Brente mandler ( Burnt sugar almonds )

Here is a recipe for a quick and easy Christmas treat that is very popular in Norway - Brente mandler. Also known as garrapinyades, caramelised almonds, or burnt sugar almonds.

250 g almonds
100 g sugar
1dl water

- Cook everything together on medium heat. Best to use a cast iron pot, and wooden spoon.

- At first the water will bubble, then the sugar will crystallise, stir continually till the sugar melt again.

- Remove from heat, and spread the caramelised almonds on a sheet of baking paper, use two forks to separate them.

- Wait till they are cooled down, before storing  in an airtight container.

Brente mandler. Caramelised almonds.

Red currant cordial, version 2016

Always sterilise bottles/utensils before use.

One of my Christmas tradition is straining the cordial, tasting and deciding whether or not it is better than last years...

This year I followed a tip from a seller at our local vinmonopolet ( Government owned wine and spirits shops, the only place you can buy alcoholic beverages in Norway that are above 4,75%). She suggested using brown sugar to add a slight 'nutty' taste to the cordial. See post here: http://roland-designs.blogspot.no/2016/08/of-berries-and-herbs.html

The cordial has now been sitting in the back of the food cupboard for about four months, and it's time to strain it and see how it turned out.

One year I had made it way, way to sweet so this time I had only used 200g of sugar for a liter of alcohol and a kilo of berries.

The colour is nice, the taste is a slight 'tart-berry' taste. I think I will do the same next year, but maybe add a little more sugar to achieve a bit more of a 'sweet' taste, but not too much either as I don't want to make syrup again.

The berries are perfect to use on ice-cream, or in baking.... 

So, here is the 2016 cordial.

Rare, antique birthday greeting cross stitch work.

I was very pleased to find this amazing piece of needlework at an online auction, the quality of the work is amazing and stitched by a very skilled hand.

The piece is dated April 25^th, 1896 and dedicated to ‘Dear Rose’.

I presume it was presented to Rose as a birthday gift, and worked by her friend Louie.

The stitches are neatly worked in silk, on very fine cotton fabric. Sadly the lighter colour is so faded that it is almost impossible to see what is written without holding up to the light. When I purchased the embroidery there was a another piece with it, worked in the same delicate stitches, but this time with a thread that had run leaving the finished piece slightly stained pink - probably due to someone at one point having tried to wash it. 

A birthday greeting

To dear Rose

If words could all my wishes say

Oh how my tongue would talk away

I wish this day and many more

May on my dear Friend blessings pour

In truth I wish that thou hadst all

The happiness that could befall

…………………..

Whatever friends surround thee

No matter what my lot

No friend shall come between us

And make thy name forgot

''Many happy returns''

With love from Louie

April 25^th, 1896

Cross stitch over two threads

The match give you an idea of the scale of the tiny stitches

Held up to the light you are able to read the embroidered poem.

Two stitches pieces, probably worked by the same person.

Detail of the second piece, also stitches in near miniature cross stitches.

Baby sweater from vintage pattern.

I would like to share with you some photos that were sent to me by  Theresa (a clever knitter from Ireland)  of her knitting project taken from  a vintage pattern I had talked about in an older blog post.

I had volunteered to scan the pattern, but the booklet is in  such sad condition that I decided instead to take photos of it. Theresa quickly knitted up the little baby sweater and sent me some photos of the finished project. It is really cute, but judging from the the fact that it is placed on an A4 paper I presume it must be really tiny. 

Here is the description in her own words:

 '' Hi Virginie - so here it is!  I added a few extra rows to each side of the garment from 15 rows to 18 rows as I thought it originally looked very small.  In fact, I would say that the finished garment would realistically only fit a baby up to 2 months. I grafted together (using the 3 needle bind-off) the 2 front & back pieces so I only had to sew the sides & sleeves.''

Vintage 'Brassière pour bébé', knitted by Theresa

ETSY team captain summit 2016

Last weekend I had the honor of representing Norwegian  ETSY sellers at the European  ETSY team captain summit in Paris.

The trip from Oslo to Paris was rather uneventful, clear skies, a good book to read and before I knew it I was at the Charles De Gaulle airport.There I met up with another team captain who arrived around the same time, and I’m very happy I did as not only am I terrible with directions but that particular airport is huge and having lived many years in a small Norwegian town I’m just not use to navigating within large international airports. She knew the place well, and soon we were in a train on our way to Paris. 

