Saturday, 21 January 2012

Creating a Knitting Pattern


Sitting and knitting is actually very relaxing and almost like meditation...
♥

My mind spins all over the place and I get all sorts of new ideas.
Only problem is that my hands don't knit as fast as new plans form in my mind... 

Anyway, spurred on by the completion of the knitted cushion cover I thought of another complementary pattern, but decided to 'try' it out on the computer (Excel) to see if it would work. As you see, I have again borrowed inspiration from the Marius sweater but also various other pictures I have seen on the internet. I guess you can say I am showing my roots in the image above - yes I spent most of my childhood in the south eastern part of Norway where there are plenty of moose.
♥

This cushion cover will be slightly larger with  89 stiches as opposed to 72 on the previous one, but I think that will be ok.

Do any of you have any experience with making your own patterns?
I'd better get knitting as I am impatient to see if this works!

Thursday, 19 January 2012

Marius-Inspired Sofa Cushion

Remember the project I started a couple of weeks ago with the enormous balls of yarn?
I am pleased to announce that the first scatter cushion is now done! I am mainly relieved that it didn't turn into another never finished 'UFO project' as I tend to get impatient and put it aside...

I kind of made it up as I went along and the front is loosely based on the traditional Marius-sweater pattern while the back is much simpler (I don't know the English word for it - lus we call them in Norwegian). I even put in a zip which is rather advanced work for me... 72 stiches and thick knitting needles made light work of it, to be honest.


Sorry about the picture quality - as we know, evening light is not the best for taking pictures. 
I think it works well on the sheepskin in the sofa.  

I also think I need two complimentary cushions... 
I have a plan for another one with a slightly different pattern, but again I don't promise when it will be ready.

And, yes - the balls of yarn are still ENORMOUS!

Wednesday, 18 January 2012

Luxury Dilemma..


What a luxury dilemma!

To my amazement I won two round-trip tickets rail tickets in the Norwegian rail line's Christmas calendar
from anywhere in Norway to anywhere in Norway!

And now the dilemma - where to go and what to see!

Aaaaah - there is so much choice and soooo hard to choose!

The tickets are valid till the end of 2012, so there is plenty of time to plan a great trip!

Any good suggestions?

☺

Tuesday, 17 January 2012

Never Too Late...

picture borrowed from http://stuffkit.com/50-cool-guitar-hd-wallpapers.htm
The Professor has decided to learn to play the guitar.
He has been watching Our Boy playing (who has been taking lessons for the last 5 years) and was convinced it can't be too hard...
Our Boy graciously let his father have a lesson with his guitar teacher.
He didn't have time for any more than this ONE lesson...
I think he agrees it isn't enough.
 
 
The Professor decided it was something wrong with the guitar - that the strings are too closely spaced. (He wouldn't accept that his fingers are too large for the strings nor that he needs to practise more.)
A new guitar has thus been acquired.
I will report back in due course about possible progress.
In the meantime darling, 
please don't give up the day job and join the band,
not just yet...

;-)

ROCK ON!

Monday, 16 January 2012

Domestic Pleasures...

One of my guilty domestic pleasures are bedsheets...
The older I get the more I just love them.
Can never seem to have enough and I am always drawn to this department in the shops although I am sure we have enough sheets to last us for years...  There are few things in life that beat sleeping in clean, fresh, crisp bedsheets...

:-)

But I used to find folding the fitted sheets a real mess and could never work out a good way to fold them so they would fit neatly in the cupboard. Until I found this instructive film on YouTube. I struggled a little to begin with, but now it is second nature. Ok, it isn't the BIGGEST challenge in life (contrary to what the lady on the film says), but it does help up free up space in the linen cupboard.
Give it a go!

:-)


Friday, 13 January 2012

Friday 13th... and Time


Can you believe it?
It is already Friday again and to top that Friday 13th (no, I am not superstitious so that doesn't matter)!
The week has just gone by in a swish! Not that I complain - bring on the weekend!
And I THINK I can feel that the days are becoming just a little bit longer - yeah!
:-)

Our Boy is in the middle of his mock GCSE exams and we have one more week of this. I think he has about 18 exams in total these two weeks. Here in England children take most of their GCSE exams at the end of year 11 (Our Boy already did maths last year). The real exam is not till May/June, but every school does a mock/trial exam either before or after Christmas to give the children (and parents) an idea what they can expect and also where they might need to focus the rest of this school year's revision time. The GCSE results are important for acceptance to 6-th form which is the last two years before they go on to University (again - where has THAT time gone - to me he was 5 'yesterday'). The exams at the end of those two years are called A-levels. Even though Our Boy is staying for 6-th form at the same school as he is currently attending and therefore the GCSE exam results don't really matter in this respect, they are looked at when you apply to University along with the A-levels.

