Vintage Wine

A new year

2008-01-23T08:06:00.000+01:00

2007 was an amazing year for me. So many good things happened, I'm still at a loss for words when I think of some of it... The only problem was that it went by too fast. I haven't had time to do as much crafting, cooking, reading or blogging (!) as I would have liked to but instead I've done things I never imagined I would do...

Now it's a a new year and I look forward to this year with great anticipation. I hope you all have had a good 2007 and that 2008 will be even better!

I'll try to improve on the blogging part and doing so, I thought I should start off by sharing my new favourite recipe with you. Ii's yummy, but I like this recipe even more because it's so simple and you can make either a single portion to have for lunch or make more of it to feed a hungry crowd of friends...

4 salmon filets (approximately 120 g each)
salt & peppar
4 tablespoons pesto
4 tablespoons fetta cheese (that's been crumbled)

Preheat the oven to 220 °C
Spice the filets with salt & peppar and then put them in an ovenproof dish.
Spread pesto on the filets.
Then put the crumbled fetta cheese on top.
Bake it in the oven for about 15 - 20 minutes (depending on what sort of oven you have, mine is a very slow one & therefore I let the filets bake for 20 minutes)

Serve together with potatoes (or whatever you prefer), vegetables and perhaps a gravy that goes well with the fish.

Honey & mustard chicken

2007-11-23T20:11:00.000+01:00

I admire people who can grab something out of the freezer and then make a delicious meal in no time at all. It's impressing! Whenever I'm asked to stay for an unplanned dinner and the hostess say (very modestly) that it's just something simple, I usually feel like asking "It this you doing something simple?". I know that there are some people who just say it's simple even though it's not & there's some people who actually has the talent to make something that good that quickly. But then there's some people who happens to have one of those recipes which tastes delicious even though it's really easy to make. I try to hang on to those recipes and I would like to share one with you.

Honey & mustard chicken

4 tbs mustard (preferably whole-grain mustard)
4 tbs liquid honey
1 tbs lemonjuice
4 chicken filet

Preheat the oven to 190 °C.
Place the chicken filets in a baking pan.
Mix mustard, honey and lemonjuice and then pour it over the chicken. Turn around each filet to make sure that both sides of each filet has been covered with the mixture.
Put the baking pan in the oven. According to the recipe it should be in the oven for 20 - 25 minutes, but I know that my oven requires at least 30 minutes so be aware of that and make sure that the chicken is ready when you take it out.

Serve it with whatever you prefer. Roasted potatoes, rice, salad... I serve whatever I'm in the mood for or whatever is easiest at the time.

Enjoy!

Magical

2007-11-22T16:12:00.000+01:00

The first real snow came the other day. I realized that I wrote my last post in october and now suddenly it's snowing... This years has been magical but why does time have to move so quickly? I'm actually living my dream and my loved ones are all well. I feel truly blessed! I hope that you all are fine & that this fall has been as magical for you as it has for me!

Another magical time is of course Christmas. Here's some of my tips if you're looking for some online-inspiration:
Laura Ashley's Christmas booklet
Pottery Barn's Holiday Trim
Shabby chic's vintage holiday

A good book

2007-10-12T10:26:00.000+02:00

When you're studying for an exam and reading a lot of different texts it's not easy to find the time or energy to read anything else... I miss cuddling up under a blanket with a cup of tea in my hands & reading a really good book just for the pleasure of it. And especially around this time of the year, since fall is the best season for reading in my opinion :-)
But I'll have more time to read other things as soon as this exam is over & I can't wait for Christmas. I'll probably spend a lot of time reading during the holidays, which I'm looking forward to. And that's why I'm trying to come up with some good books to buy for myself & to put on my wishlist.

Here's some of my favorite books:
- Anything from the Hanna Swensen Mysteries by Joanne Fluke
- Chocolate Beach by Julie Carobini
- Restoring Grace by Katie Fforde
- Anybody out there? by Marian Keyes
- Christmas from the heart of the home by Susan Branch
- Heart of the home - Notes from a Vineyard Kitchen by Susan Branch

These books are on my wishlist at the moment:
- Cherry Cheesecake Murder by Joanne Fluke
- Key Lime Pie Murder by Joanne Fluke
- Vineyard season by Susan Branch

Do you have any favorites to share with me? And what's on your wishlist?

Brown & green earrings

2007-09-16T08:45:00.000+02:00

I've made a new pair of earrings in brown & green, which I think is suitable for the autumn season. I've got some ideas for other jewellery that I would like to make but they all include some new stuff, which is why I'm about to order some goodies from Panduro. But I don't want to wait, I want to get started right now! :-) And I get even more inspired to do some jewellery when I visit Cluny Grey, it's so inspiring.

Lots of food

2007-09-14T08:15:00.000+02:00

I haven't posted about food for some time now, but I'm making up by writing about lots of food in this post :-)

Yesterday I had hot chocolate & a yummy sandwich for dinner. To me, that's one of the signs that tells me that autumn is here... It's one of the coziest feelings I know to have your hand around a nice hot cup of chocolate.

I also made today's lunch yesterday. It's a recipe I got from a relative, who said that it's her favourite lunch right now and that I should try it... I altered her recipe a bit & got a simple easy lunch.

Tzatziki-styled sauce
200 g chickpeas
100 g goat cheese, chopped into small dices
½ red onion, chopped
2 - 3 dm of a cucumber, grated or sliced
1 dl creme fraiche

Mix all the ingredients until you have a tzatziki-looking sauce. If you want, you can use kidney beans instead of chickpeas & fetta cheese instead of goat cheese. The original recipe also included a a garlic wedge, but I'm not a big fan of garlic so I didn't use that.
Serve with some slices of turkey, kassler or whatever meat you want.

I'm looking forward to coming home from university and a having nice relaxed Friday-night tonight. I've catched a cold and I feel like staying home and watching a movie and eating homemade pizza. It seems like all families have their own list of must-have-toppings on a pizza. What's yours?
You know they saying "less is more"? I sure don't apply that when it comes to pizza toppings.
Toppings on my pizza:
Tomato sauce
Ham
Fresh tomatoes
White mushrooms (not the fresh ones, the ones on a tin)
Fetta or goat cheese
Onion
Oregano
Grated cheese on top

Have a lovely weekend everyone!

Dublin

2007-09-12T08:51:00.000+02:00

When we began our landing at Dublin airport, I was amazed by the view outside the windows. The green grass and the blue ocean made a perfect first impression of Ireland. This time we didn't have any problems at the airport, quite the opposite because it didn't take us long to get our luggage and get on our bus into Dublin city centre. We took a local bus (16A) which didn't cost us much at all (I realize that it sounds like I preferred the local bus just because it was the cheapest alternative but I actually like local buses more than airport buses, it feels like you're less of a tourist that way).

