Kitchen Simplicity is one year old today. I can hardly believe it! I’m so thankful to all of my lovely readers for making this blog what it is. Without you it would merely be a catalog of all my favourite recipes and I would be very lonely in my kitchen endeavors.

When csn stores contacted me about doing a giveaway I thought it was perfect timing. What a wonderful way to give back to my readers and reward them for the wonderful way they have treated me over the last year. CSN stores is offering one of my lovely readers a one-time-use $60 gift certificate to spend in any of their online stores. I think my first stop would be Le Creuset because they have such gorgeous products and I have been drooling over them for a long time.

The one sad part in this is that the contest is only open to US and Canadian residence. Trust me I know how much that sucks, but the stores only ship to those two countries. Although, if you’re like me and have a wonderful mother that lives in one of those two countries feel free to enter the contest and send the gift certificate to her. :)

Just to make it a little more interesting you have up to four chances to win:

The giveaway will end Sunday, September 12 at 12:00 pm (CEST) and the winner will be announced Monday, September 13th. Please check back to receive your prize!

The other exciting thing? Now that I have been posting for a year I get to add this fun little tidbit to my posts:

One year ago: Strawberry Nectarine Popsicles!

Thanks again everyone for your support over this past year! You’re all winners in my book. Best of luck to all of you.

Now head over to csn and start ogling your prize. ;)

Well, it’s time to fess up and let you in on my lack of interaction these days. My little family of three is becoming a family of four. I’m pregnant!

I know that may not seem like a valid excuse but the problem is that my stomach does not handle pregnancy well and getting into the kitchen is not a delightful experience right now. The toilet has become a close friend and I have yet to put my new kitchen to good use. I’m almost three months along and am starting to have some good days so I’m hoping in not too long I’ll be back to normal and going full speed ahead.

I’ve really been missing hanging out on here and reading all your blogs. My RSS feeds are packed full waiting for me to start catching up. The thing that keeps me going is knowing that this is all for a good cause and that it won’t last forever. Despite the lack of feeling good we are very excited to meet this new babe!

Last week we were able to go on a bit of a vacation. I really wanted to get out of the house and away from all the smells, so we went camping in the Norwegian fjords. Fresh air is a pregnant ladies best friend. It was so much fun and a good distraction for me. I thought I’d share some pics from our trip. (P.S. props go to my husband as he was the photographer for the trip.)

On the way to our first camping destination. Max in the Highlands playing with rocks (his favourite past-time).

More of the Norwegian Highlands. So beautiful and eerie.

Arriving at our first camping destination, Geirangerfjorden.

There are old cabins on the right, nestled in the hill. I want to live there!

It was sprinkling when we arrived and a beautiful rainbow was waiting for us.

The facilities at the campground. This was the nicest campground I’ve stayed at. Everything was very clean.

Admiring the fjord.

We went on a cruise down the fjord which I highly recommend. It’s gorgeous!

That little patch of land by the waterfall is the farm pictured in the top photo. There were tons of these scattered all over. Can you imagine living up there? People had to tie the young children up when they were leaving the property so that they wouldn’t fall down the cliffs.

Geirangerfjord from the Dalsnibba look out point (1500m above sea level).

A look at the fjord from the opposite side on the day we left.

The town of Ålesund.

Max playing with rocks on Godøya Island.

On the road to our next destination.

Lærdalstunnelen, the world’s longest road tunnel, 24.5 km long

Our next camping destination, Flåm.

Otternes Bygdetun, a “living museum” near Flåm with buildings that date back to the 1600′s. (Did I mention that Max loves rocks.) :)

Something I thought you all would appreciate, an old waffle iron built right into the stove. Brilliant!

Stegastein look out point.

Heading home through the highlands. Lord of the Rings anyone?

It was so much fun to see more of Norway. I can’t wait to go again next year with two little ones and when I’m feeling better. :)

I’m really excited to say that I’m now going to be guest blogging over on Smithfield.com. I’m extremely honoured to be surrounded with an astonishingly talented group of ladies. I know I’ll be heading over there often as the recipes will be simple, every day and family friendly.

To kick off their brand new blog, Smithfield has asked us all to introduce ourselves and give people the lowdown on what we’re all about. If your interested in finding out a little more about me head on over and check it out. It definitely made me realize that I need to update my own about page to be a little more informative (soon!).

I realize that lately most of my posts have been written for someone else and that I haven’t created anything original for my own site in quite a while. I promise this will not become the norm. I’m planning on writing a post later this week that will update you on what’s been happening in my life and what my little family has been up to. Things should be back to normal soon. Thanks so much for hanging around and being patient with me!

I’m guest posting on Simple Mom today. Although it’s completely non-food related, it is a topic near and dear to my heart. I’d love to see you there and hear your thoughts.

“In talking to moms, like myself, I’ve realized that we all struggle with feelings of guilt from time to time. Although it’s a positive sign that we’re trying to do our best, we need to learn to let it go so that we can be our best.

A guilty conscience can bring you down mentally, physically and spiritually, and can affect every person in your family. It’s important to distinguish whether the guilt is founded in truth.

Here’s how to wrestle with the issues behind the guilt we face as moms…“

Read more on Simple Mom.

