The perfect taco meat & easy mango salsa

Yesterday when I woke up, the first thing on my mind was  T A C O S!

Also, I had a coriander plant that has seen better days, and needed to get put to good use. 

So there was only one thing to do; Get out a nice piece of ox chuck (Høyrygg), and get to it!
This is in my opinion a very underestimated piece of meat.

It has just the right amount of fat, gets really tender with enough cooking time, and is packed with flavor.

First I diced up some garlic, onion, spring onion and chili. The amount you use is totally up to you, and comes down to what you like.
You can see what I used on the picture above.

Heat up a pan with a little oil, and sauté the garlic and chili for a few minutes. Add the spring onion and onion and let it cook for a few more minutes, until the onion is sweating.
Add everything to your slowcooker.

Rub the meat generously with salt and pepper.
Heat up some oil in your pan and brown the meat on all sides.
Add to the slowcooker as well.

Now to the fluid;
I added about 1/2 cup red wine, and 1/2 cup of beef stock. You can skip the wine, but I think it adds a nice taste to the meat.

Set your slowcooker to low and let it cook for 8-10 hours. I had mine in for 8 hours, and on "keep warm" for about 3 more hours.

Ready to cook

That left me with a juicy, tender piece of meat, packed with flavors, that just falls apart when you stick a fork in it.
Perfect for tacos.

To compliment the perfect meat, I made a mango salsa. It´s real easy and quick to make.
All you need is

• 1 large or 2 small mangos
• 1 avocado (I haven't added it yet on the picture below)
• a small pot of fresh coriander
• The juice of 1/2 lime
• Salt and pepper
• Garlic and chili to taste. I used about 1 tbsp chili, and 1 ts garlic.

Chop everything and mix in a bowl. Squeeze the lime over it, and mix well. Let it rest for a little to let the flavors set.

I served it all up in corn tortillas, salsa, guacamole, and shredded cheddar. Just amazing!

Heavenly homemade ice cream

After 4 months on a fitness diet, it's fair to say I have a decent amount of egg yolks in my freezer.

I have so many plans for these beloved yellow wonders, and first up is homemade ice cream.

I made a vanilla base, that you can add different flavors to if you want.

The basic recipe goes like this

• 8 egg yolks
• 150g - 2/3 cup sugar
• 5 dl - 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 vanilla bean

Split the vanilla bean and scrape out the seeds. In a mixer, add egg yolks and sugar, and beat until fluffy. Add the vanilla.

Whip the cream until soft peaks form, and fold into the egg mix.

Now you can split up the batter and add as many flavors as you want. 

Cover as many containers as you have flavors with baking paper. Add the ice cream and put it in the freezer. Stir now and then during the freezing process, so crystals don't form in the ice cream.

Some flavor suggestions:

• Chocolate
• Caramel & pecan
• Pistachio
• Strawberry
• Blueberry
• Licorice
• Coconut
• Peach
• Mango
• Lemon or Lime
• Coffee

Amazing Apricot jam for the cheese plate

A cheese plate isn't complete without a really good jam to compliment the cheese.
Lucky for you, I'm about to give you the recipe for the most amazing jam, made from dried apricots.
Yup, true story!
I have bought and tested every cheese jam you can get your hands on in Norway, and nothing even comes close.

• 400g dried apricots 
• 3dl - 1 1/4 cups water
• 70g - 1/3 cup sugar
• 55g - 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 vanilla bean (vaniljestang)
• 1/2 ts cayenne pepper (Optional)
• Water for soaking

Add the apricots to a bowl, and cover with water. Let it soften for about 10-15 minutes.
Drain off the water and chop the apricots finely. Add to a saucepan, together with water, sugar and brown sugar.

Slice the vanilla bean down the center, and scrape out the seeds. Add both the seeds and the pod to the saucepan.
Let it boil on medium heat for about 20-30 minutes while you stir now and then. If you want your jam to be smoother, add some more water and let it boil for a bit longer.

Let cool and add to sterile jars. You can leave the vanilla bean pod in the jam, to add some extra flavor and just remove it when it's time to serve.
The jam can be frozen, so don't be afraid to make heaps, while you're at it.

Healthier oven baked donuts

Doesn't matter if it's Monday, Wednesday or Saturday, there is no wrong time to have donuts. These perfectly glazed and sprinkled sweets are definitely up on my top 10 list of favorite things to stuff my face with. There is no better way to put it.. It's just not possible to eat them slowly and with manners. Just open the big ol' pie hole and show em' in.

To make them a bit lighter, I tried baking them in the oven, instead of frying in oil.

I wasn't expecting them to turn out as good as they did to be honest, but they are nothing short of a little masterpiece.

