DIY ADVENT CANDLES

It is almost December! And as it's the first Sunday of advent this weekend, I thought I'd get my advent candles ready. As I don't have an advent candle holder I decided to make my own (any excuse for a bit of DIY!) . I got my inspiration from Bolig Pluss, this interior design magazine I subscribe to (the old fashioned way, by post!), and since I pretty much already had all the things I needed at home anyway, I decided I'd try to make something similar.

To make these advent candles, I used four candles, four jars (in different sizes), white tack, some twine and a few pine twigs from my garden. I used white tack to attach the candles to the jars, and decorated them by tying a bit of twine around it and shoving in a couple twigs. Done. My kitchen table looks so much more festive already! Can't wait to light the first candle on Sunday!

PEPPERKAKER RECIPE

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So I wasn't actually planning on starting my Christmas baking until next weekend. I mean, it's still November, and I like to hold off on the Christmas stuff until at least December. But then, you kinda have to start early if you want everything to be finished in time, and I've already started a few Christmas projects on the sly anyway. So with that logic, I started my Christmas baking this weekend with a batch of gingerbread, or pepperkaker in Norwegian.

Historically in Norway, the tradition is to bake seven kinds of cookies for Christmas to have ready for visitors. I doubt I'll actually end up baking seven kinds, but mainly because I'm pretty sure I'd end up with way more cookies than necessary and I'd probably end up eating them all myself, which is not as good of an idea as it might sound. I do however plan on also making kakemen and krumkaker, and I might even try to make some smultringer. We'll see what I end up having time to make!

This is my favorite gingerbread recipe. It calls for leaving the dough over night, so I like to prepare the dough before I go to bed, and then do my stamping and baking the next day. It'll give you a good sized batch, though if you're planning on making a gingerbread house as well then you might need to double up. Last year I only ended up with about 20 cookies after making my house, and that might sound like enough, but it was less than half a jar of cookies which pretty much all myseriously disappeared after I had my brother over for a visit. Gingerbread is pretty popular in my family, so another batch was an absolute necessity. 

Pepperkake (gingerbread) recipe:

2 eggs
350 g butter

350 g sugar

200 ml golden syrup

2 tablespoons ground clove

2 tablespoons ground ginger

2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon pepper

2 tablespoons baking soda

700 g flour

Directions: Melt butter, sugar, syrup and the spices in a medium pan. Stir continuously, and take it off once it starts to boil. It'll smell amazing but I don't recommend dipping your finger in to taste as it'll be very hot! Leave it in the fridge to cool for about an hour. Once it's cool, mix in the eggs, and then the flour using a mixer. Once it's all incorporated, put the dough in a cold place and leave it over night.

The next day, roll the dough out on a floured surface, and stamp out your cookies. I like to roll them out so they're about half a cm thick so they don't end up being too thin and crispy. Bake at 150 degrees Celsius on the middle shelf, for about 7 minutes until the cookies start to brown. Decorate with icing if you wish, or just dig in! Try not to finish them before Christmas, though.

GRAEME'S OLYMPUS TRIP PHOTOS FROM STOKKELANDSVANNET

These photos are actually from this summer, but I thought I'd share them anyway. Graeme took them one evening when we were taking the dog for a walk around Stokkelandsvannet, a nearby lake. It was a pretty lovely day, and I love how dreamy these pictures turned out. These were all taken with an Olympus Trip on 35 mm film.

It's been so cold in the house recently, and I've got patches of snow outside in the garden (though I don't think they'll stay much longer as it just started raining). The sun sets so early, so looking at these are totally making me miss the long summer days!

THROWBACK: KNITTED FOOD ITEMS

I didn't turn on the TV or computer once this weekend. Instead I was a very busy bee. I cleaned out the house, furnished the guest room, started a new home brew, painted lots, read lots and baked a birthday cake for my mother (carrot cake with a maple cream cheese frosting and terrible sparkler candles). However, I also finally managed to unpack some of the stuff i brought over from Glasgow last time, which included these knitted things I thought I'd share. I knitted them a few years ago, just for fun. I think my original plan was to knit a whole fruit bowl, but clearly got a bit distracted in the process once I started doing popsicles as well (and a carrot, which I gave to a friend). Must say I'm a little tempted to complete the bowl now though. Maybe I should knit a pineapple? Or a bunch of grapes?

JALAPEÑO CHUTNEY

Yes, I know what you’re thinking—another chutney? And yes, well, I like chutney. And I’ve clearly been in a chutney making mood recently. So, lo and behold—jalapeño chutney. And while I love the apple chutney I made the other week, I might actually love this jalapeño chutney even more. Like the apple chutney, this one is also quick and simple to make, and will fill your house with the wonderful smells of the spices.

It was actually my friend Ebany who first made me a jar of jalapeño chutney and gave it as a gift for no apparent reason a few years ago. She actually has two blogs, one for her travels and one for her creative outlet. I loved it so I requested the recipe, and I’ve made it a few times since then. I’ve only made a couple changes to the recipe, mainly to the spices used. The original recipe called for cinnamon sticks and fresh coriander, but for this I actually prefer using ground and dried spices and herbs as I prefer the texture of the end result.

Jalapeño Chutney Recipe: (makes about half a kg of chutney
130 g jalapeño chilis
125 ml apple cider vinegar
250 g brown sugar
2 onions, chopped
200 g raisins
2 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp cumin seeds
2 tsp coriander leaves
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp turmeric
juice of 1 lemon
250 ml water

Directions:
Chop the chilis. De-seed if you'd like to keep it as mild as possible, or leave the seeds in if you want it hotter. I decided to de-seeded half to keep it somewhat spicy. Combine everything in a pot and bring to a boil. Let it simmer for 25 minutes. Transfer to sterilized  jars, and seal. Enjoy!