Time to Eat a Delicious Chocolate Cherry Smoothie Bowl!

- sponsored - 
 

I'm an ardent watch wearer, I feel so naked without it (I even wear it to bed!). So when my old watch broke and the brand Daniel Wellington wanted to send me a new one, it was hard to decline. I chose this one in Rose Gold with a black dial and am very happy with my choice. I got inspired to make a cherry rose smoothie bowl with an almond dial, both pretty and delicious!

Here's all you need to make it (plus some almond butter). Don't be put off by the cauliflower (!), you can't taste it - it just adds a nice texture and some extra nutrition. 

Recipe:

1 handfull of cherries (pitted)

2 handfulls of frozen banans 

2 handfulls of frozen cauliflower

2 tablespoons cacao powder 

a splash of almond milk 

for topping: cherries, almonds and mint leaves. 

Throw it all in the blender and blend blend blend. Adjust the consistency with almond milk, keep it mind it needs to be quite thick to hold the toppings. 

Like so. So much chocolatey goodness! 

To make the cherry roses I simply used the technique from this Youtube tutorial. 

Add almonds and cute little mint leaves to make a beautiful clock face. 

Enjoy! 



And if you want to get a beautiful watch too, you can use the promo code IDAFROSK to get 15% off your order at danielwellington.com (expires 31.07.2017). ;) 

Love, 
Ida 

Yummy Paris!

I love to travel and eat, and I always stuff my suitcase with food souvenirs to take back home. Paris is a food lover's paradise, so I didn't hesitate much to shout out "oui, merci!" when the invitation came to see what the town had to offer. 

The occasion was the awarding of the 100 best new modern bistros in Paris. The ceremony took place the at the absolutely stunning city hall (nothing like Norwegian government buildings I can tell you!).   

The mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, named the winners, chosen by a panel of the City of Paris led by the famous chef Alain Ducasse. The website of the awards has a nice map which can be used as an excellent starting point for a culinary discovery of the city. A lot is going on! 

Of course there was plenty of delicious food to try out, from a few of the winning restaurants. I tried a lentil soil dish (which I would later meet again), a flavourful asparagus soup (not pictured) and a flowery cold brew.

After the ceremony we headed out on a food tour to sample even more tasty bites of Paris. Obviously there was lots of delicious cheese and sweets. 

The marzipan seafood platter was not really up my alley but they certainly don't shy away from making creative foods in Parisian bakeries and chocolate shops - a lot of nice inspiration for a food artist. 

That night we tried out a bistro on the winning 100 list, namely Anicia, which specializes in food from the Auvergne region in France. Here I met the lentil dish again, and I was happy about the reunion. Also, radishes hanging out to dry on a clothes line. 

They had very vibrant food and good options for vegetarians, I got a supergreen pea soup and a roasted vegetable dish with leek foam. Yum! 

For dessert, there was a lentil (yes, the legume) Créme Brûlée. Definitely innovative and quite enjoyable to eat but I'm not sure if I would order it the next time. Some cute treats to finished things up followed - all in all a very good meal. 

No late night drinking on this trip, as we were up at 3.30am (!) to go the largest wholesale market in the world, called Rungis International Market. By the time we arrived (around 5am) the fish market was already almost finished (it starts at midnight). 

But there was plenty more to see as the market is the size of a small village, covering 234 hectares of land. Halls upon halls are filled with fish, meat, cheese, fruits, vegetables and even flowers.  

I was most excited about the fruits and vegetables of course, and did not end up disappointed. So many different varieties, bright and fresh colours to take in!

It's a market for sellers and buyers, so you cannot buy anything there as a private person sadly. But it's quite interesting to see it all, as you can on one of the guided tours on offer. Just be prepared to get up early!

After the market ended I had some time on my own to explore, so I took in some of the lovely sights, like the Sacré-Cœur catedral in Montmartre area.   

No trip is complete without tracking down some good new wave coffee, this time I tried KB Cafeshop in South Pigalle area. They serve Aussie style brews, so I naturally tried the Flat White which was certainly decent. 

Sweet treats for souvenirs this time, heading over to Kosak for a great selection of bean to bar chocolates and excellent service with lots of samples (very rare for Paris) and A l'Etoile d'Or (now in rue Pierre Fontaine) for French quality treats and the charming owner Denise (she doesn't really speak English but she will still make you buy more than you planned to).

That was it for my taste of Paris!

Love,
Ida  

Sponsored: The trip was paid for by the City of Paris but the opinions are all my own of course. 

Entertaining Evening Meals with Philadelphia Cream Cheese

// Sponsored post.

