One Month Down

It has now been one month of gluten free eating (minus my one cheat day - ramen, ah!). Honestly, it has not been so different from before I went gluten free. There is a little more label reading on my part, but I haven't really had to cut anything drastically. I also haven't tried substituting gluten free products for normal products except for having the gluten free pasta from Rema 1000 one night this week.

In general, I think it is easiest and best sticking to recipes that are naturally gluten free. Last week we had nachos. Tortillas are normally gluten free, but we switched things up and had baked some thinly sliced sweet potato in place of the chips. I loved that meal. Our meal was based on this recipe. We've been eating japchae, roasting chickens, making soup, and enjoying some red thai curry at home.

We've also been on a huge skyr panna cotta kick. I've been making a new batch of skyr panna cotta every week this month! I've also been able to enjoy some baked treats. Besides the peanut butter chocolate chunk cookies I shared last week, I've also made some almond meal cookies full of coconut and chocolate chunks. When we had friends over for dinner at the beginning of the month, I served this Swedish kladdkaka for dessert.

I've been testing out Jeanne's All-Purpose Gluten Free Flour mix over the last two weeks and it works but I have some issues with it. I've tried making my favorite chocolate chunk cookies and I just tried her banana bread recipe today. The texture of the flour is great, the only issue I have is that the sweet rice flour flavor really hits you. I love mochi, but I don't want mochi flavor in my cookies! Although the fiance thought the cookies were still good and gobbled them up like my regular cookies. I'll have to test it out on a few more recipes before I really recommend it!

Anyways, that has how my first month of going gluten free has gone! It hasn't been a huge adjustment to my/our diets and I have a few friends who are celiac or gluten free as well so it's nice to be able to share recipes and baking tips!

There are also a few places in Copenhagen where you can go out to eat or get some gluten free goodies. I'll have to share them with you soon! If you have any recommendations as well, please do let me know!

Happy Friday!

True Colors

There are two sides to my life right now. On one hand, I am super happy and excited about getting married to the fiance this summer. He really is my best friend and we have the best time together. But on the other hand, I am pretty sad and mad. I have been living in Copenhagen for a year and a half now and well, I am still unemployed. I really do like Copenhagen. It's a great place to live. However, I don't like Copenhagen when I'm not an actual part of society. I don't feel like a tourist but I also don't feel like I am a part of society here. I would say that I'm "integrating" pretty well. I've finished four out of five modules of Danish classes, I'm getting married to a Dane, and I come from a country and a culture that is quite similar to here. I've been applying to jobs every week and I often get the same reply. It is really discouraging when you so badly want to be a part of the society that you are living in and you are doing what you can to get there but nothing has worked out so far. Most days I am happy and I stay positive but some days are harder than others. I feel like I write a post like this every few months, and I guess I do this because every few months it really hits me again.

Besides this huge debbie downer of a post, there are some photos from my weekend! I did a little twist on my usual risotto recipe on Friday night. I added some lemon juice and lemons zest to the risotto and we finally tried eating romanesco! Um, you need to try romanesco, it's so pretty and is like a broccoli and cauliflower hybrid! The fiance and I went to do a little wedding ring shopping on Saturday. It's fun to see what is out there and see what I can stack my engagement ring with. I think we know which rings we want to order! There was a little visit to good ol' Joe and the Juice, my friend invited some of us girls over for a lovely brunch - they are some of the most supportive ladies I know here in Copenhagen, and well it started snowing Sunday afternoon and it hasn't stopped!



It's Monday, it's a new week, and life is still good.

Soft + Dark

Some of my wedding color inspiration for you today. The fiance will be wearing a dark navy blue suit and I've asked my sisters and best friend who will be bridesmaids, to pick their own dresses from the pink color palette below. I think some hints of gold and mint mixed into the navy, pinks, and peaches would go nicely as well. 

What were your wedding colors and how did you decide on them? 

1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6

Spiced Apple Butter

Sometimes I feel like Med Kærlig Hilsen is turning into a food blog. I really enjoy cooking, baking, and testing out new recipes. It's just funny because I never thought I would post so much about things I make in the kitchen! Sometimes I dream about going to pastry school. How fun would that be? Anyways, here we go again! Another recipe for you today!

