Actually, to be honest, the title of this blog entry should rather read "Baking disasters that could have been completely avoided by thinking a little before substituting one leavening agent by a different leavening agent".

I was baking scones this weekend and used a powder that was not the usual baking powder but baking soda. What I did not know when I substituted the exact amount of baking soda for the amount of baking powder stated in the recipe: Baking powder is soda mixed together with a diphosphate that, upon contact with moisture and heat, will turn into an acidic substance that in its turn reacts with the soda. According to the order of ingredients on the packets, baking powder contains at least as much phosphate as soda, if not more. (Then, in addition, there is some starch in there serving as a stabiliser and separating agent, which according to the Intarwebz can be up to 30% of the total.)

So the result of my scone baking? Inedible scones (tasting weird and really bitter), a little chemistry lesson delivered by the internet, more knowledge about how kitchen chemistry works, a thorough understanding that:

baking soda != baking powder
and that
dosage of baking soda != dosage of baking powder.

Oh, and the total corroboration that our friends are really, really cool and wonderful. Because, when faced with the inedible scones, they took it very calmly, worked out together with me why this had happened, and then one just went to cuddle the cat while the other one helped me whip up a new batch of scones with less raisins (since there were not so many left) but with normal baking powder this time. Which turned out perfectly nice and very, very edible. (Plus that was the fastest scone-baking action ever - it took about 10 minutes until they were in the oven.)

And in the aftermath... I realised that I had used "baking soda" instead of "baking powder" in the recipes on this blog. Which has now been rectified - they all say "baking powder", as they should. So should you have tried one of the recipes (the lemon things or the nougat spritz things) and they turned out... weird (and possibly not very fluffy and/or less than yummy), the blame is totally on me and I am really sorry. I promise that both baked goods are really very, very edible if produced with baking powder.

The last few years that I've been at conferences, I have seen quite a few different ways of handling conference name tags.

Name tags are a wonderful thing. Not only are they a wonderful help for those who have trouble remembering faces, names, or both (where both is obviously the worst possibility), they also can serve as an icebreaker help (such as "Oh, you are from ... - I always wanted to see Museum X (or whatever else) there). (Yes, I know, not the smartest opening of them all, but still) or they can help finding someone you have always wanted to meet.

What has irked me, sometimes, is the labeling for those who are not affiliated with a Uni or similar institution. I then went around as "Independent Researcher", and somehow I felt like a sore thumb. Or something else that sticks out.

Being independent does, obviously, have its plus sides - there is no uni politics or uni programme making you do things that you don't want to research, you can pick which conferences you go to, you are very free in how you schedule stuff and who you team up with. On the other hand, it means that you lack a lot of opportunities and a lot of support, because it really can make a difference having an institution or a Big Name behind you - or not. And in the worst case, if you do not have (good) access to a library, you have to pay for all the literature access yourself.

On that note, here is something that is nice for everyone, but especially for independent folks: Cambridge Journals is having Free Access weeks for everything published in 2012 if you register at their site. The free access is available until March 5, so there is quite a bit of time to make use of it. There's a promo code you have to enter during registration for the free access, so do not forget to do that if you take up the offer!

As probably everywhere, there is a lot of complaining about the bad economic situation here in Germany. And the (perceived or real) dire need to make budget cuts to save money.

Now, I can think of a lot of ways to save money sensibly regarding our state - but "closing museums" is not on that list. This is, however, what the individual federal states seem to think appropriate... even if they are comparatively rich federal states.

Case in point? There is the Heuneburg - a prehistoric hillfort that was excavated and is considered one of the most important early Celtic centres in Central Europe (more and links for even more info here at Wikipedia, and German Wikipedia).

In addition to a "normal" museum at the Heuneburg, explaining about the place in the usual museum way, there is also an open-air museum that was, unfortunately, not doing so very well in terms of visitors the last years. (The museum website for both is here.) The open-air museum was built between 1998 and 2001, is called Freilichtmuseum Keltischer Fürstensitz Heuneburg, and shows a number of reconstructions such as a large house, other buildings for storage and workshops, and a large gate with clay brick wall. The Heuneburg excavations showed the only known example of such a wall type north of the Alps.

And now the museum is about to close, because the community of Herbertingen does not have enough money to keep it running, and the federal state Baden-Württemberg is not willing to help.

There is, however, a chance to keep it going: An online petition is currently running and will be for about two more months. So please - go to the petition page here and sign the petition so that the Heuneburg-Museum can stay!

Which is exactly what is standing in front of me right now.