I really enjoy the evening meal, it's such a comforting way to end the day: Some delicious slices of bread, maybe a cup of tea or hot chocolate, eaten together with family or simply in front of the TV. So when Philadelphia Deutschland (Germany) asked me to create some fun evening meal creations with their cream cheeses, I was on board very quickly. Cream cheese is also an ingredient I use a lot in my food art, it's the perfect tasty base to combine with colorful vegetables and fruit.

The total result of the cooperation with pictures and recipes can be seen over on the Philadelphia website. There are recipes and even some stop motion videos, to show you how it all comes together. 

Like for instance this charming little fox.  

Or a tasty apple tree.

Take a ride on a delicious camping bus.

 

Or explore space with a rocket. 

But most of all, allow your imagination to fly away! 

You can also see further interesting posts over at Philadelphia Deutschland's Facebook page.

Love,

Ida

The Power of Decaf Coffee with Nespresso in Lyon

For the love of decaffeinated coffee! 

With Nespresso Grand Crus Vivalto Lungo Decaffeinato, Volluto Decaffeinato and Arpeggio Decaffeinato.

Food and coffee are among my big passions in life, so when I was invited to Lyon to see how the two could be combined by Nespresso, it was a tempting offer. I was a bit concerned I might overdose on caffeine with the coffee heavy program but that turned out to be no worry at all – and not because I limited my coffee intake in any way. Getting a chance to see the contestants at the famous cooking competition Bocuse d'Or was a welcome bonus too - especially since Norway ended up winning (sorry for the spoiler)!

First we were off to see what was happening at the L'Atelier Nespresso, the temporary playground set up for wonderful experiences in coffee and food.  

Nespresso has recently launced a new series of decaffeinated versions of some of their Grand Cru coffees, so we had an interesting classroom lesson with coffee expert Alexis Rodriguez on how decaffeinated coffee is made – from quality bean to brew ready cup. A lot of love in picking out the right beans plus the magic help of liquid CO2 or water is apparantly what it takes!



We also got to taste test to see if we were able to tell which coffee was the decaffeinated version, which I failed of course, haha! It was a bit surprising given that Volluto, the coffee we tested, is among my favorite Nespresso coffees but I actually ended up preferring the decaf version. It was sweeter and simply tastier - really convincing me that there are decaffeinated alternatives worth drinking, whether you “have to” or not.

To see the new coffees “in action”, we were treated to some yummy coffee inspired desserts by pastry chef Christelle Brua, made with the Arpeggio Grand Cru coffee in various delicious layers (panna cotta, coffee jelly, ice cream and foam among them). The coffee taste really came through and the dessert ended up as my favorite edible of the day.

Working hard as you can see... Here I'm flanked by Italian food blogger Chiara (left) and German mom blogger and cappuccino expert Claire (right). Also taking part was Brazilian food blogger Rosana and German blogger + chef Steffen of Berliner Speisemeisterei. Quite a diverse and interesting group of food and coffee lovers!

To further showcase the power of coffee and gastronomy coming together, there was also a coffee themed dinner made by eminent chefs Emmanuel Renaut and David Toutain. 

Here are the courses summed up by my iPhone photos from the night - many different variations upon the coffee theme, like salsify with Grand Cru Indriya and mackerel with Grand Cru Vivalto. Some were more intense than others but all were equally intriguing in their playfulness.  


I couldn't resist playing around a bit with the food of course, as evidenced by the first (strategic placement of truffle slices) and fifth image (face rearrangement). However, food at this level is food art in the true sense of the word. Although it's usually a bit more abstract and “adult” than my own pieces I find it really inspiring to behold (and eat!).

In the end, I emerged from the day fully satisfied with the lingering taste of delicious coffee in my mouth while still being able to get a good night's sleep, thanks to the decaffeinated coffees.

Lastly we were taken to the Bocuse d'Or, got to visit the Nespresso area there and witness the chef's in action. The Norwegian supporters were very enthusiastic and the Norwegian chef Ørjan Johannessen won in the end, so all in all it was a very successful trip!

Love,
Ida


Written in cooperation with Nespresso but all opinions are my own of course.

Tasty Bonfire Night Celebrations with Stella Kids!

Owls watching colorful fireworks. Pancakes, yoghurt, dried blueberries, fruit.

 In collaboration with Stella Kids, the children's brand of British designer and lifetime vegetarian Stella McCartney, I have created a number of plates celebrating Bonfire Night (also known as Guy Fawkes Night).

