Jan 28 2017

What it means…

Good morning and welcome to #WeekendCoffeeShare! Today I offer Irish Coffee, Kalypso Coffee, or whatever boozy coffee you prefer. I recon we need lots of booze in our beverages after the Donald has been rummaging around the White House for a week.

I had written a lengthy text for last weekend’s coffee share, about the Donald. I decided not to publish it, as it was all making fun of him, and I decided it was just too easy. Yanno, sometimes when someone is serving you a clever repartee on a silver platter – that sometimes it is just so easy that it stops being funny? Yea, this was one of those times. Seriously, the fully automatic numpty does not need me turning him into a laughing stock – he’s got that covered all by himself!

So instead, I thought I’d amuse you with a little story of what happened to me here earlier in the week:

I got home late after a particularly hard day at work. You know, one of those days where you stub your toe, spill the hot coffee all over your desk, get a run in your pantyhose and gets told off by 3 customers – all before lunch! Just a regular day that both starts out as a farce, and just continues as a farce, and finally ends as a farce. Of course, on my way home I had to stop by the grocery store and pick up a few items, just to find the place jam packed by other overworked, tired people with runs in their stockings. It took me an hour just to get through the check out.

Then I come home to a handsome and debonair gentleman who has walked the dog, fed the cats, checked the kid’s homework, cleaned the entire house, and has dinner on the table, lit candles included, can you comprehend what that means? I am serious! Do you know what it means when this man gives you a nice – and much needed – neck rub, draw you a bath and pour the champagne? Do you? Do you know what it means when this man makes sweet and passionate love to you for hours? Do you know what that means?

It means that you have gone into the wrong fucking house!

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:

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

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

Jan 27 2017

Danish Dream Cake

(Norsk oppskrift: Dansk Drømmekake)

Finally Friday! Finally done with this weeks get-into-shape-program. Do you understand the full extent to being done with this week’s workouts? It means CAKE! Yup! Cake! Doesn’t cake undermine the workout, you ask? Honey, cake is the reason I work out. No cake, no workout.

Today I share with you a Danish recipe. Despite the total lack of licorice in this recipe (Danes have no filter as of what to put licorice in, see here), this seems to be a favorite cake in Denmark. And it is good, and it is easy. Therefore, a perfect cake to bake this weekend, the Dream Cake (Drømmekage):

Ingredients:

250 grams (9 oz.) all-purpose flour

250 grams (9 oz.) sugar

50 grams (2 oz.) butter

3 eggs

200 ml (4/5 cup) milk

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon vanilla

Topping:

125 grams (4.5 oz.) butter

50 ml (1/5 cup) milk

200 grams (7 oz.) muscovado sugar

100 grams (3.5 oz.) coconut flakes (desiccated coconut)

Whisk eggs and sugar until light and fluffy

Melt the butter and combine the warm, melted butter with the milk. Then add the butter and milk mix to the eggs and sugar.

Add flour, baking powder and vanilla, and mix well into a smooth batter.

Butter and dust with flour your baking tin – or line it with greaseproof paper – and pour the batter in.

Bake at 200 C (400 F) for 25 minutes, place the tin low in the oven.

Make the topping the last ten minutes while the cake cooks in the oven: Melt the butter in a saucepan, add the milk and muscovado sugar and bring to a boil. Let it simmer for about a minute.

Add the coconut flakes and mix well. When the cake has been baking for 25 mins, take it out of the oven, pour on the topping, use a knife to spread the topping evenly on top of the cake.

Bake the cake for 10 minutes more.

Let the cake cool and then cut into pieces and enjoy. (I know I will!)

Jan 27 2017

Dansk Drømmekake

(English recipe: Dream Cake )

Som utlending I Danmark har jeg blitt godt kjent med dansk bakverk, og en kake som går igjen i alle situasjoner hvor du finner hjemmebakst er Drømmekake. Og det er ikke så rart, for ikke bare er den enkel å lage, den er også supergod, og passer således godt til navnet sitt.