Now for today's content (more or less):

Norway has damaged one of its many road tunnels by burning goat cheese in there. Really. (h/t to Phiala of Stringpage)

Both Kalamazoo and Leeds are casting their shadows ahead - there is a sneak preview of the 'zoo programme available already, and Leeds programme is available. If you are interested in textile-related things, DISTAFF has all its sessions on Thursday, July 4. There are a few very interesting-sounding papers in there, a pity I will not be able to make it to Leeds this year. Online registration will be available from February 15, and the Call for Papers for Leeds 2014 seems to be already running as well.

And in totally different news: Our little cat has relented. Even though her performance in the piece written for at least one human and one cat, named "I have such a hard life and now you are making it even harder unless you do exactly what I want, meow" was absolutely flawless and Broadway-worthy, she did not get around inhaling her medicine. (Nor did she get called to Broadway for performing there.) Though there was a generous portion of cat treats afterwards, as usual. And wondrously enough, this morning it did not seem to be that bad anymore... since all that her performance amounted to was a longer wait for the treats and food and being allowed outside. There was even some purring while inhaling. Cats.

Here are some more stacked-up notes and dates and things...

- There is a conference about Castles at War, AD 1000-1660, taking place the 29th and 30th April 2013 at Nyborg Castle, Funen, Denmark. More about it here.

- On February 9, the King's College London is offering a course called "Constructing Clothing: Exploring the Making of Dress". More info here.

-Just in case you did not know, there is a manuscript/picture search possibility of the Bibliotheque Nationale de France, called Mandragore.

In other news, the cat was even less fond of getting her medicine this morning. Sigh. It's hard to stay patient and upbeat when it seems to be not at all appreciated... She also seems to think that we are running out of food, since she got us some yummy (in her opinion) fresh prey and gave it to me (only reserving the cat rights to play with it some more, of course). Cats. Says it all, right?

Somehow, this start of week is sort of crazy-ish, or at least madly uncooperative. The little cat has taken it into her head that taking her meds is a hassle, and she does not want it. So the morning and evening inhalation sessions (she has feline asthma) are turning into a battle of wills.

-Meow! I want breakfast! And outside!
-Come here, cat. Take your meds. Have some more cat treats. Good cat. Here are the me...
-Oh lookeee, it's so much nicer to lie down just outside your reach. And oh, even better, over there at the door.... I like to sit at the door. Did I mention I want to go outside?
-Come here, little cat. Take your meds. Yes, good cat, take that treat. And now stay here for...
-Ah, nice treat, and now I sit down at the door again.

So... not so good. I'm now hoping for some feedback from other feline patients for hints on how to solve this.

In addition, I did not get that much work done yesterday, at least not the types of work I intended to get done. And I think the first action of the day (after the Battle About the Meds has been resolved and I have some coffee) will be to clear some more space on this desk. Piles of work... somehow not comforting.

A few years ago (about three or four, I think) I got introduced to very yummy, very lemony things that formed part of the Christmas cookie collection a friend's mum was baking yearly.

I fell in love with those things, and thus asked for the recipe - and now it has become one of my Christmas baking staples as well. (Though it also makes a nice summer sweet, due to the lemon taste). And now, very recently, I made some more people fall in love with these things - so here, upon request, is the recipe.

Originally, it was for half the amount it is now, equalling half a normal German baking sheet (which is about 30 x 40 cm in size). Adjust the amount to your preferences and baking equipment. (Me, I prefer large batches, especially for things that keep well - and the Lemon Things will keep well. Unless they get eaten. Then they only keep one well fed for a while.)

Ingredients:
Shortcrust Dough: 500 g flour, 150 g sugar (including vanilla sugar, if desired), 250 g butter, 2 eggs, 2 level teaspoons baking powder
Filling: 250 g ground almonds, 300 g sugar, juice of 5-6 lemons, grated peel of 1-2 lemons
Glazing: juice of c. 1/2 lemon, icing sugar

Mix the ingredients for the filling; it should be a spreadable mixture, but not too liquid.
Make a shortcrust dough from the dough ingredients; contrary to the normal procedure, do not let the dough rest. (If you do not know how to make a shortcrust pastry, there are gazillions of instructions on the internet. Basically, you mix fat and flour (in this case, flour with the baking powder mixed in) together to form small crumbs, then add sugar and eggs, then knead to make smooth dough.) Divide dough in two halves; roll the first half to a sheet and place in baking sheet, covering the sides of the sheet as well. Spread the filling on this bottom dough, then roll the second half to a sheet and cover the filling with it.
Close the edges by pinching with your fingers. (You can then puncture the upper dough layer with a fork - I have also omitted this and found no great difference in the result.)

Bake for about 30 min at 170°C (convector fan oven). When cool (or at least not hot anymore), mix lemon juice and sugar together for the glaze/icing, spread on top.

I like to cut these into slim lozenges, but you could also do squares, fingers, or larger pieces and serve them as cake. I find they make a lovely addition to the Xmas cookie plate, but they are a refreshing summer confectionery as well.
Enjoy!