Hat marathon intermission

I wanted to show you the two hats I knitted since last time; but guess what? I forgot to take photos while we had day light this weekend.

The days are so short now that when I am home from work there is not enough light. Wintertime forces me to plan my posts and photo taking rigorously (good-bye spontaneity).

Now I will have to wait until Saturday to take photos and show you the first two knitted hats from the hat marathon.

Instead of hats, today I’ll share photos from our apple-pealing, cutting and baking day a few weeks ago.

Look at how concentrated she is while peeling and cutting those apples.

We picked the last apples from our trees and made apple jam together with mini-pies.

after an hour of peeling and cutting

we could finally begin making the pies

We shared them with our neighbours who loved both the evening surprise and the smell of cinnamon and fresh from the oven apple pies (yes, we are those kind of neighbours...although to my defence, it is merely an altruistic return for all the times we have received either sour dough bread, Indian oven baked aubergines or apple crumble pie… Did I mention I LOVE my neighbourhood?).

The pies disappeared in a “swoosh”. The jam on the other hand, will be enjoy throughout the winter. Either as jam or as apple compote with Vanilla sauce, which is our favourite made-in-no-time dessert.

Plum Liqueur {recipe}

We have a plum tree in our garden. Well more precisely, our neighbours have a plume tree in their garden, and every year they let us pick plums. Like previous years, I have made a few jars of plum marmalade and plum chutney (delicious on any kind of cheese). This year I also made a big 2-litre glass of plum liqueur.

I think it is a bit too early to talk about that time in December called Chr…mas yet, but the fact is that this plum liqueur will be ready to taste just in time for us to enjoy it with chiming bells and pine smelling trees.

If I had known how easy and very little time consuming it is to make plum liqueur I would have done this years ago.

So if you still have plums on your trees or they sell plums in your grocery store and you like something warm and sweet for those cold winter nights, don’t hesitate, make your own liqueur this weekend and it will be done just in time for Chr…. I mean, winter.

1. Take a clean glass jar. Fill it halfway up with plums that you have washed and patted dry.

2. Then pour sugar over the plums until they are covered.

3. Add your choice of Alcohol and fill up until the plums and sugar is covered.

I used two thirds of white rum (Bacardi) and one third of dark rum (Barceló), because that is what I had in my pantry and because I love rum. Choosing Vodka will give you a more neutral a clean plum taste. You could also make it with two-thirds Vodka and one-third rum, or perhaps gin ... (darn, If I only had more plums. I would have made all the versions and compared)

4. Fill up the rest of the jar with plums until you cannot fit more and cover with sugar.

5. Crush the pits of two or three plums and add to the jar. I don’t know why, I just rememeber someone saying that once.

6. Pour rum over until the jar is full. Put on a tight lid and turn the jar upside down. Watch how the sugar slowly falls from the top of the jar to the bottom.

7. Keep the jar in a cold and dark place. Turn the jar 1-2 times a week until the sugar has dissolved, and wait 2-3 months before you have your first taste.

After you have waited patiently for two or three months strain the liqueur. First through a strainer and then through a cloth if you want it clear.

Fill up the liqueur in bottles, and use the plums for a seriously adult plum cake or plum muffins with your favourite vanilla ice cream or homemade vanilla sauce.

Enjoy!

Avocado & Cheese Salad {recipe}

This isn’t much of a recipe, just a few favourite ingredients tossed together for an easy salad lunch. But then again, that is what I often do. Make something of what is in the fridge and elaborate depending on what time I have. This one is a quickie.


I love it because it has buttery softness from the avocado, crunch from the fried bacon, and zing from the chilli. The peppery taste of the rucola is a great contrast to the nutty sweet taste of the Jarlsberg cheese. Then when you add the sour cream and your favourite hot tomato salsa ...mmm... That’s a perfect lunch.


There isn’t much cooking involved except for frying the bacon (We don’t have a micro oven). I usually fry it on low to medium heat in a tiny bit of olive oil. This way I can use the fat from the pan (both the olive oil and the tasty fat from the bacon) in the salad, (you are right; this is not a low fat blog in case you began to wonder).


Besides that you need to grate the cheese, wash and dry the rucola, and peel and cut the avocado in chunks. Mix and toss, but not too much. Add sour cream and some of your favourite hot tomato sauce (make it yourself or buy at your local grocery).

