Birchermüesli

This is a traditional Swiss breakfast dish invented by some Dr. Bircher many years ago. I remember eating a lot of it at the maternity ward as it was so delicious. The main ingredients are oats and fruits (dried and / or fresh) unless you're Jamie Oliver and then skip both. I have a feeling that each family have their own recipe and the one I've used here for my first attempt was given to me by one of my colleagues (who's Hungarian and married to a Dutch guy, but they have Swiss neighbours, I think).

The finished portion on the left. The black bits are chia seeds, not banana flies. 

Close up of one portion. This is the last picture of this glass, as it broke afterwards. I think this was a reaction to being used for something other than a wine glass.

Marble Cake

Stefan had a friend visiting Sunday afternoon, which gave me the opportunity to make a cake which would not only be shared between Paul and me...(Stefan and his friend, Noel, were more interested in eating some shop bought biscuit than this warm wonder of a homemade cake.)

Marble cake with limited 'swirl'.

I had an old recipe for a marble cake which I almost followed: Instead of icing sugar, I used Stevia which has been a successful substitute when making bread, but I must admit, I didn't like the aftertaste it seemed to leave in this cake. Paul said he thought it was a bit dry, so perhaps this was also because of me not using the 'right' sugar? As the picture demonstrates, the marble effect is a bit lacking, hence I need to find out how to improve that.

Physics Experiment for 3-year-olds

Stefan has started showing an interest in ice cubes. He's fascinated by the clinking sound they make when in a glass as well as their cold- and wetness. And he's baffled, when they've suddenly disappeared. 'Mummy, iskump gone!' (Ice cube in Danish: Isklump, isklumper (pl.)) I've tried to explain about ice and heat, but felt I needed some visual aids, hence I created a physics experiment. (Before people, who know me, start to laugh, I'd like to share the relatively unknown fact that my friend (Sims then, Charlotte now) and I got the SECOND HIGHEST GRADE in our physics and chemistry exam in year 9. (All we seemed to have to do was to play with the geiger counter and locate the one item in the whole school, which had a tiny bit of radioactivity in it (some stone from Greenland) But still, a grade is a grade.))

THE EXPERIMENT:

I put an ice cube in a glass with a piece of paper on top (to illustrate to Stefan that he shouldn't touch the cube) and then told him to wait. This was made easier by the fact that we were in the middle of dinner at the commencement of the experiment. Asking a 3-year-old to sit still whilst watching frozen water melt is a pretty big ask.

The idea was that he would have a lightbulb moment, when he noticed that the ice cube had turned into water and that this would lead him towards the path of receiving his first Nobel prize at the age of 20.

However, I'm not entirely sure how successful the experiment was, as, after the ice cube had melted, Stefan took off the piece of paper and drank the water.

Below are two pictures (not from the actual experiment, but one I did this morning) showing what I've described above:

During the melting process

After the melting process

Yes, I believe I could have become a great scientist.


HO rocks.
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Potato Salad with a Boiled Egg and Other Ingredients

This is just a potato salad. Nothing exciting about it at all. But I like the picture. (And the salad was nice.)

An example of a salad where each part is crucial.

 General comment on lettuce in salads:

I don't really like salad leaves apart from perhaps rucola once in a while. I don't see the point of them and unless they're very fresh, they often end up looking like an afterthought on a plate of food. What IS the point of them other than make a serving look bigger? If it doesn't add to the dish, leave it out.

Sunday Morning

It's 7.16. Stefan and I have been up for one hour and twenty-six minutes. Paul is still sleeping.

Stefan is alternating between doing puzzles and watching the Minions on YouTube. Sometimes doing both at the same time. And asking for and drinking milk. 'Mummy! Milk!' Tilting of head and smiling at me: 'Bitte.' Still smiling. I heat up and serve him milk. Again and again. The shawl, I'm currently working on, grows bigger and bigger and I'm regularly asked to stop what I'm doing to admire yet another finished puzzle. I find myself wanting to cover myself with these slow and relaxing moments of contentment and use them as a protective blanket that keeps out the moments when I'm feeling down, lost, overwhelmed - and sleep too much. The last two months, there has been a lot of that. Sleeping, lying in bed, staying inside. Basically hiding from the outside world.

Despite the early start, I love these mornings.

Cheese and Onion Soda Bread

Me choosing to make this bread coincided with the discovery of several bags of grated cheese in our fridge. Some people make sure they never run out of liquorice, lip balm or socks, in our household it's grated cheese. Even after I had made this bread - with its 75g of cheese - we still had four bags left...

Anyway, I decided to try out this recipe which is from a Paul Hollywood book enigmatically titled: 100 Breads.

Two lumps of dough criss crossed with a knife.

There's an appearance of bread here...

As I'd made such deep cuts with the knife at dough stage, it was very easy to break the bread into suitable pieces using our hands only. 

Considering how easy this bread was to make (just mix everything together, no proofing, no worries about making it look pretty), I didn't expect it to be as delicious as it was! And it was even great the following day. I'll definitely make this again - perhaps without the onion and cheese just to see if that works as well.

Smørbirkes / Special Danish Morning Rolls

These rolls were incredibly easy to make, once I got the hang of the 'folding'. They weren't as 'puffy' as the ones, you can by at the baker in Denmark, but I still thought they tasted really well. I froze some of them, and they were delicious warmed up.

I love it when I get to use my rolling pin.

As I didn't have any poppy seeds, I used caraway seeds, which worked well.

The finished product.

I really want to make these again soon.