Second sunday of advent in the House of Susanna.

I can't believe that it's already the second sunday of advent…time just fly by when you are having fun….or when you have a lot of things to do….today we've just had a lazy sunday at home…we did work out and then I started preparing for making

saffron macrons with orange buttercream…oh so good….and I made oh so many….first time I did these with saffron….so fun to try and make new ones…I only wish I had a food scale,weighing machine…when you make macrons it's really important that you weigh the ingredients…otherwise they turn out a little "weird"…. anyhow mine almost turned out the way they should….

 then I also made lucia buns-saffron buns….again yummy….made them small because they are for a special occasion this week…I need plenty of them….so after an afternoon with all this baking our house smells so wonderfully saffrony…it really smells like christmas again…

today it was only Mr M and I who lit the candles…of course we had to taste the macrons and the buns. I can tell you that the taste of orange goes well with saffron, as if you didn't know....today we didn't heat up the glögg though….we made hot chocolate with rum instead…

we also decorated the christmas tree…since my mother left yesterday morning we did a little decorating before she left…just so that we all can get into the christmas spirit…I don't think my mother has a christmas tree at home so…it turned out just fine don't you think ? I made the star in the top…one of my D.I.Y projects….if you're interested in how to make them I'll show you…also if anyone wants to make the saffron macrons please let me know and I'll post the recipe.

Hope you all have a wonderful second sunday of advent.

My Christmas hibiscus is in bloom on the balcony.

My mother has been visiting us for two and a half weeks and we have been looking  at the hibiscus every day wanting  it to bloom but….. on the day my mother left she said "tomorrow" and guess what…..

of course they did…big beautiful flowers and lots of buds waiting to bloom...

it's not a bad Christmas flower…..like it better than the traditional julstjärna…but I wouldn't mind a 

christmas rose….I so like those….in Sweden I have a couple of them out in the garden…not in bloom at the moment though, because the ground is covered in snow and it's below zero degrees ! 

I'm kind of proud of myself that the hibiscus is still alive because I have a tendency to kill all flowers….

it gets my love every day out on the balcony…I spray them and give them a sip of water from underneath…and so far so good…

Hopefully it will be as beautiful when christmas comes ?!

On request..christmas in a cake recipe.

so here comes the recipe to this yummy orange polenta cake….I made it in a 26 cm baking pan with removable edges…I put baking paper in the bottom and on the sides….

6 oranges

120 gr butter

150 gr sugar

3 eggs

140 gr polenta

120 gr grounded almonds

1 tablespoon flower ( overfilled )

2 teaspoons baking powder

2-3 teaspoons grounded cloves

for the sirup to put on top:

the juice from 1-2 oranges

about 1.5 dl sugar

1teaspoon grounded cloves

the above is depending on how much sirup you want to put on the cake

start out with chopping 2 oranges with peel and all and put in a pot with a little more than 1 dl water. Let it boil for about 20 minutes…put a lid on…don't want it to boil dry. Stand aside and let it cool off.

Whisk together room temperated butter and sugar. REALLY whisk it together,

Add one egg at a time and beat it in.

Add the polenta,almonds,flower,baking powder and the grounded cloves. Whisk together.

Chop the cooled boiled oranges…chop them well….mix it in.

Cut of all the peel and the white on the oranges and slice them thinly.

Put the slices in the baking pan starting in the middle and then working your way out to the sides.

Poor over the mixture and bake in the middle of the oven in 180 degrees for about an hour.

Take it out of the oven and turn it upside down and slowly peel of the baking paper.

Poor over the sirup ... you make it like this:

put juice,sugar and  grounded cloves in a pot…stir and let it boil on low heat until it gets thick..like sirup…avoid stirring…

poor over the cake..

enjoy with either whipped cream with some vanilla in it or vanilla ice cream.

I discovered that the cake was actually even better the day after !

Good luck and enjoy the smell of christmas.

It's a perfect Christmas gift since it is made with so much love !

Sacred Rajastan cows.

I just have to show you something I see every day…the  Rajastan cows alongside the road, on the road, next to vendors or just outside our balcony etc..(by the way Rajastan is one of the states in India)

these cows are just amazing with their horns….

they should have their own file...

when you come up close you realise that those horns are HUGE…

 it still amazes me when I see them on the road….where I come from cows are in meadows or in barns and you don't see them on the roads like this...

remember this guy by the way….Mr BIG Bull..my Ferdinand..I just have to show him again..he's the biggest one so far...

Impressive…

Another fun market in Delhi is Dilli Haat.

Yesterday we made our way to Dilli Haat….a market in Delhi…across from INA market….

they sell things from all over India at the market and you never know what you can find because they change vendors veery 14 days…. 

my mother so like these handmade shoes so she had to get a pair on this trip also…

as always it's a colourful experience at a market….

outside they where selling….know what it is ?

yes ,it's cotton candy ! 

if ever in Delhi you have got to go to Dilli Haat….I.N.A metro station is actually right next to the entrance.

Origami exhibition at Japan foundation in Delhi.

Today my mother and I finally made it to the origami exhibition in Delhi…we wanted to go the other day but because of election day in Delhi we where actually told not to go because it could get crazy…..both traffic wise and that it could get violent…anyhow we found our way today and we weren't disappointed ….it's unbelievable that you can make such beautiful things out of paper…origami means folding paper by the way….

so beautiful…amazing….

I saw this dragon that totally blew me away…I couldn't believe that it was made out of paper….

it must have taken so many hours to make this guy ….

then I saw this wall ….tree with flowers and water and leaves and all….remember everything is origami …folded paper…a school class of girls where there at the same time and they where as amazed as we where…I just had to get a picture of them…..

 so cute…

they saw …..

Mr snowman and liked him…but they had never seen snow….isn't he gorgeous?

a delhilicious cake….both me and my mother wants to learn how to do origami even more now…think we'll sign up for some of the get togethers they have coming up….I think we need to start with some easy birds…I'm not so sure that these are easy though...

Are there any origami fans out there? Do I have any readers who knows how to ? 

Christmas flowers turned into Christmas chillies.

I was out to get some white christmas flowers for our balcony…but when I got to the nursery

I saw these chilli plants and decided to go for chilli instead !!??…and since I can actually use them when I cook….so I guess we'll be chilling this Christmas…hahahaha…I know…I'm so funny…

who can resist this purple variety..I was warned though…really hot-spicy mam !

ok..guess I need construction gloves when cutting up these ones…

then I got whitish-red ones and she said "a little less hot but hot"…guess I only need cleaning gloves for cutting up these ones..and finally

these are just normal ones, so I guess I can stick to my old ways?..just a plastic bag on my hands?….if normal in India it often means hot-spicy in Sweden….I'll let you know on a scale how hot the different ones where..maybe like the jalapeño scale?….hmmm I wonder for how long the hot stuff sticks to your fingers….you see I wear contact lenses ! or maybe there's a remedy to get that hot stoff off your fingers…does anyone know?

I'd prefer if I'll get some advise from someone who has actually used the really hot purple chilli and if anyone can tell me the name of it. ( I think it is the purple tiger chilli )