Talk about loosing track of time:
I thought my hair was starting to look a bit long and it might be 6-7 weeks since my haircut so I'd better get an appointment.

Oh, how wrong was I?!
It is 4 MONTHS since my last haircut...
No wonder the hair is long!!!
Actually, I don't think my hair has been this long since I was 13...
And exactly what happened to that time?????

Tuesday, 10 January 2012

Healthy Surprises in a Box

I have previously told you about my shopping secret.
In short - as I hate going grocery shopping, I shop online and have it delivered to our house instead. Ok, it might not happen every week as admittedly sometimes you can get some inspiration when you go to the shops, but most weeks I would rather do something else with my time!
It is a perfect arrangement for me.

They have now introduced a box filled with various seasonal fruit and vegetables. I was initially sceptical to this as I prefer to choose my own combination of fruit and vegetables, but then I was getting bored with my own choices. You get an indication of what they may be including when you place the order, but there might be some changes due to the season.

To be honest, I love this.

This way I am introduced to new vegetables on a regular basis and it 'forces' me to think of new dishes to make to utilise these sometimes to me new vegetables:

Last week in this mix was fresh beetroot which I have only ever eaten pickled and bought in a jar. I made a lovely pan of mixed roasted vegetables with the beetroots (cut in large pieces and sprinkle some olive oil/salt/pepper over beetroots, parsnips, potatoes, garlic, onions, carrots, swedes and roast in the oven for 30-40 minutes till done).

This week the box included fennel which was also a new ingredient to me. I made a lovely fennel soup with cod and shrimp - I found the recipe on Trine's Matblogg. It was lovely and I will definetely make this soup again AND buy more fennel.

Sometimes it is good to be forced to think
'outside the box'...

:-)

Monday, 9 January 2012

The Biggest Balls EVER....!


For those of you who thought this was about some other types of balls, I am afraid you will be disappointed... 
We are talking about balls of yarn!

I wanted to knit some new covers for a couple of sofa cushions and came across these balls of yarn meant for big hunky Aran sweaters. Since I am making up the pattern etc as I go along I was not sure how much I needed. Also, it needs to be said that it has been a while since I knitted anything... So, when I came across these ENORMOUS balls I thought this would save me running out of yarn. 
Yep, I was right. 

I think I have enough yarn to knit an entire sofa... 
Well, maybe not a sofa, but each ball is 500 grams 
(I think 'normal' balls of yarn are 50 gram)...

I promise to show the finished product... when I get there. 
But please, don't hold your breath waiting. 
It could take a while.

:-)

Sunday, 8 January 2012

Tried and Tested: Boston Brownies

Ok, I admit it is rather early in the year and too close since Christmas to be tempting with Brownies, but I am a weak mother... When Our Boy asked for Brownies after a he had been for a long run, I couldn't deny him.

:-)

I found this recipe on the back of an American corn flour box and it does not contain any other flour. I made some alterations to the recipe (as I often do) and the Brownies turned out very tasty and chewy and seemed lighter than my regular recipe. I suggest you mix all by hand to avoid getting too much air into the mixture. You want it gooey and somewhat heavy.

You need:
150 gram butter
100 gram chocolate - roughly chopped (the recipe actually called for 200gram, but there is a limit!) 
180 gram light brown sugar (again the recipe called for 200 gram, but you will never miss these 20 grams)
2 eggs, beaten
few drops of vanilla extract
50 gram cornflour
pinch of salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
a handful of chopped almonds or hazelnuts (optional)

Melt the butter and half of the chocolate in a bowl over a pan of hot water
Mix the sugar, eggs and vanilla extract
Mix the sugar/egg/vanilla mixture with the melted butter/chocolate
Sift in the corn flour/salt/baking powder 
Mix in the rest of the chopped chocolate and the nuts

Bake in a small lined tin (18 cm square, for instance)
on 180 degrees for approx 50 mins (check that it doesn't burn on top) 
Let the brownies cool in the tin before your remove the lining and cut into squares.

I admit Our Boy did not eat all of the Brownies by himself...
I am now going for a brisk walk!

Thursday, 5 January 2012

New Year's Walk...

