Potato Sandwich (Smørrebrød)

Potato sandwich is a typical Danish smørrebrød - a slice of rye bread with topping.

One day in the beginning of our marriage, I was wondering if cheese, ham, humus and other sandwich fillings all ready were finished, because my husband made ​​sandwiches out of yesterday's boiled potatoes!

He cut the cold, boiled potato into slices, placed them on the slice of dark bread, squeezed some of the mayonnaise over the potatoes, and decorated the potato sandwich with watercress and onion slices.

But as I tasted the bread, I was lo longer wondering ... it tasted really good!

 

 

I met a friend of mine in the afternoon in a cafe by the lake Sortedam-lake in downtown. We sat outside in the sunshine, chatting and admiring the swans on the lake.

The wind was getting stronger, so we decided to go indoors, where we ordered the Potato Sandwich of the House (Husets Kartoffel-Smørrebrød). Potato sandwich is so large that we asked for two sets of utensils, and cut the bread in half. Radish, potato, onion and rye bread tasted good - together with the mayonnaise, that underlined the taste in a nice way.

Potato sandwich

Ingredients:

1 slice rye bread

some margarine or butter to smear a thin lace on the bread

3 boiled potatoes, sliced ​​(cold)

3 small radishes, sliced

half a red onion, lightly chopped

3 cherry tomatoes, halved

slightly crispy salad (frisee / iceberg.)

chives

mayonnaise, salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. Smear a slice of rye bread with margarine or butter.

2. Put a leave of salad on the bread.

3. Coat the bread with potato slices, so that the bread slice is totally covered. 

4. Squeeze or spoon some mayonnaise on the potatoes.

5. Arrange the cherry tomato halves on top of the mayonnaise.

6. Sprinkle the onion, leek and radish on bread, together with a pinch of salt and pepper.

Potato-sandwich is easy to make, and you get to use the potato leftovers from the day before. You can decorate the potato-sandwich with anything you've got in the fridge. You can variate the taste with fresh herbs and various pickles.

Potato sandwich is an excellent pack-lunch, together with a salad or some vegetables.

The sun was setting down, as we said goodbye.

Seagulls were screaming above the lake as I jumped on a bike,

and biked home with a tailwind at my back.

Blueberry Pie with Almonds and Rye

This summer I've been inspired to use finely ground almonds to my pie crusts. Almond gives a delicate, nutty flavor to the pie crust, both to berry-, apple- and plum pies.


 Blueberry Pie with Almonds and Rye  (1 large pie or 4 small pies)

Ingredients:

Pie crust:
1.5 dl plain wheat flour (0,6 cup US)
1 dl almond flour (0,4 cup US) (you get that by grinding about 0,3 cup almonds in a coffee mill)
1 dl rye flour (0,4 cup US)
½ dl sugar (0,2 cup US)
1 teaspoon baking powder
100 gr of room temperature butter or margarine (4 oz)
2 to 3 tablespoons cold water

 Filling:
2 dl thick yoghurt (e.g., Turkish) or sour cream (0,8 cup US)
1 egg
½ cup sugar (0,2 cup US)
1 teaspoon vanilla sugar
4 dl blueberries (1,6 cup US)

Instructions:
1. Mix the dry ingredients  in a bowl (wheat-, rye- and almond flour, baking powder and sugar).
2. Mix the room temperatured butter / margarine to the flour with yor fingers, until the dough is crumbly.
3. Add 2 tablespoons of cold water, and form the dough into a ball.
4. Press the dough gently against the bottom and the sides of the pie pan.
5. Pre-bake the pie crust for about 10 minutes at 180C / 350 F degrees.

6. Mix the egg, sugar, vanilla and yogurt in a bowl.
7. Pour the yogurt mixture over the pre-baked pie.
8. Pour the blueberries on the top of the yogurt mixture.
8. Bake for about 20-25 minutes at 180C / 350F degrees.

 



Almonds lift your pie to a deluxe-class!

 

Almonds not only give a delicate flavor,

but also contain healthy & nutricious mono-unsaturated fats,

anti-oxidants, dietary fiber, vitamins and minerals.
 

 

PS: I was just listening KTLF'n radio in the kitchen,
 they played this really nice and encouraging song
- Sara Groves' It's Going to Be All Right:

 

 

This weekend ...

... I was delighted when I discovered 

my favorite home making magazine from Finland 

on the bottom of the mailbox!

... We were celebrating my nephew-in-law's 18th birthday.

When I first met him, he was a cute and smiling 6 months old baby.

Now he's become a tall and handsome young man.

It was nice to spend time together with our family, and enjoy a delicious dinner.

... I cooked tofu for the first time -

 a Bell pepper & tofu omelette.

It makes a very tasty lunch!

I'll write the recipe on my blog next week.

... When we were swimming in the swimming hall,

the boys and I saw jet aircrafts through the glass ceiling, 

 flying in different formations.

