Act your age!

This is art at its best! By that I mean that art is something that should provoke thinking and that it indeed does. I came across this on Pinterest, and it spoke to me. I just had to share it with you.

April – a photo a day – days 2, 3 and 4

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April - one photo a day

I have been good and made sure I’ve taken a photo a day. But, I haven’t been good at sharing these with anyone but Husband and Son. Now I have loads to share, and many stories to tell.

Day 2 – Colour

I chose the colour yellow. We were visiting my in-laws and our easter holiday has just begun. In Norway we have so-called ‘red days’. These days everything is closed (or almost everything), the world still functions but you can’t shop. This is the main benefit (maybe the only) of having a state religion. What is in reality is, is almost a full week off for everyone! A spring break, but with a hint of religion, if you like.

Anyway, yellow is the colour of easter and this is a small collection of things yellow that I was exposed to on the second day of April. 

Day 3 – Mail

I though this would be a photo showing an empty mailbox (red days are days off also for mail carriers), a screen shot of my e-mail inbox, or, if I was lucky, a bill. Instead I have this photo to show: 

Impressed? My fantastic husband has been working in the garden over the past weeks and has built a new decking in the back yard. What was once a dreary and dark place is now wonderful! He has done such a good job! He’s not done yet, so I’ll wait with the photos. But, back to the mail. This is what we received today, and it was delivered, so I guess it does count as mail? What you see here is a load, or in fact two, of stones. Cut stones that will be built into a short wall to hold herbs and flowers. Yes, I am lucky!

 

Day 4 – Someone who makes me happy

All the people who make me happy was not able to gather for a photograph on day 4. And since I prefer not showing too many faces on my blog this photo will have to do: 

This shows a stranger’s car, and our own car. Our car doesn’t make all too excited, but the photo suddenly appeared on my phone after Son had played with it for a while. Quite regularly photos of motives I’ve never noticed appear on my phone, and they always make me smile.

Chicken Tikka Misala

I have never eaten a proper curry. I don’t go out to eat much here in Norway, and the few times I do it’s rarely Indian restaurants that seem to attract me (there aren’t that many to choose between either…) The solution to this was, of course, to just make curry myself. I’ve started out a little careful as the recipe is probably more British-Indian than Indian.

The recipe is from Jamie Oliver’s Ministry of Food and I love how easy it is to reduce the amount of everything spicy and make this a lovely dish for those of us with a sensitive palate. The dish is easily made and doesn’t take too long. Served with a properly sized yoghurt topping, it has become one of Son’s favourite dishes.

You first need to make a paste:

• 1 tsp coriander seeds
• 1 tsp cumin seeds

(These should be toasted slightly in the pan before mashed up with the rest of the ingredients)

• 2 cloves of garlic
• a bit of fresh ginger
• 1tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tbsp smoked paprika
• 2 teaspoons garam masala
• 1,5 tsp sea salt
• 2 tbsp groundnut oil
• 2 tbsp tomato purée
• 2 fresh red chillies
• a small bunch of fresh coriander
• 1 tbsp desiccated coconut
• 2 tbsp ground almonds

Mix all ingredients together until you have a smooth paste.

(The paste can be swapped with a ready-made tikka masala curry paste found in the supermarket)

• 4 chicken filets
• 2 onions
• 1 fresh red chilli
• a bit of fresh ginger
• 1 tin of chopped tomatoes (400g)
• 1 tin of coconut milk (400ml)

Use a sauté-pan and melt a knob of butter with a bit of vegetable oil. Add chopped onions, chilli, ginger, and coriander stalks and cook for ten minutes. Meanwhile dice the chicken filets before you add these with the paste. Stir well to coat everything with the paste. Add a bit of salt and pepper, and then the tins of coconut milk and tomatoes. Fill one of the tins with water and add to the mix. Bring to a boil and then turn down the heat and let it all simmer under a lid for about 20 mins.

Serve with rice, yoghurt, flaked almonds, and lemon wedges.

