….. and I’m ready to go!

….. tomorrow morning I’ll be heading off to the airport….. I am flying to LA….. to have a lovely “girls” week with my daughter!

I hope you all have a great week to!!!

See you again soon

Love Lizzy

….. you had never met….. and your dreams can become your worst nightmare.

….. because some contracts cannot be broken….. not even by your own death.

“Paganini kontrakten” is Alexandra and Alexander Coelho Ahndorils second crime written under the pseudonym: Lars Kepler….. and it looks like one more bestseller is in the box for this amazing duro.

Once again we get acquainted with the competent criminal commissioner Joona Linna from the homicide commission.

The story: A young woman is found dead on a beautiful summer day. She is drowned in brackish water, on board a sailing boat drifting in the Stockholm archipelago. Later that day, a man is found hanged in his noble residences on Östermalm…… it looks like suicide…..

To see how this suicide is linked to the murder of the young girl is not easy, but Joona Linna is determined to solve the mystery, and before he knows it, he is deeply involved in a case of arms trafficking, genocide and African civil war.

As a parallel, we follow the dead girl’s sister and her boyfriend who is on the run through the archipelago with a ruthless killer on their heels. Neither the fleeing couple or Linna can find out what it’s all about, but with the murder rate still rising with alarming speed, the professional assassin pursued his goal blindly, and everybody who happen to get in his way are quickly killed.

Paganini kontraktener is a solid, professionally written crime novel, and there are plenty of fast action scenes in this thriller, while the actual solving of the crime is running at a more slove pace.

History: Nicolo Paganini was a legendary violinist and composer. He was born in 1782 in Genoa, Italy, where he throughout his life was composing and playing the most gorgeous, classic music….. music, which today, still only very few are able to master….. and It was because of these extraordinary skills, that rumor said, that he had signed a pact with the devil to be able to achieve these great and almost divine powers.

The book: Paganini kontrakten is an exciting crime story, which - unlike many other of today’s crime fiction - is not about the hunt for a mentally disturbed serial killer (or at least not the kind of psychotic serial killer who we normally read about), but maybe I was expecting a little more, after reading their first book “Hypnotisøren“….. but it’s properly not an easy task to write a sequel to a book that has gotten so much publicity and is so popular.

My recommendation: unfortunately it did not meet my - probably too high - expectations for a resounding successor….. but it is an action-packed and well-constructed story about the struggle between good and evil….. a gripping crime story…. perfect in the company of a good glass of red and a cozy crackling fire in the fireplace, after a long day in the slopes (for those of us who have not held all our ski holiday yet), or as something cold and chillingly exciting in the summer heat - a real holiday thriller!

….. shine, my pretties!

How beautiful is this walnut headboard and bed frame?

Wouldn’t you love to wake up in a bed just like this? I know I would!

[Image: Walnut Street]

…… try this lovely Hot chocolate fondant….. it is to die for

All you need:
50g unsalted butter, plus extra to grease
2 tsp cocoa powder, to dust
50g good quality bitter chocolate (minimum 70% cocoa solids), in pieces
1 free range egg
1 free range egg yolk
60g caster sugar
2 tbsp Tia Maria liqueur
50g plain flour, sifted
Icing sugar, to dust
Creme fraiche or vanilla ice cream to serve

Do this:
Preheat oven to 160°C/Gas 3.

Butter four ramekins (about 7.5cm in diameter), then dust liberally with cocoa, shaking out any excess.

Slowly melt the chocolate and butter in a small bowl set over a pan of hot water, then take off the heat and stir until smooth. Leave to cool for 10 minutes.

Using an electric whisk, whisk the whole egg, egg yolk and sugar together until pale and thick, then incorporate the chocolate mixture. Fold in the liqueur, followed by the flour. Divide the chocolate mixture between the ramekins and bake for 12 minutes.

Turn the chocolate fondants out on to warmed plates. Dust the tops with icing sugar and serve with a dollop of creme fraiche or a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Recipe: Gordon Ramsay

….. eat the dessert first.”

-Ernestine Ulmer

This morning: snow / raindrops…… coffee…… and a renewed sense that everything is going to be okay!

