I´m wondering of my change of attitude towards the winter darkness here.
June has the longest day of the year, meaning at one point in June there is a day which has the longest hours of daylight, which here means a day of nearly all daylight. In Norway, Sankthansaften, which is celebrated June 23, is the celebration of midsummer, or summer solstice (the day of the year which has the longest amount of daylight). In Bergen, in June, that is approximately a sunset of nearly midnight, to a sunrise of about 3am. Then, each subsequent day gets slightly shorter, til winter´s shortest day, approximately January, with a sunrise of approximately 10am and a sunset of approximately 3pm.
Coming from living in places which had a huge amount of sunshine hours, it took me a while, though I don´t remember, getting used to having such extremely short days there was only a few hours of sunlight each day, and imho dull at that, even on a sunny day, let alone an overcast one. It wasn´t saddening or depressing for me, just odd, different, unusual. Ditto the opposite, though also exciting to have so many hours in the day of sunlight to explore, enjoy, stay out. Either way, I was able mostly to sleep, or stay up.
At some point I realized, it was just like having six seasons: spring, summer, winter, fall, dark and light. As I enjoy all seasons, all weathers, most terrains, or combination of, it was just another combination. Beach plus sun plus snow. Mountains plus rain plus cold. City plus all daylight plus summer. Winter plus darkness plus candlight plus holidays. etc.
It got me wondering though, why does it affect some so awfully, and yet others like me not at all?
I´ve read that studies say people who can deal with change, negative situations, stress well have something in their brain which help them notice positive things, such as smiles rather than frowns, or solutions rather than problems, or adapt in general regardless of situation.
I keep wondering should I try getting a costly daylight simulating lamp or bulbs; try to take more vitamin D vitamins; exercise more; get out every day...but then I realize in winter as most times of the year, I already do a lot:
-vitamins
-eat fresh fruit and veggies
-eat red meat as it does make me feel better
-try to get out to enjoy the sunlight, "tan" my face wearing full winter gear, just to enjoy the sun
-see friends or hibernate with comfort foods
-hobbies, hiking outdoors to quilting indoors
-learn something new, sightsee, do the touristy things, do things locals do
I do notice that when I am cooped up indoors in winter time too much, rather than being cozy, comforting, hibernating catching up with me or family time, I do feel cranky, blue, maybe a bit bored and annoyed if more than a day or two too much!
One woman I heard in the US bought a home in Oregon (now there´s a place I could never live!) to save money on a lovely retirement life and cozy home, but from the moment she moved there the first winter, she got more and more sad and deeply clinically depressed. The fourth year she was told she must take heavy medications, which also caused her to gain lots of weight and feel not herself. The sixth year she sold the house and moved back to Florida, as she thought it was not worth it to live somewhere where she had to take medication all year long just to simply be able to live there. Wow, I feel lucky to not have had that happen to me! As I´m sure the weather can be more rainy, cold, miserable, dark here than in Oregon, but for me atleast being able to be outdoors, walking rather than driving everywhere really makes a huge difference!
I wonder how many expats must take drugs here, or suffer through horribly sad winter depression; or locals for that matter. Wonder what others do to cope, which has been a big discussion with others in winter with those both local and not from here--what we do, other options and ideas to cope. If it did affect me, and none of the above worked, I would definitely try the daylight light bulbs and lamps, and I think that the tanning beds too might help---with their warmth, and light. It does work for some. It´s good to know!
As much as I like the nearly 24 hour days of daylight here, I am excited to have some actual darkness! Maybe in a few months I will be sick of it by then, but for now, it is nice to be able to snuggle in bed in darkness even with the curtains fully opened, and get a break from a bit too many months of near total daylight. It´s all good, but good it goes in cycles!
Enjoy winter. Candles. fires in the fireplaces. Snow. snowflakes. Midnight shop sales.
Must remember to get more light bulbs!,) and tea lights and candles and order firewood.....
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PS edit to note that the current sunset is nearly 8pm with a sunrise a bit past 7am.
Sunday, September 30, 2012
Study & "7 mountain" walk (add pics)
http://www.hvorvare.no/bergenmoon/2007/06/20/tarlebø-370-moh/
Tarlebø, Rundeman, Ulriken
7 mountain walks*, part of the back half, Tarlebø around the top Rundmannen to Ulriken. Ulriken down across to Fløyen, along Sandviken area. Something like that,) about 15 miles? 7 hours, or 9 if you wander and stop to look at everything like me, so bits and pieces not in the same day is more my pace. I like to enjoy my hikes, not just get from A to B as it were.
From one point, you can see the glacier which rises above the Hardanger fjord, which in wintertime has ice climbing on folgefonna glacier in Hardanger
Tomorrow, Monday, if the weather is nice, after studying or either extremely early in the morning, I thought I´d treat myself to a hike of some part of the above. Probably the Ulriken near Montana bit, or a quick ride up the fløibanen then a quick hike back down to study. If anyone shows up, I also have a tentative coffee meetup later in the morning to afternoon, aka will take a study break--if anyone shows,)
6 hours, as usual grammar, writing, reading. When I get home, will work online listening, repeating, reading & listening to text/dialect.
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*See previously detailed posts on Bergen´s 7 Mountain hike, briefly detailing each mountain hike and some on the local islands. Summertime, around the first week in June or thereabouts is an official day of the hike, where Bergen Turlag (Bergen walker/hiker association) has a meetup with anyone who wants to walk together along the mountain paths. Somewhere between 7-9,000 people participate on that day. On any given day, any given weather, there are several to many people walking along any of these paths.
7 mountain hikes
Tarlebø, Rundeman, Ulriken
7 mountain walks*, part of the back half, Tarlebø around the top Rundmannen to Ulriken. Ulriken down across to Fløyen, along Sandviken area. Something like that,) about 15 miles? 7 hours, or 9 if you wander and stop to look at everything like me, so bits and pieces not in the same day is more my pace. I like to enjoy my hikes, not just get from A to B as it were.
From one point, you can see the glacier which rises above the Hardanger fjord, which in wintertime has ice climbing on folgefonna glacier in Hardanger
Tomorrow, Monday, if the weather is nice, after studying or either extremely early in the morning, I thought I´d treat myself to a hike of some part of the above. Probably the Ulriken near Montana bit, or a quick ride up the fløibanen then a quick hike back down to study. If anyone shows up, I also have a tentative coffee meetup later in the morning to afternoon, aka will take a study break--if anyone shows,)
6 hours, as usual grammar, writing, reading. When I get home, will work online listening, repeating, reading & listening to text/dialect.
----------
*See previously detailed posts on Bergen´s 7 Mountain hike, briefly detailing each mountain hike and some on the local islands. Summertime, around the first week in June or thereabouts is an official day of the hike, where Bergen Turlag (Bergen walker/hiker association) has a meetup with anyone who wants to walk together along the mountain paths. Somewhere between 7-9,000 people participate on that day. On any given day, any given weather, there are several to many people walking along any of these paths.
7 mountain hikes
Saturday, September 29, 2012
halloween-totoro- witches brew (add pics)
Whilst I´m keyboarding, I can hear the charmingly comforting sounds of clippity cloppity of a horse-drawn wooden cart going past. It´s a usual sound here, and I often hear it throughout the day if I´m home studying or doing whatnot. There are several horse farms, farms and similar near. It´s very nice, always makes me smile, stop what I´m doing, look out one of the windows to catch a glimpse:).
The kids have been making noises about halloween:)....and I was supposed to go get pumpkins today, as the organic shoppe that I get locally-grown pumpkins from just started recently getting them in again, as it is pumpkin season again! Small sugar pumpkins, not the huge gigantic ones. But pretty none the less, and more than enough for carving, decorating, and making pies! I love pumpkin pie, and nothing beats a homemade pie made from pumpkin. For other times of the year, as I like pie and pumpkin pie is one of my faves, I keep frozen pumpkin or canned Libby´s (which mind you costs about 15 bucks a can it seems like here! yaknow it´s imported and not exactly anything any local would usually ever eat other than for the sake of being polite to someone like me making it for the unknown thanksgiving or halloween meal,))
Cut up a pumpkin, after washing, and gutting it,). The kids like to gut the pumpkin, wash off the seeds, and roast them for eating later. No need to peel the pumpkin before cooking but if you want, use a vegetable peeler or sharp fish knife, or sharp apple peeling knife. Roast the pieces in the oven, not with the seeds (or the seeds will burn). Cool, and peel. (Roast the pieces til the pumpkin flesh is tender and a fork easily goes through it. Peel if not already peeled. Cut up into smaller pieces, and mash with a potato masher. Use enough pulp for whatever recipe you have. It´s fantastic flavour is great on its own, or in soups, stews, pie, pumpkin souffle, pancakes, waffles...well, you get the idea. We like pumpkin.
Besides the pumpkin, I´m sketching out designs for halloween cookies: totoro, susuwatari (the sprite trolls, dust trolls), acorns, leaves, umbrella, poison mushrooms. For cookies, and for a halloween cake I will make!
PHOTO OF MY SKETCHES
For the kids costumes, which is the main reason I´m starting this early, is I´ll be the one making the costumes---Skeleton or Flash Gordon for N, n will have a black and yellow dress with bubblewee wings (no typo!) tiny bubble wings of bubblewee (the bumble in Thumbelina!), and E will also have a pretty fairytale dress, from a video I saw of Witches Brew (first video just the song, second link is kids singing the song wearing costumes)
Witches Brew song
Witches Brew singing, costumes
Note to self:
n= black and yellow; yellow ruffle; yellow tulle long tutu skirt. paint bumblewee Thumbelina face. LONG not sleevless fabric (yellow solid? any leftover fabric is fine that goes with). Black edge along tulle. Wire and gauzey black fabric for wings. Butterfly wand (fabric, glitter, paint, long birch branch, long ribbons)
E= leopard fabric long rectangular trunk to hips with long rectangles for arms. Wrists have colorful textured cuffs (faux fur feathery), black tulle medium tulle skirt. Cat ears headband = fabric matching main dress, cardboard and stuffing to shape ears wrapped in fabric. Tail = long cuff inside out of fabric matching main dress, with textured end matching cuffs. Black stromperbukser. Paint cat face. butterfly wand. (Fabric, glitter, paint, birch branch, long ribbons)
N= red, yellow fabric, yellow winged ear cap with eyeholes. yellow belt fabric velcro.
HA. Clippity Clippity Cloppity. Horses go by again:)
what to cook or bake with pumpkin from Libby Pumpkin site
Sånn! A link from Libby Pumpkin, savoury and sweet things to cook and bake with pumpkin. I do use their canned pumpkin a lot too, when pumpkins are not available. I´ve got 4 cans now in the larder. A few recipes I like are pumpkin chili, pumpkin and cream cheese swiss roll, pumpkin pasta, pumpkin pancakes and quick bread (not sweetened though).
My pumpkin pie recipe:
3 eggs, dash salt, 3/4 c sugar (Tate & Lyle superfine mixed with a third light brown sugar)
spices (Cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, allspice...as I don´t have any pumpkin pie spice)
3-4 cups roasted, peeled pumpkin, cooled, mashed
about the same amount of liquid (half heavy cream, half whole milk)
1 pie crust, not prebaked or just barely baked. I used Martha Stewart Pate Brisee recipe
about a half pint of heavy cream, whipped into whipped cream (a little superfine sugar, pumpkin spice and vanilla added to give more flavour)
nutmeg, for sprinkling a little on the top of each piece
(Or, the Libby´s recipe using their canned pumpkin is great too).
Mix all ingredients together. Pour equally into two pie shells (as my recipe has enough for two pies), bake in oven 176C. til done, about an hour with two in the oven. About 40 minutes if one in the oven. Done is when the filling is cooked through but still has a tiny amount barely in the middle which still almost wiggles, but fork comes out clean. Take out, cool, chill overnight, serve cold with whipped cream, sprinkled with a little nutmeg. Pumpkin pie slice with a cafe au lait makes excellent Fika! or quick breakfast. (instead of say a pain au chocolat pastry with a cup of coffee)
The kids have been making noises about halloween:)....and I was supposed to go get pumpkins today, as the organic shoppe that I get locally-grown pumpkins from just started recently getting them in again, as it is pumpkin season again! Small sugar pumpkins, not the huge gigantic ones. But pretty none the less, and more than enough for carving, decorating, and making pies! I love pumpkin pie, and nothing beats a homemade pie made from pumpkin. For other times of the year, as I like pie and pumpkin pie is one of my faves, I keep frozen pumpkin or canned Libby´s (which mind you costs about 15 bucks a can it seems like here! yaknow it´s imported and not exactly anything any local would usually ever eat other than for the sake of being polite to someone like me making it for the unknown thanksgiving or halloween meal,))
Cut up a pumpkin, after washing, and gutting it,). The kids like to gut the pumpkin, wash off the seeds, and roast them for eating later. No need to peel the pumpkin before cooking but if you want, use a vegetable peeler or sharp fish knife, or sharp apple peeling knife. Roast the pieces in the oven, not with the seeds (or the seeds will burn). Cool, and peel. (Roast the pieces til the pumpkin flesh is tender and a fork easily goes through it. Peel if not already peeled. Cut up into smaller pieces, and mash with a potato masher. Use enough pulp for whatever recipe you have. It´s fantastic flavour is great on its own, or in soups, stews, pie, pumpkin souffle, pancakes, waffles...well, you get the idea. We like pumpkin.
Besides the pumpkin, I´m sketching out designs for halloween cookies: totoro, susuwatari (the sprite trolls, dust trolls), acorns, leaves, umbrella, poison mushrooms. For cookies, and for a halloween cake I will make!
PHOTO OF MY SKETCHES
For the kids costumes, which is the main reason I´m starting this early, is I´ll be the one making the costumes---Skeleton or Flash Gordon for N, n will have a black and yellow dress with bubblewee wings (no typo!) tiny bubble wings of bubblewee (the bumble in Thumbelina!), and E will also have a pretty fairytale dress, from a video I saw of Witches Brew (first video just the song, second link is kids singing the song wearing costumes)
Witches Brew song
Witches Brew singing, costumes
Note to self:
n= black and yellow; yellow ruffle; yellow tulle long tutu skirt. paint bumblewee Thumbelina face. LONG not sleevless fabric (yellow solid? any leftover fabric is fine that goes with). Black edge along tulle. Wire and gauzey black fabric for wings. Butterfly wand (fabric, glitter, paint, long birch branch, long ribbons)
E= leopard fabric long rectangular trunk to hips with long rectangles for arms. Wrists have colorful textured cuffs (faux fur feathery), black tulle medium tulle skirt. Cat ears headband = fabric matching main dress, cardboard and stuffing to shape ears wrapped in fabric. Tail = long cuff inside out of fabric matching main dress, with textured end matching cuffs. Black stromperbukser. Paint cat face. butterfly wand. (Fabric, glitter, paint, birch branch, long ribbons)
N= red, yellow fabric, yellow winged ear cap with eyeholes. yellow belt fabric velcro.
