'Stop Spild af Mad'

Over the past year or so a campaign to 'stop wasting food' has taken hold of Denmark - and me! I guess I really caught onto the idea when I heard how much food we waste without even really knowing it. I mean, how often do you throw out a little leftover rice, a brown banana, or maybe some old milk? Even though I thought I was pretty good about it, once I started paying attention to how much food goes in the trash, I was a little shocked. And that's just from my own kitchen. When you hear about supermarkets and restaurants, my mind is completely blown....

Anyway, I guess I just wanted to write a little bit about it because it's something that's been on my mind lately. 'stop wasting food' is also a good way to save money on food - because you really try to use everything - thereby saving money. When you're on a fairly tight budget, you try to save any place you can. I know I do. 

One way I've been trying to stop wasting food is to make sure:

• I save leftovers and eat them for lunch or try to make a second dish out of the leftovers
• Make sure I use the entire bag/(whatever it is) of something. 

The last part is the biggest challenge. It sometiems requires a little bit of thought and planning to make sure you use the entire head of cabbage (for example) when you bought it to make coleslaw-.... you still have to find something to make with the other half of the cabbage. 

Anyway - this topic will come up again soon!

The giving of Thanks

We had a successful belated Thanksgiving on friday night.

Complete with a duck (I know, that's just wrong), mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, stuffing, coleslaw and gravy. This was followed by pumpkin pie and ice cream. yummity yum yum.

These boys are just way to excited about Thanksgiving:

'write what you know'

Do you know that annoying feeling of having lots of writing ideas and inspiration and all the wrong times? When I finally have the time/patience/energy to sit down at the computer to write on the blog and read other blogs, I've completely forgotten all of my good ideas.

So I guess it's time to go back to the basics and 'write what I know'. But what do I know?

That time is a precious commodity when you have a little one in the house.

Sometimes I feel like a I live in a strange, paradoxical world where I never have any time yet still manage to be bored some times.

Even though the term 'bored' seems like the wrong word to use. Rather, the days can seem endlessly long.... there is always something to do, or something that should be done. Dishes, laundry, vacuuming, and similar never-ending projects.

I also know that my standards for 'clean' have gone down. Our home is cluttered and dusty most of the time because I often choose to use Little Dude naptime for either Christine naptime, TV time, or walk-around-the-neighborhood-time.

Ah, but life is good.

LD

Just a few random pictures that haven't yet been shared on the book of faces.

because I usually only post attractive pictures of Little Dude,
 I figured you should see one where he makes a funny face

He's a little thinker, but very happy and loves to play

Happy Turkey Day!

Thanksgiving is one of my very favorite holidays. It's not one that I grew up with and it's not one that is nationally celebrated many places. And yea, it also doesn't really have anything to do with fake friendships between pilgrims and native Americans.

Still - it is one of few holidays that doesn't revolve around giving material gifts. Rather, it is about celebrating the gift of family (gag...). I like to believe that it is a day for love and reflection and for giving thanks. It's also about delicious food, but at the same time I like to believe that at least some people also take the time to give thanks for the many blessings in their lives. It doesn't matter what religion you are or what culture you come from - it can still be healthy, humbling, and joyful to think of the little, and big, things that bring you joy each and every day....

So what are you thankful for this year?

I am thankful for coffee and caffeine. For cameras that allow us to capture moments and glimpses of our life. For free education and healthcare and a year-long maternity leave. I am thankful to have a dishwasher. For pretty dresses and warm fuzzy socks.

On a deeper level, I am thankful for friends and family. For an uncomplicated pregnancy and for the gift of the most precious and wonderful son. I am thankful for having food on my table every day and for a warm bed to snuggle in every night with my boyfriend and my child.

A Thanksgiving tip

This year, as a special thanksgiving gift, I am sharing a tip that has come in handy many a time.

We all know that thanksgiving isn't just about giving thanks - it's also about eating as much food as possible. Turkey, gravy, mashed 'taters (or mashers, as I like to call them), green bean casserole, pumpkin pie, gravy, coleslaw, cranberry sauce, corn, gravy, and so on...

Now, most people believe that the best way to tackle this day is to avoid eating all day, thereby saving space for lots of food when it's dinner time.

Those people would be wrong.
What happens is that you get so hungry that you eat way too fast and that you also get full way to fast.

Instead, you should be sure to eat / graze all day long in order to expand your stomach and keep your metabolism going. You should be sure to eat a good healthy breakfast and to stay hydratred. Possibly you should do a little bit of exercise. It could be a turkey trot race or just a nice long walk around the neighborhood. Then you should eat some more. Don't eat anything too filling, just foods to nibble on that will expand your stomach - bananas are good, so are apples. Toast and cereal are also good. This allows your stomach to be fully prepared for the feast to come.

Enjoy, and Happy Thanksgiving!

I was fortunate enough to get some different giftcards and money so that I could by some post-pregnancy clothing. I've been seriously lacking in the basics department so I got a few of these items

Wool tights for wintertime

A nice warm sweater

Sparkly short sweater

a black skirt

running/exercise tights

As usual though, I still need some jeans, which are virtually impossible to find. I need them in the right size, non-lowrise, and at a reasonable price.

More food

This is a good place to save recipes ;) And to share one of my 'empty the refrigerator' dishes

Thai ruskumsnusk

Thai chicken ala Christine

3 carrots (julienne)

3 red peppers (julienne)

2 onions (1/8s)

3 stalks celleri

One small chilli

1 lb Chicken cut into wok pieces

Marinade:

White wine

Red wine vinegar

Soy sauce

2 clove garlic

For the Sauce:

Sour Cream or Milk
Tomato paste one can

Coconut milk one can

Paprika

Ginger (fresh or ground)

Pepper and lemon pepper

Tabasco

Soya sauce

Mortens Aften

We never celebrated 'Mortens Aften' growing up, but for some reason we decided to do so this year. So for my first Mortens Aften ever we invited to friends over to dinner. 

I am lucky enough to have a boy who actually likes to cook and experiment in the kitchen some times, so him and his buddy C started in the kitchen at about 4 PM to clean and prepare the duck. Even though they were supposed to cooking, I am mildly obsessive and also like to cook, so I couldn't help myself from hanging around the kitchen 'helping' them out. Either way, Little Dude was still napping, which allowed me to spend some quality time hanging out with the boys. I took over the gravy making because that way I can get it exactly the way I like it! ;) 

We ended up with a full christmas dinner of duck stuffed with apples and prunes, delicious gravy, browned sweet potatoes, regular potatoes, red cabbage, and waldorf salad. We are definately doing this again next year!

I also had a glass of white wine and half of a christmas beer (blålys) - and ended up with a nice hangover sunday morning???!?

PS3

Today, I am wondering if I made a mistake when I allowed a PS3 into my home along with Fifa12. With two boys in the house, I have a feeling I will soon be outnumbered... at least the youngest boy has only barely discovered that he has hands and still doesn't understand how to control them. 

I was promised that we will get mariocart soon though, so at least I may get to play every now and then.