Once we figured out where to get off & found the hostel (which wasn't that difficult since the bus stop was right in front of it), we discovered that we were much too early. We had then been awake for almost 30 hours and we were tired!But instead of sleeping in our beds we had to wait until after lunch before we could get our room, which meant that we had to do come up with something to do while waiting for it. We had spent a long time in London looking for a cafe (a cafe that wasn't Starbucks that is) and we didn't expect to find the sort of cafe we were looking for in Dublin either. But we found Cafe Aroma, a nice place with comfy seatings and huge cups of cappuccino. We even got a biscuit with it, which totally made our day ;-)

After our stop at the cafe we decided to do some sightseeing and went to Trinity college. I have a thing for old school buildings... There's something about the atmosphere that actually gets me in the mood for studying. I just wish I could keep that feeling until I actually have to study, and not when I'm on holiday. We continued on towards Dawson street, where the wonderful three stories high bookshop Hodges & Figgis is located. It's the perfect place for anyone who loves books. Do I have to say that my luggage was filled with books on the way home?
Photo: Trinity College

We walked back to the hostel where we had to wait a bit longer since the room wasn't ready yet. When we finally got our room we went straight to bed and took a nap in the middle of the afternoon. We woke up a couple of hours later and got ready to go out.

We started off the evening with fish & chips at a pub called Madigans. After a very drunk irishman tried to convince us to sit down with him at the bar (I only figured that out because of his body language, he had a strong irish accent and was so drunk that you couldn't hear what he said) we moved on. We then found The Quays in Temple Bar & we were hooked. They played live music, the pub was full of people & the staff was funny and very serviceminded. I hate it when you have to wait ages just to order a cider, but that wasn't the case here. When the pub closed the bartenders told us to go to Q Bar, because they had cheap drinks and a dancefloor... And so we did. We were either to tired to appreciate it or the bar simply wasn't the kind we like, because we liked the pub much better!

After Q Bar we went back to the hostel for a few hours of sleep. We felt old, boring but we were so thankful for being able to go to sleep again :-)

Next morning we ate breakfast at the hotel before going out sightseeing. We went to Dublin Castle, Christchurch cathedral, St Patrick's Cathedral, the National museum & St Stephen's Green. St Stephen's Green was definitely my favourite! It's a huge beautiful park where lots of people go to take a walk, eat lunch or just sit down on a bench... It's so peaceful and I really recommend a visit to the park if you're ever in Dublin.

Photo: The first three is of Dublin Castle and then Christchurch Cathedral, St Patricks Cathedral and the last three is of St Stephen's Green.

After that we did some shopping before buying some food to take with us to our room. After a quick dinner we then went back to the Quays and then later on continued to another place where we danced for a short while before they closed too. We had a wonderful evening talking to lots of nice irish people as well as a couple of frenchmen and some americans. This is what I love most about travelling, meeting new interesting people.

We were leaving next day but before going to the airport we decided to go shopping again. I had catched a cold and didn't feel well at all but somehow managed a day of shopping anyway. I hate feeling unwell when you're not at home where you can feel as miserable as you like and just cuddle up under a blanket, sleep in front of the TV and drink tea. But I tried to enjoy this last day & it turned out to be quite a nice day despite my cold.
Later on that afternoon we had to take our things and take the bus to the airport to fly back to Sweden. It's sad to leave a place you've come to like but at the same time, there's no place like home.

London

2007-08-24T12:48:00.000+02:00

To start with, I'll give you my list of "Things you really don't want to hear", but keep on reading anyway. It's not all bad ;-)

One of the things you really don’t want to hear when you check in at the airport is that your flight is delayed. And certainly not that it is a 6 hour delay. Just to make sure that there weren’t gonna be any problems with our booking, I called the hotel to let them know that we were going to be delayed. After a pleasant flight we arrived to Gatwick in the middle of the night. Of course, things didn’t run smoothly at Gatwick either... There were problems with the luggage and we had to wait 1 hour before we even knew were to get our luggage. We had planned to take the cheapest alternative into London (a bus journey that takes an hour and a half) but decided that half an hour by train sounded much better at that time of night.
One of the things you really don’t want to hear when you’re on the way to your hotel in the middle of the night is that is a ghetto neigborhood where most part of the inhabitants are doing drugs. I admit that when the bus driver let us off at the bus stop he claimed was our stop (but it turned out to be the wrong one) I wasn’t that thrilled to be walking by crowds of suspicious looking people (at least I thought so). I had my luggage in a firm grip and felt a bit (understatement!) stressed out when we didn’t find the hotel. I was so relieved when we finally found it! However, one of the things you really don’t want to hear when you check in at the hotel is that the night portier never got any information about your previous call and wonder why you didn’t call. Anyway, we sorted that out pretty quickly and could soon crawl into bed.

After a nice breakfast we headed out to find our way to the nearest tube station. I was surprised to find out that the street we walked on the night before actually looked quite charming and the people didn’t look that suspicious any more... And I’m almost certain that the sweet old couple that helped us find our way wasn’t drug dealers or robbers. I admit that I may have a vivid imagination and a talent for stressing out, but you’ve probably already realized that by now.
We had a lovely day at the National History Museum (even though I’m not as enthusiastic about dinosaurs as my friend) and Portobello road market (I’m all into shopping on the other hand). You think it would be easy to find Portobello road, but let me tell you – it isn’t! It took us some walks up and down the streets, a stop at Starbucks and finally an embarrassing moment when I asked a very cute guy for help. After he had laughed at me, he pointed me in the right direction which was about 20 metres from where we were. However, it was worth the trouble!
We ate dinner at a Subway on Baker street. Not that healthy and not that imaginative but very tasty :-)

We had all these great plans for the evening but since we hadn't slept more than a few hours the previous night, we were exhausted. We ended up going to Piccadilly circus, walked around a bit and then we went straight back to our hotel to get some well needed sleep.

Next morning, after yet another nice breakfast we headed into the city centre once again. Since we were leaving for the airport that night, we left the luggage at Victoria station and headed out for some sightseeing. We looked at Westminster Cathedral, Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, London Eye and the Thames before we met up with some aussie friends for a drink at at a bar inside Victoria station.

