My FAV. Breakfast - Lunch and Dinner Rolls!

So I haven't baked with flour in ages - but when I do, this is my absolute FAV. recipe for rolls, and we eat them for breakfast, lunch and even as dinner rolls. 

And it's YOUR lucky day, as I'm sharing the recipe! 

Enjoy! 

PenNny Lanes FAV. rolls

Yields: 25 rolls

200 g Butter

0,5 liter of milk 

100 g yeast

100 g sugar

2 eggs

75 g raisins 

(you can leave these out if you're fx making dinner rolls)

800-900 g flour

Melt the butter in a saucepan and add the milk. Warm it up to lukewarm and add in the yeast. 

! It's important that the milk-mix not be too hot, or the yeast's rising effekt won't work !

Add the sugar and eggs. Mix well. 

If you're adding raisins (or chocolate pieces or chopped nuts), drop these in the flour before adding it all to the mix. 

When you're mixing the dough, leave it quite soft, don't knead it for too long, or the dough will be tough. Leave it nice and soft. 

Let the dough rise for about 30 min. Then with flour-covered hands, shape 25 rolls. 

Brush the rolls with milk or an egg and Bake for 12 min. at 200 - 225 degrees. 

ENJOY!

DH's favorite topping is strong cheese and homemade raspberry jam! YUM-YUM!

Ps. Recipe for the fatbread with rom-essence icing is inc - I havn't forgotten!

Pennie :)

My Jule-time

Work has been CRAZY these past weeks, so unfortunatly I am been a bit behind on my "jule-ing" this year.
But the eldest daughter has come home for the holidays and we're slowly catching up with the season (and eachother).

Our family Advent-wreath, where a candle is lit
every sunday in December. 

Yule og Jul as it is called in Denmark is today the equivalent of "Christmas" - but in olden days (or today if you're a pagan practitioner), it was a celebration of light. Today is the shortest day of the year and is also the day, the sun (God) slowly starts to return to us, making the days again longer then the nights.

We celebrate this by lighting candles to welcome the sun's returning light. Sometimes, depending on when the 21 st falls, we stay up to celebrate Jule just before dawn, and watch the sunrise and toast it.
I like to take this day to think about what I would like to leave behind as I go into the next turning of the wheel (jul), and what I want to focus my attention on.

Jul is also a time for BAKING! In Denmark we have a great tradition for jule-cookies and confectionery. Me and my DH have been married for almost 10½ years (11 years this summer), and I just learned, that I've never actually baked his favorite jule-cookie, which are "Fedtebrød med rom-glasur", roughly translated it means "fatty-bread with rom-icing" and my DSD (dear Step-daughter) helped me make them (well I wrote down the recipe and she made them... hehe - management is half the job done, right?!) ;)

..... now I would like to post a picture here.... but DH has eaten them all already.... 

......MEN.....!?! (When did he even have time... ?!)

but DSD says she's make more tomorrow, so recipe incoming then. 

May you all have a wonderful wintersolstice 

and may love and light fill your next turn of the wheel. 

Blessed be. 

Gaizia and Mickey

Before me and my DH (dear hubby) met, we both had a dream dog; a type of dog we wanted to have in our lives and spend our free time with.  We both had a very different upbringing, so it's a bit funny it actually turned out to be the same type of dog we wanted!

I've always loved big dogs and came from a home with dogs, mostly labradors, but there were big dogs all around my neighbourhood (Alsacians, Retrievers, and Newfoundlanders), so I was never afraid of big dogs.
Funny enough I always thought smaller dogs were more aggressive....


When I was 13 years old my family moved to Denmark and we got a dog; Bella - a beautiful, black english labrador. I remember I was with my dad and sister when we went to "pick" her out. Back then, pups didn't have the electronic tags, but were instead branded with a number on the inside of their ear - DT667A
(Bellas number - yup I still remember!). Anyway - she was the only pup who we all instinctly picked up and nuzzled, so the choice was easy.

Beautiful Bella

Bella and I had many wonderful times together, and my daily "chore" for many years was taking her for her morning walk and afternoon walk when I got home from school. She was my confidant when I had secrets, my comfort when I was sad and a great friend to just share good times with! 

When I was 18 and moved out, she would still remember me when I came to visit and seeing her race to meet me at the door, always filled me with such happiness. So I knew that when the time came and I had room/time for it, I wanted a new great friend just like Bella...

My hubby though was never allowed to have a dog when he was younger, but desperatly wanted one, so when he was old enough (around 13-14 years old), he started to walk the dogs in his neighbourhood -
yes he was wonderful and caring even then!! - earning som extra pocket money and making great friendships.

