krakilette

Hverdag/ ordinary days

2012-01-05T20:23:00.003+01:00

We're back in our every day life after Christmas

ordinary Tuesdays and Thursdays

Laundry and work

alarmclocks and cups of tea

and sanwiches.

Christmas ornaments back in the attic,

less light in the dark corners of the house

but more space and air

We don't mind

the sun has turned.

Norwexican tamales for New Year

2011-12-31T22:50:00.004+01:00

From my friend Christo

I got a huge box in the mail

with all I needed to make tamales

just in time for New Year!

Corn husk, chile and masa

I used some pork

and it was simmering for three hours on low heat

The chile soaking in some water

Chile, sweet pepper, celery, and stock in the foodprocessor

Shredding the pork

Letting it simmer for 45 minutes together with the pork

Making the masa: corn flour, lard, baking powder, and stock

Soaking the husk

Then wrapping the tamales, I loved that part of the job!

Stacking them in the steamer

Waiting with excitement while the little packages

got ready for the New Years feast!

I had never seen a tamale in real life or tasted one

I was wondering, would it be right?

The meat in the chile tasted good

even the masa tasted ok before cooking

so I thought I would like it!

Bur what about my family?

I loved it, and even better,

they loved it!

Even my picky eater of a son and his girlfriend!

My husband and my daughter wanted it again very soon!

I told them what you said Christo,

that eating tamales on New Years Eve means good

fortune ans happiness for the New Year!

Thank you for letting me in om this food experience, I promise you

this will not be the last tamales made in this home!

To you and all my friends out there:

Happy New Year!!

12 days of Christmas

2011-12-20T22:59:00.000+01:00

Inspired by the season

my husband wants to tell the real story

about his Christmas:

Merry baking

2011-12-12T20:05:00.002+01:00

It's the time for baking.

According to the Norwegian tradition

it should be 7 different types of cakes and cookies

in a proper Norwegian Christmas home

There won't be seven types in our home

but there will these:

Nutty cookies, with hazel nuts and almonds

And coconut macaroons

And even dinner suddenly seems Christmasy

and it wasn't even deliberate

Beans and tomatoes, Ho Ho, Ho!!

Julebord and coconut cake

2011-12-04T18:59:00.004+01:00

Last night we had our annual Julebord (Christmas party) at work

This year we chose to do it far out in the woods

Viking style!

The place was rustic, wooden and rough

the floor was of hard soil

and there was massive logs og the fire.

Even if it was kind of outside-ish, it was warm .

The tables was of thick wood, the chairs was of thick stumps of wood

with skins of reindeer to sit on.

The menue was grilled lamb and salmon

Outside there was kerosene lamps and torches to show us the way.

There was stars and moon above, and it was magical!

This afternoon back from the wilderness

I made a coconut cake

soft and cruncy coconut meringue on top.

Lovely

The calendar project II, and some Christmas baking

2011-11-30T22:13:00.005+01:00

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!

Half way to a thousand and some chicken nuggets

2011-11-27T15:20:00.004+01:00

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!

Crackling and ashes

2011-11-22T21:35:00.006+01:00

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!

Pears and inspiration

2011-11-18T22:25:00.005+01:00

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!

The calendar project

2011-11-15T21:21:00.006+01:00

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!

Almondy nutties and Apple cake

2011-11-13T20:50:00.006+01:00

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

Frost and mist in the Norwegian mountains

2011-11-11T19:40:00.005+01:00

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!

Rice pudding, no dairy

2011-11-08T17:05:00.004+01:00

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)

Hibernating is what I've been doing!

2011-11-06T15:51:00.004+01:00

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.

Autumn lunches

2011-10-10T19:51:00.003+02:00

It is getting nippy outside

and even inside my office at work

it is a bit to chilly.

Today I made a load of vegetable soup

(with a bit of chicken, and made with home made chicken stock)

I put it in some plastic containers

stack them in the freezer

and they are ready to go.

Tomorrow, I'll put one frozen portion of soup in my bag

(no spilling since it's frozen)

and reheat at lunch time.

The Norwegian lunch is usually

openfaced sandwiches with salami, cheese or liverpaste etc

This is what we are raised on from kindergarden and until we retire from work.

Yes, we are a sandwich generation!

But tomorrow there will be soup.

I don't mind autumn at all!

2011-10-04T21:19:00.003+02:00

To me, autumn is cooking time

These are some of my favourites

I can't cook or live without them!

These days

My parents are cleaning out their closets:

and handed over 1350 slides

from the sixties and seventies

everyday life from when I was little:

How am I going to transfer them into

the digital world of today?

This one was taken of the slide, by my mobile, on the wall...

happy girl at bed time, It's me!

Autumn is also relaxing time, wollen socks and sudoku at the cabin!

And a show with a plane from the forties

landing on a field by the national park.

It was good old fashion entertainment

out in the autumn sunshine!

Malta

2011-09-14T19:01:00.004+02:00

My sister and I

went on a trip to Malta last week.

We had spa treatments

(nail polish for the first time of my life, that sais something

about the level of make up I'm using)

Next to our hotel Corinthia

The President recidential was situated

and it had the most lovely garden!

The garden was very old

as was the trees in there

There was beautiful fountains

and stone paths

And beautiful flowers!

Valetta City

Creamy ice coffee, (yum)

The pool area

We went on a island cruise

I even had time for som tree climbing!

Craterellus aurora

2011-09-04T20:18:00.004+02:00

An old teacher of mine lives down the road

she loves her garden, and to walk in the woods

Yesterday she came bicycling past our house with a basket full of

mushrooms!

Craterellus aurora

She wanted to share it with us

In the fryong pan together with

celery, spring onion and garlic

Served along with chicken, mashed potatoes and vegetables

Pink food and a sea urchin

2011-08-31T21:44:00.003+02:00

Last weekend we had a lovely party

with cousins we hadn't seen for a long time!

