Kransbröd

Jag har kladdfobi. Hatar att få klet mellan fingrarna. Häromdagen när jag bakade bröd med en kladdig deg så blev den vanliga avlånga brödformen full, och då insåg jag att jag antingen var tvungen att rulla resten degen för hand (KLADD!) eller hitta på något snabbt. Så jag högg en sockerkaksform av silikon som stod nära till hands och tryckte ned kladdet där. Gräddade den tunna kransformade formen lite kortare tid än den tjocka brödformen eftersom jag tänkte att den skulle bli klar fortare. 

Och det blev ju bra!  

Skulle nog vara snyggt att fylla med något annat bröd, typ frallor, och ställa på bordet till fest.

Aah but you know...

Nu är det sommar och inte mycket blir tillverkat hos höken och vesslan.
Däremot har jag fått en kasse barnkläder från 70-talet som jag tänker visa nån dag. Men det är jobbigt att bara ladda upp bilder när det är så här varmt. Vi får ta det nån dag snart.
Allt man orkar äta i den här hettan är kvalitétsmakroner, nedsköljda med ett rejält glas vodka så klart.

Summer is here, I've got a bag full of 70's baby clothes but that's about what I have to show at the moment. Worth waiting for, though.
Vodka and macarons, my favourite summer treat.

Hello brunch!

My friends have the best taste in souvenirs.

Surprise lunch

My boyfriend had his birthday last week and I was too busy from work and entertaining guests to really remember it. I did remember, but I didn't arrange anything including I didn't find a present.
But today I arranged him a surprise Sunday lunch. Perhaps not as amazing as a surprise big party but a lot easier, especially when all your friends are parents of two and your place is kind of small. A party would have been difficult but lunch is kind of always appreciated, especially in this catholic part of the world where everything is closed on a Sunday anyway.

It was really hard and fun to arrange a lunch for 12 in a 60 square meter flat without him noticing. I've been hiding food everywhere like some crazy bulimic: In the cupboards, in my handbags, in the basement and most exciting: in the freezer and the fridge. Turned out that those fridge drawers for onions and potatoes are perfect for hiding stuff from my boyfriend. He doesn't look into those a lot, just wrap the yummy cheeses in some dull onion-ish type of paper and he will never find them.

Anyway. So today I had to prepare the last stuff, like, eh, making two pies and some salads and muffins and sausages for kids and setting the table and such, and my ONLY chance to do this was go get him to go away for an hour. I pretended we were out of a few crucial things and begged him to go to the train station (= only place open on sundays) to get it.
He refused! Told me to do it myself!
Oh, the horror. And time was ticking. So I had to play the "I'm really, really pregnant and useless"-card, played it quite hard, and finally he left. In a very bad mood. But still!

I rushed into the kitchen! Grinded cheese like a mad monkey, talking to myself, microwaved spinach and dug out bread and food from all my secret places. Pies were finally in the oven, guests appeared and were understanding enough to take care of themselves with wine and bread while I was finishing up the food (with or without milk, egg, gluten, meat and all the you name it). A moment later boyfriend came back - still grumpy- and was surprised according to calculations. He got happy, got wonderful presents too and we had a nice and loud lunch.

That was my day. Now the fridge is packed with leftovers, so is the freezer. Tomorrow I'll go to work just to say "Ciao for now", and then I'll be home for six weeks waiting for the baby! Let's see what I'll fill those weeks with.

Raw dessert

For some reasons my work has lead me into Raw food lately. It's quite interesting. It means basically that the food is still "alive" - uncooked - and important enzymes are by that preserved, and if you eat like that you eventually feel better. Argument: "Humans are the only animals that cook their food." - Well, that seems to make some sense. Or who knows. Anyway, I made an attempt to make a raw dessert tonight.

1. Mix a handful of nuts and raisins with a bit of water into a paste. Arrange as a cake on a plate. I added cacao to see if it would turn chocolate, which it kind of not really did, but it was still good.

2. Soak a handful of figs for a few hours in water.

3. Mix figs with a bit of lemon juice to a creamy paste. If you have no patience, like me, you don't have time to soak figs so as an emergency solution you can add a piece of banana to get a creamy consistency.

4. Put the fig icing on cake. Top with something fresh and fruity - raspberries were just perfect - and perhaps something cute like almond flakes.

My boyfriend thought it tasted "healthy". I thought it was really good. I made another portion for myself.

Truffle sunday

Today me and Bebé Dragon are making truffles as a housewarming present for a couple we're visiting this afternoon. A bit of licorice powder enhances the chocolate in a very nice way. And there will be plenty left for me.
Since I just learnt how to make origami boxes, we made a box as well. So much fun! Little effort, great result.







As you can see, Bebé is thrilled about the absolutely adorable whisks we won in the lottery at the talented Pia's blog a while ago. Thank you a million Pia, they are just great! (I might turn them into jewelry once Bebé isn't looking.)

I'm a vegetarian for sentimental reasons

still cooking can be heartbreaking from time to time