Phuthu Stay Phut, Don't go!

Yup, we donned our oven mitts yesterday and made chocolate biscuits and a Christmas cake just to get into the holiday spirit. The batters had us swooning and sniffing and on the odd occasion we accidentally found ourselves sampling the biscuit dough in large quantities. Ooops.

I’m glad that I’m not the only one who doesn’t always get down to measure at the meniscus or weigh to the exact gram – there was a lot of  ” mmm, yup, that looks like 125ml” or “I’m sure that’s about half”.

Risky Baking -  That’s what we did.

Kerry stirred and Katrine whisked.

And when we weren’t sure what to do, we read the recipe again. and again.

And when we realised we didn’t have a roller to flatten our biscuit dough, we improvised…not before knocking back the contents of the bottle though.

It was only a 100mls which means we were well under the limit for drinking and baking.

And in the interests of health and safety, I washed my hands 3 times before launching into this task… just in case you were thinking..

I made MammaZet pose for this pic. She looks so content and peaceful with this mixer don’t you think? Like she’s baked her whole  life.

And then we sent the baked goods to hair and make-up (as MammaZet would say)  and they came back looking like this.

Zee Cake…

Zee Cookies…

Zee end…

To get everyone into a ‘Christmassy mood’ early I thought I’d post some photos from my last Christmas at home with my family in Norway. To me there is nothing like a White Christmas! Think lots of good food and cakes, and lots of hot chocolate and gluwein in front of the fireplace – in a cosy cottage in the mountains… Bliss!

Here’s our cottage which my dad built in the Oppdal mountains.
As you can see, we tend to get snowed in, in winter!

We don’t only decorate inside the house for Christmas… there is a nissemann (Christmas gnome) which greets you at the entrance as well as fragrant juniper twigs – we collect some from the forest every year and fill our houses with them, the smell is to us associated with Christmas.

Christmas Eve – the family table in the cottage is set for dinner and the Christmas tree went up the previous night. In Norway we celebrate Christmas on the 24th and open our presents after dinner.

Most households follow the tradition of baking at least 7 different types of Christmas cookies each year, and gingerbread in any shapes and sizes is always a must! Some people, like my dad, take it to the next level with a gingerbread house… complete with a mini-tree with lights!

As you can see we were blessed with a very White Christmas last year! Heavy snowfalls made sure most people stayed inside in front of the fireplace throughout Christmas – only venturing outside for a couple of hours a day to shuffle snow, go for a walk and get some fresh air (and walk of all that delicious food…) or make lots of snowmen.

A farm close to my family’s house outside Trondheim – Norway’s third biggest city. Mid-winter we only have a few hours of daylight, and it’s that low, warm, beautiful light you don’t experience anywhere else in the world… very special!

… another farm basking in the wintersun!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

By Katrine