30 desserts challenge [DAY2] Banana Cake

延宕已久的甜點計畫終於又可以開始進行了！雖然之前在家有大把時間，但我在上班之後才有要好好把握時間做自己想做的事的想法，某方面來說，上班的壓力反而讓我更珍惜自己可以自由做想做的事的時間。

持續製作甜點30天的壞處是，縱使做得好吃（或是不好吃），可以消化的總是比做出來的成品少。一開始的確有好好實行這個計畫，但堆積如山的甜點為了避免浪費通通進了肚皮，要辛苦減肥又後悔萬分的又是自己。我想，把想做甜點和想吃甜點的慾望拉成適當的比例，真是一門藝術，我還要好好學習。

前幾天看到這個Fion香蕉蛋糕的食譜突然讓我想起覺旅香蕉蛋糕的美味，究竟在家裡複製的出來那樣的味道嗎？以下是原本的食譜


準備材料/ 

125g無鹽奶油/加熱到完全融化

3/4 杯砂糖（二砂）

2顆雞蛋

2杯搗碎的香蕉泥

1茶匙（teaspoon) baking soda 

1茶匙（teaspoon) baking powder

2杯低筋麵粉

2餐匙（tablespoon)熱牛奶

2茶匙肉桂粉（optional）

烤箱預熱180度

做法/

1.混合融化的奶油與砂糖，打蛋器（電動更佳）打至糊狀

2.加入雞蛋，每加入一顆要攪拌均勻

3.加入2杯香蕉泥，攪拌均勻

4.將baking soda（蘇打粉）放進熱牛奶，再倒進步驟3

5.最後倒進麵粉和baking powder，攪拌均勻後，倒入已撲好烘焙紙的烤模

180度烤45～50分鐘，用竹籤刺看看沒有濕黏狀及完成

第一次實驗：因為我的烤盤比較淺，我烤接近30分鐘出來的成果，表皮呈現褐黑色，為了裝飾的香蕉片都沉下去，整個畫面有點像Yayoi Kusama的畫作。

事後檢討：

1. 吃起來有種鹼味，本以為是香蕉的問題，後來才發現因為我不夠專心我竟然將baking powder和baking soda都加成 1 tablespoon，是原先的 1 teaspoon 三倍！！！上網搜尋baking soda會讓食物帶有一種鹼味，需要加酸性物質中和為中性，作用為使蛋糕蓬鬆，也使顏色變深，徹底的說明為何我的蛋糕長這種樣子！這裡有詳盡的泡打粉小蘇打粉介紹。
2. 香蕉裝飾切太厚下沉，香蕉泥要選熟一點的香蕉比較甜，糖可以多加一點點（總共一杯）
3. 放烤箱下層烤

後記：剛剛我又不服氣的烤了第二次，份量為原先的一半，糖加了半杯，小蘇打加了四分之一tsp，其他不變，烤約四十分鐘，看起來很成功！

Pandora's Box

I was often asked (or teased) about my English name- Pandora. How and why I got this name and so on. This name has such a bad reputation and an evil image comes with it. Many people heard my name and associate it with the Pandora of “Pandora’s box.” Luckily not long ago, in the movie Avatar the world where the Navis live is called Pandora. Due to the movie’s popularity and the dreamy and otherworldly world the movie has created, many parents of newborns named their children Pandora. I sort of hope that the Pandora Planet and those babies can bring better meanings to this name.

Anyhow, I do have a Pandora’s box now. Last Friday night, I excitedly received the box which is an artwork of the public art project of artist Franck de las Mercedes called “Priority box.” After about 8-months wait, the box didn't disappoint me. What comes in the box, you may ask. It’s marked as fragile, important but also too valuable and priceless. It’s PEACE.

Many valuable things in the world can not be bought or tagged with monetary value, like peace, hope and love. In the "Priority Box" project, the artist put these values into the painted boxes which he used as canvas and delivers them to whoever request them in any corner of the world for FREE. I really like the artist's idea of passing out the important messages through art and by changing hands of these boxes to make people aware of the significance of these attributes which are easily neglected in daily life. What a BRILLIANT thought! 

So from now on, whenever people ask “what’s in your box?” I’d stop dodging this embarrassing moment and proudly say “PEACE”! 

Here is the excerpt of the project from the artist's website: 

"The Priority Boxes" project is a public art series that seeks to provoke thought, to make people reconsider their ability to influence change, communicate through art and make art accessible to people from all walks of life.

Each box is the canvas for a unique abstract painting and is dedicated with a “Fragile:" message. The project which started as an initiative to promote peace quickly evolved in to art movement with boxes containing a wide spectrum of emotions and abstract attributes such as Freedom, Love and Justice.

By using a box format painted on the outside, sent by mail, Franck aims to have people interact with a work of art, from the person requesting one, to the very first change of hands at the post office, all the way to its receiver. By holding and observing one, the recipient can consider what the box suggests it contains, realize the fragility of what they are holding, and in that relation become aware or activate their ability to take action and influence change. The boxes must be free, in order to reinforce and remind us that things like peace and hope are not only free but also a priority.

Learn something new, anytime, anywhere (plus it's FREE!)

*Image from here

I can not express my excitement when I found out this great resource online: Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences offered public lectures on cooking and science. It's a "collaboration between eminent Harvard researchers and world-class chefs." What's a better place to learn about the science of cooking than at Harvard? The first thought that crossed my mind, " I wished they had offered this lectures back in 2009 or 2010(they did?) so I could make good use of it!" In spite of my regret, I could not feel any happier to know that the materials of the past and current lectures are available online from both iTunes U and youtube! It's not too late for me to catch up with previous lectures, right?

How should I put it, iTunes U is AMAZING! This is the place that I'll immerse myself with knowledge. Have you ever felt that you had too little time to learn subjects other than your major requirements in college? I have. I was always interested in Psychology and only took the intro class, as you might have guessed, for my GE requirement. Worry not, now I'm taking the class "Thinking like a Psychologist" with fellow students at Stanford University. I even downloaded iTunes U on my iPhone so that I could learn on the go. (Plus I feel the need to buy an iPad for this particular reason.) 

Now that I was introduced to iTunes U, i dug in for more free online courses that offered from prestigious universities. Open Culture is a great website to browse and to start with. It carefully and neatly listed all sorts of educational media with subjects ranging from art to science. You'll be amazed by the sheer amounts of materials that you can use to educate yourself, just by one click.

The other two sites i found, coursera and edX, provide mainly science courses. Unlike Open Culture which serves as a medium, coursera partners with universities for online courses of all sorts. edX, a partnership product of Harvard and MIT, of which is like the stereotype, is very technology oriented. Whether you're a tech genius that wants to understand further or a beginner wishes to learn something new, these two sites are of great value.

大家一起來上課！