Thursday, January 31, 2013

Northern Lights

I don´t know why, but lately I´m intrigued by all things Scandinavian.

I keep watching Wallander (the BBC version), not because I like it particularly, I find the protagonist irritating, but because it looks so gorgeous.  Those infinite greys, the soft blues and greens.  Mist.  Rain.  Darkness and shadow.



 Norskedalen

The part of the US I grew up in was settled by Norwegians, Swedes and Germans.  There´s even a preserved 1800´s historical spot called Norskedalen, nearby.


 I have childhood memories of locals demonstrating rosemaling, hardanger embroidery, the annual Oktoberfest and all those northern delights.


Pinterest - Tammy Roberson

So I´ve put together a collection of blogs I enjoy.


Made in Persbo - a lovely Swedish photographer and interior design aficionado.


 Livs Lyst - about restoring a Norwegian Farm.  It loses something with google translation but I love the weathered wood and views from their farm.


NaKIN - a wide-ranging Icelandic blog on soap making, natural dyeing, even genuine eiderdown production (she´s cleaning the down by hand!)


K & Co.  is a Danish design blog with very beautiful and interesting stuff to look at.


Riihivilla - another brilliant natural dyeing blog.  And check out her shop for the cutest kits for mittens.

And last but certainly not least, though I can´t link an image The Essence of the Good Life - gorgeous style blog.  And also her Landscaping/Garden blog The Green Garden Gate.

Sunday, January 27, 2013

House update

Made a lightening visit to find the roof going up!  Despite the much announced storm of the year.



The beams are a lighter color than we´d planned.  But they match pretty well with the flooring we bought.



The doorway between the kitchen and the living room is now open, too.


It´s been raining basically since October, so the entire house is covered in green moss.  One of the old apple trees lost a limb in the recent bad weather.  And the creek was full again.  The neighbor´s field was flooded.

A good part of the yard is a churned up mess that´s hard for me to even look at.  I´ll have to do some serious research in how to fix compacted soil.


Some interior partitions to finish, the further roofing and then on to window and door installation.

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Italian Gardens



If I ever win the lotto, I´m using some of the money to go on garden tours all over the world.  In the meantime, check out this series on Italian Gardens with Monty Don.  They´re all absolutely stunning, but whatever you do, watch the one on Ninfa.



Enjoy!

Monday, January 14, 2013

Ethical Banking

Why does that sound like an oxymoron?  Spanish National TV ran an interesting documentary during the holidays on the increasing popularity of ´Ethical¨ banking:
. . .Triodos Bank, FIARE-Banca Etica or Coop57 are an alternative to conventional banks for those people and organizations who are looking for a responsible use for their money in line with their own values.  According to data from the Observatory of Ethical Finances, in 2011 there were 575 million euros in deposits and some 600 million in loans.  The financial models offered within the range of institutions called ethical banking have different origins and goals but coincide in fundamental aspects:  instead of speculation, they promote the real economy in a more immediate setting, they practice transparency by publishing all their investments, and orient their operations toward social and economic benefits.¨
These organizations are not without their own critics, but it was an interesting introduction to an interesting social phenomenon.  In Spanish.

I can only assume this was produced before the PPers staged their purge of RTVE or their cronies in the banking system would have quashed it.

For more info:

Triodos Bank
FIARE
Coop57

Saturday, January 5, 2013

Fudge

A sweet end of and start to the year.  Lacking an oven, I decided to try my hand at authentic fudge for the holidays.

First, the absurdly easy method.  If you don´t care about authenticity or details, this version will get you a delicious, sweet dessert in less than 15 minutes using only a double boiler/bain marie and a buttered pan for setting.  I found this version to be chewy, denser and less sweet than the traditional method.

16 oz. (450 g) chocolate chips
4 Tbs. (57 g) butter
14 oz. (396 g) can sweetened condensed milk
   
Heat ingredients over simmering water for several minutes, stirring until combined.  Pour into buttered dish and leave to set/chill for approximately 2 hours.  Cut into squares and serve.
 
I halved this recipe for 2 different versions, and used bar chocolate because I never seem to find chocolate chips here.  (I also couldn´t find candy canes to make a white chocolate mint version, but I digress). I added orange zest and dried cranberries to white chocolate in one batch and boosted the 84% dark cacao in another batch.

For the more masochistic - there´s the traditional method.  This is a delicate process of creating a sugar syrup with milk, butter and sugar, raising the temperature to the soft ball candy stage, beating during cooling and then leaving to set.  From Old Tyme Fudge recipes:

4 1-ounce squares unsweetened chocolate
3 cups sugar
2 tbsp light corn syrup
1 1/4 cups milk
4 tbsp butter
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups nuts (optional)

Line an 8 inch square pan with foil and spray the foil with cooking spray. Alternatively, butter the pan.
Melt chocolate in pan over very low heat. Stir in sugar, corn syrup, and milk. Increase heat to medium and cook, stirring until sugar dissolves. Wash crystals from side of pan. Cook to 238F (114C) on candy thermometer (soft ball stage). Remove from heat, and without stirring, add butter.


 Cool to 120F (49C). Add vanilla and beat until mixture begins to thicken. Stir in nuts. Pour mixture into the pan and cut into squares when cool (room temperature). 




My challenges were that I only had a thermometer from our beer making efforts which only goes to 110C, not 114.  This required a lot of waiting, observing, and dropping of chocolate syrup into glasses of iced water.  I was also determined to try goat milk in some, since I´m always looking for a way to justify the future purchase of goats.  And I used some organic agave nectar instead of the corn syrup which I also never find here.

Throwing tradition to the winds, I found using electric beaters much more effective for the cooling stage. 

By the end of a really long weekend I had a success (chocolate walnut), 2 batches remain soup and one a caramel Penuche sticky in-between.  After rebatches, one successful (goat milk mocha coffee hazelnut) and one a chocolate brick.  Fortunately, rebatching is easy - just add 1 C water, bring back up to 114 C and redo.  I still have the chocolate brick and the sticky Penuche in the freezer, I´m not sure you can re-process 3 times.  Maybe I´ll just sprinkle it on top of something else.