Oct 28 2008
Oct 28 2008
You follow the wind…
Movie night with the sister – what a lovely concept. And what a lovely night. A while back we placed an ad at finn.no which serves as a kind of ebay to us living in stone age Norway, asking if anyone owned (and would be willing to sell us) a copy of the movie Villhesten (The Wild Horse) from 1994. I’d write all about it but I’m simply too lazy so if you want you can read about it (in Norwegian) on Norwegian wikipedia here. Growing up as a horse crazy little girl it was one of my favourite films and I even belonged to a book club called Pennyklubben which was all about horses, and they had sponsored the film and sent all their members the single with the theme song from the movie: Du Følger Vinden (You follow the wind). Yeah, you guessed correctly: I played it non-stop.
So a lovely girl replied to the ad and my sister bought the film and tonight we were finally able to sit down and watch the movie we’d so been longing to revisit. And oh what a wonderful film it is. It had me back in 1994 in an instant. I felt the old longing for my own horse, longing for an adventure like the girls in the film, longing to listen to the song again… and again and again! Alas — the single is long lost. I ask myself how I could have lost such a treasured object, but the truth is I got over my horse crazy stage at some point and probably threw it out during one of my tantrums which usually occurred when I was forced to tidy my room, or maybe it was even lost long before that time. I’m seriously contemplating placing another ad just for that little cd single. With just one or possibly two tracks on it — but then I only need that one, that song that can still make me feel like a ten year old girl whose greatest ambition is to own my own horse and go for long rides every day. Ah…
But my life is quite changed since then. My ambitions now are much higher and the prospect of them much scarier. I’ve still not completed all my obligatory course work for the semester, my mind just refuses to co-operate, every time I sit down to work my mind blanks or freezes or I get a head ache from the stress of it all. I wish I knew how to calm myself, collect my thoughts and just do it but I don’t — I continue to doubt my own ability to the point where the self doubt becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy and the end result is… well I don’t know the end result yet but the situation at the moment is far from great!
But I still treat myself. The other day I decided to buy myself a cook’s knife which I’ve been wanting for a long time, a santoku knife but I don’t think it’s an actual santoku. The little leaflet that came with it says it’s a santoku but I’m sure that’s just a descriptive term and it’s really a fake. It’s definitely lovely though. So light, fits so well in my hand and does my every bidding with no trouble at all and I’m simply smitten with it.
I also allowed myself a little night out on Friday after spending many hours reading and taking notes for my essay on Volpone (yes, still on that! Will it ever end I ask you! But then I know it will, for the final deadline is on Saturday). I had made plans with Lisbeth to go out but then I texted her saying I had to stay home and study because I simply didn’t deserve to go out. — And then I changed my mind of course and allowed myself some fun. And oh, we had fun. We had mojitos at qba, a bar at Grünerløkka where Hilde works, and the Australian boy who danced whilst making our drinks managed to get grass straws in our drinks. They still tasted fine though.
And we met a lovely dog who tried to eat our faces and my camera. His owner came out and I apologised to her for getting him all excited but I don’t quite remember her reaction. I suspect she was stone sober and found me annoying.The dog loved us though! (and yeah, I’m a cat person not a dog person. And I still liked this dog)
Tomorrow is my last chance to finish my phonetics paper then have to really get down to Volpone: I’m making myself hit the library so hopefully that will give me that extra push. Also it will keep me away from the kitchen which is always a big help, today I made a quick couscous soup which I read about and it just sounded so lovely. I used some minced beef because it was on special and some tomato paste and it was amazing! Mmmm. Although I think I put a little too much couscous in there – I’ll use less next time. No photo – it simply didn’t look as good as I would have liked. It tasted delicious though and really, that’s what matters isn’t it?
Oct 10 2008
Dark Chocolate Rice Puffs
These delicious little snacks can be the perfect way of satisfying that intense chocolate craving without the intense guilt which usually follows. Made from ‘puffed rice’ as we call it in Norway (I have not been able to come up with a suitable word for it in English, although I believe you’d be able to make it yourself by putting rice in an air popper for popcorn) and melted chocolate, mixed together and cooled in little tops on a cookie sheet or in cupcake tins, it is a staple of children’s parties and a loved snack by kids country wide. My mum never used to make them so I only had the luxury of tasting them when visiting friends’ houses on special occasions such as birthdays.
I’ve put together an adult version with dark instead of milk chocolate, mixed with a little vanilla sugar to sweeten it a bit.
Yields 15-20:
- 1,5 L puffed rice
- 250 g dark cooking chocolate, in small pieces
- 1 tbsp vanilla sugar
- 1 tbsp margarine
- 0,5 dl water
In a small saucepan, melt the margarine and add the cooking chocolate. While the chocolate is melting, add the water a little at a time to get a smooth, not too thick yet not too runny consistence. Add the vanilla sugar.
