Friday 10 August 2012

Something For John, and A Moony Picture

Those of you who know Scriptor Senex aka CJ aka John possibly also know that he loves Florentines; they find mention on his blog every now and then, such as here.
When I was still living at home, we would regularly get Florentines (and other, equally delicious sweet bits) from the bakery a few minutes walking distance from where we lived, but ours looked different; they were larger and flatter, and were nicknamed "armour plates" for their shape and texture (don't worry - nobody lost any teeth because of them).

This week, when I was having my usual once-a-week lunch break at my parents', my Mum offered Florentines for dessert. They were different again; softer and thicker than the ones I remembered from my youth, but delicious!
And I did remember to take a picture with my Mum's camera, especially for you, John.

A few nights ago, we had a full moon and the whole set up of the sky with fast moving clouds was so dramatic and beautiful to look at that I want to share it with you:

Over this weekend, the Perseids (meteorite shower) are supposed to be visible, and best to be observed between midnight and pre-dawn. With RJ arriving here tonight and staying the weekend, there is a good chance we'll still be up at that time, and I am going to look for them.

32 comments:

  1. Hello Meike:
    Somewhere in our past we used to enjoy the most wonderful Florentines but we cannot now think where or when that could have been. However, you have now reawakened our interest in these delicious biscuits but we do not think that they are to be found in Hungary.

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    1. Hello Jane and Lance, from what I know about Hungary, even though there may not be any Florentines to be found at the shops, the choice of other sweet delicacies is large enough to leave no-one wanting!

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  2. Hello,
    you also can make Florentines at home. It is really easy!
    http://www.daskochrezept.de/rezepte/florentiner-mit-schokoladenglasur_91817.html

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    1. Danke, Mama!
      I must have a look at Bäckerei Raab to see whether they have the kind of Florentines that I remember from long ago. But they'll be on holiday for two weeks from Monday onwards...

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    2. Dad was yesterday at Bäckerei Dannemann and asked for them, but they had none.

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  3. Dear Meike,
    I should think I would love any food set in front of me with those beautiful flowers and placemat with panzy napkin!
    And how funny that we both did MOON photos on our posts. Hope you are able to enjoy the meteor shower. Remember I told you that I wanted so hard to see the Northern Lights recently and couldn't sleep? I have done the same thing with meteor showers but have never seen those either!
    And I could be wrong but is it meteor in the sky, but a meteorite when it hits the Earth?

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    1. Dear Kay, every time I eat at my parents', the food is presented in such beautiful and loving manner, and now imagine it usually to be something lovely and delicious my Mum made with her own hands! (The Florentines were bought, but she can make these, too)
      Not sure about the meteor/meteorite difference. I would have thought a meteor is bigger and meteorites are smaller. Maybe someone else knows - it is much more fun learning such things from someone else than simply go and look them up on wikipedia, isn't it :-)

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  4. Gorgeous pix for the moon! So tumultuous and foreboding. Ah, I love rich weather...
    Also, I've never had a Florentine. They look yummy. Send 2, please. ; }

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    1. Too late, Sonia - they have long since disappeared :-)))
      Yes, I love looking at dramatic skies from my kitchen window (as you can tell by the frequent pictures of that view on my blog).

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  5. Meike, you live in a country that produces the best cakes/tarts in the world. What are you doing eating Florentines??

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    1. Frances, usually my Mum has some home-made cake there for me, but not always - but I can always count on there being something for dessert, and this time, it was Florentines :-) They were nice, so I did not feel as if I was missing out on something better.
      And there'll be plenty of cake on Sunday for Mum's birthdy!

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  6. Meike, your "cookies" look delicious. I don't recall ever seeing them in the U.S., I am however, going to check out that recipe! I have have to have you translate it for me! LOL!!!

    Mary

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    1. Hello Mary, the recipe is not mine - my Mum posted it, but of course I can translate it for you if you want to give it a try :-)

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  7. We walk into The Woodlands now and if there are no Florentines on display they immediately go to the kitchen to get one.