I went back to Canada in November to to visit my family and spent seven wonderful weeks there. It was so much fun to be able to share Christmas with my family this year. I didn’t update my blog as usual because I left my camera equipment behind and I wanted to spend as much quality time with them as possible. I did, however, bring along one prime lens so that I could capture some moments to treasure. Here is a little peek into what kept me away for so long.

Leaving a message for Nanna and Pappy

It was still fall when we arrived

My first experience with forelle pears

Decorating cookies with my niece and nephews for the Christmas tree

Max’s first time playing in the snow

Christmas Eve

At my niece’s first birthday

She had a princess theme

The sweet birthday girl

Heading out to look for wild horses

There they are! Pappy and Max spotted some on the hill

My Dad’s painting of a picture he took of wild horses a couple years back

Max will miss his Nanna and Pappy

So, there’s a glimpse into my holiday. Isn’t my son just the cutest? :)

In other news, I was interviewed by Aimee of Under the High Chair for her Foodie Facebook last week. You can read it here.

This Saturday I had the privilege of attending the Oslo Food Festival called MATSTREIF. My husband watched our son for the afternoon and I took off on my own to explore all that is food. I had to go through the market a couple of times before I was brave enough to shove my way through to snap some pictures. It was unbelievably crowded and I am a little shy. :) They had different programs running throughout the day which I am hoping to be able to take in next year, once I know Norwegian a little better. They also had tons of stuff for kids to do and take part in. It was a ton of fun and I am already excited for next year. Here are some pics from the day.

Karl Johans Gate where it was held. That is the palace of King Harald V at the end.

I never knew there were so many varieties

Fresh Bread

Lot’s of vegetables for sale

Lot’s of taste-testing too

Milling flour

Looks like these were selling well

Aren’t these preserves just breathtaking?

This jam was delicious. I tried the plum.

Making fish cakes

Grilled corn. Mmmm…

Flavoured Olive Oil and Jellies

Norwegian Pancakes. Very much like crepes just different. :)

It wouldn’t be fall without baskets of apples

Orange Salad Dressing

Beautiful Pumpkins

Hamburgers for the masses

This is where all the events were held

They also had a petting zoo for the kidlets

I’m pretty sure these horses were stuffed by the end of the day

And, that it! Till next year. :)

I started a blog last Christmas that began as a personal journal of my experiences. I slowly began to add recipes to share with my family and friends. As time passed, more and more recipes were posted and I discovered that I love sharing good recipes with receptive people. A little seed was planted in my brain of beginning a food based blog, but the old blog name and domain would not do. And so, that little seed began to grow and is now birthed in Kitchen Simplicity (grossed out yet?). I hope you enjoy the new look and the new site! I am looking forward to sharing more recipes and experiences with you and to get to know you better.

Notables:

- There is now a print recipe button at the bottom of every recipe post.

- You can now browse through recipes more easily by going up to the toolbar and choosing the type of recipe you are looking for.

- Or for those of you who are in a particular mood or are wanting something more specific you can click on the tags in the sidebar or use the search button at the top and side of the page.

- At the bottom of the post you will find related posts, in case you are fancying something similar, popular posts, to see what others are digging, and newest posts in case you haven’t been here in a while.

I have added a couple new posts for you to check out and enjoy. I hope you take a look around and let me know what you think.

Oh how disappointing it can be when a recipe does not turn out like you anticipated.

Nectarines have become my sons new favorite fruit. He shovels them down with one hand while the other is outstretched waiting for more. Admittedly, I have been enjoying them myself, although not quite so enthusiastically. With all these nectarines piling up around the house I was needing some downsizing, when I stumbled upon this recipe from Taste of Home. I couldn’t resist.

My high expectations were quickly deflated when my shortcake come out flat and dry. When you are baking there is always the chance that you might miss an ingredient, measure something wrong, or just be having an off day. So, it is possible that this is my fault. Although, I am no stranger to these kinds of pastries. I ended up swapping out the ginger in the recipe with cinnamon and a pinch of nutmeg and also made a nectarine whipped cream instead of just adding brown sugar. But alas, I was still unimpressed. This sounds like such a refreshing recipe, so I will have to tackle it again. Maybe once I am over the shell shock.

What’s your favorite shortcake?

Zita from Simplicious featured me on her blog on Monday and made me a wonderfully luscious pina colada mousse! Check it out here.

UPDATE: This was for my previous site “Snippets”.

We used to live in a 680 square foot house that had 3 bedrooms and a “large” porch. Needless to say the rooms were very small. The kitchen, dining room, and living room were actually one room. You could sit on the couch with your feet propped up on the kitchen table, and if we needed anything out of the fridge while we were eating I didn’t even have to get up out of my chair. You did not have to travel very far for  the bathroom either as it was basically part of that room as well, just more partitioned with an actual door and walls. When you had company over you could hear every word they were saying because they were sitting directly beside you with the thinest of panelling between you and you just hoped and prayed that the noises you were making weren’t as audible as theirs.

Although that house was cramped and crowded, I have so many good memories in there. So many memories that would not be the same if we had lived in a house where you could stand in a certain area of the house and NOT see into every room. It also had an absolutely gorgeous backyard. We often had barbecues back there, and after we would all come inside and crowd around the kitchen table to play cards, finding any possible thing to sit on. Those were the best of times, and definitely not the worst of times. I don’t know about you, but it seems that my fondest memories are when things do not go exactly as planned, or things are not absolutely perfect. We always want more then we have. But, more often then not, what we have is just what we need.