For the Weekend

Birthday Images by Iphone {Wordless Wednesday}

The nightless summer nights

Dreaming about the nightless summer nights, when 

the sun rays caress the lake and the forest thoughout the night,

the bonfire sends tiny little sparks up in the air, 

the soft silence falls in the small hours of the morning as the birds go to sleep,

the serene peacefulness surrounds you ...

When you're just enjoying in this moment,

the precious nightless night.

teksture by Kim Klassen

-kristin-

Reflections and mirrors

As we came home from the swimming hall 

the rain had passed, and there were 

small pools of water everywhere. 

The pools were like small mirrors, 

reflecting the blue sky and the trees around. 

This lead me to think about how I am mirroring the ones around me - 

What does my eyes, words, behavior mirror to them? 

How do they perceive themselves throught the mirror I provide to them? 

 What kind of mirror am I?

"As the water reflects the face, 

so one's life reflects the heart."

 Proverbs 27:19

I have found a mirror 

that reflects unconditional love, hope and mercy ... 

It is to be found in our heavenly Father, 

who sees us as we are, 

loves as we are, and 

 mirrors always loving care and accept.

Reflections 

There is so much beauty in life, 

Beauty in the human soul, 

Beauty in the heart and in the mind 

Of the good man and woman. 

There is beauty in the nature,

Beauty in the sky and and in the clouds,

In the mountains and in the sea.

There is beauty in the creative work of man,

Beauy in the friendship.

And immeasurable beauty in love.

All God's blessings

 To delight us in the world.

Emmy Nielsen Reyes de Gaspar

The blog-problem seems to be solved

The issue with the strange links appearing in my blog to odd websites seems to be solved! I've also changed the security settings to a higher lever - hoping everything is ok now :-)

Banana Chocolate Bread with Orange Glace Icing

I really like "semi-sweet" cakes that have a rich but not too sweet taste. This banana-chocolate orange bread is just my kind of cake! It tastes of banana and orange, and has a mild dark chocolate flavor. The consistency is something in between cake and bread.

 I have altered Heidi Swansons original recipe: I've replaced the lemon with orange, the all-purpose flour with spelt flour, and I made the glace icing with fresh orange juice and powdered sugar.

You can freeze the banana chocolate bread, as well as the carrot pineapple muffins. If you slice the cake in before freezing, it is easy to take a couple of slices with you - I took a few slices in our lunchpacks last weekend for a little treat after swimming - Tasty!

Ingredients
1 cup (125 g) spelt flour
1 cup (140 g) whole wheat flour
3/4 cup (125 g) dark muscovado or dark brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (115 g) coarsely chopped dark chocolate
1/3 cip (80 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
2 large eggs
1½ cups (340 g) smashed, ripe bananas
1/4 cup (60 ml) plain, whole milk yogurt
1 teaspoon freshly grated organic orange zest
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

The Glace Icing:
1 tablespoon grated organic orange zest
2 tablespoons squeezed orange juice
about 1 cup powdered sugar

Instructions:

1.  Mix together the flours, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Add the chocolate pieces and mix well.
2.  In another bowl, mix the olive oil, eggs,  banana, yogurt, grated orange, and vanilla.
3.  Pour the banana mixture into the flour and mixtureand fold carefully with a spoon.
4. Pour the batter into a greased baking dish and bake about 50 minutes, or until golden brown, in 350 F degrees (180 C degrees).
5. Leave the cake to cool for about ten minutes before you undo it.

While the cake is cooling, you can prepare the glace icing. Mix the powdered sugar and the grated orange zest together, add the squeezed orange juice and stir. Spread the frosting on the cake with a spoon. You may want to put the glace icing into a frosting extruder or into a small kitchen plastic bag and cut a small hole in the corner - in this way you can decorate the cake making stripes, polka dotts etc.

Wishing you a happy and tasty weekend!

Matisse at the National Gallery

The other weekend I visited the exhibition of Matisse at the National Gallery of Denmark together with my husband. The focus of the exhibition was on the process of the famous french artist. Henri Matisse remained innovative and curious through his carrier. He tried different approaches and styles, and I found it interesting to see the development in his art -  he painted often same motives, cutting details, experimenting with light, colors, shadows ... focusing on what he saw being the essential.

I enjoyed being in the beautiful National Gallery - I loved especially the light and the high ceilings.

Knowing the curious approach of Matisse,

 I assume he wouldn't mind me 

trying to find my own version of his famous work 

"Interior in Yellow and Blue. 

I have diminished the saturation, 

laid the following textures from Kim Klassen:

 Leslie, Laura, Stampedright 1 & 2,

and brushed the fruit, the white on

the round table and 

parts of the lilac table.

The sun was setting down over the Rosenborg Castle, 

as we stood outside at the top of the stairs of the National Gallery.

Textures by Kim Klassen:

Laura

Leslie

Stampedright 1

Stampedright 2