Food & Thoughts

In real life, I'm not at all well-planned with regards to Christmas presents. I usually buy my last Christmas presents on the 23rd - and the first somewhere around the 22nd. But this one was going places, so I had to get it done early. And today, I send it out into the world... Well, you know, I didn't just put it in the mail box, it does have a reciever in the other end - but it's actually a woman I have never met. That is, I sorta met her, I know her from - yes you've guessed it - the internet! My friends at Nigella's Kitchen organized a Christmas Gift Exchange in which I participated. The people at Nigella's are from all over the world, so I'm really looking forward to see where my present will be coming from... And I just wanted you all to take a minute and think about all the nice people out there, that, if it weren't for this weird, virtual space, you would have never gotten to know. Gotten to know might not be the right words, but I think...

So I was contemplating making yet another recipe from Baking by Flavor (WOULD YOU BUY THE BOOK ALREADY ANGELA??!!? Heh ;-)!) because I love how Lisa Yockelson accents her chosen ingredient with spices - and take a look at the theme for this edition of Sugar High Friday - and I kinda had to keep in spirit. But. When a man wants chocolate, he's gotta have chocolate. Luckily, Yockelsen has been so kind as to provide variations with almost ALL of her recipes, including in the one for these, the aptly named Texas-size Banana Muffins! (Is everything bigger in Texas than in America in general?) Usually, the spices used would have been nutmeg, cinnamon, allspice, cloves and cardamom and I REALLY want to try that variation - but this time around, my man demanded chocolate, and chocolate it was. Now, I fiddled around with this recipe quite a bit - it called for coconut and walnuts, of which none of us are big fans, and then of course all of the spices, that were to be left out an...

Yup, you got it! As I could ecstatically announce a couple of days ago, Jennifer let me host this months installment of the fabulous IMBB? -spin off, Sugar High Friday! Sugar High Friday is, as the name might imply, a day were the sweet-toothed bloggers among us join forces and blog about - well, something sweet we've done, all centered around one theme - this time, the theme will be: SPICES! Now, I'm not gonna let you just run amuck in the spice-jungle out there - so here's the catch: The spice you use, should be one of the three: nutmeg - cardamom - allspice . Why these three? I had to choose, didn't I? The three here very much encapsulates winter for me - warmth, fragrant - ah, delish! And, um - vanilla would just be too easy! (although it might be a suggestion for a SHF in it's own right!) But, but, but... Hey! Okay, you want suggestions? You want tips? You NEED information - 'kay then: Nutmeg: that little knobbly nut wrapped in it'...

Oh the joy of a cookie! Is there anything as good as sinking your teeth into that slightly crunchy, buttery disc of goodies, or dunking that biscotti in that mug of latte? Exactly the reason why I was bouncing with joy when Jennifer, our Domestic Goddess , announced this months IMBB? theme of a Cookie Swap! And then I went and nearly forgot... I had this very cute idea of doing a traditional Scandinavian cookie - or by it's proper name, småkage - my sister always used to make us when we were younger, called Finskbrød - it's a crunchy, cocoa-y thing with lots of big granules of sugar sprinkled on top - I LOVE it, but can't remember when the last time was I had it! And then, all of a sudden, Sunday was here, and I found myself without that special sugar for the sprinkling - and well, I'm sorry for being a nit-pick here, but that sugar is just the ESSENCE of that cookie, so I couldn't bring myself to do it without it! Again, I turned to Baking by Flavor - a...

WEEEE-HEEEEEEEEEEEH! No, that wasn't a cowboy, that was me, being really excited because I've been asked (LIE! I begged!) to host the next edition of Sugar High Fridays ! The installment will be held at 10th. of December and the theme... wait a minute, the theme?! I have to find a theme too??! Oh! I'll let you know during the weekend... For those of you unfamiliar with IMBB?'s, SHF, WBW, DMBLGiT and that sort (tell me WHERE have you been??), go to this place and learn ALL there is to know and then some! Don't go away, we'll be right back after these messages...

Mmmm, yummy, it's here again - Sugar High Fridays, the International Sweet Tooth Extravaganza! Hosted - again (Oh we're a bad bunch, not taking any of the summing-up responsibility - I will do soon, I promise!) - by it's inventor/spin doctor Jennifer of The Domestic Goddess , with a theme of apples galore! Everyone's been doing apple this and apple that and I even recently bought myself an entire BOOK of apples - not just recipes, but also about growing and caring for apple trees - that will be the day, but I figured I'd better start preparing! This is my book: There's a really yummy-looking recipe for an apple-spice mix in it that I'll have to try soon... Okay so I KNOW this is a really, really bad picture of a picture in a book - of a picture (not anywhere near a scanner, sorry) - but you HAD to see this - the "painting" is made out of APPLES, put on a nail and arranged to look like flowers! That is just SO cool, I had to share! ...

I can't believe this! Already it's one week since I last posted - believe me, it's not because I'm not cooking - okay I'm not cooking that much - it's just... Oh okay, so it's just because! Anyway, last Saturday I did NOTHING but cook - me and my boyfriend managed to pull out a four course dinner for my Dad and his bridge club - this cake was part of it - a Chocolate Velvet Honey Cake - I'll get back to you with the rest!

I love me a good burger. But being a semi-vegetarian makes that a not-so-often enjoyed thing - I don't know why, but it seems like the cafées in Denmark is not really willing to admit that vegetarians exist! They will do you a lot of veggie- or fish stuffed sandwiches and salads, but a decent burger, cheese, ketchup, mustard and all - no. It's just not happening. So I decided to take matters into my own hands... The Parmesan Patties I found in a lovely book on vegetarian fare by Celia Brooks Brown, New Vegetarian - they we're SOOOOO good! Cook them 'till really crisp - Hubby actually rather wanted mine than his own meat-one! He! Btw., the book is one of my all time favorites... Check it out! Parmesan Patties 1 tbsp. olive oil + extra for brushing 2 medium onions, chopped 125 g. mushrooms, coarsely chopped 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves 50 g. parmesan cheese, coarsely grated 50 g. cheddar cheese, grated 150 g. canned borlotti or pinto beans, rinse...