Diane Denmark

The Super Fling Boogie continues! Again! (Again, again...)

2012-01-30T17:23:00.001+01:00

Four weeks into the Flylady's Super Fling Boogie, and the clutter continues to leave the house - yay! :D

In my last Super Fling Boogie post I was recycling, donating and giving things away - which is my usual way to get rid of clutter. But last week I decided to try something different as I had a few special items that I thought I just might be able to sell. (I'm a member of an international ladies club in Copenhagen, and get mails on a daily basis from people buying and selling kids toys etc.)

I prepared an e-mail with a list of what I was selling (electric coolbox, air purifier, box set of DVDs, books, etc) and grouped the items in a corner in the basement. I made a strict deal with myself. If they didn't sell within two weeks, off to the charity shop they would go! Cos the last thing I need to is have more junk hiding in a dark corner...

My e-mail went out on Thursday afternoon and by Saturday afternoon I had sold everything off the list apart from a few books...which gave a grand total of kr. 500! (£56 or $88) :D

Would I do it again? Well, to be honest, it's not something I'd want to do on a regular basis. Because there is, of course, the hassle of answering all the e-mails and arranging for the items to be collected. Though I did send out a second e-mail with a few new 'treasures' that we're ready to part with - like boardgames that we've never played and a Playstation 2, complete with games and controllers. So, really, I'd only try and sell 'large' things. The ordinary clutter will just go to the charity shop as before.

And what's next for the proverbial chop, now that the major visible clutter in the house has been conquered? My achilles heel...paper clutter! Ha! Stay tuned!

Have a marvelous Monday! :)

Feel Good Friday

2012-01-27T16:15:00.004+01:00

Three things I loved this week:

That even when life puts little obstacles in your way - like no power in the winterbathing changing room meaning undressing by candlelight in minus 2 degrees - that it's not a roadblock but only a speedbump. And that afterwards you feel that you can survive anything! :)

Opening the post to find that I had won a prize...and it wasn't a scam! I had filled in an on-line questionnaire for Ford (after our car had been for a service) and - lo and behold - a couple of months later my name was one of the European winners. A voucher for £80 (yes, £80, I couldn't believe it either!) to use on Amazon.co.uk. They must have heard that I'm a regular customer... ;D Oh, and by the way - I've already started spending it...

Danish pastries. After I had been to the recycling depot and charity shop after another Super Fling Boogie decluttering session, I decided to reward myself with this lovely raspberry Fastelavns bolle (carnival bun) and a cuppa. Yummy!

Hope you have a fabulous Friday and a wonderful weekend! :)

Menu plan - Thursday 26 January 2012

2012-01-26T16:50:00.001+01:00

As you saw last week, I'm focusing 120% on the Flylady's Super Fling Boogie and am trying to use up all the items that are taking up space in my freezer and storecupboards. Saving myself money and space! :)

I do my shopping 'on-line' once a week and buy everything we eat for breakfast and dinner, the kids packed lunches for school, and things like wine/washing up liquid/'bog roll'... My grocery bill this week came to kr. 717 (about £80 or $125) - which is about 2/3 of my usual spend. Three cheers for that! :)

So here - in Super Fling Boogie style - is what's on the menu at Casa Copenhagen this week:

* Leftover roast chicken (we had roast chicken at the weekend) in wholemeal pita pockets, with fresh 'peapod top' salad (my current fave type of salad) and veggie sticks. DH's Danish Xmas donuts (there are a couple of bags left in the freezer) for dessert :)

* Pork Chops Yum-Yum - a very easy and tasty recipe I found on food.com, will serve with broccoli and baby potatoes

* Homemade (wholemeal) lasagne with a fresh, green salad (I'm making one lasagne to eat and one to put into the freezer for next month, how about that for being organised?!)

* Danish meatball, dumpling and carrot soup with homemade bread (made in my breadmachine) - poor DD9 is home sick and this is her favourite comfort food :)

* Homemade wholemeal pizza (will make the dough in my bread machine) with homemade raw carrot/red cabbage slaw

* Some kind of beef + vegetable curry in my crockpot and will make coconut rice (in my beloved ricecooker) to go with it

Did you know you can, amongst other things, make scrambled eggs and omelets
in your ricecooker? See our instructions here!

* And, as usual, one of the nights will be the (in)famous Leftover Night = will dive into the fridge and root out some veggies/leftover meat and make them into a pasta or fried rice dish ;D

Bon appétit!

Hope you have a thoroughly thrilling Thursday! :)

We ♥ Danish Drama!

2012-01-25T23:30:00.000+01:00

[This post is also published over at www.blogs.denmark.dk - the official website of Denmark run by the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs]

Whenever I phone my Mum in Dad in Edinburgh (Bonnie Scotland), the conversation invariably turns to the same subject. Danish drama. And I don't mean the group Denmark have drawn for Euro 2012 in Poland this summer... ;)

No, I'm talking about Danish Radio's hugely popular drama series "Forbrydelsen" which has taken the UK by storm. The Americans made their own (apparently very tame) remake of "The Killing", but the Brits are thoroughly lapping up the gloomy atmosphere of gritty Copenhagen. Fashionistas are desperate to get their hands on the Faroe-knit jumper worn by the female detective, Sarah Lund. The original jumper from Gudrun + Gudrun - which features in all episodes - will set you back Euro. 280. But even H+M are cashing in on the series' success - here's a copycat version I spotted this morning...

