Benalmádena, Costa del Sol 2014

10 sunny days (26 June – 7 july) of the summer vacation was spent in southern Spain, in and around the town Benalmádena where we (Mickey and me) stayed in a very nice flat overlooking the sea and mountains.

The town is located 12 km west of Malaga, approx. ½ hour drive from the airport. It is divided into three separate parts:

  • Benalmadena Costa – the coastal strip that contains most of the resorts hotels and some apartment blocks.
  • Arroyo de la Miel (Honey stream)- originally a separate village and is where you will find shops, most of the resorts apartment blocks, and many Spanish bars and restaurants. The towns train station is here, it is home to Tivoli World and the cable car.
  • Benalmadena Pueblo – the original village located about 3 km inland and at 200 m. above sea level. The Pueblo is like the many Spanish “white villages” found in southern Spain. Narrow cobbled streets with white painted houses and many beautiful flowers on the walls. You find Copenhagen municipal hospital, Montebello, here and hear quite a lot of danish in the streets. There is a bar called Dansk bar and a restaurant Rottehullet (the rat hole)

benalamadena-map
1. Accommodation | 2. Cable car start | 3. Eagle rock | 4. Bil-Bil Castle |
5. Parque de la Paloma | 6. Mini golf | 7. Puerto de la Marina

The accommodation was located next to a golf course. Fantastic view of sea and mountain.
Panorama1

A 12 min. and 2,6 km long cable car ride start from Arroyo de la Miel. It takes you to the summit of Monte Calamorro, 769 m. Fantastic views over the area. A bird show is included in the ticket. Two falconers showed some tricks with eagles and vultures. After the show we decided to hike down. According to the guide it should take approx. 2,5 hours and “the trail start 100 m. down the road to the right”. After followed the trail for some time it suddenly ended and we looked for something that looked like a trail. Ended up at a VERY steep cliff where we agreed to turn back and try descending somewhere else. Found a not so steep and high spot where we managed to climb down. Mickey tried some “pebble surfing” on the hill side :-). With lunch break and the “detour”, it took us 2 hours and 20 min. to return to the start.

benalamedena_minigolf.jpg

Road trip sightseeing:
costa-del-sol-map

  • We learned that it’s a good idea to take the train from Arroyo de la Miel to visit Malaga. One objective was to visit the Museo Picasso, it turned out to be closed on Mondays. Instead we semi followed a recommended “Trail-of-sights” from the tourist office (Malaga in 8 hours): Calle Larios – Plaza de la Constitucion – the Cathedral – the Roman Theatre – the Alcazaba – HC Andersen –  Plaza de la Marina – the Lighthouse
  • A nice drive south west along the coast way N-340 a few km. takes you to Fuengirola that is a major tourist resort. We visited the Bioparc, a quite small and different zoo. It’s divided into four exhibition areas built to simulate the animals’ natural surroundings.
    Near the Castillio Sohail one could rent a boat on the beach filled with sand for 5 euro. This is used for bbq and the very popular grilled sardines.

  • Inland, a bit up the mountain, 450 m.above sea level, is the small white village Mijas located. Parked the car at the entrance of the village in a big parking house for 1 euro for a day. You can take a donkey taxi or walk around the narrow, cobbled and some times steep streets. Looked at a flamenco show at the town square. Wednesdays at noon. Don’t know if it’s on every day. Other sights we checked out was the El Compas view point and the chapel with small electric “candels”, Plaza de Toros, Calle San Sebastian and the fun (and little strange) Carromato de Max – a miniature museum with a collection of paintings on pin-heads, rice corns and hair, wood carvings on tooth picks etc. E.g. a picture of Abraham Lincoln painted on a pin-head (no photography was allowed).