We spent the afternoon shopping on Bond street & Oxford street (well, only window shopping at Oxford street). Our feet hurt and we were tired after walking all day, so we sat down for something to drink at Caffé Ritazza. Then we bought some food to have later on, we found lots of yummy things at Marks & Spencer, and something to read while waiting for our bus to the airport. We took the bus in the middle of the night and when we arrived at Stansted airport, we were sure that it would be very few people there. However, the terminal was full of people! People slept on the floor and by the check-in desks... It was a strange sight! We sat down on the floor as well but didn't dare fall asleep. A couple of hours later, we landed safely at Dublin city airport, but I'll save that story for another post.

I've probably forgotten lots of stuff but this post is long enough... I hope you're not to bored by now :-) Despite the problems at the beginning of the journey, I had a lovely time.

Portobello road, guinness & much more

2007-08-03T18:14:00.000+02:00

I've done it again. I thought I would have more time to post here as soon as school was over, but that hasn't been the case...

Me and one of my friends from high school decided to go away for a while. Since I love London (and she's never been there) we thought London would be a great place to go. But why stop there? We continued our journey to Dublin.

I haven't got the time now but I'll make sure to write a longer post about my views of the cities & of course some more photos :-)

Romantic & recipe

2007-06-24T14:28:00.000+02:00

I bought Romantic Homes yesterday and I've enjoyed reading it & just looking at all the beautiful pictures. The theme of this issue was "Get the Cottage Look", which I just couldn't resist. There where also lots of links to several amazing websites. And now I've realized that there are so many things I really need in my home... Like a tea cart, a wicker corner unit, a teapot, a blue rose tray, a teapot charm, an engraved soap in raspberry mint tea, a beach sign (or two perhaps, one for me and one for Julie) & a tea cozy. Well, maybe I don't need them all ;-)

I'm not sure that I should share this recipe with you because it will show what an amateur I am when it comes to baking. But I believe in honesty, so here goes ;-)

Vanilla cupcakes
Servings: 20 according to the recipe but I made 10 really big ones instead (my first mistake was that I forgot that the size of the cupcake in a swedish recipe isn't the same size as my huge cupcake tins).

2 egg
2 dl caster sugar
100 g butter
3 dl wheat flour
1 and ½ tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla sugar
1 dl boiling water (I didn't use the water. Looked through the entire recipe but still missed where it was supposed to go. But the good news is that I found it now, so I'll use it the next time I'm baking these cupcakes).

Preheat the oven to 175 °C (I totally forgot that & I'm sure you'll all remember it but just in case you don't, I wanted to remind you because waiting for the oven to heat up isn't any fun at all)
Beat the eggs and the caster sugar until it's light.
Melt the butter and leave it a while to cool off.
Mix the wheat flour, baking powder and vanilla sugar.
Now pour the melted butter into the egg mixture.
Then add the wheat flour mixture and the boiling water to the egg mixture (remember the water).
Fill the cupcake tins and put them in the oven for 10 - 15 minutes (if you've got those big tins, you might need a few extra minutes).

Lime frosting
100 g cream cheese
1 and ½ tbsp butter
2 dl powdered sugar
Grated zest from 1 lime

The cream cheese and butter should be at room temperature.
Mix the cream cheese, butter and powdered sugar.
Add the lime zest.
Spread the frosting over the cupcakes.

Vanilla cupcake with limefrosting

2007-06-21T20:44:00.000+02:00

I love cupcakes. Not just the taste (because as I've said before, I think it can get to sweet) but the look of it & the pleasure of making them :-) However, this time I found a new recipe which I had to try right away. As you've probably already figured out when reading the title of this post (yes I'm very creative in my writing this evening) the cupcakes were vanilla cupcakes with limefrosting. I gave away some of them but I'm tasting one myself right now and they're delicious together with strawberries. Lime and strawberries really work well together.

Lots of colour

2007-06-20T12:16:00.000+02:00

I've got a thing for porches and outdoor furniture right now. But I guess it comes with the season :-) Even though I prefer white furnitures I still want other colours to go with all the white. And I think the porch or the garden is the perfect place for some bright colours. Some of my favourite colours right now are lime, turquoise, pink & blue.

Here's one of my old photos from Rosendal's garden. Even they like some colour in the garden :-)

Pink & Green

2007-06-18T13:19:00.001+02:00

Here's another bracelet...
I love looking at pictures of other people's creations & If you want to look at some really amazing jewellery, take a look at The Jewelery Blog.

Leftovers

2007-06-15T09:34:00.000+02:00

Why is it so hard to get a good photo of guacamole? As I've mentioned before, I love guacamole and I enjoy trying out new recipes... I found a new one in Susan Branch's Heart of the Home: Notes from a Vineyard Kitchen. I couldn't stop myself from trying it since I actually had some leftovers that I could use. Isn't that a perfect excuse to make some guacamole? You wouldn't want your chopped tomatoes or onions from last night go to waste, so you simply have to make something out of them ;-)
Because of how they photos looked (they would probably have stopped you from trying this recipe, they werent't exactly mouthwatering), I will share this recipe without the photos. Because it is a recipe well worth trying if you like guacamole ;-)

Guacamole
2 avocados, mashed (Preferably the lumpy thick-skinned ones)
1 tbsp grated onion
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp chili powder
1 diced tomato

Mash the avocados with a potato masher (Well, I don't have a potato masher so I used a mixer instead).
After you've mashed the avocados, mix the other ingredients well.

It was really simple but very tasty! I like the fact that you don't need any sourcream or yoghurt. I always get extra careful with those "use-by" dates in the summer, which is why I don't always have sourcream or yoghurt at home... Then it's perfect with a recipe that doesn't require any of those sort of dairy products.

Yesterdays lunch was Spinach ravioli with goat cheese. Doesn't it sound like I put a lot of time into it? I love how simple it is to make a good pasta dish when all you need to do is open the package of fresh pasta and boil it & then add whatever you want to it ;-)

Summer jewellery

2007-06-12T13:12:00.000+02:00

Finally I've had the time to do be creative. Feels good! :-) One of the things I've done recently is this bracelet. I love the different colours, especially the different shades of blue which reminds me of the sea. Isn't it amazing what an effect colours have on us? I feel like smiling each time I look at these blue, green and gold colours.

Another thing I've suddenly got the time to do is reading. Well, I've been reading a lot this past couple of months but not reading... You know, sitting in a comfortable place and reading a really good book just for the pleasure of it and not because you have to read it. It's even better if the book gives you a nice summery feeling. A feeling of sand, water and icecream.
Too bad Julie's new book "Truffles by the Sea" isn't out yet ;-) Can't wait for it to arrive!

Time flies...

2007-05-20T18:29:00.000+02:00

I know it's been too long since my last post here... I'm thinking of all of you & I miss reading all my favourite blogs. I should probably take the time to do it, because I love writing on my blog, reading all the lovely comments & of course - reading your blogs as well!

