Norwegian Meatballs

T-shirt - Game of Thrones design 'Send a Raven' by Jonito on Qwertee

Skirt - charity shop

Clogs - Torpatoffeln from Ebay

I have been meaning to post the recipes for these things for quite some time now, so here they are! I cook these meatballs and the sauce at least once a fortnight - they are absolutely delicious and my family love them!
The meatballs are easy to make and with the mixture you get 2 trayfulls so you can freeze them and use them for a quick supper, but if you want to buy meatballs from the supermarket it will save you some time. If you do choose to do this I would recommend going for the smaller Swedish meatballs (I know this kind is available in Tesco and Sainsbury's in the UK, and IKEA do great freezer packs of them too). The sauce is absolutely delicious too, and with quite a mild but distinct flavour, and perfect and filling now it will start to get colder. Again, there are some good packet mixes out there (I love the IKEA ones and have a stash of them in the cupboard!). I would recommend getting hold of some lingonberry sauce/jam to go with it, as it tastes a real treat.

Please note that none of the following recipes are my own, they are from the fantastic book Scandilicious by Signe Johansen.

My dad, the chief taster!

A quicck salad

MEATBALLS
Cook one peeled and finely chopped onion until soft. When the onion turns translucent, add 1 tbsp ground allspice, 1 level tsp ground nutmeg and 1/2 level tsp ground ginger. Leave to cool.
Pour 225g whole milk mixed with 1 tbsp yoghurt with 3 slices (c.110g) stale white bread. Leave for a few minutes until it's absorbed before adding it to the rest of the mixture. 
Mix together 500g veal mince  and 500g lamb mince (you can really use whatever mince you want, or whatever is in your price range - I can only afford it for special occasions!) with the cooked onion, 1 egg yolk and some salt and pepper. Add the milk and bread mixture and mix it all together. Form into little meatballs with your hands and you're ready to go.
The meatballs can be grilled for 10-15 minutes, or you can pop them in the oven for a similar amount of time (180°C is usually fine).


SAUCE/GRAVY
NOTE: I don't live in a big city and I have no way of getting hold of the ekte geitost mentioned in this recipe. If you're having trouble too, Signe recommends Marmite instead, mixed with a little Crème fraîche and brown sugar.

Bring 1 litre beef/veal stock to the boil and reduce by about half. Add 100ml brandy (if brandy/whiskey is out of your way, you don't have to use any) and simmer until you can't smell any more alcohol. Add  300ml Crème fraîche, 100g grated ekte geitost (Norwegian brown goat's cheese) OR a teaspoon Marmite, a teaspoon or brown sugar and a teaspoon Crème fraîche; and 2tbsp grated dark chocolate/cacao. Season to taste and simmer for a little longer. 
You can mix the meatballs in to the sauce/gravy or serve them seperately.

Bon appetit!




NEXT TIME: Cardamom and almond cake, and Arme riddere cinnamon toast.

Jess xx

Gimme Pizzaaaa!

My sister and I made an ultimate pizza, with a sourdough, spelt and rye base, pesto, passata, vegetables and cheese. The best part is that everything (apart from the cheese, base, and mushrooms) came from our allotment - even the pesto and passata were homemade! There were courgettes, tomatoes, herbs, carrots, onion, garlic, spring onion, beans and sweetcorn. It turned out absolutely great. I will definitely be making this pizza again.

 Jess xx

Scandinavian cooking

I have been doing lots of cooking recently. And by lots of cooking I mean these things here, four more cakes, pulled pork for 32 people, pickled cucmbers, cardamom buns, scrambled eggs and lots of smørrebrød. Below: spinach soup, the dough and the finished brunsviger, and smørrebrød with battered lemon sole, basil and parsley dressing and prawns. I'll post some recipes soon.

The allotment is in full bloom at present, and the evening primroses are in season. 

Finally, I haven't been dressing 1940s (again). Because of the wedding I have been a little more occupied in pin curling the hair of the bride, mother of the bride, and a couple of aunties, as well as assisting as breakfast-maker and make-up artist for my youngest sister and younger cousins. My new fringe makes life a lot easier to manage. Forgive the rather stern expressions. My colour palette has been mostly black these past two days.