It must have been a training day in the Air Force?

... I sat for 75 minutes in the car at the downtown traffic chaos

- on a Sunday afternoon?!

That's very unusual.

I guess we'll find out the reason for why so many roads were close

when watching the News in the evening. 

- I couldn't turn to the right nor to the left,

and I ended up to the road to Roskilde!

Well, as this weekend is coming to an end,

I'm cooking an Italian Countryside Soup - 

Our boys wish to have it for dinner ;-)

I think I'll light some candles,

and enjoy this serene Sunday evening.

I hope you have a great week!

The Morning Dew

Copenhagen Arts and Crafts Market

Our Lady Chruch

This weekend there was the yearly Arts and Crafts Market at Frue Square. Frue Square is situated between the Copenhagen Cathedral (Our Lady Chruch), and the old University of Copenhagen. This area is also called the Latin Quarter, because it has been the center for higher education in Copenhagen since the Middle Ages. This area had also a major political, religious and cultural significance. In the University gardens resides the oldest building of Copenhagen.

I met up with a friend in the  Paludan book-cafeteria last Friday afternoon. When we were studying, we spent many afternoons reading and discussing in this cafe ... many cozy & nostalgic memories! We were catching up and had some mint-ice tea, before we went to the market.

The Old University of Copenhagen 

The Arts and Crafts market at Frue Square is Denmark's largest craft event this year. There's 144 artisans - textiles, ceramics, glass, jewelery among others. You can find all participants here.

We walked slowly from one booth to another, admiring the beautiful and creative crafts.

There's something delicate and austere over this Sea Snake. Lisbeth Skytte Christiansen.

Esther Elisabeth Pedersen

My friend found a beautiful bowl, she's gonna give as a birthday present.

Ceramic pearls.

Felted wool.

This goblet was standing on the church steps behind the booth.

The symbolism of the text made me speechless:

"I can

walk

- I think so. "

During the spring, the stormy wind blew in our lives, and at times I felt like a

a crippled Barn Swallow, who is unable to fly

or

 a blind, wandering in the dark.

The storm is about to cease, but every now and then there's a few whitecap high waves at the horizon.

I have seen that

when I am coming to a halt, He supports

when my wings are broken, He carries me

when I can not see, He will guide.

 

By Lone Borgen

Lille Dansk Format

Malene Møller-Hansen

It was late in the afternoon as we sat down and enjoyed a mango sorbet.

We were talking about making 

the Copenhagen Arts and Crafts Market 

as our "late-summer get-to-gether"-tradition.

It is great that we still have creative artisans 

who create and produce 

their art in our country -

  "Made in Denmark".

Buttermilk-Blueberry Scones with Lemon Glaze

I was inspired to bake these delicious Buttermilk-Blueberry Scones by Dawn from  Words of Deliciousness. You'll find the recipe from her blog.

It's the first time I've ever combined blueberries with lemon. They go very well together, the freshness of lemon gives a nice edge to the sweetness of blueberries.

My family loved these scones, and so did our neighbors... Our staircase was filled with the delicious  scent from the scones!

What do you like to bake with blueberries? 

Right now we have the season for blueberries here in Denmark

 - It would be nice if you would share your favorite blueberry recipe with me!

The Digital Generation

This picture is made by my son with Blender-software.

Today's children and young people are born into the digital era.
Babys babbling and crying is transmitted from the pram to the parents by a Baby monitor.
iPad will read bedtime stories and  entertain the children in doctor's waiting room.
Childrens homework is downloaded from the school website.
Notes are written with a laptop or a tablet.

Technology is a good aid - also for learning.
A pre-school class, in a school in the area where I work as a school psychologist,
received iPads last Easter.
At the beginning of the summer holidays
every pre-schooler in that class had learned to read.

This raises a question
- Is there a link between the use of an iPad and the process of learning to read
(is there any correlation to be found?)

Unfortunately, the process was not measured or documented in a way,
that one could draw any conclusions.
There was no systematical measurement of the level of children's reading abilities before or after receiving the iPads, neither any peer group-measurements.
It would have been interesting if the process of using the iPads had been documented.

This week all the pupils in the elementary schools in this municipality
have received iPads.
Teachers received their iPads before the summer holidays, in order to learn to use them
and to know how to guide the students -
as well as to plan how to use iPads in education.

iPad is a great device for pupils with dyslexia - iPad can read the text aloud,
as well as help you in writing.
iPad can give visual aid and structure the homework for pupils
who have learning disabilities or who struggle with attention deficits.

However, we've come across of a few drawbacks as well:

- Students, who have no wireless internet connection at home,
can't use iPads for the homework exercises.
They can only use their iPads during school hours or on school grounds.

- Students whose parents are not familiar with digital technology,
are dependent on the help of teachers and friends.

