Sep 28 2016

Make your own Pumpkin Spice

(Norsk versjon, følg denne linken: Lag din egen Pumpkin Spice Mix! )

Have you ever been to Starbucks in the fall? Ever noticed that they sell Pumpkin Spice Latte and it smells divine? It makes me salivate, fer sure! The Karate Kid has hit each and every Starbucks in Copenhagen asking if they sell pumpkin spice syrup, and they don’t. I think the Pumpkin Spice Lattes at Starbucks are so sickening sweet that I won’t even go near them. And that is why I figured that there has to be a way to make Pumpkin Spice at home, so you can add to your latte – separate from the syrup! That way, the Kid can have his sickening sweet Pumpkin Spiced Latte, and I can have mine without the sickening part, but still get the flavor. Yup, I’m a super smart cookie!

So, here is the recipe for the spice mix:

2 tsp ground ginger

1,5 tsp ground allspice

3 tsp ground cinnamon

1,5 tsp ground cloves

2 tsp ground nutmeg

Mix it all together and put in a jar with a tight lid.

Then what you do, is simply add ¼ teaspoon of the spice mix to your latte, along with the normal amount of syrup, sugar or sweetener that you always use – or leave the sweet stuff out of it if that is what you prefer and you still get the Pumpkin Spice taste that we are all so passionate about!

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I don’t care how expensive the capsules for your espresso machine are – I still saved you a whole bunch of money now that you don’t have to run to Starbucks every time you crave a Pumpkin Spiced Latte. Wasn’t that generous of me? You are welcome!

The cool thing here is that now you also have a jar of readymade pumpkin spice to put in your fall baking. Yaaaaaaay! Knowing me, and the Kid, Imma have to make the spice mix several times before fall is over.

Sep 28 2016

Lag din egen Pumpkin Spice Mix!

(This post is written in Norwegian, to read it in English, follow the link: Make your own Pumpkin Spice )

Har du vært på Starbucks om høsten? Har du lagt merke til at de selger Pumpkin Spiced Latte og det dufter alldeles himmelsk? Duften får i alle fall meg til å sikle. Karate Kid’n har spurt i samtlige Starbucks i København om de selger Pumpkin Spice Syrup, og det gjør de dessverre ikke. Jeg synes nå at sirupen gjør Latten kvalmende søt at jeg må dessverre avstå fra dem. Og det var derfor jeg tenkte at det må da kunne gå an å lage kryddermiksen selv, som man kan ha i latten – uten det kvalmende søte! Det viser seg at det er fullt mulig, ja! Nå kan Kid’n få sin kvalmende Pumpkin Spice Latte – og jeg kan få smaken uten den kvalmende delen. Smart, ikke sant?

Her er oppskriften på kryddermixen:

2 ts malt ingefær

1,5 ts malt allehånde

3 ts malt kanel

1,5 ts malt nellik

2 ts malt muskat

Bland alt sammen og oppbevar i et glass med lokk.

Nå kan du da lage deg en latte på vanlig vis, tilsette ca. en kvart teskje med Pumpkin Spice sammen med sukker, sirup, suketter eller utelate det søte helt om det er slik du foretrekker din latte, smaken får du likevel.

Som en liten bonus kan jeg opplyse om at uansett hvor dyre kapslene til espresso maskin er, din er det allikevel billigere å lage sin egen Pumpkin Spiced Latte enn å renne på Starbucks.

Vel bekomme!

Du kan selvsagt også bruke kryddermiksen i bakverk og kaker for en ekstra touch av høstsmak. Kjenner jeg Kid’n og meg selv rett, så må jeg lage flere omganger av Pumpkin Spice Mixen før høsten er omme.

Sep 27 2016

Light

“A single sunbeam is enough to drive away many shadows.” ― Francis of Assisi

I would like to thank Michelle Mac (Southern by design) for thinking of me as a prospective participant in the «3 Days 3 Quotes Challenge». Michelle not only masters the art of poetry, but also writes really good thought provoking personal pieces. She has also been known to snap some really good photos! So don’t hang around here – go check her out!

Let me talk you through the rules of the challenge:

Three quotes for three days.
Three nominees each day (no repetition).
Thank the person who nominated you.
Inform the nominees.