Want to dress up as Sarah Lund for Fastelavn/carnival? Kr. 100 or Euro 13.45

Yep, it's hip to be Danish. And even the Danish language has achieved cult status. In the Christmas TV special of Absolutely Fabulous, Sarah Lund (the actress Sofie Gråbøl) makes a cameo appearance - yes, in that jumper - and Edina attempts to talk to her. På dansk. :)

But back to my Mum and Dad. Who (given that their daughter is married to a Dane and permanently settled in Copenhagen) are naturally seen by their cronies as the Oracle on all matters Danish. At the church coffee morning last week there was a very lively discussion about the latest Danish drama series to hit the UK - a fictional drama about the first woman to become Prime Minister of Denmark. (With life reflecting art just months later, when Helle Thorning-Schmidt did it for real.) Mum and Dad's friends thought it was funny that Mikael Birkkjær a.k.a. 'the baddie' in "The Killing II" turns up as the Prime Minister's husband in the new drama series. Not, of course, that any of the women were complaining... [Swoons.]

What they were really puzzled about was the title. Which is Danish. And which, for some strange reason, hasn't been given a catchy - or, at the least, explanatory - title in English. "Can't you phone your daughter in Copenhagen and ask her what "Borgen" actually means?" So that's exactly what Mum did... [She typed - in true cliffhanger style.]
Have a wonderful Wednesday! :)

Judging a book by its (swell, just swell) cover

2012-01-24T14:10:00.001+01:00

I was at our local Danish library on Sunday afternoon, browsing through the English crime novels (British English before American English, according to Danish cataloging systems...). I like to read before I go to bed and I love crime novels. But not ones filled with death and despair. A bit of death is fine - it's the bleak, cruel, sordid ones that I try to avoid. That's why I love the Montalbano series so much. Set in Sicily, the sexy swarthy detective swims daily in the nude (winterbathing anyone?!) and often escapes from work (or unplugs the phone at home) in order to enjoy his food. And there's lots of food. Plus he manages to [boom, boom!] devour a few signorinas along the way... ;D

Anyway, back to the library. I spotted this book - which stood out like a sore thumb (or 'exquisitely painted fingernail') amongst the dimly lit streets, pouring rain and hooded figures that have infiltrated the display shelf. Look at that hair and that dress! What a swell looking female detective - just like something out of Thoroughly Modern Millie... :D

Two pages in, and she's already mentioned gin, a country house, a stolen diamond necklace, a retired Indian Colonel, a Duke, a ballroom, a gardener's boy and a cricket ball. Raaaaaaspberries! I'm off for a cuppa and 15 minutes of my new book.

Hope you have a terrific Tuesday! :)

The Super Fling Boogie continues! Again! (Again!)

2012-01-23T15:58:00.005+01:00

What a fantastic week! Three cheers for the Flylady's "Super Fling Boogie"! Clutter is going out the door like there's no tomorrow! If you saw last Monday's declutter post, you'll see that I've been flinging like mad since the beginning of the year. Here are a few of this week's 'highlights'...

See these 8 garden chairs and table?

They were in the garden when we bought our house over 10 years ago. Since then we've bought our own wooden garden furniture. But we held on to this lot. Just in case... ;D Well, we never use them and no-one we know wanted them. And they were too bulky for the charity shop. So Thursday lunchtime I put them out on the pavement, ready for the recycling pickup early Friday morning. Lo and behold, two hours later they were gone. Hooray! Just goes to show that one person's junk is definitely somebody else's treasure! :)

The kids also went through their English and Danish books and managed to donate a huge Ikea bag full of them to the After School Club. And the family across the road who have small kids were very pleased to get this Ikea puppet theatre/shop/playhouse/let-your-imagination-run-riot thingymyjig :)

I've also been to the recycling centre. Again. Again. With papers, bottles, electrical cords and old paint/oil/chemicals from the workshop in our basement. Little by little, I can see that the laundry room and workshop (both former dungeons..) are beginning to look quite decent! Ha!

So, all in all, a very productive week. And I'm still ready for more... ;D

Hope you have a marvelous Monday - let's keep flinging out there! :)

Feel Good Friday - 20 January 2012

2012-01-20T10:38:00.001+01:00

Three things I love right here, right now:

1. Eggs. Fantastic! For such little fellas, they have to be one of the world's most versatile foodstuffs, non? My current addiction is omelet tortilla wraps for lunch...

2. That lovely cosy feeling that swallows me up when I start a fire in our woodburning oven in the living room, snuggle myself up on the sofa with a rug and a crime novel. Two pages later I'm relaaaaaaaaaxed :)

3. That music can change my mood from low to high in a nanosecond. Or give me a kick in the pants when I need it. I'm turning this one up to 11 and am off to declutter!

"Days of Thunder" by Spleen United

Have a fabulous Friday and a wonderful weekend! :)

Menu plan - Thursday 19 January 2012

2012-01-19T15:22:00.000+01:00

As you saw last week, I'm focusing 120% on the Flylady's Super Fling Boogie and am using up what's in my freezer/storecupboards :)

My grocery bill this week came to kr. 624 (about £70 or $108) - which is almost half of what is usually is - hooray! :) I do my shopping on-line once a week and that includes everything we eat for breakfast and dinner, the kids packed lunches for school, and things like wine/washing up liquid/'bog roll'...