It is a special thing to share genes and familymemories!

We had prawns, a social and active kind of food!

In Norway most people know how to peel a prawn

and they are usually served with the shell still on.

On our travel up north the week before, we met

another pink sea creature.

I haven't tried eating sea urchins

I don't know if that is common in Norway!

Put they are fun to look at, and quite pretty!

Harstad

2011-08-23T20:05:00.007+02:00

This is the view from our daughters window

at her school far up north of Norway

We wnt to Harstad this weekend to take her and all her stuff

safely up to school. It is more than 1500 km away from where we live,

so we went by car, then plane, then rented car.
What a fantastic place!

The photos will tell ther own tale:

These are the feet of two parents

who just dropped off their daughter at her school

and had to sit in the sun and try not to get overwhelmed

by the urge to go and fecth her again or give her one more hug

before we left.

Slipping through my fingers

2011-08-17T18:41:00.005+02:00

I feel like the mother in this ABBA song these days.

My daughter will be going away to a school

far up north of Norway in a couple of days.

We are cleaning out her closets, packing suitcases

Talking laughtng and taking a break

with a game of Yatzy every now and then.

How will it be without her around the house?

Very quiet and strange.

Of course this is all we want for her

going out in the world and embracing it!

It's the way it should be, but it is still strange

and I will secretly be bringing some kleenex

for the way home...

Growing up

2011-08-11T20:47:00.007+02:00

Little Chef, not so little anymore!

15 years old

We went to the cabin for his birthday

The menue he chose was ham, gratinated cheesy potatoes, veggies and gravy

We have to keep it simple at the cabin,

not the most fancy presentation, but the young man was pleased!

For dessert

Birthday cake!Ok, Dinkie is little

but these lads are getting so tall!

These are the legs of Little Chefs friends

They are taller than 190 cm both of them!

Our Capri

2011-08-06T11:17:00.003+02:00

Once again we have spent a lovely week

at Capri, Strømstad in Sweden

This is our Capri,

as it probably is for many others

We have returned to this place for several summers

The sunsets at Capri is devine!

Little Chef is rowing.
Pink Princesse is enjoying the sun set with Dinkie

The rocky shore

While being there, we had plenty of good grub

The photo isn't giving this fishcake enough credit!

Under a sky like this

you feel humble

Roses and summer berries

2011-07-27T20:56:00.006+02:00

Even if we have opened a new chapter of horror

almost every day these days

We are standing together holding hands

believing in democracy, freedom and love

...

There is no more roses in the flower shops

they have all been carried in our hands

held up to the sky as a symbol

and put down on the ground

together with cards with words of sorrow

compassion and condolences

But we also have good moments

it is summer, the sun is finally warming our bodies

the strawberries is still sweet

Ice cream and strawberries

This is

Summer!

Grieving

2011-07-24T14:52:00.006+02:00

We are grieving

Our nation is in shock

Never in anyones worst nightmare

could we believe that

anything like this could happen

At least 93 people killed

7 of them when the goverment buildings were bombed

86 of them executed at Utøya island

5 still missing

almost 100 injured, many seriosly

All this done by one person

with a big plan

......

We have no words

we cannot take it in

We are just a little nation

who woke up to find the nightmare

was real

......

Terrorists comes in all colors

so do all the rest of us

please talk to your young ones

about every persons equal right

to live, to have freedom and respect

........

No person stands above others

No life is worth more than others

No person should take another persons life.

Times

2011-07-22T18:50:00.004+02:00

Finally I've started my holiday.

The rain is pouring down, no sign of summer warmth

I look forward to enjoy lazy days

and fun games (Yatzy) with my daughter

Then out of the blue
the peaceful time of naive innocence has changed
Our Goverment building has been struck by terrorism!
http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/europe/07/22/norway.explosion/index.html?iref=NS1

Edit:

What we thought was horrible went to become a nightmare:

More than 80 young lives has been taken

http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/europe/07/22/norway.explosion/index.html

Tourist in my own town part 1

2011-07-06T20:05:00.005+02:00

As I wait patiently for my holiday

and go to work everyday

I have come up with a great plan:

I will become a tourist in my own town!

This afternoon

We walk through

Falkensten Farm

With it's lovely dam

We walk on the grit road by the fjord

And we end up at Varnestangen

The lovely and peaceful place

Which is best reached on foot, on your bike or in your boat

Next time we will bring

a flask of coffee and some biscuits to enjoy

or maybe a picnic basket

The Unintended Italian evening

2011-07-04T20:31:00.006+02:00

Tagliatelle Anette

May be with a little sprinkle of parmesan?
And Tiramisu, suddenly I realise
I have an italian menue today!
I didn't plan it at all!

Ah, so creamy and lovely

with a cup of coffee!

This and that in the beginning of July

2011-07-02T10:34:00.002+02:00

The yorkshire lad is being a handyman

finishing of the inside wall of the carport

While walking in the park the other day

we came over this scary creature!

A bowl of carrot soup

even summer days can be a bit nippy!

Enjoying it

2011-06-24T22:23:00.004+02:00

Even though it's summer

I am still at work

every weekday!

Every Friday a new work mate shouts

"have a good holiday!"

I'm not off until four weeks has gone bye!

But I cant ask the summer to wait for that!

I enjoy every afternoon, and every weekend

And even at work or if it rains I keep a little sunny corner of my brain

This is one of our summer guests in the garden
Sausages on the grill

Blue- and boysenberry crumble

And mincemeat pies

(I know slightly wrong season)

The taste of the filling with the currants and all the delight, yum!

Brought a glass of it from England in February.

Pie or a quiche if you want

2011-06-11T11:45:00.004+02:00

I've not made a pie for a long time

or is it a quiche?

I made the crust, and prebaked it

I had no beans or peas to fill the foil that was keeping the dough down while prebaking it

So I used rice.