• 60g - 1/4 cup yogurt. Plain or vanilla

• 60g - 1/4 cup whole milk

• 2 tbsp butter

• 1 egg, beaten

• 150 g - 1 cup flour

• 1 ts baking powder

• 75 g - 1/3 cup sugar

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat your oven to 180C - 350F.
   Mix flour, sugar, salt. and baking powder in a large bowl. You don't need a mixer for this.
   Add the butter and use your fingers to rub it into the dry ingredients, until evenly distributed. Add the milk, yogurt, and egg and stir until just combined. It's very important that you don't mix to long, or else the dough will get rubbery.
2. Now your dough is done, and it's time to make the actual donuts.

You will need a donut- pan or silicon mold. You can find them for almost nothing on Ebay. 

I bought mini silicon molds for 3 USD, and they work perfectly.

You will also need a piping bag to fill the molds. You can use a spoon, but a bag will be faster and less messy.

Make sure you grease up the mold before filling them.

Fill them 1/3 full, and make sure the middle part of the mold stays clear.
I filled the molds a bit too full the first time, as you can see, which resulted in no-hole donuts. But do not fear; you can just use a knife to remove the middle part, once they have cooled, if you do the same.
Bake until doughnuts are a light golden brown and spring back when touched, about 6-10 min.
Let cool a little before you start frosting.





I made 2 different frosting's. Chocolate and cream cheese.

1. To make the chocolate frosting I simply melted 100g - 3,5oz dark chocolate with 1 tbsp butter, and gave it a good stir.Or you can leave them in, and fill the hole with frosting (Yum)
   
   The cream cheese frosting I made by melting 1 tbsp butter and then adding 3 tbsp light cream cheese and 1/2 cup powdered sugar. Add all ingredients to a bowl and combine until smooth.
   Dip half the donut in the frosting, and add sprinkles for an extra festive touch.

  

Fast and fabulous cinnamon rolls

Yellow tulips and the smell of cinnamon rolls fresh out of the oven.. Easter has officially started!

Today I couldn't agree with myself if I wanted a nap or cinnamon rolls more. I decided that I wanted both, which meant I had to make em' fast to have time for a nap before the gym.
So what I did was slam together the recipe I gave you the other day for the super fast brioche burger buns, and added some extra sugar.

• 300 ml - 1 1/4 cups milk, warmed (about 43C / 110F)
• 1 packet dry yeast
• 200g - 1/3 cup sugar
• 80g - 1/3 cup melted butter
• 2 small eggs
• 490g - 3 1/2 cups of flour
• 1/2 ts salt

Preheat your oven to 220C / 425F.

Mix milk, yeast, sugar, melted butter and egg in a mixer. Add the flour and salt, and mix well with a dough hook on low speed for about 5 minutes. The dough should feel smooth and elastic.

Add more flour if it seems to be to wet. Leave the dough to rise for about 10-20 min, depending on how eager you are to get the finished product in hand. I waited 10 minutes..

Put the dough on a floured surface and flatten with a rolling pin.
Spread softened butter on the dough, and sprinkle with cinnamon, sugar and a little brown sugar if you have that on hand.
Roll up, cut into pieces and put them on a lined baking sheet. 

Bake for about 15 minutes, until they are golden brown. They are better under-cooked rather than over-cooked, so don't leave them in to long.

I made a super easy, but really tasty cream cheese frosting

• 2 tbsp soft butter
• 6 tbsp light cream cheese
• 1/2 - 1 cup powdered sugar

Mix the butter and cream cheese in a bowl, and add powdered sugar a little at the time, until you get the desired consistency.
Mix well, and spread over your rolls. Delish!

Slow cooked leg of lamb

Easter is upon us. I'm going to go ahead and throw out a completely unsupported piece of statistics and say that the consumption of lamb in Norway is going up by about 400% over the next week or so.

My household included, so I have done the only right thing to do this time of year, and filled up the fridge with lamb meat and all things lamb related.

First up; leg of lamb.

The reasons why I chose to make this years leg of lamb in the slowcooker boils down to two reasons:

1. I like things that make themselves

2. I looove tender meat, that falls apart if you just give it a strict look

First of all, you need to remove the shank You can either get a butcher to do it, or you can be a badass and do it yourself.
All you need to do is locate the joint, make a clean cut all the way around the bone, pt your back into it and pop the joint apart.

I chose to use lots of fresh thyme, about a teaspoon of finely chopped red chili, and 1 whole Chinese garlic to season this gorgeous piece of meat. Chop it up, mix with salt, pepper and oil, and rub it generously on the meat. Cut some small pockets in the skin to really get the flavors in there.

Heat up a pan with a little oil, and brown the lamb on all sides. Then just put the leg in your slowcooker, set it to low and let in stay there for 8 hours.
I added about 1/2 cup of red wine and the rest of the spice and herb mix. You don't really need to add any liquid, because the meat will go really juicy on it's own, but hey, who can pass up on a red wine  reduction?!

When it´s done cooking, let it rest for a while before you remove it from the pot and cut or pull it apart.
Pour the juice left in the pot into a small saucepan, and let it boil for a while to reduce it to a thick gravy. I added some corn flour mixed with cold water to get it even thicker.