So here - in Super Fling Boogie style - is what's on the menu at Casa Copenhagen this week:

* Blender Quiche - the recipe is here (I just mix by hand in a bowl) - served with salad and pickled beetroot (I always have to have beetroot when I eat quiche)

I love quiche...hot or cold! :)

* out to dinner at an Indian restaurant for DH's birthday (yay, no cooking!)

* 'Breakfast for Dinner' - always a huge hit with the kids - orange juice and hot tea, sausages, scrambled eggs and waffles or my Granny's frugal pancakes ;D

* Krebinetter (Danish pork patties) with baby potatoes and stuvede gulerødder (carrots cooked in a white sauce)

Krebinetter - a Danish classic!

* Roast chicken with raw broccoli/bacon/nut salad and crashed potatoes (using the leftover baby potatoes)

* Wholemeal pitabread pockets with the leftover chicken, salad and veggie sticks

* Leftover night = will dive into the fridge and root out some veggies/leftover meat and make them into a pasta or fried rice dish ;D

Bon appétit!

Hope you have a thoroughly thrilling Thursday! :)

Danish Libraries (Part Three) - You say tomato, I say tomahto...

2012-01-18T23:30:00.000+01:00

[This post is also published over at www.blogs.denmark.dk - the official website of Denmark run by the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs]

It's no secret that I think Danish libraries are fab. I mean, really, what's not to love about our local library where children are allowed - nay, encouraged - to crawl along on top of the book shelves? ;D
('Where are we?' Wednesday? - Climbing the Walls) Or perhaps you'd prefer a free cuppa, in a setting that looks like your granny's front parlour? (Tea with your Tolstoy?)

Danish libraries are overflowing with things you can borrow. For free, selvfølgelig. DVDs, Blu-Ray, CDs, Wii games, wooden jigsaws, kids' boardgames, books on tape, international magazines. And even books (and e-books). And not just Danish books! German, Arabic, Spanish, Swedish, Italian, Norwegian, French, Turkish. Even in the children's section.

But if, dear reader, you're looking for a novel in English, prepare yourself for an extra hunt. Let's say, for the sake of argument, that you're looking for Dan Brown's "The Da Vinci Code". You'd walk past 82.7 (Spanish Literature), 82.8 (Portuguese Literature) and expect to find it here in section 83 (English Literature). Right?

Wrong! You need to pass ten to fifteen bookshelves, filled with authors from A to Z. And go round the corner... To section 83.8. "American Literature".

Yep, those crazy Danish librarians split English books into British English and American English. So you need to know in advance if the book you're interested in is written in American or British English. Isn't that overcomplicating things? Can't they just put them all together?

"Aha!", I said, to the librarian, sensing a tiny chink in the armour of the Danish cataloging system. "What if the author is Canadian. Is that classed as British or American English? Surely that's a grey (or should that be gray...) area? Books by Indian authors? South Africa? New Zealand? Or books translated from Japanese into English?"

"Well," said the librarian - playing the proverbial trumph card - "if you can't find what you're looking for on the shelves, we can always look it up on the computer." ;)

Hope you have a wonderful Wednesday! :)

If the (winterbathing) shoe fits...

2012-01-17T16:02:00.001+01:00

What gear do you need to go winter bathing?

Me in the water last Monday morning :)

Hmm, very little. A nice, long, warm bathrobe. And shoes. Flipflops, of course, are great. Easy to kick on and off. Until, that is, the air temperature drops to around 4 degrees and the sand starts 'crunching' underfoot! ;D So I've been using these surf shoes for a while. Not because you can wear them in the sea - which of course is great on the days when there are sharp stones around - but because they keep my feet warm while I'm crossing the beach (attired only in my birthday suit and aforementioned bathrobe). Not exactly elegant footwear, but they do the job.

Well, the only problem with these shoes is that they have started to pong. I've tried everything. Hand washing them with soap, given them a run for their money in the washing machine, tried bicarb of soda, sewed some tiny lavender scent bags to put inside them... And still they pong! So much so, that it's now become a running joke with my winterbathing friend V. "Who brought the roquefort with them?!"

This morning I decided that Enough was Enough. So I've just ordered a new pair. Though I've decided to try a new type. Just as ugly. Not neoprene but plastic/rubber. And with holes all over for good [ahem] 'ventilation'. I await with baited breath (and close-pegged nose) to see if they fair any better...

Have a terrific Tuesday and don't forget to smell the flowers! :)

The Super Fling Boogie continues! Again!

2012-01-16T15:03:00.000+01:00

Decluttering is a work in progress. I used to tend to do it in fits and starts. But, with the help of the Flylady, I've learned to keep at it. Fling, fling, flung. And if not every day, then at least every week. But when there's a Super Fling Boogie (a sort of 'get-rid-of-your-clutter-and-your-cares' jamboree for flybabies around the world), I get into competitive mode, and fling like crazy! ;D

If you saw my very first post of 2012, you'll know that I kick-started the new year with some purges in the basement. Decluttering works best if you take one little area at a time, in order not to get overwhelmed. So on Saturday morning I set my timer for 15 minutes and decided to concentrate on the toy shelves in the basement.