I’ll post one of my favourite tomato sauces as soon as there are some tasty tomatoes in the grocery store again.

Bon appétit!

pickled herring

I thought “everyone” had long breakfasts no matter what part of the blog reading world you were from. And that perhaps what was different would be what was on the table. So I am surprised by your surprise on how different it is. It makes me want to ask you: How is a Sunday breakfast at your place?

I love long lasting breakfasts so if last post was an inspiration to you then my mission is done.

Sometimes the food is important; other times the company & conversation. And once in a while the best part is the silence. Long breakfasts’ lets you live in the moment. They let you meditate. Breathe and ponder. Something good always comes out of a long breakfast.

The recipe I use when making pickled herring is written below, in case you want to add some norwegianess to you breakfast table. It is very simple and easy and everyone brave enough can make and eat it. If you like fish and you like pickled food this should be right up your street.

I usually make small amounts because there are only three of us. And I like my pickled herring to be “fresh” (as fresh as pickled food can get) and firm.

 


 
Preparations:
Soak the herring filets in water for 1-2 hours, cut them in 1.5 cm strips.

Slice the onion into thin rings or half rings.

In a pan mix the vinegar, sugar, water, and spices heat the pan gently but do not
let it boil, and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Let it cool off.

In a jar layer the sliced herring and onion and pour the cold vinegar marinade.

You can also find a more spiced up recipe here

On the table

To Lucy and everyone else that wants to know what is in every jar and bowl. I’m imagining you sitting across the table asking me and giving it a go to taste. Some of the things you already know what is but perhaps with other names. Other things might be new to you depending on what part of the world you are from.

The jar that says “syltet agurk” contains pickled sliced cucumbers. Sweet and sour at the same time.

The jar that says “tomatsild” contains cured herring in tomato sauce. This is typically eaten during Christmas. Some make it with tomato sauce; other makes it with mustard sauce. My favourite is the simplest cured herring recipes of them all: pickled herring. I’ll share the how to do’s later on so you can try it out yourself. It is not for a picky kind of person, more so for the kitchen adventurer.

The small plastic “bag” that says “majones” contains mayonnaise. You cut a small piece of one corner, squeeze the bag in the middle and then depending on how big or small you made the corner a big or small line of mayonnaise can be squeezed over you choice of bread and spread. My favourite Sunday mayonnaise combo is a slice of bread, boiled sliced egg, caviar, and thin lines of mayo on top.

The bowl that says “hjemmlaget syltetøy” contains homemade strawberry jam. It is simply made with strawberries and sugar and tastes delicious. Just as if summer is visiting for a short and intense mouthful. And if you have some Brie at hand and put that on a slice of freshly made bread and then a spoonful of the jam. Well what can I say…Yummy!

Let's dig in!

Edited: Dorte, this could actually be either one breakfast, brunch or lunch. Or all three, depending on how early you get up in the morning and how long you sit at the table.

comfort food

The temperatures have crept down this last week. Today we had – 15ºC (5ºF) degrees. This is a temperature that we usually don’t have until January and February. It is definitely not common for November and December.



Cold days call for good wintery flavourful food. Today we made a typical Catalan Turkey recipe. It is usually made for Christmas but I’m flexible, it is the first of December and almost Christmas.

There are plenty of ways to make this. We used a big chicken instead of Turkey and added sweet potatoes as garnish.




Ingredients
One big chicken
100g prunes, chopped
100g dried peaches, chopped
200g grounded pork meat
100g bacon, diced
100g onion, chopped
50-100g pine nuts
Breadcrumbs from one slice of bread
1/2 cup of white wine or brandy
½ cup water
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
Olive oil
Salt
White pepper

Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 150 ºC (300ºF)

Wash and dry the chicken/turkey.

Mix prunes, peaches, grounded pork meat, bacon, onion and pine nuts, and bread crumbs with some salt and pepper. Stuff the chicken with the mixture.

Sew the skin around the opening together, and truss the turkey (I used some left over wool thread that I put in water first) so that the stuffing don’t sieve out during the cooking.

Slice the sweet potatoes. Put in the bottom of your roasting tin. Put the chicken/turkey in the roasting tin as well (on or beside the potatoes you choose).

Season the whole chicken/turkey with the salt and pepper. Add olive oil, water and brandy into the roasting tin, and put the tin into the oven.

