A Peak at Our Thanksgiving

This years Thanksgiving Festivities were held at my sister in laws house. She, a friend and my mother in law were responsible for the food and I got to do the decorating. The china and silver belongs to my mother in law. We had 18 people altogether as family had flown in from the East coast, Arizona and California to help celebrate our last Thanksgiving in this country.

Even the sun peaked out and blessed us with its presence.

The traditional Canned Cranberry that my sister in law just has to have.

One of two types of turkey. My mother in law had a whole turkey smoked and then baked one breast. They were both delicious.

My homemade Cranberry sauce anno 2010. Yes it kept very well in the freezer.

My sister in laws homemade mashed potatoes. Every time we gather for a dinner that calls for mashed potatoes we all request that she brings it.

My sister in law and her husband celebrated their wedding anniversary the day after Thanksgiving and had their special glasses out for their anniversary toast.

The girls actually stood still long enough for me to capture their pictures and these even made it onto our Christmas cards.

I filled cornucopias with some decorative leaves, pumpkins and straws and put on a ledge behind the sofa. My sister in law had some big homemade ornaments that we hung from the ceiling.

A cheese platter with the best brie ever.

A friend of ours made a veggie turkey.

The vegetarian dish, unfortunately I don’t remember what this was.

Heaven on earth. Bacon covered water chestnuts drenched with maple syrup and baked in the oven. Yummy…

Homemade Pumpkin bread made by me. Mmm I still have a loaf in my freezer…

Norwegian Ginger Bread Cookies

Norwegian Ginger Bread Cookies are crunchy and hold a lot of flavor. There are many different recipes for these and most of them will have you boiling the first five ingredients together. I didn’t like all the work of cooking the dough before baking it and found this recipe in a magazine about 15 years ago and have been making it ever since. It is perfect for any shape and for any house, train or village (yes I have make all that, but unfortunately have absolutely no pictures of them).

For this recipe you will need a measuring cup that shows metric measurements. At the bottom of the page is one that I will recommend.

• 1 1/2 deciliter Melted Margarine
• 1 1/2 deciliter Dark Syrup (the link is for a light type, if you can get dark it is better)
• 1 1/2 deciliter Brown Sugar
• 1 1/2 deciliter Sugar
• 1 1/2 deciliter Cream
• 3 tsp Cinnamon
• 2 tsp Clover
• 2 tsp Ginger
• 2 tsp Cardamom
• 1 tsp Baking Soda
• 9 1/2 deciliter All Purpose Flour

Mix it all up and let sit cold for 24 hours. Roll out till 1/8 of an inch using more flour and make cookies using cookie cutters.

 

Bake at 375-390 degrees Fahrenheit for 7-11 minutes.

They are to brown evenly and you might have to experiment with temperature and time. This is due to the different ovens and altitudes that you have.

If you would like to make a house like what I made you will have to find a template somewhere online.

Norwegian Caramel Cookies

Back home in Norway we have some family friends that every year would make this delicious cookie that tasted like caramels. Every time we visited I would make sure to steal them all of the serving plate and eat them all because they were just that good. When I moved away to go to college I knew I wouldn’t be home for Christmas very often and I finally asked them if I could please have the recipe and they were so nice as to give it to me.

For this you will need a metric scale and a metric measuring cup, my recommended once are at the bottom of this post.

• 200 grams of Margarine
• 2 1/2 deciliter Sugar

Creamed together

Add

• 2 Tbsp Light Syrup

Blend together and add

• 2 tsp Baking Powder
• 1 Tbsp Vanilla Sugar
• 6 deciliter All Purpose Flour

Knead it to a ball and roll out to long snakes that you push flat to about 3/8 of an inch thickness on a Parchment Paper.

Bake at 360 degrees Fahrenheit till they start to brown on the edges and are golden on top.

Take them out and instantly cut them with a pizza cutter. Break them apart when cooled down.

Norwegian Krumkake

When my friends think of Norwegian cookies they think of Krumkake. It is the best know Norwegian cookie there is and with its delicate design and delicious taste it is no wonder that it is a big hit every year.

You can get Krumkake irons more or less everywhere and if you buy the one on the bottom of this post you will help support me and my blog. As you can see mine is very different from what I am recommending here in the post. My grandmother bought this iron back home in Norway around 1950. It was supposed to have a stand, but it got lost at some point. You can find the exact same one on ebay right now with a starting bid of $9.99.

Making Krumkake is easier than most people think and here is my moms tried and true recipe that we have used for over 40 years. To make sure the measurements are correct it is best to use a scale that shows the metric units of grams. At the bottom of the post is one that I would recommend.