HA. Clippity Clippity Cloppity. Horses go by again:)
what to cook or bake with pumpkin from Libby Pumpkin site
Sånn! A link from Libby Pumpkin, savoury and sweet things to cook and bake with pumpkin. I do use their canned pumpkin a lot too, when pumpkins are not available. I´ve got 4 cans now in the larder. A few recipes I like are pumpkin chili, pumpkin and cream cheese swiss roll, pumpkin pasta, pumpkin pancakes and quick bread (not sweetened though).
My pumpkin pie recipe:
3 eggs, dash salt, 3/4 c sugar (Tate & Lyle superfine mixed with a third light brown sugar)
spices (Cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, allspice...as I don´t have any pumpkin pie spice)
3-4 cups roasted, peeled pumpkin, cooled, mashed
about the same amount of liquid (half heavy cream, half whole milk)
1 pie crust, not prebaked or just barely baked. I used Martha Stewart Pate Brisee recipe
about a half pint of heavy cream, whipped into whipped cream (a little superfine sugar, pumpkin spice and vanilla added to give more flavour)
nutmeg, for sprinkling a little on the top of each piece
(Or, the Libby´s recipe using their canned pumpkin is great too).
Mix all ingredients together. Pour equally into two pie shells (as my recipe has enough for two pies), bake in oven 176C. til done, about an hour with two in the oven. About 40 minutes if one in the oven. Done is when the filling is cooked through but still has a tiny amount barely in the middle which still almost wiggles, but fork comes out clean. Take out, cool, chill overnight, serve cold with whipped cream, sprinkled with a little nutmeg. Pumpkin pie slice with a cafe au lait makes excellent Fika! or quick breakfast. (instead of say a pain au chocolat pastry with a cup of coffee)
Fløibanen, Mt Fløyen* choc cake*chix tortilla stew (add pics)
http://www.floibanen.com/
2 hours study this morning (reading, listening, repeating, grammar, vocabulary). Walked to ICA for groceries. T drove us all to the bottom of Mt Fløyen, so we catch the fløibanen (see link) up to the Fløyen Troll park. We had planned on walking back down through the winding mountain paths, and dressed well for the windy, chilly, sunny, almost warm, cold, hailing down rainy changing weather! But after a few hours, kids were tired and cold anyway, from stomping the puddles, taking off their jackets, changing clothes, going to the toilets (yes, 4 separate times, as FSM forbid siblings actually need/use the toilet at the same time. Five minutes apart, "JEG MÅ PÅ DO MAMMMA!!! MAMMMMA jegMÅpådu!!!!" haha Norwegian for I must use the toilet now mamma!)
Out of all the climbing and sliding down, jumping over, running under, hopping off and on and around and down under and over various wet slippery carved log and rock playground equipment, n only got a huge bump on her head when she decided to, gasp, only skip along the gravel. Her wet boots slid in the wet gravel, she fell onto one of the numerous log steps. The bump didn´t´show til later, as we were going down the fløibanen--when suddenly her forehead was swollen, red, black,green, red! She was well ready for a nap, having sat herself into her stroller, with her tutt (Norwegian baby talk, short for Smokk, the actual Norwegian word for paci, pacifier, dummy). "Tutt MIN MAMMA"! (My pacifier mommy!)
They usually love spending the day out walking round the city, or the country, in any and all weathers, but today were very tired, and cold in spite of being dressed for the weather. So, we played at the Troll park, which is at the top of the mountain near the overlook (which does not have railing for the most part. Though more than Ulriken which has none, but our kids have grown up with this terrrain and knowing the safety rules, so they are careful and do not try to run off the edge of mountains here!), then had to buy a ticket down. I´d only gotten a Tur (one way, as opposed to Tur-Retur which is a two-way ticket), as we had planned our usual walk down.
The machine wouldn´t work, and there are no people to take tickets up at the top. The gates wouldn´t open. So I had to yell politely to be heard by the people walking down, if they could get the fløibanen staff to help us! They were all very helpful. Tickets sorted a few minutes later for me and several other riders, we go back down in the fløibanen--such a gorgeous ride, even in wet weather. Trees, cityscapes, mountain panormas, sea. Beautiful!
It was just a block twice over and a half, for us to wait for T to drive round to pick us up.
Having lunch now, of Southwestern Chicken tortilla soup (recipe below9, fruit, salad, and kanelknuter (recipe in other post).
4 more study hours left for today! The kids are great helping me with my rolling letters---the way the local Bergen dialect rolls letters such as the R, which is not done in other parts of Norway, certainly not generally in Oslo, which imho has an easier dialect to understand:)
E especially, tries tutoring me with slowly saying the Rs and entire words for me to pronounce, and is great telling me when I am not doing it correctly!,) Not in a mean way, in a concerned for Mamma that she teaches me the correct way so I understand the language, as they understand not understanding a language. They spent most of their life going back and forth from here to the US, so spoke and understood mostly American English, which is different from British English and more different from Norwegian and various dialects here which they then had to also learn. They both had free tutoring in Norwegian at barnehage, when they started, as they were the only ones who were not fluent in Norwegian at the time. Now they are fluent, and help me:) They are not mean about it, and I appreciate how much effort they go to!:)
* Cashier charged 80NOK for me, 3 kids. That´s about 20 bucks I think. WOW. that´s the first time I actually converted the ticket price! That´s 40 bucks plus for the tur-retur, plus gas. Well, we still had a fun family day out, even if it did end up cut short and we had to unusually also take the fløibanen back down due to weather. The last time that happened was winter, when once we got up there and about an hour into our hike down, even the main paved railed paths were so icy we couldn´t easily walk down safely even with our ice spikes on our winter boots! We trudged backtracking up again to the top of the mountain to get the fløibanen down, as by that time the kids and I were all exhausted from slipping and sliding and trying not to slip and slide on the ice! Everywhere was snow, and it was oh so pretty! Most of the barnehages up there were out with their kids skiing and sledding, which we had not brought as I hadn´t thought there would be enough snow along our hike for it. We still had fun, just not exactly what had been planned. Plans change, go with the flow. I just hadn´t realized til now how expensive it was to tur-retur for our free hike!,)
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Wanted something sweet, warm from the oven. Pumpkin pie, which I don´t have time to make (filling plus pie crust) and bake. hmmm so looked around what else I had and what I could make with what I had. Lots of cocoa powder, some flour, sour milk, a little whole milk, sugar, eggs. Hmmm warm chocolate pudding or hot cocoa sounds good (not enough whole milk or time for either), sooooo a superquick chocolate cake! mmm
Directions: put all the ingredients together in a bowl, mix, pour into 2 Victoria sandwich tins, bake til done on a high temperature---176C. Eat warm from the oven with some canned peaches (yep, cuz I had some in the cupboards). yum! Very chilly tonight, snuggled up on the couch studying, and soon will be having a break for some warm chocolate cake and hot blueberry juice (sounds naff, but is very good!)
Enjoy your weekend. With love from Norway:)
oops! nearly forgot the ingredients!
This is an old fashioned way to quickly make a chocolate cake, with boiled water.
about 2 cups of flour, dash of salt, 1 c of sugar (as I like it to be less sweet and more chocolately--add more sugar if you want it sweeter), 2 tsp baking powder, 2 tsp baking soda, 1 cup cocoa. Mix all this.
Add 3 eggs, 1 cup any milk (soured, buttermilk, whole milk or any combination of), half cup oil or same amount of melted butter (or any combination you´ve got), vanilla. Mix all this into the bowl.
Carefully now add 1 cup or so of boiling water (water just off the boil is fine). Mix into a thin batter. Pour into pans, bake. See above. This is really good with cherries, or cherry pie filling, and whipped cream like quick a black forest cake.
--------------
Quick Chicken tortilla stew from whatevers left in the fridge needing to be cooked:
Into a large soup pot, I threw in:
- 4 large tomatoes cut into fourths skin on
-coriander seeds, black pepper, salt, fresh oregano leaves
-onions, yellow and purple, roughly sliced
-garlic cloves (4, whole small)
-3-4 celery stalks, cut into large pieces
-one tiny carrot, minced
-a dash pepper sauce (tabasco)
- one small green bell pepper, chopped
-water to cover twice
-3 handfuls of uncooked black beans not soaked first
-8 whole black olives, remove the pits first
Bring all this to a rolling boil, turn down heat leave covered, simmer for a few hours whilst studying. It´s done when the black beans are soft to eat. Add seasoning, cilantro etc to taste.
-about an hour before done, add some cooked roast chicken leftover from day before. Add a squeeze of fresh lime.
Serve with romme (sour cream), fresh cilantro, warm tortilla broken up into the stew, or whatever else you have/like. This was very good! The black olives added a good flavour also, would add a few again.
2 hours study this morning (reading, listening, repeating, grammar, vocabulary). Walked to ICA for groceries. T drove us all to the bottom of Mt Fløyen, so we catch the fløibanen (see link) up to the Fløyen Troll park. We had planned on walking back down through the winding mountain paths, and dressed well for the windy, chilly, sunny, almost warm, cold, hailing down rainy changing weather! But after a few hours, kids were tired and cold anyway, from stomping the puddles, taking off their jackets, changing clothes, going to the toilets (yes, 4 separate times, as FSM forbid siblings actually need/use the toilet at the same time. Five minutes apart, "JEG MÅ PÅ DO MAMMMA!!! MAMMMMA jegMÅpådu!!!!" haha Norwegian for I must use the toilet now mamma!)
Out of all the climbing and sliding down, jumping over, running under, hopping off and on and around and down under and over various wet slippery carved log and rock playground equipment, n only got a huge bump on her head when she decided to, gasp, only skip along the gravel. Her wet boots slid in the wet gravel, she fell onto one of the numerous log steps. The bump didn´t´show til later, as we were going down the fløibanen--when suddenly her forehead was swollen, red, black,green, red! She was well ready for a nap, having sat herself into her stroller, with her tutt (Norwegian baby talk, short for Smokk, the actual Norwegian word for paci, pacifier, dummy). "Tutt MIN MAMMA"! (My pacifier mommy!)
They usually love spending the day out walking round the city, or the country, in any and all weathers, but today were very tired, and cold in spite of being dressed for the weather. So, we played at the Troll park, which is at the top of the mountain near the overlook (which does not have railing for the most part. Though more than Ulriken which has none, but our kids have grown up with this terrrain and knowing the safety rules, so they are careful and do not try to run off the edge of mountains here!), then had to buy a ticket down. I´d only gotten a Tur (one way, as opposed to Tur-Retur which is a two-way ticket), as we had planned our usual walk down.
The machine wouldn´t work, and there are no people to take tickets up at the top. The gates wouldn´t open. So I had to yell politely to be heard by the people walking down, if they could get the fløibanen staff to help us! They were all very helpful. Tickets sorted a few minutes later for me and several other riders, we go back down in the fløibanen--such a gorgeous ride, even in wet weather. Trees, cityscapes, mountain panormas, sea. Beautiful!
It was just a block twice over and a half, for us to wait for T to drive round to pick us up.
Having lunch now, of Southwestern Chicken tortilla soup (recipe below9, fruit, salad, and kanelknuter (recipe in other post).
4 more study hours left for today! The kids are great helping me with my rolling letters---the way the local Bergen dialect rolls letters such as the R, which is not done in other parts of Norway, certainly not generally in Oslo, which imho has an easier dialect to understand:)
E especially, tries tutoring me with slowly saying the Rs and entire words for me to pronounce, and is great telling me when I am not doing it correctly!,) Not in a mean way, in a concerned for Mamma that she teaches me the correct way so I understand the language, as they understand not understanding a language. They spent most of their life going back and forth from here to the US, so spoke and understood mostly American English, which is different from British English and more different from Norwegian and various dialects here which they then had to also learn. They both had free tutoring in Norwegian at barnehage, when they started, as they were the only ones who were not fluent in Norwegian at the time. Now they are fluent, and help me:) They are not mean about it, and I appreciate how much effort they go to!:)
* Cashier charged 80NOK for me, 3 kids. That´s about 20 bucks I think. WOW. that´s the first time I actually converted the ticket price! That´s 40 bucks plus for the tur-retur, plus gas. Well, we still had a fun family day out, even if it did end up cut short and we had to unusually also take the fløibanen back down due to weather. The last time that happened was winter, when once we got up there and about an hour into our hike down, even the main paved railed paths were so icy we couldn´t easily walk down safely even with our ice spikes on our winter boots! We trudged backtracking up again to the top of the mountain to get the fløibanen down, as by that time the kids and I were all exhausted from slipping and sliding and trying not to slip and slide on the ice! Everywhere was snow, and it was oh so pretty! Most of the barnehages up there were out with their kids skiing and sledding, which we had not brought as I hadn´t thought there would be enough snow along our hike for it. We still had fun, just not exactly what had been planned. Plans change, go with the flow. I just hadn´t realized til now how expensive it was to tur-retur for our free hike!,)
----------
Wanted something sweet, warm from the oven. Pumpkin pie, which I don´t have time to make (filling plus pie crust) and bake. hmmm so looked around what else I had and what I could make with what I had. Lots of cocoa powder, some flour, sour milk, a little whole milk, sugar, eggs. Hmmm warm chocolate pudding or hot cocoa sounds good (not enough whole milk or time for either), sooooo a superquick chocolate cake! mmm
Directions: put all the ingredients together in a bowl, mix, pour into 2 Victoria sandwich tins, bake til done on a high temperature---176C. Eat warm from the oven with some canned peaches (yep, cuz I had some in the cupboards). yum! Very chilly tonight, snuggled up on the couch studying, and soon will be having a break for some warm chocolate cake and hot blueberry juice (sounds naff, but is very good!)
Enjoy your weekend. With love from Norway:)
oops! nearly forgot the ingredients!
This is an old fashioned way to quickly make a chocolate cake, with boiled water.
about 2 cups of flour, dash of salt, 1 c of sugar (as I like it to be less sweet and more chocolately--add more sugar if you want it sweeter), 2 tsp baking powder, 2 tsp baking soda, 1 cup cocoa. Mix all this.
Add 3 eggs, 1 cup any milk (soured, buttermilk, whole milk or any combination of), half cup oil or same amount of melted butter (or any combination you´ve got), vanilla. Mix all this into the bowl.