Anyway, I'll try that next semester. Now I've got 2 big exams in the next couple of weeks and then I'm finished! Time really flies. What happened to this last couple of months?

Here's a photo I took in the garden today. Isn't it a lovely colour?

Springtime dish

2007-03-30T15:37:00.000+02:00

It's sunny and warm outside. I love it! I'm stuck inside (either at home, at the university or in one of the libraries) with my books but I would rather cuddle up under a blanket in one of these and feel the warmth of the sun... Spring really is in the air!

A couple of nights ago I was invited to dinner and I was lucky enough to be served one of my favourite dishes. I've shared the recipe and the photos before on my old blog but I wanted to share it with you again ;-) So here's my recipe for a delicious dish with salmon & potatoes. This dish should be eaten in spring or summer. It's best served outside on a porch after a long day at sea. However, until those days arrive, I'll settle for some evening sun by the kitchen table ;-)

Salmon with lime & ginger butter
600 gr Salmon fillet
Salt & pepper
1 lime (peel & juice)
2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger
50 gr butter
The salmon is baked in foil packages. Take 1 piece of salmon and put it on a piece of foil, season it with salt & pepper and then put a pat of lime & ginger butter on the salmon.
The lime & ginger butter is made out of the peel and the juice from one lime, the grated ginger & the butter which is all whisked together.
Wrap the package together and put in in the oven (225°C for about 10-15 minutes) or on the outdoor grill.

Boiled potatoes with olive oil, parsley & dill
800 gr potatoes
3 tablespoons olive oil
½ dl finely chopped parsley and dill
Peel (not necessary when using new potatoes) and boil the potatoes and let the water run off. Then add the olive oil, parsley and dill & stir it together.

Enjoy!

Scrapbooking stuff

2007-03-27T13:01:00.000+02:00

Here's some of the scrapbooking stuff I received last week. It's very pretty but not to girlie and I think it's just the right colors and patterns... I like bright colors (think Shabby chic) but I had to remind myself that this is not for me, it's a gift & it would be nice of me to at least consider the receiver's taste ;-) I was afraid that I wouldn't have the time to create a personal gift like this but I'm simply taking the time to do it :-) It's not a good photo but I wanted to show it anyway, to give you an idea of what it looks like. I'll be posting new pictures as I go along creating the different pages...

Scrapping away

2007-03-19T21:00:00.000+01:00

I was very surprised when I realized that my last post was written almost two weeks ago. Two weeks! It fells like I wrote it yesterday... Honestly, I don't think I've ever really understood the meaning of busy or time flies until now. But I'm not complaining because I'm enjoying every minute of it :-)

I'm trying to find the time to be creative as well, but I haven't as much time for crafting as I would like. But now I've just received some scrapbooking supplies from K&Company and I can't wait to get started with my scrapbook. It's a birthdaypresent and I got lots of ideas for it! I'm so excited and I just know that I'll have a good time making it :-) I love the feeling you have when you put down a lot of time and love on something you're making for someone else. It feels good!

Goodbye winter, hello spring

2007-03-06T14:44:00.000+01:00

I really like all the different seasons and I do appreciate how they're changing. But honestly, I could easily say goodbye to winter (as well as that nasty cold I got) right now!
Just look at these pretty pictures. Doesn't it look nice?
Pottery Barn's Summer preview
sia's Fresh spring & Happy Summertime
I'm longing for warmer and brighter days.

I'm trying to find a recipe for cupcakes again. I tried a few last year but they were all to sweet for my taste... I would love to get some new ideas if anyone of you have any recipes to share!

I've used this picture with permission from Life's Sweet.

Necklace

2007-02-17T09:22:00.000+01:00

I've been making some new jewellery and this time I decided to create a necklace:

Cottagestyle

2007-02-05T07:43:00.000+01:00

Cottage living has a lovely & inspiring photoalbum with lots of photos. I would like to live in a small but comfortable space & I would prefer a cottage instead of a big mansion.

If I would live in a cottage of my own, I would like to live in a pretty little cottage. Imagine a nice hallway to walk in to. A place to sit when you take off your shoes or if you just want to relax a bit after a long walk.
The kitchen is the heart of the home, therefore it would have to be something special. A place to make tea for friends, cook dinner & bake muffins. A breakfast nook where I could enjoy a breakfast in the sunlight on a summers morning or with some candles on the table during the darker months of the year. Of course, a platerack, shelves & some kitchen storage would be needed as well.
If the kitchen is small, a dining area would be a good idea.
After a long day we all need some relaxing. I would like my livingroom to be a comfortable place where I can cuddle up under a blanket and where there's room for my books, my crafting & lots of magazines. Perhaps some extra storage would be needed in the livingroom as well.
A good nights sleep is very important and the bedroom have to be a pretty one.
Other features that would be nice to have is for example a sun porch.

Someday I want to have my own cottage!

Muffins for lunch

2007-01-30T13:14:00.000+01:00

When I saw that Mrs Staggs baked muffins, I decided to bake some of my own. Since I prefer the savoury ones, I wanted to make these delicious muffins. However, I didn't have any basil at home & I didn't have the time to go to the grocery store, so I made Basil & Sundried tomato muffins without the basil but with lots of fetta cheese as a substitute :-) It worked out well and I'm not going to tell you how many of them I ate for lunch ;-)

This & that

2007-01-28T16:09:00.000+01:00

Even though I was very busy last week I was still able to sit down and do some crafting. I think it's only good for you to take the time to do something you really enjoy & I think it's important to be creative, especially if you're studying/working with something that's not that creative... I managed to do a new jewellery, another earring since I don't have the material to do anything else. But a friend of mine showed me a lovely little shop that has lots and lots of beads and material, and I'm going back there next week to do some serious shopping :-)

As you probably can see in the photo, I've read other things than lawbooks. I found Vogue Living Australia at the store & even though a lot of the design is too modern for my taste, I still enjoyed reading it... It's such a relaxing feeling to have new magazine to read in one hand and a latte in the other.

Speaking of Australia (long shot, I know), Kali has opened her own shop, Poppy lane. I'm so excited for you Kali! Congrats to the opening :-)

Finally, I remembered that I'm not the only one who loves guacamole here & I've been meaning to share a new (delicious) recipe that I tried last weekend.
Guacamole
Prep. time: 30 minutes
Servings: 6 (not sure about that though. I served it to 4 guacamole-lovers and by the end of the evening, the bowl was empty...)
3 avocados
1 tomato
1 or 2 finely chopped red chili peppers
1 small finely chopped red onion
1 tablespoon chopped fresh coriander (I used dry coriander)
1 tablespoon lime juice
2 table spoons turkish yoghurt
1 or 2 drops of Tabasco sauce
1. Divide each avocado in half and take away the peel and the seed. Chop the avocado and mash it with a fork.
2. Divide the tomato and use a spoon to take out the seed, then through it away. Chop the rest of the tomato and mix it with the avocado.
3. Add chili peppers, red onion, coriander, lime, turkish yoghurt and Tabasco sauce.
4. Serve at once or cover the bowl with some plastic film and keep it in the fridge up to 2 hours.

