The Summer Project

Amanda's great idea about showing unblogged summer pictures. I found some from this summer. (Most of my summer pics are already everywhere, but these (I hope) are new.)

Having dinner on the deck with friends. Isn't that a sign of summer?

Mosquito bites. If there's a mosquito in the vicinity, it WILL bite me. That's a fact. Or, it's simply my punishment for wearing a tank top. At least I wore long pants that day.

Isn't this just a lovely picture of Miles?

I'm gonna be better at this.

I will be better at posting things here. I just haven't decided if I'm gonna keep mixing my regular life-stuff with the food stuff, or if I'm gonna turn this blog into a food blog only, or I might start a food blog in Swedish instead. Haven't made my mind up yet.

Opinions?

I'm not sure the food I cook is something my English speaking friends would want to cook. There is a difference between the regular Swedish cuisine and the American one. But my New Year's resolution for this year (at least for spring) is to cook at least one new recipe every week. It's funny that Amanda also thought of that. Seems like getting cookbooks for Christmas makes one consider that. My new favorite food blog is Joy the Baker. (Found on Amanda's Love These-list.) I wanna do something similar. Do yo think I'll manage? I could be Emma the Pancake maker. 'Cause I love pancakes. And we eat them for breakfast. And lunch. And dinner. And I have a ton of different recipes.

5 Minute Chocolate Cake

This one is too good not to do. Found it on the Internet, it's part of a competition. http://hemmakonditor.se/recept/visa-recept/5-min-chokladmuffins-i-mugg

5 minute chocolate cake in a cup

4 tablespoons wheat flour

4 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoons vanilla sugar

3 tablespoons milk

3 tablespoons oil

1 egg

Mix the dry ingredients in a LARGE cup (I used a 2 cups large tea cup and that was just enough). Add the rest and stir smooth.

Put in the microwave for 3 minutes, on highest power. Let it rest for 2 minutes.

Eat.

It's so simple and the cake really is like a regular cake made in the oven. A very smooth and a bit spongy.

I was gonna cut down my sugar intake, but I need sugar to study, so....

Easy Home Made Chocolate Sauce

Take equal amounts of sugar, cocoa powder (unsweetened) and water. Stir well so everything is mixed. Then, either heat it on the stove until it thickens or put it in the microwave for about 45 seconds. If you microwave it, it might look burned and strange when you take it out, don't worry. Stir and it will look fine. Caution, this sauce gets REALLY hot, so keep away from kids.

It really goes with everything, fruit (oranges, raspberries, strawberries), ice cream (of course), pancakes, on top of a chocolate cake as frosting (though, it never sets, it stays saucy).

I like to think that this is somewhat a healthy chocolate sauce since it doesn't have any cream in it. But I guess that's debatable..

Training

So, I'm doing this TwoHundredSitups and this OneHundredPushUps. Let's see if I can make it through all six weeks. I have to be stronger, so I really hope I can force myself to keep up with it!

Macaroni and Cheese

Does anyone have a good recipe for mac and cheese to share? I've never done it before, so it has to be simple (and preferably cheap as well)

Omelets

I'm in an omelet phase. Been making omelets for lunch many times the past week. Omelet with ham, ruccola salad and cheese, omelet with turkey and baby spinach, omelet with Feta cheese and spinach... Well, you get the point.

I usually take two eggs/person, some milk or yoghurt (about 2 tablespoons), salt, black pepper/Tabasco and preferred topping. Easy.

I got Clancy's egg recipe, haven't tried it yet, but it sounds delicious!

Micro Egg. This is a cool thing I found a while ago. I haven't tried it yet (dunno why), but if it works it's great. It's a plastic cup with a lid that lets you cook eggs in the microwave without risking the explosion part.