To enjoy its:

wide sandy beaches bathed in bright sunshine,

….. play golf,

…..and to look at lot’s of wonderful pastel-colored buildings in unique Art Deco.

Miami Beach is a colorful tropic. Not only does Miami Beach have fabulous weather, its unique architecture melds to form a fantastic destination spot filled with history and contemporary fun. It is impossible to ignore the colorful buildings and their effect on the eye and heart.

Miami Beach is home to the United States’ largest concentration of Art Deco Architecture.

…..threatens more of rain.

I go out to look down at a flat sea and sigh over a lost summer, it seems like only last week, when the old wooden table outside was laden with strawberry from the rear garden - and fried egg with delicious crisp bacon and toasted bread, sat next to the old bulged coffee pot.

Will that Danish summer weather ever come back again?

….. and will I eat marmalade made from rosehips in the strong rays of the sun beaming through our kitchen window, before winter takes a real hold on us?

….. gone while I was on vacation up north, where the earth is covered with snow and frost.

I hope that you and your loved ones have arrived safely and well into the new year….. and that this year will meet all your hopes and expectations.

Me? I’m back in paradise for a short while, before I continue on to Miami.

Here it’s cold - but not so cold that small dark spring flowers haven’t come up through the soil in our garden (very unusual at this time of year). Self-seeded wild flowers are growing in a little clump by the steps to the grove….. and the sea is the same color as the flowers; a misty grey-blue.

It’s January 8^th, the sky is gray, the wind is a cold breeze and small waves puff up against the far cliffs like cigarettes smoke.

….. limoncello was in Italy, and I remember looking down at the tiny glass in my hand thinking, that perfection had just slid across my tongue in one ice cold sip.

Sure, you can buy this liquid sunshine in most stores, but it’s so easy to make and it is totally worth the effort!

Limoncello

All you need:
200 g caster sugar
150 ml water
zest and juice of 6 unwaxed lemons
700 ml vodka

Do this:
Put the sugar and water in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir to dissolve the sugar. Bring to the boil, then simmer for 3-4 minutes until the bubbles look syrupy. Leave to cool.

Add the lemon zest and juice to the syrup while it is still slightly warm. Then add the vodka.

Pour into sterile bottles and seal.

Leave in a cool, dark place for 1 month, shaking every day for the first week. After a month the lemon liqueur will be ready to drink. Strain into clean bottles.

Put in the freezer (or refrigerator) for several hours before serving.

Sip the limoncello while it’s dreary and overcast outside and bring a little sunshine to a cold winter day.

Every year it’s the same challenge. After a lifetime of collected stuff, my mom has everything she needs, so usually my gift end up being a book.

But this year I will try to make my Christmas gift a bit more special, and I hope she will appreciate the effort.

This years gift: a deliciously fruity and spicy chutney.

I love chutneys: they’re easy to make, and a delicious way to dress up any dishes.

Spicy tomato and apple chutney

All you need:
1 kg ripe tomatoes, peeled and chopped
200 g onions, chopped
100 g raisins or sultanas
250 g cooking apples, peeled, cored and coarsely chopped
300 g sugar
225 ml vinegar
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

Do this:
Place all the ingredients in a large stainless steel saucepan and heat gently until the sugar has dissolved completely.

Bring to the boil, stirring, then simmer on a low heat, stirring regularly (to make sure the mixture does not burn on the bottom of the pan) for about 1 hour or until thick and pulpy.

Pour into hot sterilized jars and cover.

This is best left to mature for 1-2 weeks before eating.

This chutney will be fantastic as a cranberry sauce alternative alongside your turkey, duck or roast pork.

….. colder out, and chilly days call for warm drinks and snugly blankets.

We’ve been doing a lot of unwind since I got back from Paris, and this weekend (the weather forecast predicts storm winds and rain), I plan to keep it mellow with some serious couch time.

Cottage poetry:

Here comes the snow
flakes gently falling

each one different
like leaves on a tree

a white wonder
pure and unsullied

smooth and soft
like a loving blanket

so welcome little snowflake
I`ve longed for you

….. the herbs would have been gathered, some dried and hung as a bouquet to mark the perpetual spring in Paradise.

Rosemary, with its pale blue flowers that come out beside the sea even in the roughest of whiter storms, would have been stuffed into lamb, or wild fennel with its strong aniseed flavor (leaves no room for the middle ground - fennel is something that most people either love or hate) would have been used for culinary or medicinal use.

Cottage cooking:

Fennel, watercress & pine nut salad

Marinating the fennel with an orange dressing gives this salad a delicious, fresh zing.

All you need:

Ingredients
juice from 1 small orange
3 tbsp olive oil
1 large head fennel, halved and thinly sliced
a handful watercress
50g toasted pine nuts

Do this:
In a large bowl, whisk the orange juice and oil together with a fork and season to taste. Add the fennel and toss to coat. Leave to marinate for 10 mins if you have time.

Just before serving, tip the watercress and pine nuts into the bowl and toss well to combine.

….. ancient times have stored and used the bitter, dark green rocket salad? Would the juice of a lemon and a dash of olive oil, be considered then as a suitable dressing to go with this lovely green plant?

Through they did use wild basil in ancient times, today we grow it in pots at the back of the house, and with its small curly leaf (very unlike the large, quickly tiring leaves of the plant bought in the supermarket), made in to pesto sauce, it’s irresistible.

Cottage cooking:

Rocket & Basil Pesto (makes 1 jar)

All you need:
2 tbsp pine nuts
pinch of salt
1/2 clove garlic
crushed
150g rocket
100g freshly picked basil leaves
50g Parmesan, grated
300ml extra virgin olive oil

Do this:
Dry fry the pine nuts in pan until lightly toasted and golden. Pound in a pestle and mortar with salt and crushed garlic. Add the rocket and basil leaves, continuing to mash until it becomes a thick green paste (you could do this in a food processor, although purists would argue against this, preferring the subtler flavors of the bruised ingredients). Add the grated cheese and most of the olive oil until fully blended, reserving a little oil for the top. Transfer to a jar, cover with remaining oil and keep in the fridge for up to one week.

Serve simply with: al dente pasta, potatoes or ravioli….. or spoon over chicken or white fish. Try it, it’s delicious.

….. October 22nd, when Gaddafis family mourns, our fighters is going home and we discusses and speculate over the strange new world we now inhabit, than to look at the plants and herbs which grows here and have lasted through man and gods, kings and conquerors, acting as prophylactics and cures, as tastes and pleasures which go back to the beginning of existence?

Some of which we found when we came here to Paradise; as the wild fig and apple tree and the lavender, which grows around us and provides that unforgettable smell unique to our Paradise.

Cottage poetry:

Purple lavender is a beautiful thing,
flowering in violet,
in winter or spring.

The leaves vary from silver to green,
it grows wild here in the North,
and of wild herbs it’s king.

Flowers are white, purple, or pink,
but only the purple,
makes you mind stop and think.

Songs and stories, have come down through time,
of the purple lavender,
in it’s inhospitable climes.

If you’re ever in Denmark, come check it out,
cause the purple lavender,
is what the North is about.