Happy New Year Everyone! 2012 arrived quietly here in the woods. For the dogs sake we are thankfully protected from hearing fireworks but it also means we don´t see anything either. So after a short hike out of the woods, we were able to watch the New Year fireworks. For an area without a large population they sure know how to put on a great show! But then again so do we....hehehehe.....
Well home again it was time for bed....
Some of us just can´t handle the late nights as well as others....
New Year´s Eve dinner consisted of a new recipe I decided to try after hearing a bunch of expats talk about pulled pork on facebook. We expats love to talk about food and I´m glad we do. I was in a rut and tired of making the same meals all the time. Listening to what other people miss eating reminds me of things I hadn´t thought about in a long time and where there is a will...there is a google so you can find a recipe and a way :-)
I used this recipe HERE. This was a good recipe BUT the Captain and I figured that 5-7lb roast was about 3 kilos. With this information in hand the Captain went to the store to get us a roast and came back with two roasts...one which was a little over 2 kilos and one that was about 1.5 kilos. We figured the 2 kilo was big enough and put the other in the freezer. Considering we were using less meat then the recipe required I cut the rub ingredients in half. However, I didn´t cut the BBQ sauce ingredients in half and what we learned was that the vinegar amounts in the BBQ sauce were way too much. The sauce had a very overpowering vinegar taste which I tried to soften by adding more brown sugar (to taste, didn´t measure) and some more ketchup (again just squirted it in without measuring). Despite my best efforts the vinegar was still very strong. So next time I would probably half the vinegar requirements in this sauce. Despite the strong vinegar taste my two youngest were kind enough to eat their sandwich and tell me it was good, although they didn´t want seconds (always a sign something isn´t a hit...especially when my growing 13 year old only wants one little sandwich and otherwise has a very healthy appetite.) Never the less we saved the remaining meat and sauce and Monday will be a leftover day with leftovers from New Year´s Eve and New Year´s.
The coleslaw recipe which follows this sandwich recipe is really good but again, a tang of vinegar which we already had plenty of in the sandwich, so I would maybe half this in the coleslaw next time also.
Sarah and her boyfriend Pål were with us for breakfast New Year´s Eve and everyone woke late as usual when it´s the holidays so for our brunch I made a breakfast casserole. I looked up some various recipes for breakfast casseroles but what I found was they are basically eggs and cheese and anything else your heart desires. For ours I used my own homemade pork sausage which I made using ground pork and sage and bacon. I also used the closest thing I´ve found to hash browns in Norway, Pytt I Panne. Put all this in a baking dish along with 12 eggs I mixed together with various spices, I´m not going into detail about the spices because it´s really up to you- what do you like? Garlic? Use garlic powder and a little onion powder? Grill krydder which is like a BBQ spice is quite popular here in Norway and goes really well with eggs. Use your fantasy and choose whatever spices you desire! Some breakfast casserole recipes suggested putting shredded cheese in with the egg mixture. I put mine on top. Again, you can really do whatever you want in this situation...it´s all good :-) Bake for about 40 minutes on the lowest rack in the oven at about 200C (400F) or until golden brown on top. We served just the casserole but some fruit would have been nice or some nice warm rolls or something...
The first day of the New Year we will be having roasted turkey with all the trimmings. I´ll blog about that meal tomorrow! I´ve been thinking a lot about what you´d like to read from me...what types of posts I should do and well, I guess I´ll just continue with what I´m doing. A little food, a little travel, a little pets, a little family, a little nature, a little exercise...a little bit of everything! Variation is the spice of life and we all need a little spice in our life don´t we?
So until next time my friends...HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!
Ok, let´s just establish that you´ve missed me....right? I mean...just a little maybe? Well, what I can with 100% accuracy say is that I have missed you all. Funny how writing an online journal which you may or may not get any feedback too can still make you feel good and feel connected....even when you write without response or much response. I see on my statistics that people are visiting my blog, which is really great! I´ve thought a lot in my self imposed break from blogging as to what I can do to encourage more comments, more interaction from my readers. I´ve read that successful blogs should be like having a conversation with your readers...not preaching to them. I´d like to think we do have some great conversations here, even though, as it is in true life, I am a little more chatty then actually listening! So maybe I should get better at that? Better at listening to who you are, what you want to hear, and how you feel about things I write? This process will be a lot easier when you communicate with me...so don´t be shy, use my comment sections and say hi! Let me know where you are in the world...let me know what you love to eat, what you love to do, what you would like to know about Norway...or me...or my dogs...or my family...or...what you like to eat....did I mention that??? Hahahahaha...
Ok, so where have I been these last weeks? I´ve been here...
With this sexy guy....
And this lovely couple....
