onsdag 30. november 2011

The calendar project II, and some Christmas baking

I've started on the Christmas baking
Tonight it was "Krumkaker"

Advent calendar is ready for tomorrow.
Every year this particular night, the last of November
since my children were born
I sit watching something on telly
(tonight it was The Polar Express)
and wrapping little presents for the calendar.
Now it's ready!

søndag 27. november 2011

Half way to a thousand and some chicken nuggets

Advent
Today it's the first Sunday of Advent
The color of Advent is purple

Home made chicken nuggets are as easy as they are tasty
(and slightly messy when you make them)
Pieces of chicken breasts, first in flour, then in egg
and finally in crushed Pringles

Frying in my skillet
No fancy order,
just served with oven chips and broccoli

Some sweet and sour chili sauce to dip the good pieces in! Yum!

And do you know what?
This is post number 500!
I don't mess about!

tirsdag 22. november 2011

Crackling and ashes

When I was going to post something about this piece of pork meat with it's crackling
I thought
have I written about this before?
I've been doing this blog since 2007, so I probably had.
I searched my blog
(feel free to do the same)
and found one post:
Almost exactly 3 years back in time
(give or take one day)
This is a common Christmas dinner in Norway
only not in our house,
it's kind of frowned to eat this in November
Many people take their Christmas food tradition very seriously!

We enjoyed in November anyway, as we did 3 years ago
according to my blog.
It's a bit nippy outside
so we keep a fire going when we are home.
Every now and then, the fireplace needs to be emptied
It is full of ashes!
Dinkie is waiting impatiently because she just loves the warming fire!

The ashes must be cold, the bucket shouldn't be flammable
(like mine is)
and you should never leave it on the steps outside your front door for later.
A few houses has burnt down over the years because of that!
Embers can keep warm inside of ashes for a long time!
My house is still standing, I emptied the bucket far from my house straight away!

fredag 18. november 2011

Pears and inspiration

One of my friends treated his pears
in an intriguing way
Here in blog land, we're allowed to be inspired
by each others efforts.
So my pears got undressed
and started soaking!
A good warm soak, in red wine, lovely spices and citrus peel
Then cooling off and staying ther over night
The day after, the pears came out to rest
and the wine got reduced until thick syrup
Tanned and well rested
On a bed of cream made of an egg and sugar whipped fluffy
and mixed with whipped cream.
With the oh so heavenly syrup, the taste so concentrated tha you wouldn't believe it!
Trying to make it look pretty
Worth waiting for!
Thanks Christo Le Chien, for the inspiration!

tirsdag 15. november 2011

The calendar project

My daughter Pink Princesse goes to school
far up north if Norway.
In a couple of days, the sun will disapper for quite a while
She is wondering how she will cope with it!
Where we live, further south, the days are short in the winter
but the sun never disappear completely so it will be her first time!

To cheer her up
I'm preparing a Christmas calendar
for the days in December until she comes home for her Christmas holiday!
One little present for each day.
A little break after the wrapping
Burger and chips, Little Chefs favourite!
He wants a calendar too!

I'll send them off, one package at a time
You can't beat getting mail!
That'll put a smile on her face
and make her feel special
my sweet girl!

søndag 13. november 2011

Almondy nutties and Apple cake

Ok I admit it straight away
I didn't make the almond dough
It came shaped like a sausage from the supermarket.
But I did roll it in to little balls,
and I did peel the almonds
They looked a bit to goody goody
so I messed them up with some dark chocolate
(which I melted myself)
The apple cake on the other hand
was made from scratch,
It came, said hello
and disappeared within a short time
like cakes do in our house!

Served with whipped cream



fredag 11. november 2011

Frost and mist in the Norwegian mountains

I've been to a conference about autism
It took place 1001 meters above the sea
in one of the Norwegian mountains.
Between the sessions, we went outside
to admire the wonders of nature.
The hotel was situated far up on one side of a valley.
The frost created a white sea of mist which was so thick
that all we could see outside the hotel was White
We climbed about 50 meters up the mountain, and came out of the mist
it was magical!



The frost covered everything with beautiful crystals
We expected a troll coming any time soon!


tirsdag 8. november 2011

Rice pudding, no dairy

We have a bit of milk intolerance going on in our house
I'm experimenting
and trying out new recipes and ingredients
Today it's rice pudding, made on rice milk
That went well!
Served with cinnamon and a little knob of butter.
(Two little boxes to bring as a snack to work)

søndag 6. november 2011

Hibernating is what I've been doing!

It's the season of hibernating.
My daughter is far up north going to school
My son is busy with his friends so I suddenly have much more time on my hands

I haven't been blogging much lately
I guess I have been on a break
Maybe I needed a little break, but now I'd like to
get on board again, alt least do it a bit more often
than I've done lately
I kind of miss it!
It's November but in my garden the Calendula officinalis
is still blossoming
and my dearest flower: Lupinus, My favourite!
I planted it this spring and at last, there is a Lupinus in my garden
I have special place in my heart for this flower.
Some people called it a weed and warned me not to plant it
but I've tried for years to get it to grow in my garden.