... and during the breaks the internet connection of the school gets slow,
when a the students are Twitting or on the Facebook!
--> Just joking - the most kids are still playing baseball, football etc.

iPad is a learning tool, therefore it is the teachers responsibility to set
guidelines for how, when, and how to use iPads.

I am really looking forward to follow the iPad process,
and I'll be posting more about our experiences.

This fall "a digital senior high school" - a  senior high school with digital teaching material only -
has started in Copenhagen.
That means that it is a bookless / a paperless senior high.

I need to say that I'm a bit curious,
and maybe also a bit of concerned:
How does a continuous use of electronic learning devices 
does affect the development of the nervous system of children and youth?

The students sit in front of a laptop screen all day long at the lectures
zapping from lecture notes to Twitter, Facebook,
YouTube, news, and back to the lecture notes.

What is the effect of the continuous stimulation on the developing neurological system,
and on the ability to focus - and on ability to tolerate the absence of the constant stimuli,
where our senses receive little and weak influences?

Time will tell.
Maybe the Digital Generation will become experts in multitasking?
Perhaps there will arise a anti-digi-hippie movement in some 10-20 years?
Who knows?

Well - We've got a digital generation at home.
Our junior is into digital-picture & filmmaking software.
He's been using a Blender software to make the video in the end of this post.
He had a trial version of a CINEMA 4 D - the trial period has just ended.

Before he downloaded it a couple of months ago I told him,
that if the CINEMA 4D is an easy-to-use softeware,
he could maybe wish to get it for his birthday.
He learned quite fast to use the program, and we looked with curiosity where we could purchase it.

I was surprised to see how expensive the software was: from GBP 780 to GBP 3360!
(... So he's more likely gonna get s biggy bank for his birthday :)
I found out that CINEMA 4 D is a professional software used to make and edit films and other 4D programs!

... In conclusion, 

one of the strengths of the Digital Generation 

seems to be their 

self-learning skills! 

Chocolate rye muffins

These chocolate muffins are delicious and tasty, and the best of all - There is a little touch of rye flour and rue flakes, that gives them a bit chunchy consistence and a nice flavor!

We use a lot of rye flour and spelt flour in Scandinavia. If you're interested in reading a bit more of the way we use them, here's a link to Chad Robertsons article Baker in the Rye in Foodarts (April 2012), where he describes his culinary excursion Scandinavia and Eastern-Europe.

I have done some changes to the original recipe, which can be found in Alt for Damerne-magazine (2 august 2012). I found the original muffins a bit heavy and dry, so I replaced a half of the rye flour mix with spelt flour, and added some sugar and margarine / butter ... with these changes the chocolate rye muffins turned out as luscious and tasty, with a touch of rye-taste!

Rye chocolate muffins are not too sweet, making them a perfect sidedish for a packed lunch or a picnic, or just a healthy semi-sweet bite to an afternoon tea or a  coffee break.

You will get about 15-18 muffins.

Ingredients: 

25 gr of yeast

½ liter of lukewarm water

200 gr  ryebread mix (consists of coarse- and fine rye flour & rye flakes)

200 gr of fine spelt flour

125 gr durum wheat flour 

150 g of dark chocolate

1 dl sugar

100 g butter or margarine

Instructions:

• Dissolve the yeast in lukewarm water.

• Stir sugar, rye flour blend, spelled flour and durum wheat in water. Stir well, I've used at mixer for a few minutes.

• Add the melted margarine / butter, mix well.

• Finally, add the chocolate pieces and mix them carefully into the dough.

The dough is thick, somewhat like a porridge in consistence.

• Spoon the dought to a muffin mold.  
• Let the muffins rise about 50 minutes, covered with a cloth.

• Bake the rye chocolate muffins at 200 degrees for about 15 - 20 minutes. 
• Let them cool down before serving them.

These chocolate rye muffins can be stored in an airtight container for a few days. You can also freeze them.

... I hope you enjoy baking and serving

these Chocolate rye muffins!

Camping

The weather is going to be warm and sunny this weekend.

We're packing our car and heading towards Møn Island.

The Island of Møn is situated in south-eastern Denmark.

Møn has a beautiful landscape with sandy beaches, and 

- a quiet, cozy camping by the sea.

It's warm on the beach, the soft sea breeze is caressing our skin.

The boys are swimming, skimboarding and playing in the sea for several hours.

There's many prints in the sand - each telling their own story.

I admire the beauty and the harmony of creation!

Early in the morning I'm walking to the beach, while the others still are asleeping.

I'm watching the first rays of the rising sun arising from the horizon.

"Let us experience every morning the fullness of your love,

so that we daily can experience joy and gladness. "

 Psalm 90:14

(my free translation from the Danish language)

Driving over the Bridge of Møn.

It's quiet in the car, everybody's asleep.

I'm driving home, feeling rested and blessed.