Old Fashioned Ice Cream

I bought an old fashioned Ice cream maker a few years ago.  I didn't really know what it was, but the colour was adorable and whatever it was intrigued me.  The people at the thrift store were excited that I bought it and asked me what it was because they had no idea either.  These are not at all common here and I assume that it was bought in the States by some seaman who thought his wife would enjoy using it.  Since it is practically unused and mint condition, I'm assuming the wife didn't really think it was such a hot idea.

But I love it and I have so often planned to use it, but never taken the plunge.  It's so funny how doing something that I haven't done before is so impossibly difficult.  And then once I do it, it's really easy.  So I decided to make Rhubarb Ice cream in it.

I love Rhubarb ice cream.  Nobody else seems to, which I find very strange.  But I had some rhubarb and there was a family party and I offered to bring dessert.  The family was a bit skeptical.  My daughter confessed to having serious doubts beforehand, but once they tasted, they were converted.  Or at least that is what they told me.

The recipe for the ice cream is very easy, I posted it before here.  Except this time I used a whole Vanilla pod for the ice cream instead of the vanilla sugar/essence that is specified in the recipe.  It's not a lot of ice cream, probably about a quart (or 1 liter).  There were 8 of us and all had a nice portion each, but it was also served with Rhubarb soup and whipped cream.  I actually like smaller recipes of ice cream since I like to make more flavors rather than a huge amount.  Coffee ice cream is probably my favorite, along with the Rhubarb and of course real Vanilla.  The taste is just so much better.

Making ice cream from scratch is very easy.  I started with two egg yolks, one tablespoon  powdered sugar, seeds from half a vanilla pod and mixed it together with a fork.

Five stalks of  rhubarb are chopped into little pieces and boiled with a little bit of water and 3,5 oz sugar.  Or one can use rhubarb mash from making the rhubarb soup.  The rhubarb is cooled while 1 and 1/4 cup of whipping cream is whipped.  Once the rhubarb has cooled, it is folded together and poured into the ice cream maker.

I had never used this old fashioned ice cream maker before, so I had little idea how much salt would be needed, but I bought 4 kilos (8punds) of rock salt.  I used about half of that, 2 kilos (4 pounds) and all the ice I had, alternating a dash of salt and a smattering of ice.  But I did make this recipe twice, and could churn it with that amount of salt and ice.  (This meant that I had some ice cream that was for me only after the party.  Oh, joy.)

Then churning by hand.  The mechanism of this is really interesting and I would actually love to have a smaller unit to use.  This large bucket is just a bit too big for the kitchen and so it has to reside in the garage, even if the turquoise  colour is just fantastic.

I didn't really know how long it would take to churn the ice cream.  It actually took shorter time than I thought, but then the amount of ice cream was only about half of the capacity of the ice cream maker.  I think it only took 15-20 minutes to churn the ice cream.  I loved peering into the ice cream  maker and watch how it moves the ice cream so slowly.  It all looks a bit weird, but then suddenly everything starts to flow smoothly.  I took the thing apart, emptied out the container and put the ice cream into the freezer to store it until it was time to go to the party.

I served the rhubarb ice cream with the fabulous rhubarb soup and lots of whipped cream.

There is nothing in this world that doesn't taste better with lots of whipped cream.  And then it was sprinkled with dark chocolate.  Although some cocoa nibs are also very good with this.  As is chopped dark Toblerone.

Skyr

I usually make yoghurt for breakfast, but the other day decided to make the traditional Icelandic skyr.  I used to have skyr for breakfast and lunch when I was a kid, long before I had heard about something called yoghurt.

Skyr is really good and it's good for you.  Skyr is really a cheese, although we are used to it as a sweet dish.  It's always made from skim milk which we call "undanrenna" and has a fat content of 0,1%.  Which is practically no fat.  Not that I avoid fat.  We eat skyr with a mixture of cream and full fat milk, sugar and blueberries.  Which of course are only available in the autumn, but it seems that we always had them when I was young.  Now they are imported all year round, so I can have my skyr with blueberries, even if the imported berries taste a bit more watery than the small local variety of wild blueberries.

I haven't made skyr before, but it is surprisingly easy, although a bit more involved than making yoghurt.

I started with 2 liters (2 quarts) of skim milk and heated that up to 90°C / 195°F and held it for more than 3 minutes.  Then I cooled it down to 42°C / 108°F.

Next add fresh skyr (or skyr culture at 1% of the milk volume, if that is available).  I used fresh skyr with live cultures, about 1/2 cup for my 2 liters.  Yoghurt can be used instead of skyr.

Then add Rennet, only 1 drop per liter and stir it gently for a minute.

This needs to sit still for about 4-5 hours.  I put it in the oven and turned the heat to as close to 42°C / 108°F as I could.

By now the milk looks like a jelly (pretty much like cheese does at this stage) and now it needs to be sieved at room temperature.

I did that using cheesecloth and let it sit for a few hours.  My instructions said 10 hours, but that wasn't necessary.  The whey drained very quickly.

I spooned the skyr into a jar and put it in the fridge to cool to below 10°C / 50°F at least.

At this stage the skyr is realy to eat and now one can add all sorts of flavors, sweet or savory.

My preference is to stir the skyr with some half and half and a little bit of honey.  I then store it and spoon it out for breakfast, pour some milk (or half and half) over it and add fruit.  Eat it with a tablespoon, a bit of skyr, some milk and a few berries.  Yumm.

Out of the 2 liters of skim milk I got 1/2 liter of skyr and a lot of whey.  The whey (called Mysa) used to be drunk as a refreshing drink in the olden days, tasting a bit sour.  My whey wasn't very sour since I only let it sit for 4-5 hours in the oven, but I have mixed it with Rhubarb syrup and some lemon juice as drink.  There is a bit of taste, that I need to get used to, but it's very healthy, full og nice gut loving bacteria.

A Shot of Green

I sometimes make soup to have for lunch.  I started with a recipe for Broccoli soup that I got from a book by two Canadian doctors about food that fights cancer.  I do not have cancer, but a lot of people around me do and I was intrigued by the title.  This was many years ago and I have since been mindful to include some or all of the super healthy stuff in my diet, one way or another.

I have also experimented with this recipe, trying different kinds of vegetables, depending on what I had handy in the fridge.  One can really use pretty much any vegetables and adjust the seasoning to taste.

Cauliflower would be nice and light with its delicate flavor.  Beetroot would be a bright pinkish red, carrots for an orange soup and rutabaga for a yellow one.  An addition of linseed could be interesting.  My mom used to make a really good linseed soup.

But anyway, the other day I made this soup, and it's just really, really good.  It oozes healthiness and my mouth waters when I think of it's thoroughly green taste.

