Baking is like diving

Baking is like diving... You either do it rather often or you don't for everybody's safety....
The last two baking sessions went to hell!

2012-11-24 Lingonberry squares

First one I tried to bake pretty traditional Lingonberry squares that I had done quite a few times before rather successfully. But this one time, it just became a dry brick with far too much sugar. Last time I tried to eat one up, I was forced to throw half of it away as it was sooo dry and soooo sweet I could not even swallow it. That is how you find out whether your guests are really polite... If they eat up, they have been well trained... :O) My guess for this serious baking failure is probably due to the fact that I baked the squares a little too long and had disproportionally much sugar compared to berries. Next time, I'll add up more berries. Fact is I did not have enough berries at home when I was about to bake. So maybe the real problem is my unstructured handling of shopping lists before baking rather than the baking itself! Also a further issue is that I probably made the dough simply too thin! But this is only a wild guess.

The baking session from today was also a safe bet that went bad: typical cupcakes half of which were white chocolate chips and half were Nutella cupcakes.

2012-11-24 Nutella muffins

The Nutella cupcakes follow the same recipe with the only difference that instead of spreading in white chocolate chips in the muffin mould, I did spread a click of Nutella instead. And to say the least: It is extremely unclear how long time those small guys need to bake. I have completely forgotten! I do have a time for the big ones, but the small ones... those were not really done... Well, well... Next time maybe I will be more "inspired" somehow? And some cream cheese frosting might cover the taste of those half raw muffins?! Or will the tastes collide?!

2012-11-24 White chocolate chips cupcakes and Nutella Cupcakes

And by the way bad baking sessions: next time remember not to use lactose free cream cheese for the frosting as it gets far too fluid!

Thank God, the looks do not always correspond to the taste. So here you get some little little picture. Which did not turn out as bad as you would have expected from such disastrously tasting stuff... :O)

Just some comment after having actually eaten the cupcakes in their final state. Indeed, they turned out more edible than they seemed to be after the first one I ate. So cooling down may have helped! Or maybe it was the frosting covering its taste?! :)

Lingonberry squares

I tasted Lingonberry squares for the first time when my colleague baked them for a Friday coffee break when I still worked for the Quality Assurance department back in the very very old times.
They were sooo good! I just had to have the recipe. Recipe was actually available to all of us in "Sju sorters kakor" and was actually called "Syltrutor" which means Jam squares.

Being no friend of jam and supersweet stuff, I have decided to swap the lingonberry jam with some real lingonberry. 

2012-11-24 Lingonberry squares

Ingredients
 Dough
270gr flour
130gr caster sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
150gr butter
1 egg

Topping
250gr lingonberries or more 

Crumbles
60gr oates
120gr caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla sugar
50gr butter

Instructions
Turn on the oven at 200 degrees (or 175 degrees with ventilation).
Mix sugar, flour and baking powder. Add butter in very small pieces and mix together. Add the egg and mix to get a well mixed dough.

Use a 20x30cm pan and put butter on in to achieve an even baking result.

Cover the pan with the dough. Add the lingonberries.

Mix oates, sugar, vanilla sugar and butter and distribute it evenly over the lingonberries.

Bake the cake for about 20min.

When cooled off, cut in squares.

Mauritius

Winter 2005 - Approximately 8th November - 23rd November based on the dates of the pictures taken

Honeymoon with my Janne

It was definitively a dream island. Ideal for a honeymoon. Idyllic place with very respectful people that do not push to get tips (not even allowed in hotels to avoid bothering the guests) but are very helpful anyway.
Not the cheapest place on earth, but honeymoon is honeymoon....
The sea is wonderful and it is an island in the middle of the see. Nothing else around but sea, far far away.

We stayed a total of two weeks split in two different hotels. And when I am saying we were staying at two different hotels, we do mean we were staying there nearly most of the time, apart from some excursion downtime and some excursion around the sightseeing places in Mauritius. One of the places was the one with coloured sand.

Some kind of vulcano, as the island seems to be a vulcanic one if I remember it correctly...

