Good Morning Pancakes, Welcome and Lets do this!

Hello my lovelies! I'm so happy to see so many new visitors here at My Rose Valley. Warm welcome to you all. 💕😊 💕 It is cold and nippy outside and after a great start with some delicious Good Morning Keto Pancakes (see recipe below) and a cup of morning tea, I'm ready for this day. 

 

I suffer from pain in my lower back (arthritis the doctor said a few years ago...) that makes me sleep poorly at night and walk like an old lady in the mornings before warming up, and a couple of weeks ago I had enough and decided to go on a low sugar - low carb routine to kick the inflammation that causes the ache. Already after a week of cutting out all sugars and "bad" carbs the pain has been reduced 50%. I'm so pleased with my progress. If you're interested I'll tell you more about what it is I'm doing different in a separate post, give you some suggestion of my average daily menu and the tips and tricks I've discovered to stick to this routine without falling off the wagon. I don't look at it as a forever and ever diet, it is a tool to help my body recover and get rid of the inflammation more than anything, just so you know. Let me know in the comment field below if you want to know more.

 

After breakfast I looked out my kitchen window and Ooooopsie!!! I forgot to bring my blankets and pillow inside from the bench last night. The table cloth has blown off and fallen to the ground...😬 Luckily it hasn't rained and it is all dry but cold... I think I'll just leave it there, prepped and ready for a moment of reflection on the bench later this afternoon.

 

Today I WILL get the job done. I'm determent! It has been so comforting to hear that many of you are procrastinators just like me. It has inspired me to get going with what is holding me back for the moment... No more time to wait for the "right mood" to appear. Sometimes it's just about taking the first step and off you go. Like putting on the trainers and step outside the door for that daily walk even if the "right mood" isn't there yet. Once you're outside walking the "right mood" will arrive and afterwards comes the reward of feeling fantastic. Let's do this!

 

KETO PANCAKES

Makes approx: 8-10 small pancakes

2 eggs

100 g cottage cheese

1/2 tbsp ground psyllium husk powder

Butter or coconut oil for frying

Whipped cream or full fat yogurt and berries for serving

Instruction:

1. Mix all ingredients together and let set for 5-10 minutes

2. Heat up butter or coconut oil in a non-stick skillet. Fry the pancakes on medium-low heat for 3–4 minutes on each side. Make them small or they will be hard to flip.

 

3. Serve with whipped cream (I whip my cream in the Nutribullet smoothie mixer... super quick and easy) or a dollop of full fat yogurt and berries of choice. I use frozen blueberries that I heat up in the microwave for 10-20 seconds. 

Original recipe from DietDoctor.com.

Bon Appetit! 

 

 

 

 

 

Kärlek
Annette

FOLLOW  My Rose Valley HERE:

American Pancakes Recipe

Pancakes. We eat a lot of them in my home. Not on week days but almost always on a Saturday or Sunday morning. I alternate my thin Swedish Pancakes with the classic small and fluffy American Pancakes. This is a simplified recipe of my American Pancakes, made with baking powder instead
of whipped egg whites. The trick is to let the mixture rest for a while before cooking.
It is a quick and easy recipe and loved by all my peeps.
I hope you will enjoy!

American Pancakes
Makes approx: 20-24 small pancakes

1 large egg

1cup milk

1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 cup white flour

1/2 - 1 tsp salt

Instruction:

1. Beat an egg in a large bowl.

2. In separate small bowl, mix baking powder with the milk until dissolved.

3. Add half of the milk mixture to the beaten egg and mix together.

4. Add the flour and salt to your mix and whisk gently until smooth.

5. Mix in the remaining milk until batter is smooth. Let the pancake mix rest for 15 minutes.

6. Heat up a flat pan to medium heat (7 on a 1-10 scale). Add a little vegetable oil, coconut fat or butter and let melt. Using a tablespoon, spoon the mixture into the pan in small sized pancakes, maybe 4-5 at the time in your pan. Cook for 30 seconds to a minute before turning them over gently. Let brown for half a minute on the other side. Serve with what ever you like best.
Here are some of our favorites:

• Pancakes with maple syrup

• Pancakes with banana and maple syrup

• Pancakes with jam
• Pancakes with nutella

• Pancakes sprinkled with powdered sugar

• Pancakes with squeezed lemon, butter and powdered sugar

• Pancakes with fresh berries and powdered sugar

Bon Apetit!