Start with sautéing one onion, preferably in butter.  If garlic is added, it should go in at the last stages, it doesn't take as much heat as the onions.  Add to the onions a tablespoon of turmeric (I am a firm believer in the health benefits of herbs and spices, turmeric is wonderful stuff and this soup is one way to get it naturally and in a form that makes is easy for the body to absorb.  So do not skip sautéing the turmeric and do include black pepper to get all the benefits.), half a tablespoon of freshly ground pepper and the same of crushed coriander seeds and mustard seeds.  Let the spices fry a bit in the butter.

Add a quart/liter of chicken stock to the pot (it's great to have homemade for this, but use the best quality store bought if that isn't available. Chop up one head of broccoli and add to the stock as well as one cup each, spinach and kale (in winter all I have is frozen and I use 4 balls each).  Let this simmer for 10-15 minutes. Take a stickblender to this a whizz it smooth.  Salt to taste and snip a lot of fresh parsley over the soup if it's available.

I store the soup in a large mason jar and keep it for a week in the fridge, it lasts me 5 days ( I guess the soup is 4-5 servings) which makes it perfect for weekday lunch, with two soft boiled eggs.  I have been changing my diet somewhat and feel much better for it. I avoid grains, sugar and starches.  For someone who isn't doing that, an addition of one potato will make the soup thicker, but I find that I don't really notice much difference.

Perfect and thick - Yoghurt revisited

It's been more the a year since I made my first yoghurt and I've been making it ever since.  That is just about every week to ten days.  The yoghurt that I make tastes somehow fresher than store-bought.  I have never liked unflavoured yoghurt.  It's always tasted way too sour, but when I make it myself I never sweeten it.  I just mix a bit of honey or strawberry-honey mixture and I love the way the crisp sour taste mixes with the sweet honey and tart fruit.

I think I surprised everyone that I was so diligent about the yoghurt making and baking sourdough bread, which I also do every week or so.  I think it's because I just feel so good after eating my own.  I can't imagine being without it.

I've just started a new diet called GAPS.  The whole idea is that our gut is damaged and lets through large molecules into the bloodstream which cause the body to make antibodies and also that the bacterial flora of the gut is not good, so that we have too many harmful bacteria in the gut and they make toxins which also get into the blood and they cause all sorts of problems.  Neither grain nor dairy is allowed on this diet because they are hard to digest.  The diet starts with meat broth, boiled meat and vegetables, cod liver oil, Probiotics and yoghurt for those who can tolerate it.  Rather restrictive, but I'm prepared to try it.  I am lucky enough to be able to use yoghurt from day one.  Not only have I been eating yoghurt every day but I'm one of the lucky people who can digest lactose as are 95% of my country men.  This ability is a genetic mutation about 8000 years old, known in peoples of northern Europe and eastern Afrika.  So I have no plans to abandon dairy.

I have found a wealth of information on the internet about this diet and I particularly like this site, The Liberated Kitchen, where she has a page about the resources, for those who would like to know more.  I have started this diet because I am really tired of arthritis pain in my hands and I think I need to try something to make it better (other than painkillers).

But back to yoghurt.  The first time I made my own yoghurt I got a really good thick yogurt, so I thought, hey, this is easy and promptly made another batch that was very thin and runny.  Then I had a batch that had tiny hard grains in it.  So I thought I had better figure this out so that I could make the perfect batch every time.   This is how I do it.

I always use 1.5 - 2 liters of full fat milk.  For a while I experimented with adding cream to it and that produced very nice yoghurt, but it is more expensive.  So full fat, pasteurized og homogenized (can't get it any other way) but not ultra heat treated.  I would try fresh milk straight from the cow if I could.  I put this in a pot and put it on full heat on the stove.  I stir it pretty continuously as i monitor the heat with a thermometer.  When it reaches 180 °F / 85 °C I turn down the heat and hold this temperature for at least 5 minutes.  This is the best tip ever.  This is what makes the yoghurt thick and creamy.  Something about the heat and proteins, but the result is thicker yoghurt.

After holding this temperature for 5 minutes I plunge the pot into a bowl filled with ice cubes and water and stir the milk until it has cooled down to 110 °F / 42 °C.  Then I pour almost all of the milk into a large jar.  The small amount I pour into a glass and to this I add the yoghurt that I'm using as a starter.  This is usually what is left of my own.  Or, if I've been greedy, store bought fresh yoghurt.  I mix it with the milk in the glass, about 2 - 3 tablespoons, and then pour it into the large jar.  Then I mix the liquid in the jar by gently stirring.

I put the jar into my oven on a low setting and keep it overnight.  I find that 10 hours works very well for me.  Then I take it from the oven and put it in the refrigerator to cool down.  When it is cold I use a knife to stir it well and it is ready to eat.

I used to think this was so much hassle to make.  First I thought one would need a yoghurt maker.  Not so.  Wouldn't use one if I was given one.  It is much easier to use a jar.  Also I used to worry terribly about the exact temperature.  But it's not that precise.  I've heated the milk above the recommended temperature (although not to a boil) without any ill effects.  The important thing is that the yogurt bacteria thrives at temperature between 100-110 °F / 38-43 °C.  If it gets hotter the bacteria will die.  If it gets colder the bacteria won't do it's job till it's warm again.  So as long as one is careful about the temperature after the yoghurt is added, there is no problem.

Gift from the gods, brought by the butler

Filipendula ulmaria - Meadowsweet is a lovely medicinal plant.  It is well known as a natural painkiller as it contains salicylic acid, the ingredient in aspirin.  The plant is however, unlike aspirin, quite gentle for the stomach and is used to treat heartburn since it neutralizes stomach acids and it is used for peptic ulcers.  It is anti inflammatory and as such it works well for rheumatic pain.  It is also astringent and a urinary antiseptic.  It is even gentle enough to treat diarrhea in children.

It's name in Icelandic is Mjaðurt, which means Meadplant.  Mead is a drink that the vikings drank way back when they were delusional enough to think Iceland was inhabitable.  There are no surviving recipes for mead, but it was probably alcoholic and some think it was made with honey, but it is fairly obvious that Filipendula ulmaria was used in it.

I got the idea to make a drink from Meadowsweet when I had finished the Rhubarb "champagne".  I was sure that it would make a lovely drink that would be even more like Champagne than Rhubarb.  The scent of Meadowsweet flowers is sweet and warm, almost vanilla like, but still very distinct.  The leaves have a slight almond like smell that is again a bit different.  I made a potful to try it out.  And Oh!  Jumm!  I really like it.  This is no drink for viking brutes.  They can drink robust Rhubarb drinks.  This one is a drink for the girls, wearing white lace, sitting in the garden in the sunshine with the butler reverently serving this delicate tasting and lovely natural champagne, like it's a gift from the gods.

The recipe is simple.

Take about 10 - 15 flower heads of Meadowsweet and put in a pot with cold water, about 4 liters/quarts.

Add:
A sliced lemon
500g. /1 pound sugar
1 desert spoon of apple vinegar.