Carefully now add 1 cup or so of boiling water (water just off the boil is fine). Mix into a thin batter. Pour into pans, bake. See above. This is really good with cherries, or cherry pie filling, and whipped cream like quick a black forest cake.
--------------
Quick Chicken tortilla stew from whatevers left in the fridge needing to be cooked:
Into a large soup pot, I threw in:
- 4 large tomatoes cut into fourths skin on
-coriander seeds, black pepper, salt, fresh oregano leaves
-onions, yellow and purple, roughly sliced
-garlic cloves (4, whole small)
-3-4 celery stalks, cut into large pieces
-one tiny carrot, minced
-a dash pepper sauce (tabasco)
- one small green bell pepper, chopped
-water to cover twice
-3 handfuls of uncooked black beans not soaked first
-8 whole black olives, remove the pits first
Bring all this to a rolling boil, turn down heat leave covered, simmer for a few hours whilst studying. It´s done when the black beans are soft to eat. Add seasoning, cilantro etc to taste.
-about an hour before done, add some cooked roast chicken leftover from day before. Add a squeeze of fresh lime.
Serve with romme (sour cream), fresh cilantro, warm tortilla broken up into the stew, or whatever else you have/like. This was very good! The black olives added a good flavour also, would add a few again.
Thursday, September 27, 2012
Mummitrollet, Totoro & silver dragees (add pics)
Cute, animated Mummi the kids like. And Totoro! Was reminding myself to make Mummitrollet and Totoro Christmas cookies. Find a Mummi or three, draw a likeness outline on parchment, cut out and use as a template for the roll-out sugar cookies, cocoa cookies, and thin pepparkakors. Paint with food coloring before baking. Decorate with silver dragees.
Mummitroldene sangen Mummi trolls song
Mummi sove tid
Totoro
Not sure whether it is true these are poisonous, but they are still sold here abroad as food/edible items. I like them, and think they´re pretty, and only use them for Christmas cookies. And I figure, if they are not banned here, then they are probably safe.
Interestingly, just saw several recent documentaries, about E numbers (food colors) and things used to enhance food to entice people/kids to eat the foods.
It was gorgeous yet shocking how some of the food colors were made from mercury (as silver dragees used to be!), and bright pretty copper, to make children´s candies, such as M&M/nonstop types of candies. The chemist demonstrated, wearing full safety gear of face mask and gloves so as to not breath or touch the dangerous fumes or copper, to coat white boring basic round sugar candies with happy, fun, bright poisonous copper, which was the color of deep vibrant orange-red. WOW the candy went from icky medicine white, to a gorgeous fun very enticing candy color we now are used to, albeit now the color is probably safe to eat. Some colors are still debatable, such as the dragees, which are banned in California.
Other things they used were mercury and lead which had pretty colors, even though they knew even then it was poisonous.
My dad was a chemist and engineer, as were my grandfather´s, so I grew up seeing the pretty chemistry elements in real life of silver liquid mercury, red iodine, heavy soft lead, etc. I knew and was told they were dangerous, but I was allowed to see them, if I was careful. I remember even now how much I wanted to actually touch the mercury, and make actual rivers of it! Or how much I wanted to sculpt the interesting lead into something other than the brick shape it was molded into. Or how pretty liquid copper was!
Nowadays you can buy entire sets of chemistry elements in the periodic table I still can list, after all these years past of memorizing it, and I think it would be so cool to own a abit of all the elements! It was enough though to see an entire set online. Plus I think it should include a rock from outer space.
Yes, I can not sleep, because yes the water is cut off and it reminds me of being without water for weeks in hurricane situations, and I am slightly stressed and panic´d about it so can´t sleep! It is supposed to be back on tomorrow, but as I forgot to take a shower before they turned it off, I am stressed i will not have water in the morning to take a shower! The water pump had to be turned off, after a bit of fiddling and moving washing machines, a bit of a palova which I don´t feel like doing at 6am if they actually do turn the water back on then, at 6am?! YEs, as wonderful as they are here with being precise, such as the bus coming within a few (2-3) minutes of route schedule time if not precisely on time, I still do not believe they will be turning the water back on at SIX AM. Tomorrow. After having switched out huge great big water pipes all the way down, when I hear absolutely nothing road work wise tonight since about 3pm. it has been as usual absolutely silent, just like it always is after about 7pm and mostly usually generally.
Quiet.
So, I really do not believe they will have finished this between 8pm of yesterday of turning off water til 6am today of turning it back on. And it is nearly Friday (well is Friday) and that is the weekend, so I am stressed we will not have water. All. Weekend!
It´s 2.15am Friday now. It is quiet. Guess I had atleast try to enjoy some sleep. Especially if tomorrow, and maybe the weekend, there will be no water flowing through any pipes anywhere around here anytime soon,)
*goodnight. Again *
Mummitroldene sangen Mummi trolls song
Mummi sove tid
Totoro
Not sure whether it is true these are poisonous, but they are still sold here abroad as food/edible items. I like them, and think they´re pretty, and only use them for Christmas cookies. And I figure, if they are not banned here, then they are probably safe.
Interestingly, just saw several recent documentaries, about E numbers (food colors) and things used to enhance food to entice people/kids to eat the foods.
It was gorgeous yet shocking how some of the food colors were made from mercury (as silver dragees used to be!), and bright pretty copper, to make children´s candies, such as M&M/nonstop types of candies. The chemist demonstrated, wearing full safety gear of face mask and gloves so as to not breath or touch the dangerous fumes or copper, to coat white boring basic round sugar candies with happy, fun, bright poisonous copper, which was the color of deep vibrant orange-red. WOW the candy went from icky medicine white, to a gorgeous fun very enticing candy color we now are used to, albeit now the color is probably safe to eat. Some colors are still debatable, such as the dragees, which are banned in California.
Other things they used were mercury and lead which had pretty colors, even though they knew even then it was poisonous.
My dad was a chemist and engineer, as were my grandfather´s, so I grew up seeing the pretty chemistry elements in real life of silver liquid mercury, red iodine, heavy soft lead, etc. I knew and was told they were dangerous, but I was allowed to see them, if I was careful. I remember even now how much I wanted to actually touch the mercury, and make actual rivers of it! Or how much I wanted to sculpt the interesting lead into something other than the brick shape it was molded into. Or how pretty liquid copper was!
Nowadays you can buy entire sets of chemistry elements in the periodic table I still can list, after all these years past of memorizing it, and I think it would be so cool to own a abit of all the elements! It was enough though to see an entire set online. Plus I think it should include a rock from outer space.
Yes, I can not sleep, because yes the water is cut off and it reminds me of being without water for weeks in hurricane situations, and I am slightly stressed and panic´d about it so can´t sleep! It is supposed to be back on tomorrow, but as I forgot to take a shower before they turned it off, I am stressed i will not have water in the morning to take a shower! The water pump had to be turned off, after a bit of fiddling and moving washing machines, a bit of a palova which I don´t feel like doing at 6am if they actually do turn the water back on then, at 6am?! YEs, as wonderful as they are here with being precise, such as the bus coming within a few (2-3) minutes of route schedule time if not precisely on time, I still do not believe they will be turning the water back on at SIX AM. Tomorrow. After having switched out huge great big water pipes all the way down, when I hear absolutely nothing road work wise tonight since about 3pm. it has been as usual absolutely silent, just like it always is after about 7pm and mostly usually generally.
Quiet.
So, I really do not believe they will have finished this between 8pm of yesterday of turning off water til 6am today of turning it back on. And it is nearly Friday (well is Friday) and that is the weekend, so I am stressed we will not have water. All. Weekend!
It´s 2.15am Friday now. It is quiet. Guess I had atleast try to enjoy some sleep. Especially if tomorrow, and maybe the weekend, there will be no water flowing through any pipes anywhere around here anytime soon,)
*goodnight. Again *
Bright midnight moon gone (add pics)
The bright midnight moon is now gone from sight, having slowly yet quickly in a mere few minutes glided sideways across the sky. It was still at the same height, just horizontally moved across the sky til I can no longer see it from the window where I am typing still. I counted to about 4 minutes, then it was gone! Just as quickly as it showed up.
Goodnight moon, I hope my wish that I made upon you comes true:)
Goodnight moon, I hope my wish that I made upon you comes true:)
syltetøy: summer fruit jams, Bright midnight moon (add pics)
Packets of pectin are not used here, not available that I´ve seen, and my mil made all her jams without pectin here, so I figure I can too. Sometimes it is not as thick as I am used to, but it always tastes amazing!
My favourites, which am making lately, for winter:
1) black currant, red currant, raspberry.
2) blackberry, raspberry.
3) rhubarb, vanilla bean
4) rhubarb, raspberry or apple
Boil with sugar, do not add any water. The sugar seems to usually make the jam thick enough. Or you can make juice. I´ve not gotten enough berries, past eating them, to make much syltetøy, and the jams I make usually get eaten before they get anywhere near being " put up" for winter!,)
5) rose hip jelly. Yeah, I tried this. Several times, from various wild rosebushes growing in the yard, or locally. Always the thorny bitter bits inside the rose hips, which make your throat hurt (like that stuff in the artichoke you must remove) always has ruined it. It was very pretty, but too much work. Obviously I was doing something wrong, but followed all the recipes I saw in my cookbooks, even the blueribbon winning recipes, so I feel someone missed out some step, that they thought was obvious, but isn´t to those of use who have not made rose hip jelly for decades,)
Maybe next year will try again. I really like rose hip jelly! It is not something you can usually get in the grocery store either.
OOH I can see the moon. Full, glowing brightly, intensely, suddenly directly across from me! So pretty! The moon and sun here seem to glide along sideways, rather than up and down. It looks very halloweeny out, albeit the moon is still white not orange as it will be soon! So close looking as if I could reach out and touch. Very pretty indeed. Goodnight Moon! The kids say, as it is one of our bedtime stories. goodnight moon. Goodnight E. Mommy loves you. Goodnight n, mommy loves you. goodnight A, mommy love you. goodnight N, mommy love you too! Good night allesammen sovt godt og drøm søtt
My favourites, which am making lately, for winter:
1) black currant, red currant, raspberry.
2) blackberry, raspberry.
3) rhubarb, vanilla bean
4) rhubarb, raspberry or apple
Boil with sugar, do not add any water. The sugar seems to usually make the jam thick enough. Or you can make juice. I´ve not gotten enough berries, past eating them, to make much syltetøy, and the jams I make usually get eaten before they get anywhere near being " put up" for winter!,)
5) rose hip jelly. Yeah, I tried this. Several times, from various wild rosebushes growing in the yard, or locally. Always the thorny bitter bits inside the rose hips, which make your throat hurt (like that stuff in the artichoke you must remove) always has ruined it. It was very pretty, but too much work. Obviously I was doing something wrong, but followed all the recipes I saw in my cookbooks, even the blueribbon winning recipes, so I feel someone missed out some step, that they thought was obvious, but isn´t to those of use who have not made rose hip jelly for decades,)
Maybe next year will try again. I really like rose hip jelly! It is not something you can usually get in the grocery store either.
OOH I can see the moon. Full, glowing brightly, intensely, suddenly directly across from me! So pretty! The moon and sun here seem to glide along sideways, rather than up and down. It looks very halloweeny out, albeit the moon is still white not orange as it will be soon! So close looking as if I could reach out and touch. Very pretty indeed. Goodnight Moon! The kids say, as it is one of our bedtime stories. goodnight moon. Goodnight E. Mommy loves you. Goodnight n, mommy loves you. goodnight A, mommy love you. goodnight N, mommy love you too! Good night allesammen sovt godt og drøm søtt
potato dumplins, kraut, and dill pickles (add pics)
Kumle, potatbollar, klubb. Potato dumplings. Norwegian traditional food.
With a German father, I grew up with similar German potato dumplings. One of my favourite US restaurants is owned and chef´d by a man from Europe who grew up with the foods of Italy, Austria, Germany...whose recipe for large potato dumplings, was given to me. The recipe is exactly how I cook--by eye, by ingredient, by outcome. I was told the ingredients, and what to do to make it end up the way it ended up--large dense, slightly fluffy, but mostly dense, but not solid like rock. And delicious! I love dumplings, of all types, from the American Southern flat chicken-n-dumpling dumpings, to the fluffy stew ones, to the German to the Norwegian, even to tiny Italian gnocchi (though my gnocchi are made with potatoes and polenta, not just potatoes).
(for my gnocchi, I combine about slightly less than 2:1 of peeled mashed potato with dry polenta, 1-2 whole eggs, flour, seasoning, and something. The something is usually spinach, or herbs, or kale; or whatever looks good that day, and is on hand. Form into the dough, make snakes. Take a fork then prick the edge all the way along the snakes on one side, with the fork tines to make a texture for sauce to soak into once cooked. After pricking along the entire side, then cut with a knife. Then boil in broth, or soup, or creamy sauce. My favourite is either in my version of Mediteranean minestrone, or in a Norwegian cream soup such as cauliflower, green split pea, or the fish chowder recipe in the previous post. Add the gnocchi then before any seafood, which is added last!)
Norwegian serving, typically is one large dumpling, a piece of local sausage, a piece of cooked meat on the bone such as ham hock; maybe a mash of kolarabi, steamed ruutabaga or similar; some type of sauce. And some lingonberries. or Juniper berries, as both grow wild here. A light salad of thin sliced cucumbers, spices & paprika, with sour cream and a splash of vinegar ( a typical Norwegian cucumber salad).
The German way of serving the potato dumpling, which I usually do is: a homemade soft Laugen pretzel with coarse salt, a local piece of Norwegian sausage or reindeer meat, kraut (which is typical here, but I still use a mild German kraut too just as often, made with fennel), a little red cabbage slaw, slightly pickled, mild. Strong yellow mustard. Sour dill pickles which I make, as the pickles you get here are all sweet, very very sweet. The dill pickles I make with typical vinegar salt bath, fresh dill, dried dill, fennel, coriander seeds, black fennel, peppercorns. And garlic. And sometimes a splash of tabasco, or a tiny piece of red chili pepper. And a traditional paprika cream sauce. And a bit of lingonberries on the side.
This is one version of my version of a potato dumpling.
Tips: Use a mashing potato, which is mealy. Do not use a waxy potato, as it will just not work.
I use, and was told to use, potato flour and barley flour, so that is what I use, for the large potato dumplings. For other dumplings in other recipes, such as either flat noodle or fluffy type dumplings in chicken and dumplings, I use just wheat and white flour. The potato flour and barley flour of this recipe, has a different flavour and texture, for what I want it to end up as: the large, dense, yet still soft, flavourful potato dumpling. The main event, for me, even with all the other items served along side it. I would happily, and often do happily, eat the dumplings by themselves, or in a broth.