Day 3 Nominees:

I urge you all to check them out, you will not be disappointed!

Clouds

Sep 26 2016

Cabin fever?

«If you’re going to have a cabin fever, have a big cabin, you know.» – Joe Cocker

The Karate Kid on his way to the cabin

Looks small underneath the mountain

Glorious view

Just a little hike

Please excuse the clutter behind the outhouse, it was the maid’s day off…

I miss this place!

Not fancy, but comfortable

Not my fav color on the furniture, but they worked just fine

What is better than being IN the cabin? Playing outside of it!

Yes, we are still on Svalbard, and still in September 2006. We sold the cabin before we moved to the mainland, and I miss both Longyearbyen and the cabin immensly. I am not going to pretend that this is a huge, fancy cabin, but it was perfect for us. Also not a huge quest to get there, just perfect for a five-year-old to hike to.

True dat!

Yup!

Let me talk you through the rules of the challenge:

Three quotes for three days.
Three nominees each day (no repetition).
Thank the person who nominated you.
Inform the nominees.

Day 2 Nominees:

I urge you all to check them out, you will not be disappointed!

Sep 25 2016

Nordenskiold Glacier

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Above the yellow building, you and Lenin see the Nordenskiold glacier

In my post a couple of days ago, I presented the world’s northernmost Lenin statue (see this post: Lenin’s Arctic View), and more importantly – his views. Now what exactly is he looking at? Yes, a glacier. This glacier, Nordenskiöldbreen, is located at Svalbard at the bottom of Billefjorden. It is named after a Finnish and Swedish baron, geologist, mineralogist and Arctic Explorer; Nils Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld (1832 – 1901). He led the Vega expedition along the northern coast of Eurasia in 1878-1879 – which was the first complete crossing of the Northeast Passage.

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Now, there are far more impressive glaciers on Svalbard than this one, but this is one of the more frequently visited ones. I have crossed it several times on snowmobile and sailed close to it on ships. Whenever I see a glacier I can’t help but think about the great Arctic explorers of the past, and the words of Roald Amundsen (first to reach the South Pole) comes to mind:

“Adventure is just bad planning.”

I am way too safety conscious to go on a quest the South Pole, but I do agree with Amundsen. In my travels I do find that not planning everything to the tiniest detail, does allow me to experience my own adventures, however small they might be.

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I would like to submit one of my photos of the Nordenskiold Glacier for Cee’s Black & White Photo Challenge: Two different things or the number two. Being a smart chick here (Please do not argue, let me just pretend to be a smart cookie – it’s just easier and less painful that way) – I would like to point out that my picture contains two references to the number 2: It is water in two forms (solid and fluid) – and the chemical formula contains the number 2. Yanno, H2O! So I am giving you two diffrent forms of the same substance – H2O! See? Can you say «Nerd Much?»

Let me talk you through the rules of the challenge:

Three quotes for three days.
Three nominees each day (no repetition).
Thank the person who nominated you.
Inform the nominees.

Day 1 Nominees:

I urge you all to check them out, you will not be disappointed!

Want to see more pictures from Svalbard? Then check out the category above under English posts: Svalbard

Sep 24 2016

Handegg (and why Sir Nerdalot is in the dog house)

If we were having coffee, I would tell you that I have praised my Sir Nerdalot on many an occasion on my blog. This is not one of those times. Because, what is almost as bad as the Man Flu? Yup, you got it: Handegg-season!

Now, what is so wrong about Handegg-season, and why do I have a problem with it? Oh, let me count the ways (brace yourself):

We are Norwegians. We live in Denmark. Handegg games come on in the middle of the night over here, because what’a-ya-know; we don’t play that stupid sport over here! Thus, we have to wait for the Americans to wake up, have their coffee, and start their game – and by then it is evening and soon night over here in the “Old World”

Who in their right mind would choose the poor copy, when we can have the real deal in our own part of the world? Why does the good ol’ Nerd not follow Rugby? It’s right over there in the UK! He can get a cheap airplane ticket and go see a game live if he wants too!

There are no motorcycles in Handegg! Yes, you read me correct;

There. Are. No. Motorcycles. In. Handegg!