Let this sit for 24 hours
Sieve this and pour the clean liquid into 2 liter plastic bottles, close them and let sit for a couple of days.

When the plastic bottles are quite hard, you put them in the fridge to stop the fermentation.

When you open the cold bottle, the drink will have a gentle carbonation and taste divine.
This drink is lovely and refreshing and would go well with Macarons.  You know!  Those French lovely cookies that I'm always planning to make.  That'll be another post one of these days.

I am making another batch of it these days to give to the vegetable club of the Garden society who are coming to visit the allotment (and I offered to be their host).  I did give some to my husband, poor thing, he went into the hospital three times last month and finally got out last week (and no I never did smack him on the head with the bat :) and he's getting all better, finally.  Although that could be a result of receiving correct medical treatment rather than drinking this lovely drink.  But you never know, do you?
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How to drink Rhubarb

Rhubarb is great to drink.  The tartness of it makes a refreshing taste for summer heat in combination with a touch of sugar og honey for sweetening, lemon juice and even a touch of Ginger for a more spicy version.  I find that it is really easy to just trow it in a pot and improvise, but here are a few recipes that I am going to give in my talk about Rhubarb.

I have posted this recipe before, but it is the only one that I've posted without having made it myself. My excuse is that I wanted to try it, but it takes a long time to be ready so I thought I'd post it so that I didn't loose the recipe. Unfortunately I can't remember where I got it from. But here is is, a little boozy treat for those who like that sort of thing. I have to say that the taste of this isn't really all that much Rhubarb, but rather a sweet something that I can't put my hand on. But it still might make an interesting gift.

Rhubarb liquor
This recipe is for about 6 dl. and takes about 4 weeks to do.

5 dl / 2 cups Rhubarb pieces
4 dl / 1 3/4 cup vodka
1 vanilla pod
1,5 -2 dl (3/4 cup more or less) simple syrup

Put the Rhubarb into a jar. Pour the vodka into the jar, put a lid on and shake for a few minutes.
Let this stand for about 2 weeks and shake every now and again. Add the vanilla pod.
After about 4 week you sieve the booze, add the simple syrup and stir well. Taste and add more syrup as you like.  Let this stand for about a month to let the flavours mellow.

I didn't find that it mellows that much, but I did let a piece of vanilla pod stay in the bottle and I think I probably shouldn't have.  There might just be a tad too much vanilla taste.

Rhubarb syrup is great to make because it can be made into drinks and to make pink lemonade.  I like this recipe which I got at Miss Print blog.  The syrup can also be used in cocktails if one wants to.  The recipe for syrup is something like this:

1 cup rhubarb (washed and dried) cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 1/4 cups water
1 cup sugar

Put all ingredients into a saucepan and stir. Bring mixture to a boil, stirring occasionally.
Once mixture has boiled, turn down the heat and simmer for 20-25 minutes until the rhubarb is soft and the red colour has bled in.  Sieve the mixture and pour into a bottle and let it cool.  This should keep for a few weeks in the fridge.

The recipe can be tweaked a bit.  I like to add some lemon juice and occationally a piece of ginger to make it slightly more interesting.  Use as sauce on ice cream, as a drink concentrate and mix with still or sparkling water.  Pour into lemonade to make it pink.  Or slosh some vodka into it to make a boozy drink.

I am now in the process of making a third recipe.  The name is lovely, so I had to try it: Rhubarb champagne and I found it on an Australian site: Just like my nan made

Rhubarb champagne

2lb rhubarb
1 sliced lemon
8 pints of cold water
1 lb sugar
1 dessert spoon of vinegar

Wash rhubarb and cut up roughly, add sugar, finely sliced lemon, vinegar & water.  Let stand for 24 hours, stirring occasionally to dissolve the sugar.  Sieve and pour into plastic bottle and close them.  Used soft drinks bottles are ideal.  Let stand for a few days.  This will start to ferment and becomes alchoholic after 2 weeks.  Before that it is a fizzy sweet drink, probably a bit like my Ginger ale.

This needs to be put in the fridge to stop fermentation.  Do that when you like the taste.

I can't wait to try this one, it sounds really interesting and I'll be sure to add my verdict to this post.
But on to other things Rhubarb...

UPDATE:  I really like the "champagne".  It tastes quite sophisticated and unlike any other rhubarb drink I've tasted.  The name isn't that far off.
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Perfect sourdough bread - with a little help from a French friend

I love my sourdough.  I love it slightly toasted with some
 cheese.  And yes, I'm planning to make my own soon. The
Rose jelly is also a favorite and easy to make.

Another bread with a different recipe.  I've been making the same bread a few times but thought I'd try something a bit different.  So I found this website, chocolateandzucchini.com, which is the very best one that I have found so far.  It has very detailed explanations and she even tells you the why's.  I love that.  I need to know why.  I hate not knowing why, so this woman is my new hero.   She is French, but she writes it in English.  I just love her blog and highly recommend it to everyone interested in cooking, because this blog is not just about baking.

This recipe has worked very well for me every single time.  I have followed Clotilde's recommendation to make the starter in the evening and start the dough the next morning.  Clotilde is very good a explaining everything, but this is my shorter version of it.

200 g. Starter sponge.  This post explains how to make the starter.
400 g. Water
600 g. Various flours
           I usually use about 150 g. Rye, 250 g. Spelt, 200 g. Whole wheat and mix them with a whisk.
15 g. Salt (the recipe calls for 10 g, but I like salty bread)

Put the sponge in the Kitchen aid bowl and add the room temperature water and stir. Then add the flours.  Stir on the lowest setting for a few seconds.  Then let it rest for 30-40 minutes.  The rest allows the flour to absorb more water.  Then add the salt and any nuts or seeds that you want to add.  I've used sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds and pine nuts.  Mix for a few minutes until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl and looks smooth.  (This can all be done by hand, obviously).  I put olive oil on my hands to avoid the dough sticking to them and gently coax the dough out of the bowl and into an earthenware bowl.  As I do this the surface of the dough gets covered in oil, but additionally I put the plastic bag on top and wrap the bowl in a kitchen towel and put it by the shelf for an hour or two.

After that the dough will have risen.  Then I take the dough out and use a spatula to fold the edges into to the center.  I do this all around the edges of the bowl and then I cover it with plastic and wrap it a towel and let it rest for another hour.  Then I repeat that.  Let the dough rise until it has doubled.  If in doubt poke a finger into it and if the indentation remains, it is ready.  I fold the dough again and gently lower it into a pot.  To prevent the dough sticking to a pot.  I pour a bit of oil into it and add some flour.  Rub the mixture on the bottom and sides of the pot.  I have a terrible time remembering to cut slashes in the bread, but that looks pretty neat.  I found that using oiled scissors is much easier than a sharp blade or knife.  Put the lid on and put the pot into the cold oven.  Turn it to 240 C/460 F and let it bake for one hour.

