Breakfast for the hungry

Breakfast is my most important meal of the day. I go bonkers if I skip breakfast and end up being none functional. I'm always trying to reinvent breakfast and ways to make a satisfying meal without taking forever to make it in the morning since I'm pretty much starving after I walk Clyde. This Storm Relief Granola recipe from Sara-Kate at Apartment Therapy landed in my inbox last week and looked amazing. So I went to town at Whole Foods and got all the ingredients. I substituted honey for the sugar (I don't really like the taste of sugar- yeah, I'm crazy) and dried cranberries instead of raisins. I also added a heaping half cup to cup of Trader Joe's flax seed with blueberries powder. Note: my bake time was around 35 minutes total - be sure to check your oven temperature. I over baked my first batch and got the second batch just right. This would be perfect to have on hand for your holiday guests as they wake up in the morning.

The (re)New Cool

I love Pedro Almodóvar's films. Before I left for Norway, we watched Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown. Gazpacho plays a huge role in the movie. And I was saying to myself that I should really try and make gazpacho (never made it before, but it looked simple) after the movie ended. There was a period of time about eight years ago when Geoff and I would eat out often. We found that across the board at the places we dined at, the rage was gazpacho.

A post with a great recipe on Apartment Therapy reminded me how perfect an Almodóvar gazpacho sounded in the middle of this boiling heat. After Norway, Ross and I have been completely gung-ho about eating as much fresh produce as we can. I'm going to renew my love for gazpacho and keep my kitchen cool at the same time by not using the stove. Here are 22 more no-cook recipes from Real Simple. Next up on the agenda, some kind of cucumber yogurt soup and bake-less dessert.

Bergen on Foot

As in Trondheim, we did lots of walking in Bergen, exploring different neighborhoods on foot. This set of house pictures was taken in the neighborhood between the Den Nationale Scene (The National Venue of Theatre) and the Aquarium. I couldn't get over how cute all the little houses, cobblestone streets and small gardens were. Most have very little square footage and I imagine were built for sailors. There should definitely be an Apartment Therapy Small, Cool Spaces competition there.

Little Northern Retreat to Vaxholm

Vaxholm is just 30 minutes north of where Lisa lives, so we headed up there and rented a mini cottage for the day. It was the tiniest space, and really should be submitted to Apartment Therapy. The sleeping space is really a crawl space but the owner made it a very cozy nook. The boys, especially Vilmer and Algot, enjoyed the cold water. The town was charming and filled with city folk day-tripping and vacationing. We relaxed and lounged around, then returned on the bus back to Lisa's apartment.

Approaching Islands

Approaching Islands Rona Chang

Made some ginger coconut milk cereal bars for the long drive on tomorrow. Got the recipe from AT. The chocolate chip one sounds good as well.

Tres Dorky

This is info for folks who don glasses. Did you know you can donate your old glasses to a good cause? My old Y collected old glasses but since I switched Y's I've been accumulating my old ones in a container at home. AT wrote a good post with links on where to donate your old glasses. Again, for dorks like me who find this bit of info important.

Washing or wiping- mushrooms

When it come to mushrooms, my mom insists on wiping while I think it's kinda gross to leave the dirt on (you can't possibly get it all off by wiping, and who knows what's been hovering aound the mushrooms). This post on AT confirms my beliefs! Washing is the way to go.

My photo titled Hole, Iceland is up on Apartment Therapy's Gallery today, along with Night Fall (which they have posted once before), continuing with their theme of Suburbia. You can vote for which image you'd like to hang in your home.

Suburbia

Apartment Therapy is exploring the theme of Suburbia. A photo I took in Iceland is part of this week's showcase.