Sugar Buns - Recipe

A week ago or so, one of my aqaintances, who runs the Swedish blog "Loving and Living", posted a photo on Instagram of these amazingly yummy looking Sugar Buns that she had made and I asked her to share the recipe....which she kindly did!
Well, yesterday, as the rain poured down, I decided to give this recipe a try. Since it's in Swedish with some specific Swedish ingredients originally in it (Hjorthornssalt och Filmjölk ;)), I had to tweak it a bit and am happy to say that they turned out GREAT!! I also posted the photo of the result on my private Facebook page and on Instagram and also got requests to share the recipe...so with this in mind, I'm translating my tweaked version of the recipe into English for you here:

Sugar Buns (18-20 buns)
Ingredients
1/2 of a Yeast cube
200g Butter
2 cups of Milk
150g Greek Yoghurt
2 table spoons of Cream
1 cup of Sugar
2 teaspoons of Bicarbonate
1 teaspoons of Vanilla Sugar
A pinch of Salt
Ground Cardamom
9-10 cup of White Flour
1/2 an egg (for brushing)

For the coating
50g of melted Butter
2 cups of Sugar

Directions
Melt the butter on the stove. Add milk, yoghurt and cream and ensure it's body temperatured. Pour the fluid over the crumbled yeast in a baking mixer and stir until the yeast has dissolved. Add sugar, salt, cardamom, vanilla and bicarbonate and finally, mix in the flour. Once the ingredients are all mixed, leave it to beat in the mixer for about 10 more minutes. Leave it to rise for about 40 minutes.
Once done, split the dough into 18-20 pcs. and roll your buns into the desired shape. Leave to rise for another 40 minutes. Set the oven to 225-250 degrees (Celsius). Brush your buns lightly with egg and leave them to bake in the oven for about 8 minutes.
To coat the buns, leave them first on a cooling rack for about 5-10 minutes to avoid burning your fingers or having the buns fall apart ;)). Melt butter in a pan and put the sugar in a bowl. Brush the buns with butter, then roll them in the sugar (one by one) and you're all set! 

Absolutely delish!!!! Enjoy ;))

xox

Fall 2012 favorites....so far.....

Below some pieces I'm hoping to wear/own later this fall ;)

Fall 2012 by anderssonlinda 

xox

Finally! I have new glasses 8o)

Gosh.... I think I've been looking for new glasses for the past 1.5-2 years without finding anything I like. During my recent trip to Sweden, I found a new frame that I just LOVED (from Ralph Lauren), so I bought them and today they were finally completed..... Here's the result. 

.........approved?

xox

As dry as the desert......

....in terms of topics I mean! Am slowly but surely realizing that blogging about every day life, when what you do most of the time is just staying at home resting, waiting for the baby to arrive, makes it quite difficult to find interesting topics to write about ;))
Even so, here is an attempt at updating you guys on past, current and planned stuff.

Currently, I am.....
Planning: Our wedding and it's so much fun! Am so happy that most of the important details are already fixed.... We have a date, the location, the menu more or less set already, we have a best man, bridesmaids, a toastmaster and a toastmadame, a priest, a guest list, a "sort of" theme has come to life, we have an invitation prepared that just needs to be finalized, an amazing photographer is booked and we have many many fun ideas to still explore. As you can imagine, the dress will have to wait until I know at least roughly what kind of shape I'll be in ;))
Looking forward to: 2 planned trips before our baby arrives (if I will be able to cope that is ;)). The first one is a weekend in Schaffhausen, meeting up with friends and Chris's family and going to the baptism of our friend's baby girl. Then in mid September, we have an Italian wedding to go to in Milan and I am soooooo excited!! Just need to decide what to wear.....not that many options these days though which might be a good thing ;))
Am also looking forward to meet a fellow blogger tomorrow morning for breakfast. She runs the blog "Cashmere inside". Check it out ;))
Listening to: Ellie Goulding's old album, "Bright lights" while looking forward to her new album to be released in October. 

Am also loving the new Eric Turner vs. Avicii song "Dancing in my head"! .....not my usual music pick, I know, but I just love the sound! So uplifting!

Happy about: Being on maternity leave..... In some ways, time goes slower but on the other hand, it gives me lots of time for mental preparation of what's to come. I can't believe it's only 7 weeks left! I am happy, nervous, a bit scared and ooohhh soooo excited - all at once!!
Missing: Sports so much that it hurts.... I am now only hoping I can have a normal, and more or less complication free, delivery so that I can recover quite fast and start getting back into shape. This need is mainly driven by the poor shape of my back at the moment as it makes me feel a bit like a prisoner in my own body.
Thankful for: Having so much support from Chris..... I am really, truly, unbelievably fortunate! He grocery shops, cooks, bakes, gives massages, pep-talks, takes me out for walks and for fun, cleans, organizes and on top of this, he even brings me gifts..... On Saturday, after he went to Lausanne to see a friend, he brought me back two of the things I have been craving over the past few months: My favorite Almond dragees and Chocolate for making hot chocolate from Blondel.