I bought a huge bag of apples at the grocery store this week and I thought about making an apple crumble but then I remembered seeing all these recipes for apple butter. I had no idea what apple butter was so I did some research and read up on different recipes. Apple butter is basically applesauce that has been cooked much longer, to the point where the sugar in the apples caramelize and turn the sauce a deep brown color.

I cooked my apple butter for about two and a half hours and I just couldn't stop licking the spoon. The apple butter is sweet and full of spice and just so smooth and velvety. We ate it warm over some skyr panna cotta for dessert and this morning I mixed it into my oatmeal. Many people use it as a spread on bread, you can bake with it, and I've even seen some recipes where people use it to glaze meat. No matter how you eat it, I'm sure you'll really enjoy this apple butter!

Spiced Apple Butter (adapted from Sing For Your Supper)
Makes about 500ml of apple butter, I had enough to fill two 1/4 litre Weck jars

2 1/2 pounds or 1.1 kg of apples, peeled, cored and cut into chunks
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
juice from half of a lemon
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tbsp vanilla extract

Combine all of the ingredients except for the vanilla extract in a large pot and cook, covered, on low heat for about 2 hours and stir occasionally. You will see the apples cook down and get softer and softer as time goes on. When apples have become extremely soft and the liquid is almost all gone, stir in the vanilla extract.

To get a really smooth apple butter, use an immersion blender or a regular blender, and puree the apples until it is completely smooth. I wanted to thicken up my apple butter even more so I placed it back on low heat with the lid off this time, and cooked it for half an hour more.

When your apple butter has reached your desired thickness and caramelization, place them in some jars or containers and let it cool to room temperature before placing it in the fridge. Apple butter will keep well in the fridge for at least two weeks.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies

I haven't shared very many cookie recipes on here so it is about time I posted one! These cookies are so easy to make and they require no baking skills. For reals. And if you are a peanut butter fan, you will love these. Chewy, full of peanut butter, and then there's chocolate chunks mixed in there too! What's not to love?

One note before you make these cookies though! I used an almost all natural peanut butter (it was like 94% all natural peanut butter with a little sugar and extra oil mixed in), but I still found that my cookie dough was quite oily. They worked and they taste great, but do keep in mind that the cookie dough may get oily if you use a natural peanut butter and that the cookies might spread a bit more. If you will use a natural or almost all natural peanut butter, I'd recommend only creaming the cookie dough until everything is just combined. Now off we go!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies (slightly adapted from Averie Cooks)
Makes approximately 16 medium sized cookies

1 cup peanut butter (creamy or crunchy, Averie recommends Skippy or Kraft peanut butter, however, my almost all natural crunchy peanut butter worked too!)
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 large egg
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 tsp baking soda
100g semisweet, dark, or bittersweet chocolate, chopped into chunks

Preheat the oven to 350F or 170C and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

With a hand mixer or in your stand mixer, cream together the peanut butter, sugar, egg, and vanilla until well combined. This only took me about a minute and a half, but if you are using Skippy-like peanut butter, Averie recommends creaming this mixture for about 5 minutes.

Add the baking soda and beat until just incorporated. And finally, fold in the chocolate chunks with a spatula.

Using a 1 tablespoon scoop, scoop out your cookie dough and place about 9 cookie mounds on the baking sheet. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the edges are set and the tops are still a little underbaked. When they are done baking, take the baking sheet out of the oven and let the cookies cool on the sheet for 5 to 10 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack.

The cookies will keep well in an airtight container for up to a week.

Delicious!

Gluten Free Buckwheat Crepes

I love crepes, particularly sweet ones. I made a crepe cake for my birthday brunch and the fiance and I make crepes for breakfast every once in awhile on the weekends.