I have to say the weather is strange these days! 
Extreme winds and lots of rain, but rather warm. 
A lot of things are starting to grow in the garden...

Not sure what to make of it, but it is very unlike last January when we even had snow for several days! 
On our last holiday after Christmas The Professor and I ventured out for the first walk of 2012. We went our usual route to Grantchester. Always lovely and warming to have a stop at one of the pubs at the end of the path for a glass of mulled wine... 
:-)

 We walked around the church (where I once - by accident - attended service with Lady Thatcher - but that is another story and enough name dropping for one day...) and I was intrigued by this bricked up doorway in the wall... wonder what the story was WHY this had been done? It was only the church yard behind it. It reminded me of the book 'The Secret Garden'...

On our way back home we suddenly stopped and STARED! 
Despite the distance - there was unmistakably a man taking a swim in the river...! 
And no - it really isn't THAT warm (we were wearing gloves and hats...). 

I think that is taking New Year's resolutions to get fit a bit too far...
:-)


Tuesday, 3 January 2012

Recommended viewing: Great Expectations


BBC showed a new 3-part adaptation of Charles Dickens' 'Great Expectations' this Christmas.
Gillian Anderson (better known from X-Files) is a haunted and bitter Miss Havisham (with a very convincing British accent!) while David Suchet (Agatha Christie's Poirot) is the hardnosed lawyer Mr. Jaggers and Ray Winstone is Magwitch.

Nobody does these period dramas better than the BBC and a bit of Dickens this time of year is never wrong.

Saturday, 31 December 2011

2011...

It is really hard to realise that 2011 is over.
Sounds rather like repeating a cliche to say "where did the time go", but honestly - where DID it go?
To sum it up in few words - 2011 was good, bad, happy and sad.
Here is a glimpse of some of the things we got up to in 2011:
I had almost forgotten it is a year since we did up Our Boy's room in January! This is a BEFORE picture... :-) A glimpse of the more finished product can be found here.
In February Our Boy and I went up to see the Professor in Edinburgh. I really like this town. Just never have enough time up there!
In March we celebrated Persian New Year.
Back in April there was 'that wedding' and we went with good friends to Bath.
A real treat!
In May I attended a photo class. It was great fun, but I haven't found time for another one. Perhaps that should go on the list of things I want to do in 2012?!
In June my lovely warm and caring mother passed away. Even if she had been seriously ill for over 7 years, it was a blow to us all. I still have conversations with her in my mind and often catch myself thinking I should remember to tell her 'this and that' next time we speak...
But life does go on and in the middle of July Our Boy went on a great walking trip along the West Highland Walkway in Scotland.
And July was the month that changed a lot in Norway. We are all affected in one way of another after the horrible events on 22 July in Oslo and Utoya.
This year's family holiday in August went to Juan-les-Pins in the South of France. A lovely relaxing time!
My in-laws arrived in September and we spent two lovely months with them, taking them on the weekends to our favourite places.
In October Our Boy and I mixed business and pleasure in London. Should do that again soon...
Our Boy treaded the boards in the theatre play Boy Solider in November. Despite the rehearsals taking a lot of time, I think he enjoyed this experience!
December has been a month filled with cooking, baking and preparing for Christmas. A bit strange it is almost over, I do enjoy it so.
But next year we will do it ALLLL again!

:-)

So, what may 2012 bring... ??
a lot of things are on the horizon and hopefully mainly positive and uplifting things.
Perhaps on the national scale the Olympics in London will be the most memorable and one that brings some glimpse of hope for the future for a country and world in recession?!
Or is that asking too much...?

A new year and new plans (I do love 'plans').
On my very personal and private list I would add
Try to exercise more (that is compulsory on such a list)
Find more quiet time
Read more
Explore more
Travel more
Spend more time with family and friends
Laugh more ...
In any case - I wish you all a very
Happy, Prosperous, Energetic and Inspirational New Year!

Thursday, 29 December 2011

Not Too Bad After All...


It isn't too bad beeing stuck in bed with a cold even though it is Christmas...

I am not really doing anything else than I had already planned...
Like reading, watching films and sleeping...

:-)

The Professor thinks I am in competition with The Cat to see who can sleep more...

Trust me, The Cat is winning!

