More Luck than I Deserve...?

A really lovely, relaxing Easter holiday came and went.

The troop was gathered and I have to say I really enjoyed just being home with the family.

The days were spent with good food, long walks, knitting, talking and sleeping.

 

But I wonder if I might have used up this year's allotted portion of good luck.

Just listen to this:

 

On Saturday we took the Student and the in-laws for a meal at our favourite Turkish restaurant Efes. I had booked the table for 5.45 as this was the only time they could fit us in. We were fortunate enough to get a parking space right in front of the restaurant. As we were tucking in to the meze that was appearing in front of us (soooo gooooood!) I happened to cast an eye out of the window and saw to my horror a parking attendant looking at the car! I knew I had not paid for parking as I thought it was free after 5 pm. I couldn't even manage to speak, just squeaked and bolted out the door with napkin in hand and food in my mouth. All the charm I possibly could possess was mustered and believe it or not - he let me off the hook! Parking was payable till 6.30, so I ran in again and the kind waiters were offering me coins to put on the meter.

Lucky escape no 1!

 

borrowed from the web

 

The next day we decided to walk along The Backs and through King's College to look at the lovely daffodils and tourists. Even if we live in walking distance to town, my in-laws can't manage to walk too far so we drove and parked in a nearby road to the entry to the college from the Backs. It is a fairly long road, and we were parked about mid-way. We proceeded on foot in to town and my charm came to full force again when I manage to convince the kind guardsman to let me bring all three of my guests (University employees can normally bring 2 free guests).

 

Town was packed and we enjoyed Afternoon Tea at Harriet's. Tip: the portions are so generous - we ordered for 3 (even if we were 4) and even managed to bring home a small doggy bag as we just couldn't finish it all.

 

borrowed from the web
On the way back we leisurely walked over Garret Hostel Bridge on Burrel's Walk and looked at the people punting. We had been out for about 3 hours when we entered on to the street where I had parked the car. I suddenly noticed a couple examining the parking meter and saw to my horror that parking was payable ALL DAY, EVERY DAY. It being Sunday I thought parking was free and I had not paid anything... I then saw the dreaded sight of parking attendants making their way down from the other end of the street! Without a word to my family, I started running LIKE MAD towards our car which was mid way between me and the parking attendant.... Suddenly the hours spent in the gym came into force and I sped to the car, delighted to see they had not reached our car yet and just jumped in and drove down to the family who by now realised what had happened...
Lucky escape no 2!

So, lesson from this Easter: start paying attention to parking regulations and parking meters...!

 

 

 

Facebook, Birthdays, Childhood Logic and Numbers

One of the aspects of "being on" Facebook is that 'suddenly' you know when (most) of your friends' and relatives' birthdays are. Don't get me wrong - I think it is very nice to receive congratulations from near and not so near friends - whether in person or on FB.

 

But I have noticed that some days of the year many of my friends/family/acquaintances have joint birthdays:

 

For instance today - I know 4 people with birthdays (ok, it includes a set of twins)

On 19 May there are 3 sharing the same birthday

13 October there are another 3

24 October there are 4 with joint day

5 December there are 4

October, December and March seem to be the month when most of my friends on FB are born. Our own immediate family's birthdays don't fall into any of these months, but are spread out over the year. Another 'birthday anomaly' is for instance my in-laws' birthdays which are one day after the other  - that is a bit unusual, I'd say.

 

When I was little, I had this idea that the oldest child in the family 'chose' the date of all the future siblings' birthdays because my sister and I are born on the same day of the month (not the same month). When I noticed that this was not the case in some (most!) families - I made the 'logical' explanation in my mind that they probably were half siblings, ie they probably did not have the same mum or dad... Well, imagine all the questions THAT could spark off if this was indeed the case...!

 

Do you have months in the year with many birthdays in your family?

 

In any case - Happy Birthday to those celebrating today!

Graduation in Durham!