  • Further down the coast, after about 2 hour drive from Benalamádena, on the Mediterranean Motorway A-7, is Gibraltar. This 6 km2 piece of land is still Brittish tertitory with about 30.000 inhabitants.  The Rock, made of limestone, raises 426 above sea level.
    After driving around the very narrow streets of La Linea, looking for the border, we finally found a parking place near the frontier. “Quite a few” people preferred to drive across, loooong que. At the frontier we bought tickets to the cable car that included bus transport.
    The cable car is from 1966 and takes you to the top in about 6 min. After looking at the stunning views from the top and the many monkeys we walked down, this time on a proper road.
    Back in the center we walked along Main Street checking prices on electronics that we heard should be tax free and much cheaper. We didn’t think that was the case. At the coffee break, I was surprised that the staff  had limited knowledge of the English language.
    the_rock

Maps
map-bioparc  map-eagle_rock  map-gibraltar

map-malaga  map-mijas

Photo album on Google Photos

Concrete wall and loft bed project

In the living room I wanted to create a fake concrete wall looking something like this:
Concrete wall inspiration

The before picture:
Before

After removing the wallpaper
Clean wall

The plan was to create the concrete wall out of different layers of  grey filler but then I came across this blog where a “Betong” color from Hornbach is used
botongcolor

After painted the wall with the “Betong” color and the “toner”, I thought the tone was a bit too dark. I “washed” the wall with very diluted white color until I got the right tone.
betongwall1

Added lines to give the impression of joints and made some holes that was filled with the Betong color.
betongwall2

Next step was to build a loft bed out of pipes and fittings/clamps.
drawing

Found a supplier, Schøller stål/Steelsupply
bed1

…assembled…
bed2

The after picture:
bed4

…to put the mobile phone in…
phonebucket

Art tour in Malmö

An art tour organized by Malmö town started at Bagers place during easter 12.00 and 14.00.

konstrunadakarta

Konstrunda Malmö katalog

[malmo.se/konstrundan]
[List over public art in Malmö]

  1. Non Violance, 1992, Bagers plats,
    Carl Frederik Reuterswärd
  2. Harbour master house, 1835, Bager plats
    Unknown architect
  3. The gate to the continent, 1975, Bagers plats,
    Sven Carlsson
  4. Bagers bridge, 2012, Suellshamnen
    Esbjörn Nordlund
  5. Fishing lady, 1949, Bastion Älvsborg
    Clarens Blum (1897-1984)
  6. Frans Suell, 1915, Norra Vallgatan 70
    Edvard Trulson (1881-1969)
  7. Madonna, 1525/1967
    Replica, the original is at Malmö Museums
  8. Karl X Gustaf, 1896, Stortorget
    John Börjesson (1835-1910)
  9. Square well, 1964, Stortorget
    Stig Blomberg (1901-1970)
  10. The Optimist orchestra, 1985, Södergatan
    Sture Kelfve (1905-1983)
  11. Clock tower, 1970, Kompanigränd
    Sture Kelfve (1905-1983)
  12. Four leaf clover, 1997, Sant Petri kyrka
    Tom Gruen
  13. Memorial for reverent Claus Mortensen, 1967, Sant Petri kyrka
    Thure Thörn (1918-2005)
  14. Picassos sleeping partner, 1983, Bruksgatan
    Carl Fredrik Reuterswärd
  15. Elsewhere, 2010, Citytunneln
    Tanja Ruiz
  16. Spectral Self Container, 2013, Anna Lindhs plats
    Matti Kallionen

See Photo album on Picasa

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portenmotkontinenten.jpg

bagersbro.jpg

fiskegumman.jpg

franssuell.jpg

franssuellgatan.jpg

madonna.jpg

kockskahuset.jpg

hotelkramer.jpg

torgbrunn1.jpg

karlXgustaf.jpg

karlXgustaffoot.jpg

klocktornet.jpg

kompanigrand.jpg

muralStortorget.jpg

sktPetriSign.jpg

stPetri1.jpg

fyrklover.jpg

sleepingpartner.jpg

8harbetsdag.jpg

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annorstades.jpg

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Sestriere 2014

March 15-22 I spent in Sestriere, Italy, together with Patrik, Jesper, Casper, Bo and Martin – Team Holst. Thanks to Casper that arranged the trip through Slopetrotter.

We flew Air Berlin to Torino and SAS home from Milano. 1,5 hours transfer from Torino to Sestriere and 3 hours the other way. A “memorable” moment on Air Berlin was the free “sandwich”…

Sestriere is located at 2035 m. above sea level, 17 km from the French border.  It is  a part of the ski area Via Lattea (milky way) that has around 145 skiable pistes, that adds up to approx. 400 km.