Tuesday, 27 December 2011

Tried and Tested: Roasted Potatoes


In time for New Year Eve's dinner I thought I would share with you how we make traditional Roasted Potatoes. These are among the British culinary traditions we have adopted for our Christmas meal. The perfect roast potatoes are lovely and crisp on the outside whilst fluffy and soft on the inside. I normally use either Maris Piper or King Edward potatoes - both types are excellent for roasting.


Peel the potatoes and take care to ensure that larger potatoes are cut so that they are all approximately equal in size. You don't want too large potatoes as you want as much surface as possible to soak up the fat. Parboil for approx 10 mins

Discard the water and let the steam evaporate. Add 4-5 generous tablespoons of semolina to the potatoes and shake the pan with the potatoes so that they get a good coating. This will help soak up the fat and crisp up the potatoes.

Pre-heat 4-5 generous tablespoons of fat (I use goose fat) in the pan you will be roasting the potatoes in on high heat (250 degrees)

Add the potatoes to the melted/heated fat. I find it is easier to take the pan with the fat out of the oven first as the fat will be very hot - so hot that the potatoes sizzle in the pan when you add them. Turn down the heat of the oven to about 180 degrees and leave them in for about 1 hr or until done. You may wish to turn them around a couple of times to ensure the they get browned equally on all sides.
Add some nice salt to season them before serving.

Monday, 26 December 2011

Merry Christmas!


We have enjoyed a quiet and peaceful Christmas.

Key words for these days are traditions, good food, plenty of time, sleep, walks, films and books.
There is something so comforting and nice about the predictable traditions.

This year it has been rather warm here - about +13 degrees, so a big change from last year.

Another thing we all noticed different this year was the lack of people in the shops before Christmas. Ok, I admit it was a bit MAD in the food store on the 23rd when I unfortunately had to pop out to get something I had forgotten..., but generally I would say it is a worrying sign for the economy when you see that the shops are just not selling. I guess it might mean that the sales starting today Boxing Day and in January will be huge in order for the retailers to get hold of some more money.

And still, our town does not seem to be hard hit by the economy - we all feel like we live in a bubble compared to reports from other parts of the country.

Food for thought for the year ahead...

Thursday, 22 December 2011

Lucky Me!


A couple of days ago these lovely pot holders arrived in the mail!
Lady Luck (or was it Santa...?) was with me when I won them in Åshild's advent calendar giveaway on her blog "Bestemors Hage" (Grandmother's Garden) .

I love hearts!
These will forever be part of my Christmas kitchen.
I think they are too nice to be used, but will look lovely hanging next to the oven

I always enjoy reading her blog. She has lots of handy tips for traditional Norwegian cooking and is a very creative lady! I recommend that you check out her blog.

Tusen, tusen, tusen takk!!!

:-)

Wednesday, 21 December 2011

Tried and Tested: Berlinerkranser OR What Do You Do...


when you wake up at 5 am on the darkest day of the year and can't sleep...?
You bake! Well, at least I do.
:-)

Isn't it typical that when I had the day off and could have slept muuuuch longer, I was 'bright eyed and bushy tailed' at 5 am...!!!

So, this year's 'Berlinerkranser' are now safely in the tin (at least those that have not been given away or eaten by the men in my house...)

I used a traditional recipe (makes about 75):

Mash the yoke of 2 hard boiled eggs with
2 raw egg yokes
Add 125 gram sugar and mix well
Add 300 grams flour
and 250 gram soft butter
(alternative times)
and mix all well

Let the dough rest in the fridge for at least 1 hour.

Roll out pencil thick lengths (10 cm) and fold into a wreath or just simply as I have done above.
Give them a wash with the egg whites and drizzle some sugar over

Bake in the oven on 175-180 degrees for 10 mins.
Beware - keep an eye on them so they don't burn.

Let them cool on the tray before moving them.

I think I will be going to bed early tonight...
:-)


Monday, 19 December 2011

Carols by Candlelight and Weekend Activities


True to tradition, some of the Ladies Who Dine attended the annual Carols by Candlelight last night.
The church was packed, it was suitably cold and frosty outside (no snow yet!) and the atmosphere with the church only lit by candles gave us all the right Christmas feeling.

The rest of the weekend has been spent cleaning and preparing.
Not that I think you necessarily HAVE to clean extra for Christmas, but as I was home during the day this weekend I noticed when the sun was shining the state of windows and simply could not ignore them.
Besides, new curtains for the living room 'demanded' clean windows...

:-)

While I was at it I noticed that the kitchen cabinet doors could do with a clean,
and some of the cabinets could benefit from a tidy up,
the living room needed decluttering in preparation for the Christmas decorations coming up next week,
and that the wooden floor in the living room could do with an extra polish,
and so on...!

