I've never actually written these down before but I figured it would help to keep them.
1. Lose weight. Everyone that knows me should know that I have a few (okay a lot) pounds to spare and it seems like a good plan to do something about that. Not that I'm hoping on becoming athin or anything but losing a bit of weight would be a good idea.
2. Stop nailbiting. This is something I set as a goal each year and I almost succeeded this time but a 24h flight a few days after a 24h train ride was a bit too much :(
3. Study in Germany for a year and pass whatever I study there. This should be happening in August so I can work in july to make enough money to fund this trip. I'm not sure what I'll study there though, either law, literature, didactics or german cultural studies. Need to discuss this with some people first.
4. Pass first aid and help as a volunteer at least three times. My final exam is on the first of april so I have eight months to volunteer for three events. Seems more than doable if you ask me.
5. Finish my cooking challenge. Only 36 weeks to go (not including this one)
6. Finish my religious books challenge. This will be one of the biggest challenges. I'm almost halfway through the Bhagavad Gita but the Qorán and Bible are already waiting to be read. On top of that there's a whole list of other books I want to read so I will definitely need to make more time for this.
7. Meet Emily! This is like superimportant because I've known her for a few years now and it would be a life mission completed if I could meet her.
8. See Amanda Somerville live. Another life mission I'd like to see completed. I came very close this year but she had to cancel the gig because of her dog dying :(
9. Get the Amanda Somerville Fanclub out there! MY goal for 2009 was to get it beyond myspace which we did with the forum, in 2010 I'd like it to get a bit more active so some of our epic ideas can become reality.
Wednesday 30 December 2009
Tuesday 29 December 2009
Dragons
My dad's girlfriend got me an awesomely cute (and signed!) book about making polymer clay dragons for Christmas so naturally I had to give that a try. Here are my first two little ones: Gimm and Nareen
Week 15: Aachener Printen
I know I'm late again, that's due to the holidays though! I did really make my recipe on time, I just forget to post it...
Last week I made Aachener Printen. They are a typical German type of christmas cookies and they are absolutely delicious. A little bit complicated and they take a lot of time to make but they are so worth it!
You start by taking 100 grams of lemon succade and chopping it very finely. Then you need to warm up 250 grams of honey, 200 grams dark brown sugar and 50 grams of butter until all the butter have dissolved. Then you need to add one tablespoon of cinnamon, one tablespoon of ground cloves, one tablespoon of ground coriander seeds and one tablespoon of ground cardamom seeds. Mix this all in to get a syrup rich in flavour and sprinkle the succade over it. Set away to cool a bit.
When you think the syrup has cooled enough to touch you take 500 grams of flour andpur this in your bowl with the syrup and mix it all together. Let 10 grams of baking powder dissolve in two tablespoons of milk and add this too. You should get a firm though but it shouldn't be sticky, add more flour if necessary. When your dough is ready roll it in a bit of flour and set at room temperature for about 24 hours.
After the dough has set roll it out until it's about half a centimeter thick. Cut it into large rectangles and bake them slightly spaced in an oven that has been preheated at 180° for about 18 minutes.
I didn't cut mine in rectangles but I used my good old cookie shapes but that wasn't the best idea I ever had. The taste was still great but they were fairly hard. I probably could have prevented this by taking them out of the oven sooner but I didn't think about it at the time. That said, they were almost all eaten in about four days so they are definitely worth trying!
Last week I made Aachener Printen. They are a typical German type of christmas cookies and they are absolutely delicious. A little bit complicated and they take a lot of time to make but they are so worth it!
You start by taking 100 grams of lemon succade and chopping it very finely. Then you need to warm up 250 grams of honey, 200 grams dark brown sugar and 50 grams of butter until all the butter have dissolved. Then you need to add one tablespoon of cinnamon, one tablespoon of ground cloves, one tablespoon of ground coriander seeds and one tablespoon of ground cardamom seeds. Mix this all in to get a syrup rich in flavour and sprinkle the succade over it. Set away to cool a bit.
When you think the syrup has cooled enough to touch you take 500 grams of flour andpur this in your bowl with the syrup and mix it all together. Let 10 grams of baking powder dissolve in two tablespoons of milk and add this too. You should get a firm though but it shouldn't be sticky, add more flour if necessary. When your dough is ready roll it in a bit of flour and set at room temperature for about 24 hours.
After the dough has set roll it out until it's about half a centimeter thick. Cut it into large rectangles and bake them slightly spaced in an oven that has been preheated at 180° for about 18 minutes.