Wishing you all a great week!!

xox

Fig filled Goat Cheese Tartlets - Recipe

Do you want an amazingly yummy and easy to make starter? Try making these goat cheese tartlets!

Fig filled Goat Cheese Tartlets (6-8 pcs)
Ingredients
200-300g  Goat Cheese (Chevre)
400g Philadelphia Cheese
200g Sour Creme
4 eggs
Sea salt
Black pepper
3 fresh Figs
Honey 
Thyme
Phyllo dough (Filodeg SE) or any other, softer kind, of pie dough.

Directions
Put the oven to 200 degrees (Celsius). 
Mix the cheese, Philadelphia cheese, sour cream and eggs together in a mixer/food processor. Add some sea salt and black pepper to the batter.
Grease a muffin/cupcake pan or similar and place the rolled dough inside the molds and when done, brush it with a bit of egg. 
Pour the cheese batter into the small tartlets/pies, then halve the figs and place them on top. Push them a bit down into the batter gently.

Bake in the oven for roughly 10-15 minutes (but please check them as I'm not sure exactly how long it took). Once out, let them first cool down to lukewarm temperature before removing them for the pan. Serve the tartlets with honey and some fresh thyme
Pssssttt....they are actually also really good to eat cold (more goat cheese flavor ;)).

Enjoy!

xox

Happy (belated) 3rd blog birthday!!!

So I missed the 3rd Birthday of this blog.....it was August 7th. Can't believe how fast a year goes by! Well, better late than never, right? 

Well, HAPPY 3rd BIRTHDAY to this blog! It's been another amazing year and here below, the traditional summary of what has happened since the last blog birthday post.

Since the last Blog Birthday, in random order, I have....
...moved across Switzerland to the French speaking part.
...changed jobs/company.
...said Goodbye to Schaffhausen by hosting a farewell party with a Nautical theme together with Chris.
...interviewed one of my favorite bands, The Weepies!
...interviewed one of my favorite female singers, Lucy Rose!
....run my first race during the Lausanne Marathon and that was also the first time I ran 10k, EVER.
...participated in a basic Mountain Biking technique course, which was great fun!!
....been proposed to by Chris and I said yes (of course!!). 
....business trips aside (too many to mention), I have travelled to Italy for diving, to London for Christmas shopping and sightseeing, to Florida for a road trip, and I've also gone back to Sweden on various occasions.
...had a massive amount of visitors here in Essertines which has been sooooo much fun!
...did my first couple of awkward video blog posts:
http://linda-lostinswitzerland.blogspot.ch/2011/10/video-blog-just-dropping-by-to-say.html
http://linda-lostinswitzerland.blogspot.ch/2012/03/video-blog-spring-time-in-essertines.html
...continued my journey towards becoming a fearless blue slope skier ;)) Hahaha! Sorry, but for me, blue is already scary enough! It's looked something like this:
http://linda-lostinswitzerland.blogspot.ch/2012/01/learning-to-skipleasure-or-pain.html
http://linda-lostinswitzerland.blogspot.ch/2012/01/learing-to-ski-learn-to-love-your-enemy.html
http://linda-lostinswitzerland.blogspot.ch/2012/02/learning-to-ski-seriously.html
And I still have a long way to go!
...turned 33!
...started to plan our wedding next year.
...started the most exciting journey of my life by becoming pregnant!!! And the development has looked something like this so far:

...written 114 posts since the last blog birthday post (410 in total!).
...gotten some new followers of the blog and also started to follow quite a few new gems ;)
...become even happier and feel that I still have sooooo much to look forward to!

That's it...in short of course....I probably missed to mention lots, but it's not exactly an easy task to summarize a year.

A BIG THANK YOU to everyone who has started to or continued to support me and this blog over the past year/years! It's still lots of fun and seeing that people actually read what's written here is what keeps me going. Am hoping I will manage to keep it up with a little baby soon joining our family ;)) Am also hoping for your continued support as I start my 4th year (!!!!) as a blogger!

xox

Welcome to he..eerrhmm...I mean the 3rd trimester ;))

I have been using an app for my iPhone, the Babycenter app called "My pregnancy", since basically just days after finding out that I was pregnant. So far, on top of being highly informative, it has been scarily accurate or you could also say that I've had, more or less, a textbook pregnancy. On a few occasions, I have woken up in the morning with a question in my head about something that has happened or something that I felt, wondering if or worrying about wether or not it's normal, and when opening the app, I've had exactly THAT, the question that was on my mind, as my daily info piece...... 

