Getting things done!

I am one of the worst bloggers in this universe. I must agree with my sister here, there is no use having a blog if you can't make sure your readers have something to come back for. Unfortunately there is not enough time in the day and it is hard to find time to spend another hour in front of the computer after 8 hours of doing so at work. Well, we will always have excuses for not doing things but when we look at what others are able to accomplish, without complaining and we, or I at least, find extra energy, motivation and purpose to get up on my feet and get things done. This is also one of the reasons why I like to compare myself to other, it wakes me up from my procrastinating life ! My sister runs her own company from home, she has three young children and is currently also involved in the yearly Christmas market and the seasonal craft fair. Did I forget to mention that she updates her blog every day, EVERY day!

Since getting my dog Betsy I have been quite unproductive. Well, that is not completely true as I have raised a puppy, learned  things about dogs I never knew, learned dog characteristics and behavioral training and spent hours walking and playing with my dog. As with having children, I have shorten my sleep and the time spent on myself because my new life now involves another creature which is my dog. Don't get me wrong, I am happy with my choice but I have forgotten my other interests in the cloud of new happiness. Life has become a routine which is something I always dreaded. My new years resolution is to get things done, prioritize and not waste my time. Quality will always come before quantity but sometimes I believe I need to find a balance between the two of them. Instead of aspiring to accomplish one big thing very well, I am the kind of person who likes to have many project going on at the same time, i will finish each project while working on another one. I like to have a long list of things to do and tick them off as I complete them. It's like my work desk, I work well when my desk is cluttered with various folders with different projects and work tasks. At the end of the day I file way the completed work, i tick of my To Do List and I pile the unfinished tasks in a neat pile that will meet me in the morning of the following day.

Going forwards I will try new recipes more often, made a moussaka tonight (3 hours), I will bake, I will go hiking more frequently and I will work on my 10,000 craft projects that bring fun, creature, inspiring and exciting moments to my life. On top of that I want to pick up my interest in reading again and I want to continue spending great times with my dog and husband!!!! That's it, I can do it!

JAPAN

While I am on it, I thought I'd update the blog with some pictures from my most recent trip. there is no better time than the present! My husband and I just returned from Japan. I was partially sent there for work but we decided to make the trip into a vacation in order to re-experience our time in Japan and see my family. My mom is Japanese and I was lucky enough to visit Japan a few times growing up. In 2003 I also had the opportunity to spend one year at Kyoto University, during this time my husband, than boyfriend came with me to teach English. We have not been back to Japan since so we left for trip with empty stomachs and eating as the number one objective for this trip.

 

This is a the food at one of the hundred Izakaya's we went to in Tokyo.Casual environment and very reasonable prices! 

I had an amazing experience at this restaurant by the Tsukiji market. This is fresh tuna on the bone! We scraped the tuna off with a seashell. I am really crossing my fingers that this tuna was caught humanly to all creatures around. 

This is the jaw of the tuna. I personally don't like cooked tuna very much as it has a tendency to come out dry even when just lightly seared. I was pleasantly surprised how juicy the meat in the jaw area was. They also served cooked tuna neck which also was amazing. 

The vending machines in Japan are everywhere! In summer you find cold drinks for sale, in winter there are warm drinks for sale and in spring and autumn you will find both options. Wherever you go there will be a vending machine. Usually we are environmentally aware citizens and carry around water bottles but this time we were on vacation and wanted to try the drinks on offer. Those of you who have been to Japan know that drinks are not the only things offered in the vending machines. You will find cigarettes, eggs, rice and even naughty things that I will not mention right here. 

 

After a few hectic days of work we decided to spend one night at a Japanese Ryokan and Onsen (Hot spring) in Hakkone. We were awfully exhausted after all the running around in Tokyo, staying out late singing Karaoke, shopping and eating that we were in bed by 9pm. I am sure that the cold air in Hakkone, the Onsen and the extremely huge traditional Japanese dinner contributed to the exhaustion. We had a wonderful stay and my uncle picked us up at 10am the following day. 

My uncle took us on the winding roads to Hakkone where they cook eggs in the smelly sulfur water. We frequently visited this place as children and call it "The Egg Land".  This time, we passed on the eggs and enjoyed the view instead. 

This is one of the very busy shopping roads in the young area Harajuku. In the middle of this road we found a colorful dog store that sold some really fun dog clothing and beds. Unfortunately I didn't get the chance to buy anything for Betsy but enjoyed seeing the crazy costumes. 

I'd love to share more pictures but I think this is enough for now. We spent  a couple of wonderful nights on the country side with my uncle and wife. They cooked fantastic foods for us and we relaxed among the rice fields and the view of mount Fuji. During my trips to Japan as a child that house also had my grandmother and grand father living there. Unfortunately both of them have passed away but many memories are still left in the house and the gardens. 

Spectacular hike in the Mohonk Mountains!

Finally Autumn

My favorite season of the year has finally arrived, Autumn! After a long, humid and frustrating summer in NYC I can´t in words express how I feel. Autumn is for outdoors, for walks with my dog Betsy, for a nice cup of tea and for many other fun and enjoyable moments!

With autumn comes my sister´s new designs. Her recent addition is a beautiful girl´s jacket in corduroy. As I am currently working on translating her site with regards to not language but also, sizes and prices, you will notice that there is limited information on the website. If you are interested in seeing other views of the jacket please visit KINOKO. Please pay attention to the beautiful lining. If you are interested in buying the jacket this can be done through paypal or credit card, just let me know.

Tonight´s Fika is Drömmar

Fika is a Swedish term for coffe break/afternoon tea. It is both a verb and a noun. Swedes love to Fika and we do it at work, at home, in the bakery, coffee shop with co workers and with friends and family. My husband has a sweet tooth and very quickly memorized this term. When the clock turns 9pm in our home our dog Betsy starts wining and walks towards the cabinet where we keep her treats and my husband yells out in excitement "it´s Fika time!!!!". The other day I finally decided to make Drömmar for our Fika.