 

Students gathering outside Durham Cathedral

I was up in lovely, but very blustery Durham on the weekend (incredible winds - think it was the storm 'Nina' that was making all the noise!) in connection with the graduation of one of the Professor's PhD-students. I don't get to know all his students, but every so often some of them become like friends and it feels natural to be there with them on their big day - particularly if they are not able to have their own families with them.

 

Borrowed from the web - we were not allowed to take pictures inside during the ceremony

 I had not been in to the amazing Cathedral before, but I will definitely go again soon (have wanted to save it till we have guests to take around!). Simply beautiful. After the ceremony in the cathedral there was a reception in the school.

 

Fitting decoration for the occasion - from the reception in the Business School.

We then proceeded to our house for a couple of hours before we went for dinner.

 

Picture borrowed from Finbarr's webpage

The new Doctor invited us all out to a delicious meal at Finbarr's . Finbarr's is an excellent  restaurant for a special occasion. We ate very well and it was such a nice way to mark the day. I strongly recommend the restaurant if you make your way to Durham.

 

And the socks I was knitting...? No, they were not completed on the train, but on Monday evening. I have two more 'UFO's to complete before I start anything new. Wool has been ordered for this new project, but I have PROMISED myself to finish off these two other projects before I get going on anything else.

 

Looking at the new wool waiting will be a good incentive, I think...!

Tried and Tested: Sylterull number 2 or Norwegian Pork Roll 2

I am really pleased with the result of this year's pork roll recipe. Here is my other version of how to make it. This version was simple, straight forward, little mess and it is nice and firm.

 

I got the recipe from MatPrat.No and here is the English version of how I made it:

 

You need an approx. 1.5 kg slab of pork belly

No bones and preferably not scored, but it doesn't matter too much

You might need to go to a butcher to get a big enough piece

 

Cover it completely with water and let it simmer for about 2 1/2 hours

 

In the meantime, mix in a bowl and set aside:

1 1/4 table spoon salt

1 tea spoon ground pepper

1 tea spoon ground clove

1 tea spoon ground all spice

1 tea spoon ginger

3 tea spoons gelatine powder - equivalent of one sachet of gelatine powder from Dr Oetker

(the recipe called for 5, but I put in three and it is ample!)

 

Take the meat out of the water and let it cool so it can be handled

 

Take the skin off in as whole pieces as possible

 

Bring out a bread mould and generously line it with cling film letting the ends hang over the sides so you have enough to cover the meat at the end

 

Take the skin and put a layer with the outer side down in the bread mould

 

Sprinkle some of the spice mix on the skin

 

Cut up the meat - it says to do it in nice slices, but mine crumbled no matter how I cut it and it doesn't seem to matter too much

 

Put a layer of meat on the spices

 

Alternative putting the spice mix and the layers of meat

 

Build it as high as possible in the mould

 

 

End with a final layer of the skin, this time the outer side out

 

 

 

Cover it with the clingfilm

 

 

 

Put it in a press (of 2-3 kg) or use a heavy frying pan/books/etc and leave it in the fridge till the next day.

 

It is now ready!

 

I decided to divide mine in two and freeze them, but you can also put it in brine to keep it in the fridge.

 

Bring on the mustard!

 

 

Deep Blue Gig

 

 

What a weekend!

 

Starting with a great birthday party on Saturday for another dear friend being introduced to to the "50+ club" and ending last night out on the town supporting a friend's gig! Well done, T!

 

December is such a busy month with all sorts of lovely, fun activities!

 

And I even managed to bake Berlinerkranser, Biscotti and Red Onion Marmelade...!

 

Tonight I am planning to make "ribbesylte" - after a new recipe.

I will let you know if it is better than my old recipe

(which happens to be one of my most viewed blog posts!)

 

But first off to the last yoga session of the term!

Much to Celebrate and a Taco Chicken Tip!