1) In a large soup pot, make your broth. Meaty ham hocks (which will also be served with the meal, a bit shredded atop the dumplings, and used to flavour the dumplings when boiling. The water needs to be salty for the dumplings). Season to taste with salt, pepper, a bay leave or whatever. I also often add bits and pieces of whatever is in the fridge needing cooking, such as a carrot, or celery, parsnips, root veggies.
Start this a few hours before, so it will be finished, the meat will be cooked and ready to eat, and the water is boiling to boil the dumplings when ready to cook.
* For the dumplings themselves:
-1 large or 2 medium cooked mealy mashing potato, PEELED, mashed when still warm. Being warm makes them easier to peel--or they have a nifty peeling tool here which works a treat! (I rarely if ever ever peel potatoes! This and gnocchi are the only two reasons I ever do. Otherwise, I serve them peel on and guests can peel them themselves, which is typical here. Many people will serve the boiled potatoes peeled for guests, as it is extremely unusual here for anyone to eat potatoes with the peel on!)
-6 or 7 medium mealy potatoes, raw, shredded, squeezed of water. (Using a fine cloth, tea towel, squeeze the excess water from the raw shredded potato, as if making hashbrowns).
-seasoning. Salt, pepper, herbs finely chopped, paprika.
-flour. About 1:1:1, barley, plain, potato flours. or about 1:3 plain to barley flour. The smallest portion of flour will be the plain flour.
-Using your hands, blend all of these ingredients together. Use your hands to form the mixture into the dumplings, each about the size of a baseball. These are large dumplings! (The mixed ingredients should be workable still a bit sticky, but if too wet and unmanagable then add a little more flour).
- to boil dumplings, boil the broth then lower the temp to a simmer to cook the dumplings. Use a slotted wood spoon or whatever you have, to carefully lower the dumplings into the simmering liquid. Do not boil, or they could fall apart. Simmer--for about half an hour or til they float to the surface, letting you know they are done.
-Serve immediately with whatever you like. See my above comments.
-Serve with a traditional homemade paprika cream sauce. Sour cream, heavy cream, herb, seasoning, broth, thickened with a bit of of the flour, and cooked with a bit of the deglazed meat stock (from the beginning of the recipe, you can brown the edges of the meat then use this for the sauce).
With a German father, I grew up with similar German potato dumplings. One of my favourite US restaurants is owned and chef´d by a man from Europe who grew up with the foods of Italy, Austria, Germany...whose recipe for large potato dumplings, was given to me. The recipe is exactly how I cook--by eye, by ingredient, by outcome. I was told the ingredients, and what to do to make it end up the way it ended up--large dense, slightly fluffy, but mostly dense, but not solid like rock. And delicious! I love dumplings, of all types, from the American Southern flat chicken-n-dumpling dumpings, to the fluffy stew ones, to the German to the Norwegian, even to tiny Italian gnocchi (though my gnocchi are made with potatoes and polenta, not just potatoes).
(for my gnocchi, I combine about slightly less than 2:1 of peeled mashed potato with dry polenta, 1-2 whole eggs, flour, seasoning, and something. The something is usually spinach, or herbs, or kale; or whatever looks good that day, and is on hand. Form into the dough, make snakes. Take a fork then prick the edge all the way along the snakes on one side, with the fork tines to make a texture for sauce to soak into once cooked. After pricking along the entire side, then cut with a knife. Then boil in broth, or soup, or creamy sauce. My favourite is either in my version of Mediteranean minestrone, or in a Norwegian cream soup such as cauliflower, green split pea, or the fish chowder recipe in the previous post. Add the gnocchi then before any seafood, which is added last!)
Norwegian serving, typically is one large dumpling, a piece of local sausage, a piece of cooked meat on the bone such as ham hock; maybe a mash of kolarabi, steamed ruutabaga or similar; some type of sauce. And some lingonberries. or Juniper berries, as both grow wild here. A light salad of thin sliced cucumbers, spices & paprika, with sour cream and a splash of vinegar ( a typical Norwegian cucumber salad).
The German way of serving the potato dumpling, which I usually do is: a homemade soft Laugen pretzel with coarse salt, a local piece of Norwegian sausage or reindeer meat, kraut (which is typical here, but I still use a mild German kraut too just as often, made with fennel), a little red cabbage slaw, slightly pickled, mild. Strong yellow mustard. Sour dill pickles which I make, as the pickles you get here are all sweet, very very sweet. The dill pickles I make with typical vinegar salt bath, fresh dill, dried dill, fennel, coriander seeds, black fennel, peppercorns. And garlic. And sometimes a splash of tabasco, or a tiny piece of red chili pepper. And a traditional paprika cream sauce. And a bit of lingonberries on the side.
This is one version of my version of a potato dumpling.
Tips: Use a mashing potato, which is mealy. Do not use a waxy potato, as it will just not work.
I use, and was told to use, potato flour and barley flour, so that is what I use, for the large potato dumplings. For other dumplings in other recipes, such as either flat noodle or fluffy type dumplings in chicken and dumplings, I use just wheat and white flour. The potato flour and barley flour of this recipe, has a different flavour and texture, for what I want it to end up as: the large, dense, yet still soft, flavourful potato dumpling. The main event, for me, even with all the other items served along side it. I would happily, and often do happily, eat the dumplings by themselves, or in a broth.
1) In a large soup pot, make your broth. Meaty ham hocks (which will also be served with the meal, a bit shredded atop the dumplings, and used to flavour the dumplings when boiling. The water needs to be salty for the dumplings). Season to taste with salt, pepper, a bay leave or whatever. I also often add bits and pieces of whatever is in the fridge needing cooking, such as a carrot, or celery, parsnips, root veggies.
Start this a few hours before, so it will be finished, the meat will be cooked and ready to eat, and the water is boiling to boil the dumplings when ready to cook.
* For the dumplings themselves:
-1 large or 2 medium cooked mealy mashing potato, PEELED, mashed when still warm. Being warm makes them easier to peel--or they have a nifty peeling tool here which works a treat! (I rarely if ever ever peel potatoes! This and gnocchi are the only two reasons I ever do. Otherwise, I serve them peel on and guests can peel them themselves, which is typical here. Many people will serve the boiled potatoes peeled for guests, as it is extremely unusual here for anyone to eat potatoes with the peel on!)
-6 or 7 medium mealy potatoes, raw, shredded, squeezed of water. (Using a fine cloth, tea towel, squeeze the excess water from the raw shredded potato, as if making hashbrowns).
-seasoning. Salt, pepper, herbs finely chopped, paprika.
-flour. About 1:1:1, barley, plain, potato flours. or about 1:3 plain to barley flour. The smallest portion of flour will be the plain flour.
-Using your hands, blend all of these ingredients together. Use your hands to form the mixture into the dumplings, each about the size of a baseball. These are large dumplings! (The mixed ingredients should be workable still a bit sticky, but if too wet and unmanagable then add a little more flour).
- to boil dumplings, boil the broth then lower the temp to a simmer to cook the dumplings. Use a slotted wood spoon or whatever you have, to carefully lower the dumplings into the simmering liquid. Do not boil, or they could fall apart. Simmer--for about half an hour or til they float to the surface, letting you know they are done.
-Serve immediately with whatever you like. See my above comments.
-Serve with a traditional homemade paprika cream sauce. Sour cream, heavy cream, herb, seasoning, broth, thickened with a bit of of the flour, and cooked with a bit of the deglazed meat stock (from the beginning of the recipe, you can brown the edges of the meat then use this for the sauce).
Snake Dog sticky toffee pudding, carmel sauce (add pics)
Another autumn/Christmastime/holiday/winter treat
Snake Dog Sticky Toffee Gingerbread pudding:
1 bottle of whatever you like (oatmeal stout, Colorado Pale ale, Snake Dog, Flying Dog Classic... OR freshly pressed apple juice if you´d rather not use alcohol, or whatever you like, can get)
pitted, chopped dates and/or dried figs (if using dried figs, remove stems). Or prunes, which also work well
2 eggs
vanilla or almond flavouring
salted butter, 70 g, cubed, chilled
3/4 c darkest molasses brown sugar
----
Flour, unsifted, 1 1/4 c
pinch salt
2 tsp baking soda AND 1 tsp baking powder
spices (GINGER, nutmeg, allspice, cinnamon, cardamom, pinch black pepper)
---
Preheat oven to 162C. Line two Victoria Sandwich tins with butter, parchment, butter. Set aside.
In one bowl, add butter, sugar, vanilla. Set aside to warm.
In a saucepan, meanwhile, add the Snake Dog (or whatever you have chosen), chopped dried fruit, stirring til it simmers. Add the baking soda, once simmering. Stir, whilst simmering, for about 5 minutes. Cool slightly, then puree.
In a second bowl, add flours, spices, rest of dry ingredients. Set aside.
Cream butter, sugar, vanilla til fluffy. Add eggs one at a time.
Scraping down the sides of the bowl as you go, alternatively add the flour mixture with the liquid/fruit mixture into the bowl with the dry flour ingredients. Scraping down the bowl often, add, stir, add, stir, til all is incorporated. Cake batter should be well mixed and smooth.
Pour half into each prepared tin. (Cuts the baking time in half) Bake in preheated oven for 15- 20 minutes or til done, depending upon your oven. (For one cake, bake in one tin, for about half an hour to 45 minutes, til toothpick in middle comes out clean).
Serve warm with vanilla bean ice cream and/or warm with any basic carmel sauce.
I like cream in my coffee, but usually have some leftover to get rid of. An easy carmel recipe, for using up the rest of a pint of cream:
Half a container cream, flavoured with vanilla
Heat sugar in a pan til deepened golden colour. (A bit more than cream, so about a quarter cup for half a pint of cream). DO NOT STIR THE SUGAR at all!! Just let it sit on the heat. Do not wiggle the pan, just let it sit on the heat.
a quarter cup boiling water. Boiling, not boiled. Boiling. When the sugar is the golden colour, pour the boiling water on it. Stir til smooth. Now add the butter and brown sugar, stirring til smooth. Take off the heat, then add the cream, stirring again til smooth.
Will keep in the fridge about as long as a lemon or lime curd (about a 5-7 days). Warm in a butter melting pan (tiny tiny pan here specifically for melting butter for pancakes and waffles or sour cream porridge and such), or in the oven, as you warm the sticky toffee pudding (cake).
Enjoy!
pitted, chopped dates and/or dried figs (if using dried figs, remove stems). Or prunes, which also work well
2 eggs
vanilla or almond flavouring
salted butter, 70 g, cubed, chilled
3/4 c darkest molasses brown sugar
----
Flour, unsifted, 1 1/4 c
pinch salt
2 tsp baking soda AND 1 tsp baking powder
spices (GINGER, nutmeg, allspice, cinnamon, cardamom, pinch black pepper)
---
Preheat oven to 162C. Line two Victoria Sandwich tins with butter, parchment, butter. Set aside.
In one bowl, add butter, sugar, vanilla. Set aside to warm.
In a saucepan, meanwhile, add the Snake Dog (or whatever you have chosen), chopped dried fruit, stirring til it simmers. Add the baking soda, once simmering. Stir, whilst simmering, for about 5 minutes. Cool slightly, then puree.
In a second bowl, add flours, spices, rest of dry ingredients. Set aside.
Cream butter, sugar, vanilla til fluffy. Add eggs one at a time.
Scraping down the sides of the bowl as you go, alternatively add the flour mixture with the liquid/fruit mixture into the bowl with the dry flour ingredients. Scraping down the bowl often, add, stir, add, stir, til all is incorporated. Cake batter should be well mixed and smooth.
Pour half into each prepared tin. (Cuts the baking time in half) Bake in preheated oven for 15- 20 minutes or til done, depending upon your oven. (For one cake, bake in one tin, for about half an hour to 45 minutes, til toothpick in middle comes out clean).
Serve warm with vanilla bean ice cream and/or warm with any basic carmel sauce.
I like cream in my coffee, but usually have some leftover to get rid of. An easy carmel recipe, for using up the rest of a pint of cream:
Half a container cream, flavoured with vanilla
Heat sugar in a pan til deepened golden colour. (A bit more than cream, so about a quarter cup for half a pint of cream). DO NOT STIR THE SUGAR at all!! Just let it sit on the heat. Do not wiggle the pan, just let it sit on the heat.
a quarter cup boiling water. Boiling, not boiled. Boiling. When the sugar is the golden colour, pour the boiling water on it. Stir til smooth. Now add the butter and brown sugar, stirring til smooth. Take off the heat, then add the cream, stirring again til smooth.
Will keep in the fridge about as long as a lemon or lime curd (about a 5-7 days). Warm in a butter melting pan (tiny tiny pan here specifically for melting butter for pancakes and waffles or sour cream porridge and such), or in the oven, as you warm the sticky toffee pudding (cake).
Enjoy!
Autumn pear & chocolate tart pie or holiday cookies (add pics)
Seasonal pears, dark dark chocolate with the highest cocoa butter content (75-80%) in a lovely delicious brown sugar tart crust.
Crust:
2 1/4 c sifted cake flour
1 3/4 c salted butter, room temp cubed
3/4 c sugar (Tate & Lyle super fine, mixed with basic brown sugar)
half tsp baking powder, dash flaked salt
2 whole eggs
grated peel of an orange (super finely grated)
plus JUST ENOUGH of the juice of the orange to bind the rest of the ingredients (the fresh juice gives a superior flavour to the crust!)
Mix the ingredients as for any pastry crust, mixing as little as possible! Keep cold, chill before baking! Press the crust into the pie pan, CHILL in the fridge, before baking in a preheated 350F oven for about 10 minutes, just til it is barely cooked. Add whatever filling you like. My faves:
- pear and dark chocolate
-chocolate or vanilla cream
-banana cream
-chess
-chestnut cream
-lemon meringue
-cherry
-pecan
-pumpkin
* If I don´t use this recipe, I use Martha Stewart´s pate brisee recipe made with orange zest and enough of the fresh juice of the orange to bind the ingredients. Keep all ingredients, including the juice, cold and it helps the crust taste better with a better texture! Flaky perfect.
