Mysterious City - Vegas

Pack your bags and head for the dazzling lights of the Las Vegas Strip in Mysterious City Vegas. Your VIP suite awaits, but with unsolved crimes around every corner, you're here with a mission: Use your detective skills to uncover over 1000 hidden objects and apprehend a casino thief! Clues abound as you stake out casino tables and opulent Vegas locations. Casino mini-games including cards, slots and bingo take you to the heart of the action...and help you earn extra points! Just be careful who you trust - the thief could be closer than you think in Mysterious City Vegas.

Game Size 50MB

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Screenshots: # 1 #2 # 3

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Aveyond 4 - Gates of Night

Help Mel, a common street thief, get back an orb of great power from the vicious vampire, Gyendal. Steal back the relic and prevent an evil and dark prophecy from occuring! Gather together an unlikely band of friends and confront an ancient evil in Aveyond: Gates of Night. Solve different puzzles, complete exciting quests, and much more, as you explore an enchanting world in this clever Strategy game.

Game Size 66MB

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Screenshots: # 1 #2 # 3

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Bookworm Adventures 2

Stop the presses! The walls of fiction are collapsing as characters run wild through the Great Library, and only Lex the Bookworm can save the world from certain doom in Bookworm Adventures 2! Build words and battle monsters to survive three storybooks with 10 chapters each. Trade barbs, banter and body blows with over 130 foes, and earn help from fighting friends along the way! The better the word, the badder the damage - so advance your word power with over 20 powerful treasures, including all-new Rainbow tiles. And when you’ve conquered Adventure mode, the fun keeps going: work wordy wonders in three extra game modes and flex your lexicon in six mini-games. Bookworm Adventures 2 is a role-playing word game you can't set down!

Game Size 66MB

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Screenshots: # 1 #2 # 3

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Blueberry Morning

It's yet another blueberry morning. This time, I made blueberry pancakes for a late breakfast on a Saturday morning.

My younger boy woke up around the same time as me, and as usual, he offered to help me with the preparation of the pancake batter, while the other two family members were still reluctant to leave their 'sleeping clubs'.

Making the pancake batter is not very much different from making muffins. Nothing too complicated that my seven-year-old cannot handle. He cracked and beat the egg while I measured out the ingredients. Then he got to sieve the flour mixture (one of his favourite tasks), while I get ready the rest of the wet ingredients. I handed the ingredients one by one to my sous chef as he mixed it all up in a bowl. Then it was the grand finale of pouring all the liquid mixture (I couldn't help but to agree with him that the mixture did look terribly awful at this stage) to the dry mixture and with only a few quick stir it was done.

After cleaning up the mess, I was left alone to cook the pancakes. I got lazy this time and didn't bother to brush the frying pan with melted butter. I thought it was really not necessary...what difference would it made? So I took the short cut by pouring some vegetable oil into the pan and simply swirl it around. The cooked pancakes didn't turn out as well compared to those I made on my maiden attempt, the surface was not evenly browned. It could also due to the temperature of my pan...I am just bad at anything that has got to do with the stove! The resulting pancakes looked more like roti pratas to me! 囧

Despite the appearance, these pancakes were actually very delicious, especially with the homemade blueberry sauce which I made the night before. The pancakes were quite light and fluffy, but I would prefer a slightly thicker sauce. Maybe I didn't cook it long enough, or there was just too much water...even though I have already reduced the amount. I do like the hint of tangy flavour of the sauce though, and it was not overly sweet. My family members are a forgiving lot...they enjoyed the pancakes and there wasn't a single word of complaints. Even my tween who doesn't really care for pancakes was nodding with approval over his breakfast.

That night, my boys and I curled up in front of the tv to watch our current favourite Korean drama: Boys over Flowers (花样男子). I was watching with great envy when Ji Hoo (智厚) made some pancakes for Jan Di (丝草). He has finally perfected his pancakes. In the very 1st episode of this drama, Ji Hoo has asked Jan Di if she knows how to make hotcakes. She told him they were made with some flour and eggs, add milk and sugar. In the 2nd episode, he asked her if anything else was left out because his pancakes didn't rise. She told him he needs to add baking powder. I also found it amusing when he added that pancake premixes are actually available. Hmmm...I am not sure whether he used a pancake premix or the pancakes were made from scratch. But his pancakes looked perfect and delicious....urghmm...just before they were drenched with lots of maple syrup! ^^"'