Jess xx

Not so vintage

What I'm wearing:

Jeans (yes, actual jeans!) - hand-me-downs

Jumper - H&M (on sale for £3 in the children's section - the boy's clothes still fit me!)

 As you probably know quite well by now, I love to dance. Swing dancing is a particular passion of mine, and for the past couple of weeks, I have been unable to go. Why is that, may you ask? Because I may have broken my foot. It's really not as serious as it sounds - the problem is most likely a stress fracture - but it is still a bit of a pain (literally...). I haven't been having a great couple of weeks, either, but hopefully things are changing, and I am looking forward to a holiday coming up in a couple of weeks.

I have also found that I am a little more interested in mixing up my style a bit. I won't be posting wholly vintage outfits right now, because I don't feel like dressing in wholly and accurately vintage outfits. It is important to be comfortable in your own skin, and I've reached a point where I feel I need a couple of nice jumpers and the odd day when I can wear jeans and sit in the coffee shop with my crossword and a hot chocolate! I'm getting another haircut soon, and am thinking of doing something a bit wacky, so keep an eye out!

In the few weeks since I have last posted, I have finished the first series of 'Hannibal', which I thought to be absolutely astounding. I will definitely be re-watching the whole thing again soon. It introduced me to the books by Thomas Harris. 'Hannibal' was by far my favourite, and I found the final part of the novel utterly gripping. I finished the book and just sat there for about 20 minutes, not quite sure what to do with myself.

But with any good television show comes a handsome villain, and in 'Hannibal's' case, a true homme fatale in the form of Mads Mikkelsen. Thorough Mikkelsen I have become interested in Danish films, and Scandinavian culture. My current reading surrounds the Danish monarchy in the 18th century, particularly King Christian VII, his wife Caroline Mathilde, and the royal physician and Caroline's lover, Johann Friedrick Struensee. Their story is a fascinating one, and the book I am currently reading, The Lost Queen by Norah Lofts, does not quite do it justice. You should definitely watch 'A Royal Affair' (yes, Mads Mikkelsen is in it...) and read The Visit of the Royal Physician by Swedish writer Per Olov Enquist. I find it to be a very interesting story indeed.
Here's the trailer for the film, although it doesn't quite do it justice; the trailer focuses very much on the Struensee-Caroline affair, whereas the film is more inclusive of Christian and other goings-on around this remarkable period:

I have also become interested in Scandinavian cuisine, so expect some photos of some culinary attempts soon! I am still aiming to cook my way through the Hannibal series, although I am having a little trouble locating some lungs to make sausages/bourguignon...
The latest thing I have made is Janice Poon's pork loin with french beans and a cumberland sauce. Unfortunately, I served up at 10pm so the photo quality is atrocious. It was a great success, though, so I'm hoping to make it again and do it some better photographic justice!

  
 What else have I been up to? Working, something that I don't particularly like doing; drinking whiskey, something that I enjoy a lot; and eating lots of Smørrebrød.

Some other jumpers I bought today - left, from the children's section of H&M for £3, and right, from the retro charity shop Really Me, £6

I found this for a whole 55p in the charity shop and plan to make it over the course of the week. I love the Vasa and visited it two years ago - expect a nostalgic look back to Sweden soon!

Jess xx

Summer time

About 10 minutes ago, I submitted my final assessed piece for my second year at university, which means... summer's here! It also means the return of more outfit posts, and of more cooking!
First off, here's a picture of what I wore to church on Sunday. You may notice a few things that are different about me, the main one being I'VE HAD A CHANGE OF HAIR! It is now a lot shorter and very extremely black. I'm still getting to grips with styling it, but I thought a '30s bob would be good for summer, especially as there is no air conditioning where I work! Also, I realise that I look a little tired/disheveled, and red lipstick-less...

Dress: charity shop
Cardigan: this got left at our house by a friend of my sister's, so I nicked it.

Bag: vintage store. This was a present from my mam.

 This is what my hair looked like on the day of the Great Chopping-Off once it had been styled by my hairdresser:

 And a couple of days after, in the midst of essay-editing...

