Project Bread, part 3

Tags

Baking, Bread, Food, Project Bread

I am not too pleased with the results I have got this far, and thus decided now to go for a recipe I came across in one of my favourite blogs, Trines Mektige Matblogg. I didn’t have exactly what the recipe asked for, so here is my version:

 

9 dl of water

15 grams of fresh yeast

750 grams of flour

150 grams of rye

250 grams of whole grain wheat

300 grams oat meal

A wee bit sal

A tablespoon of honey

Bake at 225 for about 30 mins (recipe said 35-45, but mine would have been coal by then..)

I got three really good breads, I have yet to see what they will be like tomorrow, but hopefully they’ll be almost as good as they were today.

 

The Dinner Challenge

Tags

Challenge, Dinner, Food

It’s Sunday again and I am once again face to face with my form/list of next week’s dinners. Unfortunately I often feel like I am repeating some dinners over and over again. Of course, it is only natural, as some dishes are easy to make, the entire family likes them and they are good, healthy meals. But it gets boring.

So here is a small challenge for you, answer these questions, or some of the questions. Either as a comment to this post, or make a post about something similar where you answer these at your blog.

1. What dish do you feel like you repeat most often?

I feel like I very often serve boiled, lightly salted codfish with boiled potatoes and carrots. I am not very creative when it comes to codfish.

1. What is your favourite everyday dinner?

These days it would be a dinner that makes itself and cleans itself. Last time that happened I had homemade cauliflower soup with bacons, sausages and broccoli. I love soups during the cold seasons.

1. What dinner is you childrens’(husband’s, boyfriend’s, wife’s, girlfriend’s) favourite?

My husband would probably prefer a good steak, I think, with a butter based sauce, gratinated potatoes and boiled vegetables. Son is not that much of a dinner person, but the last meal he truly loved was the homemade fish fingers.

 

As we all probably have dinners that often find their ways to the dinner table, if there are gathered we’ll have a list of healthy, easy and tasty dinners.

 

Fish Fingers

Tags

Codfish, Dinner, Food, Recipe, Son

We sometimes have ready made fish fingers for dinner, but I think they’re boring, tasteless and, well, I haven’t really checked in detail what’s actually in them. Anyway, I decided to make my own. And as simple as it is, I’ll probably never buy premade ever again! I simply took a cod fish filet, sliced it into to suitable pieces. Dipped them in egg, then in bread crumbs (I just took a few slices of bread and grated using a cheese grater). And then fried. Served with boiled potatoes and a vegetable mix carrots, peas and maize.

Son loved it! Absolutely loved it. Throughout the meal he sat with one big chunk in each hand and he ate twice the amount I ate. We still didn’t finish it all and thus brought some of it for lunch in kindergarten, there he ate the rest, cold.

I love to see him eat fish as I know how good it is for him, and I cherish these moments as I am afraid he will become a picky eater as he grows older. But well, enjoy the moment.

 

Pasta à la Jamie Oliver

Tags

Dinner, Food, Jamie Oliver, Pasta, Peas, Recipe

I came across some Podcasts by Jamie Oliver some time back. They are short videos on quick dinners and absolutely worth a look. They turned out to be from 2008, so nothing new, but the food still taste good!

I have tried some of the dishes, and as Jamie asks us to share share share if we find something we like, here is my “interpretation” of one of his dishes:

 

Add some salt to pot of water. You want about 1/1000 of salt compared to water, and about 1/10 of pasta to water. We’ll get to that though, a pinch of salt for now.

Put a lid on and set to boil

Chop bacon into small pieces.Add a little bit of canola oil in a pan and set to medium/high heat.While you wait for the pan to get warm (if you need to wait like I do with an old oven) chop a handfull of mint.When the pan is hot enough add the bacon and fry until crispy and and a little brown.The water should be boiling by now, add about a handfull of pasta per adult. Put the lid on again right away, but take it off as soon as the water boils again.

When the bacon starts looking yummy add a small bag of frozen peas. Jamie underlines here that frozen peas are to prefer unless you actually have handpicked peas from your garden. The peas are frozen shortly after they are picked and thus contain all of the natural good stuff.

