Lunch with Linda

So Lars was gone this whole weekend for a training camp with his soccer team...which meant I had the apartment all to myself! Don't get me wrong, I love living with Lars and I did miss him (even though he was only gone for 51 hours (who's counting?)), but it is always great to have some alone time. I read, watched some movies, went for a walk, checked out the library, baked a cake and accomplished a lot of stuff that has been in the back of my mind for awhile now.

For one, Meredith's Jello Cake, which I will always refer to as the Jello Poke Cake (because you literally poke holes in a finished cake to make room for the Jello-y goodness). I was so intrigued by the adding of mixing cake mix and Jello that I couldn't resist. However, in Norway there is no Jello (instead there is something almost exactly the same called Gelé) and boxed cake mixes are not as aplenty as they are in the States (so I used muffin mix instead). The cake turned out ok, and I have faith that upon another attempt it would go from good to awesome.

The cake is super moist and seems like it will keep well (really hard for Jello to dry out, ikke sant?). Over all the cake was a success. I think with a repeat bake, I would choose a Jello that color-contrasts with the color of the cake, so you can see the cool swirls of the jello throughout. Meh, live and learn.

The frosting I made rocked, however. I took normal do-it-yourself whipping cream (called fløte here in Norway) but added some powdered sugar and lemon juice to make it a bit sweeter (it has no taste on its own) and to help it match my lemony creation. Mmm mmm mmm--it was really good and it matched the cake perfectly!

So then I had a hole cake and I was all alone haha. I didn't want to eat it all myself, so I invited Linda over to have some lunch. It was about time I returned the favor anyway; the salmon dinner with rosemary potatoes and salad that she made me awhile back still lingers in my mind! ;) I had cooked a lot of extra pasta accidently during the week, so after a quick email to Elaine the Step-Up Mom (try to avoid the term Stepmom, it just doesnt do her justice) for the best Italian pasta salad recipe in the universe, I tried to duplicate that here in Norway. Easier said than done. The finished product (served with garlic bread and sliced chicken) was quite tasty, but just not the same as the salad I knew and loved as a Washingtonian. I ditched the artichoke hearts and added some cheese cubes, which for me personally was a big improvement.

After lunch, the sun came out and Linda and I moved it on out to the balcony for cake, kakao (hot chocolate) and good conversation. She is an absolute delight and it was really nice to take in some rays and people watch the poor Hamarians that were late for the train. Before we knew it, three and a half hours had absolutely flown by!

And that settles it--time really does go faster when you are having fun.