* Variation, with either crust: roll out like a cookie dough, gently and as little rolling out as possible. Use knife or cookie cutters, to cut shapes. Brush with eggwash, sprinkle with coloured sugars for holiday cookies (halloween, Christmas, Easter etc)
-------
Crust:
2 1/4 c sifted cake flour
1 3/4 c salted butter, room temp cubed
3/4 c sugar (Tate & Lyle super fine, mixed with basic brown sugar)
half tsp baking powder, dash flaked salt
2 whole eggs
grated peel of an orange (super finely grated)
plus JUST ENOUGH of the juice of the orange to bind the rest of the ingredients (the fresh juice gives a superior flavour to the crust!)
Mix the ingredients as for any pastry crust, mixing as little as possible! Keep cold, chill before baking! Press the crust into the pie pan, CHILL in the fridge, before baking in a preheated 350F oven for about 10 minutes, just til it is barely cooked. Add whatever filling you like. My faves:
- pear and dark chocolate
-chocolate or vanilla cream
-banana cream
-chess
-chestnut cream
-lemon meringue
-cherry
-pecan
-pumpkin
* If I don´t use this recipe, I use Martha Stewart´s pate brisee recipe made with orange zest and enough of the fresh juice of the orange to bind the ingredients. Keep all ingredients, including the juice, cold and it helps the crust taste better with a better texture! Flaky perfect.
* Variation, with either crust: roll out like a cookie dough, gently and as little rolling out as possible. Use knife or cookie cutters, to cut shapes. Brush with eggwash, sprinkle with coloured sugars for holiday cookies (halloween, Christmas, Easter etc)
-------
7 cookies 6: Gingersnaps, harveflarn
Molasses gingerbread (RECIPE)
http://www.delish.com/recipefinder/molasses-gingerbread-cake-mascarpone-cream-recipe
http://www.thewednesdaychef.com/the_wednesday_chef/2009/03/edna-lewis-and-scott-peacocks-dark-molasses-gingerbread.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/25/dining/255krex.html?_r=0
Dark Molasses Gingerbread With Whipped Cream
Adapted from “The Gift of Southern Cooking,” by Edna Lewis and Scott Peacock (Random House, 2003)
Time: About 1 hour
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, more for pan
2 cups all-purpose flour, more for pan
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups dark molasses
Freshly whipped cream, for serving.
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour an 8-by-8-by-2-inch baking pan. Sift flour, baking soda and baking powder into a large mixing bowl. Blend in spices and salt with a wire whisk.
2. In a small pan, bring 1 cup water to a boil. Melt 1/2 cup butter in it, then whisk water into flour mixture. Beat eggs and add to mixture, along with molasses. Whisk until well blended. Pour into pan.
3. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes or until a skewer plunged into center comes out with no trace of raw batter. Interior will be moist. Serve warm with freshly whipped cream.
Yield: 6 to 8 servings.
Note: This cake is also delicious the day after it is baked. The spices meld and the texture gets even more like a steamed pudding.
http://www.amazon.com/Taste-Country-Cooking-30th-Anniversary/dp/0307265609/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1238429916&sr=8-1
http://www.gourmet.com/magazine/video/2008/01/Edna
---------
German molasses gingerbread cookies
thick, chewy cookies with the broken cracked top type of cookie dough recipe
170 g butter, melted
1 cup sugar (all dark brown molasses sugar, or mixed with white vanilla sugar)
a quarter cup dark unsulfured molasses (not treacle or corn syrup. Will work but not the same flavour or texture in the finished cookie)
250 g flour (mix of white, wheat, rye, or just white)
pinch salt
baking soda 2 tsp
spices (GINGER, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, star anise)
sugar to roll the cookies in (Tate and Lye super fine)
375F til done
-----------------
Quaker Oats Vanishing oatmeal cookie
1 stick US size butter, plus 6 TBS butter
3/4 c brown sugar
1/2 c white sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1.5 c flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp gr cinnamon
dash salt
3 c flat oats (not steel cut), uncooked
1 c raisins
My addition: a dash of cloves.
Mix and bake as usual, preheated 350F oven
----------
Havreflarn
75 g smør
100 g havregryn
1 egg
125 g sukker
1 ts bakepulver
ovn 200 grader i veldig få min.
Variation harveflarn: melted dark chocolate between two cookies
--------------------
7 cookies 5: maple pecan sandies shortbread cookies
Yd: apprx 4 doz tiny shortbread cutouts
2 c flour
quarter tsp each flaked salt and baking powder
nutmeg
200g salted French or Norwegian gourmet butter
3 TBS maple syrup
vanilla extract
quarter cup confectioners sugar, sifted til it is smooth
third cup pecans, finely chopped
since it´s for Christmas, the silver dragees which I think are so pretty.
Or u can sprinkle a mixture of finely chopped pecans, coloured sugar on top the cookies before baking
Sift the dry together, add the pecans. Cream the butter and sugars. Add dry to wet. Try to not mix any more than you must. Form dough into 2-4 flattened discs, chill in fridge for half an hour. Roll out to half an inch thick, cut whatever shapes you like with a cookie cutter or a sharp knife. Bake, on prepared baking sheets, in preheated oven til done. About 7 minutes.
Christmas shapes: maple leaves. Draw pattern, cut out with sharp knife.
2 c flour
quarter tsp each flaked salt and baking powder
nutmeg
200g salted French or Norwegian gourmet butter
3 TBS maple syrup
vanilla extract
quarter cup confectioners sugar, sifted til it is smooth
third cup pecans, finely chopped
since it´s for Christmas, the silver dragees which I think are so pretty.
Or u can sprinkle a mixture of finely chopped pecans, coloured sugar on top the cookies before baking
Sift the dry together, add the pecans. Cream the butter and sugars. Add dry to wet. Try to not mix any more than you must. Form dough into 2-4 flattened discs, chill in fridge for half an hour. Roll out to half an inch thick, cut whatever shapes you like with a cookie cutter or a sharp knife. Bake, on prepared baking sheets, in preheated oven til done. About 7 minutes.
Christmas shapes: maple leaves. Draw pattern, cut out with sharp knife.
7 cookies 3: Tollhouse chocolate chip cookies
American chocolate chip cookies are based on the famous Tollhouse chocolate chip recipe. That is the recipe I always use. The only changes I make are I use pecans or no nuts at all. And, instead of chocolate chips, which for the longest time abroad were not available, I now use a bar of dark chocolate, chopped. I do not like my chocolate chip cookies with vast amounts of chocolate chips or chocolate, so I only use one bar. The chocolate is the darkest, with most butter fat I can find---about 70-80% butterfat. I like this better than chocolate chips, but sometimes for nostalgia, and that now the Tollhouse chips are available, I do use them for friends and family, adding the amount the original recipe calls for, or more.
Variations:
White chocolate with macadamia nuts, chopped
pecans, dark chocolate, raisins, and/or oats
pecans drizzled with white chocolate
The original Tollhouse Recipe:
http://www.verybestbaking.com/recipes/18476/Original-NESTLÉ-TOLL-HOUSE-Chocolate-Chip-Cookies/detail.aspx
conversion chart
http://www.traditionaloven.com/conversions_of_measures/butter_converter.html
2 1/4 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup (2 US sticks size of butter, or half a Norwegian size butter, or 226 g) butter
3/4 cup white granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar (not really strong flavour or will taste too strong for this cookie)
1 tsp vanilla
2 large eggs
2 cups Nestle chocolate chips, original flavour (or any you like)
1 cup chopped nuts
375F for 9-11 minutes. (See link for entire recipe. I´ve made them so often, I just mix all the ingredients, form into balls, chill the balls, place the balls on the prepared pans as baking, bake, cool. Repeat til all the dough is baked. Cool then store in airtight tins, or pack in airtight tins for Christmas presents. Tie with pretty ribbons)
Oven conversion F to C. 375F is 190.5C.
Variations:
White chocolate with macadamia nuts, chopped
pecans, dark chocolate, raisins, and/or oats
pecans drizzled with white chocolate
The original Tollhouse Recipe:
http://www.verybestbaking.com/recipes/18476/Original-NESTLÉ-TOLL-HOUSE-Chocolate-Chip-Cookies/detail.aspx
conversion chart
http://www.traditionaloven.com/conversions_of_measures/butter_converter.html
2 1/4 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup (2 US sticks size of butter, or half a Norwegian size butter, or 226 g) butter
3/4 cup white granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar (not really strong flavour or will taste too strong for this cookie)
1 tsp vanilla
2 large eggs
2 cups Nestle chocolate chips, original flavour (or any you like)
1 cup chopped nuts
375F for 9-11 minutes. (See link for entire recipe. I´ve made them so often, I just mix all the ingredients, form into balls, chill the balls, place the balls on the prepared pans as baking, bake, cool. Repeat til all the dough is baked. Cool then store in airtight tins, or pack in airtight tins for Christmas presents. Tie with pretty ribbons)
Oven conversion F to C. 375F is 190.5C.
7 cookies 2: chocolate sugar cookies
Cut outs. Martha Stewart sugar cookie recipe, for sugar cookies.
Martha Stewart sugar cookie recipe, with cocoa in place of some of the flour, for chocolate cookies.
Martha Stewart sugar cookie recipe, with cocoa in place of some of the flour, for chocolate cookies.
7 cookies 1: pepparkaker and similar
PHOTOS
In the third kitchen cabinet drawer down, two drawers under the cutting board which pulls out, I´ve got lots of cookie cutters in all shapes and sizes. Buffalo, long horn steer, Swedish dala horses, stars, moon, shamrock, moose, heart, etc.
Anything I don´t have, I also have graphite pencil, parchment paper and sharp scissors, sharp knives. Decide what you want, draw it (or copy from a drawing if you can´t draw) onto parchment paper, cut out with sharp scissors. When you roll out the dough, take a sharp knife, and either first lightly draw the design with the end of the knife then use the knife to cut out the shape, or just use the knife to cut around the template.
1) Tall tiny troll
The shape I don´t have for cookies which I like is a tall small troll, a bit of a witches hat shape onto a elf like body. I drew them cut them out last year, and decided I will again this year. Either in one of the roll out gingerbread doughs, roll out sugarcookie dough or roll out dark chocolate sugarcookie dough (just add cocoa to Martha Stewart´s roll out sugar cookie dough). As is, or you can decorate with paintbrushes dipped either in sugar glaze plain or coloured, or food coloring used as paint. You can add vanilla or a flavour to the food coloring or sugar glaze.
And/or put a hole in the cookie before baking then tie onto the tree or hang from the fireplace.
2) Heart
Hearts are very popular here, both in Sweden and Norway, for Christmas. Paperhearts made from two different colors of paper, woven together, to form a heart. Some are basic, some are slightly more complicated, some are extremely intricate, depending upon your skill with weaving paper shapes together! I make the basic ones, and am damn proud I can do even that finally! haha
PHOTO of last years
The usual color is white and red, but other colors are used also.
3) Gingerbread man
with heart cutout, raisin on edges feet, hands, head
4) Moose, Long horn steer, Dala
painted with colored glaze, food coloring, or left plain. Sugar cookie or gingerbread
5) Other
put hole in, hang from tree, can eat on Boxing Day
---------------
*Recipe ONE (Swedish)
for slightly thick chewy molasses cookie, roll out cookie dough:
1 3/4 c flour
half c dark molasses brown sugar
quarter c butter, room temp, cubed
1 egg
3/8 c dark molasses (not treacle, molasses!)
half tsp baking soda
dash salt
spices (cinnamon, GINGER, cloves, cardamom, all spice, star anise, nutmeg)
grated orange peel, or lemon peel grated finely
Mix it all as usual, wet then dry, then add together. Chill in fridge, or freeze in a log shape for cutting discs later. Roll out as usual, cut, bake til done, depending on size of cookies. When baking try to have the same size shapes all together or some might get cooked, undercooked and overcooked (burnt) on the tray. If hanging, cut hole for ribbon before baking.
bake in hote oven 350F, about 15 minutes for usual size cookie. Less or more for smaller or larger cookies.
Decorate and hang after cooling down all the way. If you want raisins in any cookies, do that also before baking!
You can decorate before baking also. "Paint" colors of food colouring onto shapes before baking, and it comes out darker, prettier, more integrated into the cookie. Do not do this with sugar glaze, as it will just turn icky or burn during baking.
You can decorate with colored sugar before baking, the coarse demerara sugar as is or colored, or fine sugar, or glitter sugar.
------------------
*Recipe TWO (Swedish)
for thin, crisp cookies, roll out recipe! VERY hard from fridge, so flatten into discs before putting in the fridge. Great for gingerbread and other cutouts, for gifting or hanging on the tree. Not chewy but crisp once baked. Not good for raisin faces/decorating with raisins before baking, as too thin to hold the raisins, once cooled the raisins fall off. The above recipe cookie once cooled are more thick and puffy, chewy type of gingerbread cookie. This recipe is closer to Norwegian pepparkaker. Would work for small gingerbread houses too.
2 sticks US size butter, or half a block of Norwegian smør. (1 cup butter, or 226.8 grams, or 16 TBS)
spices (GINGER, cinnamon, CARDAMOM, cloves, nutmeg, allspice, star anise)
dash salt
1 cup white sugar (if changing this to brown sugar at all or mixing, this will change the finished cookie. It is using ONLY white sugar which makes the cookie crisp, thin, breakable type cookie)
1 cup treacle (don´t waste molasses on this recipe, or just add a TBS for extra flavour instead of some of the treacle or similar)
1 egg large, or 2 small eggs (any fluffy beaten egg, or more egg, will also change the consistency of cookie. Do not use more egg or beat the egg first, just mix it in)
Heavy cream. 3 TBS. (Fløtt not matcreme)
FLOUR UNSIFTED do not sift! (it will change the cookie once cooled, to a more fluffy cookie) 5 cups of unsifted ww flour (what is really just dark looking white flour, or cake flour is fine)
1 tsp baking soda
1)
Melt the butter in a pan on the stovetop, add the spices, salt, sugar, treacle. Bring to a boil, stirring lots to not burn it. Set aside to cool, for a few hours, til warm to the touch.
2) Add the baking soda to the flour, and another dash salt, mix with wooden spoon.
3) Add the egg and cream together into the melted butter mixture. Slowly add this to the flour mixture, by hand with a wooden spoon. Form into a dough, then break off into smaller pieces, which you flatten into discs, then put in fridge. This dough gets hard once cold, so it will be easier to roll out in smaller pieces which are already in a abit of a roll out shape which is flattened already! Refrigerate, or freeze at this point for Christmas cookie use when time.
4)When time, or the next day, take out one piece at a time, roll out, to 1/4" thickness or thinner is ok, cut out shapes. The thinner this dough the crisper the cookie. Try to not use any more extra flour than necessary when rolling and cutting out.