Driftwood

Tags

Inspiration, Music, Photo

We were out treasure-hunting along the beach when we came across a long stretch of driftwood. The rest of the day I had Travis on my mind, the sond ‘Driftwood’ playing on repeat. Such a melodious and peaceful song, with such sad lyrics…

Everything is open
Nothing is set in stone
Rivers turn to ocean
Oceans tide you home
Home is where the heart is
But your heart had to roam

 

A wee sign of life

I find myself rarely having much time to sit down by myself and simply breathe. My new life in 2012 is all but monotonous! I’m now starting to get used to the new rhythm. I am also getting used to the juggling, which is what I feel like I do when I run from one thing to the next: grading students, teaching poetry, discussing local dialectal variation, trying to stir a debate on the ongoing elections in the States, writing about Older Scots vowels, and transcribing 500-year-old texts. I’m loving it, but the days are still a little chaotic.

 

This is just a wee sign of life. Thanks for patiently waiting. I will see you all again soon 🙂

Happy New Year!

A new year has appeared around the corner. A year that suddenly appeared when one day passed, the clock ticked, the two pointers met, and the entire world (or at least a very big part of it) joined in on the celebration. A new day came about, a day which is seen by so many as a new start for so many things. A day to mark the start of some things, and the end of many others. The next days will belong to a new year, despite their similarity to the days that have just recently passed. A new number has been assigned these next 365 days in order for us to categorise and systematise the many days that constitute a lifetime.

We spent the last day of last year with a few of the people who means most to us in this world. It was a quiet celebration, but a celebration none the less. We laughed and we talked and enjoyed each other’s company. The first day of the new year we spent on the road. We met more of the people who are so precious to us, but we also spent time alone together, just the three of us. Then we returned home, late at night, after spending many days away. Now we’ll stay home for a while. Get back to everyday-life.

Looking back at the past year I see both ups and downs. I feel I’ve done something right  as the ups are what immediately spring to mind when I look back. A year full of memories. Good memories. Also a year of challenges. Challenges that we seem to have overcome quite well. Challenges that have made us stronger and shaped us in more ways than we thought they would. Some have been challenges that we have purposely taken on, others are challenges that we, while they lasted, wished we could be without. Looking back it seems to have been a long year. Many days will be remembered for years to come, which makes this past year very valuable.

The new year has just begun. The plans made for this year tell me this year too will be memorable. I have taken on a few challenges already, challenges that I hope will build both character and strength. Challenges where I will have to face my fears, work hard, and that at times will have me pulling my hair out in frustration. I like a good challenge!

2012 is off to a good start. I’m happy, healthy, and more in love than I’ve been in a long time. I have learned a lot from blogging during 2011, much thanks to those of you who often comment. I hope you will continue to read my posts, and also leave a comment every now and again. I would especially like to thank David, Tes, Lori, Ksenia and Northern Narratives for all your comments, as well as the inspiration and motivation you provide. Hope to see you all regularly in 2012.

A wonderful new year to all of you!

David has at his educational and compelling blog nominated me as a Versatile Blogger. I read every one of David’s posts with great interest. Though not seeing my blog as a photography focused blog, I often find inspiration in DH’s posts and often find myself wanting to post about photos and photos alone (hasn’t happened yet though, I prefer having a story to tell). However, his tips and tricks on photographing I do my best to soak up and remember when out shooting. Hopefully I have been able to use his tricks to improve my own photos.

I am now supposed to list seven things about myself that I have not previously mentioned on the blog, so here goes:

• I am a tea drinker and I don’t like coffee, at all! Nor coffee flavoured drinks, ice-creams, candy or chocolate. However,
• I do like the smell of ground coffee and men smelling of coffee (!), or at least until they open their mouths, coffee breath I find appalling!
• I love listening to someone playing the guitar. The regular, old-fashion guitar. These days I could listen to the first part of Biffy Clyro’s “Many of Horror” over and over, or Metallica’s “Nothing Else Matters”.
• Spending the night at a friends house, a friend of her called, slightly drunk and just wanting to socialise. He ended up playing the guitar, over the phone, until I fell asleep.
• I hate the change of seasons, I love the various seasons, but the inbetween periods are nothing for me.
• I can’t stand cleaning and am seriously considering hiring someone to clean my house a few times a month.
• I just bought an iPhone. I waited until the new 4s was released and then bought the 4. I could probably have gone for the an earlier one as I only use the calendar, to check e-mail, facebook, or to text or call.