In a bowl, mix the rice with the melted chocolate until well covered. Place in cupcake tins or spoon onto a lined baking sheet. Leave to cool completely before serving.
Oct 10 2008
My First Risotto: Success!
Thinking about Hellstrøm earlier today reminded me that I’ve been wanting to try making risotto for a while now. Risotto has always been one of my ‘scary foods’, especially since watching Hell’s Kitchen where it seemed as if not a single episode went by without someone getting yelled at by Gordon for making inedible(according to him) risotto.
The network (TV3) publish a recipe from each episode of Hellstrøm Rydder Opp on their website, and the recipe for the first episode was risotto. I decided to try it, but couldn’t figure out the measurements (8 small cups? what’s that? especially as we use the metric system here in Norway and a ‘cup’ might be anything from an espresso cup to a huge mug). So I followed the recipe on the back of my rice packet instead.
Also I’d been planning to make this for dinner today — so I settled on a compromise: risotto with garlic and tuna! I added some carrot to get some colour in there as I didn’t have any fresh chilli, and I must say I’m quite pleased with the result. The risotto turned out creamy, the rice was cooked perfectly al dente, and the flavours of the tuna, garlic, and parmesan complemented each other really well. Delicious! Will definitely be making more risotto in the future now I’m no longer intimidated by it! And because tuna is so inexpensive I do believe I’ll be trying to eat more of that, too. I really do love a piece of warm toast with tuna and salt — but today’s risotto success has inspired me to get out of my comfort zone and try different things. What else would be good with tuna, I wonder?
Oct 02 2008
I am weary. I am resigned.
Deadline for the first draft of my essay was nine minutes ago. I handed in nothing like what I hope my finished essay to be a month from now — in fact I have simply not been able to wrap my mind around the question. Either it must be ridiculously simple and only a matter of discussing how the characters differ in their ruthless self-seeking, or it is as I think: much more complex and complicated. And I still haven’t figured out how to answer it. I have come up with an idea for a brilliant essay on the difficulty of the question, but somehow I doubt that will get me that A…
I always feel strong disappointment in myself at times like this. I feel like a failure, I feel like I have not put enough effort into it (although I have, of course!) I feel like I have no worth while thoughts at all and that I know nothing. Yea, I know. Sad. It’ll pass soon enough though. And when it does, hopefully the veil that I know is hiding the answer I seek will lift and I will be able to finish my task!
In the mean time, I’ve got the layout job for Filologen looming. The first course night of the layout class was yesterday and I found it interesting, if maybe a little difficult and not completely satisfying. There were questions which I didn’t get answers to, and lots of stuff that is quite irrelevant to the type of publication we make. I’m going back for round two tomorrow and am excited about it: hopefully things will fall a little into place and I’ll be able to learn most of what I’ll need so that when Monday rolls around and I have my meeting with the editor and the rest of the editorial staff I won’t be completely clueless.
I must admit I eat quite well even when I’m busy with studying. The distraction of cooking is the most welcome to me of all distractions, and I’m sure many of you can relate to my feelings on the subject of distractions and procrastination: Yes please, no please, please leave me alone… So I allow myself the luxury of spending an hour or two in the kitchen cooking and eating. Yesterday it was smoked sausages and sautéed vegetables; today it was a lovely grilled tail piece of trout, with green beans and sugar snaps (as you know, my favourite combo), mushrooms and a sweet balsamic vinegar glaze. Mmmm! What I really love about cooking when I’m really supposed to be studying, is that I can rationalise and tell myself that I must eat, I need brain food, I can’t very well starve to death over an essay! Plus the break is very refreshing and I always return to my work with renewed energy and much, much happier!
Sep 28 2008
I am, therefore I am
Last night as I was settling down with my books, ready for a night of hard core studying, a sudden surge of loneliness came over me. I felt desperately sad and pathetic, newly single and home alone on a Saturday night! Yesterday was also the one month anniversary of my break-up, which only made things sadder and more pathetic, in my mind at least. So when C called me, on her way home from Göteborg, I thought I’d never been so happy to hear another person’s voice. A few hours later I found myself on her sofa, glass of wine in hand, giggling and discussing where to go out. We ended up at a party with C’s friend M’s friends who are all civil engineers and it was the weirdest, funnest and funniest group of people I have met in a long time. Firstly, they all looked the same! Actually they all looked very different, but somehow they still managed to look identical. Quite the conundrum! Secondly, they were all dancing! All the time! Grown men (and a few women) dancing to Bob Sinclair and DJ Ötzi, taking up all floor space and a couple were even spotted dancing on chairs. Strange, you say? Unbelievable, you say? You don’t have to take my word for it: I took pictures!