Landmarks in town are the two round hotel towers that was built in the 1930’s by the FIAT family for the employees at the car factory in Torino to spend their winter holidays.  It is still a popular winter resort and the population goes from the 800 inhabitants to approx 20.000 during the winter holidays. In 2006 Sestriere was a part of the winter Olympics.

We had 6 days with sun, blue sky and warm weather. First couple of hours during the day the piste was hard, “wash boardish”. The next couple of hours it was nice and soft, sometimes  a bit of spring snow. Some slopes turned a bit too slushy in the afternoon. 

sestriere-pistemap

Open large piste map 

  1. We stayed at the Palace Residence 2 located a bit uphill on the opposite side of the ski lifts.  There was local bus transport every 20 min. in the morning and afternoon.
  2. Great after ski at GFC, Wednesday (after pic-nic :-O ).
  3. Station/Refuge Alpette was until 1986 a middle station for the cable car to the summit. It has a large sun deck and is a great place for a rest and one or two drinks…
  4. Soleil Boeuf is another great place to rest your legs. Large sun deck with fat boys and sofas.
  5. Piste #duemila (2000), one of the favorite piste with great snow, through the forest and not many people.
  6. “The hidden restaurant” Ciao Pais. Even if it’s “hidden” you need to book for lunch…

Gallery:

Sightseeing in Malmö – 2014

A windy and cold Sunday in Januar, my colleague Carl visited Malmö together with his wife. I used the earlier post with sightseeing in Malmö as “template”. This is an updated version with Sibbarp Beach (9), Ribban Kallbadhus (12) and Malmö Central Station (16). You are welcome to use it for inspiration when visiting Malmö.

seightseeing-malmo-2014

  1. Point Hyllie– a new developed site close to Malmö City and Kastrup Airport. It consists of four main buildings comprising approximately 45,000 square metres. They are allocated for housing, offices and shops. The tallest building is about 95 metres high.
     
  2. Malmö Arena– the latest addition to northern Europe’s growing number of modern multi-purpose concert and event venues. Malmö Arena is a premier venue in the Öresund Region for world-class sporting events, concerts, family shows, full-scale conferences and smaller meetings, wining and dining or a quick snack. It can seat a maximum of 15.000 guests. It measure 22.5 m. up to the inner ceiling.
     
  3. Hyllie water tower is white and has the form as mushroom (at the moment getting some make up due to the Euro vision song contest and coz its need it). The light on the tower changes on different occasions. At Christmas it’s red and when there isn’t a special event the light is blue. It’s 62 m tall and contains 10 200 cubic meter water. It was ready 1973. Architect was Kjessler & Mannerstråle through Karl Ivar Stål. A water park is being built close to the tower.
     
  4. Emporia is one of the biggest shopping center in Scandinavia with a total size of 93 000 mfor shopping, food, culture and pleasure in approx. 200 shops, restaurants and cafés on 3 stories and a unique roof park. The two main entrances are spectacular, one is amber theme that symbolized in the logo type.  The other is water theme.
     
  5. The Glass House– “House of brands for good living”. A shop with exclusive scandinavian interior design.
     
  6. Ikea has built  a 44 000 square meter store at Svågertorp. It’s the second largest in the world and was inaugurated 20 October 2009.
     
  7. Limhamns Kalkbrott is approximately 1.300 meters long, 800 meters wide and 65 meters deep. The walk around the quarry is 4 km.
    The mining of the began in 1866 and lasted until 1994. The last explosion was in the late 1980’s. The explosives have shaped the quarry, so it consists of plateaus, called pallets, about 20 meters high and vertical walls. At every blasting, a ton of dynamite was used. There was a loud bang as many locals felt.
    The lime in Limhamns quarry has been formed in a warm sea of between 65-55 million years ago (during the early Tertiary). It consists mainly of deposits from microscopic cuisine liters (algae), bryozoans (moss animals) and corals. In some limestone layers there are plenty of shark teeth. A remnant from a relative of the great white shark, which for millions of years swimming around here along with other now extinct species. Fossils of two crocodiles have also been found in the quarry.
    There are over 1.400 different animals and plants in the limestone quarry. Several species are rare or special in some way. Most notable is the presence of the endangered green spotted toad and “Kalkkrassingen”.
     