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  8. Your Mum us very good to you! I think it is such a blessing when a family so enjoys being together! What a pretty tablescape. I think I remember those crispy Florentines from the '70s.

    I like to learn things from other people, but when no one is telling me and I'm curious I try to find out other ways. I found this when I read Kay G.'s question:

    Asteroid: A relatively small, inactive body, composed of rock, carbon or metal, which is orbiting the Sun.

    Comet: A relatively small, sometimes active object, which is composed of dirt and ices. Comets are characterised by dust and gas tails when in proximity to the Sun. Far from the Sun it is difficult to distinguish an asteroid from a comet.

    Meteoroid: A small particle from an asteroid or comet orbiting he Sun.

    Meteor: A meteoroid that is observed as it burns up in the Earth's atmosphere - a shooting star.

    Meteorite: A meteoroid that survives its passage through the Earth's atmosphere and impacts the Earth's surface.


    Reference:

    http://www.nearearthobjects.co.uk/

    Hope I can remember it all!

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    1. Hello Kristi,
      thank you for explaining - I, too, hope that I'll remember the differences and definitions! By the way, I did see one shooting star last night :-)
      Yes, I know my family are very good to me. It always makes me sad when I learn of families where some do not speak to each other or, when they do, don't get along and constantly argue. I am very lucky to have been born into a family where it is not like that.

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  9. Hi there Librarian! Love the moon shots, mine never turn out that good, and I'm going to download the Kindle book you recommended right now!! Thanks, have a great week!!
    ~~Dorothy~~

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    1. Thank you, Dorothy! Which one do you mean? I didn't really recommend any of the two kindle books I last read :-)
      You too have a great week!

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  10. I'm Late!!! Not by my time, but by yours! But on August 12th in the US, I wish your dear mother a very happy birthday!!!

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    1. Thank you, Kristi! We had a lovely garden party, just like last year (about which I blogged); it was a perfect day with sun and blue skies but not too hot.

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  11. Hello Kristi,
    thank you for your birthday-wishes, this is very kind of you!

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  12. Tag zusammen, Mum und Meike's Mum,

    Nachtraegliche Geburtstagsgruesse fuer das Geburtstagskind!

    Florentiner, hm lecker. Selbst gebacken sind sie noch besser. Meine kommen von Lidl oder Aldi, kleine Dinger, sehr suess und nicht besonders besonders.

    Tschuess.

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    1. Danke, Friko! Stimmt, Aldi hat die auch, aber die sind wirklich kein Vergleich mit den "richtigen" vom Konditor - oder Selbstgebackenen.

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    2. Danke, Friko für die Geburtstagsgrüße! Es war ein schönes Fest.
      Die richtigen Florentiner vom Bäcker sind einfach unvergleichlich!
      Schöne Sommertage noch,
      liebe Grüße!

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  13. Oh, yes, John and his florentines! It made me wish for some too, when I read his post today. They are really delicious. And I am supposed to be on a diet, which probably makes them seem even MORE delicious, just because they are forbidden....

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    1. Jenny, I don't think John has seen yet that I posted this especially for him :-)
      Never mind diets - simply eat when you're hungry, and with enough exercise, your body takes care of the rest. You always seem to be out and about on your bike or on foot, so getting enough exercise is no problem for you.

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  14. I don't know how I missed this, Meike. GB just pointed it out to me.

    Hope your Mum had a super birthday.

    How kind to do me a photo! They look equally delicious.

    Sorry you had cloud on the first night you tried to see the meteors. I hope you had better luck the next night.

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    1. Hello Scriptor Senex,
      yes, I really had a super birthday-party, sunshine all day long, and with candles and lanterns at night- quite romantic...

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    2. Glad you saw my Florentines, John :-)
      Yes, I did see one meteor on the next night. I was hoping to see some more and waited for another while but then had to go back to bed and be content with the one.

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  15. Nothing to do with your post, but I just popped by to say I have given the coconut slices recipe in my blog.

    Good baking, PixieMum aka Madeleine.

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    1. Hello Madeleine, thank you for letting me know!
      I'll have a look in a minute :-)

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