Bonfire Night is primarily a British tradition, taking place annually on November 5^th. It is a celebration of a failed attempt to blow up the Houses of Parliament and kill the king in 1605, led by a man called Guy Fawkes. All around the country people gather around bonfires, sending up fireworks and enjoying good food together.
 
To find inspiration for the food art, I first looked at the Stella Kids collection. The clothes feature a lot of fun and quirky animal characters, which led me to ponder how the animals would take to celebrating Bonfire Night. So that became my starting point for creating ideas. To create the food art itself, I did some research on what people usually eat on the night and used what I could from that in the final plates. Classics such as caramel apples, baked potatoes, sausages (vegan of course!) and bean stews are all featured in some form or another.


The owls (above) would obviously sit in their wisdom on a branch and watch the colorful spectacle with composure, I imagined. 

Rabbits grilling carrots. Bread, bell pepper, cheese, carrot, sugar peas, pepper corns.

 
While the rabbits would take the opportunity to grill some tasty carrots over the bonfire.
 

Polar bear with apple sparkler. Yoghurt, chocolate chips, almonds, apple, caramel, silver sprinkles. 

The polar bear, though out of his element, would really love holding a caramel apple sparkler to light up the cold winter night.

Dog hiding from fireworks. Potatoes, cheddar, peppercorns, spinach, corn.
 

 

The poor dog would probably be hiding in his roasted potato dog house because it doesn't like all the noise from the fireworks.

Cat enjoying the bonfireplace. Black beans, yoghurt, vegan sausage, pumpkin, bell pepper, spinach.

 

Lastly, the cat would definitely curl up in front of the bonfire, as it loves getting warm and cozy.

So that was my little turn around the animal world on Bonfire Night, I wish you all a happy celebration!

Love,

IdaFrosk

IdaFrosk Pecha Kucha talk

In February this year, I did a 6 minute 40 second talk for Pecha Kucha night in Oslo. I talked about what it's like to eat breakfast with 200,000 people on Instagram, how I ended up getting so many followers and some things I've learned along the way. You can watch all of it here, and I even did it in English to make it accessible to a larger audience. Enjoy!

Winner of the GIVEAWAY

 

Det kom inn mange fantastiske svar på hva kaffe betyr for folk, både her og på Instagram, så jeg måtte bare trekke tilfeldig. Kommentarene fra nett ble lagt inn som nummer 1-5 og deretter kom Instagram-kommentarene. 

Vinneren av kaffetrakteren fra Moccamaster ble nummer 33, som var brukeren @romvesen på Instagram. 

 

Takk til alle som deltok, jeg storkoste meg med å lese!

Love,
Ida 

GIVEAWAY and Coffee Hazelnut Pancakes!

Åh, jeg elsker kaffe - den aromatiske duften, den deilige ristede smaken, den lille meditative pausen... Det gir litt ekstra magi i hverdagen. Jeg drikker vanligvis kun en eller to kopper om dagen, så jeg liker å forsikre meg om at dette er virkelig god kaffe.   

I absolutely love coffee - the aromatic smell, the deliciously roasted taste, the little meditative break... It all adds a little extra zing to everyday life. I will usually drink just one or two cups a day so I like to make sure that those are some really good cups of coffee. 

Jeg har blitt mer og mer interessert i kaffe opp gjennom årene og jeg eier ikke mindre enn fem forskjellige apparater til å lage kaffe med. Så da Moccamaster spurte om jeg var interessert i å teste dere nye kaffetrakter vant nysgjerrigheten over bekymringen om plass på kjøkkenet, og jeg sa ja. 

Over the years I've become more and more interested in speciality coffee and I own no less than five different devices to make coffee with. So when Moccamaster asked me whether I was interested in testing their new coffee maker, my curiosity won over my worry about kitchen space and I said yes. 

Kaffetrakteren kalles Cup-one og er en slags mini-versjon av de store Moccamaster-trakterne. Den lager kun en stor kopp med kaffe, så den er perfekt for single eller husholdninger der en person står opp før den andre (slik som i min). Den gir deg friheten til å selv velge hvilke kaffebønner du vil og er enkel å bruke. Smaken på kaffen er sterk, men god. Alt i alt er det et fint tillegg til min kaffeapparat-samling for de gangene jeg trenger en ekstra boost. 

The coffee maker is called the Cup-one and it's basically a mini version of the large Moccamaster brewers. It makes just one big cup of coffee, so it's perfect for single people or households with one early riser (i.e. like mine). It gives you the freedom to choose the coffee beans you want and is easy to use. The coffee it makes i strong, but good. All in all, it's a nice addition to my coffee maker collection for those times when I just need an extra boost. 