Drömmar (dreams) is one of my favorite Swedish cookies. I want to believe that they are named after big fluffy clouds that exists on pretty days and in wonderful dreams. These cookies have a rare ingredient which we in Swedish call Hjorthornssalt. In English it is called Hartshorn according to wikipedia. In the USA I have had a very hard time finding the English translation and the item itself.  Hjorthornssalt is a raising agent and is often used in Scandinavian cookie recipes. I obtained a small bag of Hjorthonssalt from my last trip to Sweden in order to bake various Swedish cookies. I have not yet attempted to bake these cookies with the substitute which might be called Bakers Ammonia- Ammonium Carbonate.

Drömmar

Following is the recipe for 90 Drömmar:

165 g Salted butter

335 g (4dl) granulated sugar

135 g (1 1/2 dl) oil ( i used canola oil, don't use olive oil)

365 g (6 dl) flour

5 g ( 1tsp) Hjorthornssalt

5 g (1 tsp) vanilla extract

1) Preheat the oven to 150 degrees Celcius/ 302 degrees Fahrenheit

2) Mix butter and sugar with an electric mixer until the color is white

3) In a separate bowl mix flour, Hjorthornssalt and the vanilla extract

4) Add oil together with the flour mix to the butter and sugar mixture

mix. Use the electronic mix for for a few seconds and than use your hands to form a smooth dough. 

5) Shape 90 equal round marbles and place on a baking sheet. Dont place them to close as they will expand during baking

6) Bake in the middle of the oven for 25-30 minutes

Fun facts: one of my favorite memories from childhood is when we would have Fika at home at night. My mum would steep a pot of earl grey tea and serve with Swedish Kanelbullar (Cinnamon buns). 

Baking Tip: Be careful with the oven temperature. If it is too hot the cookies will flatten. You can decorate the cookies by dipping them in chocolate or add almonds to the marbles before baking. 

A few days in Montreal

My husband and i spent two days, three nights in Montreal together with some friends and here is some of the adventures we experienced.... 

Poutin @ Frites Alores

A while back I was watching an episode of Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations, Montreal. I remember feeling sick to the bone when seeing the humongous plates stacked with fries, gravy and any desired topping! However, one must when visiting Canada was the Poutin, according to Wiki this dish originated in Quebec but is now a staple dish in many diners. I also read somewhere that this dish is a the national dish of Canada but I am not sure so don't take it as true until confirmed by a Canadian.

I received a recommendation to try the Poutin at Frites Alores. The four of us did the mistake of ordering two Large Poutin on top of the burgers, one would have been enough to feed the four of us. I am not sure how to review this dish other then I tried it, it tasted good but I think I had enough of it for the year or maybe lifetime! My husband might not agree, he would eat a bowl of this every day if his health allowed it.

Au Pied de Cochon

Steak frites

Plogue de champlain

I am not a foie gras fan because of the way foie gras comes about. Up to our Montreal trip I have had one mouth full, or maybe half a mouth full of foie gras in my life. Also, from Anthony Bourdan´s episode in Montreal, Bourdane goes to the restaurant A Pied de Cochon and the chef said said he would serve him every dish the restaurant had on their menu that contained foie gras until he would pretty much drop dead. Prior to leaving for Montreal we researched restaurants online and asked friends for recommendations and this specific restaurant was recurring with positive reviews. However, It was clear to us that it was hard to get a reservation and we were not big fans of foie gras and we thought no more about it. The plan for our final dinner in Montreal was a recommended fondue restaurant but after all the weekend eatings we all though we should go for a lighter meal. In the late afternoon we were having a drink at the M´ckibbin´s Irish Pub and thought of Au Pied de Cochon, gave them a call and got a reservation for 8pm. We were all very excited and the guys were looking up which dishes that were recommended highly in the reviews.

I was the least adventures person and had the Steak Frites (Frites in duck fat), delicious! The menu was quite expensive but not overwhelming and my table quickly found something of their choice. Pork, duck and foie gras were main ingredients. The waiter was sure to let us know during the placement of our order that we would not be needing anything else because the dishes we chose were heavy!!!!!! He was right!!! There was not even room for dessert. Apart from the food, we loved the ambiance, the music and the people.

Apart from eating poutin and all the rich foods above we also had crepes, Canadian bagels, risotto and steaks and sweet buns. Very full and content food wise by the time we left Montreal. However, eating was not the only thing we did, there was some sightseeing squeezed i nbetween the meals as well. We climbed up Mount Royal which provided us with a stunning view of Montreal, we strolled the hip streets of St Denis, St Laurent street, Crescent street, the cobble stone streets of the Plateau and old Montreal and took a windy and chilly cruise on St Lawrence river.  Something that I loved about Montreal was that many of the old buildings had been restored  and there was color on the buildings which added funness without creating a mess or tastelessness. Here are some buildings that intrigued me...

One of the things I wish I had done was to visit a cozy cafe. However,  prior to leaving the city I made a quick stop at the local boulangerie to buy some croissants and bread to bring back to NY. The croissants were so fresh and warm that I had to eat them right away (saved one chocolate croassant for the car trip). With me back to NY I bought a raisin and hazelnut loaf which in hindsight I regret, I should have bought at least 5 of them. The bread had loads of raisins and nuts and was still fresh and soft and moist the following day. I pay more for a freshly baked loaf of bread in NY and get bread that is dryer than dry the following morning!

Oh, by the way, our hotel was a cute little boutiquie hotel that I can highly recommend, Chateau Versailles!