  8. Öresund bridge was inaugurated on 1 July 2000. The link between Denmark and Sweden is 15.4 km long and consists of the world’s longest cable-stayed bridge for both rail and motor vehicle traffic, at nearly 8 km. The main span is suspended from four pylons that measure 204 m above the sea level. The best viewing point over the Öresund Bridge is from Lernacken at the Luftkastellet restaurant.
    The Øresund Bridge offers a 4-lane road carrying more than 60,000 travelers daily, 6 million vehicles per year, and two train tracks (another 8 million people each year) e carries . Building the Øresund bridge included construction of a bridge, a tunnel 4 km and a new island where travelers go from tunnel-level (on the Danish side) to the level of the bridge.
     
  9. Sibbarp beach is popular diverse recreational area with beach, camping with snack bar, mini golf, barbecue stones, open-air swimming bath with sauna. There are also large grassed areas with several jetties from which you can jump in the sea.  Not far from Sibbarp’s beach is a small skatepark. From here you have a brilliant view of the Öresund Bridge.
     
  10. Limhamns Småbåtshamn has room for around 1.000 boats and is the biggest of it’s kind in Malmö.
     
  11. Ön (The Island) is situated in Limhamn-Bunkeflo in the southwestern municipality of Malmö. Today there is a land connection between the island and Limhamn, so technically the island is today a peninsula. It used to a harbour for the ferry connection with Dragør in Denmark.
    While limestone mined for cement production in Limhamn’s Kalkbrott (Limestone quarry) the area was used for  dumping of waste products, and thereby laid the foundation for an artificial island.
    In the first half of the 1900’s, various industrial activities has been carried out here: Shipyard and aircraft production. Two of the office buildings and a factory building still stands today and house the school on the island, a convenience store and an aerobics (Friskis & Svettis).
    The island is divided into a northern and a southern part by Övägen. The northern part of the island began to plot in the early 1990’s, with apartment buildings and construction is still in progress. The southern part was settled in the late 1990’s.
     
  12. Ribbersborg Kallbadhus (“Open-air-bath”) also known as Ribban by the older and Kallis by the younger generation, is an open-air public bath on the Ribersborg beach . The bathhouse is open for a skinny dip all the year around and has separate areas for men and women and each area is equipped with two saunas. There is also one mixed sauna  between the ladies and gentlemen’s area. There is a cafe and a restaurant.
    The bath was inaugurated in June 1898 with initiative by C.A. Richter, who bought the old bathhouse at Nyhamn port, which was being sold because of the port’s expansion. Four years later a storm damaged the new bath during Christmas and it was rebuilt. During the refurbishment a diving tower was added to the men’s department, with a view of the strait and the women’s department. During the 1930s it was modernised with nude bathing and confidentiality was added between the departments. In 1966, the City of Malmö purchased the baths. It was again damaged by a storm in 1988 and in 1995 it was declared a historic building.
     
  13. Västra Hamnen (Western Harbour) is Malmö’s new city district attracts people with its exciting architecture, lovely beach promenades and green spaces and a fabulous view over Öresund. An award-winning ecological housing area finished in 2001 for the major European Housing Expo Bo01 is found here. The buildings were designed by several internationally renowned architects including Gert Wingårdh, Ralph Erskine and Mario Campi.
    The neighbourhood is home to a wide variety of flora and fauna. Water is also a vital element of the environment, expressed in canals, ponds, small craft marinas and swimming beaches.
    The Western Harbour was once an industrial area where Kockum’s world-famous shipyard operated, now replaced by Malmö University and companies in the IT and telecommunications industries. The dance company Skånes Dansteater is based in one of the vaulted halls, Båghallarna, and an exciting, specially designed concrete skateboarding arena, Stapelbäddsparken has been constructed around one of the old ship ramps.
     
  14. Turning Torso. Architect Santiago Calatrava’s spectacular apartment building in the Western Harbour. At 190 metres, Turning Torso is the tallest building in Sweden. The building was inspired by a sculpture “Turning Torso” by Calatrava himself. Turning Torso consists of nine cubes with a total of 54 stories, with a 90° twist from base to top. The top two floors boast the exclusive meeting rooms of Turning Torso Meetings.
     