GIVEAWAY: Jeg har fått lov å dele kaffegleden ved å gi bort en Cup-one-pakke med kaffetrakter, kaffekvern, kopper og fire poser kaffebønner til en av mine norske lesere eller følgere på Instagram! Du må bo i Norge, ellers er alt du trenger å gjøre å legge igjen en kommentar på denne bloggposten eller på Instagram der du beskriver hva slags effekt dagens første kaffekopp har på deg (gjerne med før/etter-bilde, hehe). Jeg annonserer vinneren her på bloggen og på Instagram i morgen (lørdag 7.juni). 

To share the coffee joy, I've been allowed to give away a Cup-one package containing the coffee maker, a coffee grinder, cups and four bags of coffee beans to one of my Norwegian readers. Since you have to live in Norway to take part, the specifics will be written in Norwegian only (sorry!). 

Nå over til mat... 

Jeg drikker faktisk sjelden kaffe til frokost, rett og slett fordi magen min ikke er klar for det så tidlig. Men siden jeg liker smaken ble jeg inspirert til å lage pannekaker med kaffesmak (formet som ugler før-og-etter kaffedrikking såklart). Hasselnøtt, bokhvete og kaffe smaker godt sammen og litt kakaonibs (eller sjokoladebiter) i røren gir deilig tekstur. Nydelig, prøv dem! 

Now onto food... 

I actually rarely drink coffee with my breakfast, simply because my stomach is just not ready for it that early. But since I love the flavours, I got inspired to make coffee infused pancakes (in the shape of owls before/after drinking coffee obviously). The flavours of hazelnut, buckwheat and coffee go so great together and adding in some cocoa nibs (or chocolate chips!) just makes them pop even more. Super yummy, try them!    

Kaffepannekaker med hasselnøtt, bokhvete og kakaonibs 
Til 1 sulten person

Tørre ingredienser: 
6 ss hasselnøttmel (malte hasselnøtter)
6 ss bokhvetemel (ev. sammalt hvete fin) 
1 ts bakepulver
1 ts finkvernet kaffe

Våte ingredienser: 
1 egg 
2 ss melk (gjerne hasselnøttmelk, men alle typer går)
2 ss sterk kaffe, kald
1 ss lønnesirup
1 ss kokosolje, smeltet (ev. rapsolje) 
1/2 ts vaniljeekstrakt

Valgfri tilsetning:
1 ss kakaonibs (eller sjokoladebiter) 

Instruksjoner: 1. Lag kaffen først og kjøl den ned (fryser er fint). Bland sammen de tørre ingrediensene. Dersom du ikke har hasselnøttmel, kan du enkelt kjøre hasselnøtter til mel i en food processor. Om du velger rå eller ristede hasselnøtter er opp til deg. 
2. Visp sammen de våte ingrediensene, og kombiner lett med det tørre, unngå overmiksing. Ha i kakaonibs (eller sjokoladebiter) om ønskelig. 
4. Stek på medium varme et par minutter på hver side til de er gyldne. Form gjerne som ugler og pynt med gresk yoghurt og kaffebønner (for ekstra koffein-boost!). 

Coffee Hazelnut Pancakes 
For hungry 1 person

Dry ingredients: 
6 Tbsp hazelnut flour (ground hazelnuts) 
6 Tbsp buckwheat flour (substitute fine wholewheat flour) 
1 tsp baking powder 
1 tsp ground coffee 

Wet ingredients: 
1 egg
2 Tbsp milk (hazelnut milk is delicious but any will do) 
2 Tbsp strong coffee, cooled 
1 Tbsp maple syrup
1 Tbsp coconut oil, melted (alt: rapeseed oil) 
1/2 tsp vanilla extract 

Optional mix-in: 
1 Tbsp cocoa nibs or chocolate chips 

Instructions: 
1. Make the coffee first, and cool it down, using the freezer is fine. Mix the dry ingredients together. If you don't have hazelnut flour, you can make it by processing hazelnuts in a food processor. Choosing raw or roasted hazelnuts is up to you. 
2. Stir together the wet ingredients, and combine lightly with the dry stuff (don't over mix!). Toss in the cacao nibs (or chocolate chips). 
3. Fry for a few minutes on each side, until golden. Feel free to shape them like owls and decorate with Greek yoghurt and coffee beans (guaranteed extra coffein boost!). 

Love, 
Ida 

// Innlegget er skrevet som en del av mitt samarbeide med Moccamaster. //