 Not much action there though as you can see... :O)

A sugar plantation was a typical stop, remembering so much of the special muscovado sugar comes from exactly Mauritius. A "chicken" farm with different kinds of chickins of which this one was rather cute but definitively the least coloured of all there.

Legends
Legends was a newly built hotel with Feng Shui style and theme. It was very beautiful, clean and well thought through. It was the hotel we loved. Everything was very "zen" over there. Our room had "water" theme. And a bath tub with a view over the sea.
The whole place was lovely and our room had a view over the sea.

Fresh flowers every day.

Of course, the honeymoon dinner on the beach was included.

Beau Rivage
This was back then a few years older than Legends and had no theme. It was still a five star hotel though so they were taking very good care of us. The guys went around on the beach and cleaned our sun glasses... Hehe... so no "salami slice" feeling on them against the odds and the sunscreen...
Having been around longer, the place had a rather lush garden to be in Africa and the view from the room was very green.

And the never missing pool...

So yes. We loved this idyllic place! And we loved it even more as it was our honeymoon! It comes very highly recommended from us! :O)

The best Nutella muffins ever....

My friend Rebecca has been baking very good Nutella muffins for a long time I think. But one day, she found out she needed them to be egg and milk free. At the end of the story she found this wonderful recipe.

I have not baked them myself yet, but I have definitively eaten them and I could also have eaten more (not without consequences though... :O) ). But she does say that they were very easy to make and also resulted in a dough that also was easy to handle.

The best Nutella muffins

Ingredients
3dl (180gr) flour 
2dl (170gr) sugar
1dl cocoa

1 teaspoon bicarbonate
1 pinch of salt
2 1/2dl hot water
1dl oil
1 teaspoon vinegar
Nutella

Instructions
Turn on the oven to 225degrees.
Mix all dry ingredients. Add all fluid ingredients and mix. Put some of the dough in the forms and then put in Nutella. Cover with more dough.
Bake in the middle of the oven for about 12-15 minutes.

One thing though to remember for future usage: The small guys can be little sticky so it might be a good idea to use paper forms when baking them. They will not need to "break" while trying to take them out of the pan.

Cup for daddy...

And this is also the third try for daddy's cup (which shows my talents... :D ).

First one seemed to leak (leak, yes, you heard right...)... Second one was too heavy and it could not be used for drinking as it caused serious drooling (according to daddy at least). So now third try. Unfortunately, the teacher happened to think the blue colour I used last time was not much enough for further glazing and she mixed it with some yellow stuff. Still the quantity available was ridiculous after the addition also. But, hey, yellow and blue are daddy's favorite colours as they remind of the Swedish flag. So said and done.
Due to the lack of glaze, the result was not ideal, but, hey, again, yellow and blue can never be wrong. Or? :O)

 This time it was a thrown cup. The other one I did by hand and was much taller and thinner. From the above, it looks more straight than from the side really. And with some suitable lighting, you do not even see the flaky colouring... :O)

 But if there is drooling involved this time also, I will start worry if it really has something to do with the cup... Right, daddy? :O)

Cup for Mom

Have tried before to create some cups for Mom with the desired size. Mom got some cups with a form she seemed to like a lot from Janne's mom some months ago. So I thought, let us do them similar so she might like it. And let us concentrate to make the cup straight as we know out of experience that "straightness" is an attribute that Mom values a lot... :O)And the below was the result of my full focus!

Also as for my previous present to Mom, the clay was not ideal and the choice of colour very difficult. But well, this was what came out. I decided to use the same colour, as I believe that it is often a good idea to have objects that are somewhat the same style on rather than having disparate things all over.
Here are some pictures to show the colours.

 

So let us see what Mom thinks! :O)

Pot for Mom

For Christmas, I tried to throw something nice for Mom, but it turned out to be an ugly pot. Or at least so thought Mom... She felt it was not straight...

So well, let us not give up and the first thing I tried to throw after Christmas break was a straight pot for Mom. This was the result of the activity. 

Unfortunately, my first choice of clay with some sort of "life" in was not available. Everything that was available at that point in time was white clay. Not sure what happened, normally there is much more to choose from. But not this time.

  

And just to make sure, look at the next picture. Definitively as straight as my untalented ME could go. Don't you agree? Anyway, I am rather happy of the result somewhat!

Mom does not like "uniform or boring colors" like everybody else does nowadays where the trend is "all white" and if they go wild, it could go "somewhat beige" or, at its wildest, "grey"....

So the base white clay I used was not helping my final result very much. Until I found a metallic brown colour in a bucket. It was not one of the colors we were supposed to use for some reason, but the teacher was nice (as usual) and I was allowed to use it anyway. It is a rather strange colour that can go from dark dark brown where it is very thin, to nearly dark orange with a metallic touch where it is at its thickest. Also hints of green are there... Wondering where they come from. Check it out!

  


Interesting colour. We cannot know if it is something for Mom, but it is definitively neither boring nor white/grey/beige...






Let us hope this time the little production is somewhat more appreciated... :O) It might as well go along with the cup I made for Mom.

An early Spring portrait...

Well, calling mid-April early Spring is sure a little of a stretch case, but well. It seems not to be behaving better than this this year. Snow one week ago does impact the course of the seasons.... April has always been a wild month among the years...

2012-04-14 Maureen tulips probably

My favorite tulip is starting to show. Today, I had a round about and sprayed it with stinky stuff to scare the bambies away! Let us hope it works! There were some tulips in the corner flower bed that had been chewed on brutally by some undesired animal. Those seemed to be beyond repair for this year. But well, there are more years to come....

2012-04-14 Our chicken...

This guy is currently wondering why we have left him out there during Winter time... But on the other hand, I guess he was fine:

2012-04-14 And its chicks...

He did have company after all!!!!

2012-04-14 Corylus Avellana 'Contorta'

Also what seems hopefully dried out after a long Winter turns out to have life in it! Our Corylus avellana 'Contorta' gives its best sprouts now! Actually, it does have its charms at Winter. Who needs leaves to be beautiful?!

2012-04-14 Salix caprea 'Kilmarnock'

Definitively not this guy, even though those fluffy things do have something :O)

2012-04-14 Salix caprea 'Kilmarnock'

One might wonder if it is the tree which is not straight, if it is the ground or even if it is the camera... Well, we'll never know... Not by looking at this blog anyway!

2012-04-14 Who remembers what this is?!

This little guy did survive even though the rule of thumb says if you plant a conifer late in Automn it won't make it through the Winter. It turns out the Winter was mild and it was well worth saving the huge amount of money it would have costed to purchase this little thing in Spring... Sometimes, you are lucky!

2012-04-14 Rhododendron catawbiense 'grandiflorum'

Sometimes the ground around you is just simply not good enough and you will stop growning. That is when you need to dig more and put more of the necessary soil around the roots and then it will start growning. This guy requires peat but was dug in too little hole with it. The rest around it was regular soil so it actually stopped growing. It was a pain to dig and stuff, but at the end of the story, when the whole work was done, it was worth it! Look at this rhododendron thrive.

2012-04-14 Azalea Japonica 'Rosalind'

And the Azalea is still around, even if it still is a little dry in some spots! The leaves are so beautiful because of the colour and of the shape!

2012-04-14 Some undefined rhododendron/Azalea

Very similar to these very small guys. I wish I know what sort these guys really belong to! I wonder how difficult it can be to actually tag them correctly before putting them on display... but, well, 'cheap' and 'beautiful' trumps the 'undefined' part of them.... It is the positive part of having a peat flower bed. You can find a lot of place for these kinds of plants!

2012-04-14 Magnolia Stellata

And finally, also the magnolia stellata survived it seems. And it seems it is even flowering in its first year! Crazy! I was expecting no flowers for years... Ok, let us admit, I was actually hoping for plenty of flowers the first year even though it was not really very realistic. Let us see how it looks like in a week or so!

2012-04-14 Cute magnolia tree?!

