Tag: discover

pickled cucumber
food, health, home

DIY Pickled Cucumber Salad -Agurksalat Recipe

Forestwood

I love to try Nordic cooking and dishes. My connection with my Danish family feels a little stronger when I make something peculiarly Danish.


The bonus comes when the dish is healthy AND tasty.


Cucumbers are a humble yet versatile vegetable that hold an important place in salads and summer dishes.

Pickled cucumbers extend the life of salad vegetables, so we can enjoy them for longer. For those of us living in a warmer part of the world, cucumbers are an everyday part of life.

Nutritional Benefits of Cucumber



In just a single cup of cucumber slices, you’ll get 14% to 19% of the vitamin K you need for the day. In addition, you will find vitamins B and C along with minerals like copper, phosphorus, potassium, and magnesium.

Web.MD

Danish Cucumber Salad


This really quick and simple form of cucumber salad, (or in Danish, ‘Agurksalat’), that can extend the life of your salad vegetables and impart another flavour to your meals.


Tart and scrumptious with a tuna or smoked salmon sandwich, or with cold meats, this form of cucumber salad will keep in the fridge for days.

If you run out, you can reuse the liquid and top up with another cucumber or two before you dispose of it.

Recipe

Ingredients

  • 1- 2 thinly sliced cucumbers (I use Lebanese)
  • 1/2 cup white vinegar
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • ground pepper
  • Rosemary or Dill
  1. Thinly slice cucumbers. Peel them if you prefer or have an issue with digesting vegetable skins.
  2. Place in a bowl and sprinkle with a generous amount of salt. Set aside for an hour then drain off the liquid, or pat dry with a paper towel.
  3. Place the sliced and drained cucumbers in a glass jar. Use a glass jar due to the vinegar. (2 cups is a good starting amount, but you can use up to 2 full cucumbers for the amount of vinegar and sugar.) Add more if you are using large cucumbers but equal quantities of vinegar and sugar.
  4. Place the vinegar and sugar in a pan. Heat until sugar is dissolved. I throw mine in the microwave for a minute. (Feel free to add a couple of tablespoons of water if you feel that the vinegar is too strong.)
  5. Pour the vinegar and sugar over the cucumbers. Add pepper to taste. (Black pepper is fine, but white is less noticeable.)
  6. Place a sprig of dill or rosemary in the jar (optional) and chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour before serving.

NB. As you finish the cucumbers, you can slice some more and continue to use the liquid for some time.

Whilst everyone has their own individual recipe, there are many similar versions

A Home by the Sea


food

Polish Food – Bigos

Forestwood

Do you live in the southern half of the world? If so, I am thinking you might be preparing for the onslaught of cooler weather. During our short winter season, I recreated a taste that I had brought back home with me, when I returned from Poland: the Polish national dish, called “Bigos.”

Polish food
Bigos

Bigos is a meal based on the Polish sausage, Kielbasa, but any kind of cooked sausage works well if you make your own version. It might be nice to try Chorizo sausage, but I actually used Bratwurst, as that is what I had to hand. It is still a traditional Bigos no matter what meal you use, as Wikipedia states:

“The variety of meats is considered essential for good bigos; its preparation may be a good occasion to clean out one’s freezer and use up leftovers from other meat dishes.”

Making Bigos is a great use of leftovers, especially sausage and cabbage, because unless you like curried sausages, which my other half most decidedly doesn’t, you aren’t left with too many other options with using up leftover bratwurst.

But Bigos IS an option you do have. And what’s more, it’s a very forgiving dish. Being a traditional dish of not only Poland, but also Belarus and Lithuania, it is said that there are as many recipes for Bigos, as there are cooks in Poland!

Traditionally, Bigos would be served at large family gatherings, like Christmas or Easter, but centuries ago, it was more common to cook Bigos in a simply pot over a camp fire, whilst out, “hunting,” hence the term, “Hunter’s Stew.”

Wikipedia

Like many stews or casseroles, it’s flavour improves with subsequent reheating and refrigeration. One can vary the amount of sauerkraut/fresh cabbage and meat ratios used and thicken it with several ingredients such as flour, crumbled rye bread, or even grated raw potato.

In Silesian Poland, they add a potato dumpling to thicken the stew prior to serving.