Dreaming

2007-01-22T11:36:00.000+01:00

When I wrote my last post for 2006, it really made me realized how much I have to be grateful for. But of course I had dreams and expectations for 2007, and one of them is coming true right now... It feels wonderful and unreal at the same time.
For as long as I can remember, I've been wanting to study law but never thought I would be accepted so I started to make other plans. It felt like life was on hold and I was just waiting to figure out the answer to the question that always pops up when you're talking to new people - "What do you want to do when you grew up?". The thing is, I am grown up and I realized that it's impossible for me to just wait for something to happen. I've studied other subjects, planned on studying abroad and I was thinking about becoming an realtor as well.
Then suddenly, I got a letter from the law departement at my university. And they welcomed me as a new law student... I couldn't believe it, and I still find it hard to believe that I'm actually been accepted.
It's been very confusing and I've been so happy that I've almost cried but at the same time, I started to doubt myself. What if I can't handle all the work? What if I'm not good at this? I've onlt taken an introductional law course, which is very different from studying it for 4,5 years. But I want this so badly and I feel like this is what I'm good at. And this is where I think, and hope, that I can help people more than I could in any other occupation that I've considered.

I'm sorry if I'm rambling, but I'll promise to get it together and start posting about other things as well :-)

Loved it!

2007-01-16T15:03:00.000+01:00

I just finished reading Chocolate Beach and except from leaving me with a desperate craving for some chocolate, it also left me with a really good feeling inside. This is just my kind of book! The plot, the ocean, the characters, the food and the style is all wonderful :-)
Julie, if there's anything I can do to make the writing easier for you, let me know alright? Some swedish chocolate perhaps? :-) I really want to read more of your writings!

By the way, I don't eat brownies for breakfast (like Bri) but I'm really not a breakfast person at all (except when it comes to hotel breakfasts). Everyone says that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but I'm more into drinking juice and eating fruits for breakfast than eating anything that would keep my energy level high throughout the day. So, any suggestions for breakfasts that are tasty but still easy to make? What do all of you eat for breakfast?

I love making my own juice, it tastes so much better than the one you buy at the grocery store...

Chocolate Beach

2007-01-11T13:08:00.000+01:00

Today I received a very nice surprise in the mail (well, I knew it was on it's way but didn't know when to expect it) and I feel so excited about it :-) It's Julie Carobini's book Chocolate Beach. I can't wait to read it! In fact I won't wait, I think I'm going to cuddle up under my blanket and read a bit from it now...

Thank you very much Julie :-)

Happy New Year

2006-12-31T10:09:00.000+01:00

When I look back at this past year, I feel pleased and very grateful.
I'm grateful that it's been a healthy year for me and all my loved ones, and I pray that the next year will be so too.
I'm grateful for old and new friends. This year I've not only had many good times with my old friends but I've also found new amazing friends. Unexpectedly enough, I've found so many wonderful and kind friends through my blog and that is something I really cherish.
I'm grateful for so many things but I'm most grateful for these.
Thank you for reading and commenting on my blog!
I wish you a safe and happy new year & may all good things come to you!

Merry Christmas

2006-12-24T14:35:00.000+01:00

I found a lovely surprise when I read Lisa's blog this morning. Thank you! And thank you for all the other birthday wishes I received... Your're all so kind! As I said in my last post, it's good to be reminded of all the good things in the world, which is why I wanted to share one of my favorite texts with you. It doesn't include snowmen, stockings, reindeers or santa clauses but it does include the most important Christmas ingredient - kindness towards other people.

The Three Kings

Three Kings came riding from far away,
Melchior and Gaspar and Baltasar;
Three Wise Men out of the East were they,
And they traveled by night and they slept by day,
For their guide was a beautiful, wonderful star.

The star was so beautiful, large and clear,
That all the other stars of the sky
Became a white mist in the atmosphere;
And by this they knew that the coming was near
Of the Prince foretold in the prophecy.

Three caskets they bore on their saddle-bows,
Three caskets of gold with golden keys;
Their robes were of crimson silk, with rows
Of bells and pomegranates and furbelows,
Their turbans like blossoming almond-trees.

And so the Three Kings rode into the West,
Through the dusk of night over hill and dell,
And sometimes they nodded with beard on breast,
And sometimes talked, as they paused to rest,
With the people they met at some wayside well.

"Of the child that is born," said Baltasar,
"Good people, I pray you, tell us the news;
For we in the East have seen his star,
And have ridden fast, and have ridden far,
To find and worship the King of the Jews."

And the people answered, "You ask in vain;
We know of no king but Herod the Great!"
They thought the Wise Men were men insane,
As they spurred their horses across the plain
Like riders in haste who cannot wait.

And when they came to Jerusalem,
Herod the Great, who had heard this thing,
Sent for the Wise Men and questioned them;
And said, "Go down unto Bethlehem,
And bring me tidings of this new king."

So they rode away, and the star stood still,
The only one in the gray of morn;
Yes, it stopped, it stood still of its own free will,
Right over Bethlehem on the hill,
The city of David where Christ was born.

And the Three Kings rode through the gate and the guard,
Through the silent street, till their horses turned
And neighed as they entered the great inn-yard;
But the windows were closed, and the doors were barred,
And only a light in the stable burned.

And cradled there in the scented hay,
In the air made sweet by the breath of kine,
The little child in the manger lay,
The Child that would be King one day
Of a kingdom not human, but divine.

His mother, Mary of Nazareth,
Sat watching beside his place of rest,
Watching the even flow of his breath,
For the joy of life and the terror of death
Were mingled together in her breast.

They laid their offerings at his feet:
The gold was their tribute to a King;
The frankincense, with its odor sweet,
Was for the Priest, the Paraclete;
The myrrh for the body's burying.

And the mother wondered and bowed her head,
And sat as still as a statue of stone;
Her heart was troubled yet comforted,
Remembering what the angel had said
Of an endless reign and of David's throne.

Then the Kings rode out of the city gate,
With a clatter of hoofs in proud array;
But they went not back to Herod the Great,
For they knew his malice and feared his hate,
And returned to their homes by another way.

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

I wish everyone a Christmas full of love, laugther & peace. Merry Christmas!