And after 20 minutes, plus another 5 mins checking with the kids, I had filled two large Ikea bags with jigsaw, games and toys (plus other bric-a-brac). Here they are, ready for the charity shop! :)

And - well, you all know what's coming here, don't you? - we spent the rest of the weekend playing some of the games that we had forgotten all about... ;D

This morning, Monday, I drove straight to the charity shop to drop off the bags. Plus two bags of junk to the recycling centre. One of the hardest parts of decluttering for me is actually to get things out of the door. I have to do it immediately. If I don't get it into the car, it will sit in the basement for weeks, eek! Anyway, my heart always beats a little faster when I drive to this particular charity shop - because the area is also home to Denmark's (officially) sexiest man, the (international) actor Mads Mikkelsen. And, as I've been lucky enough to see him - in the flesh - not once but twice (be still, my beating heart!), there's always that chance that it might happen again! :D For those poor souls not lucky enough to live near Mads Mikkelsen, here's a nice little advert he made for a holiday company. Sales went up by 30% the week that this advert was shown. Ha! (Link to the video here, if you're reading this post as an e-mail.)

[Swoon] Enough daydreaming :) I have to finish this post because there's a courier coming to pick up an old (and very large) painting that we're ~~finally getting rid of~~ giving to a friend. Hooray! More junk heading out of the door!

Oh, and last, but not least! Don't forget to post those purged pounds (1 kilo = 2.2 lbs) on the Flylady's clutter meter which you can find right here.

Happy flinging and have a marvelous Monday! :)

Feel Good Friday

2012-01-13T19:05:00.001+01:00

I decided today that, as there are so many things that I love (love, love!), it might be a good idea to write them down on paper once a week. Kind of like a happiness journal. But, hey, that's what I use this whole blog for anyway... ;D

So here's the 'menu of the day'!

For starters:

Reading the Danish word for 'motion' or 'speed'...never fails to make me giggle!

A poster that came with DD9's magazine "Phineas og Ferb" :D

For main course:

I love the Danish band "Whomadewho". And today I got tickets for their concert in the spring. Woop woop! :D

For dessert:

Myseost - a very strange Scandinavian cheese that is dark brown in colour, cloying in your mouth and tastes of cooked caramel... The first time I tasted it, I hated it. And then the very next week, when I spotted it in the supermarket, I just had to buy it, take it home and eat it as soon as I got in the door. And I've been addicted to it ever since. I can't get enough of it, and the rest of the family leave it well alone :)

Have a fabulous Friday and a wonderful weekend! :)

40 things you've always wanted to know about the Danish Queen (but were afraid to ask)

2012-01-12T17:07:00.000+01:00

You might want to nip down to your

local supermarket and get stocked up!

[This post is also published over at www.blogs.denmark.dk - the official website of Denmark run by the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs]

The Danish Queen is about to celebrate her 40th Jubilee and the Danes are excited. Not to mention the Danish media who are having an absolute field day... We're in for a weekend of wall-to-wall coverage. Live action from the palace, non-stop commentary from the 'experts', historial documentaries, the opinions of Hr. and Fr. Danmark and more fascinating facts about the Danish royal family than you can wave a Danish flag at... (And, selvfølgelig, Danish buses will be patriotically decked out in flags over the weekend too.)

But how much have I actually learned about the Danish Queen in my 12 years here? Well, just to test myself, I thought I'd write a list of 40 facts for the Queen's 40th Jubilee. Off the top of my head. Written down as they popped up in my head. And - cross my heart - I haven't cross-checked them on 'google'. After all, where would be the fun in that?

(Glaring) errors (that make me look like a right fool) and omissions are excepted... ;D

40 THINGS YOU'VE ALWAYS WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT THE DANISH QUEEN (BUT WERE AFRAID TO ASK)