I served my lamb with roast potatoes and brussel sprouts.

If you want a stress free and super juicy dinner, this one´s for you ;)

The best salted caramel sauce ever

I'm not kidding, once you've tried this little piece of heaven, you won't ever look for a recipe for salted caramel sauce again! And it's just as good without salt, if that's what you're into..

The best part is that it's literally impossible to mess up this sauce, so no matter how bad you are in the kitchen, you can still make this beautiful, rich and creamy sauce, and make everyone's jaw drop in admiration.

The options are endless when it comes to what it can be used on. Only your imagination can hold you down. Go wild, try something new; I believe in you ;)
I have used it on cookies, ice cream, brownies, inside chocolate cakes, on cinnamon rolls, on apple slices, and there may have been a weak moment or two when I just scooped it straight out of the jar..
It's that good.

You can store it in the fridge for at least a week, but it can also be frozen, so you can make heaps, freeze in small jars and just defrost in the fridge whenever you need yourself some sauce.
You can't even tell it's been frozen.

You have two options, you can either use real full fat cream, or you can use condensed milk. I used the last one.
Because
1. That's what I had at the time
2. It's less calories in condensed milk. Like 1/2 of full fat cream actually

You'll need

• 75 g -  2.8 oz butter
• 50 g  - 1.7 oz sugar
• 50 g  - 1.7 oz soft brown sugar
• 50 g  - 1.7 oz golden syrup
• 125 ml - 1/2 cup double cream (Fløte) or condensed milk 
• Salt to taste. I used about 1 teaspoon 

I actually quadrupled the recipe and used an entire can of condensed milk. 

Melt butter, sugar and syrup in a saucepan, and let simmer for a few minutes while you stir.

Add your cream and salt,a little at the time, but be careful; it will start bubbling a lot, so make sure your saucepan is large enough to handle all the action.

When everything is in the pot, give it a good stir and let simmer for about a minute or two while stirring continuously. 

remove from heat and let cool.

Pour into the container of your choice, and store in the fridge or freezer.

I recommend using several smaller containers, since you rarely need a whole lot at the same time.

Amazing oatmeal cookies

I'm a sucker for cookies. I'm also a sucker for eating healthy. Whenever I find a recipe that combines these two, I'm one happy camper.

Oatmeal cookies are somewhat of a gem, that I don't think get the attention it deserves. The oats leave you feeling full for a long time, and you can add whatever filling you want. So it's totally up to you if you want a super healthy or not so healthy cookie.
I usually end up somewhere in the middle.

My somewhere in the middle recipe is as followed

• 3 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1/2 ts salt
• 1/2 ts baking soda
• 1/4 cup of honey
• 1 large egg
• 1 tbsp water
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 1/2 cups of rolled oats
• 1/2 cup of brown sugar OR sweetener equivalent to 1/2 cup of sugar. I used Sukrin Gold

Preheat oven to 175C / 350F.

In a bowl, mix the oil, salt, egg, sugar, honey and water until smooth.

Add the dry ingredients and mix well.

Then you can add whatever flavors you'd like. I went all in this time,and put in chopped hazelnuts, raisins and dark chocolate.

Drop teaspoonfuls onto a lined or greased baking tray, push them down lightly (they don't go runny), and bake for about 12-15 minutes.

You can also top them with the most delicious salted caramel sauce I've ever had, if you really want to go all in. I'll teach you how to make that in a different post ;) 

Brioche burger buns

I call them burger buns, but they are basically just brioche rolls that I sometimes put a burger patty in. They are just as good with just some cheese or jam on.

Most recipes containing yeast call for a looong wait (who's got time to wait for a burger?!) for the dough to rise, but not this one! It's fast, it's easy, and the end result is pure perfection.

They are so light and tasty, that it's hard to eat just one.
They also freeze well, so you can double or triple the recipe to stock up.

• 300ml - 1 1/4 cups milk, warmed (about 43C / 110F)
• 1 packet dry yeast
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 80g - 1/3 cup melted butter
• 2 small eggs
• 460g - 3 1/4 cups of flour.
• 1 teaspoon salt

1 extra egg for egg wash, and poppy or sesame seeds for topping.

Preheat your oven to 220C / 425F.

Mix milk, yeast, sugar, melted butter and egg in a mixer. Add the flour and salt, and mix well with a dough hook on low speed for about 5 minutes. The dough should feel smooth and elastic.

Add more flour if it seems to be to wet.

Put the dough on a floured surface and divide into 12 equally sized pieces. Roll them into balls and place on a lined baking tray.

Cover with a damp kitchen towel and let rise for about 10 minutes. 

Lightly push them down a little, so they resemble burger buns, brush with egg wash and sprinkle with the seeds of your choice.

Bake of about 10-15 minutes, until they are golden brown.

I will never look for another burger bun recipe again, because this is just perfect!