Blueberry Pancakes with Blueberry Sauce


Ingredients
(makes about 8 pancakes)

for the pancakes:
125g plain flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
60ml (1/4 cup) blueberry yoghurt
180ml (3/4 cup) fresh milk
2 tablespoons (30ml) vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup fresh blueberries


for the blueberry sauce
1 cup fresh blueberries
3/4 cup (180ml) water (original recipe uses 1 cup)
4 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons lemon juice
zest of 1 lemon (optional)
1 tablespoon cornstarch mix with 1 tablespoon water

Method:

To make blueberry sauce:
Place blueberries, water, sugar, salt, lemon zest (if using) and lemon juice in a saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat. Let the mixture continues to boil for another 5 minutes. Add the cornstarch mixture and continue to boil till the mixture thickens. Set aside to cool, cover and refrigerate.

To make pancakes:
Sieve flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a mixing bowl. Toss in the blueberries. In a separate bowl whisk together the egg, sugar, yoghurt, milk, oil and vanilla extract. Add the liquid mixture to the flour mixture, all at once. With a manual whisk, whisk the mixture until just combined (when the flour 'disappears'). The batter may have some small lumps but Do Not over mix the batter or the pancakes will be tough.

Heat a frying pan over medium to low heat. Using a pastry brush, brush the pan with a little melted butter or oil. Pour about 1/4 cup of pancake batter onto the pan. When bubbles start to appear on the top surfaces of the pancakes (2-3 minutes) and the bottom is brown, turn it over. Cook until lightly browned (about 1-2 minutes). Repeat with remaining batter, brushing the pan with melted butter or oil between batches. Serve immediately with blueberry sauce.

Recipe source: adapted from 懒人也会做面包

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Superior Save

It's just another day at the office until you get a voice mail from your boss saying he's been kidnapped and needs your help! The only problem is, the police won't start looking for him until you produce evidence that shows he's actually missing. This leaves you with one option: roll up your sleeves and save your superior! In the tradition of Natalie Brooks, you'll comb graphically rich scenes for hidden clues, follow the trail to your boss by talking with witnesses to the crime and win mini-games that will get you one step closer to success. Saving your boss' life wasn't in your job description, but what's a working girl to do?

Game Size 66MB

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Screenshots: # 1 #2 # 3

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Adding to the team

We've all felt the pain of the interview process.

It sucks. And its not just the candidates out there. Its also the way we find them.

Typical Procedures:

1. Recruiter or ad
2. Phone interview
3. Written questions or code samples
4. In person interview
5. Meetings with other team members
6. References, background checks, drug tests, security clearance, street fighter challenge
   

There certainly is dysfunction here. Many interviews feel like a game and its not played well (or fair).

I think of finding a new team member as a process of filtering:

1. The process is a series of filters each more fine than its predecessor
2. A filter should have definite output
3. Good people are difficult to find. Too fine a filter early in the process is a risk
   
4. Most filters have manual steps. Filters that filter too little are a risk.
   
5. Finding the right person is personal to the team, so any filter that does not involve a team member is less accurate
6. A good fit is unique to a team, so rarely will the same sequence of filters fit multiple jobs.
7. Some criteria may give someone a pass around filters -- personal recommendations, proven methodology expertise and already working for company are a few examples

Before we can setup our filters, we need to know our goals for a candidate. This is a lot harder than it sounds. You may find you don't really know your "goals" beyond a "senior" developer who is a "team player" and "experienced" with our technology and methodologies.

Once we know what is important, we need to figure out how to filter this behavior. We must also look at a persons ability to grow into a goal and the team's desire to teach (which will be biased depending on the person).

Example:

• Goal: We want someone who is an enjoyable pair programmer
• Importance: We only pair so friction here is best avoided
• Ability to Learn: Developers, like all humans, are known to be stubborn in changing their personality. Though people can come around.
• Ideal Filter: Spend a day pairing with them, switching people so at least a few team members weigh in

Clearly this is not a recommended starting point, unless you want to have a stranger on your team everyday poking around in some code in your project. Or maybe it would work if you have a lot of spikes?

Now what?

We can dig deeper into this goal:

1. What kind of traits make someone a good pair?
2. Are there ways we can define questions that will clue us in on these traits? Do any of these questions have answers that we can entrust an outside party to interpret?
   
