by Krista | Dec 6, 2010 | Bootstrap Monday
Good morning! It’s been a cold but sunny weekend, and how I loved the light after so many dark days. Did you have a good break?
I had a jolly weekend celebrating an early Christmas with beloved rellies from Canada, Washington and Amsterdam. We piled on couches for much laughter and story-telling and clustered around the table for Mum’s divine Christmas feast. It was so great having everyone there, watching a movie with heaps of buttery popcorn, making plans for family adventures.
We got to see my brother’s pictures from his vacation to Israel and Lebanon a couple weeks ago and downed cup after cup of strong coffee accompanied by Butter Tarts, Nanaimo Bars and my Danish grandmother’s fabulous Krumkake. They are the prettiest little cookies, baked in a molded press on the stove top. While we Danes eat ours plain, the Norwegians are known to shape theirs into cones and fill them with whipped cream and fruit.
Do you have any traditional cookies that you can’t imagine your holiday without?
This is my contribution to Chaya’s Meatless Mondays.
Grandma Bjorn’s Danish Krumkake
(Makes 24)
Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup white sugar
3 eggs
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. freshly ground cardamom
6 Tbsp water
Directions:
- Cream butter and sugar, beat in eggs, one at a time. Add vanilla. Stir in cardamom and flour, mixing well.
- Add water until batter is the consistency of pancake batter.
- Lightly grease both sides of krumkake iron with cooking spray or melted butter.
- Heat iron over medium to medium-high burner. (Any hotter and iron will scorch)
- Ladle generous tablespoon of batter onto center of the iron. Close iron, squeezing handles together gently to spread batter, but not so tightly that batter leaks out.
- Cook for 30 seconds, flip iron over, and cook an additional 30 seconds.
- Flip iron back to initial position, open, and remove and transfer cookie to cooling rack.
- You can also immediately roll cookie around a krumkake cone or the handle of a wood spoon. Cool slightly then slip off and allow to cool on rack.
- Store in tightly sealed container in order to retain crispness.
- Serve alone or filled with whipped cream and fruit.
by Krista | Dec 3, 2010 | Fabulous Friday
Good morning, luvs. It’s been a long and difficult week and I’m glad to see the last of it. I want to slip away to a gloriously restful spot like this one in Xcaret, Mexico, slump down into a chair and not budge until all the cares and stresses of the week have slipped away.
On days like this it does me much good to take a deep breath or two and focus on a few good things in my life.
- This weekend I get to see two brothers, a sis-in-law, my parents and grandies for an early Danish Christmas. I’m so excited to see them all, hug them tight, and spend a beautiful weekend playing Settlers of Catan, watching movies, going for long walks, and visiting for hours.
- Birthday roses to remind me I am loved.
- New books from the library set in Old Vienna and 1940’s Paris.
- Royal blue tights that make me grin.
- Skype that lets me see beloved faces on the other side of the world.
- Free Old Time Radio shows from iTunes.
- Enough money to cover all my bills this month.
- Really lovely people to work with.
- One last tea bag of Apple Cinnamon tea.
- Ginger Spice cookies that make my house smell so good.
I love this poem my friend Corrie sent me this week, and thought it might cheer your heart too:
Refuse to fall down
If you cannot refuse to fall down,
refuse to stay down.
If you cannot refuse to stay down,
lift your heart toward heaven,
and like a hungry beggar,
ask that it be filled.
You may be pushed down.
You may be kept from rising.
But no one can keep you from lifting your heart
toward heaven
only you.
It is in the middle of misery
that so much becomes clear.
The one who says nothing good
came of this,
is not yet listening.
(By Clarissa Pinkola Estés)
How was your week? Are you doing OK today? What are three good things in your life?
Sending you a big hug and hopes for a beautiful weekend. 🙂
by Krista | Dec 2, 2010 | Bits 'n' Bobs
One of the best things about exploring the eco-park Xcaret near Cancun, Mexico is the lack of boundaries between you and what you’re experiencing.
You will not find roped off areas or keep out signs. No one will shout at you for venturing off the beaten path. For the most part I loved this, but I admit I was a little startled to be walking along a stream only to look down and see a shark and a stingray swimming along only inches from my bare feet with nothing between us but air and a bit of water. Yipes!