It did the trick, and smelled good too!

I filled it with

onions, leek, and ham

an egg stand made of eggs and cottage cheese

topped with cherry tomatoes a bit of feta chese and olives

Cottage cheese is very suitable for a pie like this!The photo isn't able to show you

how tasty, juicy and good this pie was!I served it with a mixed salad,

and we ate far far to much!

The first day of summer

2011-06-05T20:58:00.004+02:00

It was a lovely summer day

at the cabin

So green and warm

A bit of gardening

a lot of relaxing,

thats the recipe for recharging our batteries

Picking flowers and enjoying a pink grapefruitAnd a ice cold beer...We went to the little lake

to cool off

shoes on

shoes off

Then we jumped in!

I brought my shampoo, and washed my hair while

threading the water

Pretty pudding

2011-05-25T09:24:00.003+02:00

One of our favourite desserts:

Chocolate pudding.

I'm cheating a bit,

making it out of a mix, adding milk and boiling carefully for

a couple of minutes.

But isn't it beautiful!

I've used this mold made of pottery

It is very old, and I can remember it from when I was little

I thought it was magic!

my mum gave it to me a while ago

because she knew I loved it!

There will be more puddings coming up!
There's some holes in the bottom of it, if I should want to hang it on the wall...

Tusenfryd

2011-05-22T14:56:00.006+02:00

We went to our closest amusement park yesterday

Tusenfryd

(it means A thousand happy moments)

I am a total chicken when it comes to rides etc

I will gladely hold your bag, your jacket and your sunglasses

while you go on and scare yourself to death!

This monster reminded me of the the film: War of the worlds!

So massive, and the people attatched to the wheel, looked like ants!

Watching it was more than enough for me!

Too slow

2011-05-20T19:19:00.005+02:00

Tonight the photographer

Was far to slow!

She tried to keep up,

but was too late

The moussaka was eaten

The salad was gone

The wine glass was empty

The plates almost licked clean

And all this happened before she remembered her camera

But believe me

It was a lovely Friday Feast

Plates became empty and bellies full

the week was over

and the weekend new!

17th of May

2011-05-18T18:48:00.003+02:00

This more or less sums up

The Norwegian Constititional Day

17 th of May

Flags (lots and lots)
Sausages
Cream cakes and ice cream

Yoghurt with honey

2011-05-12T19:12:00.000+02:00

This is one of our favourites:

Greek yoghurt with honey!

Let me tell you something about yoghurt with honey

The first time I tasted it was when I was in Greece for the first time.

The first time I was in Greece I met my husband

on the island of Crete in 1989.

Two years later we went to the island of Kos

We were students and didn't have much spending money

but we rented bicycles and went to a beach a little bit further away

from the central beach where all the sun beds were

because we couldn't afford it.

One day my husband went back to fetch his diving goggles.

I stayed on my blanket in the sun, and enjoyed the warmth and the sound of the sea

(which was free of charge)

After a while I saw him coming,

he had been bicycling one handed through town

in the other hand he held a glass of

Yoghurt with honey

for his beloved girlfriend.

A good walk

2011-05-10T21:11:00.002+02:00

I just love a walk in the park

A sunny Tuesday evening in May!

We're so lucky to have this wonderful place to walk our walks in!

Little Chef's Confirmation

2011-05-09T21:06:00.006+02:00

If you remember 3 years ago

we celebrated Pink Princesse's Confirmation

This Saturday it was Little Chef's turn

He wore a handsome suit, and was of course

the most beautiful young man of the ceremony!

Like last time, we had his English Grandparents and his Aunt Marie

coming over from England, and had a great time with them!

We had lovely food

and of course

Cakes!

Flags are important in a Norwegian celebration

Spot the reflection in the cheesecake!

Pavlova

These are a few of the lovely cakes we had

Like last time,

we have eaten cake every day since,

filled boxes in the freezer and are now

longing for a green apple!

Measuring device with a history

2011-04-29T19:45:00.007+02:00

We keep this item at the cabin

we use it all the time

This item has a history:

My mother, she was born one month before

the second world war came to Norway.

Norway was invaded 9th of April 1940,

she was 3 weeks old

and her family fled the capital to live with her grandparents

in another town.

This kitchen utensil was held by her little hand

5 years later

Norway still paralyzed by war

she fetched soup in it, Swedish soup,

this soup was made of oats

and given out to the hungry children

innocently struck by

war.

When I hold this item in my hand

I sometimes think of my mothers little hand

holding it

not spilling a drop of her treasurable soup

Day out vs cabin fever

2011-04-26T20:39:00.006+02:00

My dad broke his leg a few weeks ago

and at my parents house the cabin fever is increasing

So we took them out for som fresh air.

Filled our picnic baskets.
I found this cool thing at a flea market once:

Sausage anyone?

Loose your shoes, and help yourself with ketchup and mustard

My sister brought a stack of waffles and strawberry jam

I enjoy my waffle

and watch the view:

The little chapel in the center of the photo is where

I married my yorkshire lad

1 th of May 19 years ago

The Eggy feeling

2011-04-22T20:06:00.005+02:00

The Easter Bunny has been visiting
Hidden eggs here and there

Hidden and found by eager searchers

Even Dinkie found one!
We haven't eaten any sweets in a long looong time

We have a sweet stop going on, which goes on until 16th of june

But the easter egg is given as a exception to the deal

So obviously everyone was very excited!

Flowers at the cabin

Water and eggs at the cabin

2011-04-10T16:46:00.007+02:00

Pink Princesse has been creative at the cabin

She's preparing for Easter

She has painted empty eggshells

in watercolors Outside, spring has made the ground pretty with the earliest flowers we get in Norway The ice is melting in the little lake and water is overflowing the dam Little Chef is helping!