3. Can we use their past work experience to help?

If we find this goal is best saved for later in the process, we can move on to goals that are better found at coarser levels. Do we required a certain amount of experience or schooling? Do we want people from a similar background (domain, technology, methodologies)? Do we care if they change jobs a lot? Too little? Are they active in learning new technologies? Are they interested in our methodologies? Do they live nearby?

We may not care about individual answers to pass judgment, though a combination of answers is sure to give us something.

How we find people to review is also a filter. If we want someone who is involved in the community, we can use those channels to find people either passively (twitter we're looking, ads on blogs we like) or more actively (read blogs and tweets to find people, find people working on open source projects).

Remember, its not just what you want, its what they want. Make sure your job description includes things that will attract the good fits (or have some people running to the hills), like weekly book readings or Star Trek Fridays.

Finally, there are unique things at every environment. What attracted the team there? What are team member strengths and weaknesses and what is the state of the project -- how can a new team member help most? Do we need another good pair or is it more important we get someone who can help us fix our data layer and quick.

Finding a good fit is a lot of work. If we spend the time to figure out what we want, we can figure out better questions and ways to find them. I'd say its a good exercise, even if its not quite possible to create a systematic filtering process.

Off topic, I'm in favor of speed dating style of interviewing: open house at your company, each team member gets 7 min with each person who shows up. Anyone with all yays moves on to the real interviewing. It may waste a day of everyone's time, but I bet it would be fun and if it worked, it would save a lot of money on recruiters, ads, phone interviews, code reviews and spending time figuring out what "questions" will help us find the best fit.

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Marooned

Lose yourself in a thrilling tale of mystery, intrigue, and adventure on a distant tropical island in Marooned, the first chapter of a riveting new trilogy from GameHouse.
Lost, alone, and stricken with amnesia, you suddenly find yourself on a strange island. Who are you? How did you get here? What powerful secret is the island hiding? And, how will you ever get home? Explore a lush landscape teeming with exotic life. Solve three different types of hidden object challenges, including the all-new "phrase-building" variation. And, decipher a brain-twisting series of puzzles by using the objects you find. Plus, with our special, in-game, "Get Off the Island Giveaway", you could WIN $10,000 just by playing!
When it comes to games, critics have called GameHouse, "one of the best." Millions of gamers have enjoyed previous hit titles like Little Shop of Treasures. Now, with this brilliant blend of hidden object gameplay, adventure puzzles, and a thrilling storyline, GameHouse has created an incredible world you may never want to escape.

Game Size 43MB

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Screenshots: # 1 #2 # 3

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The Lost Inca Prophecy

Join Acua and her friends in this mind blowing adventure to save the Inca and hold the Prophecy from happening. The six unique game modes combined with the 16 Hidden Object levels will test your match making aptitudes and will keep you entertained for days!

Game Size 25MB

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Screenshots: # 1 #2 # 3

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The Diet-Heart Hypothesis: Subdividing Lipoproteins

Two posts ago, we made the rounds of the commonly measured blood lipids (total cholesterol, LDL, HDL, triglycerides) and how they associate with cardiac risk.

Lipoproteins Can be Subdivided into Several Subcategories

In the continual search for better measures of cardiac risk, researchers in the 1980s decided to break down lipoprotein particles into sub-categories. One of these researchers is Dr. Ronald M. Krauss. Krauss published extensively on the association between lipoprotein size and cardiac risk, eventually concluding (source):

The plasma lipoprotein profile accompanying a preponderance of small, dense LDL particles (specifically LDL-III) is associated with up to a threefold increase in the susceptibility of developing [coronary artery disease]. This has been demonstrated in case-control studies of myocardial infarction and angiographically documented coronary disease.

Krauss found that small, dense LDL (sdLDL) doesn't travel alone: it typically comes along with low HDL and high triglycerides*. He called this combination of factors "lipoprotein pattern B"; its opposite is "lipoprotein pattern A": large, buoyant LDL, high HDL and low triglycerides. Incidentally, low HDL and high triglycerides are hallmarks of the metabolic syndrome, the quintessential modern metabolic disorder.

Krauss and his colleagues went on to hypothesize that sdLDL promotes atherosclerosis because of its ability to penetrate the artery wall more easily than large LDL. He and others subsequently showed that sdLDL are also more prone to oxidation than large LDL (1, 2).