Many people use dutch ovens or baking stones, but I own neither.  I have used a stainless steel pot with its lid to bake the bread.  It works beautifully even if it is rather unconventional.  When the time is up I take the pot out of the oven turn it upside down and knock on the bottom.  If it doesn't sound hollow I put it back in the oven.  Alternatively stick a cooking thermometer into the center of the bread.  It is done if that reads 100 C / 210 F.

When it is done, the bread needs to cool completely before being cut or it will be gummy.  I've found this to be true.  The bread lasts me a week and I don't freeze it, but it is easy to freeze half for use later in the week.

This recipe works really well for me. The bread rises beautifully and much better than when I have put the dough into a preheated oven like many other recipes suggest.  I am working on getting the courage to try the sourdough baguette recipe next.
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Yoghurt - homemade and to die for delicious

I have been picking up jars of all shapes and sizes to use
to store herbs and all sorts of stuff.  This one is perfect for
my yoghurt.  I hae two that I alternate.  I also can't resist
collecting coneswhen I see them laying on the ground.

I eat yoghurt every morning for breakfast.  I'm not adventurous (at least about food, I find it a bit of a bore to have to eat constantly) so I always eat strawberry yoghurt.  Last time I was on vacation I got in the habit of mixing my own from the buffet because they didn't have the European style yoghurt that I like.  I used unflavoured yoghurt that had an ingredient label that said something like: "Yoghurt and not much more" (many makes have all sorts of nasty sounding stuff in them) and then I mixed it with strawberry compote, almonds, walnuts, dates and rolled oats and whatever else took my fancy.  Oh, what a breakfast!  Much better than the small cup of yoghurt I had gotten used to.  So when I came home I started to think about making my own.  I've looked a yoghurt makers at stores and I've seen so many recipes through the years  and often thought about it, but... you know.  When you haven't done it, it just seems to be such a bother.

But I found this wonderful website, Smallnotebook.com and blog (I love the clean uncluttered look of it as well as the subject) about organzation and clutter and some really good instructions for making your own yoghurt.  So I just did it!

It was really much easier than I anticipated and the result was a stunningly good yoghurt.  I didn't use any complicated equipment, all you need is a candy thermometer that goes up to 180 F / 85 C, a pot, a jar and the oven.

I only used 600 ml (20 fl oz) of milk for my first try.  I measured the milk into a pot.  Put it on the stove, turned on the heat and waited for it to reach 180 F / 85 C.  It does so when it starts to bubble and threatens to boil over, so watch it carefully.  When that temperature is reached some people try to hold the milk at that temperature and that will supposedly give a thicker yoghurt.  I didn't try to do that, but took the pot off the heat and plonked it into a large bowl with ice and water to cool.  This cools the milk fairly rapidly (which I understand is better) and it should go down to 110 F / 42 C but not colder.  Then I poured some of the milk into a glas jar and stirred in 1-2 tablespoons of store bought yoghurt, unflavoured.  After that I poured in the rest of the milk and stirred the whole thing, gently.  Then I put it in the oven.

Now, my oven has a digital display so I turned it to 45 C.  But I also put a candy thermometer into a glass of water and stuck it in there, just to check the temperature.  It turned out that my oven is colder than it displays, so I turned it up until the candy thermometer read 110 F / 42 C, which turned out to be 50C.

The yoghurt stays in the oven for 7-8 hours and during that time it shouldn't be moved too much.  I did this in the morning and just about freed my oven in time for dinner.  For some people it makes sense to do this late at night and take it out in the morning.  Then the whole thing is put in the fridge to get completely cold.  After that it is ready to eat.

Mine turned out perfect.  Just the way I like it.  Much better than the organic yoghurt that I bought to use as a starter.  That was unusually thin and watery and I was worried that it wouldn't be any good, but that fear was unfounded.  I do not like yoghurt that has been thickened with gelatin or starches, but those who do like that can probably use those to thicken their homemade yoghurt if they want.  I've also seen recipes that used powdered milk in addition to regular and that will make a thicker yoghurt.  I use full fat milk for my yoghurt, but it can be made with reduced fat milk, although why anyone would want that is beyond me.

I didn't add any sugar to the yoghurt, but I defrosted some strawberries and added sugar to those and heated that on the stove.  When it cooled I whizzed it in a blender and put in in a jar in the fridge.  Now  I can make my own blend every morning.  I don't want everything to be mixed together too much, I enjoy the contrast of the sweet strawberries and tart sourness of the yoghurt.  But I have seen recipes that put sugar and vanilla into the milk before it is heated so I guess that is a possibility for those who have a sweet tooth.  I really recommend this to anyone who eats yoghurt.  It's like so many things that just taste completely different when home made.  And this way you know exactly what is in it.

Hmmm... Bread?

I have a few cross stitch pieces that my great aunt made.
She gave many of them to my daughter but I have still to
put them in a frame yet. Love the tureen with the
vegetable decoration. It came from my mother in law.

I have been thinking that I may be suffering from a serious midlife crisis.  Like the middle aged men who run out and buy motorcycles, trade in their wife for a younger model and so on.  Except my symptoms are an obsessive interest in making things.  All sorts of things.  And one obsessive interest seems to breed another and snowball into a collection of unfulfilled areas of interest that manifests in a stack of books.

The other day I suddenly got an urge to bake a sourdough rye bread.  I honestly do not know where I got that idea from.  Most often my interests seem to evolve naturally from one area to another:  Soap to creams and lotions and back to soap on to essential oils and medicinal plants with a detour to crocheting borders for duvet covers and from there to dyeing with natural materials to bookbinding (yes! Bookbinding is fascinating), but this had no connection to anything else and surprised me.  I love to bake cakes and cookies, but that is just selfish, indulgent greed.  Bread?  No!  Tried it once.  Killed the yeast.  Decided it was not for me.  But then I got this strong urge.  One problem with a sudden urge to make sourdough bread is that one has to have a starter to make it.  Making a starter takes at least a week if successful.  So I have been having a close relationship with Grumpy, my starter, for a few weeks.  It wasn't successful at first.  He seems to be in good shape now and I have high hopes for his longevity.

It was a bumpy ride that started with an innocent mix of rye flour and water in equal amounts.  I used a glass jar.  Then I waited for it to start to bubble.  I stirred it every day, twice a day, until it did.  Then I fed it.  Also every day.  This involves discarding half of it and adding more flour.  It soon started to ferment and bubble quite happily.  It was a bit like magic.  Life from nothing, it seemed.  But getting from there to bread is only a part of the way.  My first attempts went into the trash with an loud bang.  I could have killed a man with that heavy blunt instrument.  This last one I baked in a cast iron pot that was too big, so it looks flat, but it tastes very, very good.  I also think that I may be starving my starter.  But I'm getting there.  I used a recipe from The Fresh Loaf site.  The recipe for the first bread is:

300 g. Whole wheat
150 g. Spelt
50 g. Rye
50 g. Whole grain starter

375 g. Water
10 g. Salt

I used my rye starter which is a bit wet.  If the starter is very  dry then use less, about 40 g.
This recipe is very simple and it worked fine for me.  I dissolved the starter in the water.  Added the salt.  Then the flour, which I had mixed well with a whisk.  I use my Kitchen aid mixer with a dough hook to mix the dry and wet ingredients.  Then I put the dough (it's sticky) into an oiled bowl and covered it with a plastic bag and a towel.  Placed it somewhere warm and draft free,  I let it rise overnight on the kitchen counter, for 10- 12 hours.