Her name is Magrethe. Or is it Margrethe? Can never remember the exact spelling, but in Danish it's pronounced 'Ma-gray-te'
Her nickname is Daisy (apparently from the French word Marguerite = Daisy = which is also the Danish name for the flower Daisy = coincidentally the national flower of Denmark)
She smokes like a chimney
Her French husband's name is Henri (de Montpessat?) but the Danes renamed him 'Henrik' and make fun of the way he speaks Danish
The Queen lives at Amalienborg Palace in the centre of Copenhagen, and can moor a boat right outside. Her summer residence is in Gråsten, the south of Jutland.
In the summer she goes off on her boat and makes official visit to towns around Denmark
Henri(k)'s family are from Caïx (south of France or perhaps mid?) and Daisy and Henrik spend their private summer holidays there
Just remembered the name of the royal yacht - it's "Dannebrog" (which is the name of the Danish flag)
She refuses to have her front teeth cleaned up
She's very artistic and designs ballet costumes (I also seem to remember something about wall hangings in churches), does découpage and paints pictures
She thinks being Queen is a 'job for life', meaning she wants to reign until she dies
The names of her sons are Frederik and Joachim
Frederik (the crown prince) is married to Mary (né Donaldson) who's from Oz/Tasmania but has Scottish heritage [said the fellow Scot ;D]
Frederik, nickname 'Frede', and Mary have 4 kids: Christian, Isabella, Vincent and Josephine
Joachim was married to Alexandra (né Manley) from Hong Kong, got divorced and is now married to Marie (can't remember her maiden name) who is French. But I can tell you that Marie has a little dog who is the type that can fit into a handbag (don't quote me on the name of the breed...bichon frisée?)
Joachim and Alex had 2 kids together: Felix and Nicolaj
Joachim and Marie have 1 child, Henrik, and another one about to pop out at any moment
The Queen starts off her Christmas Dinner with a plate of ricepudding (don't know why that fact suddenly popped in to my head) accompanied, as far as I recall, by beer
The Queen's husband, Henri(k) has his own vinyard at Château de Caïx and the Danes affectionately call his wine Château de 'Rævepis' (which translates as 'fox piss'). I've seen it for sale in the department store Magasin
When the Queen and Prince Henrik are on summer holiday at Caïx, she wanders around the local market buying produce, basket in hand, lady-in-waiting in tow (and, of course, the paparazzi)
She's very tall
She has long hair, which is always worn up
Though there is one very famous photo of her, leaning out of a castle window, no make-up, flowing locks, on the occasion of her (I think) Silver Wedding, when it's tradition for family and friends to surprise the 'bride and groom' by waking them up at an ungodly hour by singing and playing horn music (gotta love those Crazy Danes and their crazy Danish traditions)
The Queen likes to dress in strong colours and wears a lot of shawls and hats
She was partly educated in England - might have been Oxford or Cambridge
She has a really good British accent when she speaks English, and is also fluent in French
She has two sisters: Benedikte and (it's on the tip of my tongue...) Marie ??
Benedikte is (methinks) married to a German and lives there, Marie (??) is married to the exiled Greek king and they live in the UK
The Queen likes to ski but I think the recent problems with her knees have put a stop to that
Prince Henrik has pet dogs but I don't think the Queen has her own special dog - or, at least, I haven't heard one mentioned in the gossip magazines
There's a magician/comedian she likes called Rune Klan, whose trick at a gala dinner involved the Queen choosing a piece of sliced ham (as opposed to a playing card)
She also loves the entertainer Søren Østergaard, especially when he plays the baker who has 'dancing' Danish pastries
I can't remember the Queen's exact age, but it's around 73. (I'm pretty sure of this because I let the kids skive off school a couple of years back, so we could go to Amalienborg, wave Danish flags, and see her wave from the balcony on her 70th birthday)
She spends Christmas with her family
New Year's Eve is spent with old friends and they have a masked ball and fireworks
On New Year's Day she invites the 'high heid yins' (as we say in Scotland) like cabinet ministers, diplomats, etc for a gala dinner at Amalienborg Palace. And the diplomats are expected to turn up in their national costume (which, naturally, provides plenty of cheap entertainment for the media)
The Queen makes a televised speech on 31 December at 6pm - which is the official kickoff for Danish New Year celebrations. So if you're going out for dinner/to a party that evening, you mustn't arrive later than 5.50pm - you have been warned!
Okay, so I'm beginning to run out of ideas now... Um, it's also tradition at New Year parties to stand up during the Queen's speech, glass of champagne in hand
And the Danes get their cue that the speech is nearing its end when the Queen gives a special mention to the Danish armed forces and the Greenlanders
This New Year past (31 December 2011) was the 40th time the Queen has made the speech. And - true to form - she ended it as she always ends it with "Gud Bevare Danmark!" ('God Save Denmark!)

Here is 'Daisy' in action on New Year's Eve 2009
I was, of course, standing up when I took this photo! ;D

Whew - there you have it, folks...

Gud Bevare Danmark! (God Save Denmark!) Længe leve Dronningen! (Long live the Queen!)

:)

Menu plan - Wednesday 11 January 2012

2012-01-11T20:32:00.002+01:00

As I mentioned on Monday, I'm really trying to get on board with the Flylady's Super Fling Boogie, so for the next few weeks I'll be using up what's in my freezer/storecupboards. My grocery bill this week came to kr. 870.15 (about £97 or $149) - which is slightly less than usual. I shop once a week (online) and the groceries include everything we eat for breakfast and dinner, the kids packed lunches for school, and things like wine, washing up liquid and 'bog roll'... ;D

Without further ado, here's what's on the menu at Casa Copenhagen this week:

* Enchiladas (I have a gigantic stock of tortillas in the pantry and lots of minced beef in the freezer) with spinach salad and veggie sticks

* Breaded pork chops (I do them in beaten egg and seasoned breadcrumbs) with raw red cabbage/carrot/coriander salad

Breaded chops with raw red cabbage/carrot/coriander salad :)

* Pasta med kødsovs/spaghetti bolognese/pasta with meatsauce - because poor DS12 is having several teeth removed at the dentist (to make space for a brace), so he'll probably want something soft to eat... ;D
* Chicken Paprikash made in the crockpot, served with tagliatelle

Chicken Paprikash going in the crock (chicken/pearl onions/red pepper/tomato sauce)
will add soured cream at the end :)

* Leftover chicken made into Chicken and Sweetcorn soup with homemade wholewheat rolls

* Big chunky sausages with tomato/chili sauce, broccoli and mashed potato

* Leftover night - which is basically any leftover meat and veggies from the fridge, with pasta or fried rice

Bon appétit!

