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The Fox and the Grapes - video and video script
'I'm so hungry. I can't find anything to eat.'
He was so hungry, everything around him was blurry.
The fox was passing a vineyard, but the fox didn't know it was a vineyard.
"Oh, I'm so hungry I can't even see well now."
"But what's that roundish thing that looks like a grape?"
"It would be nice if it was a real grape."
Fox hung his head and walked on.
'Huh? What's that smell?'
The fox suddenly became aware of the smell of grapes.
"Wow! It's a grapevine. There are so many grapes, My mouth is watering."
Fox looked at the grapevine and drooled.
"Shall I try one?"
The fox jumped up toward the grapes.
But the grapes were too high and the fox couldn't reach them.
The fox jumped up again.
He was about to touch them, but he couldn't pick them.
The fox continued to jump, but he kept missing.
"Oh, I'm so tired. Why are they so high? They're too high! I can't reach them."
The fox looked at the grapes for a long time and thought about how he could get them.
He suddenly got up and said to himself.
"Those grapes are probably too sour. I don't like grapes anyway."
"I don't want to eat sour grapes. I wasted my time for nothing."
The fox couldn't pick the grapes, so he made excuses and gave up.
The fox's stomach continued to growl and he continued to think about the grapes he couldn't reach.
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Prince George celebrates his third birthday today - Photos & Video
Barefoot Prince George celebrates his third birthday today with new photographs released by Kensington Palace.
The little prince, third in line to the throne, can be seen in two shots playing on a swing in casual shorts and a T-shirt at his parents' country home, Anmer Hall, that is inscribed with their names, William and Catherine. It is believed to have been a wedding gift to the couple.
In recent years the royal household has often issued pictures taken of the Royal children by their keen amateur photographer mother, the Duchess of Cambridge. This time, however, they were taken by a professional photographer, Matt Porteous.
In a statement, William and Kate said: 'The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are delighted to share four new photographs of Prince George to mark his third birthday.
'They were taken by photographer Matt Porteous at their home in Norfolk in mid-July.
Kensington Palace adds: 'The Duke and Duchess hope that people will enjoy seeing these new photographs. They would like to thank everyone for all the lovely messages they have received as Prince George celebrates his third birthday.'
The three-year-old today enjoyed a birthday party with all the trimmings at the family's Norfolk mansion, Anmer Hall. He was joined by his grandparents, Michael and Carole Middleton, as well as friends from his nearby Montessori School, Westacre.
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4th July - American Flag Roll Cake - video recipe
INGREDIENTS
Stars and Stripes
- 6 tablespoons (75 grams) unsalted butter
- ¾ cup (92 grams) confectioners’ sugar
- 2 egg whites
- ¾ cup + 1 tablespoon (92 grams) cake flour
- Red and blue gel food coloring
- 1 teaspoon cake flour, to mix in the red paste batter
- 1 teaspoon cake flour, to mix in the blue paste batter
Cake Batter
- 4 egg yolks
- ½ cup (104 grams) granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon water
- ⅓ cup (68 grams) vegetable oil
- 1 cup (114 grams) cake flour
- 4 egg whites
- 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
- ¼ cup (52 grams) granulated sugar
Whipped Filling
- 4 ounces cream cheese
- 1 ½ cups heavy whipping cream
- ½ cup (104 grams) granulated sugar
- 1 cup chopped strawberries
DIRECTIONS
Stars and Stripes
- Line a half sheet pan with parchment paper and spray with non-stick spray. Tape off a rectangle to delineate where the stars will go, in the upper-right corner of the pan.
- Cream the butter and the powdered sugar together. Add the egg whites and cake flour. and beat until smooth.
- Fit a piping bag with a small, round number 2 tip, and fill with about 3 tablespoons of the batter. Pipe small white stars within the rectangle, spacing them apart from each other. Freeze the sheet pan for about 15 to 20 minutes, until the stars are set.
- Mix any unused star paste back in with the rest of the batter, then divide the batter in half.
- Color one half blue and the other half red. Mix in 1 teaspoon cake flour each to the blue and red paste batters.
- Fit two separate piping bags with flat number 48 tips. Spoon the blue and red batters into their own separate piping bags.
- Pipe the blue batter over the stars. Then carefully spread the blue paste to completely cover the stars. Freeze the sheet pan again for 20 minutes.
- Place masking tape in even lines to form the stripes in the rest of the pan. Pipe the red batter in between the pieces of tape to form the red stripes.
- Freeze the pan for 20 minutes while you make the cake batter.
Cake
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- In a large mixing bowl, using a hand mixer, whip the egg yolks and ½ cup of the granulated sugar until light yellow and fluffy.
- Add the vegetable oil, water and lemon juice, and mix well. The mixture should be thick and smooth by now.
- Sift in the cake flour.
- In a separate bowl, make the meringue. Using a hand or stand mixer fitted with the wire whip attachment, whip the egg whites and cream of tartar. Once the egg whites are frothy, gradually add in the ¼ cup of granulated sugar and increase the mixer speed. Whip until the meringue forms stiff, glossy peaks.
- Gently fold the meringue into the egg yolk mixture until there are no streaks of meringue remaining.
- Take the sheet pan from the freezer and remove the masking tape, thereby leaving blank “white” stripes. Pour the cake batter over the pattern and use an offset spatula to spread in an even layer to completely cover the stars and stripes pattern.
- Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until the center of the cake is golden and springs back to the touch.
- Dust a clean kitchen towel with powdered sugar.
- Remove the cake from the oven. Slide a knife around the edges of the cake, and flip it out of the pan onto the sugared kitchen towel. Carefully peel off the parchment paper from the flag pattern.
- Place another clean kitchen towel (no powdered sugar) and the now empty baking sheet on the cake and flip it once again so that the blank side is facing up and the flag pattern is underneath. Roll the cake between the two towels, starting from the short end with the blue rectangle on the lower left corner. (This pre-rolling is to prevent the cooled cake from cracking when you roll it up with the filling later.) After 20 minutes, while the cake is still warm, unroll the cake to let it cool completely.
Whipped Filling
- Beat the cream cheese and granulated sugar until smooth and free of lumps.
- On medium low speed, add the whipping cream in a thin stream. Increase the speed to medium high and whip the filling until thick.
Final Cake Assembly
- Spread a thin layer of the whipped cream filling onto the blank side of the cake.
- Evenly scatter the chopped strawberries over the filling. Spread another thin layer of filling over the strawberries.
- Roll the cake up into a tight spiral, starting with the short end with the blue star field on the lower left corner.
- Wrap the finished cake and refrigerate for several hours, until the filling is set enough that you can slice the cake without the filling squishing out.
TIP
- Chop the strawberries ahead of time and layer them between paper towels to absorb extra moisture.