Roast for 90 minutes on 150 ºC. Baste the turkey by pouring the cooking juices over it every now and then. This cooking time is for a big free range chicken (and not a turkey)

After the 90 minutes, turn up the heat to 200 ºC (392 ºF) and let roast for another 30 minutes.

Let the bird rest at least 20 minutes before carving so that it can redistribute the juices.

Enjoy!

Sunday Pancakes

This was our lazy Sunday breakfast



American pancakes with blueberries picked last fall...



... and crisp bacon



accompanied by orange juice

Recipe:

300g cottage cheese
4 eggs
4 tablespoons sugar (or less)
1 ¾ liter of milk
130g flour
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
1tsp vanilla essence/vanilla sugar

What is your favourite american pancake recipe?

Guilt free brunch

Every year I do the same. And I do it with the same kind of short term memory innocence and good intentions as the year before. In early fall (this year it was at the beginning of October) I make an optimistic list of what I will make for gifts and for whom. And every year in mid November it becomes clear that there is no way in h… Yonder that I will make it through the list. Sometimes I don’t even get started.

There is one change however… a change that came about a couple of years ago. I don’t feel guilty anymore; there are no attacks of bad conscience. I don’t stop doing other things because I have to make presents. I only make things the days I have some spare time.

Like today. I had spare time. I could choose between staying at home to finish knitting a baby hat or have brunch together with good friends and their family.

I chose brunch.

fabric coated buttons & cocido madrileño

Hi everyone! This has been a busy week. So many things to do in so little time. As you can see I went for fabric covered buttons and I must say I like the result, a bit colour to contrast the grey. I also knitted her a hat in the same yarn.

Last week I decided I had to pick up the phone and call friends I had not spoken with for months (although it only seemed like weeks). The phone calls resulted in a dinner invitation, two baby clothes exchanges and a visit to a restaurant together with my nice neighbours. The highlight of the week was without doubt our visit to my friend E who invited us for deliciously made “Cocido Mardileño”.

Cocido mardileño is a garbanzo (chickpea) stew from Madrid. There are of course as many recipes as there are households in Spain but it is usually prepared with potatoes, carrots, hen or chicken, bacon, fresh unsmoked chorizo (pork sausage), morcilla (blood sausage), and pork ham or beef spine to enhance the stock. It is usually served in two stages. First you eat the broth, and then you eat the chickpeas and meats. Historically it used to be a favourite among manual workers and I think it still is popular. Its heartiness makes it the perfect dish for fall and winter.

We had already digged in our second round when it occurred to me that I should have taken a photo. In stead you will have to do with this photo or this taken of a cocido madrileño aficionado.

I’ll tell you about this weekends highlight in a day or two.

Ravelry link

Dinners & chocolate cake

Today was busy. I have spent hours in the kitchen making dinner for almost the rest of the week. First I made elk meatballs with thyme, onion and white pepper. Then I made salmon fish burgers with wasabi powder, spring onion and soy sauce. I rounded up my stay in the kitchen by baking a chocolate cake. Mr. Yonder has been asking for chocolate cake since last week when he saw me baking this cake with mini marshmallows and pink sugar. After a long day I’m going to sit down in my favourite chair with a big glass of cold milk and a chunky piece of dark chocolate cake.

chocolate & raspberry on a rainy saturday

Hope you had a nice weekend everyone. I surely did. Saturday turned out rainy. It poured down for hours and hours so I enjoyed spending it indoors baking a chocolate cake for a friend’s party.

Nigella’s old fashioned chocolate cake with my own raspberry whipped cream twist. Resist it if you can. I couldn’t.

I also began a new mini embroidery project. The motives are from Hiroko Ishii one of my favourite embroidery illustrators. Wish I could draw like her, but I can’t. Luckily she keeps on making these incredibly cute illustrations for everyone to embroider.

Blueberry love

Last Sunday I went blueberry picking. After having read my way around some of my favourite blogs yesterday I know I was not the only one. It is blueberry time in Blogland and everyone has their own favourite way of eating blueberries. From pies to muffins, cakes and pan cakes, blinis and tarts.

My favourite way is putting spoonfuls of blueberries in a cup, pour whole fat milk until the berries float and drizzle sugar on the top. That is my blueberry love.