• 170 grams Margarine
• 170 grams Sugar

Creamed together

Add while mixing

• 4 Eggs

Blend together

• 200 grams All Purpose Flour
• 2 1/2 Tbsp Potato Starch
• 1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
• 1 1/2 tsp Grated Cardamom

and add it to the mixture of buttercream and eggs little by little while mixing it in.

At the end mix in

• 1 Tsp Water

Heat up your iron and put a full teaspoon of batter on the iron and shut it tightly. If the batter doesn’t reach the edges add a little more and if it runs of the edges add a little less. Let it sit till it is golden brown. Take your Cone shaper and working fast roll the cake onto the cone shaper, put it down on a cooling rack while you add more batter to the iron. Take the krumkake off the shaper when it has cooled down a little. It hardens fast so you have to work fast.

You can also make little bowls by laying the cake on top of a bowl, pressing down the sides a little. These are perfect to serve a little dessert in.

Krumkake is traditionally served with a side of Whipped cream mixed with jam typically Cloudberry jam.

50 Random Questions with my answers to them

I found this on a blog I stumbled upon today called Marc and Angel Hack Life

These questions have no right or wrong answers.

Because sometimes asking the right questions is the answer.

1. How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you are? 25, I don’t know why, but it just sounds right.
2. Which is worse, failing or never trying? Never trying is worse than failing as you would never know if you could actually make it without ever trying.
3. If life is so short, why do we do so many things we don’t like and like so many things we don’t do? Because we always think about all the things that we should do which is usually things we don’t like, but we never feel like we have the right to do what we do like because we don’t feel like we deserve it without doing what we don’t like first.
4. When it’s all said and done, will you have said more than you’ve done? Unfortunately yes. I make a lot of plans to do things, but rarely make the time to actually doing it.
5. What is the one thing you’d most like to change about the world? I would like to make sure everyone was well educated especially in geography, languages and history.
6. If happiness was the national currency, what kind of work would make you rich? Helping people and getting to know new people all the time. Maybe by running a coffee shop/bakery somewhere, having it me a meeting place for everyone.
7. Are you doing what you believe in, or are you settling for what you are doing? I believe in what I am doing which is raising my children, but I am not settling for what I am doing as I want to do more and this year I will go back to Norway to start teaching again. 
8. If the average human life span was 40 years, how would you live your life differently? That would mean that I have less than 8 years left to live and if that was it I would travel more, sing more and dance more, wait that is exactly what my plan is for the next 8 years.
9. To what degree have you actually controlled the course your life has taken? Up until I moved here to the US I pretty much controlled the course of my life, but then when I came here I just had to trust that God knew the path I should take when all my plans got washed away. After almost 6 years here I find that my life again is going onto a path that I can control somewhat, but I have also learned to give the reigns to God and trust him in guiding me.
10. Are you more worried about doing things right, or doing the right things? I think I feel it about 50/50 there. I am a perfectionist and I want things done right, but I also want to do the right things.
11. You’re having lunch with three people you respect and admire.  They all start criticizing a close friend of yours, not knowing she is your friend.  The criticism is distasteful and unjustified.  What do you do? I speak up and ask them how well they know this person and then I call them on it and tell them how it is.
12. If you could offer a newborn child only one piece of advice, what would it be? Stand your ground and be a friend.
13. Would you break the law to save a loved one? No, I don’t think so.
14. Have you ever seen insanity where you later saw creativity? With my dad all the time. I though him insane when he insisted on getting electricity at our summer house by building his own water generator, still I admire his creativity and persistence in making it and love the fact that I can charge my computer while being there.
15. What’s something you know you do differently than most people? I know I live a less structured life than most of my friends. They have specific days for almost everything and have a hard time doing anything else on those days. I do like to do my grocery shopping on Mondays, but if a friend wants to meet me for a coffee or a play date I will make do with what I have at home and do my grocery shopping another day.
16. How come the things that make you happy don’t make everyone happy? Not everyone likes crafting or baking. I don’t like playing video games, but it sure makes my hubby happy when he gets to play his.
17. What one thing have you not done that you really want to do?  What’s holding you back? I really want to work as a teacher and use my education. What is holding me back is the fact that I have to go back to school to get my teaching certificate here in the US to be able to teach here. That is something I can’t afford to do and therefore I have not been able to teach since I moved here right after graduating from the university.
18. Are you holding onto something you need to let go of? Except for a lot of stuff that I need to get rid of before moving? Probably the anger I have against my mother in law for the way she has treated me since we moved here.