  15. Stapelbäddsparken is one of Europe’s largest outdoor skate parks with a surface of 2.000 m2 and is located at Kockums shipyard’s old factory area in the Western Harbour. The old slipway was transformed in 2006 into a modern and important meeting place open to all skateboarding enthusiasts and everyone else too. Here takes the prestigious international skateboarding competitions like The Quicksilver Bowlriders place periodically.
    The park is open 24/7, 365 days a year and it costs nothing to visit or use it. All activity in and around the skate park is operated by Bryggeriet which is also responsible for the cafe in the park.
     
  16. Malmö Central Station opened in 1876. It serves approximately 17 million passengers per year, making it the third busiest in Sweden behind Stockholm Central Station and Gothenburg Central Station. The opening of the City Tunnel in December 2010 made it possible for passenger trains to travel through the station, which had previously been a terminus, and most traffic shifted to the new lower level. All passenger traffic to Denmark now uses the tunnel, and most local trains continue to the new Triangeln and Hyllie stations even if they are not going beyond Malmö. 
     
  17. Malmö St. Petri Church was founded in the early 1300’s. When the church first mentioned in writing in 1346, it had already been consecrated for worship-service. Tradition says that the high altar was consecrated 1319. The church is dedicated to the apostles Peter and Paul.
     
  18. Stortorget (Big square) The equestrian statue of King Karl X Gustav, who took Skåne from the Danes through the Roskilde Treaty of 1658, stands in the midst of the largest square in Malmö. Stortorget was built in 1536 at the initiative of Jörgen Kock, Malmö’s powerful mayor and master of the mint. Stortorget became Malmö’s new marketplace and was the largest city square in Northern Europe for a very long time. The city well was located in Stortorget, with the site now marked by a bronze water sculpture. Jörgen Kock built a new and stately city hall as well as a home for himself, Kockska huset next to Stortorget.
     
  19. Max hamburger restaurant started 1968 and is the oldest and most popular hamburger restaurant in Sweden.
     
  20. Lilla torg (Little Square) Malmö’s most charming square and one of the most popular meeting places in the city was built in 1592 as a market square. There are several interesting buildings dating from the 16th century and later around Lilla Torg. Hedmanska Gården is an enclosed courtyard where the oldest half-timbered house dates from the 16th century and the youngest building, a warehouse, is from the late 19th century and is now home to Form/Design Centre, which mounts exhibitions related to design and architecture. Outdoor concerts are held at Hedmanska Gården in July. From March to October Lilla Torg is filled with outdoor restaurants and cafés and the atmosphere is enchanting.
     
  21. Kungsparken (Kings Park) was created 1869-1870 and is Malmö’s oldest park. It was built on land that was formerly part of Malmöhus Castle fortification and was designed by the Danish landscape architect Ove Høegh Hansen. When it opened 1872 the park was originally called Slotsparken (Castle Park).
    The park has a romantic character with examples from the continent’s parks. Here you can enjoy leisure walks, beautiful artwork and exotic trees. The heart of the the park is a cast iron fountain built in 1882.
     
  22. Stadsbiblioteket (Town Library) Sweden’s largest town library, has over 1 million different media, about 1,500 different journals, approximately 10,000 DVD and 33,500 music CDs and was Sweden’s first library to lend video games.
    It’s one of the most intriguing buildings in Malmö situated in Slottsparken. The library consists of two buildings, one older and one newer, that are linked to each other. The new part, which is called the “Calendar of Light” was designed by the notable Danish architect Henning Larsen and opened in 1997. The older section of the library dates from 1899 and was designed by architects John Smedberg and Fredrik Sundbärg.
     
  23. Slottsparken (Castle Park) This wonderful organic garden is situated just behind Malmöhus Castle adjacent to Kungsparken. Fresh-picked vegetables and flowers and exciting plants are available for purchase – and you may get a bit of wise advice from the head gardener. One of Malmö’s smallest and most charming cafés is also found here. The garden and the café are open year round. Concerts, film evenings and other events are held in the summer.
    A “Dutch Mill” from 1851 – is situated next to Slottsträdgården. The area also features a well-preserved miller’s house and garden. This site is a popular place for outdoor concerts and other summertime events.
     