Kärlek
Annette

FOLLOW  MY ROSE VALLEY HERE:

Swedish Saffron Buns

Oh how lovely to see you enjoyed my premier My Rose Valley video about making Swedish Saffron Buns. THANK YOU for all your fabulous feed back. It makes me so happy that the message of warmth and joy came through those blurry takes and cuts. It is a forever treasured memory in my heart.

Today is going to be a busy day, but before I run off to work and duties I'll share my recipe of making these wonderful Saffron Buns. Happy baking! 

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Swedish Saffron Buns
(About 30 buns)

Ingredients:
175 g (6oz) unsalted butter
5 dl (2 cups) milk
50 g (1 3/4 oz) fresh yeast
1/2 tsp salt
1 3/4 dl (3/4 cup) sugar
1 g ground saffron
1 egg, beaten (optional)
1-1 1/2 liters (6 1/2 cups) all-purpous flour

For baking and garnish:
Wax paper and baking trays
1 egg, beaten, for brushing
A handful of raisins for decoration or pearled sugar


1. Mix a tablespoon of sugar with your saffron strands and grind together in a mortar.

2. Melt butter, add milk and heat to 37˚C (98˚F).

3. Crumble yeast into some of the milk mixture and stir until dissolved.

4. Add remaining liquid, salt, sugar, saffron & sugar mix from mortar and the beaten egg (optional).

5. Add flour until dough comes off the edges of the bowl.
Knead dough gently before leaving it in a floured/buttered bowl.
TIPS! I stir in flour with a baking spoon at first until dough is starting to form, then I knead it lightly. Do not over knead the dough! Just a few turns is enough to settle it into a nice ball.
Dough shouldn't be dry, more on the sticky wet side for best result.

6. Sprinkle dough with flour, cover with a towel and let rise until doubled in size for 30 - 45 minutes.

7. Tip dough out on your baking table. Don't knead the dough.
Cut pieces directly from your risen dough to form into Saffron Buns.
See my Swedish Saffron Buns video for how to create the traditional shape.
Place on baking trays.
Cover and let rise until almost doubled in size, about 30 minutes.

8. Preheat oven to 225˚C (425˚F).
Brush buns with beaten egg, garnish with raisins or pearled sugar.
Bake buns for 5-10 minutes in the middle of your oven.
Let cool before serving.


Bon Appetit!

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Kärlek
Annette

FOLLOW  My Rose Valley HERE:

Lets make butter!

The other day when coming home from running errands, I found Emmy Bo on a chair by the kitchen bench with a bowl, a package of cream and the electric whisk.

"Hi Mama! I'm making butter!"

Emmy Bo is without the most passionate Little Cook of the family, spending most of her online time watching cooking videos and letting the world know that The Great British Bake Off is by far her favorite and her best TV program - EVER!

She is only 8 but knows her way around kitchen utensils, sharp knives, peelers and machines already. So I let her get on with it, while unpacking my groceries.

She whisks the whipping cream (35% fat) for a long time until it gets Chantilly cream thick. Then she whisks it for even longer until it starts to get grainy. And then she continues to whisk it until it suddenly separates into butter and buttermilk liquid.

I help her to squeeze out all the liquid and collect it in a glass to enjoy later. We wash the butter in cold water to extend its shelf life,  and then Emmy Bo adds a sprinkle of salt, kneads the butter with her knuckles until all salt is worked in evenly. She gives it a taste...

"Yep! That is perfect Mama!".

We put the butter in a cup and prepare a crisp cracker. It is good. Very good. And it is homemade! As simple as that. And if you wonder where Emmy Bo got the idea from, I would guess it must have been from one of all those videos she has watched. Internet is not that bad after all.

Give it a go. If homemade bread is good, serving it with homemade butter will make it taste even better. Plus it is fun to make butter with children. It is like an experiment, really exciting. Enjoy!

Homemade Butter
Makes approx: 1 cup

  500 ml Whipping cream, 35%

Pinch of salt
Electric whisk

1. Whisk chilled whipping cream on high speed until it separates
into butter and buttermilk liquid, approx 10-20 minutes.
You will go through 3 phases while whisking your cream:
1, Whipped cream - 2, Grainy mixture - 3, Separation between butter and liquid.