Think I will make myself busy outside the house during the day the rest of the week
- you don't notice so much what needs doing in the dusk...!


Oh, and best of luck to my friend who is moving house these days!
I must say - they are a brave family moving a week before Christmas!

:-)

Thursday, 15 December 2011

Jamie Oliver - Christmas Lunch Treat


Every year my boss takes his closest colleagues out for Christmas lunch to show his appreciation for our work.

This year he took us to Jamie Oliver's restaurant.
I have been there before and very much looked forward to going again.
In preparation for this event I had only had a banana for breakfast so I was literally starving...
We all shared various lovely antipasti for starters
Then I had a lovely seabass for mains
and
Cheese board for dessert
Plus Jamie's gorgeous unusual mince pies made with filo pastry.
I am generally not a fan of mince pies, but these I wanna try to make myself!

What a treat!
No need for dinner tonight...

:-)

Wednesday, 14 December 2011

Tried and Tested: Burned Almonds


Another of our culinary Christmas traditions are burned almonds.
They also make a nice tasty edible gift.

I never forget the first year I made them:
I had prepared 1/2 kg one evening and went to bed only to wake up the next morning and the entire jar was empty...
The Professor had been working late and found a taste snack on the counter...

1 kilo almonds (keep the peel on)
375 gram sugar
3 deciltre water
1-2 teaspoons of cinnnamon (optional)
3 tablespoons of butter

Toast the almonds in the oven on 200 degrees for about 10 mins.

Bring the water, sugar and cinnamon to the boil and add the almonds once all the sugars has dissolved.
Stirr carefully till all the almonds are coated. You might find that the almonds turn grey with the sugar, but just keep stirring till the sugar melts and caramelises again. Be sure to mind the temperature so you don't burn the sugar.
 
Once the sugar has caramelised around the almonds take it off the heat and add the butter (it helps to part the almonds from eachother)
 Pour the almonds onto baking parchment and divinde them up
- be careful it is VERY hot!
 
Once cooled, store them in a nice airtight box
(you might have to and hide them if they are to last till Christmas!)

Monday, 12 December 2011

Tried and Tested: Norwegian Sylterull (Pork Roll)

picture borrowed from matprat.no
To me, Christmas is in particular about culinary traditions. 
We all eat food and prepare elaborate dishes with spices that we NEVER eat the rest of the year. Recipes and traditions handed down through the generations. But THAT is all part of what makes Christmas special, at least to me.
Being in a foreign land with other traditions means that you either adopt new traditions,
make some new ones yourself or try to adapt the old ones.

Our Christmas is celebrated in rather traditionally Norwegian style.
Being married to somebody without childhood Christmas traditions means I get it all MY way!
Actually, that is the ONLY way he knows how to celebrate Christmas.
No need for compromise here - I rule!
:-)
A couple of weeks ago I made traditional Norwegian sylterull or Norwegian pork roll (I think sylte sounds nicer than the English name...). Sylte is traditional lunchmeat normally only made and eaten at Christmas. I have seen many bloggers using different techniques and recipes, but the description below became my way. I first made it out of a 2 kg slice of pork belly, but as I didn't hide it in the freezer quick enough, I had to make another one this weekend which is now safely in the freezer. Sylte is originally  made of the meat in the pig's head, but THAT is such a sloppy and messy business, so I made it the easy way (besides, I had no pig's head handy):
This is what you need:
1.8 kg pork belly (no bones) with the rind
4 tblsp. salt to 3 liters of water (you might need more water)
Mix in a bowl:
2 tblsp salt
2 teasp pepper
2 teasp clove (nellik)
2 teasp ginger (ingefær)
2 teasp all-spice (allehånde)
3 teasp gelatin powder
Open the slab of pork belly with the rind side down and slice it into two or three slices that hang together so you end up with one long piece of meat. Ensure the rind side is at one end of this piece.
Smear the spice mixture all over the meat and
start rolling the slab together ensuring the rind side is the last bit on the outside enclosing the roll.
Wrap it in a tea towel and fasten well using a good cotton string so it makes a nice tight roll.

Put the roll in boiling water and let it simmer for 1.5-2 hrs.
Let it rest out of the water for about 20 mins before you
Take it out and let it cool for 20 mins
before putting it under pressure (about 6 kg) until it is cold.
If you don't have a special press for this purpose you can balance some books on top of a tray on the sylte.