  24. Malmöhus Castle was originally a minor citadel whose construction was ordered in 1434 by Erik of Pomerania, king of the Kalmar Union which brought Norway, Sweden and Denmark together under a single monarch.
    In the 16th century King Christian III of Denmark and Norway rebuilt the citadel to create a modern defensive fortress, an imposing castle and the home of the Governors of Malmöhus County.
    This is where Denmark´s money was coined in the Middle Ages, where Crown Prince Frederick of Denmark held wild parties in the 16th century and where prisoners were decapitated in the castle courtyard during the 19th century when the castle served as a prison. Today Malmöhus has been restored in the spirit of the 16th century and forms part of Malmö Museer. The castle is part of Sweden´s cultural heritage and is managed by the National Property Board.
    The castle presents historical exhibitions. By Order of the King is an exhibition about the 17th-century wars over Skåne and how Skåne became Swedish in 1658. Power over People depicts the history of Malmöhus Castle over the past 300 years.

 

LCHF /Paleo bread

[from madforlivet.com] in Danish…

Paleo breadIngredienser:

100 g græskarkerner
100 g solsikke kerner
100 g mandler
100 g valnødder
100 g hørfrø
100 g sesamfrø
5 æg
1 dl ekstra jomfru olivenolie
2 tsk salt

Fremgangsmåde:
Bland alle ingredienser i en skål. Kom massen i en smurt form. Bag brødet i en time ved 160 grader (forvarmet ovn)

Det er vigtigt at nødder, kerner og mandler kommer HELE i brødet. Blendes eller kværnes de, så frisættes de sunde men sarte fedtsyrer og de kan harskne, når brødet bages ved 160 grader (og så er de ikke spor sunde mere).

 

et alternativ fra kantinen på arbetet…

130 g græskarkerner
130 g hørfrø
130 g sesamfrø
120 g peanuts
80 g mandler
5 æg
1 dl ekstra jomfru olivenolie
2 tsk salt

Images – Project 2014

The 2014 project is to work with images in different medias:

  • photography
  • sort, scan and digitizing old and new photos
  • play and learn more Photoshop
  • take up drawing and painting again…

Follow:

Demon Builder
Street art – London by Nathan Bowen

New Year Menu 2013

Starter: Asian sea food cocktail with Ponzu dressing

New Year 2013 starter

Serves 6

  • 200 g scallop
  • 1 mango
  • 4 radish
  • 2 spring onions
  • 300 g fillet of fresh salmon
  • 1/2 red chili 
  • 1/2 – 1 tbs fresh grated ginger
  • 1 avocado
  • 2 1/2 tbs Japanese soy
  • (Add e.g. shrimps)

Prep: 4-5 hours before serving:
Defrost scallops. Peel mango, cut into 1 cm pieces. Slice radish and spring onion thin. Cut salmon and scallop in 1 cm pieces. Cut the chili, remove the seed , chop. Mix gently mango, salmon, scallop, radish, spring onions, chili and ginger. Put in fridge.

Ponzu dressing:

  • 2 tbs fresh orange juice
  • 2 tbs fresh lime juice
  • 1 tbs fresh lemon juice
  • 1 tbs olive oil

Mix all ingredients. Put in fridge

Garnish:

  • 80 g salmon roe
  • 1 tbs roasted sesame seed
  • dill or cilantro 

15 min. before serving:
Cut avocado in 1 cm pieces. Mix with the sea food. Put in glass and drizzle the dressing over. Garnish with roe, roasted sesame seed and dill/cilantro

Main: Roast beef with red wine sauce, roasted roots & beets and garlic/Tabasco mushrooms

New Year 2013 main course

Serves 6-8

  • 1 1/2 kg sirloin or tenderloin
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp pepper
  • 2 tbsp butter

Trim the meat. Preheat oven to 175 ° C. Wipe meat dry and rub it with salt and pepper. Place the meat in a baking dish. Insert a meat thermometer in the thickest part. Roast in the oven until the internal temperature is 54 ° C , it takes about 30 minutes. Turn the meat once. Take out and place the meat on a platter.
Just before serving, fry the meat quickly on all sides in the butter. Cut into slices . Serve with the sauce and other accessories