There is the wet finger test to see if it has risen fully.  You poke a wet finger into the dough up to the first knuckle.  If the hole remains and doesn't spring back then the dough is fully risen.  Then the dough is taken out, stretched a bit and folded, this should be done gently to preserve the gas bubbles that the rising has produced.  Then the dough is shaped into a ball.  It then needs to sit for another 2-3 hours and should rise again.  I put mine into a cast iron pot that had been heated in the oven at 230 C / 450 F.  I put a lid on and let it bake for 40 - 50 minutes, the last 10-15 without the lid.  To test for doneness one can apparently knock on the bottom of the bread and it should sound hollow.  This process is beyond my comprehension so I prefer to stick an instant read thermometer into the center of the bread.  The internal temperature should be about 99 C / 210 F.

I will continue to work on my bread until I get the perfect loaf.  I still have some way to go and taking good care of Grumpy is a high priority now.

Rose hips - full of vitamin C

I really wanted to make these into a necklace they were so
pretty. And I really would like to be able to make oil from
those seeds. There's so many of them.

Autumn, not at all my favorite season, does have a few redeeming qualities.  One is the crops that are there for the picking.  I'm not a cook, but I love to bake and make sweet stuff.  That of course includes jams, jellies and syrups.  I have posted a few of my recipes but one I haven't posted yet is rose hips.  I picked a lot last year.  I in fact only discovered them here last year as I was walking the dogs.

There is this huge overgrown bush close by my house in no mans land and suddenly it was full of these lovely red fruits.  I quickly realized that they were rose hips and having read about them in Danish magazines for years (decades) I excitedly went a picked a few.  And then a few more and then even more since I started seeing them everywhere.  I think I still have some in the freezer since last year and I guess I'll use those to feed the birds this winter.  My only regret is that I am not able to extract oil from the seeds because there are so many seeds, it's unbelievable.  I did find a something on the internet that was supposed to do that, but It was too expensive.  But it would sure be fun to be able make my own rose hip oil.  I have infused rose hips in oil, but it's not the same.

But this summer was very good and so far the only sign of autumn is in the shorter days, so now we can light candles in the evening (and taking photo's without flash is getting increasingly difficult.  But temperatures are still in the 60's (we call that summer over here) so I have to wait a bit longer to gather a decent crop of rose hips since they are at their best just after the first frost.  And I read somewhere that rose hips have the most vitamin C in the coldest regions so here it must contain mega quantities.  But I have started to collect a few to make into a jelly to join the red currant and gooseberry jellies that I have already made.  I like to make small quantities, so my recipes are usually enough for maybe 6 jars or so.  Although i only had 3/4 of a jar of gooseberries, but boy are they good!

I like to make fruit syrup as well a jellies and one of the advantages of not making jam out of the rose hips is that there are a lot of tiny hairs inside and they used to be used a an itching powder by naughty boys in the olden days (before my time) and most recipes recommend that the seeds and the hairs be removed.  I'm too lazy to do that.  It's just too much work.  So here is my recipe for a jelly where that stuff is just sived away.

2.3 liters / 2 quarts   Rose hips
1.7 liter / 1.5 quarts  Water
1/2 cup lemon juice
1 packet pectin (depending on what you use the directions can be different)
1/4 tsp butter
3.5 cups sugar

Top and tail the rose hips and put them in a pot, pour the water over and let simmer for about 1 hour, or until the rose hips are soft.  Mash this in the pot with a potato masher or use a food processor if you wish.  The pour this into a jelly cloth contraption and let the juice run of for at least an hour, longer if you can.  Squeeze out all the juice.

Now measure the juice, you need 3 cups.  If there isn't enough then add water.

The juice along with the lemon juice is put into a clean pot and this is heated.  Add 3 tsp of sugar to the pectin and set aside.  Add the rest of the sugar to the pot and when that is dissolved, but the butter in and boil the whole thing hard for 1 minute.  Then add the pectin/sugar blend and boil for another 1/2 minute.  Pour into sterilized jars.  Close them when cold.
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Rhubarb soup with Rhubarb ice cream

Tivoli's rhubarb ice cream and rhubarb soup. Delicious.

Tivoli is a fun park in Copenhagen, Denmark.  It is a combination of fairground, shops and restaurants and every child's dream.  I was there for dinner in June and we got this amazing desert.  It was ice cold Rhubarb soup with some sort of dark chocolate/marzipan wafer and Rhubarb ice cream on top.  Not only did it taste good, but it looked really pretty so a snapped a photo of it.

When I came home I looked for recipes of Rhubarb soup and found a few.  This is the one I made and it is delicious.  Serve it ice cold (put it in the freezer for 10 minutes just before serving) with ice cream, either rhubarb or a good quality vanilla.  Any addition of dark chocolate in whatever form you can think of is a treat.  As is the mint leaves and berries.

Rhubarb soup (serves 4):
500 g rhubarb
200 g sugar
3 dl water
1 vanilla pod
Juice from one lemon if needed

Cut the rhubarb into small pieces.  Cut the vanilla pod into two and scrape off the vanilla corns into the sugar.  Put the water and sugar into a pot and bring to boil.  You can put the vanilla pod into the pot to simmer, but I put my pods in oil to use in creams and lotions.  Let simmer for 10 minutes.  Taste and adjust with more sugar or some lemon juice if needed.  Siv the rhubarb compot.  The liquid should be a pretty red soup.  Put the soup into the fridge.  It will keep well for a few days.   It can also be frozen for later use.  But serve it really, really cold with ice cream and decorate with a few mint leaves and redcurrants if you have them.  The left over rhubarb mush in the siv is lovely on toast for the next few days.

The view from our Paris apartment (ok, it's not ours, we rent
it, but we like to call it ours. With a view like that who can
blame us)

The best Rhubarb ice cream is sold in the ice cream shop on Île Saint-Louis in Paris.  It's on the corner opposite the rear end of Notre Dame, over the bridge.  And if you don't know it you'll recognize it by the long line.  But it's rare flavor to get in shops, so here is a recipe.  It is quite good and really easy to make.   I like the fact that it doesn't ask for all my egg yolks.  The trick is to use fairly small stalks and cut them into very small pieces.

