegetable oil in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 4 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Beat in the food coloring, vinegar and vanilla. Reduce the mixer speed to low; add the flour mixture in 3 batches, alternating with the buttermilk, beginning and ending with the flour, until just combined.

Divide the batter between the prepared pans. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes on racks, then turn the cakes out onto the racks to cool completely. Using a long serrated knife, carefully slice each cake in half horizontally to make 2 even layers.

Make the frosting: Beat the cream cheese and butter in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment on medium-high speed until fluffy. Add the confectioners' sugar, lemon juice, vanilla and salt; beat until smooth.

Put 1 cake layer on a platter; spread 1 1/4 cups frosting on top. Repeat to make 4 layers, ending with the cake. Cover the top and sides with a thin layer of frosting (this is the "crumb coat"; it doesn't have to be perfect). Chill 15 minutes, then cover with the remaining frosting.

 

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/red-velvet-layer-cake-recipe/index.html?ic1=obinsite

Typo

As I walked into the shop, I didn’t know where to look. Accessories EVERYWHERE. This is like my heaven. Typo is a shop that sells almost any accessory you can think of, pencil cases, notebooks, tablet holders, pencil pens, cool erasers, watches, earphones, stamps, laptop bags, mugs, cushions, EVERYTHING. This is definitely a place that all my fellow accessory lovers can go shop and not be disappointed.

                                                  

 

Surfing - Step 2

Choose the Right Spot

Surf breaks vary enormously and if you try to learn at the wrong one it can slow down the learning process. You’ll possibly get you hurt and label you as a nuisance to other surfers.  Here are a few things to remember:

- Forget reef breaks (surf breaking over, rock, coral etc.)
- Avoid heavy, hollow beach breaks
- Pick an easy break wave in the 2-4ft range. It may not be glamorous but it will be the best place to start.  
- Try and find a spot with no crowds- battling with hundreds of other beginners and more experienced surfers is not the way to go.   If you have a little space it will be easier to learn.

Paddling

You have your new surfboard under your arm and it's now time to paddle out! Start in small waves and if possible paddle out when there is a lull in the waves.  It's best to walk your board out until you are in waist deep water, and then lay your body on the deck of your surfboard.   If you have a nice long board for a beginner, position yourself so the nose is around 1inch out of the water. Remember your position and stick with it.

Start to paddle using a crawl stroke with your arms, using cupped hands to increase the pull.   If you hit bumpy water or "chop", lift your chest slightly and lessen your weight on the board so the nose and rails don't go under. Once you can get it right to balance yourself on the board while paddling, make your way to the line-up.

Duck Diving

Duck-diving is a technique to allow you to pass under breaking waves when paddling out, rather than getting hammered by each breaking wave. Duck diving is more for shortboards with a sharp nose, where for longboards there are a lot other techniques to use. For paddling out on a longboard there are a few ways of tackling the breaking waves:

- The slice and duck: Push down on one side of the surfboard so that it slices/sinks into the water, at the same time push down on the deck so that the board nose ducks under the water in the same way as a duck dive.

- Eskimo roll: This is the old method of getting back out back. It's simply a matter of grabbing the board and rolling it over so that the wave passes over the top of you.   This is maybe not the most effective method as there is a chance you can get drilled by the wave and pushed further back to shore.

- Push-ups : This technique is probably best on the smaller waves.  Just push up your chest and the wave will pass under your body and over the board

- Shoot and scoot:  Sit at the back of your board and sink the tail, grabbing the rails around the centre of the board so it raises above the oncoming wave.   Don't grab the surfboard at the nose or allow the nose to raise too much as you'll flip the board.  

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

http://www.extremehorizon.com/surf-shop/learn_to_surf.html