Diet Affects LDL Subcategories

The next step in Krauss's research was to see how diet affects lipoprotein patterns. In 1994, he published a study comparing the effects of a low-fat (24%), high-carbohydrate (56%) diet to a "high-fat" (46%), "low-carbohydrate" (34%) diet on lipoprotein patterns. The high-fat diet also happened to be high in saturated fat-- 18% of calories. He found that (quote source):

Out of the 87 men with pattern A on the high-fat diet, 36 converted to pattern B on the low-fat diet... Taken together, these results indicate that in the majority of men, the reduction in LDL cholesterol seen on a low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet is mainly because of a shift from larger, more cholesterol-enriched LDL to smaller, cholesterol-depleted LDL [sdLDL].

In other words, in the majority of people, high-carbohydrate diets lower LDL cholesterol not by decreasing LDL particle count (which might be good), but by decreasing LDL size and increasing sdLDL (probably not good). This has been shown repeatedly, including with a 10% fat diet and in children. However, in people who already exhibit pattern B, reducing fat does reduce LDL particle number. Keep in mind that the majority of carbohydrate in modern America comes from refined wheat and sugar; a diet of unrefined carbohydrate may not have these effects.

Krauss then specifically explored the effect of saturated fat on LDL size (free full text). He re-analyzed the data from the study above, and found that:

In summary, the present study showed that changes in dietary saturated fat are associated with changes in LDL subclasses in healthy men. An increase in saturated fat, and in particular, myristic acid [as well as palmitic acid], was associated with increases in larger LDL particles (and decreases in smaller LDL particles). LDL particle diameter and peak flotation rate [density] were also positively associated with saturated fat, indicating shifts in LDL-particle distribution toward larger, cholesterol-enriched LDL.

Participants who ate the most saturated fat had the largest LDL, and vice versa. Kudos to Dr. Krauss for publishing these provocative data. It's not an isolated finding. He noted in 1994 that:

Cross-sectional population analyses have suggested an association between reduced LDL particle size and relatively reduced dietary animal-fat intake, and increased consumption of carbohydrates.

Diet Affects HDL Subcategories

Krauss also tested the effect of his dietary intervention on HDL. Several studies have found that the largest HDL particles, HDL2b, associate most strongly with HDL's protective effects (more HDL2b = fewer heart attacks). Compared to the diet high in total fat and saturated fat, the low-fat diet decreased HDL2b significantly. A separate study found that the effect persists at one year. Berglund et al. independently confirmed the finding using the low-fat American Heart Association diet in men and women of diverse racial backgrounds. Here's what they had to say about it:

The results indicate that dietary changes suggested to be prudent for a large segment of the population will primarily affect [i.e., reduce] the concentrations of the most prominent antiatherogenic [anti-heart attack] HDL subpopulation.

Saturated and omega-3 fats selectively increase large HDL. Dr. B. G. of Animal Pharm has written about this a number of times.

Wrapping it Up

Contrary to the simplistic idea that saturated fat increases LDL and thus cardiac risk, total fat and saturated fat have a complex influence on blood lipids, the net effect of which is unclear. These blood lipid changes persist for at least one year, so they may represent a long-term effect. It's important to remember that the primary sources of carbohydrate in the modern Western diet are refined wheat and sugar.  Healthier sources of carbohydrate have different effects on blood lipids.
* This is why you may read that small, dense LDL is not an "independent predictor" of heart attack risk. Since it travels along with a particular pattern of HDL and triglycerides, in most studies it does not give information on cardiac risk beyond what you can get by measuring other lipoproteins.

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THE BEST CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES EVER: CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES WITH VANILLA SWISS MERINGUE BUTTERCREAM

I know it doesn’t look like I’ve been searching for the best darned chocolate cupcake recipe, but I have. I have tested Corriher’s Deep Dark Chocolate Cake recipe and the Cooks Illustrated Dark Chocolate Cupcake recipe against my favourite go-to recipe by the Barefoot Contessa, Ina Garten.

When I tested the Corriher recipe, I found the flavour okay but it certainly didn’t beat out Garten’s recipe. I found the Garten recipe superior in ease of technique and less fussy as you didn’t have to use as many eggs (nor did you have to separate and save 4 whites from the extra yolks you needed). For the extra richness the yolks added to the Corriher recipe, I didn’t find the cupcake any more flavourful. For some strange reason, I also found little pockets of unmixed flour in the baked cupcakes, which is my ultimate pet peeve. I had sifted the dry ingredients so that shouldn’t have happened. I had followed the directions carefully, so I wasn’t happy. Initially, I thought that the technique of adding the flour into the warm hot cocoa mixture was the problem, but I’m not too sure. In any case, it wasn’t a foolproof recipe and it didn’t work out for me.