19. If you had to move to a state or country besides the one you currently live in, where would you move and why? Norway, it is my home country and I will be able to get a job there as a teacher.
20. Do you push the elevator button more than once?  Do you really believe it makes the elevator faster? There is always a chance that it didn’t register the first time.
21. Would you rather be a worried genius or a joyful simpleton? I would be happy if I were somewhere in between, but if I have to choose I think I would like to be a joyful simpleton because at least I would live a good life.
22. Why are you, you? Because I like me and God created me this way for a reason.
23. Have you been the kind of friend you want as a friend? I always try my hardest to be the kind of friend I would love to have, I just wish I was better at listening.
24. Which is worse, when a good friend moves away, or losing touch with a good friend who lives right near you? Losing touch with a good friend who lives near me because I always feel like it is my fault either by not being a good enough friend or that they just don’t like me which to me is quite painful.
25. What are you most grateful for? I am most grateful for my husband who loves me no matter what and for my two beautiful girls.
26. Would you rather lose all of your old memories, or never be able to make new ones? I would rather lose all of my old memories and be able to make new ones.
27. Is is possible to know the truth without challenging it first? Yes.
28. Has your greatest fear ever come true? Trying to think of what my greatest fear is, no.
29. Do you remember that time 5 years ago when you were extremely upset?  Does it really matter now? No, but I still wish that we had not sold the house and moved here.
30. What is your happiest childhood memory?  What makes it so special? What comes to mind now is waking up on Christmas Eve and coming out of my bedroom where through the glass door to the living room I could see the Christmas tree all decorated with the lights all shining. I would stand there for a moment before opening the door and going in to see all the gifts under the tree. The anticipation was tickling like butterflies in my stomach and still I had to wait till after 6 pm to open any gifts. My parents would get up and we would eat a wonderful breakfast, visit my grandparents next door and just hang out and watch Christmas shows on TV till dinner. After dinner it was time for a nap or a book and after that it was time for cookies, soda, coffee and gifts. I have tried to recreate this for my children and I think the magic is still there.
31. At what time in your recent past have you felt most passionate and alive? In all honesty I am not sure.
32. If not now, then when? Now as I am working on setting as many doable goals as possible for this new year.
33. If you haven’t achieved it yet, what do you have to lose? I have absolutely nothing to loose as I have already lost my mind.
34. Have you ever been with someone, said nothing, and walked away feeling like you just had the best conversation ever? Yes I have a few good friends like that.
35. Why do religions that support love cause so many wars? Passion that one is right.
36. Is it possible to know, without a doubt, what is good and what is evil? Not everything is black and white as there is a lot of gray areas and all men are both good and evil.
37. If you just won a million dollars, would you quit your job? No I would not quit my job, but I would try to do more good.
38. Would you rather have less work to do, or more work you actually enjoy doing? As I am a stay at home mom I would love a real job which I guess would mean more work.
39. Do you feel like you’ve lived this day a hundred times before? Yes, every day is pretty much the same for me. 
40. When was the last time you marched into the dark with only the soft glow of an idea you strongly believed in? I am walking into the dark right now with a strong belief that moving to Norway is the right thing to do, but how our future there is going to be is still in the dark for us.
41. If you knew that everyone you know was going to die tomorrow, who would you visit today? I would visit with my parents.
42. Would you be willing to reduce your life expectancy by 10 years to become extremely attractive or famous? No, I would rather live 10 years longer to see my kids grow older and have families on their own.
43. What is the difference between being alive and truly living? When you are truly living you do things you enjoy doing and just being alive means living without passion.
44. When is it time to stop calculating risk and rewards, and just go ahead and do what you know is right? Anytime.
45. If we learn from our mistakes, why are we always so afraid to make a mistake? People are naturally afraid of failing and find it embarrassing to fail, and in order to make a mistake you usually have to fail.
46. What would you do differently if you knew nobody would judge you? I would find someone to babysit my kids just so I could exercise and tend to my hobbies.
47. When was the last time you noticed the sound of your own breathing? Right now.
48. What do you love?  Have any of your recent actions openly expressed this love? I love to create and many of my latest actions has been to create either by crafting or by baking and I have given most of it away expressing my love for people around me and for crafting and baking.
49. In 5 years from now, will you remember what you did yesterday?  What about the day before that?  Or the day before that? Most days probably not, but yesterday I took both girls to the local children’s museum and then out to eat donuts and I do believe I will remember that.
50. Decisions are being made right now.  The question is:  Are you making them for yourself, or are you letting others make them for you? Some are made by others and some are made by me, that is how life is.