Drømmekake

250 g hvetemel

250 g sukker

50 g smør

3 egg

2 dl melk

2 ts bakepulver

1 ts vaniljesukker

Topping:

125 g smør

0,5 dl melk

200 g brun farin

100 g kokosmasse

Pisk egg og sukker til eggedosis.

Smelt smøret og bland med melken, og hell blandingen i eggedosisen.

Bland mel, bakepulver og vaniljesukker og rør det i røren.

Hell røren i smurt og melet kakeform (evt kan du bruke bakepapir), og stek kaken i 25 minutter, nederst i ovnen på 200 grader C.

De siste 10 minuttene av steketiden bruker du til å lage toppingen:

Smelt smør, tilsett melk og brun farin og gi det et oppkok. Rør i kokosmassen og ta kaken ut av ovnen. Hell toppingen over kaken, spre fyllet utover.

Sett kaken tilbake i ovnen og stek i ytterligere 10 minutter.

Avkjøles i formen.

Jan 25 2017

Treasure

As I enjoyed my tea and scones today, it struck me again how much I like my china set. First off I think it is real pretty, but the fact that my dad picked it out and bought it all by himself in a country, Japan, on the other side of the world – is what makes it a treasure in my eyes. The Noritake China, pattern 5802 Arlene, can be replaced for 400 USD, so the monetary value isn’t great, even though it was only produced between 1957 and 1966. Which means that I can use it more than I do, as I have been afraid of breaking it. Now that I know that this is not a rare pattern, and it can be easily replaced, it will not be devastating to break it.

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Jan 24 2017

Spennende Maissuppe

(English recipe: Exotic Corn Chowder)

Normalt sett ville jeg stekt noe bacon eller chorizo og strødd over en maissuppe, men akkurat denne dagen hadde jeg ikke slikt i hus. Det ble derfor en ny variant, med chili, shiitakesopp og kokosmelk for å kompensere for fraværet av kjøtt. Suppa ble nydelig, og dersom du ønsker kan du selvsagt toppe den med bacon, chorizo, stekt kylling, krabbekjøtt, scampi, eller hva ditt hjerte begjærer.

Maissuppe (4 porsjoner)

600 g frossen mais (eller 4 små bokser)

1 kinesisk hvitløk

1 chili

2 ss olje

1 ss paprikapulver

1 boks kokosmelk

1 tørket shiitakesopp

2 ss finhakket basilikum (evt 2 ts tørket basilikum)

Pepper

0,5 – 2 dl grønnsakkraft

2 ss finhakket persille (evt 2 ts tørket persille)

Varm opp oljen i en gryte. Ha i tint og avrent mais og stek til de begynner å bli gylne og “popper” litt. Rør inn salt. Ta av et par spiseskjeer av maisen og spar til garnityr.

Rør inn finhakket hvitløk, chili, revet shiitakesopp og paprikapulver, og la det steke et minutt. Tilsett kokosmelk og la det småkoke i noen minutter. Kjør suppen sammen med basilikum og persille i en foodprocessor eller med stavmikser til du har en jevn suppe. Juster konsistensen med grønnsakkraft, og smak til med salt og pepper.

Ha over i suppetallerkner, garner med resten av maisen. Server!

dav

Jan 24 2017

Exotic Corn Chowder

(Norsk oppskrift: Spennende Maissuppe)

I think it is quite rare that I present a vegetarian main dish like I do today. Normally I would fry up some bacon or chorizo to sprinkle on top of the soup, but I had no such thing to cook with. When I do meatless dinners, I do try to incorporate some shiitake mushroom, as that gives me the umami that I miss. So, there’s a tip for my fellow meat lovers, a lil’ shiitake makes the veggie-dishes oh so exquisite.