The last couple of days I’ve been trying to get rid of some of the stuff that’s been accumulating in my fridge and pantry — it was at the point where I felt very guilty about buying any food because I already had so much, plus there was really no room for new food anyways. So I made two ‘throw everything in a pot’ meals which both turned out amazing! Yesterday it was a seafood-noodle stir fry which i made with kimchi flavoured ramen noodles and seafood from my freezer. The noodles were an impulse purchase, I actually had no idea what kimchi was but I had a vague feeling I’d heard about it somewhere before, most likely on Elyse Sewell’s LJ. My desire for learning ignited, I poked around a little on this wonderful thing that we call the Internet, and learned all about kimchi. Who knew fermented vegetables could taste so good? I used a little of the kimchi broth to make the stir-fry sauce, along with soy sauce, garlic, hot sauce and onions. Fried up the noodles with green beans, sugar snaps, some carrot and onion, and the seafood. Mmmm!
Today I made a sort of bulgur ‘risotto’, with julienned carrot and sliced onion, and an asian type glaze which I made from onion, garlic, loads of ginger and soy sauce, with just a little corn flour to thicken. It was so yum! And healthy too, if you don’t count the tons of salt in the soy sauce. And I’ve always been a bit extreme when it comes to my salt habits, so nothing new there…
Sep 26 2008
National Fårikål Day
…was yesterday! I’m gutted I missed it. I’d even been out and bought a kilo of mutton and a head of cabbage and was only going to take a quick little nap before I started cooking… And whaddya know, I woke up this morning at 8, feeling nowhere near rested and completely horrified that not only had I missed out on National Fårikål Day, I’d also missed the first episode of Hellstrøm Rydder Opp, the Norwegian version of Gordon Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares. I’d been looking forward to it for months now, swaying between excitement at the show and disgust at the old Norwegian man trying to ‘be’ Gordon Ramsay. In the end, though, nothing was to keep me from watching the show. Oh yea, except falling asleep! Or should I say going into hibernation. Or a coma. Not sure what to call it, but I’m very surprised that I actually managed to sleep that long. Almost twenty hours straight — I didn’t even wake up once, so when I finally awoke this morning I was fully dressed, on top of my bedspread and with only a woollen blanket protecting me from the frosty morning air. After getting up, somewhat gingerly, and chatting to my mate R on msn for a little while, I dragged my sorry beehind into the shower and came out fifteen minutes later feeling refreshed — and got started on my fårikål!
Now, just because I missed out on the actual day it does in no way mean I’m willing to miss out on fårikål. I just love fårikål, it’s so delicious in all its simplicity! Mutton, cabbage, salt and whole peppercorns, who knew that would make such a scrumptious combination? I know wikipedia claims you’re supposed to add flour to the dish to thicken the sauce, but I’ve never had it with flour and frankly I can’t imagine it tasting any better with flour in it. Actually I’m willing to take on anyone that claims fårikål is supposed to made with flour — I’ll fight till death!
Boiled potatoes, though, are a must. And a cold beer to go along with it. Luckily some people left behind the odd can of beer when they were unceremoniously kicked out of my party on Saturday night (after I passed out, I’m ashamed to admit) so I’ve got the beer thing sorted. For those who want to avoid alcohol a non-alcoholic beer would be good, or even just a glass of ice cold water!
I posted my own recipe for fårikål way back in June when there wasn’t a piece of mutton to be found anywhere. So I have had to wait until now — but good things come to those who wait and this is definitely a very good thing! I think I’ll make traditional Irish Stew next — as good as the modern version with beef and Guinness and loads of yummy vegetables is I do love the traditional recipe very much also. And I’m definitely hoping to be able to make fenalår — cured leg of lamb. This is a lengthy and smelly process though, so I’ll probably have to do it at the parents’ house.. So we’ll se if I get around to it! Mmmm, and now I’m on the subject of delicious lamb and mutton dishes my mouth is watering at the thought of mum’s amazingly delicious lamb stew with green beans and tomato. Ohh, yum! I guess I’ll be eating a lot of both mutton and lamb this autumn. What a lovely thought! I just love autumn!
Also I did end up going to the network’s website looking for a rerun date for Hellstrøm Rydder Opp. I didn’t manage to locate it, but what I found instead was much, much better: Web TV! Yey! So I’ve now watched the first episode and my feelings about the show are just about unchanged. On the positive side I realised that as this show is shot in Norway and mainly in Oslo, I’ll be able to visit some of the places after the makeover! Which is something I’ve dreamt of since Kitchen Nightmares came out. As for the entertainment value of Hellstrøm Rydder Opp, though, the whole thing was a little bland and the dialogue somewhat staccato. Oh, how I missed Gordon’s passionate excalmations! But to give credit to the poor man (Hellstrøm) it can’t be easy trying to fit into Gordon Ramsay’s shoes. And he really is an amazing chef. I’m just not sure if he’s really the right man for this kind of thing… I guess I’ll just have to keep watching the show to find out ;)