Then the Parisian thing happened, the train stopped underground and stayed there for over an hour while we sat and waited with no phone or internet connection hopping that the angry passenger behind us would calm down and find something to occupy his mind, other than harassing the poor conductor.

Eventually the train started again, and we never found out what had caused the delay. Everyone just said ‘Oh, that’s just Paris for you !’. Once again, I am happy to live in a small town !

When we arrived at the hotel we delighter to see it had been completely taken over by ETSY, we were greeted to ETSY captain summit banners, ETSY orange cushions, décor, and even ETSY coffee mugs in the lobby near the coffee machine. I went up to my room and found a tote bag, pen, notebook, a name tag and mug all in ETSY orange. Branding is important, small details not only set the mood but also act as ice-breakers and conversation starters.

The venue chosen for the summit was a charming old building, bright, spacious and fully customized with ETSY themed banners and details. 

ETSY Captain summit 2016

The two days summit was divided as such:

Saturday the 5^th of October was an all day conference, while Sunday the 6^th was dedicated to workshops. 

The conference began with a reminder of ETSY’s mission and values. There are more and more online marketplaces opening up each year to tap into the popular ‘handmade’ concept, but what makes ETSY different is their well-defined values that are the deciding factor in any changes, or upgrade they make.

See a small video here: https://vimeo.com/129150033

Read more here: https://www.etsy.com/no-en/about

We were 40 lady captains from 13 different European countries and ETSY admins from offices in Brooklyn, London, Berlin, Toronto, Dublin and Paris. This gave us a well-rounded selection  of expertise, and we learned a lot of new and interesting things such as how ETSY now uses several shades of orange in their branding.

As you can imagine there was a lot of questions related to the impact of Brexit, and the looming new online sale VAT ( similar to the digital sale VAT ). I personally do not understand all the details involved, but it is safe to say that there are experts working specifically to ensure that European ETSY sellers have the tools and resources needed to keep selling on the etsy platform, and  lobbying the case and needs of small entrepreneurs within Europe.

A summit for me is always an equal amount of instructions and inspiration. ETSY teams are very different, many are city based while others like our own Made In Norway cover a large geographical area which defines and limits a bit the choice of activities or form of communication. 

Two stories which really touched me were about the team fundraising efforts the Greek, and Italian teams had organized. 

In Italy ETSY sellers donated 298 items, and raised over 2400 EUs for the August 2016 earthquakes victims. http://italiahandmade.blogspot.no/2016/08/solidarity-with-italy-earthquake-victims.html

The ETSY Greek street team sellers also donated items, which they sold and gave the proceeds toward helping the refugees through Medecin Du Monde. http://etsygreekstreetteam.blogspot.no/2015/09/egst-for-good.html

Italy, Uk, Lithuania, Norway and France

Waffles

Here is a simple, and  fail proof waffle recipe I've  been using for years.

You'll noticed there is no sugar in the recipe which makes the waffles perfect for both sweet or savoury fillings.... also, not having sugar makes them not stick, or burn in the waffle iron. Beside, I always feel that children ( and adults alike ) often add way more jam or sugar  then is necessary, so there is little need to put sugar in the batter too.


. 2 1/2 cups flour
. 1 1/2 tablespoons baking powder
. a pinch of salt
. 2 1/2 cups milk
. 1/2 cup oil
. 3 beaten eggs

Mix all ingredients together, but leave it a little lumpy. Cover and let sit for a while before using... no need to add oil to the waffle iron, since there is already oil in the batter.

If you need more, just double the recipe.

Enjoy !

Rosaline is very proud of herself, making waffles for the family all by herself.

Eggless apple cake

Here is a quick and easy cake recipe that you can whip up in no time, with ingredients you probably already have in your fridge. 

If you want a smaller cake, just use half of the ingredients.

-          150 g melted butter

-          4 cups flour ( 10dl )

-          2 cups sugar ( 5 dl )

-          1 ts baking soda

-          5 dl kefir

-          2 ½ dl milk

-          4-5 apples, chopped and mixed with a little sugar and cinnamon.

- Mix all ingredient, except the apples

- Line an averaged sized oven tray with baking paper, and pour batter into it.

- Top off with the apples.

- Bake in a 200 degrees oven for about 25 mn. Use the toothpick test to check if the cake is finished.
- Let it cool, and sprinkle with a little sugar if you want.

- Serve with vanilla ice-cream.

Eggless apple cake