Shocking, isn’t it? They wear crash helmets, but at no point in the game will there be even one measly little motorcycle!

For the sake of communication, our relationship, love, respect and blah blah blah, I have asked the good Nerd exactly what he likes about Handegg, what is it that gives him pleasure to watch this strange game – to which he gave me a lengthy lecture that made absolutely no sense and bored me to sleep. When I woke up, I asked him to sum his long rant up in one sentence, or – if possible – into one word. “Tactics”, he said. He must think I’m stupid. This is “tactics” displayed in Handegg: Run a yard – and everyone in a pile. Run another yard – everyone in a pile. Run another yard, and I’m out like a candle in a windstorm. Pfth! Tactics Schmactics!

Now, I could live with all of the above – if the Nerd had his priorities straight. You see – and this is the clincher, really – the other night, the Nerd was all engulfed in a NFL thingy. Yanno, wearing his jersey and being all “handegg-nerdy”. I was craving some attention, as I hadn’t seen the Nerd all friggin day. I tried to strike up a conversation, but he was not really listening to me, and only granted me answers in one syllable grunts. Figures, eh? So I opted for my go-to-move in situations like this; I started to take my clothes off all seductive-like. Yanno, batting eyes, pouty lips, wriggling slowly out of my clothes. I was down to my undies and socks, and still no response from the Nerd. I asked him, quite annoyed, was he unable to see what the heck I was doing?

«Yea», he responded grumpily, «why can’t you sort the laundry somewhere else?»

Care to join us at the #WeekendCoffeeShare ? Then go to Parttime Monster Blog and join the link up!

Want to see my previous contributions to the #WeekendCoffeeShare? They are funny, I promise:

The Doc’s in!

Fall Folly

An Irishman goes into a bar…

Trouble is my middle name

We should not sleep away the summer night

Sep 23 2016

Lenin’s Arctic View

Pyramiden (“The Pyr https://squarelovin.com/business/home/amid”) is an abandoned Russian coal-mining settlement in Billefjorden, Svalbard – named after the pyramid-shaped mountain adjacent to the town. Unfortunately, on this day back in Sept 2006, the mountain giving the name to the settlement was wrapped in clouds. This abandoned settlement is still generous with photo ops.

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In 1910, the Swedes founded the village that they later sold to the Soviet Union in 1927. Owned and run by the Russian mining company Trust Arktikugol, Pyramiden once had over 1000 inhabitants. The coal mine was shut down in 1998 and the last permanent resident left 6 months later.

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If you want to visit Pyramiden, it is reachable from Longyearbyen by boat in the summer and by snowmobile in the winter. There are no limitations to visiting Pyramiden, so you can go individually, but I still recommend to go as a part of a guided tour, unless you really know what you are doing – which most tourists don’t.

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Remember that you are not allowed to enter any of the buildings even if they are unlocked. If the buildings are left alone and not broken into and vandalized, it is predicted that the major buildings will still be visible 500 years from now, all due to the low rate of decay in this frigid climate.

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The Swedish singer, Tove Styrke, was allowed to film scenes for her music video for her single “Borderline”, and is showcasing quite a few interior shots from Pyramiden.

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Of course, on Svalbard you will find several claims of things being the world’s northernmost, and in Pyramiden you find a few:

The world’s northernmost grand piano
The world’s northernmost swimming pool.
The world’s northernmost monument to Vladimir Lenin

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Since 2007, Trust Arktikugol has been maintaining the ghost town as a tourist attraction, by upgrading infrastructure and renovating the hotel – which they reopened in 2013. Go here for booking: Tulpan Hotel Pyramiden

So how’s that for travel goals, eh? Go to a Russian ghost town in the arctic and spend the night!

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Want to see more photos from Svalbard? Check out these previous posts:

Welcoming the sunset back

It was home

Blue much?

Showing some super S’es

Arctic Camping

Arctic Tundra – a sparce landscape

Sep 22 2016

Skansbukta, Svalbard

Svalbard has many abandoned mining sites, and just a short boat trip away from Longyearbyen is beautiful Skansbukta. There are several commercial ships that take you on a day trip to many different sites from Longyearbyen. The ones headed for Pyramiden and Nordenskiold Glacier usually take a swing by the Skansbukta so you can take your pictures – as I did in early September 2006.

