Morning walk in Bergen

Garfield! This is exactly the same cat Alex and I saw when we were in Bergen in October. He was still roaming the same street, begging for attention. Going to try and find him/her every time I am in Bergen from now on.

Take a trip to the klippoteque before you head to the discotheque. 

The idyllic lane ways

I hypothesise that this sticker was strategically stuck on a rubbish bin by a norwegian troll, so that people will throw their donuts, cheese burgers and baby back ribs in as they walk past. 

Bergen's famous Bryggen at sunrise.

This building is a restaurant, I was sure it was a museum or something a little more official.

Norwegian Music Favourites

I have been wanting to share a selection of my favourite Norwegian artists for a while. Helped largely by hanging with muso Norwegian hipsters, I have been able to taste a wide range of music made by Norwegians. I hereby present a healthy mix of pop, rock, gypsy, classical and electronic from all over Norway.

First is Fjorden Baby a  indie band who reside in Bergen. They remind me of Temper Trap and of cute indie Fremantle bands. Their new video clip is pretty awesome, and they have the word fjord in their name! How cute is the little asian guy with his dancemoves! LOVE! To see the video clip to their new song Rendezvous, click here.

Here is  Kråkesolv  which translates to Crows' Silver. They are 4 boys from Bødo, a small town up in the north of Norway, where polar bears and trolls live. I like their soulful, cosy, homemade feel. Last night some of us cool kids from school went to a concert they had in Kristiansand, it was superb! They have such a nice balance of rock, relaxed and they actually sing in Norwegian which is surprisingly rare.

Susanne Sundfør is a singer songwriter from Haugesund on the western coast of Norway. We almost drive past where she lives each time we go to visit my grandmother. Her music is a mix of classical, jazz and electronic, topped off with powerful lyrics. She played in the Kristiansand cathedral early in the autumn, it was like going into a trance. The acoustics of the cathedral, the lights, shadows, and vibrations= super concert. Although it did feel a bit wrong to have a concert with such dark, heavy music in pure and holy place. Here is one of her most popular songs "The Brothel", from of album of the same name.

Another favourite of the moment is Moving Oss, a seven piece rock band from Trondheim. Sigrunn, Ane and I went to one of their concerts in October, they look hardcore; They are covered with piercings and tattoos, but they play warm, catchy, feel good music. The lead singer studied jazz at the same school I am at. One of us is sleeping in his old room! I couldn't find a good video clip but you can listen to them on myspace http://www.myspace.com/movingoos.

And I couldn't forget Marika Lejon. The daughter of my Norwegian language teacher. She will be singing in the Norwegian semifinal of the Eurovision song contest on Saturday and my whole class is going along to support her. WHOPPA MARIKA! 

Banana Smoothie

I am a morning person. All the way through high school I would get up early, and make myself a banana smoothie. Then I would do my last drabs of homework which I hadn't had the energy to do the night before. Banana smoothies are the bomb; they're healthy, easy to make, easy to drink, filling, can be made with infinite combinations and most importantly d.e.l.i.c.i.o.u.s.

I had been craving a smoothie the last six months. I thought it was never going to happen unless I bought a blender. I reasoned to myself that buying a blender would be a bit over the top when I'm going to be living here for 8 months and I'm a student. That was until I found a blender hidden in a cupboard on the the other side of the school. It was time to be reunited with my long lost friend.

This is my favourite combination and the one I used this morning:

1 banana

100 mls of raspberry drinking yoghurt

250ml milk

1 tsp honey

pinch of cinnamon

blend :)

Working the scan function on the school photocopy machine.

Only took 5 months.

Sigrunn's Birthday Cake

What time was it? It was party time! Sigrunn turned 19 and she did it in style, with a 1 metre high yellow hand painted crown. Below are some photos from the making of the cake, the chocolate, caramel cheesecake with oreo base. Yeah baby. It was very rich, but very delicious. Happy Birthday Sigrunn!

Chocolate Caramel Cheesecake with OREO base 

Recipe adapted from Smitten Kitchen 
180°C 55 minutes

difficulty: moderately difficult

Serves 10 to 14

Ingredients

Crumb Crust
3 cups  finely ground OREOS :) about 4 packets
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt

Caramel Chocolate Cheesecake Filling

1 cup sugar
3/4 cup heavy cream
8 oz fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened), chopped
1/2 cup sour cream
3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions

Make crumb crust by stirring together crust ingredients and press onto bottom and 1 inch up side of a buttered 24-centimeter springform pan. Fill right away or chill up to 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 180°C.