Red wine sauce

  • 1 small leek
  • 1 red onion
  • 2 carrots
  • 1 parsnip
  • 3 tbsp butter
  • (4 tbsp raw cane sugar)
  • 6 dl red wine
  • 4 tbsp Japanese soy sauce
  • 2 tbsp of concentrated veal stock
  • salt and pepper
  • (2 tbsp Maizena cornstarch)

Peel and cut the onions and root vegetables in cm – sized pieces. Fry hard in 2 tablespoons of butter in a wide saucepan or sauté pan. Add the sugar and continue to fry for a minute. Pour in the wine, soy sauce and stock. Bring to boil and simmer until about half the liquid remains, about 30 minutes. Taste in-between. Strain. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in the remaining butter. Thicken, if needed with corn starch mixed with little bit of cold water (I used Creme Fraiche instead). 

Accessories:
Roasted beet root, carrot, fennel, parsnip, red onion, garlic.
Grilled red pepper and leeks
Mushroom “filled” with garlic and Tabasco

Dessert: Mocca parfait with chocolate fudge

New Year 2013 dessert

Serves 4-6

  • 4 egg yolk
  • 1 dl. icing sugar
  • 1 tsp. vanilla sugar/powder
  • 1 tbsp. instant coffee powder
  • 3 dl. whipping cream

Whisk egg yolks – icing sugar – vanilla – coffee powder until fluffy. Whip the cream until thick – fold into the egg mixture. Pour into serving bowls
Freeze for 4-5 hours. Put the parfait in the fridge approx. 30 min. before serving.

Sauce:

  • 1 ½ dl. whipping cream
  • 1 tbsp. sugar (coconut palm sugar)
  • 100 gr. dark chocolate

Boil cream – sugar – break the chocolate – add the cream and melt over low heat

Serving:

  • 1 tbsp. crushed coffee beans
  • 1 tsp. flakes of sea ​​salt

Serve the parfait with warm chokladfudgesås – garnish with coffee beans / salt flakes

Belly-fat project 2013 – evaluation

This week a year ago I did some research on belly-fat and metabolic syndrome. The abbreviation LCHF turned up more and more often in the articles and I started to do research on that too. The Belly-Fat project 2013 was born, with LCHF-diet, Exercise and Vitamin D as ingredients. What has happened during the year:

LCHF
I have been on a liberal Low Carb High Fat (LCHF) diet where I kept  the amount of carbs in the ingredients under 5 %. Eating a absolute minimum of pre-processed food, pasta, rice, potatoes, cakes, pizza, hamburger etc. I admit I have cheated a few times. I have posted photos and comments on Facebook to share the journey, inspiration for some, nuisance for others,  and to show that it is possible to make food quite easy and tasty without starch, carbs and sugar.

I like to thank the chefs at our canteen for adjusting the servings and remove the carbs for me.

Followed Kostdoktorn.se, among other blogs and articles, regarding low carb food and have changed my view on what healthy food is. Here are some learnings:

Shrimp sallad

Exercise
During the winter and spring I trained for the Göteborgsvarv (½ marathon) that took place 17 May. According the organizers, it was the hardest Göteborgsvarv ever with very warm and humid weather that included rain, thunder and lightning and hail. I completed with a time “a bit” from my goal (2 hours) and landed on 2.20. I am going for another attempt 2014…

2013 has been a year with lots of rollerskating, both on my “old school” side-by-side or the new name I learned, quads, and on the inlines I “had to” buy. Being a part of  Malmö City Skaters and like to join the different tours and to keep pace with the others, I got myself a pair of inlines in the end of May.

I was appointed tour leader for the Malmö City Skaters’ “Sunday stroll”, approx. 20 km trip in moderate speed along the bike paths in and around Malmö. I also joined as many Thursday tours as possible. These were a bit faster and sometimes also longer, often with Olle as tour leader –  many nice trips on good AQ, thanks for that (learned that there is an AQ-rating – Asphalt Quality…).