So, it was with apprehension and a bit of excitement that I picked up a copy of Cooks Illustrated from the newstand and noticed they had a recipe for a Dark Chocolate Cupcake. I chose to make it for Bebe’s birthday. Yes, I know I made her chocolate butterfly cupcakes already for her birthday party, but that was her “warm-up birthday party” for her friends. I had used Corriher’s Deep Dark Chocolate recipe for those cupcakes but didn’t bother to post the recipe because I generally don’t post recipes that don’t pass muster in my kitchen. I have made Corriher’s Whipped Cream pound cake many times however, and that is my go-to recipe for pound cake.

I made these particular cupcakes for Bebe’s actual “real” birthday, July 27. Yes, she’s a big girl now…all of 6 years old. I also liked that the CI recipe only made 12 cupcakes. I really didn’t have any need for the usual batch of 24 cupcakes that a recipe yields. To make a perfect birthday weekend, we like to spend the real birthday together as a family. Bebe specifically requested chocolate cupcakes and with her permission, I was able to forgo the usual pink colour in the buttercream.

So, we went on a Stanley Park train ride in the morning, went to Maplewood Farms in North Vancouver and visited the Lynn Canyon all in one weekend for her birthday. Bebe’s favourite activity, I think, was having a picnic on the rocks along the rushing shallow water of the creek.

As you can see, people like to stack rocks and make inukshuks along the water in Lynn Creek. The icy mountain water is so refreshing in this heat wave and the shallow pools of water are perfect repositories for your feet as you sit on a rock munching on a submarine sandwich and fresh fruit. Ahhh!

This Dark Chocolate Cupcake yields a perfect top for decorating as it doesn’t have pointy domes. The cake’s crumb is strong enough not to crumble so you can inject some fillings inside for a surprise, and most importantly, it tastes really chocolatey! I think it beats out all of the recipes I’ve tried so far (and I’ve tried many) in terms of flavour. It incorporates Dutched cocoa powder and bittersweet chocolate which you melt with the butter. I appreciate that I didn’t have to cream room temperature butter because sometimes it’s a pain to remember to bring it out of the refrigerator and if I leave it out too long, the butter can get too soft. So, for my future chocolate cupcakes, this will be my favourite recipe.

I like to decorate my cupcakes with fresh organic flowers from my garden. These are Johnny Jump-Ups. They look quite similar to the sugar violets I used to decorate. I have a variegated variety that is violet, yellow, orange and various permutations thereof. It’s gorgeous!

So, here’s my take on the perfect cupcake. It’s a combination of vanilla buttercream and chocolate cupcake. I like vanilla swiss meringue buttercream swirled atop the CI Dark Chocolate Cupcake. I don’t like sprinkles, but hey, if you have kids you have to put them there, don’t you? I went halvsies with the girls and left mine sprinkle-less because I don’t like the crunch of the sprinkles distracting me from enjoying the silky smooth buttercream.
****update:  check out a Caramel version of the Buttercream here.

***P.S.  I have been receiving a few comments from people who do not think the crumb is moist enough.   I never said the crumb would be super-moist, but it is superior to every other cupcake for CHOCOLATE FLAVOUR.   For this particular application: a chocolate cupcake with a huge buttercream swirl, this crumb is strong enough to create structure that won't buckle under a heavy buttercream swirl.  This cupcake is superior for FLAVOUR AND CAKE DECORATING PURPOSES WITH BUTTERCREAM.  Not for eating frostingless. Anything with a moist cupcake crumb would not hold up to the rigors of cake decorating...the huge swirl of buttercream frosting that I tend to employ.  If you want a moister crumb, try the Garten recipe  I mentioned before near the beginning of my post.  It uses just cocoa powder, coffee and buttermilk and no real melted chocolate is used.  That being said, this recipe isn't dry either.   Everyone's expectations for a perfect cupcake is different.  This one rocks for flavour and beauty.  It is perfect for bringing to parties.  Veggie oil based batters will always give you a moister crumb, so look for recipes incorporating oil if you like a moist cupcake.