Pollen is also a part of spring

I've made my precautions:

Eyedrops, nosespray and allergy medicine

therefore I can sit outside in the sun

enjoying a

Good book (notice the reading glasses, I'm getting old....)

A cold beer, lovely!

(Notice the T-shirt, I'm not that old after all..)

Cheers!

Football, Earth Hour and a few nuts

2011-03-26T20:52:00.006+01:00

It's time to celebrate Earth Hour

We're ready

at least I am

I've made a fire

charged my PC

Turned of all the lights
lit loads of candles

But
and isn't there always a bu!
My husband is insisting to watch football.
After all, it's Norway vs Denmark
and he wants the Norwegians to kick som serious Danish butts!
A compromise has been made;
Everything off, except the tv. And to the game:
just raisins and nuts.

Our Enchiladas was prepared and consumed

in good time before everything went dark!

Waffle Monday

2011-03-21T20:33:00.003+01:00

It's Monday

The weekend is far far away

Pile up some waffles
Make sure to dig in

before they're gone!

Funny how everything looks brighter!

Food and nutrition project

2011-03-18T20:50:00.005+01:00

Little Chef was in charge of

a 3 course meal tonight,

as a project at school.

He used his cook book

planned the menue

set the table and started cooking:

Home made tomatoe soup from scratch

Spicy meat balls

Served with rice and a fresh salad For dessert:

Tilslørte bondepiker

He sure did a good job feeding us!

All in the oven

2011-03-13T20:45:00.002+01:00

Don't you just love food that makes itself in the oven

While you do something else, like listening to your favourite music
And when the timer rings
We sit down and eat
all is baked, soft and tender

Amandine potatoes, turnip rooted parsley, parsnip, carrot, pepper and onion
And chicken legs
A bit of oil, salt, pepper and rosemary.

Boost

2011-03-11T21:49:00.002+01:00

Put a spoonful of honey in your tea

Eat salmon
Make yourself a giant smoothy

Full of berries, juice and youghurt

It's pure energy

And it can't get better than that!

Sunday in the sun

2011-03-06T22:17:00.002+01:00

This is one sweet smelling rose

I wish I could capture the scent in a photo!

This is one cinnamon smelling piece of crisp bread

What if I could capture the scent of it!
Today Dinkie enjoyed herself in the garden
Feeling the sun on her mustache

She thought the snow was a bit cold

So she brought a blanket to sit on

I was there too

my boots on with woollen soles inside

Feet warm and the sun warming my face

Lovely!

Optimism and cabin life

2011-02-27T18:32:00.006+01:00

Because of the long long winter

I found myself moaning and complaining

more than usual about the weather and the cold temperature!

I have decided to stop it.

In two days it is first of March

I have decided that for me, thats when Spring starts!

(even if the snow stays put)

This weekend we went to the Cabin.

Sunday Morning it looked like this:

Lonely hammock
The cabin

The shed

.....

But first:

This was the inside of the kitchen window when we came to the cabin

on friday night after work.

The temperature outside had risen to 0 C (32 F)

And we were so pleased with it!

Inside the cabin it was -4 C (24.8 F)!

We took it as men (and women)

Made a fire

Kept our coats and mittens on

Made some cocoa and kept the spirit

While the temperature slowly rose

A while later

Dinkie threw her coat and curled up in front of the fire

I made a colorful salad
and baked the lasagne I made at home thursday evening.

(The magic is in the planning)

It was a lovely friday night!
Teenagers and parents,
Lovely food and a
a crappy horrorfilm

The snow on the roof outside the door
was threatning to slide down in our heads,
but nothing happened except an occational ice cold
drop of water down our neck
A sign of spring!

Cold feet, warm heart/soup

2011-02-20T20:04:00.007+01:00

We are freezing here!

Trying not to complain, but -10 and below for 4 months?

I think my husband will get cold feet

if he puts his feet in these frozen things!

Soup is the answer

while we wait for the milder weather

"Potatosoup" is on the menue

Notice the vegetables have about the same color?

(except for the sweet potatoe)

Thats how you sneak in vegetables
to the ones who squeal if they find a piece of onion in a soup

The blender is your friend:

Voila!

Smooth ptatoesoup with sausages

Heart warming.
For young and old!

Crumpet and Cartman

2011-02-18T21:36:00.006+01:00

When I came to England for the first time

I tasted Crumpets also for the first time.

Toasted with melting butter filling the little holes

Very British indeed!

Something not so British is this guy:
My kids enjoy watching South Park, and I must admit
I enjoy it too sometimes!
The other night I watched it with my kids,
after a long and exhausting day
and I said:
Today I wanted to tell the others, like Eric Cartman:
"Screw you guys, I'm going home!"
In fact, I want a t-shirt with it written on my chest!
Little Chef said: Why don't you then?
I googled it, found it and ordered it, because I thought i deserved it!

I am a good girl most of the time
but every once in a while
I have to let my own Eric Cartman
shine through!

Spring in a tomatoe and trifle of love

2011-02-13T21:40:00.005+01:00

If left alone for a while

A tomato will go on with life

And start growing on it's own!

Looking inside the tomato

It is like a little spring happening!

But it is freezing outside!
Warm cooking, though,
Chicken stuffed with orange
Chicken with a belly full of sunshine!

Trifle of love
Mothers day in Norway
Pink Princess gave me a pink flower

We thought of spring and love
and enjoyed the sweet trifle!

A taste of spring

2011-02-07T18:52:00.007+01:00

We have been in England for a few days.

We turned our backs to winter and frost

and went to the mild and sunny Britain!

The people we met complained about the nippy weather, but for us

the sun, the mild rain and the gales were just lovely

11 degrees celsius, aaah!

The air smelled of spring, moist ground and little flowerbuds.