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Skansbukta, a bay protected from winds from most directions, lays in the outer part of Billefjorden. The impressive cliff is named Skansen. Here you find remains of a gypsum mine that was active for about half a year in 1918, and again for a few years from 1930.

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Everything man-made that you see here are protected cultural remains, and must under no circumstance be moved or ruined.

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Want to see more photos from Svalbard? Check out these previous posts:

Welcoming the sunset back

It was home

Blue much?

Showing some super S’es

Arctic Camping

Arctic Tundra – a sparce landscape

Evening at Borebreen

Snow car much?

Arctic Autumn

Sep 21 2016

Pumpkin and sweet potato soup

(For norsk oppskrift, KLIKK HER!)

For some strange reason, I associate pumpkin with autumn. I suppose I was Americanized 25 years ago while I did the foreign exchange thing in the booming metropolis of Sparks, Nevada. Despite associating pumpkin with autumn, I have only started in the latter years to use pumpkin in my cooking.

Pumpkins are both healthy and lean, and are terrific baked in the oven as an accessory for all sorts of dishes. And they are super yummy in soups:

Pumpkin and sweet potato soup

Olive oil

1 small onion – chopped

1 leek – chopped

1 red chili with seeds, chopped

4 cloves garlic, chopped

1 kg pumpkin (Hokkaido), large chunks

6-700 g sweet potatoes (2 large), large chunks

1 liter vegetable stock / bouillon

Nutmeg, salt, pepper – to taste

Put olive oil in a wide pan on medium heat. Add the onion, leek, chili and garlic and sauté until soft.

Add the pumpkin and sweet potato, give it a quick stir. Pour over vegetable stock. Bring to a boil, and let simmer under a lid for 20-30 minutes.

Season with nutmeg, salt and pepper while you wazz up the soup in a blender.

Unless you are going the veggie-route, sprinkle with crispy bacon and salty crackers. If you dress it with croutons and fresh herbs it can also be quite stylish. Or serve bread on the side.

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Now, I really want to try to make a proper pumpkin pie, just like the ones I remember from the US, and have been craving ever since. I will appreciate if anyone has a good and foolproof recipe to share with me. Preferably one that gives a really good explanation on the pie crust…

Sep 21 2016

Gresskar- og søtpotetsuppe

(This recipe is written in Norwegian, to get to the English recipe, KLICK HERE)

Av en eller annen merkelig grunn assosierer jeg gresskar med høsten. Jeg antar at jeg ble både miljøskadet og amerikanisert det året jeg bodde i USA for 25 år siden. Denne assosiasjonen til tross – det er først nå jeg har begynt å lage mat med gresskar.

Gresskar er både sunt og magert, og er kjempefint bakt i ovnen som tilbehør til alle slags retter. Og det er kjempegodt i suppe:

Gresskar- og søtpotetsuppe

Olivenolje

1 liten løk – grovhakket

1 purre – grovhakket

1 rød chili med frø, grovhakket

1 kinesisk hvitløk (ca. 4 store fedd) – grovhakket

1 kg gresskar (Hokkaido), store biter

6-700 g søtpotet (2 store), store biter

1 liter grønnsakkraft/buljong

Muskat, salt, pepper – til smak

Ha olivenolje i en vid gryte, på middels varme. Ha i løk, purre, chili og hvitløk og la det surre til mykt og blankt.

Tilsett gresskar og søtpotet, rør rundt og gi dem litt varme. Hell over grønnsakkraften. Gi et oppkok, la småkoke under lokk i 20-30 minutter.

Smak til med muskat, salt og pepper mens du kjører til suppe med stavmikser eller i blender.

Dryss evt litt sprøstekt bacon og salte kjeks over suppen når du serverer, eller server godt brød til.

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Jeg har veldig lyst til å prøve meg på skikkelig amerikansk gresskarpai, og om noen har en oppskrift å dele, blir jeg veldig glad. Gjerne med idiotsikker forklaring på paiskallet – for det trøbler jeg veldig med…