DARK CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES
(from Cooks Illustrated, “American Classics 2009”)
(makes 12 cupcakes; do not double recipe…make two separate batches if you need more)
**Cakebrain's note:  IF YOU LIKE REALLY MOIST/WET CUPCAKES, THESE ARE NOT FOR YOU.  MOVE ALONG TO THE QUINOA CHOCOLATE CUPCAKE RECIPE.  These cupcakes are perfect for cake decorating purposes, which requires a crumb with structural integrity and that will hold up to buttercream and other decorations.   To ensure a moister cupcake with this recipe, ensure you WEIGH YOUR INGREDIENTS CAREFULLY.  Do not dip and scoop/pack your dry ingredients.

• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
• 2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• 1/2 cup (1 1/2 oz) Dutch-processed cocoa
• 3/4 cup (3 3/4 oz) unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 cup (5 1/4 oz) sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon table salt
• 1/2 cup (4 oz) sour cream

1. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position; heat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard-sized muffin pan (1/2 cup capacity) with baking-cup liners.
2. Combine butter, chocolate and cocoa in medium heatproof bowl. Set bowl over saucepan containing barely simmering water; heat mixture until butter and chocolate are melted and whisk until smooth and fully combined. Set aside to cool until just warm to touch.
3. Whisk flour, baking soda and baking powder in small bowl to combine
4. Whisk eggs in second medium bowl to combine; add sugar, vanilla and salt and whisk until fully incorporated. Add cooled chocolate mixture and whisk until combined. Sift about one-third of flour mixture over chocolate mixture and whisk until combined; whisk in sour cream until combined; then sift in remaining flour mixture and whisk batter until it is homogenous and thick.
5. Divide batter evenly among muffin pan cups. Bake until skewer inserted into center of cupcakes comes out clean, 18-20 minutes.
6. Cool cupcakes in muffin pan on wire rack until cool enough to handle, about 15 minutes. Carefully lift each cupcake from muffin pan and set on wire rack. Cool to room temperature before icing, about 30 minutes.

I highly recommend that instead of the suggested Easy Vanilla Buttercream that incorporates butter and confectioners’ sugar, that you frost the chocolate cupcakes with a Swiss Meringue Buttercream. The Swiss Meringue Buttercream is smooth, silky and not overly sweet. It pairs beautifully with the dark chocolate. The best part of this particular buttercream is that it isn’t grainy, pipes beautifully, and holds up well even in warm weather.
SWISS MERINGUE BUTTERCREAM
(from Martha Stewart’s Cupcakes; makes about 5 cups)

• 5 large egg whites
• 1 cup plus 2 T sugar
• pinch of salt
• 1 pound (4 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons, room temperature
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1. Combine egg whites, sugar and salt in the heatproof bowl of a standing mixer set over a pan of simmering water. Whisk constantly by hand until mixture is warm to the touch and sugar has dissolved (the mixture should feel completely smooth when rubbed between your fingertips).
2. Attach the bowl to the mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Starting on low and gradually increasing to medium-high speed, whisk until stiff (but not dry) peaks form. Continue mixing until the mixture is fluffy and glossy, and completely cool (test by touching the bottom of the bowl), about 10 minutes.
3. With mixer on medium-low speed, add the butter a few tablespoons at a time, mixing well after each addition. Once all butter has been added, whisk in vanilla. Switch to the paddle attachment, and continue beating on low speed until all air bubbles are eliminated, about 2 minutes. Scrape down sides of bowl with a flexible spatula, and continue beating until the frosting is completely smooth. Keep buttercream at room temperature if using the same day, or transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate up to 3 days or freeze up to 1 month. Before using, bring to room temperature and beat with paddle attachment on low speed until smooth again, about 5 minutes.
4. (optional) To tint buttercream, reserve some for toning down the color, if necessary. Add gel-paste food color, a drop at a time (or use the toothpick or skewer to add food color a dab at a time) to the remaining buttercream. You can use a single shade of food color or experiment by mixing two or more. Blend after each addition with the mixer (use the paddle attachment) or a flexible spatula, until desired shade is achieved. Avoid adding too much food color too son, as the hue with intensify with continued stirring; if necessary, you can tone down the shade by mixing in some reserved untinted buttercream.

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BLUEBERRY MUFFINS

I’m trying my green thumb out by growing two blueberry bushes in my backyard. I chose two different varieties and only one this year has a handful of berries. I hope when they establish themselves in a few years I’ll be able to harvest enough for making blueberry muffins!