2. Pour buttermilk liquid into a glass. Very tasty and fabulous for baking.

3. Wash butter in cold water to pro long its lifespan.

4. Add a pinch of salt to butter and knead it into mixture with your knuckles.

5. Serve butter in pretty container and store in fridge.

Bon Appetit!

Kärlek
Annette

FOLLOW  My Rose Valley HERE:

Big Cook and Little Cooks

Having a man who is a professional cook has its advantages for sure. Most of the time we eat pretty simple and healthy food, mostly made from fresh produce but accompanied by convenience ready made products such as pasta, bread and pastries. But every now and then my man decides to make the "real deal" and it is absolutely awesome every single time.

Nelly Bo requested Fajitas for dinner as an alternative to the regular Taco Friday menu (anyone who can identify with the Taco Friday routine???). Both Jay and I got pleased as Fajitas is a bit more fun in our opinion. Especially with homemade tortillas.

Emmy Bo who is the most dedicated Little Cook in the house and she immediately came to assist Big Cook Jay making the dough, cutting and weighing it into equal pieces and rolling the dough into balls. Later Nelly Bo came to join in as she really wanted to learn how to flip tortillas in the air. And she did. Most successfully she did.

Its a blast to see them all cook together, my Big Cook with the Little Cooks. My kitchen may not be the most sexy one to share and I often avoid sharing it with you as it is my least loved place in the house, but this time I couldn't resist taking some snap shots to share. Unfortunately the light is terrible but I hope you will get the feel.

That night we enjoyed the most tender and tasty tortillas with our Fajitas. It was different. It was something new in the old. It makes me want to cook more together and make more authentic dinners. It isn't that hard really, only a bit more time consuming. But as we said during dinner - it was worth it as we had a really good time!  Find the Tortilla recipe below.

Homemade Tortillas
Makes approx: 12 tortillas

700 ml flour

240 ml water

1/3 cup (78 ml) of vegetable oil

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

Instruction:

1. Mix all ingredients together and kneed the dough well.

2. Cut dough into equally small pieces weighing between 58-60 g each

3. Roll your small pieces to round balls and set aside to rest for 15 minutes under a towel

4. Roll out each ball to a very thin pancake

5. Bake the tortilla in a DRY pan on medium+ heat (7 of 9), flipping it over after approx. 1 minute
to get color on both sides. Place on a plate and cover with a towel to keep warm.

4. Serve with fajita chicken or taco meat, vegetables and anything you would like.
Wrap it up and enjoy!

Bon Appetit!

Kärlek
Annette

FOLLOW  My Rose Valley HERE:

Back in the "box" (and a recipe)

Today was the day for a great Come Back. I went back to the gym. On scary feet I entered my "box" after almost 6 months of absence. Anyone who knows about CrossFit knows how intimidating it can be to enter a "box". And after being away so long I was even more nervous...

It was GREAT! What a wonderful welcome I got from training partners and instructors. Hugs and kisses and special mentioning.
"- And today, as you can all see - Anette is BACK!"
Feel the pressure. ;) One has to stand up to all that recognition but I went slow. No weights, no pushing. Just moving and doing. After 1 hours worth of CrossFit exercise I was shot! But I did row 1500 m, I did do 90 situps, 60 squats and 15 push ups, and that - my friends - will for sure wake up my limbs and muscles. I'm proud and I feel great. Tomorrow I will probably not even be able to walk but it will be a "good" pain. A proud pain. And when you are so out of shape it feels so hard but I will pick it up fairly quick I'm sure. I can't wait to get back. It is time to build those muscles and get back in shape again. Happy Friday everyone. This is the first day of the rest of my life and I am celebrating with a yummy avocado and shrimp salad for lunch.

Kärlek
Annette

PS: Recipe Avocado Salad with Shrimp Mix:1 handful of ruccola, 1 sliced small avocado on top. Make a mix from 100 ml of shrimp, 1 tbsp mayonnaisse, 1 tbsp sour cream or Creme Fraiche, chopped leek and chives. Season with lemon pepper and salt. Place on top of avocado. Add a few cherry tomatoes. Enjoy!

My Breakfast Egg Nog

I am sipping my new favorite hot drink, an egg milk drink with coffee flavor. I know it sounds terrible doesn't it but it is surprisingly fantastic. I am trying to kick my sugar and gluten intake to improve my chronic inflammation in my crochet arm. And it does help, believe it or not.

