Yes, you read it. I had a baby last year. She’s called Sonja, is 11 months old and sparkly as hell. I’m absolutely certain some fairy sneezed on her at some point. But lord is she a time stealer! I keep being surprised about the year that someone snatched away from me whenever I try to do the old “how long ago was this and that”. I always need to add an extra year, which I spent in the alternate dimension called parenthood. Or should I say babyhood, since I hope that it’s more of a passing thing, connected to maternity leave and the uncertainty of baby routines. But don’t expect anymore baby pics on Velbekomme anytime soon. For all my own online presence and hardcore pushing of my personal brand, somehow I cannot bring myself to enter our radiant little one into the mix. It’s like that stereotype about indigenous people who think that a camera flash will steal their soul. But you will probably notice some changes in the future. A lot less time for writing and elaborate baking projects and more fighting to get just a little kitchen fix in-between Sonja’s naps, doing the laundry, cleaning etc. If you’re up for it, I’m game, so let’s get started on the new Velbekomme, post-partem!

1 Comment

I’ve posted these cucumbers before, but my latest batch turned out so nicely, that I thought I’d share the spice-combo with all of you fine people. And just to be clear, this is still a reworked version of Camilla Plum’s recipe:

Read full post

Leave a comment

It occurred to me that maybe there are more similarities between food and sex than we think. Not that I particularly feel like talking about sex here, but if you’ll just bear with me for a moment I will get to my point eventually and you’ll see that it was about food all along.

In my experience, there is this general (and admittedly very clichéd) difference between the two sexes and their approach to food. Mind you, with what I am going to say I can already hear the objections coming from all of the female exceptions to my theory (as well as anyone else who will rightfully point out that I am terribly old fashioned in my observations). Anyway, it goes like this: An average guy’s appetite tends towards rustic, meaty, filling dishes without too many frills, while the average girl likes variety, smaller dishes and not necessarily a huge slab of meat on the plate. And here’s where the sex business comes into the equation. When two people of the opposite sex are flirting at a random bar, the sexual images in their minds are probably something along the lines of this:

In the guy’s head: rustic (sex can take place anywhere, as long as it takes place), meaty (“I like a girl I can grab without feeling her bones”) and filling without frilling (satisfaction without foreplay). In the girl’s place: well, I guess you’ve got the gist of it by now. Come to think of it, maybe this is where my theory starts to crumble.

Be that as it may, tonight I thought I’d cook something for both sexes. Meatballs and an oven baked tomato sauce. A very guysey dish, but plated in a tiny portion and plenty of little frills. The recipe was a free interpretation of this old post.

Leave a comment

Since I’ve been back from London, I’ve been amazed at the effects of “the tourist vision” as I like to call it. You know, when you’ve been away from your country and have been regarding every phenomenon you encounter as part of a strange and wonderful culture and then suddenly you turn those goggles on your own life. Before the effect wears off completely, I want to share this view from our kitchen which I think looks rather Danish: Bicycles, bare brick buildings, quaint old courtyard and then the lampshade as something of a centre piece. Having read this short article in The Guardian on the lampshade fetishism in the Danish TV-series “Borgen” (currently airing on the BBC), it makes me chuckle how in line we are. Just one blonde chick short of the cliché.

Tags: Borgen TV-drama, interior design, Scandinavian lamps, the BBC

2 Comments

As my days in London are drawing to an end, I find myself building a mental list of things to cook in my darling kitchen when I get back. One thing I really can’t wait to try out, is this wonderful addition to the machine park, that T gave me for Christmas. I only managed to use her once before flying back to old Blighty: Ain’t she a beaut?

Picture borrowed from Kunst & Køkkentøj

We’ve been eyeing this Waring blender for years now, every time leaving the store convinced that this is the right buy, then inevitably deciding that it is too expensive, that we are not quite “those people” yet, who lash out 1800 DKK for an appliance. But now that we are, I’d love to hear what you’d use this baby for, if she were yours. Do you know any great soups, smoothies, cocktails, sauces etc, that will be even more smashing after a couple of minutes in her deadly embrace?

SOUNDTRACK TO THIS POST: I failed to embed it properly without Silas Bo at hand, so you’ll have to leave this page, but I know you’ll be back: Enjoy some Patsy.

Leave a comment

Still on my outpost in London, where the cold weather and lack of heating in my house has begun to made me homesick. Just this morning I felt the need to browse through some old photos of T, my friends and endless meals I’ve cooked and I stumbled upon these shots of another  thing I really miss: Danish bakeries.

Read full post

Tags: Andersen Bakery, Danish, gåsebryst, pastry, Spandauer

Leave a comment