DECK THE HOLIDAY'S

   These pretty, heart-shaped cakes are perfect for the kids to make. Ingredients 2 cups all purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 3/4 teaspoon coarse kosher salt 4 large eggs 2 cups sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted, warm 1 cup whole milk, room temperature Raspberry jam or fruit spread Purchased lemon curd Powdered sugar Preparation Preheat oven to 350°F. Line heavy 18x12x1-inch baking sheet with parchment paper. Whisk first 3 ingredients in medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat eggs, sugar, and vanilla in large bowl until very pale and thick, about 5 minutes. Beat in butter, then milk. Fold in flour mixture, then beat just until blended, about 30 seconds. Spread batter evenly into prepared baking sheet. Bake cake until tester inserted into center comes out clean and cake begins to color on top, 26 to 28 minutes. Cool cake completely on baking sheet on rack. Using 4-inch heart-shaped cookie cutter, cut ou...

    Japan like any other country is steeped in ghostly lore. Here are a few of the more common Japanese spirits for you to read about and be amazed by. Bakechochin     Translated as " haunted lantern ", in Japanese folklore a Bakechochin is a lantern inhabited by ghosts. According to folklore the lantern has a long tongue and wild eyes and is home for the ghosts of people who died with hate in their hearts; for this reason, they are doomed to hauntthe earth for all time. If someone should light one of the haunted lanterns it is thought that a hateful ghost may leap out of it and attack. Buruburu    Buruburu, meaning the sound of shivering, is a terrible ghost from Japanese folklore that for reasons unknown is said to lurk in forests and graveyards in the form of an old person, who is sometimes one eyed. According to legend it attaches itself to its victim's spine and causes a chill to run down them, or in the worse case ca...

    Each July, tens of thousands of spectators line the banks adjacent to the Stari Most, the Old Bridge that crosses Bosnia-Herzegovina’s beautiful Neretva River in the city of Mostar. Undeterred by the Balkan sun, onlookers keep their eyes locked on the apex of the single-arch bridge where, one by one, divers enter the water in a spectacle of machismo and local tradition as they vie for title in the world’s longest-running high diving competition: the Ikari.     As one of the oldest venues for extreme sporting events, the Stari Most has been the place to go for male rites of passage since it was first built back in 1566. Set in the Ottoman Empire’s regional capital, the Old Bridge connected the Neretva River’s two banks at its narrowest point, a strategic location that marked the centre of the city’s earliest development. The name Mostar comes from the “mostari,” or bridge-keepers who held watch over the structure from the Halebinovka Tower on...

    The Darwin Beer Can Regatta is an event which has been held annually since 1974 in Darwin, Northern Territory , Australia at Mindil Beach . Participants create boats using empty beer cans , soft drink (soda) cans, soft drink bottle and milk cartons. The vessels are not tested for seaworthiness , prior to water events, and those that fall apart are part of the day's entertainment. A great many sundry events go along with the regatta , including concerts, a thong -throwing contest and the "Henley-on-Mindil" competition (named after the Henley-on-Todd Regatta ), where participants run their " boats " around like Flintstones cars. The Darwin Stubby seems to be the beer bottle of choice for this festival . This bottle reigns as the largest "stubby" of beer in the world at 75 ounces, or roughly 2.1 litres.     The first Beer Can Regatta was held in June 1974. This is contrary to popular belief that the regatta started in the aftermath ...