Yes, there is no denying it.
This month it is

50 years since President Kennedy was killed,

50 years since C.S. Lewis who wrote the Narnia books died (he died the same day as Kennedy - which is probably why nobody remembers) 

50 years since Dr Who was first aired and
 

50 years since I was born in a hospital in New Jersey!

 

It sounds very grown up - being 50... Hope it isn't compulsory...!

☺

I am truly blessed with all the celebrations in my honor with lots of attention from dear friends, visits from Norway, meals out and a fun party last weekend!

So far, turning 50 has been nothing but FUN!

Over to the Spicy Chicken Tip:

Due to my illness this summer, I am 'using up' holidays from the previous holiday year (our holiday year runs from 1 October - 30 September) by having every Friday off. It feels like a real luxery - I could get used to this!

☺

So, sitting this morning with a cup of coffee reading blogs, I came across Trine's Matblogg with a recipe for making your own taco spices. Taco is much loved in this house and by putting together the spices yourself it isn't just cheaper, but you are also in control of how much sugar and salt you consume!

 

Homemade taco spice:

 

3 tablespoons chili powder

2 1/2 teaspoons chiliflakes 

2 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano

2 tablespoons cumin

2 tablespoons paprika powder (I use the hot smokey variety)

2 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder

1 1/2 tablespoons seasalt

1 1/2 teaspoons cayenne pepper

Be aware that spices can vary in strength, so start out carefully.

 

Despite liking taco, I got fed up with the usual taco recipes with minced meat, cheese, etc, etc. Instead, I often roast chicken with the spices.

Here is my simple Taco Chicken recipe:

take one raw chicken

place it in a roasting bag

add a couple of tablespoons of taco spices

close the bag

shake vigoursly to spread the spices

roast the chicken in the oven for the time suggested on the roasting bag pack

Voila!

One VERY succulent, juicy, spicy taco flavoured chicken!

Well, I'd better get a move on. First Sunday of Advent is coming up and Our Young Man is expecting an advent calendar - as usual! I have got 19 out of the 24 surprises ready.

Only 5 more to go... It is getting hard being inventive and keeping the price down!

Besides he said - no chocolate...!

 

Any suggestions...?

♥

Still Hanging in There!

 

Oh, yes, I am still here!

I have neither found the right time nor inspiration for the blog, but I hope that will return!

 

I have gone back to work, and after my summer ordeal that felt ok. Not great, but ok. I am still on a phased return but aiming to start full time again next week. I think that will be ok, too. Sometimes you have to push yourself to move forward. One good thing that has come out of my illness is that I  started working out. Since July I have been going to the gym every other day and I really LOVE it. Who would have thought.... It has become a habit and I feel so much better for it. I just hope I can keep it up when I start working full time...!

☺ 

Time flies and beautiful autumn days are here. The heating goes on regularly in the afternoons, the Cat refuses to step outside for days on end (he is getting lazier by the year) and The Professor reported frost on the ground up north in Durham where he is.

Last week was half term and Halloween and tonight is Bonfire Night. I wrote about Bonfire Night last year, so you can read about that here, if you want. Soon it will be Thanksgiving and then Christmas. It is just one form of celebration after the other!

Another thing to mention is that Our Boy has also sent off his University application for studying next year. So fingers (and toes and anything else!) crossed he is accepted to the course he wants at the University he wants! I am just finding it hard to understand that he is soon off to University... Seriously, where have the years gone???

These pictures are from Sunday when I managed to lure Our Boy (I guess I should start calling him Our Young Man ...) with me for a walk on Sunday with the promise of having lunch at a noodle bar. Their noodles in hot, steamy and  broth, like their Tom Kha Gai is just what you need on a blustery day. The soup was bursting with flavoursome broth enhanced with coconut milk, chicken, pork, seafood, mushrooms and various vegetables and vermicelli noodles. The portions are enormous so the leftovers were brought home and served as a starter for dinner.
No wonder this is a popular place with students!