Now that I'm not eating gluten, I've had to find a new recipe for my weekend crepes. I bought a bag of buckwheat flour a few months ago when a gluten free friend of mine told me about some buckwheat crepes she had made and I knew that French galettes are usually made of buckwheat flour. So, I did some searching for some gluten free buckwheat crepe recipes. I knew that the addition of buckwheat would make the crepes taste a little nuttier and earthier. However, taste isn't the biggest thing for me. The thing I was most concerned about was texture. It had to feel like a regular crepe. And this gluten free crepe does! Each crepe cooked perfectly. They were crisp on the edges and they browned nice and evenly. We ate our crepes with a warm berry sauce and some skyr whipped cream (basically the same berry sauce and cream from my crepe cake!). Seriously, crepes are the best way to start the weekend! 

Gluten Free Buckwheat Crepes (barely adapted from Food Fanatic)

Makes 16 crepes 

(I halved the recipe and made 8 crepes, but I'm giving you the amounts for a full recipe)

1/2 cup all purpose gluten free flour, I used Jeanne's Gluten Free All-Purpose Flour

1/2 cup buckwheat flour

2 tbsp sugar

3 eggs

11/2 cups milk

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 tbsp butter, melted and cooled (salted or unsalted, for crepes and pancakes I usually just go with salted)

Sift together the flours and sugar. Then beat in the eggs, milk, salt and vanilla until the batter is smooth. Let the batter rest overnight in the fridge, or for at least 30 minutes. (It's best if you can let the batter rest overnight.)

When you are ready to make the crepes, melt your butter, let it cool for a few minutes before whisking it into the batter. 

Place the pan on the stove over medium heat and melt a little smidge of butter to coat the pan. When the pan is hot and the butter is starting to bubbly, hold the pan by its handle, pick it up and pour 1/4 cup of batter onto the pan. Slowly tilt and move the batter around so that the pan is evenly coated. Place the pan back on the heat and cook for about a minute or two, or until the edges of the crepe are crispy and the top no longer looks wet. Flip the crepe with a spatula and cook for another minute or so. Repeat until all the batter is used up!

Celebrating Three Years at Three Different Places in Copenhagen

The fiance and I celebrated our third (dating) anniversary last weekend. And to celebrate, we ate and drank at three places that we have not tried yet in Copenhagen.

We started off the day the with lunch at Issa in Vesterbro. I had read wonderful reviews of this tiny little Japanese eatery on Yelp so we just had to try it. Since going gluten free this year, I had to cheat a little that day, I mean, they were serving ramen and gyoza! (But that has been my only cheat!) We also tried their okonomiyaki which was delicious. It is a really simple place serving good and authentic Japanese food. If you're missing authentic Japanese food in Copenhagen, try Issa!

For dinner, the fiance took me out to dinner at Oysters and Grill in Nørrebro. I love seafood so this was like paradise. We ordered the seafood platter to start and there was everything from razor clams to soft shell crab. Amazing. Seriously. I was full after sharing that seafood platter! The fiance ordered a steak and I ordered some wild Argentinian shrimp to finish off our dinner. Everything was so simple and so fresh at Oysters and Grill. I can't wait to go again!

To finish off our day, we walked to Gilt on Rantzausgade in Nørrebro for cocktails after dinner. The fiance and I really liked this place. It felt like a cozy lodge living room with walls of stacked firewood, leather couches, and wood furniture. They have some interesting ingredients on their menu and they pair things in ways I would have never imagined. Cocoa beans, nutmeg, chili and cognac all in one drink?! The fiance really liked this place and I'm sure we will be visiting them again soon!

Have you discovered some new places to eat in Copenhagen? What's good? I'm always up for new recommendations!

Have a great weekend everyone!

This Week's Flowers

It has been awhile since I have shared some of the flowers we have at home. We have had roses at home the past few weeks. I'm usually not a big rose person but they are very pretty and delicate in their own way. The soft layers of petals, the light scent that they give off, their simple elegance...

Something to Warm You Up: Chicken Garden Soup

It is snowing right now in Copenhagen and I am so glad that I am at home sitting under my covers! 

The fiance and I made this Chicken Garden Soup from Jamie Oliver last week and I wish we had some leftovers in the fridge for a windy and cold day like today. To make this chicken soup, you need a chicken carcass with some meat left on it still. So if you're planning on roasting a chicken or buying a rotisserie chicken for dinner this week, eat it, and then save the leftovers and the carcass for this soup! The fiance and I actually ate all the meat on the lemon thyme roasted chicken I made last week so I roasted some more chicken thighs and drumsticks so that we'd have some meat in our soup. And seriously, homemade broth is so healthy for you! 

