Life in Motala

I start a new job next week at Vätternrundan. I am looking forward to it, but it will be a big change. I haven’t had to get up and get out of the house to "go to work" for over 16 years! On the other hand I haven’t had a proper long holiday for many years either, as self-employed you tend to work a little every day.

Yesterday we spent our last lazy Friday going to the hairdresser and then bowling with an English family we have got to know here. Afterwards we all went out to eat Chinese and then had ice-cream at their house. One of their sons goes in Ingrid’s class. 

Oops, that ball went into the gutter.

Folding a fancy napkin

Having fun playing Civilization (the greatest computer game ever?)

I tried this recipe over Christmas. I liked it, I got the chomping-on-chips feeling. I tested it on a bunch of kids and it got a rating from OK to super. The trick to making these chips is making sure the kale is dry and then watching it so it doesn’t go brown,  it tastes burnt then.

KALE (GRÖNKÅL) CHIPS

Cut away the stems and tear into smaller pieces. If you wash the kale, make sure it is dry before using it. Pour a little olive oil over the kale and use your hands to make sure all the leaves get coated. Sprinkle with salt (and maybe some vinegar or spices). Spread on an oven tray and toast in the oven 150-175 C until crisp (about 10 minutes).

I have only made this with green kale, the purple kind is supposed to taste best.

This last Tuesday was Tjugondag Knut - Twentieth Day after Christmas and Knut’s namesday. This is the day to traditionally remove all the Christmas decorations and eat up any candy left on the tree. We have both stopped with the SCD diet and started with some more starchy foods like rice. It took me a long time to understand the SCD diet. I had questions like It’s supposed to be a starch free diet, but there is starch in a lot of vegetables we eat??? Some starch is straight while some starch makes complicated formations that look like snowflakes. The snowflake stuff is in foods like grains, virtually impossible to completely break down and it seems to cause havoc in sensitive people.

Yummy chicken:

Fill a large pot half full with water. Add 2 bay leaves, 5 peppercorns, some thyme and rosemary (a twig or two of each). Bring to a boil and let boil for 5 minutes. Take a whole, cleaned chicken, and drop it into the pot together with a lemon cut in half and half an onion. Lower the heat and let simmer for 50-60 minutes. Fill the kitchen sink with cold water and place the pot in the cold water. Let stand for 1 hour. The chicken is now still warm but easy to handle. It literally falls apart in your hands and makes perfect chicken for sallads or just a snack.

It is very cold and the canal has frozen - the ice is over 15 cm thick. Perfect for skating! We spent yesterday afternoon on the canal with another family and are going skating again this afternoon, it was so fun. But so cold!!