Fried Green Tomatoes

2006-12-21T18:24:00.000+01:00

One of my friends threw a Christmas party yesterday and I had a wonderful time. There were people there from all over the world (it was a perfect opportunity for me to practice my English) but I also had one of my best friends there and it just made it a perfect night! I love listening to other people's stories and getting to know them, even if it's only for a evening.
Christmas is a time when I think it's even more important than usual to remember how much we have to be grateful for and I really tried to do so. I thought about it as I was standing there in a room full of lovely and very nice people or getting a warm loving hug from someone I just met a couple of hours earlier... I'm grateful that I could see the kindness and love that we all are capable to show other people, even though we only just met. I don't always see it, sometimes it's to easy to focus on all the terrible things happening in the world, which is why I'm glad I did see it yesterday.

One of my all-time favorite movies is Fried Green Tomatoes. It always makes me cry, but I also smile a lot while watching it. Anyway, the movie is based on a book by Fannie Flagg, who also has written A Redbird Christmas. A Redbird Christmas has been standing on my bookshelf for a long time now, since I wanted to read it at Christmas. I've finally begun reading it and I like it already, even though I've only read a couple of chapters, and I'm going to make myself a cup of tea and cuddle up in the sofa and read some more now... And you know what? It's in Swedish (it's named En röd liten fågel i juletid if there's any Swedes who want to read it)! It almost feels strange reading a Swedish novel :-)

My favorite things

2006-12-20T11:04:00.000+01:00

Lisa assigned me the letter L so here`s my 10 favorite things beginning with L:

1. Love. And I don't mean only love for a boyfriend/girlfriend or /husband/wife, even if that love is amazing and wonderful too. But I also mean love for other people, love for friends, love for the things we enjoy the most doing and love for God.

2. Laughter. I think it's important to laugh and I really appreciate the people who makes me laugh out loud...

3. Literature. Even since I was a little child I've loved reading. I love the feeling of being totally focused on the story and how the character's soon begin to feel like old friends... Even though I'm assigned a lot of different books in my literature classes and we're discussing the great novels of our time, I still enjoy stories beginning with Once upon a time... Some of my classmates only talks about the writings of old French and Russian authors and it`s almost like they`re forgetting that it should be fun and relaxing to read as well. Whenever I read something that`s not on the literaturelist for the course, I don`t want to analyse and think to hard about the plot or the motifs or who's the antagonist... I want something that leaves me with a good warm feeling inside when I'm finished reading.

4. Letters. E-mail is much quicker and much easier but even so, there's something special about receiving an good old fashioned handwritten letter.

5. London. My favorite European capital. The streets, the houses, the pubs, the underground, the people... I even like the weather with it's rainy days.

6. Lakes. I like the peacefulness of sitting down by the shore and looking at the waves... It's far from peaceful to ride a snowmobile over a frozen lake in the winter but just as much fun!

7. Libraries. The smell of old books, the quietness and bookshelfs full of books makes the library a perfect place to read and study. I guess this one is connected to nr 3 and my love for Literature...

8. Languages. One of the things that fascinates me most about languages is how the ability to speak and understand a certain language brings so many wonderful opportunities. Opportunities to learn about other cultures and opportunities to communicate with so many wonderful interesting people...

9. Lángos. A delicious Hungarian speciality. It's yummy and if you haven`t already tried it, try it!

10. Late nights. It's so quiet and peaceful at night and I sometimes find it easier to be creative at that time of the day. And besides, it's always comforting being inside looking out into the dark night and knowing that I can just stay inside where it's warm and cozy... Somehow, having late night conversations with good friends are also very comforting and sometimes also very funny. The topics you come up with when everyone is a bit tired and everyone has turned into an amateur philosopher is sometimes the most memorable!

Almost ready now

2006-12-17T21:17:00.001+01:00

I`ve made all my Christmas cards and I`ve sent them as well. I`ve bought almost all my Christmas gifts and they are all wrapped up. I`ve baked Christmas cookies and thankfully, there`s still some left for Christmas Eve (I`m not entirely responsible for the disappearance of the cookies, I`ve had a lot of help).
I`m almost ready to celebrate Christmas now. Are you ready for the holidays?

Thank you

2006-12-09T22:43:00.000+01:00

Ever since I was a little child, this day has been very special to me. Today is almost my birthday ;-) Actually my birthday is on 24th of December, but since we Swedes celebrate Christmas on the 24th instead of the 25th, it isn`t the best day to celebrate a birthday ;-)

But this year, I had to write an exam today & I`ll celebrate my birthday tomorrow instead. However, I had a wonderful day (as soon as my exam was over) together with my best friend... Which brings me to my main point of this post :-) I just wanted to say thank you for all your lovely comments! I feel really bad for not reading & commenting on all my favourite blogs but I still think of you :-)

I have promised myself that I will enjoy myself tomorrow and forget about the essay, the exam and all the other things I should do... Because if there`s one day of the year when it`s alright do forget about those kind of things, it is on your birthday! Even though it`s just almost your birthday ;-)

December

2006-12-04T14:06:00.000+01:00

It`s finally December! I`m busy writing essays (well, actually it`s essay now because I only got one left to write), studying for exams and reading literature... But December is my favourite month of the year and I`m trying to take the time to enjoy it :-) I`ve been making christmas cards, buying and making presents, wrapping the presents, made gingerbread, visited Stockholm Globen Horseshow (which has become a very nice Christmas tradition), riding (but I want to ride out in the snow! Where is it?) but I haven`t had the time to blog. I`ll promise to try and find some time to do it, but it will be easier as soon as my essay is handed in & my exams are done.

I hope you`re having a lovely December as well!

Extreme Makeover: Home Edition

2006-11-20T20:36:00.000+01:00

I`ve catched up on my sleeping & I though I should catch up on my blog now instead of reading "The Scarlet Letter" or "To the lighthouse" (I have been neglecting my blog during these intense period of studying, so I don`t feel that bad about keeping my books waiting).

There`s one thing that`s been on my mind now for quite a while & I`ve thought about writing about it, but haven`t had the time or the energy to do it. I read Anna`s post about Extreme Home makeover & there were a very interesting discussion in the comments... One of the points brought up was whether or not it is just a big commercial program & I`m curious to hear what you think. Is it a show where loving, caring and generous people help others or are thhey generous because it`s good PR?

