Emptying My Camera And Getting Caught Up

So I didn´t mean to disappear for almost 10 whole days! Seriously, but fate would have it otherwise. I´ve actually tried to be a good blogger and write often so you all will hopefully keep coming back...but then these woodsmen who are thinning out the woods around our house decided to take down a tree close to the power line and voila...no more internet. The phone company refused to fix it until Monday so we spent a weekend without internet. Dare I say it was...relaxing and go even further as to brag about how much I actually got done in that weekend when the temptation of checking out what you all are up too wasn´t around??? Alas, my internet is fixed and temptation is back and so am I! I have, for your entertaining pleasure- hahahaha, photographed this past weekend for you so you can see what I´ve been up too. I´m sure that is important for you :-) 


Let´s start with some food.....now I am taking this lifestyle course at my gym and so I was thinking I wanted to make some Italian roll ups that would be healthy and hopefully good. I didn´t use a recipe. (Sorry) But put together a dough based on some simple dough principles. Yeast and a combination of dry and wet that gives you a non-sticky workable dough. What you put in as your dry ingredients and wet are up too you. In this dough I tried again to do some healthy twists by using spelt flour instead of regular. However, I struggled using only spelt and ended up adding some durum wheat and finally some fine Italian pizza flour. I wanted some good flavor for my dough so I made a basil, garlic, and oregano mixture with some olive oil that I added to the dough. The process looked roughly like this...

                                      

When I began the next step in these rolls Tiger smelled chicken and came running....

No no you silly cat...this isn´t food for you.....I don´t care how cute you look.....


Let´s see where was I? Oh yeah....next step. I took some onion, some mushrooms, and ground chicken and fried them up....

I used garlic herbs and black pepper to spice this up. You can use whatever you like- that is the beauty of recipes like this. For me though there can never be enough garlic! :-)


Next you want to use a red tomato sauce/pesto. I chose this one with mozzarella and peperoncino that I got at my local asian market, it has a slight kick to it from the peperoncinos that I love. Next time I would have used two bottles of this as these are small bottles and the end result was a little dryer then I hoped for. I put this sauce over the rolled out dough, then the meat mixture and some mozzarella. I have to admit, this was really hard to roll up but I got them rolled up finally and added a little more shredded mozzarella on top...

After about 20 minutes or so in the oven..they looked like this...as you can see slightly dry looking inside- not really the pizza type roll ups I hoped for, but there was mounds of taste in this. So if you´re looking for a nice Italian type bread to go with some other Italian dishes, this is really lovely. 

Are you guys interested in seeing what they´ve been doing to the woods around my house? For those of you who have visited me, these are the woods right in front of the house on the left side as you drive up to the house. I´ve walked my puppies in these woods as it is right next to the house and offered lots of fun places to play with the puppies...now it´s not nearly as magical. Oh yeah...it´s open and brighter..and I´m sure I´ll get use to it but I don´t take to change very well. I don´t like how everything has to change...even if there is a purpose such as generating new growth in a woods...I just don´t see the point in taking practically everything down...one here, one there...with big gaps between trees- ok...but this looks like someone went wack happy....and I´m definitely not happy about it but since it´s not my property I have nothing to say about it really and will therefore adjust to this after awhile I´m sure. What choice do I have?

Now, I admit, I am an emotional eater...I´ve been raised to eat for all the wrong reasons. I don´t eat to survive...I eat because I am happy, sad, angry, depressed, bored..you name it. All the wrong reasons. Which is one reason I am not sure I will ever fully grasp the whole lifestyle change thing because I´ve had too many years living this way, however, I am a firm believer that people have the power to change if they really want too. But that is the great question. I haven´t been completely convinced of my own dedication and will on this subject but I guess I figure if I am 90% good then the other 10% shouldn´t be such a big deal. I mean after all you will be having this lifestyle for.....well....life...so it should be something you can live with. I´ve decided to really stick with the one day a week, eat what I want- idea. Saturday is my day and I won´t begin Saturday on Friday and have it last until Sunday...that is very easy to do. But Saturday I will have what I want within in reason and be a good girl the other days....at least this is the plan...again...it´s all up to me and how badly I really want this lifestyle change and we´ve just recently booked a holiday home on the Canary Islands for two weeks in August and I REALLY want to wear cute summer clothing and not hide behind giant t-shirts...so I am going to really make an effort. 


This past Saturday for my Saturday treat, I bought some vanilla yoghurt ice cream and as a topping I made a butterscotch sauce. You can´t buy butterscotch in Norway! Can you imagine? They have no idea what they are missing out on. Here is a recipe for ridiculously easy butterscotch sauce:


This makes about 2/3- 3/4 cup of sauce so it´s probably smart to double this when you´re first at it! 


1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 tsp flaky sea salt (or 1/4 tsp regular salt) plus more to taste.
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract plus more to taste. 


Melt butter in a medium heavy bottom sauce pan over med. heat. Add cream, sugar, and salt. Whisk until well blended. Bring to gentle boil and cook about 5 minutes. Whisking occasionally. Remove from heat and add one tsp vanilla, taste and add more salt and vanilla as needed. Keeps 2 weeks in an airtight container in the fridge. 


My kids have also found that dipping apples in this sauce is a wonderful treat also!!! 

 Tiger!!! Are you back again?????

What are you saying? Please don´t pay attention to the cute black and white kitty who just wants to sit and smell the food?? Act like you aren´t here??? That´s hard to do Tiger..but if you promise to be a good boy and not jump on the kitchen counters you can sit there while I make up an omelette. 

Good boy Tiger! Now to fry up some mushrooms, onions and bacon for my omelet. Smells good eh Tiger? A little mozzarella cheese and voila...Sunday breakfast which is soooo yummy and apparently healthy! Omelets are yes food- did you know that Tiger? Well, you say yes to everything so of course you would have known that! 

Now we´re all caught up. I´ll be back soon (as long as the internet lines don´t go down again) In the meantime leave a pawprint...eh, I mean comment in my comments box if you feel up too it! Tell me what you love in your omelet? 

Until next time my friends....