Have a wonderful Wednesday! :)

Banana Oat Muffins

2012-01-10T18:02:00.001+01:00

My sweetie friend V were down at the beach for our daily skinny dip in the Danish sea this morning and I brought these banana muffins for us to munch on. 'Cos it's nice to have a shivery bite and a cup of hot tea after splashing around in water which is 3c/37f... ;D V asked me if the muffin recipe was going to appear on the blog... Well, værsgo', here you go, V!

You'll need:

3 very ripe bananas (bananer)
1 egg (æg)
a third of a cup of oil or butter (flydende fedtstof)
a quarter cup of sugar (sukker)
half a cup of flour (mel)
1 teaspoon of baking powder (bagepulver)
1 teaspoon of baking soda (natron)
about 1 cup of porridge oats (havregryn)
about ½ a teaspoon of salt (salt)

Put the bananas, egg, oil and sugar in a bowl. Mash the bananas into the other ingredients and give it a good mix.

Add the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

Then start to mix in the porridge oats. I worked out that it's roughly 1 cupful, but just keep adding them til the mixture starts to come together. Make sure it doesn't get too 'dry' and don't overmix.

Spoon into your muffin pan (I like to put papercases in the pan). I also use an icecream scoop, as it makes it much easier to get equal amounts and avoid spillage. You should get around 12 muffins. Bake at 175c (or 350f) for about 15 minutes.

I decided to do 9 large ones and 12 teeny tiny ones using the mixture. The wee ones only took about 10 minutes to bake.

Velbekomme!

Hope you have a terrific Tuesday! :)

Happy New 2012!

2012-01-09T14:42:00.000+01:00

Happy New Year, dear readers! I'm back from Edinburgh (where we spent Christmas with my Scottish family) and the kids are back in school (where they're hopefully learning something). Which means that I'm ready for some ~~love~~blog action!

First signs of spring life...snowdrops are coming through! :)

And doesn't the New Year herald a new start? A fresh start. So - bien sûr - on the second day of January, I went into my usual mode of 'have-to-rearrange-all-the-furniture' and 'toss-toss-toss-my-cares-and-clutter-away'! In my pre-Flylady days, I would have gone completely gung ho and ended up in tears by the end of the day. (Not to mention having competely forgotten to run a load of washing or even thinking that, yes, we might actually need some food in our bellies by teatime.) But - ha - thanks to ~~brain~~FLYwashing I have learned to do it 'slow and steady', focus on small areas and, of course, hold on to my Flylady Morning and Evening Routines as if my very life depended upon it! ;D

So, by the end of last week, I had filled the car three times with junk for the recycling centre. And filled it up again twice with items to pass on to friends, school and the charity shop. Plus I've been using up all the extra foodstuffs from the freezer/cupboards that we're bought in the run-up to Christmas. And, woo hoo, I'm still finding clutter to toss...

Car boot containing secondhand furniture which I bought for
ca. £5 in Luxembourg in 1990...time to finally let it go! ;D

Which, all in all, has put me in a rather excellent mood to start off 2012! And what's in store here on the blog? Much more decluttering, recipes, Scaredy Cat Challenges, winterbathing and basically anything and everything that gets me excited and puts a smile on my face :)

To paraphrase Robert Burns: Here's to us. Who's like us? Damn few and they're all dead!

Happy New 2012!

Love
Diane

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-22T13:05:00.001+01:00

The kids are now on school break, so it's time for me to tidy my blog desk, close my blog cabinet and go off and enjoy Christmas with our Scottish and Danish families. And thanks to the Flylady, I'm all ready and relaxed - hooray!

Merry Christmas!

Greetings from the bathing bridge! :)

Love

Diane

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Burn Baby Burn

2011-12-16T21:26:00.000+01:00

Can you believe it's only 9 days til Christmas?! As you'll have seen from my blogposts, I've been FLYing through Christmas prep and enjoying all the parties and events. There's only one area where we're behind...our calendar candle!

Two days 'behind' - eek! ;D

Have a fantastic Friday and a wonderful weekend! :)

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Menu plan - Thursday 15 December 2011

2011-12-15T13:23:00.000+01:00

Amazingly we're still having mild weather with daily temperatures of around 5c or 41f (which is also the temperature of the sea that we swim in every morning!) and still no sign of snow... It's pitch dark before 4 pm now - which always makes me want to curl up on the sofa and sleep. On the other hand, it's the perfect setting for the St. Lucia procession over at school. Here's DD9 and the girls from her year in action on Tuesday afternoon...

Without further ado, here's whats's on the menu at Casa Copenhagen for week 50:

* Meatballs, herby tomato sauce, tagliatelle, salad and freshly baked bread

* Madder (Danish open sandwiches) on a night that we're out to a school party

Baked ham and gratin dauphinois...perfect bed mates! :)

* Honey/mustard baked ham and my version of gratin dauphinois, brussel sprouts

* Leftover ham added to egg-fried rice or alternatively served in wholemeal pita pockets with salad

* Breakfast for dinner: sausages, scrambled eggs made in my ricecooker, croutons, pancakes, fresh tomatoes/cucumber, orange juice and hot tea

* French beef stew made in the crockpot: cubes of beef, sliced onions, chopped carrots, garlic, red wine, beef stock, salt, pepper, paprika - just dump everthing in the crockpot and turn on the heat ;D

Hurdy Gurdy Swedish Sausage Stew - mmm, comfort food :)

* Svensk pølsegryde - Hurdy Gurdy Swedish Sausage Stew - our recipe is here

Bon appétit!