5) Bake in the preheated oven, 325F /162C. til done. About 8-10 minutes for a usual sized cookie. More or less for other sized cookies, but make sure the cookies are the same size or some will be burnt and others not cooked enough if on the same tray.
Cool, decorate as usual. Same instructions as above, for decorating, hanging etc. YD: average for usual shape size cookies is 8-9 dozen. Less cookies the larger the cookie. Will make about 5 dozen of the large Dalas, long horn steer, buffalo etc sized cookies. about 12 dozen of the tiny stars or hearts.
Recipe is enough for one average usual sized gingerbread house! Basic winter chalet drawing cutouts for two sides, two long narrow rectangles for front and back, two large rectangles for roof, with leftovers for making window frames or details like cobbled roof tiles.
---------------------
* Recipe THREE
My Italian recipe
Stem ginger recipe
great for something in between the two above. Cut out flowers, thin crisp but chewy still.
butter, 3/4 cup, room temp cubes
1 egg
1 cup sugar (half of white Tate& Lye fine, half of darkest brown molasses granulated sugar)
spices (GINGER, cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, all spice, nutmeg, star anise)
fresh ginger, stem ginger in sugar or similar, about an inch or 2.
dark sulfur molasses (not treacle or corn syrup), 4 TBS
2 c flour, unsifted white or cake or a mix of ww and either of the first two
dash salt, 3 tsp baking soda
1) Mix all the ingredients, in whatever order is easiest. I mix everything by hand with wooden spoons, so it is easiest for me to mix the sugar, flour, spices, salt, baking soda. Crumble in the butter. Mix in the egg, molasses last.
2)chill overnight in discs, as in above recipes, roll out 1/8" or 1/4"cut etc as in above recipes.
3) Bake 325F/162C preheated oven, as above, til done, time depending on size of cookies.
----------------
Recipe FOUR
For the trolls and moose cutouts! Thin, Norwegian recipe!
140 g smør (half cup plus 1 TBS)
115ml treacle (half cup)
600 g sukker (1 1/3 c)
85 ml fløtt (third cup plus 1 TBS)
cloves, black pepper, GINGER, cinnamon, cardamom, salt
1 tsp baking powder (if you put more, the finished cookie will be puffier than I like)
450 g flour
1) Cream butter, treacle, sugar, spices, baking powder, salt
2) stir in cream fløtt etc and flour. Mix well.
3) form into flatten disks etc as other recipes...
4)180C preheated oven, til done, depending on size and shape of cookies, as in other recipes.
------------
TIPS: roll out a little of the dough at a time, on parchment paper, both under and over, so it does not pull apart or stick to anything. Use a spatula to remove the finished cut outs. OR, roll them on parchement on the baking sheet, then pull off the excess from around the cookie cutter if the cutter is very intricate or difficult to use. I do the latter when I am drawing and cutting out my own shapes with a sharp knife, as it is easiest! This works with sugar cookie dough, gingerbread dough. lots of roll out cookie dough that I use.
In the third kitchen cabinet drawer down, two drawers under the cutting board which pulls out, I´ve got lots of cookie cutters in all shapes and sizes. Buffalo, long horn steer, Swedish dala horses, stars, moon, shamrock, moose, heart, etc.
Anything I don´t have, I also have graphite pencil, parchment paper and sharp scissors, sharp knives. Decide what you want, draw it (or copy from a drawing if you can´t draw) onto parchment paper, cut out with sharp scissors. When you roll out the dough, take a sharp knife, and either first lightly draw the design with the end of the knife then use the knife to cut out the shape, or just use the knife to cut around the template.
1) Tall tiny troll
The shape I don´t have for cookies which I like is a tall small troll, a bit of a witches hat shape onto a elf like body. I drew them cut them out last year, and decided I will again this year. Either in one of the roll out gingerbread doughs, roll out sugarcookie dough or roll out dark chocolate sugarcookie dough (just add cocoa to Martha Stewart´s roll out sugar cookie dough). As is, or you can decorate with paintbrushes dipped either in sugar glaze plain or coloured, or food coloring used as paint. You can add vanilla or a flavour to the food coloring or sugar glaze.
And/or put a hole in the cookie before baking then tie onto the tree or hang from the fireplace.
2) Heart
Hearts are very popular here, both in Sweden and Norway, for Christmas. Paperhearts made from two different colors of paper, woven together, to form a heart. Some are basic, some are slightly more complicated, some are extremely intricate, depending upon your skill with weaving paper shapes together! I make the basic ones, and am damn proud I can do even that finally! haha
PHOTO of last years
The usual color is white and red, but other colors are used also.
3) Gingerbread man
with heart cutout, raisin on edges feet, hands, head
4) Moose, Long horn steer, Dala
painted with colored glaze, food coloring, or left plain. Sugar cookie or gingerbread
5) Other
put hole in, hang from tree, can eat on Boxing Day
---------------
*Recipe ONE (Swedish)
for slightly thick chewy molasses cookie, roll out cookie dough:
1 3/4 c flour
half c dark molasses brown sugar
quarter c butter, room temp, cubed
1 egg
3/8 c dark molasses (not treacle, molasses!)
half tsp baking soda
dash salt
spices (cinnamon, GINGER, cloves, cardamom, all spice, star anise, nutmeg)
grated orange peel, or lemon peel grated finely
Mix it all as usual, wet then dry, then add together. Chill in fridge, or freeze in a log shape for cutting discs later. Roll out as usual, cut, bake til done, depending on size of cookies. When baking try to have the same size shapes all together or some might get cooked, undercooked and overcooked (burnt) on the tray. If hanging, cut hole for ribbon before baking.
bake in hote oven 350F, about 15 minutes for usual size cookie. Less or more for smaller or larger cookies.
Decorate and hang after cooling down all the way. If you want raisins in any cookies, do that also before baking!
You can decorate before baking also. "Paint" colors of food colouring onto shapes before baking, and it comes out darker, prettier, more integrated into the cookie. Do not do this with sugar glaze, as it will just turn icky or burn during baking.
You can decorate with colored sugar before baking, the coarse demerara sugar as is or colored, or fine sugar, or glitter sugar.
------------------
*Recipe TWO (Swedish)
for thin, crisp cookies, roll out recipe! VERY hard from fridge, so flatten into discs before putting in the fridge. Great for gingerbread and other cutouts, for gifting or hanging on the tree. Not chewy but crisp once baked. Not good for raisin faces/decorating with raisins before baking, as too thin to hold the raisins, once cooled the raisins fall off. The above recipe cookie once cooled are more thick and puffy, chewy type of gingerbread cookie. This recipe is closer to Norwegian pepparkaker. Would work for small gingerbread houses too.
2 sticks US size butter, or half a block of Norwegian smør. (1 cup butter, or 226.8 grams, or 16 TBS)
spices (GINGER, cinnamon, CARDAMOM, cloves, nutmeg, allspice, star anise)
dash salt
1 cup white sugar (if changing this to brown sugar at all or mixing, this will change the finished cookie. It is using ONLY white sugar which makes the cookie crisp, thin, breakable type cookie)
1 cup treacle (don´t waste molasses on this recipe, or just add a TBS for extra flavour instead of some of the treacle or similar)
1 egg large, or 2 small eggs (any fluffy beaten egg, or more egg, will also change the consistency of cookie. Do not use more egg or beat the egg first, just mix it in)
Heavy cream. 3 TBS. (Fløtt not matcreme)
FLOUR UNSIFTED do not sift! (it will change the cookie once cooled, to a more fluffy cookie) 5 cups of unsifted ww flour (what is really just dark looking white flour, or cake flour is fine)
1 tsp baking soda
1)
Melt the butter in a pan on the stovetop, add the spices, salt, sugar, treacle. Bring to a boil, stirring lots to not burn it. Set aside to cool, for a few hours, til warm to the touch.
2) Add the baking soda to the flour, and another dash salt, mix with wooden spoon.
3) Add the egg and cream together into the melted butter mixture. Slowly add this to the flour mixture, by hand with a wooden spoon. Form into a dough, then break off into smaller pieces, which you flatten into discs, then put in fridge. This dough gets hard once cold, so it will be easier to roll out in smaller pieces which are already in a abit of a roll out shape which is flattened already! Refrigerate, or freeze at this point for Christmas cookie use when time.
4)When time, or the next day, take out one piece at a time, roll out, to 1/4" thickness or thinner is ok, cut out shapes. The thinner this dough the crisper the cookie. Try to not use any more extra flour than necessary when rolling and cutting out.
5) Bake in the preheated oven, 325F /162C. til done. About 8-10 minutes for a usual sized cookie. More or less for other sized cookies, but make sure the cookies are the same size or some will be burnt and others not cooked enough if on the same tray.
Cool, decorate as usual. Same instructions as above, for decorating, hanging etc. YD: average for usual shape size cookies is 8-9 dozen. Less cookies the larger the cookie. Will make about 5 dozen of the large Dalas, long horn steer, buffalo etc sized cookies. about 12 dozen of the tiny stars or hearts.
Recipe is enough for one average usual sized gingerbread house! Basic winter chalet drawing cutouts for two sides, two long narrow rectangles for front and back, two large rectangles for roof, with leftovers for making window frames or details like cobbled roof tiles.
---------------------
* Recipe THREE
My Italian recipe
Stem ginger recipe
great for something in between the two above. Cut out flowers, thin crisp but chewy still.
butter, 3/4 cup, room temp cubes
1 egg
1 cup sugar (half of white Tate& Lye fine, half of darkest brown molasses granulated sugar)
spices (GINGER, cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, all spice, nutmeg, star anise)
fresh ginger, stem ginger in sugar or similar, about an inch or 2.
dark sulfur molasses (not treacle or corn syrup), 4 TBS
2 c flour, unsifted white or cake or a mix of ww and either of the first two
dash salt, 3 tsp baking soda
1) Mix all the ingredients, in whatever order is easiest. I mix everything by hand with wooden spoons, so it is easiest for me to mix the sugar, flour, spices, salt, baking soda. Crumble in the butter. Mix in the egg, molasses last.
2)chill overnight in discs, as in above recipes, roll out 1/8" or 1/4"cut etc as in above recipes.
3) Bake 325F/162C preheated oven, as above, til done, time depending on size of cookies.
----------------
Recipe FOUR
For the trolls and moose cutouts! Thin, Norwegian recipe!
140 g smør (half cup plus 1 TBS)
115ml treacle (half cup)
600 g sukker (1 1/3 c)
85 ml fløtt (third cup plus 1 TBS)
cloves, black pepper, GINGER, cinnamon, cardamom, salt
1 tsp baking powder (if you put more, the finished cookie will be puffier than I like)
450 g flour
1) Cream butter, treacle, sugar, spices, baking powder, salt
2) stir in cream fløtt etc and flour. Mix well.
3) form into flatten disks etc as other recipes...
4)180C preheated oven, til done, depending on size and shape of cookies, as in other recipes.
------------
TIPS: roll out a little of the dough at a time, on parchment paper, both under and over, so it does not pull apart or stick to anything. Use a spatula to remove the finished cut outs. OR, roll them on parchement on the baking sheet, then pull off the excess from around the cookie cutter if the cutter is very intricate or difficult to use. I do the latter when I am drawing and cutting out my own shapes with a sharp knife, as it is easiest! This works with sugar cookie dough, gingerbread dough. lots of roll out cookie dough that I use.
7 traditional Jul cookies for Christmastime
Hmmm. Yes it is actually only barely not even October! But in a few days, September will be gone, it will actually be October, and soon it will be Christmastime. Holiday time already begins in October with halloween, Day of the Dead, thanksgiving, then Jul time (Christmas, pinse, lussekatter for St Lucia, blabh blabh blabh whateverelse I´ve forgotten, Christmaseve before Christmas eve, Christmas eve as Norwegian Christmas dinner, US Christmas eve which is Christmas eve, Christmas Day, Boxing day....New Years Eve, New Years day meal).
wow. that´s alotta cooking, baking, and making cookies. Norwegian Jul traditionally has 7 cookies. I´m not very good at making Norwegian cookies, but I make Swedish pepperkaker, Martha Stewart cookies, and other American favourites of mine, such as the must-have-and-much-loved Tollhouse chocolate chip cookies though I make them with chopped dark chocolate bars not chocolate chips.
So, this post is to remind me that it is time to decide what SEVEN cookies I will make this year!
1) pepparkakor, pepparkaker, gingerbread thins.
This is a cookie dough which is chilled in the fridge, then rolled out for cut cookies. This is NOT suitable for gingerbread houses, though technically yes it is a gingerbread cookie. For gingerbread houses, both for halloween and Christmas, I use a different recipe which is stronger, and is suitiable for this climate. In hot climes, many great recipes will simply not work due to humidity, and will start collapsing within a day or few hours. Halloween gingerbread houses are so fun to make though, and if you use a cookie recipe, are fun to eat, and actually taste good. The Christmas gingerbread house I make has a stronger, thicker baked recipe suitable for larger cookies, and to be sturdy enough to hold up a roof with edible decorations. Everything is edible.
Wintertime here we have the pepperkaker byen, gingerbread village, (spelling!) made from lots and lots of gingerbread architecture, boats, ships, towers, horse drawn carriages, farm equipment, carnival rides with tiny gingerbread kids, houses, pets, people....whatever happens someone, usually kids, has made that year!
Post photos from last year.
2) Chocolate sugar cookies, sugar cookies (same recipe, but one has cocoa in place of some of the flour)
3) Tollhouse cookie recipe, with my alterations.
4)peanut butter cookies
5)pecan sandies
6)gingersnaps, harveflarn
7) ?
wow. that´s alotta cooking, baking, and making cookies. Norwegian Jul traditionally has 7 cookies. I´m not very good at making Norwegian cookies, but I make Swedish pepperkaker, Martha Stewart cookies, and other American favourites of mine, such as the must-have-and-much-loved Tollhouse chocolate chip cookies though I make them with chopped dark chocolate bars not chocolate chips.
So, this post is to remind me that it is time to decide what SEVEN cookies I will make this year!
1) pepparkakor, pepparkaker, gingerbread thins.
This is a cookie dough which is chilled in the fridge, then rolled out for cut cookies. This is NOT suitable for gingerbread houses, though technically yes it is a gingerbread cookie. For gingerbread houses, both for halloween and Christmas, I use a different recipe which is stronger, and is suitiable for this climate. In hot climes, many great recipes will simply not work due to humidity, and will start collapsing within a day or few hours. Halloween gingerbread houses are so fun to make though, and if you use a cookie recipe, are fun to eat, and actually taste good. The Christmas gingerbread house I make has a stronger, thicker baked recipe suitable for larger cookies, and to be sturdy enough to hold up a roof with edible decorations. Everything is edible.