That’s it, now mission is complete. Except for nominating a bunch of other bloggers:

Now, many of the bloggers I read seem to rarely respond to awards, and although there are many I’d like to nominate, there are few I think would respond (I feel small and insignificant in the gigantic blogosphere). I’ll thus simply give a shout out to the few who I think deserve this the most, those whose posts I always read and who I hope will pas this on; Silje, Hege, Irene and Tes.

Tall ships

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Pirates, Port, Quay, Ships

Almost every summer the Tall Ships Race visits Norway, and the port of the city takes on the look of, how I would imagine, a bustling medieval port. The city centre becomes crowded with people coming with the ships, or for the ships. The quay is dominated by the large sail ships, tall masts and thick ropes running through the air.

Husband, Son and I made a day of it. We took the bus to the city centre, and spent hours just walking along the quay. We were allowed onto some of the ships, which of course was very exciting for Son. He kept looking for his favourite pirate and asked the crew members if they had seen him. Some pretended they had and told stories of meetings with this terrifying pirate either out at sea, or late at night. Others pretended to get scared and said they hoped not to ever lay eyes on him. However, as the stories began to contradict one another, Son became incredulous and lost interest.

As we walked there were sailors entertaining the crowds by singing sea shanties, jugglers gathered small crowds in the streets and vendors sold fruist, berries, and food.

Gelato al Limone

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Gelato, Gelato al Limone, Ice-cream, Italian Ice-cream

Most of my summers growing up included a few weeks in Italy. The Italian ‘gelato’ has thus become a necessary supplement for an acceptable summer. Unfortunately I haven’t spent too many summers in Italy after moving on my own, and as ice-cream is a wee bit difficult to import, I have now bought an ice-cream maker and am on the search for a recipe for proper Italian ‘Gelato al Limone’ – lemon ice-cream.

Many years back I tried lemon ice-cream in Norway. I was close to tears when I tasted it. It tasted like frozen, thick McDonalds-inspired milkshake. It was sickening. The Italian lemon ice-cream on the other hand is just wonderful. The fat content is lower (the sugar content is still through the roof) which makes it thinner, and more refreshing. It’s like a creamy sorbet and must be tried.

I have so far tried one recipe, and though delicious, it’s not as soft and creamy as it should be. It is a tasty ice-cream, and has been added to my book of recipes, but it’s not quite the ‘gelato al limone’ I’m looking for.

You need:

4 dl of water

4 dl of sugar

2,5 dl of milk

2,8 dl of lemons (that was about 5 lemons)

2 egg whites

Dissolve the sugar in simmering water. Then, and do this is the following order: add the lemon juice to the water before you add the milk (I tried to save a wee bit of time and added the milk to the lemon juice *facepalm*). Whisk the egg whites and gently stir in with the rest.

Put the mix the in the fridge until properly cold before using the ice-cream maker. I have obviously not invested enough money in my ice-cream maker, and thus never got more than slush, but after half a day in the freezer (stirring once or twice) the texture was as good as it gets.

Oreo cake

Tags

Cake, Oreo, Oreo cake, Recipe

I have added a new cake to my list of favourites – oreo cake. It was served last weekend and was gone by the end of the day, which I see as an indication of success. The recipe was found at Trines Matblogg, which is unfortunately not in English. This is the cake and the recipe in Norwegian. 

The cake proved very easy to make; three layers, one bowl, and electrical whisk and a microwave is about all you need. Plus the ingredients:

First layer: 

300 grams of oreos

100 grams of butter

 

I melted the butter , threw in the oreos and mashed it all. Put all in a form directly on a serving platter.

 

Second layer 

200 grams of cream cheese

1 cup of frosting sugar

1/3 litres of cream

about 50 grams of oreos

 

Mix the cheese and frosting sugar, whip the cream and gently mix the lot. Chop the oreos and add to the mix.

 

Third layer: 

Chocolate mousse made from about 1,5 cups of milk

about 50 grams of oreos

 

I was lazy and did not bother making mousse from scratch. There are numerous recipes for mousse online, and there are most likely also ways to cheat no matter where you’re from.

 

The layers are made in chronological order. Simply put one on top of the other and decorate with chopped oreos and/or melted chocolate. The cake is as easy as it gets (at least if you don’t make the mousse from scratch). Hope you enjoy 🙂