Hope you have a thorougly thrilling Thursday! :)

Danish Anger Management? Vent!

2011-12-14T21:14:00.000+01:00

[This post is also published at the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs

www.blogs.denmark.dk]

I think I’ve solved the mystery as to why those crazy (but lovable) Danes are so darn happy. Anger management!

Just go to any Metro station in Copenhagen. Stand on the platform at the entrance to the train doors. There’s a special area – clearly marked with a white line – where those crazy Danes are encouraged to let it all out. You’re not convinced? Then look for yourself. It says, in big letters, “Vent”.

To vent or not to vent? That is the question…

Ahhhhh, but hold on just a minute… The text “Vent” is, of course, på dansk. Danish. So what you’re actually expected to do is “Wait”. As in ‘queue'. Patiently. Behind the white line. Thereby allowing people to get off the train, before you attempt to charge in.

So anger management it isn’t… But – let’s look on the bright side – at least the Danes are finally learning to queue! Something we Brits are world-champions at…

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

Christmas Cake 2011

2011-12-13T14:15:00.000+01:00

Merry Christmas, dear Readers! [she said, drinking a cuppa and wiping crumbs from her mouth]

I decided that Today was The Day to cut into the Christmas cake...

Who cares if the icing turned out ~~a garing shade of turquoise~~ a bit darker than it was supposed to?

Yikes, a little smidgen of those colouring pastes really does go a long way...! ;D

Who cares that the white icing got bits of cake crumbs mixed in to it?

Who cares that the blue icicles wouldn't stand up straight, as I had planned, or stick on to the sides of the cake?

It looks pretty good from a distance. Or by candlelight... ;D

And I had an 'aha' moment. I don't need to wait until we have special guests coming in order to cut it. I can take a slice (or two) today. And linger over the very best part - the thick layers of marcipan and white icing! Yum! ;D

Bon appetit!

Have a terrific Tuesday! :)

PS: It's not too late to make your own Christmas cake. The recipe we use is right here - and it can be made one day before it's eaten :)

Christmas planning - 2 weeks to go!

2011-12-12T16:53:00.001+01:00

I feel a bit silly calling this post Christmas "planning" like all the others because - thanks to the Flylady - all my prep for Crimbo is actually done! Ha! Our greetings cards were posted on 30 November. (Almost) all the presents are bought and wrapped (or ordered online). And...we've all just had haircuts! ;D

We lit the third advent candle on Sunday :)

So - instead of telling you all that I've done or need to do - I thought I'd let you have a peek into what I've been able to enjoy since the 1st of December!

* * * * * *

Put together some cookie dough...baked one portion and put three logs in the freezer, which I can pull out/slice/bake when we have friends over :)

Ingredients for cranberry and pistachio shortbread in the mixer

Been to Tivoli with the 'girls' for drinks and a pantomime...

Sorry for the blurred image...~~too many glasses of wine~~ drops of rain on the lens

Made sweets with the kids...

These are some of the 'healthy' ones: dried figs/orange juice/cocoa powder/coconut

My friend H and I went to an exhibition of Danish Christmas decorations by Jette Frölich (and had gløgg and æbleskiver in the café afterwards)

Enjoyed a lovely Xmas lunch with my winterbathing friend V

Spoleben with winter cabbage

* * * * * *

Nice! And especially nice to be able to enjoy it all without rushing around and getting stressed. This week it's full swing over at school where we'll be partaking in the Lucia Procession/Concert, Xmas Bingo, Breakfast and Decoration-making with DD9's class...

Advent calendar of presents in DD9's class -
a name is pulled out of Santa's sack every day

Phew! Thank goodness for my Flylady Holiday Control Journal and pampering! ;D

Have a marvelous Monday! :)

A Christmas (Winter bathing) Miracle

2011-12-09T17:31:00.000+01:00

If you're a regular reader, you'll know that my friend V and I love vinterbadning (skinny dipping in the Danish sea, all year long). And have become thorougly Addicted. We've been stripping off down by the waterfront. Come rain, hail or shine. But, with the temperatures beginning to plummet and storms brewing aplenty, we were forced to realise that - at some point - standing undressing/dressing in the snow just wasn't going to be fun. (Funnily enough, the thought of being in the freezing cold water is an attraction - ha!)

Huge waves = huge fun! :)

We're on the waiting list for not one, but two, different bathing clubs. One of which has a 6 year waiting list... The clubs have changing rooms, toilets, hot showers and [sniff, sniff] sizzling saunas! Waaaaaaah! Let us in from the cold!

