Feel Good Friday - 10 February 2012

Three things that I love this week:

*  That it's now daylight when we do the school run in the morning. Woo hoo!

*  That it's still light at 5 pm. Double woo!

*  And - as white candles are just too boring after the cheery red Christmas ones (but it's a tad too early for happy, yellow Easter ones) - I'm cheering myself up with a nice mix of freesia coloured candles to keep me going until spring has really sprung...

Danish schools are closing today for a (well deserved...) 'Winter Week' holiday - so I'm dusting my blog desk (after I've set my timer and decluttered papers for seven minutes) and going off to enjoy some fun with my family.

Have a fabulous Friday and a wonderful week! :)

Menu plan - Thursday 9 February 2012

The sea this morning...frozen!
No vinterbadning (winterbathing)
for us until the ice melts :(

We still have arctic temperatures here in Copenhagen, so this week's menu includes lots of comfort food :)

Me swimming at the same spot just 4 weeks ago...

In case you haven't heard it before, I do my shopping 'on-line' once a week and order everything we eat for breakfast and dinner, the kids packed lunches for school, and things like wine/washing up liquid/'bog roll'.   This week's grocery bill came to kr. 895 (around £99 or $ 157) - still lower than my usual spend of around kr. 1.100 - because I'm still finding a few items in my freezer/pantry that I can 'get rid of'.

*  Pork chops Yum-Yum from the food.com website served with roasted grean beans and steamed pearl barley made in my (beloved) ricecooker

* Crockpot chicken (chicken fillets, can of condensed mushroom soup, add frozen peas at the end), in tortilla wraps, served with spinach salad

* Greek (lamb) meatballs, with Greek salad (feta cheese, olives, red onion, cucumber, red pepper and tomato), steamed rice with raisins made in my (beloved) ricecooker

Greek salad...just need to add some olives :)

*  Crockpot red lentil soup (leek, potato, red lentils, seasoning, water and chicken stock cubes) with hot homemade bread rolls 

*  Flæskesteg (traditional Danish roast pork with lots of yummy crackling), baby potatoes, carrots and lots of lovely, lovely sovs (creamy gravy) - yum!

*  Leftover night = any leftover meat/veggies I can find in the fridge, jazzed up and served as a wholemeal pasta or fried rice dish

Fastelavnsris = Danish carnival decoration

And, remember, there'll be no menu plan next week as I'm taking the week off with the kids, who are on school winter break for Fastelavn (Danish carnival)...  :D

Have a thoroughly thrilling Thursday! :)

Udderly fantastic?

[This post is also published over at www.blogs.denmark.dk - the official website of Denmark run by the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs]

My sweetie friend H held a girly birthday dinner bash at her flat on Saturday night.  After the main course, she got down to the serious business of unwrapping her gifts.  One by one.  Slowly.  Giving everyone at the table the opportunity to observe and admire - as is the way in Denmark.  Note to non-Danes: don't thrust your gift into the arms of the host when you arrive.  Instead ask, "Hvor er gavebordet hen?" (Where's the gift table?)  No matter where you are, be it a private home, church hall or posh hotel, there will always be an assigned tablewhere you can place your parcel.

Well, we oo-ed and aah-ed our way through the packages but this gift turned out to be the highlight of the evening...

A giant tube of kopattesalve.  Or "cow tit ointment" ;)  Not the most attractive name, I grant you.  But it's a Wonder Product.  The only cream which will protect your skin against the current arctic temperatures (which finally reached Denmark last week, along with a few snow flurries, after an amazingly mild winter).

Yes, this cream is used by Danish farmers to treat sore and infected udders.  But also by breastfeeding mums, eczema sufferers and anyone who needs an extra rich moisturizing cream.

I'm choosing to believe the hype and am off to the chemist.  Because I'll be skinny dipping (vinterbadning) in the (partially frozen) Danish sea tomorrow morning and - with a windchill on the beach of minus 20c (minus 4f) - I'm looking for all the help I can get...

Have a wonderful Wednesday! :)

Chocolate marmelade/jam cake

I had to google my blog several times because I was sure I had posted this recipe before.  I mean, really, it's a staple in our household.  Fantastic warm from the oven.  Cold with cream or ice-cream.  Or reheated a week later - if there are leftovers - and eaten with custard.  Yum!  But apparently I never got round to sharing the recipe, so voilà!

A tiny last slice for little old moi! :)

It's another (fantastic) recipe from (fantastic) Nigella Lawson.  From her Domestic Goddess book.  Which is fantastic.  (As are all of her cookery books...)  You can use any type of marmelade or jam.  I made the cake a couple of weeks ago when I was decluttering my cupboards as part of the Super Fling Boogie - because I discovered a glut of three jars of orange marmelade, just waiting to be used :)

Two's company, three means it's time to bake a cake! ;)

You'll need:

• 125g butter
• 100g dark chocolate
• 300g orange marmelade, apricot, plum or cherry jam
• 150g sugar
• a pinch of salt
• 2 eggs
• 150g plain flour or self-raising flour
• 1 heaped teaspoon of baking powder (if you aren't using self-raising flour)

Melt the butter and chocolate in a large pan over a very low heat.  Remove the pan from the heat when the butter is melted - then keep stirring until the chocolate has melted.