So, time I had a 'wander' around Bloglandia and see what other bloggers are up to! Maybe time to start thinking of Christmas, too! That reminds me - I MUST get the amaryllis bulbs planted if I am to have any chance of it blooming for Christmas! Last year's didn't bloom until end of April...! I think I might be late already...

Have you got yours planted...?



 

Falling Out of Rhythm...

Let me start by wishing all Norwegians everywhere "Gratulerer med dagen".

17 May is the Norwegian constitution day and celebrated and revered by all. Yet again, I am not able to be in Norway on this day, but I am there in spirit!

 

♥

It has been a while since I wrote on the blog and my only excuse is 'life'. I have missed the blog and reading about what people get up to and getting inspiration from so many. But it has been a hectic month, both at work and at home with exams looming for Our Boy. In addition, I have been struggling with a bad back since Christmas and have tried to get this under control with physiotherapy sessions and daily walks which does wonders for both body and mind. I hope to be back on the blog more regularly now!

 

Here are some picture from what I have been up to the last couple of weeks:

 

Capturing the chestnut tree in bloom in the street behind my office...

 



Business meeting in London...

 

Afternoon tea with Our Boy

 





Fundraising event at work for the children's charity Barnardos

 



Another course to learn to make leather-wrap bracelets

 



A glimpse from my daily walk by the river.

A little piece of heaven on earth

☺

 

Easter Visit to Anglesey-Abbey

As Our Boy was revising for upcoming exams, the Professor and I spent Good Friday exploring the National Trust property Anglesey-Abbey.

We are frequent visitors to some of the other National Trust properties in the region, but this was our first trip to Anglesey-Abbey.

It won't be the last.

The place was brimming with little children on their Easter Egghunt, but since we no longer have small children we steered away from the excited crowd and followed the path through the winter garden, to the Mill and then to the manor house itself.

Anglesey-Abbey started out as a priory, but was bought in the 1920s by Lord Fairhaven who transformed the place to a country estate. He had a passion for tradition and impressing guests and this inspired him to transform a run-down country house and desolate landscape.Life revolved around horse racing and shooting, and guests enjoyed 1930s luxury.The estate was given to the National Trust in the late 1960s.

The gardens are truly spectacular with planting for all seasons The path twists and turns and you don't know what is around the corner. We were completely struck with surprise when we found this little area with naked birch trees. The atmosphere was almost a bit eerie among these trees, but I can hardly wait to see it in full bloom in the summer!

The property also contains a working mill where we chatted with the miller and bought some of his freshly milled flour. At £2.25 for 1.5kg there was nothing to complain about!

A lovely walk, great company and a visit to a beautiful house rounded off with tea and scones in the visitor's centre.What more can you want on a chilly spring day?

Pinterest Inspiration - Table Decoration

The Ladies Who Dine came to my house for lunch yesterday, Sunday. It was kind of a start-of-the-season-gathering/birthday-celebration and just a general-together event.

 

We chose to meet on Sunday lunch as it is already increasingly hard to find a suitable Friday or Saturday that everybody can make. Besides, Sunday lunch is a great British tradtion!

 

The above IPhone-pictures (I really need to get my good camera more out - I have becom lazy!) are from the table and I was pleased with my simple silver/acorns/candle decoration on a slate tiered cake stand. Inspiration from Pinterest (you can find me there)! Very simple and just using what you already have but put together in a new way. And for some extra sparkle I added a smal battery-operated garland of fairy lights along the table.

 

As usual, I was worried it wouldn't be enough food (ok... I admit that after various canapees and a starter with scrambled eggs and smoked salmon followed by the main consisting of 2 mustand-and-honeyglazed hams and a roasted chicken along with a 'mountain' of roasted potatoes, mashed swede, brussels sprouts, fried mushrooms and a tomato and onion salsa and my friends dessert of apple strudle with whipped cream followed by coffee and mints and biscotti was too much for 6 ladies), but it looks like there are enought leftovers for me and The Boy for the rest of the week...