Personally, I like the show. I`m touched by the stories of the families who are helped & by the kindness that people show them... (I usually watch the show with tears in my eyes)

Here`s links for those of you who also enjoys the show:
Extreme Makeover: Home edition
Extreme Makeover Blog

Sleepy

2006-11-14T08:18:00.000+01:00

I`ve been dreaming about a nice, big bed to snuggle up in with a good book and of course, I had all the time in the world to just relax and enjoy the reading... In my dream that is!
I don`t know why I`ve been so focused on beds, but I guess that happens when you`re so busy that the question "When will I have the time to sleep?" pops into your head more than once during a day...
Wouldn`t it be nice to have a bed with some nice linens like Chocolate and Aqua Bella Notte Linens Bedding or Country cottage Bella Notte Linens?

I really need to slow down now & perhaps then I`ll stop dreaming about sleeping ;-)

Appletrees & jewellery in the making

2006-11-02T16:45:00.000+01:00

It`s really cold outside right now (well, actually it`s rather cold inside as well) and I just love how beautiful it all looks. I especially love the look of the appletrees... Appletrees are such a good sign of how the seasons are changing and the beauty of it`s many different colours are amazing, which I think is why I like it as much as I do. And appletrees means apples & apples means things like applepie, cider, fruitsalad... The appletree isn`t just a pretty face you know :-)

I`ve finally have had some time to sit down with my pearls & I`ve tried do create some jewellery. Right now, it`s only jewellery in the making because I`m not really finished yet but here`s how it looks at the moment.

To lose sight of the shore

2006-11-01T09:01:00.001+01:00

“Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of
the shore.”
- Andre Gide

I`m very impressed by all the wonderful bloggers who isn`t afraid of taking chances and doing completely new things. It`s very inspiring! And what`s even more amazing is the fact that there`s so many of them out there ;-) Here`s just a few inspiring bloggers who in one way or the other have done things I find very impressive.

Flossy sells some really pretty things at Amethyst Grove, including my favourites - her cupcake soaps.
Flitiga Myran is just about to open her own shop Cosas and I wish her all the luck in the world.
Nesting in the 21st Century has a very nice shop, Nesting with style, and she seems to have lovely Trunk Shows as well.
Creative Little Daisy makes her own bags and sells them at Daisy Bags. Everytime I look at Autumn`s bags I feel like sewing.
inspireco at inspireco.com has lots and lots of goodies on her website & I love the way she has organized her shop. Who wouldn`t want to find out what she is selling under A cherry on top?
Tales from Pixie Wood has her lovely country chic shop Cherry Menlove.
Posie Gets Cozy has so many nice things that she`s selling at Posie - rosy little things.
Julie Carobini`s book Chocolate Beach will be published soon.
One of my favourite food-bloggers, Chocolate & Zucchini, is writing a book.

Thank you for all the inspiration!

The picture is borrowed from Cosas. Thank you Anneli for being so generous with your beautiful photos!

All the way from Australia

2006-10-26T11:44:00.000+02:00

I`m so moved that I`m speechless & I`ve got a big, big smile on my face today... And it`s all thanks to my sweet friend Kali. Words cannot describe how grateful I am & thank you wouldn`t be enough but thank you is all I can come up with right now :-)

Today when I walked out to the mailbox, the loveliest surprise was waiting for me. This parcel came all the way from Australia to my mailbox...

There`s so much goodies in this parcel & I`m so excited about each and every one of them! I hope that I`ve got them all on photo and that I haven`t forgot any of it...

Everytime I write something in this notebook, I`ll think of you Kali :-)

I`ve been meaning to get a new adress book, buy it`s been one of those things that intend to do & then forget about it... How did you now that Kali? :-) It so pretty & I had to take a photo of one of the inside pages as well. And the book is full of pages like that.

Isn`t this gorgeous? I think it will look perfect in my bedroom, beside my mirror where I can hang my necklaces or something like that...

This is so beautiful in itself but it actually hide some more treasures inside it! I couldn`t believe it when I found more lovely things...

The Fragrant Sachets smells wonderful & I adore the picture.

I remember how I loved this rabbit when Kali showed pictures of it & now she`s moved in here :-) It`s amazing!

Love it, love it, love it... Everything is so wonderful!

Pearls & Paper

2006-10-23T12:22:00.000+02:00

My parcel of pearls and various christmas crafting items finally arrived today! I`m really excited to get crafting and I`m already imagining the jewellery, christmas decorations & christmas cards that I would like to make :-)

I didn`t photograph everything in the parcel but here`s the pearls and some of the paper. Isn`t the images on the paper beautiful? I love the old-fashion look of it & I think it will make lovely christmas cards...

A pumpkin

2006-10-20T18:08:00.000+02:00

I`m really trying not to be such a perfectionist & instead focus on how fun and relaxing it is to create things. I`m still experimenting with the sewing machine & this time I made something for Halloween... I figured it would be better to do the Halloween stuff before all the Christmas stuff, it seems to be a more logical order somehow ;-)

If you want to get into the Halloween spirit, take a look at the wonderful things at Potterybarn, Ballard Designs (I love the Spooky Treat Bowl) & Stonewall Kitchen.
And even though it`s not Halloween, sia has a wonderful collection called Delightful autumn.

Wish List: Books

2006-10-15T07:46:00.000+02:00

I love to read and books have always been on my wish list every Christmas & Birthday. This year I`m spending most of my days reading classics or other fictional english literature, which is why I`m wishing for non-fiction books instead... I want good books that is well-written, inspiring and difficult to put away. I`m interested in books about houses, interior design, crafting and food but also inspiring biographies, memoirs and history books.

I would be grateful if anyone would like to help me out here! What`s your favourite book when it comes to non-fiction? On a cold winters day, when I`m lying in the sofa under a blanket with a large cup of tea right beside me and a book in my hands - what book should that be? :-)

What`s on my wish list right now:
Anything by Susan Branch but especially Christmas from the heart, Heart of the home: Notes from a Vineyard Kitchen & Vineyard Seasons

Anything from Gooseberry Patch. Doesn`t A Pinch of This, A Dash of That, Country Baking, Gifts for Giving or Old-Fashioned Country Christmas sound wonderful?

Christmas is coming early this year

2006-10-11T15:14:00.000+02:00

I don`t know why, but suddenly I feel like it`s not such a bad thing to get organized and prepare my christmas presents/decorations now instead of a couple of days before Christmas Eve... It`s a strange feeling, knowing that I`ve got plenty of time to do it. Strange but pleasant! :-)

Here`s a Christmas decoration that I made the other day, mainly as an experiment since I haven`t used the sewing machine for years.