This very forgiving flexible, hearty dish is just the ticket for an upcoming cool Autumn/Winter night. It could also be easily made in the slow cooker, ready and waiting for when one arrives home from work, in the evening!

Originally, this recipe came from Allrecipes.com, but I have varied it a great deal and so have reproduced it here.

Polish Bigos Recipe

Ingredients

  • 2 thick slices hickory-smoked bacon
  • 1 large cooked bratwurst, kielbasa other Polish sausage, sliced
  • 250g cubed pork/ham
  • 1-2 cloves garlic, diced
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 2 sticks celery, sliced
  • 2 carrots, diced  or other hard vegetables
  • 1 cups sliced fresh mushrooms
  • 2 cups thinly sliced cabbage – any variety is fine
  • 250g sauerkraut, rinsed and well drained
  • 1/4 cup (60ml) dry red wine- I didn’t have any so I left this out
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 teaspoon dried basil
  • 1 teaspoon dried marjoram
  • 2 teaspoon paprika
  • salt and pepper
  • 1 pinch caraway seed, crushed
  • 1 pinch cayenne pepper
  • 50g mushrooms,  diced
  • 1 dash hot chilli sauce (optional)
  • 1 dash Worcestershire sauce
  • 2 cups beef/chicken stock
  • 1 tablespoons tinned tomato paste
  • 2/3 cup tinned diced tomatoes

Method

  1.  Add the bacon and kielbasa/bratwurst sausage to a large saucepan on medium heat. Cook and stir until the bacon, sausage, pork or ham is lightly browned.
  2. Add the garlic, onion, celery, and saute for several minutes.
  3. Add carrots, mushrooms, cabbage and sauerkraut. Reduce heat to medium, then cook and stir until the carrots are soft; about 10 minutes. Do not let the vegetables brown.
  4. Add the red wine and heat, stirring to loosen all of the bits that are stuck to the bottom. I used a little stock as I had no wine!
  5. Season with the bay leaf, the herbs, paprika, salt, pepper, caraway seeds and cayenne pepper; cook for 1 minute.
  6. Mix in the mushrooms, chili sauce if you wish, Worcestershire sauce, remaining chicken or beef stock, tomato paste and tomatoes. Heat through just until boiling. Cover with a lid.
  7. Simmer on the stove for 1 1/2 hours or Bake in the preheated oven for 2 1/2 to 3 hours or on low/auto in a slow cooker.
  8. I omitted the use of flour, but if the Bigos has not condensed down to the consistency of a casserole, add 1 -2 tablespoon of cornflour mixed in a little cold water and mix in. Cook for 5- 10 minutes till thickened.
A Home by the Sea
sunrise morning
blogging, health, home, writing

Parenting Mistakes

Forestwood
sunglasses on a rock

Snow wrote something thought-provoking about parenting children. She wondered how much upbringing and certain experiences, or lack thereof, influence the adult a child becomes.

Conscientious parents are always concerned about impacts of parenting styles and the way we raise our children. I was. The old question of what makes an adult behave the way they do? Nature or nurture? Is it environment that shapes a child more or nature, or a blend of both?

Is there even such a thing as a perfect parent? Many expect that of ourselves and aspire to be just that – a perfect parent. Some fantasy that is unattainable.

What Kind of Parent are You?

Children begin by loving their parents; as they grow older they judge them; sometimes they forgive them.” ~Oscar Wilde

I wanted to be a good parent and read all kinds of parenting books and tips during my pregnancies, but children don’t always fit the model the book writes about, do they?

Children are as individual as there are grains of sand on the beach. Often-times, you have to make up the rules on the hop. There’s no time to analyse what is best, especially when you are dealing with more than one child, sibling rivalries, nappies, meals, and other family commitments.

I wasn’t a perfect parent and I don’t know anyone that was. Most parents have good intentions, most do their best they can at that given moment. There is no guidebook and every child is an individual.

For many years, I looked up to a neighbour who seemed to manage four small children without any kind of drama. Her life was perfect and her children were perfect. One evening, I was outside in my backyard. When all is quiet, noise carries further and I could heard her berating her children. The fantasy was shattered.

As a parent, I made blunders and regretted actions I took, enforcing certain boundaries for my own children. Sometimes I allowed them too much freedom, other times not enough. What worked for one child, did not seem to work for the next. In talking to other parents, it is apparent everyone makes mistakes at some point. If there is a parent that thinks they did the perfect job, I am yet to meet them.

