Cheese Crackers!

I made cheese crackers today and although they are supposed to be for kids I cannot stop snacking on them as they are incredibly good! The recipe is Nigella's and it was the first time I tried it but of course as all other recipes of hers I have tried it worked out perfectly. These crackers are so simple to make and super light and flaky. I grated my cheese on the large side so I got little cheesy dots on mine, I don't mind though, I actually kinda like it that way. I have tons of fun cookie cutters but they are packed away so all I had on hand while making these was this cup/heart shape. Next time I will use my crocodile/monkey/elephant/motorcycle cutters as they are definitely more fun. Sam sat in the ergo carrier as I baked of course, can't wait for him to be old enough to actually help me press out cookies etc. To say that Sam liked these cheese crackers would be a huge understatement, he loved them!!

 Side note) I did not have my scale handy so I eye balled all ingredients...my colleague would shake his head and call me a cowboy..

Here's the recipe:    
100g grated cheddar cheese
25g soft butter   (I added slightly more butter for a flakier cracker)
50g Flour
1/4 tsp baking powder ( I added slightly more)

Mix all ingredients in food processor until your get a smooth dough, happens quickly!, wrap up dough and rest in fridge until cold, roll out and cut out crackers using cookie cutters, then bake at 350F for 10min roughly- until they are golden and baked.
Enjoy!
//Nina

Ice cream heaven!

Since Sam has been sick for a while now we have been limited to what we can do during the days.  We have spent a lot of time at home and he is really starting to get fed up by it. Today we took him out and he loved it, went a little bananas around people and acted as he had been people starved by desperately wanting to engage and communicate with everyone around him. It was really cute actually until he got one of his coughing fits and people gave us that 'your kid is clearly sick, why did you take him here!?' look. Calm down lady, he is fever free and not contagious any more. Yes, he has a cough that sounds terrible but a bit of fresh air is just what the doctor ordered. To make his day even better we took him for an ice cream at mc donalds, yes, mc donalds. Sam has never had ice cream before and was a little puzzled by this cold treat at first. But I assure you it did not take long until he took some serious ownership of it. He could have probably eaten all of it but since 1) it was enormous and 2) I am not trying to get on some kind of bad parenting list, he had to share with Daddy. //Nina

Too Early?

Is it too early to get into easter? Maybe it is but we really needed to brighten up the place with some spring fun, plus the stores don't seem to think it's too early so I went ahead. In Sweden we have something called paskris every easter, it's essentially a bouquet of branches decorated with colourful feathers and eggs. When I was a kid we would paint actual egg shells to hang up but I cheated this year and bought some.  A couple of weeks ago I got some spring flowers for the balcony but decided to bring them in so I get to enjoy them more. I remember easter being a fun holiday as a kid, you do a lot of arts/crafts, get candy and do trick or treating. No, not the halloween trick or treating the north american kids do but it's basically the same thing except you dress up as easter witches, walk from door to door, hand out home made easter cards and get some candy in return. Here are some pictures of our paskris. //Nina

Yuck winter

 Above: A tired little monkey who refused giving up mousy even when eating dinner...what happens when he's sick. Below: my commute on tuesday morning...it took a long time to get to work!

This winter has been hard to us, we have had one sickness after another in our home. Sam now has a really bad cold and cough, poor little guy. It's been very hectic as I have worked tues/wed and Colin was out of town mon/tues. Thankfully Sam has an amazing Grandma who came to help out. With little sleep, sick Sam and a hectic schedule we have fallen behind on grocery shopping, cleaning and laundry. Yuck, today we have to find time to catch up and take Sam to the doctor. Needless to say I can not wait for this winter to be over! // Nina

Family Time

Yesterday we had a little family party for Sam and his Grandma. We had a light lunch with a not so light chocolate cake for dessert. I tried a recipe from Nigellas book 'Feasts', I have found that her recipe's work very well, tastes great and easy to make at home. It's her quadruple chocolate loaf recipe but I baked it in a bunt pan and topped it with some creme chantilly and fresh berries. The cake turned out good, could have been a little less dense but I can easily alter the recipe to change that in the future.  It tasted great and I have to admit to having more then one slice. Unfortunetaly, Sam's uncle and aunty were sick and could not make it but luckily for him his cousins were well and came out without their parents anyways. It is so amazing to see Sam with his cousins, he is so happy around them! They really do play well together. His oldest cousin, Anika, is 5 and very sweet with him. She takes his hand when he is a little unsteady on his feet, makes funny faces to make him laugh and gives him lots of hugs.  We ended up staying for dinner as well, the kids had a bath in the jacuzzi tub before dinner. Grandma and Grandpa's bath toys are way better then ours, they have cool submarine boats, divers etc. Zach went out before Sam and Anika turned on the jets as they were little scary for him but Sam and Anika loved the jets. Grandma poured in soap which they loved, Sam eat his fair share of soapy bubbles and almost got "swept away' by the jets. Thankfully Anika was right there to make sure he didn't fall though, such a responsible older cousin!  After a fun filled busy day we arrived back home just before 8pm with a tired Sam who went straight to bed. Colin and I were exhausted too and called it a night not long after Sam. //Nina

Climbing little monkey

We have been busy today. We went for lunch down at the quay, Sam walked around outside trying to catch the pigeons. Sam is always one step ahead of us but he had nothing on the pigeons. After lunch we went to see Dr.Chan, our family doc, Sam had his 1 year check up. Our little boy is growing fast and is learning new things every day.  I turned my head for a second this evening and Sam had climbed up on the coffee table! What do you do when you have a little monkey who climbs on everything? We can't get rid of all our furniture but as soon as we baby proof one thing he find something else to scare us with. The coffee table had been strategically placed in front of the fireplace and blocking our side table by the couch for a reason. Now what do we do? //Nina

Park Pictures

The sun has been shining for most of the day so we got our jackets on and headed out to the park! //Nina