I loved being able to not only look at these Mayan dwellings, altars and who knows what, but also touch them, ascend the steps, and duck my head to enter the tiny doorways.
In reading about the Mayans, I find them an interesting contrast of gentle nomadic hunter-gatherers and vicious warriors who stole their neighbors for human sacrifices. In spite of their brutality, their skills are undeniable and impressive. They created lavish temples and palaces without metal tools, developed astronomy, calendrical systems and hieroglyphic writing, and excelled as farmers, potters and weavers.
I was intrigued to learn that they cleared routes through dense jungles and festering swamps to build extensive trade networks with distant peoples. As prolific writers, they were distinctive in that they were the only ones in America capable of expressing all types of thought. They also chronicled detailed histories of their culture and lifestyle. Unfortunately all but three of their books were destroyed when Fray Diego de Landa, second bishop of the Yucat n, ordered a mass destruction of Mayan literature in 1562. I do wonder what stories those destroyed pages held.
What group of people in history are you most intrigued by?
by Krista | Dec 1, 2010 | Bits 'n' Bobs
After our gorgeous boat ride through Xcaret, an eco-archaeological park in the Mayan Riviera, we spent many happy hours wandering at our leisure.
Julio, our host from Royal Holiday, was a jolly and adventurous sort who joined us in donning life jackets, goggles and snorkels to float down an amazing underground river. I’ve never experienced anything quite like it. I confess I’m claustrophobic by nature and was a bit nervous about this venture, but I had the time of my life! The caverns are huge and I didn’t feel confined or scared. Occasional openings from above sent shafts of sunlight streaming down into the water, turning the river a glowing turquoise that sparkled magically. The river meandered through caves and tunnels, emerging into open air now and then along banks lined with tropical plants before opening into a broad expanse filled with brightly colored fish. It was marvelous!!
After we showered and got dressed, the sun dried us in no time and we were ready to continue our explorations.
Our next stop was an aquarium filled with all sorts of amazing moray eels, bright blue fish, and starfish and sea urchins we could actually touch. My favorites were the jelly-fish. Their diaphanous bodies and feathery tentacles are so delicate, undulating gently through the water.
I love aquariums. The unearthly light and wondrous creatures never fail to delight me and make me feel like I’ve been transported to another world.
Do you like aquariums? What are your favorite sea creatures to watch?
by Krista | Nov 30, 2010 | Gulliver Tuesday
When I traveled to Cancun this past September, I had no idea what to expect. Driving to my hotel from the airport I stared at the miles of shopping malls, ritzy resorts, and glossy billboards and confess I was a bit disappointed. I know all those things can be fun, but I was hoping for a bit of “real” Mexico, something that didn’t feel like I was still in America.
Much to my delight, our hosts from Royal Holiday took my fellow bloggers and I to such a place a mere 60 minutes from Cancun: Xcaret.
The 12-acre site in the Mayan Riviera was originally intended to be the home of architect Miguel Quintana Pali. But as he began clearing the land he discovered natural sinkholes known as cenotes and beautiful underground rivers. Pali then decided to create a park where everyone could enjoy the natural wonders and learn about the history and culture of Mexico.
Xcaret was opened in December 1990 as an eco-archeological park and is a place of exquisite beauty and stunning history. I couldn’t stop smiling all day as I ambled past tropical flowers, clambered over Mayan ruins, and gasped in wonder at the brilliant performances of Mayan dancers and historical re-enactors.
Our first adventure was taking a boat ride down this gorgeous turquoise river. It led us between towering cliffs, by cascading waterfalls, and lingered by the river-side homes of black wild boar and graceful deer.
We bobbed along through dark caves and stared up at the thick canopy of trees blotting out the sky, listening to the chatter of hundreds of birds and the patter of warm rain trickling down through the leaves.
I loved it. 🙂
When our boat tour was over we made a pit stop at the most stunning bathroom I’ve ever seen.
It was so magnificent you wanted to keep guzzling water just to have an excuse to see it again. What especially delighted me were the hand washing facilities. How marvelously Swiss Family Robinson are those seashell faucets?!
In Part Two I’ll tell you more about this wonderful place, and hopefully figure out how to share some video I took of some crazy brave Mayan performers. 🙂
Do prefer “bright lights, big city” or do you like getting out into nature? Or maybe a bit of both?