Chicken Garden Soup (slightly adapted from Jamie Oliver)

Makes 6 servings

6 carrots

6 celery stalks

2 onions, peeled and roughly chopped

2 bay leaves

2 fresh thyme sprigs

salt

freshly ground pepper

4 whole peppercorns

1 roast chicken carcass, with leftover chicken attached

1 large knob butter

olive oil

2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely sliced

1 onion, peeled and finely sliced

2 1/2 soup bowls worth of kale, washed and shredded 

200g spinach (we skipped this because we didn't have any)

1/2 lemon

To make the stock:

Wash 2 of the carrots and 2 of the celery stalks and roughly chop them. Add them to a large soup pot with the onions, bay leaves, thyme sprigs, peppercorns, the chicken carcass and a large pinch of salt.

Fill the pot with cold water until everything is covered. Place a lid on the pot  and bring the stock to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for at least 1 hour, skimming off any scum that rises to the surface from time to time. I cooked my stock for about an hour and a half. (Add salt and pepper to taste, you might need more than you think to get some more flavor.)

To make the soup:

About 20 minutes before your stock is ready, start preparing the other components of the soup. Wash and peel the remaining carrots, wash the remaining celery stalks, and slice them nice and evenly. In another large pot on low heat, melt the knob of butter along with some olive oil. Add the garlic and sliced onion and cook for 5 to 10 minutes, until soft but not caramelized. Add the carrots and celery and cook for another 5 minutes.

When your stock is ready, remove the chicken carcass, pull of any remaining meat and leave that meat to the side. The rest of the carcass can be thrown away after this step. Strain your stock through a sieve into the pot with the softened vegetables. Bring soup to a boil and then simmer for 20 minutes. Add the kale and simmer for another 10 minutes. Finish the soup by squeezing in the juice of half a lemon and adjust the seasoning if necessary. Add the leftover meat to the soup and serve! 

To bulk up our soup a little bit more, we cooked a little bit of rice and mixed that into the soup. Quinoa would have also worked too! 

I think chicken soup is the perfect remedy for a cold wintery day! Sending warm hugs out to you today!

Coconut Covered Oatmeal Chocolate Bites

A sweet little treat for you today that takes almost no time to put together! This is actually a Swedish Chokladbollar recipe that I have used and adapted. And I mean, unless you are Swedish and can pronounce this in Swedish, saying "chokladbollar" in English sounds pretty weird. So I'm just going to call them Coconut Covered Oatmeal Chocolate Bites. That's a pretty long name, but again, chocolate balls? Not the prettiest name for these tasty little guys!

Coconut Covered Oatmeal Chocolate Bites (slightly adapted from Alt om Honung)
Makes about 20 to 22 bites, depending on how large or small you form them

3 dl or 1 1/4 cup oatmeal (rolled oats, steel-cut, or crushed oats, doesn't really matter)
4 tbsp honey
100g unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 to 4 tbsp cocoa powder (I used about 3.5 tbsp because there is so much honey in the recipe)
unsweetened shredded coconut

Mix together the honey, butter, and cocoa powder until it is blended and smooth. Add the oatmeal and mix until combined. Form the mixture into round balls and then roll them in the shredded coconut.

Place them in a airtight container and store them in the fridge and wait an hour or so for the bites to firm up a bit. Keep them stored in the fridge and take them out to eat whenever you'd like!

A treat for the weekend maybe? Happy Friday friends!

Dress Shopping in Copenhagen

I've watched countless episodes of TLC's Say Yes to the Dress and I Found the Gown and if you have too you'll know that sometimes the women on the show start crying when they have found the right dress or they are really picky about what they want and don't like anything, or they have a really opinionated entourage. Dresses also range in prices in North America. You can go from something super affordable at a few hundred dollars at David's Bridal to a dress that costs ten thousand dollars at Kleinfeld for example.

 

As I mentioned in this earlier post, having a great venue and the right photographer are the two most important aspects of the wedding for me. Although I've dreamed of having a gorgeous Monique Lhuillier, