Tuesday, 24 November 2009

Crafty Tuesday - Thingumyjigs

Tuesday has rolled around again - do you have time for a 15 minute craft?

You'll need:
  • clay, plasticine or playdough
  • plastic bag
  • knife to cut the clay
  • pair of scissors
  • scraps of fabric
  • ribbon, wool, twine or elastic bands
  • some type of decoration (see below)
Today we're making a thingumyjig. Don't quite know what to call it. Something that you can pop on a windowsill, put in the middle of your dining table, give as a gift, etc, etc. My DD (dear daughter) and I first made these down at our local Danish library. They have a free craft workshop the first Saturday of the month and we've made everything from badges to birds to Christmas decorations.

First, use a knife to cut off a piece of clay and put it straight into a small plastic bag. Form it into a cone/triangular shape. Cut off the excess plastic at the top of the bag. Stick your decoration firmly into the centre of the clay.



Cut out two or three squares of fabric (err on the side of bigger, you can trim them later). Net (the stuff you use for making tutus) is cheap, comes in all colours and looks really good for this project. Lay the squares so the edges don't match. Put your piece of clay in the middle and bring up the sides of the fabric.



Use an elastic band to hold in place.




Add a bow to hide the elastic band and pretty the whole thing up...

Voilà - we're done!



We normally use plastic flowers (DD7 likes to give them to her friends). But use any bits n' bobs you have lying around. Anything on a stick can be used. For Christmas you could push a styrofoam heart or star on to a wooden skewer and use red fabric. Or push a sytrofoam egg on to a skewer and use yellow fabric for Easter. You get the idea... ;)


Enjoy! :)

Monday, 23 November 2009

Copenhagen Kitchen - week 12

We. Are. Finished. No. More. Kitchen. Remodel.

12 weeks. 12 weeks that actually flew by (thank you again, Flylady).

What now? Well, I' relearning to cook in the new kitchen. Still finding out how all these new (and wonderful) kitchen appliances work. Just the other day I discovered that the hob (induction) has 5 rings that have seperate timers on them... So I can cook pasta for, say, 12 minutes, boil broccoli for 4 minutes, gently heat sauce for 3 minutes - and they switch themselves off automatically. How cool is that? ;) And I haven't even got to the chapter about the automatic temperature sensor...the hob came with special barcode stickers that you stick on the sides of your saucepans and it automatically cooks your steak to perfection. Apparently.

But what now, now? I need to find a new topic for my Monday posts. The blog at the moment looks like this:
  • Tuesday - crafts, usually 15 minute ones ;)
  • Wednesday - my life, often Denmark related
  • Thursday - menu planning
  • Friday - things I like
  • Saturday - normally a recipe
  • Sunday - Christmas planning
I'm thinking it's been a while (too long) since I sat in my little BlogTalkRadio studio... My idea at the moment is to write a post Monday morning and follow it up in the afternoon (Danish time) with a radio show. "Café Copenhagen". A chance for Flybabies to get together for a chinwag or a good old pamper session - for those magic 15 minutes! As Emma says, we shall see... :)

Sunday, 22 November 2009

Christmas Planning - 22 November 2009

Can you feel it?! I can see it, at any rate. People are starting to put up Christmas lights in their gardens, invitations are coming thick and fast to Christmas parties, it's suddenly okay to even mention Christmas, who's coming for dinner, what the kids have on their wishlists etc. Hooray! :)

Started to feel a bit overwhelmed but - hey, stop a minute - checked my trusty Flylady "Holiday Control Journal" (which I started 3 years ago) and things are actually pretty good. Don't think I've ever been so organised with Christmas gifts... Some of the food (and toilet roll/kitchen roll to last a nuclear fallout) is bought. Lots of wine and 'good stuff' in the pantry.  Christmas cards are underway and will post them next week. Yep, I'm feeling good! :)



Tasks for this week:

  • fit in a trip to the Tivoli Gardens with the kids
  • get the last of the kids presents
  • get the beer baskets for my Dad and brother
  • finish the Xmas cards
  • keep decluttering the house - makes SUCH  a difference ;)
  • take (even more...) time for me!
Candace, Krista and Pippa are also well on their way to having Best Christmas Ever. See how they do it! And don't forget to check out the Flylady - it's never too late! :)

Saturday, 21 November 2009

Oksekød i Fad - Beef in a Bowl

I said in my last Menu Planning Thursday that I'd share DH's recipe for Oksekød i fad. He's cooked for me (and I mean cooked as in chop things up, not just heat things up) twice in the 15 years we've known each other. And this is the only recipe of his that you might want to try...

You'll need:

  • one onion, finely chopped
  • a large knob of butter
  • lots of paprika powder (the mild stuff)
  • 500g minced beef
  • ketchup (lots of it)
  • mashed potato or packet instant potato
Fry the onion in the butter. Add about two teaspoons of paprika powder and fry that too. Add the minced beef and fry that until it's browned. Add about 1 dl to 1.5 dl ketchup. Yes, I know it's a HUGE amount, trust me on this! The beef mixture will now have turned slightly orange. Cook gently for about 5-10 minutes. Scrape the beef mixture into an ovenproof dish (the type you would use for lasagne). Spoon the mashed potato over the top. Put into a hot oven - about 200c/400f - for about 20 minutes. The beef mixture will start to bubble slightly.

That's it!

Not the fanciest dish in the world. Or the healthiest. Or the best looking. But DH made it for me, I made it for friends, who made it for their friends and family. And the beat chain goes on! :)

You could jazz it up by adding garlic, spices or vegetables. Or put some grated cheddar on top of the potato. But DH is appalled by the idea. Because the Danes are very plain-spoken. And the name says it all. Beef in a Bowl.

Bon appétit! ;)

Friday, 20 November 2009

Cat that got the cream

I'm feeling like the cat that got the cream today. (Slightly pushed along by the fact that there is S.U.N. in Copenhagen today.) I got DD7's Christmas present yesterday. She has just a few small wishes this year (I know, imagine that!) but we were at a loss as to the 'main' present.

At the beginning of this week, I got an e-mail from the Flylady with links to how to make simple gift bags on youtube and the net. She sent it out to help us 'crafty' flybabies get rid of our clutter = all those bits of fabric that we hang on to and never get round to using. I showed the idea to DD7 and she was off and running! :) These are the first bags she made, all on her own. Don't know who was more proud. [insert 'Mum tear' here]



She was allowed to use my sewing machine, a Janome (Memory Craft 4800QC) to make the gift bags. But as I have a very swanky, high tech, computerised machine [insert 'expensive' here], she is only allowed to use it under strict supervision.

So when I was in town yesterday, looking for more Christmas fabric (yes, I know, I'm supposed to be using up what I have, not buying more...), I ended up in the sewing shop. They didn't have any children's sewing machines but showed me a basic Singer. At which point my eyes probably glossed over, because that's the make of machine Mum had. Heck, didn't everyone have a Singer back in 'the old days'?


Had a lovely chat with the two ladies in the shop and, low and behold, they offered to sell me the demo model for basically half the price! Complete with box and guarantee! :) So I'm feeling like a child at Christmas myself now. Going to see if I can also find a small workbox for DD7. Don't all nice, young ladies have a workbox...just like in regency, romance novels? And I know that Ikea have a great, cheap starter set (sewing scissors, thread, etc).

So I'm the cat that got the cream and hoping that DS9 won't let the cat out of the bag before Christmas... ;)

Happy Friday!

Thursday, 19 November 2009

Menu planning Thursday - 19 November 2009

If you're new to this blog and wondering why I'm not doing the whole "Menu planning Monday" blog thing, it's because making my menu plan midweek works SO much better for me. For a start, me knowing what's for dinner for the weekend coming up is such a comfort for me! :) I order my groceries online and have them delivered Wednesday or Thursday, so the fresh produce is really fresh for the weekend. By Tuesday or Wednesday of the following week, I'm using up leftovers and what's left in the fridge - which suits me fine, as DH isn't always home for dinner on weekdays. Used to get annoyed if I had planned a 'nice' dinner on weekdays, only to find out at 4, 5 or 6pm that he wasn't actually coming home... ;) So all the really 'good' meals are planned for the weekend.

Thursday
  • we had a change of plan yesterday (DS9 has the flu) and had spaghetti bolognese (pasta with meatsauce). Today I've mixed the two lots of leftovers, added celery and red pepper, put bacon on the top and lots of cheese/breadcrumbs and will put it in the oven. So it doesn't look too much like yesterday's leftovers...
Friday
  • DH is away so the kids and I will have...drumroll, please...pizza again! With spinach salad.

Saturday
  • out to dinner chez some friends - hooray! I know what we're getting, too. Roast lamb - my fave and DH's favourite meat - double hooray!
Sunday
  • christening my new oven by making a h-u-g-e batch of stegt flæsk (strips of pork belly oven baked until they are really, really crunchy) with baby potatoes, parsley sauce and cauliflower. A Danish classic.
Monday
  • have been enjoying doing things in my crockpot on Mondays (makes me feel SO organised at the start of the new week) so doing a mild pork curry with rice done, you guessed it, in the rice cooker :)

Tuesday
  • As usual, both kids are out to Scouts, at different times of the evening. Going to make chicken fajitas with lots of fresh veggies.
Wednesday
  • Oksekød i fad (literally, beef in a bowl) which is a weird Danish version of Cottage Pie. DH has only ever cooked for me a couple of times and this was one of them...stay tuned for the recipe! ;)

Wednesday, 18 November 2009

Windy Wednesday



I'm writing this at 8pm on Wednesday and it's pitch black, wet and very windy here in Copenhagen. The weather forecasters have predicted hurricane force winds and parts of Denmark have already lost power. But, to be honest, I really don't need the weathermen. And why on earth, when it's blowing a gale, are they reporting from outside - wind howling into the microphone for extra dramatic effect - instead of a nice, warm studio?

No, I don't need the weathermen because I have my very own barometer. Garden furniture. I can see for myself that the garden furniture in front of the house (one small table and two chairs) has blown over into the flower border. So it's fiendishly windy tonight. And before you think it, yes, I had actually already moved the furniture to a more secluded spot when I got gust (ho, ho!) of the bad weather.

Anyway, all this reminds me of those kitsch barometers that you see in Scottish tourist shops...you know the type, surely? A stick which says on it:
  • if this stick is wet, it's raining
  • if this stick is hot, it's sunny
  • if this stick is white, it's snowing
  • if this stick is frozen, it's cold
  • if you can't see this stick, it's foggy
  • if this stick is moving, it's windy
Maybe they should add, "if this stick has disappeared, there's a hurricane"

Goodnight all! :)