This is why I am a bit annoyed with myself now looking backwards, remembering the words in my app about the final stage of pregnancy and smiling back at my phone, almost gloating, feeling that I had no idea what they were talking about! The app said something like "Welcome to the 3rd trimester! The last and the hardest part of pregnancy in which you will feel like absolute crap (no, it was not those words, but it should give you an idea..... ;))! Well, see....when I read this, I was feeling GREAT!! Amazing in fact..... Confident, happy and fairly healthy besides a few normal cramps. Little did I know, that that very night, the "crap" would begin.

Some unexpected (don't get me wrong, I knew most of these things could happen, but maybe not exactly to what extent ;)), challenges in my 3rd trimester:

• Sleeping (...or shall I say "the lack of"?). Oh my! I am waking up about once every 30 minutes, more or less every night as changing positions have become somewhat of a project, not to mention a conscience killer. You see, I heard you are not supposed to sleep on your back when your in your third trimester as the increased weight of your uterus presses on the major vein that returns blood from your legs to your heart, which can be bad for both you and your baby. OMG! I am total back-sleeper and find myself automatically turning back into back position all the time, at which stage I wake up, feeling like I will be the worst mom in the whole world! ....and then of course there is no talk about falling back asleep until I feel the baby moving in there, to ensure it's still all right, which can take a long time.  Yes and then there is this advise about using lots of pillows to make the sleeping more comfortable AND to help you stay in a good and safe sleeping position.....and I even have a special pregnancy pillow to help me. Well, when it's 30 degrees in your bedroom, pillows aren't exactly making the sleeping more comfortable...instead, I wake up either soaked in sweat from using all the supporting pillows, or from various pains caused by not using them. Enough said ;))

• Personal hygiene and specifically leg-shaving and pedicures... Shaving the legs is about as exhausting as running 10k these days and I admit, I never thought my toes would ever be so hard to reach.....ever! Yesterday I did manage to cut my own toenails, but I was almost fainting as a consequence. I now see the need to increase my beauty treatment budget until our baby is here ;)

• The return of the back pain from hell....my long lost enemy! Along with the weight gain came the back pain....and since I keep growing, it keeps getting worse. I used to have a problem with my back. A problem I could contain by exercising regularly and quite frequently. In fact, before getting pregnant, I felt that I had more or less fully recovered. Now since I can't do the same kind of exercises and my ability to move unrestrictedly is reduced, all the pain and problems came back with a vengeance. 

• All the other 3rd trimester "accessories" ;)) ....such as Braxton-hicks contractions, stretching ligaments, swollen feet, difficulty to breathe as the uterus is pressing the diaphragm, varicose veins, increased need to pee as the bladder is also pushed on, extreme tiredness, walking like a penguin, etc etc...... Oh and then I remember hearing words like "pregnant women are so beautiful"....well maybe most of them are, but personally, I've never felt more unattractive in my entire life ;))

Now I would be lying if I claimed that being pregnant in the third trimester is easy, especially since we are having quite a heat wave here in Switzerland.....but there is still no doubt in my mind that all these struggles will all be worth while and from these struggles at least you know something absolutely indescribably amazing will come out of it.....which is something you can't really say from your non-pregnancy pains.

Having that said, I am now literally counting down the days and weeks!! Less than 8 weeks to go (if on time) =)))))

xox

Waffle Breakfast Galore

What to do on a beautifully sunny Sunday morning? WAFFLES!!! ;))
We keep the waffle iron on the table on our balcony so we can eat them really fresh while enjoying the sunshine...... Served with a mix of toppings such as Vanilla Flavored Whipped Cream, Fresh Blueberries, Blueberry Jam, Maple Syrup and Fudge Sauce. So incredibly delicious and soooo easy to make!!

Recipe: Crispy Waffles (10-12 waffles)

Ingredients
3.25 dl/cups white flour
2.75 dl/cups cold water
A pinch of sea salt
4 dl/cups whipping cream
Butter for the frying/baking
Toppings of your choice

Directions
Whisk the cream until fairly firm. Separately mix the flour, water and salt.
Mix it all together.
Put some butter in the waffle iron before every baking/frying.
Let the waffles lay on a grid to cool to preserve the crispiness

I prefer mine with a bit of Whipped Cream and a mix of Fresh Blueberries and Blueberry Jam

....Chris prefers a bit of sweeter taste, so he takes his with Maple Syrup and Whipped Cream ;))

Enjoy!

xox

Triple movie luck

Wow......it's been a long time since I was lucky enough to watch three really good movies in a row. Lately, I feel like all the movies I've watched have been more or less a complete waste of time. Or maybe I just became very picky?! 
Well now finally it happened! Three great movies in a row and it makes me almost fear to watch another one as I'd like to stay on top of this wave =p

Three entirely different kinds of movies I would say.....and here are my short reviews.