The club chairman, Gisle, started some lessons with technique practice. BIG success and it turned out to be a permanent Tuesday evening event on the Ribersborg  boardwalk, with guest instructors like Lasse and Madde. You guys thought me how to skate inlines in a correct way, VERY thankful for that.
We have continued the Tuesday training indoors, which is perfect for practicing turns, stop and to control the skates on small spaces.

Other rollerskating events during 2013:

  • Ørestadsstafetten – 25 May. A team of 3 do as many laps as possible in 90 min. Gisle, Peter and I was competing for Malmö City Skaters. I was the only one on side-by-side (this was when I decided to buy a pair of inlines).
  • Sweden 12H Roller – 17 August. 12 hours of interval rollerskating. Teams with 6 members that takes turns rolling the 1,8 km race track in Falkenberg. Fantastic team spirit and atmosphere where the “pros” and “amateurs” participate in the same competition.
  • Copenhagen Inline Challenge – 1 September. My first marathon on inlines. 6 laps on a 7 km track on the roads around Ørestaden, Copenhagen. Started to rain 30 sec. after start and kept on until last lap…time 2:10
  • Berlin Inline Marathon – 28 September. An absolutely magic and fantastic experience. 6.500 rollerskaters, several 100.000 spectators cheering and making lots of noise along the streets of Berlin, music at the start and the end… time 2:03
  • Night Skate Malmö – approx 6 Friday evenings this summer we roll along the streets of Malmö with police escort. Among the many highlights I like to mention when the police men joined us on inlines and when they played music from the patrol car, incl. “Breaking the law“. Thanks to the Malmö police force for helping out with this event.
  • Friday Night Skate – Every second Friday during the summer 600-1.500 rollerskaters join for taking over some of the streets of Copenhagen.

Malmö City Skaters at Sweden 12H roller Copenhagen Inline Challenge Berlin Inline marathon
Peter, me, EmmaLi at ESC skate Blocker at Night Skate Malmö together with Sandi Malmö City Skaters activities 2013

Vitamin D
We get vitamin D from when the sun hits the skin and very little from food. More and more research shows that lack of vitamin D can play a major part in different infectious diseases, winter/ spring depression, cancer, heart disease, autism, general pain, obesity etc… Read more on this quick lesson about vitamin D (in Swedish).

I am eating this:
d-vitamin

As result of the Belly-fat project, I have lost approx. 13 kg, and most important, approx. 10 cm waist line. The “side effects” has been more energy, no sugar craving/chock (especially in the afternoon that I suffered from before), less inflammations like cold, allergy and skin issues, no stomach problems etc. I am going continue this journey…

LCHF Fralla

frallaAlternativ 1.

  • 1,5 dl mandelmjöl
  • 1 dl creme fraiche
  • 2 ägg
  • 2 msk smält smör
  • 2 msk fiberhusk
  • 2 msk sesamfrön
  • 1 tsk bakpulver
  • Ev vallmofrön

Sätt ugnen på 200° C. Blanda alla torra ingredienser. Rör i ägg, creme fraiche och smör. Klicka ut smeten till bullar/frallor på en plåt med bakplåtspapper, strö eventuellt över vallmofrön. Grädda i mitten av ugnen i ca 15-20 minuter tills LCHF-frallorna har fått en fin gyllenbrun färg.

Från LCHF-bröd.se

Alternativ 2. 

  • 50 g smör
  • 2 ägg
  • 2 dl fet yoghurt (helst Rysk)
  • 0,75 tsk salt
  • 2 tsk bakpulver
  • 2 dl mandelmjöl
  • 1 dl pofiber
  • 2 msk fiberhusk
  • Vallmofrön (eller exempelvis solrosfrön, pumpafrön, sesam, riven ost etc)

Gör så här: Vispa samman ägg, ”halvsmält” (så det lätt går att blanda ihop) smör, yoghurt, salt och bakpulver. Häll i och blanda samman med resten av ingredienserna. Låt stå i cirka 5-10 minuter så att fiberhusk och pofiber hinner absorbera vätskan så att smeten/degen blir fast. Rulla till 6 stycken bollar. Lägg dem på ugnsplåten, strössla över vallmofrön. Grädda i 175 grader i cirka 15-20 minuter eller tills de fått fin färg.

Från jillsmat.se