We had a fabulous time in the City of Lights, Paris France! Although I have to say one thing, as spectacular as it was to see the sights in Paris, I have to admit that when I first saw the Eiffel Tower I thought....Is that it??? It´s so small! Of course it isn´t small, it´s HUGE but upon first glance you´re left thinking- huh....that´s it eh? I think we build things up in our minds, or at least I do and when you see the real thing, while it might be impressive it still might not be the fantasy that was built up in our minds. I noticed that in Rome also...when I first saw the Colosseum I was like- hmmm....Maybe it´s just me? Maybe I´m difficult to please? Maybe I´m the only one who builds stuff up in her head with expectations that can never possibly be lived up too no matter what it is...Roman Colosseum and Eiffel Tower being prime examples!!!! Never the less, the more I wandered around and looked at the impressive structure I was impressed...who couldn´t be? I mean let´s be real, you´re in Paris France first of all- which is totally cool and then you´re wandering around the Eiffel Tower prime hot spot for tourists around the world for centuries!
We also visited two amazing churches in Paris. You know it´s funny, I wouldn´t neccessarily call myself a major religious person...I have my beliefs...but the churches in Rome and now these in Paris have taken my breath away and made me feel very spiritual. Not sure exactly what it is about them..maybe the fact that for hundreds...in some cases (in Rome) thousands of years people have been coming to these holy places for peace of mind in times of difficulty, to express their love and devotion to a person, to a higher power, to seek refuge from a confusing world...I don´t know, I´m just throwing out some ideas here...but never the less there is a sense of humbleness that bestows upon me every time I enter one of these magnificent churches...I walk around with my mouth hanging open in utter awe of what I am experiencing which billions of other people have experienced before me...
The first church I will share with you from Paris was Sacrè Coeur...
A stunning church which isn´t THAT old as far as these historical churches go but is still amazing. It sits on the highest spot overlooking Paris and the view from the steps of the Sacrè Coeur are breathtaking. If you´re lucky you might be entertained by a fantastic street performer like we were...Youri was the name of the most entertaining street performer and you can see a video of one of his performances from the steps of the Sacrè Coeur HERE.
The next church my children knew all about from watching the Disney film The Hunch Back of Notre Dame. When I showed Julia the pictures from the church she was telling me details of the church and where certain statues were and so on all based on what she remembered from the Disney movie! I suddenly wished she had been with us on that particular visit so she could have given me the details while I stood there. However, she wasn´t there but I managed to be impressed never the less. I didn´t have all the details but the little I did know about this church and most importantly what I witnessed first hand left me in total awe and with a gapping mouth as I wandered around this most impressive church. Ladies and Gentlemen...may I present Notre Dame...
Amazing isn´t it? Oh it gets better...let´s go inside shall we? Check out these doors...
Inside my camera struggled to get decent photos but I got some nice shots of all the amazing stained glass windows...glass art at it´s absolute best...
Paris left so many interesting impressions on me...
A couple pieces of advice that I have learned after my first trip to Paris though. First, while some taxi´s are legitimate and ok, not everyone who stops to offer you a ride is to be trusted. We experienced this first hand and had one of the scariest rides ever with a taxi driver who was ready to pick a fight with someone- anyone and he was going to take us along on his shenanigans whether we wanted too or not. After that evening we learned very quickly how to use the Metro system, Paris´s underground public transportation network. It´s cheap and easy to use and while you should use common sense and keep an eye out for your personal possessions we never felt in danger on the Metro.
Another tip, stay longer then three days. A three day trip is for youngsters....not for we "well aged" adults. The four of us who travelled together started off super chatty and by Sunday we were so exhausted you barely heard any conversation...we´d look at each other and nod and taking exhausted photos of each other became a personal joke between us...but was it really????
Despite the short visit and cold rainy weather we experienced MOST of our trip there, Paris left a lasting impression on us. We will definitely be back hopefully with more time to explore this amazing city! We also hope that we´ll get the chance to travel with the Captain´s cousin and her husband again...we enjoyed them so much. There is nothing like traveling with people who appreciate similar interests, take life easy like you do, and who you can laugh and be yourselves with.
Now here we are at the end of 2011 and I´m left thinking back over this year that has gone by. How quickly time has flown and yet so much we have experienced. My mountain hikes with my kids this past spring/summer....
Our trip to Sweden......
And Rome.....
All the delicious things we´ve eaten....
And all the cute furry faces who have smiled our way.....
Yeah, it´s been a great year that went by all too fast and yet left such an impact on us all. And yeah...this is a very very long post with TONS of photos. If you´ve read this far....THANKS....it´s my last post of the year and I´ve been gone for awhile. Needed to recap the year and get caught up before we start the new year. I´ll be back the 1st of January with a hopefully new and exciting year to share with you. If you´re going to hang in there with me I´ll do my best to not disappoint you and thank you for taking the time to be a part of my life. I wish you all a continued warm holiday season. May your New Year be bright, prosperous, healthy, and happy! I look forward to spending more time with with my regular readers and getting to know new readers. See you in 2012!
Until next time my friends.....