Of course my pain is not just because of the crochet, I first developed problems when working as a graphic designer in my late twenties. All those thousands computer clicks a day and bad position at the desk simply wore out my arm. When adding hours of crochet to it in 2009 it all came back and has pretty much never left (read more about it here and here) and even if I do crochet stretches and exercises to prevent the pain, the inflammation itself seem to not want to go away. It is hard to let your working arm rest completely for a longer time period.

So I decided to try something new. Change of diet. I've heard about people who have done it and kicked their chronic pain in no time. My friend Emma is a nutritionist and specialized in LCHF (Low Carbs High Fat) and she has helped me to make my new path.

I am crap at diets, I love food and especially sweet cakes, ice cream, cookies and desserts. I'm a sucker for pasta and bread. And even if my Jay is a fabulous high end chef who makes incredibly healthy food with a total love for vegetables and inspired by Mediterranean cuisine, I do snack away on anything unhealthy as soon as I get the chance. Yes, this is going to be a bit of a challenge indeed. Cutting out not only the carbohydrates and gluten but the sugar also???

I've tried this

before but I always give up after a week or two. But when going back to Emma to get a bit of a pep talk she inspired me to give it a serious chance once again. She told me I need to do this for at least a month or two to develop the change that I want. She told me to stop thinking about all things I can NOT eat and instead focus on things I love that from the start are free from wheat products or low in sugar. Starting there, I can substitute the sugar and the gluten with simple alternatives. Aha! Suddenly I could write down a list of things I love and see that there are things I can still enjoy and that can give me that "fix" I am missing at times. Suddenly I felt that I can do this and I don't need to exclude every treat. Just be more aware.

Always when meeting up with Emma we cook something small; pancakes, chocolate balls, ice chocolate nibbles, bread... This time we made egg milk. Or maybe you call it egg nog.  I was very skeptic... Drinking raw eggs. Yuk! I'm not Rocky Balboa. But it is so yum!!! You can not believe.

It tastes like the smoothest Cafe Latte and you get everything you need for a great start of the day. So here is the recipe. If you are the person who hates eating breakfast and always starts your day with a coffee to go, this is the way to start in a more healthy way.

Kärlek
Annette

Pancakes all day long

Pancakes! Our favorite and our best. On weekends often. American small and puffy or thin and large Swedish style. I like to make them with cooked rice in the batter, or quinoa or barley... It gives them a little bit more texture and feels more like a meal. And it is an ideal way of taking care of some rice/quinoa/barley left overs.

We eat them for breakfast most often but also for lunch and occasionally for dinner. When I was a child we had pancake Thursdays. First my Mum served us soup and after soup came pancakes. I wasn't very keen on soup as a child... But the rule was I had to try the soup to get to the pancakes. So I tried. I tried  all kinds of soups. Some soups I loved, other soups were never tried again...

The tradition has been passed on in its own way to my children. We also have pancake Thursdays every now and then. With soup and the same rules. Not always popular but I think it is a great way of introducing soups and now we have a bout handful different soups that everyone likes. That is a good thing.

We are back from vacation and pancakes are back on the menu to everyone's delight. It has been an incredible summer where many many memories have been made. I think Sweden is the new Mediterranean this summer if we should talk weather. Absolutely amazing!!! I'll tell you all about it later but for now, here is my Swedish Pancake recipe. It is good to be back home.

Swedish Pancakes
Makes approx: 12-14 pancakes

3 eggs

1 3/4 cup dinkel flour (more healthy) or white flour

3 1/2 cup milk

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 cup of cooed rice, barley or quinoa

Instruction:

1. Measure flour and salt into a bowl and mix together.

2. Add half the amount of milk and whisk gently until smooth.

3. Add the rest of the milk and the 3 eggs and mix batter gently until smooth.

4. Stir in the cooked grains and let batter set for 5-10 minutes.

5. Heat up a flat pan to medium heat. Add a little vegetable oil, coconut fat or butter and let melt. Pour in pancake batter in the middle of the pan (don't fill the whole pan!) and wiggle the pan until the batter has covered the whole bottom to make a really thin and nice pancake. When batter is dry on top it is ready to be turned with a cooking spade. Let brown for 20-30 seconds. The pancake is done. Serve with what ever you like best.
Here are some of our favorites:

♥︎ Pancakes with lingonberry jam and bacon

♥︎ Pancakes with blueberry jam

♥︎ Pancakes with shredded cheese and sliced ham

♥︎ Pancakes sprinkled with cinnamon-sugar

♥︎ Pancakes with fresh berries and whipped cream

♥︎ Pancakes with ice cream and fresh berries for party!