Rhubarb ice cream:
300 g / 10.5 oz small cut rhubarb (that was about 5 stalks for me)
1 dl sugar / 3.4 oz
1/2 dl water / 1.9 oz water - if needed
3 dl / 10 oz whipping cream
2 egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla sugar (or essence)
1 tbs icing sugar

Cut the rhubarb into small pieces and put into a pot with the sugar and a little bit of water if needed.  Cook for a few minutes at low heat until the rhubarb is soft and mushy.  Take off the heat and let cool.  It doesn't take long, I took the dogs for a walk.

Mix the egg yolks with the icing sugar and vanilla.  Whip the cream and fold the yolk mixture into the cream.  Fold in the cooled rhubarb.  Put into an ice cream maker and follow instructions for that (mostly that you turn the icecreammaker on before you pour the mix into it) OR put into a bowl and stick it in the freezer.  If the latter, take out every now and again to stir through until frozen.  Stirring will prevent large crystals from forming.

My version of rhubarb ice cream and rhubarb soup with the
tuile cookie. The spoon is a Christmas spoon - a gift from
my stepmother in law and father in law.

I don't have recipe for a marizipanychocholateythingy but I made these, cause they looked kinda cute.

Tuiles:
80 g soft butter
80 g sugar
50 g flour
50 g glucose sirup

Mix together.  Smear it out on a baking sheet (I did four circles) and bake for ... well the recipe said "about 5 minutes at 175C /350F or until golden in colour"  That took about 20 minutes for me.  Now the rest of the instructions said: "Take the baking sheet out and wait a few minutes until it is cold enough to handle.  You can then make it into interesting shapes.  Let it cool completely and store in an airtight container."  This apparently works if you have Marthaesque composure in the kitchen.  I do not, so my instructions would be more along the lines of:  "You can make TRULY unique shapes while handling this gooey mess in a blind panic furiously trying not to burn off your fingers."

Bon appétit!
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Honeysuckle honey - For sore throats

Honeysuckle  has the most wonderful fragrance and it's such a shame that there is no way to make an essential oil from it.  I have 3 different varieties of it growing in my garden, Lonicera periclymenum Serotina, a yellow early flowering one, L. periclymenum Belgica, a pink and later flowering and Lonicaera caprifolium a yellow that flowers in between the others.  But I absolutely love all their scent and I frequently cut off branches with flowers to put into bouquets to bring the scent into the house.

Honeysuckle had been used as a medicinal plants, both in Europe and China for centuries as a remedy for fever, inflammation and infection.  The Chinese variety L. japonica is more likely to be used medicinally than the European varieties which are not as potent and apparently Honeysuckle isn't much used in modern Western herbalism.  But all the plants contains salicylic acid which is basically what is in aspirin so it can be used for pain and it has some benefits for irritated skin.

Different parts of the plant have a different effect.   The dried branches have been described as a remedy for arthritis, the bark is diuretic, the leaves are astringent and can be used as a gargle for sore throat and canker sores.  The flowers are antispasmodic and have been used to treat both cough and asthma.

Wonderful!  So I picked a jarful of honeysuckle flowers and poured honey over it to cover.  It is important to cover the flowers completely or they may go moldy.  This needs to be stirred every day especially at the beginning when the flowers will rise to the top because of air among them.  Or much simpler, the jar can simply be turned over every day.  After a few times the honey will have replaced the air.  If needed, add some more honey to cover.  The honey is infused for about 4 weeks and then the flowers are strained from the honey.  It may be better to warm the honey a bit to do that.  But when that is done the honey is a wonderful soothing remedy for sore throats this winter.
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Rose jelly - Pure pink summer perfection

Roses are wonderful plants.  There are so many varieties that everyone can find somthing to like.  My favorites are primarily roses that smell nice.  I somehow find it incredulous that people actually grow roses that have no scent!  If I had to choose a colour I would probably go for pink, but I also love very pale, white and beige.  I intensely dislike the long stemmed red roses that are supposed to be so romantic.  Overbred and sterile.  But that's me.

Rugosa roses grow very well here up north.  They are tough as old boots and produce an abundance of flowers and smell very nice.  Hansa rose is a hybrid Rugosa that produces large fucshia pink flowers that have a strong scent.  The hips are bright orange and I did gather quite many last fall to make rose hip jelly and sirup.  This plant is very common and grows in many public spaces.  I have a favorite spot where I go to gather roses in full bloom, before the petals start to fall down.

I have infused olive oil by letting petals sit for 24 hours or more, then squeezing out the oil (with my hands to get all the oil) and put in more petals and repeat the whole process.  I've done this 3 times with fresh petal in the same oil and I have bit of lovely golden, nice smelling oil.  This is like liquid gold.  I have used it on my face, just straight from the bottle.  I might make a face cream out of it, but probably not, it is lovely as a serum.

But the thing I'm even more excited about is the rose jelly.  I have read recipes for this in Danish magazines for years, but never had enough roses from my own garden to do this.  Now, with foraging in my secret place, I have an abundance of roses to use and here is this lovely recipe.  And let me add that I never take so much that anyone would notice.  And I only take the blooms that are fully open, but just before they start to wilt.  It is just like deadheading the roses.

Rose jelly.

1 liter (about 1 quart) (hard packed) rose petals - using strong pink and red gives a lovely colour
I also threw in a handful of honeysuckle flowers because they were in flower - they soothe sore throats.
1 liter (1 quart) water
800 grams (slightly less than 2 pounds) sugar
20 g pectin (I used a commercial product called Melatin - yellow)
1 - 2 tbs lemon juice

The white pointy bit of the rose petals need to be cut off.  A bit fiddly, but they have a bitter taste so it's better to remove them and get a pure rose taste.
The petals are then put in a saucepan with the water and a lid on and this is brought to a gentle boil.  Push the rose petal into the water and simmer very gently under a lid for about 5 minutes.  Leave to steep over night.

Siv out the spent petals and squeeze out all the liquid.  Use your (just washed) hands to get all the lovely liquid.
Measure the liquid and add water to increase to 1 liter / 1 quart if necessary.
Add the lemon juice.

Now this next step depends on the type of gelling agent that is used.  I used a product called Melatin yellow which is made for low pectin fruit.  Pectin can also be used and then just follow the manufacturers instructions.  Generally one uses 2 tsp per pound of fruit.
My instructions for the Melatin were to stir the packet into the liquid and bring to boil.  Then stir in the sugar a little bit at a time.  And finally bring everything to a boil.  Let it boil for 1 minute counting from when everything starts to boil.  But follow the instructions from the manufacturer of the pectin product you use.  Now you can adjust the taste with some lemon juice if you like.  I didn't, I just used the recipe as it is.

This is poured into sterile jars (put them in the oven at 140C / 285 F for a few minutes and I boil the lids.) and let it cool.  There are special chemicals available to sterilize, but I never use them.  I find that heating them is sufficient and the sugar preserves.
Put the lids on when the jelly is cold.