☺



Another Year ...

 

Another year older, yes...

♥

It was my birthday this weekend and after starting with lunch out with friends on Sunday, I treated myself to a day off on Monday!

My gift to myself was to do whatever I really fancied doing...:

♥

It started with Our Boy waking me singing 'Happy Birthday' while bringing gifts and serving tea in bed

♥

The day progressed with

 

baking a cake (this is my most downloaded recipe)

listening to a lot of music

hemming some material I had bought a year ago I and making it into a new table cloth

having coffee and cake with a friend that popped by

starting knitting on a small project (which should be done in a day or so)

reading a book

having a lovely dinner with Our Boy

receiving lots and lots of phone calls and emails



♥

Next weekend The Professor is coming home

We are invited to a Thanksgiving party on Saturday - the turkey is ready at 2 pm...

On Sunday the house is being 'invaded' by friends coming for lunch

♥

No, age doesn't matter, there is plenty of time to plan celebrating the BIG year, next year...!

☺

Tried and Tested: Jubilee Cheesecake

For the Jubilee Weekend the original plan was to have a pot-luck lunch on Sunday with the neighbours in the common garden, but the weather was rather uncooperative so we all went in to one of the larger flats in the old house. 

It turned out to be a very nice and social gathering while watching the Queen and family on the flotilla down The Thames.

Well done, Mrs. Queen!
Not sure why they all turned their backs to the camera...

I had been asked to bring cakes so I made cupcakes, brownies and a cheese cake. I made the cupcakes with a white chocolate topping which went down rather well and experimented with making some simple new decorations.

I know I have been putting a lot of cake recipes on the blog lately, but as the blog serves as a new way of storing all those magazine clippings and jotted down recipes I have in a big folder, you will have to bear with me.

The cakes were all well received at the party, but the cheese cake was the definite winner.

☺

Combine 300 grams of crushed Oreo cookies with

150 grams of melted butter

Add this to a lined baking tin and

put it in the fridge while you mix

 300-350 grams of Philadelphia cream cheese

2 eggs

1 tsp of vanilla sugar

0.5 dl sugar

Pour the mixture over the chilled base and bake for 15 mins at about 175 degrees.

In the meantime, mix

2.5 dl sourcream

1 tsp of vanilasugar

1 tbsp of sugar

Take the cake out of the oven and pour the sourcream mixture over. Return to the oven and bake for another 10 mins. until the top is firm

Tried and Tested: Oreo Cake

Another year has gone by and Our Boy turned 16 in the midst of the Queen's Jubilee Weekend.
We have enjoyed a lovely Jubilee/Birthday Weekend together with family visiting from Sweden!
Our Boy chose Oreo Cake as his birthday cake.
It has become our tradition that birthday boy/girl gets to choose the cake for their birthday. This is what he had last year when he turned 15 and this is what he had when he turned 14!

I have noted from various blogs that Oreo cake is one of the big hits on any Norwegian dessert table. Our Boy thinks Norwegian  home made cakes are the best in the world and wanted us to try it out together.


The various Norwegian recipes calls for using a mousse based on some ready made packets which we can't get here. Any mousse recipe I have normally contains raw eggs and I am not too keen on using that. So, a little more research (and some help from Nigella) resulted in our own version of Oreo cake using marshmallows to set the mousse. The cake requires no oven use, so perhaps a good alternative if you are on holidays and don't have access to a proper kitchen.


It was such a success that he made a second one to share with his friends in the evening at a joint birthday celebration!

☺

Base layer

Smash up 300 grams of Oreo cookies and

mix with

150 gram melted butter

Pour it in to a lined baking tin and put it in the fridge.

♦
Second layer

Whisk 225 gram cream cheese smooth with

2.5 dl powder sugar

Whip 1.5 dl cream and add it to the cream cheese mix.