Wintertime here we have the pepperkaker byen, gingerbread village, (spelling!) made from lots and lots of gingerbread architecture, boats, ships, towers, horse drawn carriages, farm equipment, carnival rides with tiny gingerbread kids, houses, pets, people....whatever happens someone, usually kids, has made that year!
Post photos from last year.
2) Chocolate sugar cookies, sugar cookies (same recipe, but one has cocoa in place of some of the flour)
3) Tollhouse cookie recipe, with my alterations.
4)peanut butter cookies
5)pecan sandies
6)gingersnaps, harveflarn
7) ?
food: traditional soup in wooden cup, berries (add pics)
NOTE TO ME ADD PHOTOS OF OUTSIDE, LUNCH
Study/blog/lunch break today I fixed a quick homemade soup of potato, served in one of the old-fashioned traditional wooden handled wood cups lying around the kitchen. I used the larger size for the soup, and the smaller size for fresh loganberries (blackberries?) and raspberries, I just found in the yard. Last of this summers berries, yet, even with the rains, hail sleet and cold, still delicious, not water-logged, not mouldy, and not mealey bugs. yay! See what happens when I go out to take what I thought was icky photos for the blog?! I find winter apples, along side new juniper berries, and delicious summer berries still on the vines. Here raspberries and similar grow in vines, which might often appear to be shrubs or bushes but are just a huge tangle of brambles which are still single vines. Blueberries grow on tiny shrubs close to the ground, slightly different looking that ones I´ve seen in Southern US states, Colorado, California, New York etc. Still taste great!
Last year about this time, walking along the sea at Bontelabo in Bergen, the littles and I found what we thought were white raspberries (which I know exist and have had before) but were actually molteberries (cloud berries in English), which we love. Well, honestly we love all berries, all the better if we pick them in the wild, and like spending the day finding them! The berries usually never get past us eating them, to be made into fancy or even plain pie. I think I managed enough berries for a bramble pie, but only after picking (ie eating) berries for about an hour til we got full enough we couldn´t eat any more. It takes a while to pick berries--thorns, finding the vines, wading through brambles, over hills, along ridges, paying attention to not fall off the mountain, for instance,).
Our yard is rampant all over with raspberries, blueberries, lingonberries, lots of berries I have no idea what they are called in any language but they are safe to eat; red currants, blackcurrants, gooseberries in different colors including red; apples, plums, wild mints, beautiful numerous endless types of bulbs, flowers, roses, and weeds which look like flowers to me such as foxgloves in shades of purple, white, pink which grow wild and are considered weeds! (They are flowers to me!).
The blueberries have a fancy metal picker you hold which carefully strips all the leaves and berries, leaving the berries in the main holder, leaves falling to the ground. We rarely use that, even though it makes a quick job, a minute or so, of any blueberry bush. The corners and other areas of the yard are covered in what might be considered a wild ground cover of short wild blueberry bushes, all covered in hundreds of tiny blueberries, a bit larger than the wild Canadian blueberries you might have gotten in cans in packages of blueberry mix. The berries are no where near huge, but are wonderful deep flavour, that remind me of the blueberry girl in the original movie about Willy Wonka and the chocolate factory, as the tiny berries have so much blueberry color and flavour!
Even from a baby, they´ve all enjoyed spending hours searching for, picking and eating their own berries!
At home it´s a bit easier, as there are fruit and berries all over. Raspberries on long 3 or 5 foot tall branches sticking up out of the ground. Huge bushes of red or black currants, red or green gooseberries which here are sweet and mild, not sour and strong as other places where I´ve tasted them! My aunties in the Northern US states used to make gooseberries into pies, and all kinds of desserts, preserves, jams. They normally were some of the best cooks, bakers, canners of preserves etc, but the gooseberry items were always so sour, loud, strong; as the berries were never sweet. I wonder now they maybe picked the berries too soon. The ones here are so delicious, sweet, morish, I have yet to rarely get to have enough to make jam, as we eat them all straight from the bushes!
Wild rhubarb, herbs including spearmint & wild nettles which is great for tea.
Summers we often hunt for other places to find berries, along our walks. Our walks are not to just get to somewhere, from place to place, but also the walks in themselves are time to explore, enjoy.
Along the walk down to the bus stop, are many wild berries, tiny alpine strawberries, raspberries. Along the walk across the local closest mountain, are raspberries, blackberries, blueberries all over; and several places along the jagged rock with overhanging berries such as sweet juicy red gooseberries, blackberries, black currants. Surrounding most trees are vines of various berries, and there are trees everywhere along the way. Even within the city of Bergen even in the most built-up places are nature, hidden forest walks, parks, fruit, berries if you look. There are even morello cherry trees here, with delicious ripe cherries you can pick from the trees in summer, if you know where to look. It´s ok to pick for yourself, and maybe even a national pasttime it is such a usual thing to do. My father was German so we did stuff like this in the US and I grew up with this as a normal thing to do, what with all my aunties who gardened, picked their own, canned and preserved everything from berries, fruit, peaches, sweet blue pickles, sour dill garlic pickles, meats, mincemeat, corn, beans, jerky, rosehip jelly, concord grape juice and jams,etc.
Some of my fondest memories of growing up are:
- being able to explore (woods, mountains, rivers, beach, lakes, forest, fields, etc)
-Sports (watching and playing: baseball, basketball, skating, swimming, running, hockey etc)
-food (picking wild food or from the garden, gardening, cooking, canning with family)
-nature and being outdoors (in all types of weather, terrain)
I always dreamed of living in a place that had sea, mountains, forest, beach, seasons. Or living in a place which was HOT and had snow * at the same time*. I found that place, it was Colorado and New Mexico, and California. Beautiful, spectacular, great place to live as an artist/painter painting, exploring, making pottery from the clay earth firing it inside the ground; sculpting, trying my hand at making furniture, enjoying the architecture of the natural mountains, earth, land, man-made pueblos, and adobes. Living in all these places, the heart of NYC in Times Square, was great. But once I lived in Sweden, nothing compared. Til I lived in Norway, with all my memories of elsewhere and all that I have now here. This is my home now, and my kids home:).
All of this is what Norway is, and that is why I love living here. It is like being an adult back in my childhood with all those fond memories then being able to here and now share and pass on to my 4 kids!
Winter = ice hockey, skating, skiing, snowboard, snowshoeing, snow ice cream, snow cones made from snow and kool-aid or juice; bundling up visiting hyttes with hot cocoa, hot coffee, hot gløgg in thermos; thick winter woolens under thick winter coats, huge winter boots, woolen hats and mittens. And snow. Lots of snow. A bit of rain, sleet, hail too, but snow. yay for winter. But still is fun to enjoy the last of the warm summer days sneaking in randomly now that it is becoming autumn now...
See my previous posts on winter, for ski areas, free things to do in winter here and where, how to get there etc.
----------
Traditional Soup recipes:
My throw together recipes, you get the idea
1) Fisk chowder
In a stockpot, throw in the veggies you´ve got/like. I typically use celery, carrot, leek, onion, shallot, and any other root veggies, such as parsnips, rutabaga which I can never spell, celeriac as I wanted to try it. Potatoes, red and yellow if I´ve got them, especially if they are wilty looking and need to most definitely be used up soon! Salt, pepper, herbs. Dill is good, but put it in near the end. Coriander seeds is good too (not traditional, I just like the flavour it adds). Maybe a splash of pepper sauce (tabasco or similar hot sauce).
Make the stock, I don´t puree it. When cooled off not simmering, add milk and/or heavy cream, butter, a bit more chopped herbs, and barely cooked fish. I prefer salmon, or whatever looks best that day from the sea. Sometimes the kids pick mussels at the beach here, or other shellfish. We get pink sea urchins, bivalves, blue mussels, crabs etc different times of the year. Whatever you like, whatever you have, throw it in.
If I have any seafood besides fish, I make the stock much much more spicy, like a crabboil type of spicey. yum!
2) Potato chowder, which I made today:
Quick easy. There were a handful of so of wilty red and yellow potatoes I needed to use up, for they sprouted! Threw them into pot, above a water bath to steam. Smashed the softened cooked potatoes, skin and all (leaving the skins on is not done here, so for company I would peel the potatoes!), added salted butter, whole milk, double cream, seasoning, fresh herbs dill and thyme. No onions or shallot this time, as I just couldn´t be bothered to saute them, but that would have been better. As it was, it still was delicious, on this chilly day, snuggled up like I was in front of the fireplace.
3) Lapskaus
Very traditional, extremely popular root vegetable soup here. You can add meat on the bone, but I usually make it with just root veggies.
My version, typically, again, throw together leftovers that I need to use up. I rarely go to the store to specifically get the ingredients for this. Sometimes. But usually I make soup, chowder, stew to use up bits and pieces, so they do not go rotten, get wasted, have to be thrown out. Food is expensive!
So the last time I made this:
storefekjøtt (meat on the bone) because I had it
smør (butter)
potet (some red and some yellow random potatoes I needed to use up)
fresh herbs (dill, chive, chervil, parsley, cilantro, thyme, oregano) as I grow them in the kitchen
persillerot (parsnips)
gulrot (carrots)
kålrot (kalarobi)
salt, pepper, seasoning
onions, shallot
Washed, roughly cut up everything. Put it in a large pot with water to simmer for a few hours, adding the fresh herbs and parsnips in the end. Seasoned again, added some water when needed.
This is really good, cheap, quick, easy to make! It is good with just the veggies, or with meat on the bone, such as mutton or beef.
4) Another traditional meat on the bone stew here:
Mutton on the bone, onions, canned crushed tomatoes, potatoes, green bell pepper. Throw all this into a large stew pot, with water, salt, pepper. Simmer for a few hours, til the meat falls off the bone. Serve over rice, pasta or mashed potatoes (leave out the potatoes in the recipe then).
Beef on the bone is also great in this stew. The bell pepper, and tomatoes combination really makes this stew one of my favourites especially in winter. I make it several times a month. I rarely vary this recipe ingredients, as this exact combination is perfect. T makes it lots, and now I do too.
You can also make this from frozen meat on the bone, adding the frozen meat first, then all the ingredients on top, so it all fits into the stew pot. Add water as needed.
Fika5: Kanelknuter & iced tea; Lom fjord bakery link (add pics)
EDIT NOTES FOR ME. ADD PHOTOS OF A FEW STAGES OF THE BUNS, PLUS PHOTOS OF OUTSIDE NATURE SEASONAL.
A bit chilly, overcast, white grey skies out now. As I type, and look out my window, I can see the fall colours finally breaking through with a vengeance. Spectacular vibrant blood orange, lime yellows, lime, tangerine, red berries, white berries....amongst all the greens. A few summer flowers, a few late vibrant roses which have as wonderful a fragrance as colour are still in bloom here and there. The highest mountains now have a slight bit of snow. I love and look forward to all the seasons, but as I thrill at the new season to be, I also am a bit sad to see the lovely former season go also. Especially here, as much as I love the winter snows, it comes with a bitter pill of blackness long dark hours of black with hardly any actual daylight hours. I am used to it now, and find the darkness romantic, snuggly, comforting. But I also am fine to have the summertime with its endless hours of daylight so much so that darkness hardly exists during that season. Now it is near more common shared darkness with daylight hours--actual hours of dark for night, rather than having daylight all hours or most hours.
Kanelknuter, twisted gnarled balls of delicious baked cinnamon dough sprinkled with decorative demerara sugar, says winter to me for some reason! It´s good anytime of year, but usually I seem to gravitate towards them closer to wintertime, in autumn, which is the season now. Or Indian summer really now. Yesterday was hot, warm, sunny blue skies, and could have been July. Even though we had snow, hail, cold strong winds the day before. It is a mix of seasons trying to decide which one will win and how soon winter will finally be upon us.
Before I forget, I will go out and take photos! I forgot to take photos of the apples, plums, berries on the trees this year, so won´t have photos for the blog unless I can find some from last year, which were so fine and pretty!
brb.
Right. Am back. With the photos, will upload in a minute.
Back to the kanelknuter. Kanel is Norwegian for cinnamon. Knuter is the gnarled twisted shape of the cinnamon bun. Here on the surrounding islands we call it kanelknuter. In other parts of Norway this bun is called smørboller, snurrboller, kanelsnurrer etc. You can search for your own recipe to try, but an excellent cookbook, and recipe for this and other traditional Norwegian breads and buns is:
Morten Schakenda´s cookbook "Om boller, brød og tilfeldigheter fra bakeriet i Lom." Again, here is a youtube video of The Hairy Bikers cooking with Morten Schakenda in this Lom bakery.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5inYTB1zGM
The scenery surrounding the back of the bakery, looking out the back window, as they prepare the breads, is spectacular. Awesome in every sense of the word! There are many places here everywhere I look which look similar but it never ceases to amaze me, never bores me, at how spectacular even the ordinary every day scenery is around here! Wow! Their view as they bake is of a strong flowing fjord loudly raging along the mountain which encloses this beast of a river, speckled with birch and other trees, which are hardly noticed against the waters! Truly lovely, wild, beautiful.
So they bake the buns. In this clip I think it is skillingsboler first. For all the breads and buns, as I try if time, always try to low proof them atleast overnight or even a few days! It gives a best flavour, even he agrees. I will post a cold proofing pizza dough recipe I started using, which is amazing. The cold slow proofing of the pizza recipe, overnight is great, but if you cold slow proof it for 2-3 days in the fridge, it gives it a sour dough flavour without having to make the sour dough starter liquid.
The FIRST technique in the clip is the forming the skillingsboller, and the SECOND bun made is this kanelknuter (Bergen area local name) aka kanelsnurrer. The video shows exactly how to cut then twist the dough strips around your hand forming the gnarly twisted bun for baking so it does not come apart during baking. There are different ways to twist it, but they are all difficult to explain in words. This video clip is perfect, showing the technique, which can be a bit fiddly and seem weird impossible to learn. It´s quite easy once you get the hang of it.
All buns are using the same basic dough. It is what you do with the dough, that makes the specific buns.
All the buns are gorgeous and delicious! He sprinkles all of them with demerara sugar, but I often leave it out or just use for the kanelknuter. Either way is fine, do what you like. The buns are sparkly and pretty with the sugar, just usually I forget to buy the course sugar so don´t have it on baking day!
Fantastic video, thanks to lesterfontayne for adding it to youtube, so I can link it!:) Of course thanks to The Hairy Bikers, and tusen takk ogsa til Morten Schakenda i Lom bakeriet. Fløtt, skjempabra!