And sometimes things seem hopeless. You look at it and see no life. It seems there is nothing to do. You keep looking and looking... believe there is nothing to do. But truth is, as long as there is a good soil and good stable roots, they seem to make it at the end, even if the start is preeeetty slow! And when the sun shines again, then you know everything will be fine sooner or later! Let us hope sooner rather than later though... :O)

2012-04-14 Blueberries 'Goldtraube'

And sometimes, hard work brings its fruits: adding new fresh soil beds for good fruit! And here are some reasonable amounts of blueberries now on its way. Patience is very much required!!!!! But I do know they will be there sooner or later!

2012-04-14 Sea-buckthorn

These stingy ones are growing and growing for every year! Wonder really how big it will become! In their third year they are far taller than I am...;O)
Will they ever be able to cover the ugly thujas from the neighbour?!

2012-04-14  Physocarpus opulifolius  'Diable d'or'

At least at summer, we do know that these spireas are doing a great job at it! I do know it looks pretty tame right now! But I swear it will do its job in a month or so! Ok, maybe two.. I do not remember the exact timing for its flourishing right now!

2012-04-14 Lilacs

And also looking forward the lilacs to bloom. Their looks and their smell drive me crazy! Could sniff them non stop! Dear dear lilacs! To flower they will need some cow crap. Wish my daddy was here... He loves distributing cow crap... NOT... :O)

2012-04-14 Prune tree?!?!

Prunes anyone?! Or it might take some more years before the enjoyment comes?! That is the issue with new trees. They take ages to give fruits! Let us keep the bambies off this time!

2012-04-14 Professor Sprenger Flowering Crabapple

This apple tree won't give any edible apples but who cares: nobody in the household actually even likes apples from apple trees... But I would expect humongous amounts of flowers from it this year! Wonderful tree really it seemed in the plant nursery last year!

2012-04-14 Cornus Alba 'Elegantissima'

And the cornus alba is always late at start! And needs cow crap... Daddy?!?! Where are you when we need you the most... ?! :O) 

2012-04-14 Sambucus nigra 'Black Lace'

Or the Sambucus nigra 'Black Lace' that seems to become larger and larger. Last year all branches froze down and it had to start from scratch. It did reach well over my head during the last summer. And this year it seems to start from where it stopped growing last year. I guess, this plant is also going to become huge this year! 

2012-04-14 Rhubarb

And sometimes you do mistakes, you just don't dig enough. You have stones where you plant your plant. They will grow, but at some point, they will stop growing. Just like these rhubarb plants! Then you will have to do something radical. Take it out of its hole, and doing it you will sore its roots. And you feel "oh my dear God, what have I done", "How could I ever cultivate something with all those stones..." and swear you'll never do it again. You are scared it will not make it, but see here! 



It will need some serious amount of cow crap to be able to give at its full potential. Daddy?! Where are you?!?!

2012-04-14 Acer palmatum 'Bloodgood'

And here again... When all hope was nearly gone and I thought this little tree won't make it, here it goes! But now! Let us not forget to water it next time!!!! It does need continuous amounts of water I would believe! Maybe some cow crap?!?! Acer palmatum 'Bloodgood' should be growing 1-2 meters I believe!

2012-04-14

 

And there are plants that seem to grow in Winter... Do they really or is it just a feeling?!










 
And once again, no matter how hopeless it seems when you see everything around you is dry and has no sign of life. You do know that as long as you have good roots and soil, watering and fertilizing will repair it all. Sometimes you need to do a big effort to repair rookie mistakes, but they will be worth it! You do know that sooner or later it will start blooming again. It was a long Winter, but now the early Spring is here.



And soon the blooming part of Spring will be here, too! Bigger and greater than ever before!

 

Spring atmosphere....

I know they are around all year nowadays, but they seem to thrive the best in Spring, don't they?!

2012-04-14

2012-04-14

 Tulips are simply too beautiful not to make you feel a little better.

Even if they come from the grocery's, there are still ways to make them feel more "yours"...

2012-04-14