Foccaccia topped with pear.

A long, quiet Sunday at home. It was snowing lightly outdoors when I woke up and I knew that the day would be perfect for reading, listening to music, quilting, and some kitchen fun.

We had a late breakfast my husband and I, both girls were sleeping over with friends. Music on, chatting about this and that. Bread with fruits and nuts from a bakery downtown, alot of tea. Sunday morning breakfast just as I dream them to be.

But breakfast bread doesn't last for ever, and while it was still too early to start to prepere the moose soup for an early dinner, I decided to bake a sweet foccaccia. Two almost overripe pears were in the fruit bowl together with apples and oranges, perfect for a foccaccia topping.

Foccaccia

25g fresh yeast

salt

sugar

3dl lukewarm water

ca 5dl white flour

Put the yeast in the baking bowl, add a little salt and sugar. Let the yeast melt.

Add the water and stir well.

Add flour and stir more.

Let the dough rise for half an hour.

Glaze a baking tin, about 20x30cm with olive oil. Put the dough in the tin, add sliced pears, sugar and cinnamon.

Rise for yet 30 minutes.

Bake at 220C for about 25 minutes.

Okra, inspired from India

During my weeks in India I learned about new fruits and vegetables almost every day. I loved to go grocery shopping with Carolyn, as most of the shopping she did was vegetables, and I loved to watched while she cooked one creative dish after another. I found most of the vegetables tasty, though some did not correspond with my tastebuds....... My favorite though was okra. Fried okra was served several times, and I helped myself again and again, enjoying this new to me taste.

We usually have a late dinner on Friday nights here in The Blue Café. Today I've been to the fishmarket downtown to find a treat for dinner, and on my way back to work I passed one of the many small Asian grocery shops which are to be found in Trondheim. I went in just to have a look at the vegetables, and to my surprise and pleasure I found that they sold okras. I didn't hesitate, but bought a bunch, and couldn't wait to come home to fry them.

Ingrid, Marta and cousin Mathilde found the taste strange, and will probably need more time to get used to it, Terje liked the new taste, I loved it. Fried in olive oil in a deep wok pan, sprinkled with Maldon salt, it tasted just as good as the okras I ate in South India.

My kitchen and my cooking is changing, more creativity, new tastes, colours.....

Ginger tea on a chilly night

Winter is on its way to my corner of the world. Frost has come and covered the grass out in the garden with a thin white film. I am only just home from the warm and sunny Indian days and don't feel ready for frost yet.

I was tempted to make myself a mug of thick, hot chocolate last night, and the thought made my mouth water. But then I thought better of it. Why not make a nice, healthy cup of ginger tea instead. And sweeten in with some fruit.

Ginger is good for the body, good for my arthritis, and felt even better with a nice book, and a couple of candles to give a feeling of warmth.

Pomegranate and yoghurt

I am back in my own kitchen, back to my own busy days, and with me from India I've brough alot of ideas which I hope can come alive in my own kitchen.

So far I haven't done very much cooking. The days and nights have been too busy. I don't want life to be too busy for cooming, but I can't always make my days exactly the ways I want them. A job and a family need time, time I give willingly. Meanwhile my kitchen is there, patiently waiting, and I know that days will come when more time can be spent making new and traditional dishes.

Today Marta came downtown after school and we had pizza together. Then we had some shopping to do for her upcoming dance performance before it was time to go back to school and a parent-teacher appointment. Home from that it was time for homework for her, writing for me, and suddenly it is almost bedtime. The pizza made me thirsty, so for a late night snack I've made a bowl of yogurt and pomegranate seeds - directly inspiration from South India :-)

Pomegranate youghurt

fill a small bowl with plain yoghurt

add pomegranateseeds

can it be any easier than this?

The Blue Cafe in India

I am in India for three weeks, visiting friends. And I am totally spoiled with food. Mostly vegetarian.

I was curious before I came, would the food be too spicy for me, would my stomach accept the foreign food, would I like the taste of it. I had absolutely no reason to worry. The food, three meals a day, is tasty. colourful, mostly vegetarian.....and a feast for body and soul.

My hostess Carolyn, to the left in this photo, is a fabulous cook, and as I walk around in her kitchen with camrea, pan and notebook I hope to pick up a few of her secrets.

Living privately means that I get to meet alot of people, and last Saturday we were invited to frinds of Carolyn and her husband Hossy for lunch, Muthu and Sashi. Carolyn and Hossy live in the Karnataka reagin, while Muthu comes from another region, Coorg. Her cooking was influenced by that and her cooking was different. Another feast.

Muthu wrote a long list of the different dishes for me:

• peas pulao
• boondhi rialtha
• rice chappati
• bamblee curry
• moothe curry
• ala crobi, ,meltric subzi
• bandgobi sninla mirchi subzi
• sevia

(I am not sure if I got all the spelling correct)

Correct spelling or not, the meal was a feast. I am in love with Indian food.

Thank you Muthu.

It's time for apples

A few days ago I mentioned in The Blue Café that I was making an apple pie, and Anna asked for the recipe. I am sorry it took longer than I had planned Anne, but here it is.

Eplekake / Apple Pie
125gr butter
125gr sugar
2 eggs
150gr flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 tablespoons of milk

Mix butter and sugar untill it is almost white. Add the eggs, one by one,
add flour, baking powder and milk.

Fill a baking tin and add apple cut into thin boats. Sprinkle with sugar and cardamom.
Bake for 30-40 minutes in 175C.

Serve with whiped cream

Italian carbonara, Norwegian bread

A combination of Italian and Norwegian food is what you often find in The Blue Café. In only 12 days I am going to India for three weeks, and I wonder what will happen to my cooking after that experience, but so far Italian spaghetti carbonara eaten with homemade dark bread is not an uncommon dish. Spaghetti carbonara is actually something we eat quite often. It is so simple to make and we all love it.

This time I mixed some diced ham with celery and lemon, just because that's what I found at hand. And the dish was topped with tomatoes from the garden, some late borago flowers, and fresh ruccola from the grocery store (nothing left in the garden)

For the bread I don't have a written recipe. I have bakes this same bread for years and years, and my fingers knows exactly what and how much to put into the bowl.

Eaten dipped in extra virgin olive oil and sprinkeled with a little Maldon salt, and it is almost a meal in itself.