Snow questions if it matters if her children haven’t petted a cat or flown on an airplane?
I don’t think it does. Many kids grow up in areas without first-world privileges, TV or devices. Does it make a big difference to the adult they become?

There is much more to a child than the environment. Give a child an expensive toy and some will use their imagination playing with the large cardboard box the toy came in than with the toy itself.

Children and Television

When my children were small, they were not allowed to watch a particular TV show during school terms, but they could watch it in the school holidays. Given that we had younger children in the house, I did not deem that show to be appropriate for our family. Yet, all the other boys in his school class got to watch this TV show and my son didn’t.

Years later, when he was a teenager, my son told me in a half-joking way that he had felt left out at school, as he couldn’t contribute to the playground conversation. When I asked him why – he told me that the playground chats with the boys in his class were always about what happened in the previous night’s episode, of that TV show.

Was he deprived for not being able to contribute to the social conversation at school? He felt ostracised and belonging is important to everyone. Did this affect him long term? The answer is uncertain and depends on his own judgement of that experience and his perspective.

Emotional Baggage

Some adults carry emotional wounds, whether that be from an experience, an interaction with a bully, personal loss or grief. Do we re-live our negative experiences and continue to harbour resentment or blame, thus being a victim, or move past it and grow?

If we aren’t able to move on and forgive transgressions from our past, we might get stuck resenting someone or something.

“As adults, we have the capacity to shape their own lives and the responsibility to do so.”

Oprah

Ultimately, if you listen to your children, care for them, give them reasonable boundaries and above all, love them unconditionally, then you ARE the perfect parent for that child. After all, you do know your children best.

Perhaps my son will forgive me one day.

A Home by the Sea
tsumago japan cloud over mountain
health, writing

Bumps in the Road

Forestwood

Bumps in the road are an inevitable part of life that sometimes soften us or give us an opportunity for growth, and bestow upon us the virtue of compassion.

Golden leaf

So often we wonder about why things happen?

Why now?

Often it is only with the passing of time that it becomes clear that the cloud really did have a silver lining, and now we have wisdom, strength and hope to share.

bridge, choice,

If the adage, “everything really happens for a reason,” doesn’t provide enough rationalisation for you, look for other ways to overcome adversity.

A Home by the Sea
denmark skagen yellow houses seaside havn
building

Lemon Broccoli Soup

Forestwood

There are some many benefits to eating magnesium-rich foods, and broccoli and spinach are good dietary sources.

If you have members of the family that aren’t keen on munching down on a large chunk of “little trees,” or broccoli, then this soup might tempt them to eat more than they would as a humble steamed vegetable.

Broccoli Soup Recipe

  • 500 g broccoli (diced stalks and sprigs)
  • 1 small potato, finely diced
  • Several large spinach leaves, chopped roughly (or silverbeet or rainbow chard)
  • 1 onion, diced
  • Several celery stalks, sliced
  • 4 cups chicken stock
  • 1/2 cup cream, (for cream of broccoli soup)
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1/3 cup frozen or fresh peas
  • pepper and salt to taste
  • Lemon slices  as garnish
  • Variation: 1 small chicken breast, cooked and finely sliced
  1. Saute the onion and celery in a pan until the onion turns transparent.
  2. Add potato and stir
  3. Wash broccoli and cut into sprigs and add broccoli, chopped spinach, chicken stock and onion/ celery mix to a large saucepan.
  4. Bring to the boil and simmer for 10-15 minutes.
  5. Add fresh or frozen peas and simmer til broccoli and peas are cooked.

If wanting to make cream of broccoli soup, mash or process using a hand blender or victimizer-blender till smooth. Add cream and return to saucepan heating through whilst adding seasoning and lemon juice.

Or/ gently blend or stir til broccoli breaks up into small sprigs then add seasonings and lemon juice.

Garnish and serve.

Variation:

Adding cooked slivers of chicken breast cooked bolster the protein content of this dish and turn it into a meal.

A nice accompaniment to Broccoli and Spinach soup would be  almond or walnut bread.

A Home by the Sea

eat-sign
food

Friendly Friday Challenge- Comfort Food Chocolate Cake

Forestwood
Cake!

Chocolate and raspberries are a match made in heaven.