That's it.  The result is a beautiful glowing pinky red jelly that tastes like the smell of roses.  I love it, but my husband commented that it tastes "weird".  I think this more for the girls than the guys.
It is perfect on a pieces of toasted baguette or other good bread, on waffles or even on ice cream.  It can also be used with lamb and veal dishes.
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Lilac drink - Syringa saft

I have been an avid gardener for many years.  Gardening in Iceland is a challenge and many plants that I read about in foreign gardening books have a hard time growing here.  I use Latin names a lot because I read mostly English and Scandinavian books about gardening and common names can be so different between countries.  Up here in the north we have a short summer and the result is that many plants that are known as spring flowering in other countries, flower during summer here.  I think Syringa is one of those.  It is in flower in my garden right now and I just love the scent of it.

As a gardener I love flowers and most of all flowers that have a scent. So when I got interested in vegetable I got really, really, really interested in edible flowers.  Isn't it wonderful that not only can you look at flowers and smell them,  you can eat a lot of them too.

So I have been surfing the internet and scouring bookshelves for information on edible flowers.  I eat a lot of my plants already,  Chives flowers have a mild onion taste and look pretty in a salad as do the peppery tasting flowers of Tropaeolum.  Violas are lovely in a salad also as well as roses - and Borage flowers are a classic in drinks in summer.

The other day I found something new that I've never even heard of before.  I found a recipe for a drink made of Lilac flowers. It is Swedish and doesn't seem to be well known any other place.  I tried to eat the flowers of my Lilac, but they didn't taste very good.  This recipe is very much like many other drink recipes using all sorts of fruit.  These drinks are called "saft" in most Nordic languages. They are drunk as is or diluted with water depending on taste. The original recipe is for double this amount, but that is too much for me. I managed to gather about 20 flowering clusters just before they were turning brown.

Lilac saft

20 flower clusters
1 liter (about a quart) water
1 kg (about 2 pounds) sugar
1 lemon
25 g (slightly less than 1 oz.) citric acid

It may be smart to let the flowers lie on a white tablecloth for a little bit to allow the creepy clawlies to get away. You can also wash them in cold water in a salad spinner. Pull the small flowers from the stalks, at least the large ones, you can leave the small clusters. Put the flowers into a jar or a pot.
Boil the water with the sugar and pour it over the flowers while hot.

Wash the lemons well and peel off some of the rind, cut the lemon in two and squeeze out the juice. Mix the lemon rind, lemon juice and citric acid into the flower solution.

Put a lid on the flower mixture and let it stand in a cool place in 2-4 days. Stir the solution twice a day. Pour it into clean bottles and store in the fridge. This freezes well, but put it into a plastic bottle first.

The saft looks very pretty.  My Lilac is pink, so the saft is quite red but as I understand it, the blue or lavender Lilacs produce a very cool colour.  The taste is dry and refreshing, reminiscent of rhubarb and maybe grapes. Very distinct and different.  I have poured about an inch so so into a glass and filled up with ice cold water.  It tastes very good that way.  I'm pretty sure that it would be good with carbonated water as well and even with a bit of vodka.

The photos: I was really happy to find these big jars in the Good S... I bought a number of them and they are all filled with dried herbs. The other photo: My shed is great. We built it at the side of the house and in there I can store all my gardening stuff. I also have a hanging chair that I hang in the doorway so I can read or, even better, sleep in the evening sun.

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Homemade Ginger Ale

I loved Ginger Ale when I was a little girl.  I got it infrequently, only when my grandparents held grown up parties where my mother and her sister would help to serve.  I think it started with me wanting the nice coloured drinks that were being served.  Those were alcoholic so not so suitable for a 4 year old and someone had the idea to give me Ginger Ale which looked like the whiskey that was served (I have a feeling that I howled until I got it).  It amused the adults that I really liked it, but I still do.
I came across some recipes for making your own Ginger Ale quite some time ago while browsing the Internet so I started to experiment with that.
There are a lot of recipes on the internet for this, but this is my recipe.  It's a result of many, many trials.  I like it very much.  It's a great thirst quencher.  My husband likens it to moonshine and says it's disgusting!  Having led an innocent life I can't say.  I never tasted homebrew.  But I'm just really  happy that I don't have to share.  If you are interested in trying it out here's the recipe:
- I have tweaked and tried and now I have a delicious drink.

Ingredients:
Ginger, about 45 grams, finely grated (don't bother to take the skin off).
Sugar, 180 grams.
Lemon, juice of one.
Yeast, 1/4 teaspoon.

And... this is according to taste, but I love to add 1/4 teaspoon vanilla sugar and a few red pepper seed OR a small pinch of chili pepper.

How to:
Take a 2 liter plastic soft drink bottle, clean it thoroughly out and fill with cold water up to the "shoulder".
Put everything except yeast in a saucepan.
Heat to boiling while stirring.
Remove from heat, put a lid on and let stand for at least an hour.
Sieve the content of the saucepan through a fine sieve or muslin cloth.
Add that to the bottle.
Add the yeast to the bottle and put the cap on and shake it.

Then wait:
Put the bottle in a dark place, perfect temperature is 10 - 15°C.
Best result in my experience is with the cooler temperature - it takes a little longer (up to 5 days) but has less yeasty taste.

Check the bottle after 48 hours, and then regularly after that. It can explode if left too long!

When the bottle is quite hard to the touch it's ready.
Put it in the fridge.
This should stop the germination and helps to settle any sediment.
When the botle is cold, open it to let out the fizz and then check it every day or it might explode in the fridge - which I imagine is very messy.

I siphon it to another bottle to get rid of the sediment, but you can just pour gently if you don't have a small hose.

It is now ready to drink and is wonderful served quite cold.

NOTE: About the explosive nature of the brew - the yeast produces carbonation and if the pressure builds up, something has to give. That something is the bottle!
DO NOT EVER USE A GLASS BOTTLE FOR THIS RECIPE.
An exploded plastic bottle is annoying, but broken glass is DANGEROUS!!!! 

I have never had an explosion because I can't wait to see if it's ready, but I'm told that it is a possibility. So just keep touching the bottle, you'll know when it's done.

The photo:  Next to my shed I have this space for mint, perfect because it can't spread.  I have to cut it mercilessly to enable the white violas to survive. They have an adorable scent.

Caramel cake - a sweet thing.

This cake was in every birthday party that my mom held for me and my sister when we were kids and I have made it for my daughters birthdays every year.  I've never had anything remotely similar anywhere else and I don't know where the recipe comes from (altough I think it comes from the USA through my aunt).  This is one of the things that I've always meant to ask my mom about.