Artwork from here

One of the owners of the dog he walked regularly got very ill and couldn't take care of her big newfoundland dog Max anymore, so DH was finally allowed to adopt him!
My DH told me many stories of Max; he was HUGE, black coated and very mischievious!

Most young boys, when they're 18-19 years old would be too busy partying and hooking up with girls to spend alot of their time with a furry friend, but not my DH! They went fishing, hiking, and were pretty much together all the time. Max even picked him up from college, and helped him carry groceries home - so cute! Wish I had been able to get to know him.

Anyway DH has never forgotten his dear furry friend and vowed that when he had the space and time when he got older - he would get another "max".

So we both LOVE big dogs and like to spend time outdoors (fishing, hiking, camping etc.) and from my childhood I've always loved the manga-series about Silverfang and DH was always fascinated with dogsledding, so of course when we bought our house, it was obvious - our dog had to be an

ALASKAN MALAMUTE

the biggest and furriest of the sledding dogs!

We spent almost a year looking into pedigrees and kennels, choosing the just right one and found our perfect puppy. 

Gaizia and my DH

And we didn't stop there. We have a big house and a big yard, and having Gaizia was such a dream, we decided we wanted a furry-boy too, so 1 year later, along came:

Mickey (not mouse, although he has big ears hehe)

 I am so happy we chose to have two dogs and not just stop at one. They have a constant friend to (annoy) and play with and both hubby and me have a dog by our side when we walk. It can be tough to walk with them both alone, as they are really strong dogs, but with treats in the pocket, it's not too hard hehe

Dogs and animals in general are a beautiful and rewarding gift in life - but be sure and do your homework!
It takes time and money and dedication - some breeds more then others!
And although it can be tempting, please, please, please no dogs under the x-mas tree. A dog is not a gift that can be regifted o refunded!!

And that being said.... 

May Yule and the turning of the wheel 

bring you love, peace and good fortune in the coming year!

Let us welcome the returning sun with hope & joy. 

Pennie xoxo :)

"Cheesy" pancakes and 5 min. homemade berry jam

I'm really not very good at eating breakfast.
In fact I usually prefer to sleep 10 min. longer hehe...
But I really should be better at getting a good start to my day, so this weekend I made a whole heapful of cheesy pancakes and packed a bunch in the freezer, so now I have breakfast for every day this week....

The recipe is quite versatile, så you can make your own versions, sweet or savory...

it's up to you....

As we're trying to cut back on wheat and flour they're made with psyllium husks instead ...Oh and just as an extra treat - i'm posting my 5 min. berry jam recipe as well....

Just you wait - bet you never thought it could be this easy!

Pennies "Cheesy" Pancakes

makes 8-10 small yummy pancakes (6-8 bigger)

Ingredients:
1 tub of cream cheese (I used philadelphia- 200g)
2-3 tbl. sp. of Sukrin (sugar substitute)
Vanilla (or salt if savory)
Cinnamon/Cardamom (parmesan for example if savory or other flavour - garlic, parsley etc.)
4 eggs
1½ tsp. baking powder
2 tbl. sp. psyllium husks

Add all of the ingredients, eggs one by one and last the psyllium husks. Let the batter rest for 10-15 min. to gather (psyllium needs time to absorb the liquid).
Bake on a pan and ENJOY!

The recipe can also be used for waffles!!


Now... as for my Berry jam, I have an absolute favorite jam, from when the northern Sweden - "Drottningsylt" which is a jam made of raspberries and blueberries.... are you drooling yet?? 
....it actually means "Queens jam" in other words - Jam fit for a Queen!! ;)

Pennies 5. min. Berry jam

½ cup of frozen raspberries

½ cup of frozen blueberries

4 tsp. chia seeds

Stevia powder (or other sugar substitute)

This is literally the easiest recipe ever! 

Combine and let sit in the refrigirator for 45-50 min. 

Smother pancake/waffle in jam and FEAST!

Hope you enjoy!

Pennie :)

Home-made Ketchup

So we're trying to cut back on processed foods and sugary condiments, and I had a whole lot of wonderful tomatoes from my autumn garden - so I wanted to try and make my own ketchup.

My DH (dear husband - not to be confused with my SH stupid husband, hehehe) loves his Heinz ketchup, so this is going to be a tough thing to replace in the kitchen - but here goes.....

Pennies Home-made Tomato Ketchup

1 big jar

1 finely diced onion

1 clove of garlic (or more if you're afraid of vampires) ;)

2 tabl. sp. olive oil

2 cans of diced tomatoes or equivalent of fresh tomates (around 400g)

100g of koncentrated tomatopuré

½ tsp. of cayenne pepper

3 tbl. sp. white wine vinegar

3 tbl. sp. of raisins

1 diced apple

3 tabl. sp. sugar (or sugar substitute - i used Palm sugar)

salt and freshly grated black pepper. 