You can change the coconut milk for cream if you prefer, but I rather like the flavor the coconut milk adds to the dish. Also, no harm in topping the chowder with bacon, chorizo, friend chicken, crab meat, prawns or whatever your heart desires, devastation amongst your non-veggie guests are then easily avoided.

Corn Chowder (4 servings)

600g frozen corn (or 4 small boxes)

3-4 cloves garlic

1 chili

2 tablespoons oil

1 tablespoon powdered paprika

1 can coconut milk

1 dried shiitake mushrooms

2 tablespoons finely chopped basil (or 2 teaspoons dried basil)

Pepper

0.5 to 2 dl vegetable stock

2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley (or 2 teaspoons dried parsley)

Heat the oil in a pan. Add the thawed and drained corn and cook until they start to golden and «pop» a bit. Stir in salt. Take off a couple of tablespoons of corn and set aside (to be used as garnish).

Stir in minced garlic, finely chopped chili, grated shiitake mushroom and paprika and fry for a minute. Add the coconut milk and simmer for a few minutes. Add the basil and parsley and purée the chowder in a blender until you have a smooth, thick soup. Adjust to wanted consistency with vegetable stock and season with salt and pepper.

Garnish with the corn you set aside, and enjoy.

Jan 23 2017

Training Update

OK, just an extra update from me here on the whole «getting into shape»-program I have started. I have survived another round of “Health Booster”, and I just want to say that when I am gasping for air into burning lungs, have an abnormally high body temperature and muscles and joints ache, and I generally feel like I am about to die – I usually go to the doctor and get diagnosed with double sided pneumonia, bronchitis, arthritis, gout and probably the plague. This is not the type of health you want to boost!

(If you, by oversight, missed the background for this update, then you can read it here: FUN RUN)

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Overworked
Conventional Wisdom

Jan 23 2017

Big

I am so glad we got to visit Egypt before the trouble there started! Although they do not advise against travelling to the tourist-sites in Egypt, I would opt it out. Thus, I am happy I already crossed it out of my bucket list. Been there, got the pics to prove it!

We went there in Des 2009, when the Karate Kid was 8 years old. I am considering writing a series of blogposts from Egypt, but right now I’ll only share pictures of some big friggin’ things:

From this position we had good oversight of the Pyramides

Graceful
The Greatest _______ in the World
Successful

#DevelopingYourEye

Jan 22 2017

Solitude

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I discovered and successfully captured this graceful whale on film, on a boattrip in the Arctic in Sept 2006.

Solitude

Jan 20 2017

Helsingør (Elsinore), Denmark

Now that we have visited the Kronborg Castle, where Hamlet lived, spoke to ghosts, and died, I think it is only natural to pay the surrounding town a visit, Helsingør (Elsinore, as Shakespeare called it). Helsingør is situated on the northeastern tip of the island of Zealand, Denmark, at the narrowest point (4 kilometers) of the sound, (Øresund) between Denmark and Sweden.

The area has been inhabited for a long time, and around 1200 the first church, Saint Olaf’s Church, was built. Helsingør as it is known today was founded in the 1420s by king Eric of Pomerania. In 1429 he established the Sound Dues, meaning all foreign ships passing through the strait had to pay a toll, which constituted up to two-thirds of Denmark’s state income. At the time, the Swedish side of the sound was Danish, therefore Denmark could control all activity in the sound. With this income, Eric of Pomerania built the castle Krogen that was later expanded and renamed Kronborg. (This is the castle we visited yesterday – Hamlet’s Elsinore.) All ships had to stop in Helsingør to get their cargo taxed and pay a toll to the Danish Crown, and of course this meant increased trade for the town, as the ships had to anchor here anyways. In 1672 Helsingør had grown into the third biggest town in Denmark. The Sound Dues were abolished in 1857.

A lil’ bit of trivia: The car ferry line crossing the sound, between Helsingør and Helsingborg, Sweden is the busiest in the world with more than 70 departures in each direction every day.