There is nothing more satisfying, more of a comfort food than a moist chocolate cake.

But perfection is never perfection and can handle change. That is why I added raspberries to this recipe and I am more than happy with the result.

This is really light cake, moist and with a healthy dose of antioxidants from the raspberries. Adding raspberries has many health benefits for us.

Health benefits of Raspberries

Raspberries are low in calories but high in fiber, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. They may protect against diabetes, cancer, obesity, arthritis and other conditions and may even provide anti-aging effects. Raspberries are easy to add to your diet and make a tasty addition to breakfast, lunch, dinner or dessert.

Healthlinewww.healthline.com › nutrition › raspberry-nutrition

Chocolate Cake Recipe

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup cocoa
  • 3/4 cup boiling water
  • 180 g (around 3/4 American cup) of softened butter
  • 1 cup caster sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
  • 200g sour cream (around 1 American cup)
  • 1/2 cup or so of frozen organic raspberries

Method

  1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. (160 fan forced), 350 degrees F.
  2. Grease and line sides and base of small loaf tin/s that you wish to use.
  3. Combine cocoa and boiling water in a heatproof jug stirring until a thick sauce forms. Set this aside to cool.
  4. Place butter, sugar and vanilla in a large bowl and beat on medium for 3 minutes until light and fluffy.
  5. Beat in eggs, one at a time until well combined.
  6. Sift flour and bicarbonate of soda together and add to the butter mix.
  7. Add cocoa mix and sour-cream and using a large spoon, gently fold together until well combined.
  8. Spoon mix into prepared cake pans. Smooth the top.
  9. Place the raspberries, one by one, evenly around onto the top layer and press down lightly. As the cake rises, the mix will envelope them. * Tip: Placing them rather than mixing them in, will mean that the raspberries will keep their shape nicely .
  10. Bake for 30- 40 minutes or until skewer inserted comes out clean, depending on the size of pan you are using.

To Serve:
Simply dust with icing sugar – the raspberries add to the choolately sweetness.

N.B. I don’t usually ice my cakes as I feel that they are sweet enough, and we all want to cut down on sugar, but you can add your own desired frosting for more decadence.

A useful conversion table, for American measurements, is included here.

Linking to the Weekly Friendly Friday Challenge – Comfort Food

seachange sunrise
blogging, environment

Is Gratitude Enough of a Gift?

Forestwood

When the sun set on another Mother’s Day, I thought more about what is important to me and what I am grateful for. My kids are now all adults so gifts are unimportant and somewhat redundant.

Is Mothering itself a gift?

Why do we give gifts on Mother’s day?

I had to question hard the motivation behind this tradition and ask why we continue to give gifts as a social convention, in an affluent society.

Traditions of Mothers Day

A visit to or from family is more and more a tradition on Mothers day.

It has become even more of a social event this year as the lifting of Covid restrictions coincided with weekend of Mother’s Day.

Is the spirit of Mother’s Day encapsulated in a friendly smile or gesture from a family member, friend or neighbour?

It might be one or all of those things, but the most important thing is to feel healthy and content on mind and spirit.

Gifts then, do seem redundant and more of a symbol than a necessary purchase.

Gratitude in 2020

I am blessed that I have had a comfortable life. This is not to say I have not been without quite a bit of heartache, bad luck or troubles in my life and despite these matters, I cannot say that I have not been comfortable, for the most part.

In hindsight, many of my problems are just inconveniences or issues that must be solved, or persevered with, until they sort. I have been lucky, and pushed through until the sadness passed to find resilience and maintain hope.

I have hope.

I have freedom.

I have achieved certain goals and have new challenges ahead that I am enthusiastic about.

I have job satisfaction. I have a job and income, although for how long is never guaranteed, anymore, especially at my age. For that, I am grateful. Work can be a privilege we might take for granted.

I have the bountiful emotional returns of raising children, with all its fatigue, responsibilities and worries, but moreover, the joys and pride of raising three little people on this planet.

I got to travel to some pretty special places and spend times with many different people from all over the world.

I was fortunate to have the opportunity to learn a language other than English.

I was lucky enough to be in a postiion to design a beautiful home and live by the sea.

This was my morning view.

How can one not feel in awe of nature’s magnificence?

I have a home and family.