Then grate some parmegiano cheese, about a handfull. Drain the pasta, but set aside about a cup of the water used. Then add the pasta to the rest.

Add the cheese and mint, mix it well into the rest.Then add two spoons of creme fraiche, the juice of half a lemon and a little bit of the water you set aside earlier. The pasta is not supposed to be dry, but smooth.Grate a little bit of lemon zest over the dish (I didn’t have a lemon, only lemon juice, so I experimented with orange instead; I would prefer lemon!)Pour onto a plate. Add some more grated parmegiano and serve.

Jamie used more pasta than I did, and thus made a meal to serve 6-8 people with a salad on the side. I wanted more vegetables than pasta and thus simply reduced the amount. The dish is also perfect the next day as lunch.

 

Autumn Walk

Tags

Autumn, Friends, Nature, Outside, Son, Walking

Some days back, a friend of mine, Silje, her two children, Son and I, went for a walk in a forest nearby. The autumn colours are so beautiful right now, the weather was chilly and it was raining on and off all day. We only had light sprays as we walked and absolutely nothing to complain about. We walked slowly, letting the kids play, and took almost thee hours walking a round that would normally never take me more than an hour.

My friend’s oldest child is thee years old and play extremely well with Son, who is a year and a half. My friend’s youngest is only two months, and spent the entire trip wrapped in duvets and blankets in his carriage. And he slept like a baby for all the hours.

We chit chatted and laughed and smiled at our kids running around. We also dropped by an local farm where they sell biological groceries and homegrown vegetables. The kids were thrilled as they got to pick out some biscuits and dried fruits.

 

Pizza dough

Tags

Cooking, Dough, Food, Pizza, Recipe, Staurday

Every Saturday is pizza day. Unfortunately we haven’t made pizza together, the three of us, for about two months. Saturday often ends up as the day we plan things with friends, and afternoon dinner gets scheduled out, and Husband has also been off working for some weeks. But next Saturday we’re back on!

This recipe is nothing fancy, and most of you probably have a pizza dough recipe you regularly use. A friend of mine sent texted me some days ago asking me for my recipe, and I thought I’d also share it with everyone else.

 

5 dl flour

2 dl water

Olive oil

Salt

Yeast

 

If you want something a bit different, replace half of the wheat flour with durum wheat. Durum wheat is used a lot more in Italy than here, and gives the dough a more exclusive taste and texture.

Mix the yeast and water. Remember correct temperature when using yeast; if you put your pinky finger in it and it feels rather warm nor cold, it’s perfect. If you’re using dry yeast the water can be slightly warmer, but still not too warm as that will kill it. Pour in somewhere between two and four tablespoons of olive oil. Add the flour and just a wee bit of salt. Mix and knead for a while, roll it out and leave it to rise for as much time as you have before adding the topping. Bake at 225 degrees (or more) until it’s done.

 

Project bread, part 2

Tags

Baking, Bread, Project Bread

I whisked together two bread here the other day, with a better result than last time. Unfortunately it was all done in a hurry (if you can call it a hurry when the dough was left to rise for almost 8 hours…) so I don’t have any photos.

I used the same recipe, same procedures, but added 2 dl of apple juice to make the dough more moist. Afterwards I set it to rise in the kitchen with an average to warm room temperature and left it for eight hours. I managed to screw up a bit, as I put the bread pans in a plastic bag. I didn’t sprinkle the dough with enough flour, so the dough stuck to the plastic and as I removed the bag I punctured the dough. The breads could have been oh so much better, so I’ll just have to try the same again, without rising them in a plastic bag. (the plastic bag is to keep the moisture in the dough and have as little as possible evaporate).

 

Week plan

Tags

Family Life, List, Planning

For a few years now we have made a list, or I should rather say, we have a form we fill out every Sunday. We plan dinner for every day of the following week and write a list over what we need to buy. I check out the commercial leaflets from some of the larger stores in the area for inspiration, or to see what deals they have for the coming week, and often plan the meals accordingly. After using this list for a few years, I don’t think I would survive without it. I don’t understand how people can come up with what to have for dinner after coming home from a long day at work, and without having the ingredients in stock.