Edit:
here is a timelapse quick view of how the kanelknuter are made (from the finished dough) from the Kaffebønna bakery in Tromsø, Norway. Takk selvfolgelig til moppedanne også.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrX7Tp3dNO0&feature=related
A bit chilly, overcast, white grey skies out now. As I type, and look out my window, I can see the fall colours finally breaking through with a vengeance. Spectacular vibrant blood orange, lime yellows, lime, tangerine, red berries, white berries....amongst all the greens. A few summer flowers, a few late vibrant roses which have as wonderful a fragrance as colour are still in bloom here and there. The highest mountains now have a slight bit of snow. I love and look forward to all the seasons, but as I thrill at the new season to be, I also am a bit sad to see the lovely former season go also. Especially here, as much as I love the winter snows, it comes with a bitter pill of blackness long dark hours of black with hardly any actual daylight hours. I am used to it now, and find the darkness romantic, snuggly, comforting. But I also am fine to have the summertime with its endless hours of daylight so much so that darkness hardly exists during that season. Now it is near more common shared darkness with daylight hours--actual hours of dark for night, rather than having daylight all hours or most hours.
Kanelknuter, twisted gnarled balls of delicious baked cinnamon dough sprinkled with decorative demerara sugar, says winter to me for some reason! It´s good anytime of year, but usually I seem to gravitate towards them closer to wintertime, in autumn, which is the season now. Or Indian summer really now. Yesterday was hot, warm, sunny blue skies, and could have been July. Even though we had snow, hail, cold strong winds the day before. It is a mix of seasons trying to decide which one will win and how soon winter will finally be upon us.
Before I forget, I will go out and take photos! I forgot to take photos of the apples, plums, berries on the trees this year, so won´t have photos for the blog unless I can find some from last year, which were so fine and pretty!
brb.
Right. Am back. With the photos, will upload in a minute.
Back to the kanelknuter. Kanel is Norwegian for cinnamon. Knuter is the gnarled twisted shape of the cinnamon bun. Here on the surrounding islands we call it kanelknuter. In other parts of Norway this bun is called smørboller, snurrboller, kanelsnurrer etc. You can search for your own recipe to try, but an excellent cookbook, and recipe for this and other traditional Norwegian breads and buns is:
Morten Schakenda´s cookbook "Om boller, brød og tilfeldigheter fra bakeriet i Lom." Again, here is a youtube video of The Hairy Bikers cooking with Morten Schakenda in this Lom bakery.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5inYTB1zGM
The scenery surrounding the back of the bakery, looking out the back window, as they prepare the breads, is spectacular. Awesome in every sense of the word! There are many places here everywhere I look which look similar but it never ceases to amaze me, never bores me, at how spectacular even the ordinary every day scenery is around here! Wow! Their view as they bake is of a strong flowing fjord loudly raging along the mountain which encloses this beast of a river, speckled with birch and other trees, which are hardly noticed against the waters! Truly lovely, wild, beautiful.
So they bake the buns. In this clip I think it is skillingsboler first. For all the breads and buns, as I try if time, always try to low proof them atleast overnight or even a few days! It gives a best flavour, even he agrees. I will post a cold proofing pizza dough recipe I started using, which is amazing. The cold slow proofing of the pizza recipe, overnight is great, but if you cold slow proof it for 2-3 days in the fridge, it gives it a sour dough flavour without having to make the sour dough starter liquid.
The FIRST technique in the clip is the forming the skillingsboller, and the SECOND bun made is this kanelknuter (Bergen area local name) aka kanelsnurrer. The video shows exactly how to cut then twist the dough strips around your hand forming the gnarly twisted bun for baking so it does not come apart during baking. There are different ways to twist it, but they are all difficult to explain in words. This video clip is perfect, showing the technique, which can be a bit fiddly and seem weird impossible to learn. It´s quite easy once you get the hang of it.
All buns are using the same basic dough. It is what you do with the dough, that makes the specific buns.
All the buns are gorgeous and delicious! He sprinkles all of them with demerara sugar, but I often leave it out or just use for the kanelknuter. Either way is fine, do what you like. The buns are sparkly and pretty with the sugar, just usually I forget to buy the course sugar so don´t have it on baking day!
Fantastic video, thanks to lesterfontayne for adding it to youtube, so I can link it!:) Of course thanks to The Hairy Bikers, and tusen takk ogsa til Morten Schakenda i Lom bakeriet. Fløtt, skjempabra!
Edit:
here is a timelapse quick view of how the kanelknuter are made (from the finished dough) from the Kaffebønna bakery in Tromsø, Norway. Takk selvfolgelig til moppedanne også.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrX7Tp3dNO0&feature=related
Fika4: prinsesseboller & coffee (add pics)
EDIT NOTES FOR ME. ADD PHOTOS OF A FEW STAGES OF THE BUNS, PLUS PHOTOS OF OUTSIDE NATURE SEASONAL.
Fika3: lussekatter & hot cocoa (add pics)
EDIT NOTES FOR ME. ADD PHOTOS OF A FEW STAGES OF THE BUNS, PLUS PHOTOS OF OUTSIDE NATURE SEASONAL.
Photos I want: lussekatter, clementines with whole cloves, red & white candy canes, pepperkakker flowers.
Photos I want: lussekatter, clementines with whole cloves, red & white candy canes, pepperkakker flowers.
Fika2: rosinboller & cafe au lait (add pics)
EDIT NOTES FOR ME. ADD PHOTOS OF A FEW STAGES OF THE BUNS, PLUS PHOTOS OF OUTSIDE NATURE SEASONAL.
Fika is done on most days here, once or thrice a day. Fika, as I´ve gone on about in other posts here, is both a verb and noun. Coffee break with something sweet like a kanelknuter, skillingsboller, or rosinboller. To Fika, to enjoy that coffee break, to drink your coffee and eat your cake or bun.
Today´s Fika is my favourite cafe au lait, and a very common bun here the rosinboller (raisin bun). You can get them at any cafe, convenience store or bakery. Or you can bake your own. Here is my recipe:
1) Make your coffee.
I boil water in the kettle atop the stove. Put 6 scoops of New Orleans chicory coffee grounds into my French coffee press, and pour the just-off-the-boil water in, steep whilst making the buns.
2) Bake the buns in the oven. Whatever ones today, til rewarmed or baked.
3) Enjoy my fika!
----------
Most of these recipes for buns can be baked and frozen for another day, as most do not keep long. All are fairly easy to make, you just need the time. For rosinboller:
1-2 small handfuls of raisins (as I don´t like raisins too much, but most recipes call for about 1.5 cups of raisins or more). If you want to (which I usually do not, but it is traditional to) soak the raisins in a cup of liquid such as rum, water, apple juice for about half an hour.
-----
For the dough:
about 8 cups flour. (I like a mix of whole wheat, white, rye, but this is not traditional).
3/4 cup vanilla sugar. Or less, I usually use much less, as I prefer the buns less sweet.
dash salt.
Spices. I adore spices, and like the buns spicy. Tradition is a tsp or so of cinnamon, and a dash of cardamom. However, as I like a spicy bread, I use about a TBS or more of freshly ground cardamom, with cinnamon, cloves, fresh ground nutmeg. Sometimes some allspice, star anise etc during the holidays, such as halloween and Christmas which is nearing. Add however much spice you like. Traditionally the buns should have a hint of cinnamon with a bit less of cardamom, or vice versa.
6 dl whole milk (about 2.5 cups). Sometimes I add cream, or soured milk, or kefir if I have it already in the fridge, especially if I need to use it up! The whole milk I buy here, if I keep open for a few weeks, will separate into whey and soured milk, which is great for baking. It makes great raisin buns and lussekatter (saffron buns) if I do not have kefir (a traditional sour milk like milk, a bit more strong than buttermilk). The kefir is great for baking, but a slight bit too strong in flavour sometimes, so I use the whole milk which I leave to sour/separate. This is also great for making a sour dough bread, if you don´t have a sour dough starter liquid. It gives the same flavour, if you slow rise the dough overnight or a few days in the fridge.
150 g butter, cubed
50g fresh yeast in the red packet for sweet breads (the other works ok too), or 1 packet dry yeast. If you use dry yeast, proof it as usual first. To proof I put the dry yeast in some of the warm liquid, with a little of the sugar, and a spoonful of the flour. Do not add salt! You can add the spices at this point if you want. Let sit til bubbly frothy about 15 minutes. If not even a little froth or bubbles, the yeast is dead, maybe the liquid was too warm. Start over. The liquid should be warm to the touch, but any hotter if you add the yeast now will kill the yeast. If you use honey, you can use HOT water to melt the honey, then when the water is cooled down to warm to the touch, then add the yeast for proofing.
2 medium eggs, or 1 large egg. For the recipe.
1 egg, for eggwash for brushing on top buns before baking.
------
Make the dough:
Make as in any dough, proofing the yeast if you need, Add all the ingredients, mix til forms a dough. The dough will be a bit sticky, sprinkle with flour, cover with a tea towel to rise for about an hour. Form into balls, place on cookie sheet that has been covered in grease-proof paper (parchment paper) which has also been buttered slightly. Let rise for about half an hour. covered lightly with damp tea towel. Brush with eggwash before baking.
Bake til done, golden brown, in a very hot pre-heated oven 200C.
----
Of making the dough, further instructions:
1) Add flour(s), sugar, salt, spices, raisins. Mix together.
2)In a pan, melt the butter. Then add the milk. Warm milk on the stove to warm to the touch! Add the yeast when the milk is warm to the touch, any warmer or hot will kill the yeast. Make sure you have taken the milk off the heat, and turned off the burner. Mix with wooden spoon. Add this, and the raw egg(s) to the flour-sugar-spice-raisins mixture.
3) Mix by hand using hands and/or wooden spoons, til forms a dough. Dough will be sticky, you can add a slight bit of flour, not too much. Knead the dough. Put into a bowl, to rise for a few hours or overnight, covered loosely with a damp tea towel.
4) Knead again, form into tiny balls, put onto baking sheet let rise again for half an hour. Brush with eggwash. Bake in hot oven til golden brown, about 15 minutes.
Fika is done on most days here, once or thrice a day. Fika, as I´ve gone on about in other posts here, is both a verb and noun. Coffee break with something sweet like a kanelknuter, skillingsboller, or rosinboller. To Fika, to enjoy that coffee break, to drink your coffee and eat your cake or bun.
Today´s Fika is my favourite cafe au lait, and a very common bun here the rosinboller (raisin bun). You can get them at any cafe, convenience store or bakery. Or you can bake your own. Here is my recipe:
1) Make your coffee.
I boil water in the kettle atop the stove. Put 6 scoops of New Orleans chicory coffee grounds into my French coffee press, and pour the just-off-the-boil water in, steep whilst making the buns.
2) Bake the buns in the oven. Whatever ones today, til rewarmed or baked.
3) Enjoy my fika!
----------
Most of these recipes for buns can be baked and frozen for another day, as most do not keep long. All are fairly easy to make, you just need the time. For rosinboller:
1-2 small handfuls of raisins (as I don´t like raisins too much, but most recipes call for about 1.5 cups of raisins or more). If you want to (which I usually do not, but it is traditional to) soak the raisins in a cup of liquid such as rum, water, apple juice for about half an hour.
-----
For the dough:
about 8 cups flour. (I like a mix of whole wheat, white, rye, but this is not traditional).
3/4 cup vanilla sugar. Or less, I usually use much less, as I prefer the buns less sweet.
dash salt.
Spices. I adore spices, and like the buns spicy. Tradition is a tsp or so of cinnamon, and a dash of cardamom. However, as I like a spicy bread, I use about a TBS or more of freshly ground cardamom, with cinnamon, cloves, fresh ground nutmeg. Sometimes some allspice, star anise etc during the holidays, such as halloween and Christmas which is nearing. Add however much spice you like. Traditionally the buns should have a hint of cinnamon with a bit less of cardamom, or vice versa.
6 dl whole milk (about 2.5 cups). Sometimes I add cream, or soured milk, or kefir if I have it already in the fridge, especially if I need to use it up! The whole milk I buy here, if I keep open for a few weeks, will separate into whey and soured milk, which is great for baking. It makes great raisin buns and lussekatter (saffron buns) if I do not have kefir (a traditional sour milk like milk, a bit more strong than buttermilk). The kefir is great for baking, but a slight bit too strong in flavour sometimes, so I use the whole milk which I leave to sour/separate. This is also great for making a sour dough bread, if you don´t have a sour dough starter liquid. It gives the same flavour, if you slow rise the dough overnight or a few days in the fridge.
150 g butter, cubed
50g fresh yeast in the red packet for sweet breads (the other works ok too), or 1 packet dry yeast. If you use dry yeast, proof it as usual first. To proof I put the dry yeast in some of the warm liquid, with a little of the sugar, and a spoonful of the flour. Do not add salt! You can add the spices at this point if you want. Let sit til bubbly frothy about 15 minutes. If not even a little froth or bubbles, the yeast is dead, maybe the liquid was too warm. Start over. The liquid should be warm to the touch, but any hotter if you add the yeast now will kill the yeast. If you use honey, you can use HOT water to melt the honey, then when the water is cooled down to warm to the touch, then add the yeast for proofing.
2 medium eggs, or 1 large egg. For the recipe.
1 egg, for eggwash for brushing on top buns before baking.
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Make the dough:
Make as in any dough, proofing the yeast if you need, Add all the ingredients, mix til forms a dough. The dough will be a bit sticky, sprinkle with flour, cover with a tea towel to rise for about an hour. Form into balls, place on cookie sheet that has been covered in grease-proof paper (parchment paper) which has also been buttered slightly. Let rise for about half an hour. covered lightly with damp tea towel. Brush with eggwash before baking.
Bake til done, golden brown, in a very hot pre-heated oven 200C.
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Of making the dough, further instructions:
1) Add flour(s), sugar, salt, spices, raisins. Mix together.
2)In a pan, melt the butter. Then add the milk. Warm milk on the stove to warm to the touch! Add the yeast when the milk is warm to the touch, any warmer or hot will kill the yeast. Make sure you have taken the milk off the heat, and turned off the burner. Mix with wooden spoon. Add this, and the raw egg(s) to the flour-sugar-spice-raisins mixture.
3) Mix by hand using hands and/or wooden spoons, til forms a dough. Dough will be sticky, you can add a slight bit of flour, not too much. Knead the dough. Put into a bowl, to rise for a few hours or overnight, covered loosely with a damp tea towel.
4) Knead again, form into tiny balls, put onto baking sheet let rise again for half an hour. Brush with eggwash. Bake in hot oven til golden brown, about 15 minutes.
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