Add the sugar and marmelade and mix well.

This will bring down the temperature of the mix and then you can add the eggs.  Then the flour, baking powder and salt.  Giving it a good mix til it's nice and smooth.

Pour into a tin lined with paper (for easy removal and clean-up).  The original recipe calls for a 20cm tin (8") but I always use my Ikea one which is 22cm (9").

 

Pop into a preheated oven at 180c or 350f.  You'll be baking it for about 45 minutes, but start checking the middle of the cake after about 35 mins with a knitting needle or skewer.  You want it just set, not overcooked.

Leave it to cool then enjoy in small slices.  It doesn't really need any embellishment or icing - but I sometimes dust it with a bit of icing sugar, edible silver or glitter, or drizzle on some ganache.  Got visitors coming?  Add a bowl of whipped cream/crème fraîche and some fresh fruit or fruit salad.  Sorted!  :)

Bon appétit!

Have a terrific Tuesday! :)

Seven Minute (Paper) Declutter Challenge

The Flylady's latest Super Fling Boogie finished last week (see The Super Fling Boogie continues - again! Again, again!) and for the month of February we're working on decluttering on a daily basis.  I have - hooray! - made great strides since I discovered the Flylady's system back in 2006.  But my battle with paper - my achilles heel - continues.  So although I'm usually on the winning team these days, I'm planning to use February to kick ass (if you pardon my French).

I'm pretty good at filing.  And, when the post comes into the house, I've got into the (fantastic) habit of filing things straight away.  Instead of leaving it to fester and multiply when my back is turned ;D  So filing isn't the problem.

Just a small selection of files...I have around 40 of them - eeeeek! 

No, my problem is simply hanging on to too many pieces of paper.  Because (and fellow flybabies know what's coming next) I think I might 'need' them.  Call me sentimental.  Or call me a paper hoarder! ;D
So I'm turning the Flylady's February habit into my new Seven Minute Declutter Challenge.  Decluttering paper for 7 minutes, Monday to Friday for the rest of the month.  Weekends are free.  I shall post my progress along the way - because otherwise I might be tempted to bail out halfway! 

Come fling with me?

Hope you have a marvelous Monday! :)

Feel Good Friday - 3 February 2012

Three things that I love this week:

The latest in my arsenal of nail varnish...

Animal print cardis...

Tickets to see Denmark's finest rockband, Magtens Korridorer.  And - yippay-ay-aye - the concert is tonight!

Have a fabulous Friday and a wonderful weekend! :)
.

Menu plan - Thursday 2 February 2012

The Flylady's Super Fling Boogie for January is now over and I've almost finished using the 'stuff' that was cluttering my freezer and storecupboards.  Ready to start with a clean slate! :)  I do my shopping 'on-line' once a week and buy everything we eat for breakfast and dinner, the kids packed lunches for school, and things like wine/washing up liquid/'bog roll'.  This week's grocery bill came to kr. 925 (around £105 or $ 165).  Which is still lower than my usual spend of around kr. 1.100.  And this week's order even included a couple of expensive cuts of meat for special occasion dinners, so it's all good...

It's around -3c (27f) during the day and -12 (10f) here at the moment, so here's what we're warming up with at Casa Copenhagen this week:

*  Chili in Breadbowls. Got the idea last year from the 5$ Dinners website and they were a huge hit with the whole family.  I'll use the breadmachine Breadbowls recipe as they turned out so well last time (see the photo below).   But I'll make my own shortcut Chili which is basically minced beef, a jar of spicy tomato sauce and kidney beans. A little tip: if your kids are like mine - and aren't mad about the beans - then mash or blend the beans before you add them to the minced beef. That way, you'll still get the authentic chili taste and nutrients... ;D

 

Yummy breadbowls!

The finished article - who's hungry? ;D

* Takeaway pizza and icecream on a night that the kids have a babysitter :)

* Chicken and vegetable stir fry (I have a readymade bag of it in the freezer) served on top of bulgur wheat/quinoa made in my beloved ricecooker :)

*  Spaghetti carbonara and a fresh green salad on a night that DH is fending for himself and the kids and I'm out to a birthday party - yay! :D

* Oven egg and chips made by DS12 - cut potatoes into chips, boil them for about 10 minutes, leave to dry, toss in olive oil, rosemary and salt, roast in the oven. Five minutes before the end of cooking time, crack eggs into the same baking dish. And, hey presto, you have a one dish dinner! We'll be serving it with beetroot and veggie sticks.

*  Pork sausages with baked potato wedges and warm red cabbage

* Beef pasta satay (we use wholemeal pasta and add red pepper or green beans) - now a firm family favourite - the recipe is from Leanne Ely a.k.a. The Dinner Diva's "Saving Dinner" book

Bon appétit!

Have a thoroughly thrilling Thursday! :)