Corriher’s recipe for Blueberry Muffins again incorporates 1/2 cup of whipping cream beaten to the soft peak stage. The muffin was moist, but didn’t have much structure/strength to hold up well. It crumbles easily. She indicated you could beat the batter well (unlike the traditional muffin method) to increase gluten formation and increase structure. I did this, but the muffins were still very soft. That’s okay though. I had them in muffin liners and that helped.

These muffins stayed moist into the second day and I nuked one for 15 seconds to get that warm, freshly baked sensation again. It was very good. My mother really liked them and took a few back to her condo to eat for breakfast and snacks. These were really good, but I don’t think the whipping cream added any more flavour of complexity to this quickbread as it did to the previous recipe I made with the pound cake. I’ve had muffins just as good without the incorporation of this ingredient.

BLUEBERRIES AND CREAM MUFFINS

from S.O. Corriher’s BakeWise: the Hows and Whys of Successful Baking

(makes 12 medium (2 3/4 x 1 1/8 inch/7 x 2.8 cm) muffins)

• 2 cups (8.8 oz/249 g) spooned and leveled bleached all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons (9g) baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon (3g) salt
• 1 1/4 cups (12.3 oz/349 g) sugar
• 1 large egg (1.75 oz/50g)
• 1/2 cup (118 ml) canola oil
• 1/3 cup (79 ml) buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon (5ml) pure vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon (5 ml) lemon zest (grated peel)
• 1 tablespoon (15 ml) orange zest (grated peel)
• 1/2 cup (118 ml) heavy cream
• 1 1/2 cups (7.4 oz/208 g) fresh blueberries
• nonstick cooking spray
• 1/4 cup (1.8 oz/52 g) coarse sugar or granulated sugar, for topping

1. Arrange a shelf in the lower third of the oven, place a baking stone on it, and preheat the oven to 425°F/218°C.
2. In a large mixing bowl, beat together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar for a full 30 seconds
3. In a medium mixing bowl, beat the egg with a few strokes, then beat in the oil, buttermilk, vanilla and lemon and orange zests
4. Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients. Beat together with a hand mixer or by hand. Stir or beat well. This batter is almost too tender, so do not hesitate to stir vigorously.
5. In a cold bowl with cold beaters, whip the cream until soft peaks form when the beater is lifted. Beat just a little beyond this soft peak stage. Stir about one-quarter of the whipped cream in to lighten the batter. Then, fold the rest of the whipped cream into the batter. Fold the blueberries into the batter.
6. Spray two 6-cup medium (2 3/4 x 1 1/8 inch/7 x 2.8 cm) muffin pans with nonstick cooking spray.
7. Fill muffin pans almost to the top. Sprinkle the muffins with coarse sugar. Turn the oven down to 400°F/204°C and leave the oven door open for about 10 seconds. Place pans in the oven on the stone and close the oven door. Bake until well-risen and lightly browned, about 20 minutes.
8. Cool the muffins in the pans for about 5 minutes. Jar the edges of the pans on the counter to loosen the muffins, and carefully remove them to a cooling rack.

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Cassandras Journey The Legacy of Nostradamus

Cassandra`s Journey: The Legacy of Nostradamus puts you in the role of Cassandra, a young mystic relying on a mysterious ring to solve cases that are assumed to be impossible. One day, her magical ring goes missing. Now it is up to you, with the help of the spirit of Nostradamus and unique mind-reading magic tricks and fortune-telling wisdom, to find the missing ring and help Cassandra reveal the secrets of her family, before they are forever lost!

Game Size 74 MB

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Charlotte's Web Word Rescue

Help save Wilbur, the joyful pig, from the frying pan by solving a series of word puzzles, and unlocking memorable movie quotes from the story as you journey from the Zuckerman farm to the County Fair! Play through 10 unique and familiar settings and 85 captivating levels! Follow the timeless tale of friendship and love in Story Mode, or challenge a friend in Turn Mode! In Charlotte's Web: Word Rescue, the word fun never ends, so come fall in love with these wonderful characters all over again!

Game Size 13MB

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Samantha Swift and the Golden Touch

On a quest to recover Alexander the Great’s timeless and mysterious Scroll of Wealth, fearless archaeologist and adventurer Samantha Swift realizes that there’s more to this mission than she first thought. Now she’s racing against the clock to keep ancient magical powers from falling into the wrong hands! Discover the truth about King Midas in this exciting Hidden Object game, Samantha Swift and the Golden Touch!
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Game Size 155 MB

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