Cook sugar in a dry heavy saucepan over moderately low heat, stirring slowly with a fork, until melted and pale golden. Cook caramel without stirring, swirling pan, until deep golden. Remove from heat and carefully add heavy cream (mixture will vigorously steam and caramel will harden). Cook over moderately low heat, stirring, until caramel is dissolved. Remove from heat and whisk in chocolate until smooth. Stir in sour cream.

Beat cream cheese with an electric mixer until fluffy, then beat in chocolate mixture on low speed. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time, then vanilla, beating on low speed until each ingredient is incorporated and scraping down bowl between additions.

Put springform pan with crust in a shallow baking pan. Pour filling into crust and bake in baking pan (to catch drips) in middle of oven 55 minutes, or until cake is set 3 inches from edge but center is still slightly wobbly when pan is gently shaken.

Run a knife around top edge of cake to loosen and cool completely in springform pan on a rack. (Cake will continue to set as it cools.) Chill cake, loosely covered, at least 6 hours. Remove side of pan and transfer cake to a plate. Bring to room temperature before serving.

Do ahead: Cheesecake keeps, covered and chilled, 1 week.

The Night Show

Last night we were lucky enough to be invited to a "Night Show" put on by the Jazz class. They are MEGA talented, and we were not let down. A range of styles were performed through out the evening; classical jazz, rock, the Grease theme song, Rihanna, and even some comedy sketches for good measure. Thanks for a great night Jazz! P.S The lasagne you guys made was delicious too.

Grease is the word

Silje and Kristine showing some brass love

Hårvard with relatively untangled hair, before he started head banging

Nelly in the first of many costume changes

Håkon and his bass

Ingvill wonders about.... an elephant over there?

Nelly impressed not only with her range of outfits, but also with her facial expressions.

Lars was like "Oh yeah, look at me and my guitar, I'm so pimpin".

Vilde wants you to make her feel like she's the only girl in the world.

Mors Suksessterte

This is the recipe for my favourite family cake: sukerterte. My mum makes several of them every Christmas and gives them to special people as presents. It has a chewy almond base covered with a think layer of melted chocolate and then a rich, thick custard sauce. For an even better tasting cake, blanch half the almonds and remove the skin before grinding. My Mum uses a hand grinder, but you can use a food processor. It also tastes better if made with two layers rather than one. 

Kristiansand on the finest winters day.

Åse's Lux Cacao

INGREDIENTS
100 gm good quality dark cooking chocolate
3 cups full cream milk
2 tablespoons cacao powder
100 ml whipping cream


METHOD
Warm milk, chocolate and cocoa powder on medium heat in a saucepan. Whisk almost constantly. Be careful not to overheat, I hate a skin on my hot chocolate.
Whip cream, and add a dash of vanilla sugar/ vanilla essence or rum if your feeling in the mood.


Your done! Simple as bro.


hot chocolate with real chocolate + freshly whipped cream= LKJHCNILUHVD! (AMAZING)
PS. A pinch of chilli powder is a welcome addition to this recipe.

A Sunday walk in the woods.

Ingrid and I took a walk around the lake yesterday before dinner. It was beautiful. The snow was fresh  but a bright sun and clear sky was causing it to melt fast. The layer of snow laying on the lake looked like a giant layer of melting marshmallow, while the unusually clear sky and bright sun made the trees look greener and the sky look bluer. The last photo is of our school from the other side of the lake.

My super fit aunty.

My aunt is going to WALK over Greenland in April. Most people think she is insane, including me, but we also think it's super dooper awesome. I was lucky enough to be included in her fitness routine to prepare for her 3 week trek. Her equipment will weigh approximately 60 kgs, which is the same as me, so I was packed into and pulled along in a sled as a part of her training. She will be pulling two sleds and have a backpack, will be carrying food for the whole trip, sleeping in a tent, and not showering. Although I have a feeling she will be taking her lipstick along with her ;) Luckily there are no polar bears or crocodiles on Greenland. I'm sure she will have an amazing experience.

Pedro

This is my uncles dog Pedro. Despite his size he is so sweet and adorable. He loves trips to the mountains, swimming across lakes, cuddles and leftovers, especially if they include potato peel.

Impulsive Thursday night boller baking.

Thanks Ane, for making the best cinnamon buns for us last night! So delicious with a glass of red cordial, a new comfy bed and a room full of friends.