Added note 11th of July:
PANCAKES IDEAS FROM YOU:
Neymes' Taco Pancake with minced meat, cheese and tomato sauce topping.
Miss's Pancake with sauteed Apples in butter and sugar topped with cheese and Maple syrup.

Bon Apetit!

Kärlek
Annette

Cardamom Cake day!

It is cardamom cake day. As seen in my Instagram feed and after cheering on for the recipe from you, lets talk cardamom cake today. I wish every day was a cardamom cake day but if that was the cake I guess I wouldn't really fit into my office chair anymore. :D

For the moment I have this big love affair with cardamom. I crave it and love using it when baking. My latest discovery is adding crushed cardamom capsules into black tea which gives a divine flavor and is very refreshing to drink.

You can find cardamom in the spice section at your grocery store and usually it is available in whole capsules, as black seeds/kernels or finely grounded. DON"T buy the grounded stuff, it has no flavor at all. Buy the capsules if you can.

Magic cardamom. It has a strong specific flavor which is hard to describe. The smell is spicy and sweet and has a calming effect on sweet cravings (it is true!!!). It has a number of health benefits such as helping with digestion and is great for detoxing. It reliefs cold and flu symptoms, helps with bad breath and oral infections and is even said to lower blood pressure.

In Sweden we use a lot of cardamom when baking and one of my favorites is a cardamom soft cake. Here is my own recipe, make and indulge - preferable with a cup of cardamom tea!

Annette's Cardamom Cake

3 eggs

3/4 cup/2dl sugar
1 cup/ 2,5 dl dinkel or white flour

2 tsp baking powder

3 tbsp crushed cardamom seeds (crush until fine in a mortel)
 6-7 tbsp/100g unsalted butter
1/2 cup/1dl hot water
1 handful sunflower seeds
1 tbsp poppy seeds
1 tbsp sesame seeds

Instruction:

1. Whisk 3 eggs and sugar until fluffy and white

2. Mix flour, baking powder and crushed cardamom seeds and stir into egg mix.

3. Mix melted butter and hot water and add to mixture. Stir until smooth.

4. Mix in seeds and pour mixture into a buttered and breaded baking tray fitting 50 ounces of mixture.

5. Bake in 375 F˙/175 C˙ for approx. 30 minutes.

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Cardamom Tea

Black Tea
Cardamom capsules

Instruction:

1. Make black tea in a tea pot

2. Crush 10-15 cardamom capsules lightly in a mortel

3. Add crushed cardamom, with shells and all, into tea pot and let soak
for 5-10 minutes before drinking.

Serve the tea and cake on odd and pretty vintage dessert plates and in cute tea cups.
Have your youngest to style the presentation and enjoy!

Bon Apetit!

Kärlek
Annette

My Musli Mix

I am the kind of person who could sit and eat breakfast for hours. Jay is the complete opposite. If we stay in a hotel I always want to make sure it has a GREAT BIG breakfast buffé. Jay never has more than a cup of coffee or two. On weekends I usually treat my family with pancakes, French toast, waffles or scones to make it special. Jay might then have an American pancake or two with Maple Syrup, if I'm lucky.

During the vacation we ate a lot of bread and when coming back home I really longed for some plain yogurth with my homemade musli for breakfast. I think that is my everyday breakfast favourite after all. Simple, quick and perfect for a helathy start of the day.  I make my own nutty musli mix form my favourite nuts, grains and seeds.

My Musli Mix

1 cup walnuts
1 cup pecans
1 cup oatmeal
1/2 cup sesame seeds
1/2 cup linseeds

Mix chopped up walnuts and pecans, sesame seeds, linseeds and some oat meal in a bowl. Put in a pretty jar and label it. Keep dry. Sprinkle on top of Greek or natural yougurth. Drizzle with honey. Bon appetit!

You can of course alternate this recipe and use any nuts of your choice. Add sunflower seeds, raisins or chopped up dried apricots.

I make sure to fill My Musli Mix jar regularly, ready to be sprinkled on top of my yogurt.  That to me feels like a healthy start of a brand new day. And today I am going back to CrossFit. The first class after 4 weeks of absence... It is going to be a tough one. Cheer me on! Today is the first day of the rest of my life.

Kärlek
Annette