What else have I been up to? Well, cooking, for a start. When I say cooking, I really mean visualising doing cooking, as we have had lots of people staying at our house over the past couple of days (including two fantastic American pianists!), so I have decided to spend my time leafing through my new copy of 'Mastering the Art of French Cooking' by Julia Child, Louisette Bertholle and Simone Beck, and choosing some recipes from there. I have also focused on making my lunches healthier, tastier, and prettier. Here's what I came up with from earlier this week:

Top left: spinach and basil paste with creme fraiche and tomatoes. Top right: spinach and basil paste with cranberry sauce, walnuts and blue cheese. Bottom: Creme fraiche, spinach and basil paste, gherkins, tomatoes and sesame seeds.
What is "spinach and basil paste" I hear you ask? Well, it is a handful or two of spinach leaves, blended with a couple of sprigs of fresh basil, a glug of olive oil, salt and pepper, and a teaspoon of grainy mustard. It is the most vibrant-looking spread I've ever made!

I spent all of Saturday afternoon in great celebration from finishing the writing of my essays, and decided to do a little bit of sketching/painting/general arty-fartyness. This is the result: a mixed-media piece of Mads Mikkelsen as Dr. Hannibal Lecter:

Well, I think it's time to get out of the house and into the sunshine, so I'll leave it here for now! I'm hoping to make some Hannibal food for my next post so keep an eye out.

Jess xx

Lunch

Today's (rather extravagant) looking lunch: asparagus in mustard vinaigrette with parma ham and a poached egg. Please forgive the rather sorry-looking poached egg. This is the first egg I have ever poached in my life! I have recently started watching the NBC series of Hannibal, which stars Mads Mikkelsen and Hugh Dancy, and have fallen head over heels with the food on it. This dish is inspired, in sort, by it.

Keep your eyes peeled (literally...) for some hannibalism on the blog in the near future. I'm aiming to recreate recipes including liver, heart, loin, and anything else that comes up in the remaining episodes of the series.

Check out the trailer:

In other news, my two-week exam (which I should be doing instead of writing this blog post) is underway. I have just about a week to go, so the stress is starting to pile up. Thanks to Hannibal, I'm eating good stuff rather than junk food, although I've no nails left to bite and sore hands make painful piano practice.

Jess xx

Rations

Hullo! It has been a rather relaxing week - despite the revision and the essay deadlines - and I decided to give rationing a go. I spent a lot of time going hungry, which was not as bad as I thought it would be, and thoroughly enjoyed cooking for the week. This is the weekly ration for one adult per week.

Bacon & Ham: 4 oz
Meat: to the value of 1s6d (generally about 8-10oz, but as war went on the actual amount fluctuated)
Butter: 2 oz
Cheese: 2 oz
Margarine: 4 oz
Lard: 4 oz
Milk: 2-3 pints
Sugar: 8 oz
Preserves: 1 lb every 2 months
Tea: 2 oz
Eggs: 1 fresh egg per week (usually...)
Sweets: 12 oz every 4 weeks (if you were lucky)

These rations were subject to much change as the war went on. Offal - things such as kidney and liver - were not generally part of the meat ration and was often sold quite cheaply. Preserves could be bought, or exchanged for an extra sugar ration to make your own. The egg ration could be exchanged for chicken feed if you kept your own chickens. A child's ration was generally half of an adults, but there was extra provision in certain areas (e.g. milk)
On top of these rations there was a complicated points system, limiting a great number of things (tins of baked beans, for example), and food prices were under inflation of up to 25%.

Monday's dinner was... (drum roll, please) roast squirrel! Yes, you read correctly, I cooked a squirrel - two, in fact - and then ate it. It tastes surprisingly nice, quite a lot like chicken. I served it with the stuffing I wrote about in the last blog post, purple sprouting and beetroot leaves, and potato cakes.

Preparing the squirrel!

On Tuesday, I cooked a dinner for my grandparents, who came round to dinner with us. With the help of my trusty cookbooks in supplying a potato shortcrust pastry recipe (with some rosemary mixed in), I cooked up a liver and bacon pie, served with some cabbage. The cake wasn't a wartime creation, but rather a  gluten-free treat for my coeliac sister (and not made by me - my food is not particularly beautiful).

And to finish off this week's post, here are two photos of what I have been wearing -pretty much the same outfit every day, and a couple of bad-quality snaps of my now clean bedroom!

Jess xx