….. a long walk with my dog’s…. exercise, coffee and good dog-walking = win-win-win.

….. tonight: a heaping bowl of Spaghetti Bolognese, a glass of wine, and continued daydreams of my upcoming trip to LA 

Spaghetti Bolognese (serves 6-8)
(Less than 30 mins preparation time - 1 to 2 hours cooking time)

All you need:
2 tbsp olive oil or sun-dried tomato oil from the jar
6 rashers of smoked streaky bacon, chopped
2 large onions, chopped
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1kg/2¼lb lean minced beef
2 large glasses of red wine
2×400g cans chopped tomatoes
1×290g jar antipasti marinated mushrooms, drained
2 fresh or dried bay leaves
1 tsp dried oregano or a small handful of fresh leaves, chopped
1 tsp dried thyme or a small handful of fresh leaves, chopped
Drizzle balsamic vinegar
12-14 sun-dried tomato halves, in oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
A good handful of fresh basil leaves, torn into small pieces
800g-1kg/1¾-2¼lb dried spaghetti
Lots of freshly grated parmesan, to serve

Do this:
Heat the oil in a large, heavy-based saucepan and fry the bacon until golden over a medium heat. Add the onions and garlic, frying until softened. Increase the heat and add the minced beef. Fry it until it has browned, breaking down any chunks of meat with a wooden spoon. Pour in the wine and boil until it has reduced in volume by about a third. Reduce the temperature and stir in the tomatoes, drained mushrooms, bay leaves, oregano, thyme and balsamic vinegar.

Either blitz the sun-dried tomatoes in a small blender with a little of the oil to loosen, or just finely chop before adding to the pan. Season well with salt and pepper. Cover with a lid and simmer the Bolognese sauce over a gentle heat for 1-1½ hours until it’s rich and thickened, stirring occasionally. At the end of the cooking time, stir in the basil and add any extra seasoning if necessary.

Remove from the heat to ’settle’ while you cook the spaghetti in plenty of boiling salted water (for the time stated on the packet). Drain and divide between warmed plates. Scatter a little parmesan over the spaghetti before adding a good ladleful of the Bolognese sauce, finishing with a scattering of more cheese and a twist of black pepper.

Tip: Any leftovers will taste even better the next day.

Have a lovely weekend
Lizzy

Joy is an inside job…..
….. with outside rewards!

….. Chai-Tea Latte. Here’s a recipe for a sweet dream….. a wonderful, soft and mild dessert cake that will be perfect to finish off any dinner, and which is perfect to serve with Chai-Tea.

Aladdin’s dream cake

You need (16 pc)
3 cups flour
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
125 g butter
1 egg yolk

Filling:
2 eggs
500 g quark
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup creme fraiche
1 / 2 cup flour
1 teaspoon vanilla
grated rind and juice of 1 lemon

Do this
Mix the flour, sugar and butter to a breadcrumb consistency.

Add the egg yolk and knead into a dough.

Press into a pan with removable rim about 24 cm in diameter.

Let rest in refrigerator for about 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 200 degrees.

Whisk the eggs and stir in remaining ingredients for the filling.

Pour into pie plate. Bake in middle of oven 30-35 min.

Let cake cool before serving it.

….. tea?

Today has been a bitterly cold day with crisp frost and red cheeks. And so it’s nice to be indoor again, sitting on the couch with a fragrant and spicy tea filled with fluffy warm milk.

Mmmmmm….. I can feel it spreading a wonderful tingling from my stomach to the rest of my body.

Chai-Tea Latte (4 small or 2 large)

5 cups water
1 slice fresh ginger
1 cinnamon stick
10 cardamom seeds
3-4 teaspoons of black tea
2 cups hot milk

Let the water and the spices cook, covered, for approx. 5 minutes.

Add the tea and let it rest for 5 minutes.

Strain the tea; whip the hot milk into foam and poor it into the teen.

….. flower and beast and bird,

the supreme triumph is to be most vividly,

most perfectly alive.”

-D.H. Lawrence 

[Photo: anna/marek]