kaleidoscope

My posts center around family, travel, books, film, theater, education, and anything else I find interesting. Enjoy!

[hollydysart]

We made rock candy today! (Taken with instagram)

[hollydysart]

Black and White Chocolate Chip Cookies (vegan) (Taken with instagram)

My family and I recently decided to become vegan (we were already vegetarians, so not a huge leap). Baking is was the biggest challenge, but I have found several substitutions that work really well. I used The Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe from Betty Crocker's Cookie Book, made it vegan and changed some of the baking directions as I tested the recipe. They turned out amazing!

1 1/2 cups Earth Balance (vegan 'butter' spread)

1 1/4 cups granulated sugar

1 1/4 cups packed brown sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla

1 mashed ripened banana

4 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

a pinch of salt

1 package (12 oz.) dark chocolate chunks

1 package (12 oz.) white chocolate chips

Heat oven to 375. Beat Earth Balance, sugars, vanilla and mashed banana in large bowl. Stir in flour, baking soda and salt. Stir in chocolate chunks/chips. Mold small handfuls of dough into balls with diameters of about 2 inches. Place them about 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 10 minutes, or until light brown. Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheet to wire rack.

Yields 5-6 dozen cookies

[hollydysart]

After a visit to the public library, we must say 'hi' to the ocean. (Taken with instagram)

[hollydysart]

Ben Grey over at The Edge of Tomorrow was inspired by the MontBlanc 'Beauty of a Second Challenge' and challenged his readers to create a 30-60 second video. The video was to be compiled entirely of one second clips of video and/or images.

Wesley Fryer of Moving at the Speed of Creativity put his own spin on the challenge by creating a 60 in 60 family video in lieu of his annual Christmas card.

I took these ideas and created a 60 in 60 family video as well (although the video I ended up sending out to friends and family was 365 days in 3.5 minutes). The audio file is a cover of the John Lennon song 'Happy Xmas (War is Over)' by Cursed Arrows.

If you have the time, try making a 60 in 60 video yourself. It is a lot of fun and really tests your eye for photography and video editing skills. You can also head on over to MontBlanc and submit some one second video entries. The deadline is January 20 and each contestant can submit up to ten videos.

Good luck and happy editing!

[hollydysart]

I have read Breakfast at Tiffany's and I have seen the classic Audrey Hepburn movie. These are two very different bodies of work and both appear to be filled with ambiguity until you take a closer look. I encourage fans of the movie to read Truman Capote's novel. The novel is more straightforward, although there are some things left up to the reader to decipher.

In this article from Vanity Fair, Sam Wasson, author of Fifth Avenue, 5 A.M., discusses how Breakfast at Tiffany's was the driving force behind changing the face of women in film.

This book is on my to-read list!