Cupcake decorating

2006-10-10T07:56:00.000+02:00

There`s a lot of food posts right not but I wanted to take my favourites with me & now I feel like I should at least write something new about food too ;-)

I believe I`ve already mentioned that I`ve got a thing for cupcakes? That is, I`ve got a thing for reading about them (especially blogs, my favourites are 52 Cupcakes & Cupcake Bakeshop), looking at beautiful pictures of them, things with painted cupcakes on them & so on... And this weekend I gave decorating cupcakes a try & I very much enjoyed it!
Now to the strange bit - when it comes to eating them, I`m not that excited. The cupcakes I`ve eaten so far has been to sweet for me (I`m more into savoury muffins) and even though this probably is a good thing (for my teeths and my weight that is) I would like to find something between savoury muffins and sweet cupcakes. Any ideas?

Chocolate Chip Cookies

2006-10-10T07:45:00.002+02:00

I found this recipe only a couple of weeks ago but I`ve already used it twice. They were very popular & I enjoyed baking them too, but who wouldn`t like the smell of newly-baked cookies or the taste of chocolate chips that melt in your mouth? ;-)

100 g margarine (softened)
1 dl brown sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla sugar
1 egg
2 dl wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
100 g dark chocolate
50 g hazelnuts

Preheat the oven to 200°C.

Put margarine, brown sugar & vanilla sugar in a bowl and use the electric mixer to stir it together.
Add the egg and make sure to mix it well.
Combine wheat flour, baking powder & salt. Then add this mixture to the margarine-mixture.
Chop the chocolate & the hazelnuts and stir into the cake mixture.

Take a tablespoon of the mixture for each cookie and place it on a baking plate with a baking cloth/oven paper on it. Bake for approx. 10 minutes and then let them cool off.

Bread with brie, pistachio & honey

2006-10-10T07:45:00.001+02:00

This is a delicious snack (or an appetizer) which is really simple to make. The bread gets nice and crisp, the brie and the honey melt together into a tasty combination & the pistachio nut adds some salt to all the sweetness. It`s simply mouth watering!

A slice of white bread, a slice of brie, a pistachio nut & a sprinkle of buoyant honey to finish it of. Then into the oven for as long as it takes for the brie to melt.

Salmon & potatoes

2006-10-10T07:44:00.000+02:00

Today I cooked one of my favourite dishes - Salmon & potatoes. This is a recipe I associate with summer evenings & eating dinner out on the porch...

Basil & Sundried Tomato Muffins

2006-10-10T07:42:00.000+02:00

I like muffins and especially savoury muffins which I think is perfect as breakfast for those lazy weekend mornings when I`ve got time to treat myself with something special. To wake up knowing that I`m not in any hurry & then making myself some muffins to eat together with a hot cup of coffee - that`s a nice way to start off the day!

I got this delicious recipe from Kali.

Basil & Sundried Tomato Muffins
Makes 1 dozen
3 cups self raising flour (sifted)
1/2 cup roughly torn basil leaves
1/4 cup chopped sun dried tomatoes
2 tablespoons sugarfreshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup salad oil
1 egg, beaten
1 1/4 cups milk
Combine the first five ingredients. Beat oil, egg and milk together and pour over dry ingredients. Stir just enough to dampen the dry ingredients, spoon into well-greased muffin pans. Bake 18-20 minutes at 200 degrees celsius or until well risen and brown.

Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie

2006-10-10T07:40:00.000+02:00

I was a little worried at first because I really don`t get on with pies & cakes, don`t ask me why (but my I guess my cooking skills is not as great as I would wish them to be). Last time I tried to make a cake it was a plain simple cheesecake recipe and my intention was to serve it as a dessert at the dinner party I was throwing. I won`t go into details but I had to use my backup plan & serve the icecream instead. Maybe it would have been better if I had tried the recipe before the day of the dinner party, but we learn from our mistakes don`t we? Well, I don`t.

I found the recipe of the Strawberry-Rhubarb pie in Country Living and promised to serve it as a dessert at our family`s Midsummer celebration. That was on Friday. When did I try the recipe for the first time? Friday.
Luckily for me, it was a really simple recipe & even though I revised it a little (I used a little more of the strawberries & a little less of the rhubarb) it was well appreciated by the family.

Grandma`s Pie Dough
Yields: 4 single crusts Prep Time: 10 minutes Total Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients
4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1 3/4 cups cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 egg (extra large)

Combine the flour, salt, and sugar in a large bowl. Cut in the butter using a pastry blender or your fingers until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Whisk the vinegar, egg, and 1/2 cup of ice water together and mix into the flour mixture with your hands until just combined. Transfer to a clean work surface, and gently press to form a dough. Divide the dough into 4 equal parts. Shape each into a ball, flatten slightly to form a disk, and wrap in plastic. Chill for at least 1 hour.
Timesaver: Keep extra dough frozen until ready to use. Allow two days to thaw in the refrigerator.

Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie
Yields: One 9-inch pie (about 8 servings) Prep Time: 20 minutes Cook Time: 45 to 55 minutes Total Time: 1 hour, 15 minutes

Ingredients
2 disks Grandma`s Pie Dough (1/2 recipe)
1 1/3 pounds rhubarb, cut into 1-inch pieces
1/3 pound strawberries, hulled and halved
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour

Heat the oven to 375° F. Roll out one disk of dough on a lightly floured surface to 1/8-inch thickness, and transfer to a 9-inch pie pan. Set aside and keep chilled. Roll the remaining dough to 1/8-inch thickness and cut slits or use a miniature star cutter to create vents. Combine the rhubarb, strawberries, sugar, and flour in a large bowl, and transfer to the prepared pie pan; drape the rolled-out dough over the pie. Trim the edges of both crusts, leaving a 1/2- inch overhand. Fold the dough under, lightly pinching to seal the top and bottom crusts. Crimp around the rim and chill for 10 minutes. Bake on the center shelf of the oven until golden brown — 45 to 55 minutes. Cool on wire rack.
If you can't find fresh, use frozen rhubarb from the grocer's freezer section.

More about me

2006-10-08T20:30:00.001+02:00

I want to have a life where there`s always room for friends & family, where there`s always time for a cup of tea and one of my favourite savoury muffins, where there`s always a loving hug to get & where there`s a peaceful comforting atmosphere.
I want to live well, laugh often & love much.
Of course, the things I do and the things I like are all connected to these wishes...

I like things that have a country-, shabby chic-, danish-, english cottage- or New England kind of style... I`m looking for cozy things that look like they could belong in a country home, which doesn`t have to rule out all things modern but I do fall for pretty much anything with a old, rustic look to it :-)

Inspiration:
Yankee Candles, Party Lite, Country Living, Nicholas Sparks, Country Living UK, Tamara McKinley, Jojo Moyes, Katie Fforde, Susan Branch, Joanne Fluke, Rebecca Lavelle, Cath Kidston, Shabby chic, Norah Jones, sia, Steven Curtis Chapman, Old Houses