One day we went to

Bakewell

What a nice place for a daytrip!
Pasteries and pies

At the Chatsworth farmshop

I had the best tuna sandwich ever, home made crisps

and a salad so green and fresh that I could taste the sunshine! When it was time to go home

to frost, snow, work and eternal Mondays,

I wasn't so keen on that

But on the other hand

I loved to sleep in my own bed again, drink the fresh water from the tap

and be home.

After all

only home is truly home!

Plumber

2011-01-30T20:30:00.006+01:00

Our tap has been dripping for a long time

maybe it is time to change a gasket or two?

I turn off the water and I'll remove piece by piece

checking the instruction every now and thenOld gaskets off, new on

a bit of grease, and then putting it together again.
Turning the water carfully on...
Will the water keep where it should be?

Dripping all gone!
Over to some grub:
Fish and veggies

What about a bit of barley instead of rice?

Very tasty!

Peas and Love

2011-01-24T18:34:00.009+01:00

These round little friends of mine

Make a wonderful Soup!
It takes some good hours to make

But it's not a lot of work!

Dried green peas,

in water over night

The meat is smoked pork

Peas, onions, meat, carrots, salt, pepper, thyme
Slowly simmering for hours

Soup of peace, Soup of Love

It's the most wonderful

2011-01-21T20:58:00.002+01:00

day of the week!

The Pizza day

The Friday!

Do I need to say more?
And have you bye the way
chewed on a warm cherry tomatoe
straight from the oven?
The hotness of it?
The palate numming feeling?
Anyway, have a wonderful weekend!

Fishy meatballs, or meaty fishballs, thats the question

2011-01-18T21:29:00.002+01:00

I love salmon

usually ovenbaked

But sometimes I like to vary

Today it's fishy meatballs

If you have a food processor

These are so easy to make!

Salmon, garlic, herbes, some potato starch, an egg, salt and pepper

Served with wholegrain pasta, pesto, cherry tomatoes and peas

and some feta cheese for the delight of it!

Yum!

Snowy blue morning at the cabin

2011-01-16T19:26:00.003+01:00

It's a while since I've been to the cabin

This weekend we went there,

with our two teenagers.

It's not to bad that they still enjoy a weekend at the cabin

with their mum and dad.

Gandma and granddad came on Saturday

and stayed until Sunday

It was crowdy but peaceful

and everyone was in a good mood

The snow was falling quietly

and covered our tracks
On Sunday we returned home
rested, happy, scruffy and with a pile of laundry
Just as we are supposed to do, after a
Weekend at our cabin: Goro

Chaotic cod and two halves of an egg

2011-01-12T21:09:00.004+01:00

It's an egg:

And a useful one too!

For salt and pepper

And this was my chaotic
oven baked cod
Lovely!

Hummus and hearts

2011-01-09T20:44:00.006+01:00

It's a first time for everything

Today I made and tasted hummus for the first time

I've been wanting to for a long time,

but I never got around to do it, until today.

I liked it, and it was so easy to make!

First time, but not the last time for sure!

When my sister called and said she and the boys were coming for a visit

I made these,

and thats not my first time!

We love impulsive Sunday evening parties!

Waffles, kids, coffee and chatting!

Friday food

2011-01-07T20:43:00.005+01:00

It's Friday
In Norway many familys serve Tacos,

this have become a favourite amongst the young ones!

We're not so in to taco shells

but we like tortillas and home made naan bread

with loads of veggies, beans, chicken mince, cheese,

salsa, kesam etc

The idea is

You choose what you want!

I'm wrapping my stuff

in a tortilla

Messy eating,

I don't mind at all!

I've got a spoon to help me out!

Potato soup

2011-01-03T20:50:00.002+01:00

Leftover potatoes, mashed swede, and sausage?

add some water, onion, garlic, thyme, salt and pepper..

blend

and voila

potato soup

very smooth, very tasty!

That's some good and easy Monday grub!

Every now and then, a fresh start if you want

2011-01-02T17:44:00.008+01:00

We are in January now

And we're supposed to swap these

with theseThats allright

We can't be celebrating and eat Christmas grub for ever

It's time to embrace the simple life again

and maybe get back to hole number two in the belt again

(instead of number three and four)

Anyway

There's still one more

rich dinner to go:

Pinnekjøtt

Lovely!

Well then, all set and "vel bekomme" as we say in Norwegian

An old year says goodbye

2010-12-31T15:36:00.004+01:00

It's the last day of a year

and of a decade

I'm summing up

thinking about the friends we found,

the loved ones we lost

the good things that happened

the walls we climbed

the laughs we had

The changes that came

the songs we sang

the battles we fought

the beauty we saw

and the love we felt

This is what I do every year

And when the first day of the New Year awakes

It's time to be ready

Life is, after all, like a box of chocolate

You never know what you're gonna get!

Happy New Year!

A break

2010-12-29T18:43:00.003+01:00

I have to admit it

at Christmas we eat

a lot of great grub,

but after just a few days

we're fed up of meat, gravy and rich desserts

It's time for something different

Popcorn

(the corn is from my friend Christo)

And fish soup for dinner and a couple of slices og garlic bread

We are everyday people, we like our everyday food!

Bit of relaxing, before the New Years weekend!

Pudding and dogs

2010-12-25T20:06:00.008+01:00

Red is an important color at Christmas time!

I seem to have written about almost every thing I've cooked

during the 3 years I've been blogging.

But this is strangely enough

somenthing I haven't mentioned:

Trifle

From the bottom, yello, sponge, fruit coctail, custard, sponge, whipped cream.

Our family's all time favourite

Like an upside down cream cake!

Dinkie is watching the pile of presents shrinking

resting her head on Blåmann, her big blue boyfriend

The day after she tries something she has never done before:
Chewing on the lamb bone!
(she had an easily upset stomach when she was younger
hopefully she has outgrown it, and will not be sick tonight!)