Some store it in brine, but I prefer to pop it in the freezer.
Serve thinly sliced on bread with a good mustard, pickles or pickled beetroots.
The smell of those lovely spices, the meat and the condiments
- now THAT is Christmas!

to me

Friday, 9 December 2011

Secret Santa!


Yesterday we arranged Secret Santa at work for the first time ever!
We had a lovely little lunch gathering where everybody brought in something special from their country to eat and we all got a Secret Santa gift.

I brought Norwegian pork roll (sylterull - made for the first time ever) served with mustard on crackers, and gingerbread crackers with blue cheese, plus a bottle of Gløgg (bought at Ikea!).
You don't know what Secret Santa is?
Well, every on puts their name in a jar. You have to pick a name (not your own, of course) and buy a present for that person for a maximum amount (we chose £5) - all done in secret. You then wrap the gift and it is opened to much sillyness and fun.

Great fun with little effort and I think people had been rather inventive with the limited budget!

Tonight is the Christmas party for the school (theme is Casino!) and Monday we have a Christmas dinner for our group.

What do you get up to at work before Christmas?

Thursday, 8 December 2011

Oooooh! So Tempting...


You know how you see on TV all these auctions for antique furniture?
I love those shows!


Despite having lived here for maaaany years I was not aware of any local auction houses.
Well, my colleague changed all that when she introduced me to a local auction house. The great thing is that they have their catalogue online and you can go an browse the items live for a week before the auction. For some items you can bid online, for others you can leave a bid if you can't be there in person on the day.


The auction takes place today and last night we went over to have a look at things as she was looking for a particular item. The item she had seen online didn't turn out so nice 'in real life', but she found some other nice items she put in a bid on.
So exciting! 

I decided not to put in any bids, but rather take some time looking and learning.
According to The (minimalist) Professor, I would need a larger house as well to accommodate any more furniture...

Imagine if this top hat (and leather box) could talk...
I would love to attend an auction, but WORK gets in the way... At least I can see online what the various items went for and learn from that!

... or the tales these three friends could tell!
:-)

Monday, 5 December 2011

Tried and Tested: Marvellously More-ish Creamy Mushroom Soup!


A few weeks ago my Danish friend (who is an amazing cook!) invited me for supper with 4 other ladies.
A real fun evening with lots of laughter, intens chatting, amazing food and plenty of drink.
It was so nice getting to know some new lovely people!
For starters we had this amazingly tasty mushroom soup and the hostess has kindly shared the recipe. She got it from "McCartney’s Meatfree Monday" (serves 4)

75g butter
4 shallots, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
500g field mushrooms, (she used Portobello and brown button)
1l vegetable stock
1 tbls plain flour

TO SERVE
Soy sauce
Thick cream
Salt/pepper

Heat 50g of the butter,
sauté onion until soft;
add garlic,
cook for 1 minute more,
add mushrooms (sliced),
stir,
add stock,
bring to boil,
season and cover to simmer for 10-15 mins,
remove from heat.

In separate pan heat remaining butter, stir in flour, cook for 2 mins, remove and add to soup in a liquidiser, mix.  Return to the pan, bring to boil, add soy sauce to taste, salt/pepper and stir in  dollop or 2 of cream.

It was sooo jummy - I couldn't hold back...
I had TWO bowls of soup

Thursday, 1 December 2011

Tried and Tested: Chocolate Caramels


The Christmas baking has started!

My good 'old' friend back 'home' asked me a question about a recipe for caramels that I had given her maaaany years ago. I couldn't remember the recipe nor how I made them, but she sent it to me and I amended it a bit and thought I would put it on the blog so I won't forget it again.

:-)

The taste brought back memories and turned out really nice!
They are a bit on the chewy side, but not so bad that you have to worry about your fillings.
An idea for an edible gift...?
They are really so easy to make.

Melt in a pan:

25 gram of butter
2.5 decilitre of sugar

add
3 decilitre of cream (I used double cream)
1.5 decilitre of golden syrup
50 grams of cooking chocolate (omit if you don't want chocolate caramels)
Finely chopped or grated almonds (optional)

Let the mixture cook for about 1 hr on low heat, stirring occasionally.
I put some greaseproof paper in a square tin and poured the cooked mixture in to let it cool.
I found using a pizza wheel was the easiest way to cut it up once the caramel had cooled down.

Our Boy and my trusted tester next door agreed
- naughty, but very nice!
;-)

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