Bread

Over the past few years my hubby and I have increasingly been buying and eating organic groceries, and we are now at the point where everything we eat in the house is organic. It is more expensive to eat organic but I find that the more I learn about food production the more I feel I can't afford not to buy organic. It means that we can't afford to eat meat more than once a week, but we are getting good at eating pulses and grains instead and also fish.

 The only time I feel that eating organic is not practical is when it comes to bread. Here in Copenhagen there is a bakery on every street corner and most places have good bread, but only one or two places make organic and we don't live near any of them. Most supermarkets sell some kind of organic bread but surprisingly some still put e-numbers in the bread and supermarket bread is usually dull and soft, even organic ones.

 Recently I started baking bread every other day and it has solved my bread problem. I was daunted by the idea of having to knead the dough for ages but I have found that you can make delicious bread without it as long as you make the dough wet. Here is the recipe for my buns. I mix the dough before I go to sleep and then leave them in the fridge overnight, and bake them when I wake up, so that I can have freshly baked bread for breakfast.

 25 gr. fresh yeast ( can be replaced with dry)
 2 tbsp vegetable oil
 1 tsp salt 
200 ml of lukewarm water 
100 gr of seeds ( can be hemp, sunflower... etc) 
200 gr of flour ( I usually use fine wheat flour) 
100 gr of wholewheat flour ( I use Spelt flour) 

 Dissolve the yeast in the water and add oil and salt. Add seeds and flours and mix it lightly together. The dough should be sticky and slightly wet but able to stay together. Leave overnight in fridge. Use a tbsp to spoon the buns out on baking tray and leave in preheated oven for ten min. or until they sound hollow when tapped on the back with finger.

Old Milk

I am a lover of artisan perfumes. Even through my (now many) years as a student I have always found space in my budget for luxurious artisan perfumes. I love wearing a different scent every day, and every now and then during my day to stop and smell my wrist, enjoying the complexity of the scent and tracking how the scent develops throughout the day (as a good scent should). My favorite perfume is Ormonde Woman by Ormonde Jayne, a British perfumery. Their scent Champaca is also a lovely daytime perfume (flowery and green) though I tend to prefer woody and spicy scents, like Ormonde Woman.

My beautiful bottles of perfume have been hiding in the bathroom cupboard for almost a year now. During my pregnancy I was unable to wear such strong scents as I was hyper sensitive to smells for the entire 9 months. I was longing to shower myself with perfume after the birth. Little did I know that babies are like little sponges that soak up strong scents, even horrible synthetic perfumes from loving "aunties", and the only scent I have been able to wear since little Alia came into the world is her favorite perfume, Old Milk. Old mothers milk that is :)


I am also looking into purchasing some organic and completely natural perfumes that should be less harsh for babies that like to rest their little heads on mommy's neck. This seems to be a good list http://www.natural-living-for-women.com/organic-perfume.html I think I will stick to Old Milk for a little while, seeing as Alia likes it so much, though I suspect my hubby is not so thrilled. I find myself drawn to the smell as well these days, probably something hormonal. http://www.natural-living-for-women.com/organic-perfume.html

Baby socks

Easy recipe for baby socks: North Country Cotton Baby Socks



Scroll down to half- way and you will find a helpful video on turning the heel



And finally a video on the kitchener stitch

Housewife?

I thought I would have a baby in the winter, spend the summer being a full-time mum and then take my family to the Middle East to do my year abroad as part of my studies. Now I have my beautiful little girl to hold, kiss and play with and there is no way I am ready to give up spending 24 hours a day with her come September. Without thinking twice I am now ready to spend the next few years devoting myself to the sweetness of motherhood, even though I love my studies I can't imagine regretting taking this decision.