Another popular pudding in our family
The yorkshire pudding
After a few years of practicing

A Norwegian girl has learned how to master

the art of making a fluffy yorkshire pudding!

Little Chef eats his with strawberry jam,

and the rest of us eats it with all the trimmings

of our Christmas dinner!

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-23T19:53:00.003+01:00

My friends

I want to wish you all

A Merry Christmas!

We're following our tradition
making the same Christmas dinner as the years before
Leg of lamb on Christmas eve
and Turkey on Christmas day.

Fish and fire

2010-12-21T19:38:00.003+01:00

"It's Christmas timethere's no need to be afraid"

Or cold...Lutefisk

And I prepared it well

my husband said.

He enjoys one of the

Norwegian Christmas dishes and wants it again.

Even though he is a yorkshire lad.

As for me, the Norwegian girl, I don't like it at all!

Lefse I do like that!

Scottish shortbread

2010-12-17T23:43:00.002+01:00

Inspired by our recent trip to the UK

I decided to make some scottish shortbread:

I am all for simple baking!
No stress

Splendid with a cup of tea, just splendid!

Home away from home

2010-12-12T12:57:00.002+01:00

We've been off on a little trip to England again

and once more have we stayed at our favourite place

Rockingham Arms, Wentworth

The atmosphere is so personal, warm and welcoming

Our room was cosy, the bed big and comfortable At Wentworth Garden Centre, they make

The best scones there is!
This time, there was winter and snow in England!

Luckily the airports, roads, schools, shops, pubs

had reopened, after days of snowy chaos.

I had to take a photo of the snowy fields,

thats something I've rarely seen in England!

The Wentworth village looked like an English postcard!

Playing the potato mandoline, and shrinking some spinach

2010-12-04T23:02:00.005+01:00

If you meet the Norwegian Mr Potato head with his hat

You'll know that his mandoline isn't far away!
Done in a few seconds

Fingers still in one piece
Thanks Christo, what a useful gadget!

I do like some spinach every now and then.
Have you seen the volume of these leaves!

Ater a little steaming, it looks a bit smaller
and reminds me of something found in the water,
under a bridge

The taste is lovely!

Served with salmon, gratinated creamy potatoes, and broccoli

It's dark, it's cold, it's winter!

2010-11-29T19:27:00.006+01:00

Advent is here again

The color of advent is purple

Every night i light several candles

Outside it is freezing, windy and snowing.

See all the hay under the snow?

It is put there to prevent the ground to freeze solid.

Someone is coming to dig a hole,

to prepare for a carport.

Luckily we're not digging it ourselves!

Pile up the firewood

I'm cold to my bones!

Our fire and wind in the chimney sounds like an engine
And the warmth is so good!
Still baking and this time it's cookies
with cinnamon, cardamom and cloves
almonds and dark chocolate

It is Advent after all

Battle Lemon

2010-11-26T22:24:00.003+01:00

I wanted so much to enter The culinary smackdown November

Kitchen flavors, this is my entering

and this time I have to enter with a previous post

(you said it was allowed)

Lemon bars from one my favourite

pages: Joy of baking
Sweet and tangy
With cream on top!

Still baking

2010-11-25T21:26:00.003+01:00

These days I'm on the baking track

I'm riding the wave, and filling the freezer,

as long as the inspiration lasts.

In late November

When the weather is freezing

we enjoy these warmed up, with cheese or jam

and maybe a cup of hot chocolate.

This is one of our favourite baked goods: the pizza!

This is part of our hibernation ritual!

Sausages and naan

2010-11-18T10:37:00.003+01:00

One of our christmas sausages in Norway:

It is lightly smoked and the meat is finely ground.

It is already cooked, so you can eat it as it is cold or fry it.

Sausages in Norway are rarely sold raw/uncooked.

On a ordinary day, I just cut it in pieces like this,

and serve it with a mash of potato, carrot and swede

or mashed peas and potatoes.

I made some indian(ish) food the other day

(which I didn't take a photo of)

And I really fancied naanbread with it!
I couldn't be bothered to go to the store to get some,

so i figured out that I'd try to bake it myself:

To have been baked in a (very hot) ordinary oven

I don't think the result was to bad!
They blew up like ballons, and tasted very good!

This and that on a Sunday

2010-11-14T22:51:00.004+01:00

If you want an alternative to our beloved mashed potatoes

Get some broccoli and cauliflower
Boil it until soft, and mash it

And voila! A different kind of mash, if you need a change!Adding a little bit of butter or cream, makes it mmmm, yummy!

In Norway we have a saying:
"... can't see the forest for the trees"
But sometimes we can se both the forest and the trees
And they are equally important!

And sometimes we just enjoy a little
Jagermeister on the rocks
served in a Moomin Snork Maiden glass

Quite nice indeed!

Boys will be boys

2010-11-10T20:18:00.003+01:00

Every now and then

my husband, the yorkshire lad

invites a few of his friends over to watch a football match on tv

The menue is maybe not the typical football kind of menue

They just love them some cheesy scones!

And the kind wife always treats them with a batch!

They shout and cheer and enjoy the ups and downs

until the match is over.

Tonight there is not even a match to watch,

but why not meet any way

they just light some candles, talk

and drink tea with their scones

Who says men can't talk with eachother!

This is comfort food for me

2010-11-08T11:31:00.004+01:00

I do like salmon

Besides being good for me,

it really is tasty, has a lovely texture and a beautiful colour!

This time I've wrapped my fish in foil

with lemon, vegetables, a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper.

After baking, the fish changes to a lighter pinkish colour.

For dessert:

Blueberry crumble,

Irresistible crunchy on top

soft, dark and sweet underneath.

Served casually

with cream and custard

Wrapped fun with cheese on top

2010-11-05T12:40:00.005+01:00

Yummy goodness

wrapped in corn tortillas

Rolled up
Some more goodness on top and cheese
gratinated untill just lovely

and served kind of chaotic

with salsa, avocado, tomatoes, corn and quark

Do you want a beer with it?