And this is the place where I chose to spend this year’s Mother’s Day and the rest of my life.

sky, clouds, glorious, red
home, writing

Glory in Nature – Sunset Surprise

Forestwood
Sky, sunset
The Glory of Nature – what a show!

If anyone was ever in doubt as to the majesty and power of nature they only had to look out over my balcony last night to see this.

Such a Surprise on one of the coldest but freshest nights at the Home By the Sea, yet.

red, orange, sky
Just look at the range of colours and effects – no filter!

As a fan of winter and cooler weather, it didn’t bother me. I heard many grumblings from family and neighbours.

Isn’t it cold? They complained as they pulled out thermals and jumpers and huddled under blankets.

Ironic that now there is some freedom to move around, nature slaps us back into our homes, sheltering from the cold south westerly winds.

One could almost say nature appears not quite ready to receive the full onslaught of modern civilisation quite yet.

flowers
writing

Friendly Friday – Isolation Cravings

Forestwood

“What am I Craving in Isolation?”

Sandy misses the beach. Do I?

I already have a beach at my doorstop.

Neighbours, convenient transport, cyclists, kids?

They are all around me too.

My kids have moved home due to job loss/constraints and we speak to most of my friends via phone, messaging or if they are locals, in person, but at a social distance.

The air is cleaner and the traffic calmer.

Life has slowed down.

I like that.

People are educating their kids at home, spending quality time with then that will become treasured memories in later life.

Time with your children can never be traded back later.

It is a once-only ticket to a perpetual show that changes EVERY DAY and never has an encore.

The Mountains known as Glass House on the horizon near my home

I feel pretty lucky to be living where I do – a great mix of city and coastal life, without the frenetic pace. But there are two things I do miss, Sandy.

  • a good haircut
  • sipping a cuppa at a hyggelig cafe.

Posting for Friendly Friday Isolation Craving Photo Story Challenge, hosted by Sandy at The Sandy Chronicles and Amanda (me) at Something to Ponder About.

fig
food, home

Forget the Banana Bread

Forestwood

Forget the Banana Bread, that is so yesterday! The new kid on the block at the Home by the Sea, is a breakfast Fig and Walnut Loaf.

Never having with Figs before, I was convinced to give it a go when my local cafe shut down. One of their signature breakfast dishes was a delicious Fig and Walnut Loaf. Not to be defeated, I decided to replicate this delight on my own.

The recipe was simple and straightforward, however I recommend exercising restraint with the quantity of figs. 250 grams of Figs constitutes a a whole packet and I only added half of that amount to this mix. That was more than enough and still leaves you with a very figgy loaf, which is fine, but I would suggest reducing the figs to 100 grams and adding a tad more walnuts.

But that is just my personal taste.

Suggested Variations

A nice variation would be to substitute a blend of Dried Apricots and Figs, or a mix of nuts. I suggest hazelnuts or pecans as well as walnuts.

I am sure you will absolutely love this dish for breakfast. As it takes 90 minutes to cook a deep loaf, I used two small loaf tins and a long 20 x 10 cm pan. The smaller pans were done in 30 minutes, whilst the larger took 75 minutes at the recommended temperature.

Fig and Walnut Loaf Recipe

Ingredients

  • 125 grams or 1/2 cup unsalted Butter, chopped
  • 1 1/2 cups Water
  • 1/2 cup Buttermilk or Kefir
  • 250 grams or 1 cup Dried Figs**
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • 1 1/4 cups Brown Sugar
  • 2 cups Wholemeal Spelt Flour, sifted
  • 2 teaspoons Baking Powder
  • 1 teaspoon Mixed Spice
  • 1 cup Walnuts, chopped
  • 1/2 cup Dessicated Coconut

Method

  1. Grease and line a large Non-stick Loaf Tin
  2. Place butter and water in a large saucepan and heat over medium heat.
  3. When butter is melted, add figs. Bring to the boil and remove from heat. 
  4. Transfer figs and butter mixture to a large bowl and allow to cool.
  5. Add buttermilk, eggs, brown sugar, flour, baking powder and mixed spice to bowl and stir to combine.
  6. Add walnuts and coconut and stir one last time.
  7. Pour into prepared tin.
  8. Bake in 160c oven for 90 minutes.
  9. Slice and serve with butter, and Garnish with mint, strawberries and dusting of icing sugar.

Original recipe from newideafood.com.au