I didn't cut mine in rectangles but I used my good old cookie shapes but that wasn't the best idea I ever had. The taste was still great but they were fairly hard. I probably could have prevented this by taking them out of the oven sooner but I didn't think about it at the time. That said, they were almost all eaten in about four days so they are definitely worth trying!
Tuesday 15 December 2009
Week 14: Banana soup
This week's recipe is incredibly strange but incredibly yummy as well. It was given to me by a friend from school (thanks Sanne) and strange as it may seem it's a great combination.
You start by chopping up a red onion and frying it in some butter. Add one to two tablespoons of flour to form a bit of a roux. Next you need to add one and a half liters of broth (I used chicken but beef or vegetable should be fine too) and bring this to a boil. As soon as this is boiling add three sliced bananas, a teaspoon of curry powder and one 800 grams tin of chopped and peeled tomatoes (fresh ones would work just fine but they are a lot of extra work plus you'd need to add some tomato paste) and let this all simmer for about 20 minutes. Mix this all and serve with a tablespoon of cream.
The soup looks like normal tomato soup but has a very special taste to it. The banana flavour is very subtle but it's definitely there. Very enjoyable!
You start by chopping up a red onion and frying it in some butter. Add one to two tablespoons of flour to form a bit of a roux. Next you need to add one and a half liters of broth (I used chicken but beef or vegetable should be fine too) and bring this to a boil. As soon as this is boiling add three sliced bananas, a teaspoon of curry powder and one 800 grams tin of chopped and peeled tomatoes (fresh ones would work just fine but they are a lot of extra work plus you'd need to add some tomato paste) and let this all simmer for about 20 minutes. Mix this all and serve with a tablespoon of cream.
The soup looks like normal tomato soup but has a very special taste to it. The banana flavour is very subtle but it's definitely there. Very enjoyable!
Monday 14 December 2009
ASF news
Oh my has it been a while since I posted a normal blog... I've been really busy with school and friends and school and babysitting and school and life in general and, you guessed it, school. But I've also been preparing a very special something, the official Amanda Somerville Fanclub forum is now (finally) online!
This is the home for all the Amanda Somerville Fans out there, for now it's quite empty but we'd like to change that. We already have one exclusive song and we hope to have many more in the future. We also have a very cool competition on the way but you will hear more on that later.
So, in short, if you like Amanda's music or Amanda as a person or her work with other artists I only have one thing to say to you: register now!
This is the home for all the Amanda Somerville Fans out there, for now it's quite empty but we'd like to change that. We already have one exclusive song and we hope to have many more in the future. We also have a very cool competition on the way but you will hear more on that later.
So, in short, if you like Amanda's music or Amanda as a person or her work with other artists I only have one thing to say to you: register now!
Sunday 13 December 2009
Week 13: Pasta with bacon and mushrooms
This weeks recipe is a very classic one. you start by taking 250 grams of sliced mushrooms and frying them in a bit of butter. When they are almost done add 20o grams of diced bacon, 100 ml of chicken stock and 150 ml - 200 ml cream. Add salt and pepper to taste and let this reduce until the sauce is the right thickness. Meanwhile cook the pasta al dente and just add the sauce to the drained (obviously) pasta and there we go, all done. A classic and easy dish, not too healthy though xD
Tuesday 8 December 2009
Week 12: Lasagne verde
Oh my, I'm a bit late this week, again -_- The recipe however is delicious. You start by chopping up two cloves of garlic and about a kilo of fresh spinach and then sauté them in a large pan in some butter and add salt and pepper to taste. Leave to simmer on low heat while you prepare a plain cheese sauce with 100 grams of butter, 100 grams of flour, milk (no idea how much I always make my sauce without measuring) and about 100-150 grams of parmesan cheese. Personally I always add a bit of salt, pepper, nutmeg and (a fair bit of) chicken salt. When that is done you can start layering. Start with a layer of spinach, then a layer of pasta, a layer of sliced ham, another layer of pasta, a layer of cheese sauce, pasta and then start again with spinach and repeat. Finish with a layer of cheese sauce and sprinkle some grated cheese over it. Bake in a preheated oven at 200°C for 25 minutes.
Now I used green lasagne sheets that don't need pre-cooking but you can just as well use regular pasta or pasta that does need pre-cooking (obviously). This recipe is so much easier than regular lasagne bolognese and in my opinion just as delicious (if not more) and much healthier.
Now I used green lasagne sheets that don't need pre-cooking but you can just as well use regular pasta or pasta that does need pre-cooking (obviously). This recipe is so much easier than regular lasagne bolognese and in my opinion just as delicious (if not more) and much healthier.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