Pour this over the chilled base layer and return the baking tin to the fridge.

♣

 Top Mousse layer
Melt on very low heat 150 gram marshmallows with

1/2 dl boiling water and

150 grams chocolate and

50 grams butter

Stirr constantly till it is all melted.

Set aside till it has cooled.

In the meantime, whip 1.5 dl cream and add it to the cooled marshmallow/chocolate mixture
♠
Pour this over the cake and leave it in the fridge to set for at least 2-3 hours.
♥

Bring Out the Bunting!

We are getting ready for the up-coming Jubilee Weekend!

♥

Bunting is very British to me, both for using indoors and outdoors.

It really gives a festive feel!

I have been crocheting my own bunting for the neighbourhood party.

Quick and easy, using the technique in granny squares to make the triangles.

They are stitched on to a ribbon from East of India

Luckily the colours are applicable for celebrations for several of the countries I consider
'mine'!

☺

17th of May In My Corner

Flag and candle at the breakfast table this morning (no, the flat isn't on fire...)

The Norwegian Consitution Day!

Gratulerer med Dagen!

Just a quick update on the day from my corner of England:

I have been working AND celebrating.

I had a (loooong) lunch with some of the Scandi-ladies I have gotten to know recently
(I brought the flag with me to the restaurant)

☺

Tonight a friend will be joining myself and Our Boy for a dinner out.

Although there has neither been any childrens' parades, flag waving, hot dog consumption, ice cream/cake eating nor wearing of my bunad (it would look a bit odd in the office...), it has actually been a typical day of celebrating 17th of May with food, drink, family and friends!

I hope you have also enjoyed the day, no matter where you are!

♥

The End of a Whirlwind Week...

The garden

I can't believe how quiet it is today...

We have had a busy almost whirlwind like week with visitors from Norway who bid us farewell yesterday afternoon! It will take us a few days 'to land' after such a week!

For the second year running I went travelling with them to a UK destination. Last year we went to Jane Austin's beautiful Bath which you can read about here and here. This year Stratford-upon-Avon, the birthplace of William Shakespeare was the destination. Seems to be a literary theme developing here, I think!



Anne Hathaway's Cottage

Our Boy had to stay home to study for his upcoming exams, but that gave him some much appreciated time with his father.

I just loved this willow hut...

We were really not lucky with the weather for this part of the week as it was miserably cold and damp. Still, the flowers are all in full bloom.

One of the highlights was when we went to see Anne Hathaway's cottage (the wife of William). The pictures are all from the cottage and the grounds. It was so quaint and cute!

From inside the cottage - all left as when it was inhabited..

The place had great guides which really made history come alive.

To be honest, due to the unfriendly weather we didn't really see too much of Stratford-upon-Avon apart from a quick walk through a part of town.

But we did venture some other places nearby...

To be continued...!

☺

Not Exactly Snow... and Nowruz

The trees along the garages are in full bloom covering the ground with their pretty white/pink petals. Looks like snow, but this is the type of 'snow' I prefer

♥

Lovely sunshine on a Monday is much appreciated, but WHY could it not have been shining on Sunday too???

Tomorrow is Nowruz (1391). Read here and here to learn more about the Persian New Year's celebrations. It will be a quiet celebration for us tomorrow as The Professor was home on the weekend and we had an early joint Nowruz celebration and Mother's Day celebration (yes, that was yesterday here in the UK). Got to be pragmatic when the Nowruz celebration changes time and day every year! This year it will Tuesday 20 March at 05.14 am...! And no... I will NOT be awake for that tomorrow morning!

☺

Hyacinths are among the traditional flowers for Nowruz. I got these as bulbs from a friend of mine for my birthday in November. After potting them (and forgetting them), I left them in the garage over the winter. Purely by accident, I remembered them one day I was in the garage and brought them in to the house two weeks ago. Their blooms are now perfectly timed for the celebrations!

Eid-e-Shoma Mubarak!