A dark and not so pretty story.... but oh so dangerously good!

2010-11-02T09:27:00.004+01:00

You know how beautiful a dark and untoutched

chocolate cake is?

And being a blogger

I like to show a beautiful and tempting piece of it

on a plate.

But this time, I'll show you the cake

two days later,

after we've had family over for coffee and cake twice:

Don't you think it looks like the last piece has

"Anette" written all over it?

Or it can still be divided

in to two pieces,

one for me and one for you!

Challenge Chile

2010-10-31T20:56:00.003+01:00

Last chance today!

Here's my entering to the Chile Challenge

hosted by At Home With Rebecka

It is autumn, it is getting chilly

and what we need is hot heartwarming soup

full of colour, antioxidants and taste!

My own chicken and chile soup

with red peppers, tomatoes, onions, leek, carrots, chick peas, cellery, garlic,

thyme, rosemary, salt and pepper

and of course chile and chicken!

And some home made bread rolls with pumkin seeds

after all, it is Halloween

Autumn sunshine

2010-10-16T20:48:00.004+02:00

The life at the cabin is the life on the bright side

Sometimes symbolic

sometimes literally.

A sunny day is never brighter than on a a crisp autumn day

when the air is clear, the sun still warming and the colors fiery.

Dinkie loves a spot of sun

On a cloudy day, she keeps close to the fire,

and seeks the warmth from her good friend the blue monkey

Blåmann

Is it totally inappropriate

that I've got a Christmas carol stuck to my brain today?

A matter of Dessert

2010-10-06T12:24:00.006+02:00

Budapest was full of sweet cakes and baked goods

But my tastebuds more on a healthy path

and enjoyed every crunchy and fresh bite of it!

I'm now back to my everyday life

and if I long for an everyday dessert

I might make a bread pudding:

Comfort food for an autumn day!

Budapest and a beautiful knife

2010-10-03T16:40:00.003+02:00

I've been travelling to Budapest.

What a great city, I'm sure I'll come again!

We walked the town map from one edge to another

travelled by metro and tram

crossed several bridges

went to spa treatments
had good food, nice weather and a good time!

You can't beat a holiday like that in end of September!

The coffe latte was excellent, the cake so moist, sweet yet tangy

The goulash so tasty, red and heartwarming

And the bridges so great
And I would never have thought I would say this

tickly as my feet are

You've got to love pedicure!

My feet felt like a baby's .. well you know.

When I came home, there was a exciting package waiting for me

The price from the sandwich challenge!

Thanks CSN Stores for providing this beautiful knife as a price for my sandwich

And Christo for making it possible for an alien from across the ocean to recieve it!

There will be a lot of cooking with this beauty!

Announcing the contestants and the winner

2010-09-19T13:58:00.012+02:00

I am hereby announcing the contestants of Battle Chocolate

September 2010

There has been a lot of interest and 5 bloggers came forward

with their chocolate temptations!
As they came in, I was thinking of how to pick the winner.

I will now present the contestants in no particular order,

and tell you how I chose the winner at the end.

Treat'n'trick made Cocoa shortbread
I like the way you almost used the recipe, but not quite

Thats my cup of tea, and the way I do a lot of my cooking!

(when I use recipes at all, that is)

And how did you know I am a sucker for shortbread!

Then there was

chocolate and vanilla trifle with blackberries and chocolate syrup

from ChezWhat
Trifle is one of my favourite desserts!

You cant beat mixing chocolate with blackberries

and the levels with different taste

really speaks to me!

Next up was the Chocolat-inspired chocolate cake

from Girlchief

Dark, with chile and coffee

and inspired by my favourite film: Chocolat!

The cake being "adult-tasting" suites me well,

buy the kids a Marsbar, and leave the cake to us!

There was the Chocolate rasberry cheesecake from

Grumpy Granny

Again the Chocolate and berry combination, but this time Cheesecake!

I usually make cheesecakes cold (no bake)

and I've never tried a chocolate version,

but I can just imagine the mild chocolaty cheesy creamyness

together with the sweet and tangy rasberries!

Finally there was Chocolate tamales with Ancho chile fudge sauce

from At home with Rebecka

This was a whole new world for me,

I've never made nor eaten tamales

and I never thought you could bake like this!

The Chile versus Chocolate-thing, well you already know I've discovered that connection!

I now totally understand why Christo chose to draw the winner

because how on earth do you pick one from these!

I told my son Little Chef I was going to throw a dice

to decide who should win!

He said it wasn't right, and frankly I would be a bit of a coward if I did it like that.

It was my Battle, My theme

I should pick the one that spoke loudest to me.

So I went through them again..

Before I tell you who I picked

The price is A modern version of the Norwegian invention:

The Cheesegrater

I'll send it off together with a

culinary curiosity from Norway.

Finally, this is the post that spoke the loudest to me, and made my heart jump:

Chocolate Tamales with Ancho Chile Fudge Sauce

Congratulations!

Remember you are the host of the October Culinary Smackdown 2010!

Last Chance

2010-09-18T14:50:00.004+02:00

This is the last call for The September Culinary Smackdown!

Boys and girls,

post your entry on your blog,

and leave me a message

(post a comment on my blog)

Tomorrow I will present to you

the winner

the contestants

and the Price!

Chocolate truffles with a hint of chile

2010-09-11T08:13:00.004+02:00

These sweet babies

have a friend: Chocolate

Hot chile from New Mexico

in 1 dl cream

Warm up til just boiling

add 200 g dark 70% chocolate til melted

and maybe a drop of coffee
Leave in the fridge until next day

Handroll to the shape and size you want

but fast and cool your hands if it starts to get too sticky
Put them in a box with a bit of cocoa powder

make sure they get cowered with cocoa

One mouthful of this

is dark and wonderful heaven!