The Deep Blue Sea (2012)
4/5

Anyone who has ever felt the immense power of emotional desperation or has experienced imbalances in a passionate, destructive relationship will completely get this one. It is a flawless interpretation of this and the longing for love....mutual and equal love that is. 

Rachel Weisz is absolutely amazing in her role as Hester, a woman trapped in a passionless marriage with an older man and who then meets the love of her life and enters into a passionate love affair with him.

This movie left me completely breathless at times and it's definitely one I shall not forget in a long time..... For those of you who have watched "Sylvia", I have to mention that there is a slight resemblance that I can't seem to overlook, but not in a bad way though. Especially since it's been on my "favorite movies list" for years ;)

Read more about it here: 
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_deep_blue_sea/

Watch the trailer:

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2012)
3.5/5

How do you want to spend your retirement? In a home full of strangers? In an apartment close to busy relatives, with alarm buttons and clinical and convenient interiors? Or would you rather spend it somewhere exotic and unexpected? Somewhere like.....India?
Well, these elderly people go for the third option, all though not all of them by choice or with great enthusiasm.....some are simply forced to got there as it's the cheaper option ;))

This is a charming, sweet and funny story of change, adaption, love and realization with a guaranteed heartwarming effect, featuring some truly fantastic actors such as the great Judi Dench, Bill Nighy and Maggie Smith.

Read more about it here:
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_best_exotic_marigold_hotel_2012/

Watch the trailer:

The Five-Year Engagement (2012)
4/5

Probably the most unexpected of happy movie surprise lately was this romantic comedy starring Jason Segal and Emily Blunt. Most surprising was that I found it to be a profound love story as base, where the chemistry between Blunt and Segal feels very genuine.....and all though it has some dramatic moments and a story with some seriousness behind it, it is also filled with laugh-out-loud moments and a perfect sense of weird and awkwardness to the jokes that just at times almost touches the ceiling of what is an acceptable level and it avoids turning into one of those "over-the-top-Jim-Carrey-or-Adam-Sandler-kind-of-comedies", if you know what I mean ;)

Ever since I started watching "How I met your mother", Jason Segal has definitely become one of my new favorite comedy actors.
I absolutely loved and enjoyed every minute of this story!

Read more about it here:
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_five_year_engagement/

Watch the trailer:

Hope you enjoy them! Let me know what you thought.....
Happy watching!!

xox

iPod obsessions - August 2012 ♫

• Dice by Finley Quaye feat. Beth Orton
• Guns and Horses by Ellie Goulding
• Ride by Cary Brothers
• Summertime Sadness by Lana del Rey
• Paper Aeroplane by Angus and Julia Stone
• One last time by Agnes
• Nothing by The Script
• It's all okay - Julia Stone
• Drumming Song - Florence + The Machine

xox

Sweden holidays 2012 - Part 6: The last day, a family day

The last day..... Parts of my family came out to visit us at Gräddö for some fishing and BBQ'ing and, last but not least, the event that Danny had been looking forward to the most: Trying the fermented herring ;))) 

My niece's first time by the sea 

....we felt it was safer to have her in a floating west all the time ;))

Playing in the sand with grandma

Fishing 

Danny and Chris fishing and trying the Swedish "Snus"

Tony, Kalle and Josefina, enjoying the calm the sea has to offer.....

It's more lovely than normally to swim while being pregnant! Finally a place where the weight is not an issue ;)

Cindy

Lucky fisherman no 1

Lucky fisherman no 2

Lucky fisherman no 3

Lucky fisher(wo)man no 4! As you can see....a bit more fishing luck than during our fishing trip to Riddarhyttan ;))

....and they were all grilled and eaten

....together with lots of other good food!

Shrimps!!! My favorite =p

The whole gang, having dinner on the pier

Danny and Caroline, practicing their shrimp peeling skills =))

Since I have quite a bad back pain, I had to have my dinner laying down..... At least I made the most of it with a bottle of alcohol free sparkling rose ;)) A bit more festive than mineral water..... 

Blueberry pie for dessert 

Danny the brave, trying an old Swedish classic: Surströmming (fermented herring). Yiiaaaakes!!! I was expecting a shock reation, but funny enough, his reaction was simply something like "Happy I tried it....but I wouldn't try it a second time"!
Actually, I think the rest of us suffered more than Danny (this fish really stinks!!!) and we didn't even eat it!

Sunset that takes ones breath away <3 class="Apple-style-span" span="span" style="font-size: medium;"> 

Some of the men, sharing secrets at sunset ;)

Cindy up early the next morning =) 

Such a cutie =))) 

Our last breakfast on the little pier outside the cabin..... I miss it lots already and can't wait to go again next year!!!

xox