Sauté the onions in the olive oil in a pot on medium heat, until the onions are clear and soft. (Do not brown them).

Add the rest of the ingridients and let it all simmer for about 30 min. until the consistency is nice and thick. Taste with salt and pepper and palm sugar. 

You can keep it chunky or run it through the blender to get it more smooth. 

Hope you enjoy!!

Pennie :)

Pears & Pistachios, an unlikely but perfect match!

Sooooo I promised y'all,
(now I'm not from the southern USA - but I LOVE that word!! + it sounds so cute when you prononce it)
a recipe - and here goes:

Pear and Pistachio Pie

6-8 peeps

Ingredients:

75 g of unsalted pistachios + 25 g for decoration

50 g blanched almonds

200 g cane sugar (or equal substitute)

4 medium sized eggs

175 g of soft butter

Seeds from 1 vanilla pod

2 tbl. spoons of sour cream (or equal substitute) - I sometimes use greek yoghurt. 

75 g flour

Butter and sugar for the pie tin

4 ripe pears

How to:

Grind the pistachios, almonds and cane sugar into a fine meal in a food processer or blender. Add the eggs and soft butter and mix well. 

Pour in the sour cream, vanilla and flour and mix again. 

Butter the pie tin (20-24 cm in diameter), and coat with a thin layer of sugar (will give it a lovely sugary bottom).

Pour the dough into the pie tin and smooth the surface. 

Peel the pears, remove the center and cut them in quarters and press into the dough. 

(can make nice patterns if you like - i prefer the circle-pattern)

Bake for 40-45 min. at 175 degrees celcius. 

Cover the baked pie in chopped pistachios and serve with icecream or sour cream! YUM!

Definitely making this again! 

Pennie :)

Feeling lucky!

Greetings Ladies & Gents,

So another week's past or two, and more baking and garden fun happened! 

Pictures later....And by a burst of good luck and knowing the right peeps, we have finally had our front hedge removed. Keeping it the past years has been a complete nightmare!! 

Let me clarify: We bought our house about 5 years ago from a relative of my husbands, who sadly had not had the energy to keep it or do anything to better it for quite some time and it was in quite a bad shape....

Our former garden-patio... simply divine, dont'cha think?

Backyard - be sure to tie a rope around your waist,
so you won't get lost!!

But we fell in love with it - the homey interior and prospects of what it could be and also it's perfect location Close to town, but still in the country - only 30 min. to Copenhagen, but surrounded by both small shops and farms!

Sadly I don't have any pictures of the front hedge, but imagine it being slightly less kept then the pictures above... yeah... *nodding*... not kidding sadly...
So of course we were delighted when a co-worker of mine, whose husband has a truck and krane company, asked if I wanted it removed after I had bi***ed a bit about it for some time.... ;)  - and they did it insanely cheap, which was an added bonus with Yule-time coming up!

So this past weekend has been spent with getting the soil ready and cleaned for a new Privet Hedge, as it will be alot easier to keep.

Hopeing it will look like this in some years

Our old hedge was a mixture of 3 different hedges and random shrubs, who have planted themselves over the years, and never been removed or replanted. I'm working this weekend, but DH (dear hubby) has promised, that he and my brother will have it fixed when i'm home Saturday evening - so pics inc then!

Anyway apart from spending time in the garden, i've also spent alot of time in the kitchen. As I've written before, I LOVE Autumn! The colors of nature turning from green to yellow to firey red, the nights becoming colder, but the days mostly still warm - and all the wonderful autum fruits and berries!

This week i was fortunate enough to recieve some pears from my other co-worker, but as my DH hates fruit-pies (he thinks they're not sweet enough - he's not much for the tartness of especially apples and pears), I had to think of a clever way to disguise them..... and so the Pistachio-Pear Pie was born! Pistachio is one for his favorite flavores!

Just a little teaser - recipe will be posted soon!
It was absolutly delicious! Even DH approved :)

More pics from kitchen adventures this past week:

Sweet cinnamon/cottage cheese pancakes
and a sidebowl of blackberries

Chorizo-chili with lots and lots of shrooms!
YUM!

Bacon-wrapped ground-beef burgers (without the bun)
with a sidedish of root veggies (beets and parsnips)
and home made bernaise sauce *DROOL*

Last of the Blackberries -
Thank you Mother Nature for your bountiful presents!

Any recipe-ideas for the use of the blackberries???? 

Pennie :)