My younger daughter  just graduated from what would be junior college in the US (the older one is graduating in a few days with a bachelors degree from a school in Switzerland),  we had a "kaffiboð" last weekend:  Closest family members over for coffee and cakes.  The Caramel cake is a nessessity, although I've noticed that some guests eye it with suspicion and don't dare to taste it.  I'm such a lousy hostess that I love that.  Then there is some left over for me at the end of the day!

The cake is very, very sweet.  It really is like candy, so be warned.  This is no healthy treat.  Just a delightfully childish and sinful calorie bomb.

2/3 cups sugar  /150 g. 
2 eggs
Whisk together well and add:


2/3 cups melted butter  /120 g. - 

Combine and then add:

2/3 cups flour  /75 g. flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder

Put in a small (7-9 inch/ ) round baking form. Bake at 175 C / 350 F

Caramel on top:
2 dl cream
1/2 cup sugar  /125 g.
2 tbsp syrup 

Heat in a pot with a thick bottom and stir continuously until it thickens. Test by dropping into a cold glass of water.  When it forms a ball it is ready to pour on the cake.  Decorate with "thousands and thousands" if you like.  Or use something completely different according to taste.  I serve this with whipped unsweetened cream,  but that's just because I like whipped cream a lot.

Bon appetit (once a year is just about right for this sweet thing).

The photo: This is just memories for me: Childhood birthday cakes. The candle holders are a Christmas present from my mother in law and the doilies for the dress are hanging from the branch I have in the living/dining room.

Oatmeal and cranberry cookies and homemade treats for the bitches

Yep, I have two bitches (and, no I'm not talking about my daughters :). They are Bichon Frise mother and daughter. The mother is 9 years old, she has a gentle personality, dislikes water and is a very picky eater. Her daughter jumps in the pond every chance she gets, is incredibly innovative in finding projects to work on (most involving destruction of some kind) and eats everything she finds. I used to be able to put dry dog food in a bowl and the mother would nibble when she felt like it. Not so with the daughter. I recently realized that she has been eating from mom every chance she gets and is quite overweight, so now she is on a strict diet.

I have gotten interested in making dog food at home and have made some experiments. Mom likes everything I make as long as it is freshly made, but as soon as it has been in the fridge, she looses interest. Even if I've warmed it up, she just turns up her nose and walks away. The little one as I said, will eat anything. So the challenge has been to find something to make that mom will want and I did manage to make a great treat the other day that she absolutely loved.

Today I made treats for us all. My favorite oatmeal and cranberry cookies (with chocolate chips as well) .  The original recipe had white flour and sugar, but I changed it to be a bit healthier than usual.  I also made the sweet honey treat for the dogs, the recipe is something I made up to be a bit like the oatmeal recipe, but no chocolate - and no oatmeal.

Oatmeal and cranberry cookies

Mix in a separate bowl:
1.5 cup whole wheat (or spelt if you prefer)
1 tsp baking soda
0.5 tsp salt
2.5 cups oats

Whisk well together in the mixer:
1 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
0.5 cup white sugar

Add to this:
 2 large eggs
1 tbsp honey
2 tsp vanilla essence

Lastly add the wheat and oatmeal mix from the bowl and:
1.5 cup cranberries
1 cup chopped up dark chocolate

Put on baking sheet with baking paper with a teaspoon.  Bake at 180C/350F for about 10-12 min.

Sweet honey treat  for the bitches

2.5 cups whole wheat
1 cup boiled rice (I just had that in the fridge, this could also be oats)
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup milk or cream
2 tbsp sunflower oil
2 eggs

Mix everything together.  Make into little balls and squish them flat on a baking sheet.
Bake at 180C/350F for 30 min.  Most recipes for dog treats that I have seen say to let this sit in the oven until cold and hard, but my dogs like them a little soft.  I give them only one a day of these and remember to brush their teeth.
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The photo: My Swedish kitchen scale, bought at the G. S. for not much is missing it's bowl and little thingy, but it works. I can't resist old baking forms either..

Lovely lemon

Lemons are wonderful.  Their colour makes me smile, the smell of the rind is heavenly, not to mention the blossoms (hence my apprehension for my lemon tree), but the true marvel is the taste.  It's to die for.  When I was little my grandmother used to make a delicious drink that we called "sítrón" and everyone else knows as lemon aid.  I still love that.  But lemons can be used in so many things, both savory and sweet, and there is one thing that tops my list.  This lemon cake.

I found it in a wonderful book, by Molly Wizenberg, called "A homemade life".  The book is one of those books that feels good.  It has a quiet unassuming look, but somthing appealed to me when I pulled it out of the shelf at the book store.  I wasn't disappointed. It's just a lovely read and it's packed with all sorts of great recipes.

This has become an absolute favorite of mine.  And everyone who has tasted it has marvelled.  It's going to be the wedding cake at my daughters wedding. That's how good it is.  It's light and delicious and in my opinion it should be served with whipped cream.  I don't know what it is that happens when whipped cream is added, but the result is pure magic. And please use pure whipped cream - NO sugar added to it (I have never understood that) because it will loose the delicious delicate creamy taste.

The recipe is in three parts, batter, syrup and icing.
Batter:
1 1/2 cup of flour
2 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
Put these into a bowl and whisk by hand to mix.  Add to this 2 tsp. of freshly grated lemon zest and mix well. 
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup yogurt
3 large eggs
Put all into the mixer and whisk it well.  Add the flour mixture from the bowl, slowly and stir it only so that it combines.  This batter should not be over mixed.
Now add 1/2 cup sunflower oil to the batter.
Molly warn about this, but I still wasn't prepared.  Don't freak out!  It will look VERY strange at first, but suddenly it will come together and look like proper cake batter.
I always use a Bundt form (that's the type with a hole in it) for this cake, it just looks so pretty.  So I grease it and pour in the batter.  
Bake at 175 celcius (350 F) for 25-35 minutes, but do a test with a pin because it shouldn't be too dry.
It usually falls easily out of the form and onto a wire rack to cool.
Syrup:
1/4 cup icing sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice
Whisk together and spoon evenly onto the cake.  This will mostly be absorbed by the cake.
The last part is the icing.  The recipe in the book calls for one cup of sugar.  My preference is to have the icing fairly opaque and thick so I use a lot more.
Icing:
2-3 cups icing sugar
3 tbs. lemon juice
Whisk together sugar and egg whites adding sugar until you like the consitency.  Spoon the icing onto the cake.
Et voilá!  
The decoration in the photo was my first attempt at making sugared flowers and of course I used lemon flowers from my little lemon tree and for the leaves I used Melissa.  I have since discovered that one should whisk the egg whites :)  before covering the flower with it and then roll it in the sugar.  I thought it was strangely lumpy!  Elementary, when one comes to think about it. 


I am looking for some more recipes for light delicious summery cakes for the wedding and would love suggestions.



The photo: Real lemon blossom from my very own Lemon tree that almost died, eaten alive my spider mites.  I've learned since that one is to beat the eggwhites before covering the flower.   Which makes sense to me now.