Our current al fresco 'changing room'...
we bring our own bathmats - slightly warmer than standing on cold paving stones! ;D

But, this Tuesday morning, an Angel appeared before us. Walking his dog. He and his wife - fellow winterbathers - had seen us many times on the bathing bridge. (Yep, told you that we're there on a daily basis.) They thought we were 'cool' to have braved the elements. But wouldn't we like to have the key to an old storeroom, owned by the Chief Lifeguard? Nothing fancy. No space to swing a cat. No running water. And in desperate need of maintenance. (It literally hasn't been cleaned or dusted for 15 years [sneezes] but nothing that my Flylady purple feather duster can't cope with!)

But, wow, there are walls! Four of them! A door! A bench! A hook to hang our clothes! Halleluja! We feel like Mary and Joseph, who've been given space in the stable... Yep, there are such things as Christmas miracles! ;D

♪♫"I saw three ships come sailing in, on Christmas day in the morning...." ♪♫

Have a fabulous Friday and a wonderful weekend! :)

Menu plan - Thursday 8 December 2011

2011-12-08T12:16:00.000+01:00

Incredibly, there's still no sign of the snow here - only sleet. Instead the Weather (and Beach) Gods have been smiling on me and we've had beautiful sunny mornings almost every day this week. Though the lack of clouds does, of course, bring with it a very hard night frost that makes the sand crunchy to walk on!

View of the bathing bridge this morning at 9am - water was 6c/43f 'warm' ;D

We're now up to our ears in Christmas events, so dinner at the moment is quick and simple. And I'm letting go of my perfectionist tendencies, throwing caution (and my money?) to the wind, and even allowing for the occasional takeaway...

* Lasagne: nothing fancy, just the good old-fashioned homemade kind - green salad :)

* Flæskesteg: traditional Danish roast pork, served with baby potatoes, gravy and steamed cauliflower

* Steak salad: pieces of steak flash-fried, baby gem lettuce/peapod shoots, pickled red onion, avocado, cucumber, cherry tomato, béarnaise sauce on the side

* Pork meatballs, baked potato wedges, broccoli 'salad' (raw broccoli florets, crispy bacon, pumpkin seeds, tiny bit of mayo/vinegar dressing

* Madder: Danish open sandwiches with eg, pork liverpâté, mackerel in tomato sauce, herring, egg mayonnaise

Holy trinity of Christmas beer, herring and egg mayo :)

* Pizza from the local takeaway

* Leftover Night: wholemeal pasta with any leftover meat and veggies that need to be cleaned out of the fridge

Bon appetit!

Hope you have a thoroughly thrilling Thursday! :)

I 'Heart' Danish Christmas!

2011-12-08T11:08:00.001+01:00

[This post is also published over at the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs

www.blogs.denmark.dk]

In Denmark they say that "Jul er hjerternes fest". That "Christmas is the festival of hearts". And it's true - look around and you'll see hearts everywhere. Gingerbread hearts, crocheted hearts, heart-shaped tree ornaments and...the ubiquitous Danish woven paper hearts, which you'll see hanging in windows or on the branches of the Christmas tree.

Are you ready to "jule" (yep, the Danes even use the word 'Christmas' as a verb!) and make some easy peasy Danish Christmas heart crafts?

WOVEN PAPER HEART
My dearly departed Danish father-in-law loved to make things out of paper and was a dab hand at the very intricate woven designs. But be warned: in order to do paper weaving, you have to have nimble fingers, bucketloads of patience and Danish blood in your veins. You're still determined to try? Hmm, then I'd suggest borrowing a book from your local Danish library. Or try, for example, http://www.julidannevang.dk/klip/klip.shtml

But I'm going to show you the two-minute version - the cheat's version - as taught to me by my daughter, aged 9. You'll need two pieces of paper or carton in different colours. (Red and white, if you want to be really traditional.) Mark out the shape (see below) and draw a line in the middle, up to the point where the edge starts to curve. Cut out the shapes and then cut along the middle lines.

Turn the white carton at right angles and weave the first 'finger' through the red carton.

Weave the red 'finger' over the white and - hey presto - færdig (done)! Just add a dab of glue or a piece of sticky tape, to stop the heart from falling apart. Use blue tack (or, as Danish kids call it, 'pædagog-snot' = 'teacher snot'!) to fix them on your window pane. Or add a paper loop, and hang them on the tree.

FABRIC HEART
You could, of course, buy these in the shops. But the cutest/kitschest/most precious ones are, without doubt, those handmade ones that your little darling brings home from kindergarten, nursery or school.

Super simple. Cut two heart shapes out of fabric. Tip: if you use zigzag scissors, you won't have problems with edges fraying. (Felt fabric is perfect for this job.) You can make them any size you like, but hearts about the size of your palm work well.

Sew round the edges, leaving an opening for stuffing. You can use a sewing machine or do it 'old school' with a large needle and thick thread. Stuff the heart, then sew shut.

Add a loop at the top of the heart, so you can hang it up (on the tree, on a door handle, etc). You can also add some beads, glitter glue, etc. We went for the simple look and used this plain ribbon that says "God Jul". Which, as you will remember, has nothing to do with God! ;D

So now we've made Julesnaps (Christmas Snaps), Æbleskiver (Danish Christmas donuts) and some Danish Christmas decorations. I think we've got Danish Christmas covered, ikke sandt?

Glædelig jul! Merry Christmas!

Have a wonderful Wednesday! :)