Filling out the list doesn’t take me more than 30 mins, I am sure we get varied meals, make sure there are two fish dinners during the week, and plan so that left overs aren’t simply tossed out, but used for a different dinner later the same week. I am also convinced that we spend less money on grocery shopping, as going to the store twice a week is usually enough. The two boxes on the bottom right we cut out and take to the store. One for early in the week, one for later (usually Thursday or Friday).

The form also have the daily chores printed on it. I like to be able to cross something of a list when I’ve done it. That’s just the way I am, and it helps me get things done around the house. At the bottom left we have a small week plan for special events and small reminders.

I’ve added the plan as a pdf. in case you feel inspired to try it. The list is already filled out for this week, but some things might seem a little cryptic to you as it is written for me to read…

To Do List

Booby Talk

Tags

Boobs, Bras, Favourites, Lingerie, Shopping

You don't have to match your grandmother's underwear to find the correct size

Moving onto a personal subject here, but people need to be informed! Are you a size D or larger? If not, skip this blog post, if you are, read on.

My life changed when I found Bravissimo in Scotland. I have always been struggling to find the correct bra size, and the few times I have done so in Norway my wallet and VISA card have needed respiratory aid afterwards. Having larger than average boobs isn’t easy, and not having the right support for your girlies can lead to quite a nightmare. Not having the right support in your every day life leads to backaches, stooping postures and insecurity when it comes to clothes. Adding an active lifestyle to the mix, creates even more challenges. If you don’t have larger than average boobs (but decided to continue reading after all) let me try to explain what it feels like. Hang two bags of sugar, the regular type you find in the store of about 1 kg, over around your neck. This is the weight of someone with about an F-cup. Walk around with that for a day or two? How do you think it feels? Now try running. Or jumping. Now, imagine that you have nerves inside those bags as well, and than the bags of sugar also feel the pain of the bouncing. Wearing the wrong bra can feel just like that. And for all these reasons, and so many more, it is thus so important to find the correct bra size.

Next time you’re going to Britland (somewhere in Great Britain) look up a Bravissimo store and get fitted. Getting fitted doesn’t cost anything, and the bras cost a lot less than they do in Norway. You can also chose from a variety of different lingerie sets, and they now also have their own clothing line. For me, the Bravissimo stores are reason enough to go to Britland. You can find the different stores here. 

Dick&Daisy have a few Freya sets available now, and a few lingerie shops also have a few sets from brands such as Fantasie and Panache, but they are seriously expensive, and there is not much to chose from.

If you already know your bra size I recommend the Bravissimo online store, but if you are insecure about your size I would absolutely recommend a fitting.

 

Chicken Nuggets

Tags

Chicken, Favourites, Food, McDonalds, Nuggets, Processed Food, Recipe

I have recently developed an awareness to what is actually to be found in processed food. I’m trying not to become too hysterical about it and keep a healthy view on food. My general belief is that if you can’t recognise the contents of something as food, you should stay away from it.

I am ill today and haven’t wanted anything to eat all day, so I have no problems watching this video. If you have recently been to McDonalds or are planning on having a late night snack, or a meal, anytime in the near future, then I’d advice you not to see this film. 

If you want to make your own chicken nuggets (or any other type of nuggets) it is dead simple! (a bit more expensive though)

Cut chicken breast into small nugget-size pieces. Whisk an egg and pour into a soup plate, pour a few table spoons bread crumbs onto a second soup plate (You can also mix in sesame seeds with the crumbs). Season the chicken as you prefer, then dip the chicken pieces in the egg. Continue to cover them with crumbs and fry in a pan using a bit of canola oil. You need a bit more oil than normal here to get a crispy brown surface on the chicken. Fry until they are light brown and crispy on both sides.

These nuggets are delicious for dinner, in a salad or as a snack. Enjoy!