One week left until the

Culinary Smackdown September 2010

Don't forget!

Pink Princesse 17 years old

2010-09-10T20:34:00.004+02:00

This is the little Pink Princesse

17 years ago

Mommies little

Plum
Always mommies little sweet Plum, even if she is taller than me!
Seventeen years ago my life changed for ever
when I became her mum.

Cabin life and chocolate

2010-09-05T21:17:00.006+02:00

My husband enjoying his egg, toast and bacon

5 degrees Celcius in the morning

so we had to put a log on the fire
Jumping frog competition

my sister won

She didn't brag much about it!

Flower in the sun

On it's way down but still pretty

Applecake when we came home

with apples from the garden.

That more or less sums my lovely weekend up!

And now my friends

Don'd forget my challenge to you

in the Culinary Smackdown September 2010

The theme is Chocolate

I do love it!

Check out this

or this

or even this

Waffles and tea

2010-08-29T21:44:00.005+02:00

My husband made me waffles

and served them with brown cheese, jam and quark

Served with a good cup of tea
That was some good waffles!

Salmon says hello!

2010-08-26T19:04:00.003+02:00

Salmon, I just love an oven baked piece of fish!

This is the trimmings

that goes well with my fish:

Potato, peas, carrots, quark and a slice of lemon

Every day the clouds are celebrating the drama of

autumn.

Is it here already?

Being a winner, then a host

2010-08-25T20:23:00.005+02:00

I'm a girl that enjoy ordinary days, plain things

and down to earth living.

When my friend Christo hosted a sandwich challenge

after being the winner of the Culinary Smackdown in July

I thought, thats fun, and started to fantasize

about spectacular sandwiches..

There was to many ideas,

to many choices!

Then it dawned on me:

Plain girl, plain sandwich!

So I picked something I like

took a photo

(then ate the sandwich)

and looked forward to see all the wonderful sandwiches!

The next day

the results was presented to us Chez What

All those colorful, and without doubt wonderful tasting sandwiches!

Among them

The little Star from the North,

The Ugly Duckling

Scrolling down, I suddenly realized:

I won!

How fun, how strange!

So this is me now:

(the resemblance is, well, not to bad)

Christo told me:

You know, now you are the next host!

What?

(slight panic attack)

But I've come to my sences.

I'll host. Maybe not as skilled as he did

but still!

The theme for the September Culinary Smackdown is:

Chocolate

Anything related to chocolate or cocoa

Do you take the challenge??

You have until 18th of September to enter the challenge.

Twinkle sandwich

2010-08-23T20:45:00.004+02:00

Dark rye bread

with liverpaste,

tomato and leek

Sometimes simple is the star!

This star of a sandwich

is for Christo

Tasty chaos a la potato!

2010-08-22T14:14:00.002+02:00

After two hours of baking

and longing

The potato opened like a flower
And filled with all sorts

Major mess

major tastyness!

Perfect comfort food

Taste of Pasta

2010-08-19T20:49:00.007+02:00

Made a bit of pasta

for my nephews yesterday

Dinkie wasn't helping much

Blåmann, the blue monkey was exhausted too!
But the pasta was a sucess
and now their mum has to make them fresh pasta very soon
Isn't it great to pass on inspiration!

National park and sunshine

2010-08-15T09:31:00.004+02:00

We love to have a walk in

our little national park

Borre national park

it has seceral mounds and cairns

and lots of space

by the fjord

It is one of my favourite places!

But what's happening here?

Our little dog loves to rest in the sunshine

she seeks the light, on the floor

on a chair, in the sofa...

but tables?

This is not allowed!

She knows, hence the slightly guilty look

(which is hard to see because the blackness)

Spoon food

2010-08-12T18:46:00.002+02:00

When my people is out of the house

and I find myself alone for dinner.

I make something I like very much:

Quick lentil stew a la Anette!

Lentils, potato, carrot, red pepper, cellery, garlic and

my friend chile
Hot and yummy!

For dessert:

blueberries, rasberries and custard
Simple and just lovely!

The big 14

2010-08-10T18:36:00.007+02:00

Little Chef once was his mum's little sweet boy

He still is after 14 years

even though he soon can carry his mum!
Yesterday he celebrated his 14th birthday

His aunt brought what he had asked her to do

Oreo cake!

The day was warm and lovely

and we had a garden party with the family

Tonight there is a bunch of lanky boys and girls

all of them around the same age

laughing, talking

and consuming pizza.

Since there is one vegetarian and one with coeliac

There was one pizza with everything

one without meat

And one without gluten

And for Pink Princesse and mum,

who wasn't invited

there was Wok

Birthdays are fun, love and food!

Chile and cinnamon

2010-08-08T18:00:00.004+02:00

The 2 th generation chile

is growing in my garden

last years summer was cold and rainy

and I had to keep my plants indoors most of the summer.

It was autumn when I spotted the first chile babies
This year, the weather is better, and my plants are in the garden,

flowering.

And by the look of it, getting enough warmth to grow their first

chile baby I got the first seeds two years ago sent to me

from my friend in NY

then I took seeds from last years chile

and planted them this spring,

hence 2th generation chile, grown in Norway.

Last week we went on holiday to Sweden.

We had such a relaxing week, everyone was on track

and the weather was lovely.

The swedish eggs was terrible,

but the cinnamon rolls was just heaven

I got inspired, and made a batch today

Now the house smells

cinnamon heaven!

I've had a quiet and relaxing Sunday today.
Husband and kids
finds it very entertaining to get scared to death
in rollercoasters etc
They've spent all day enjoying themselves in an amusement park
.
I have no near death wish,
I baked them som lunch to bring
Sent them off

And enjoyed the peace, baking and reading

and finally seeing the film

Julie&Julia

Which I enjoyed very much!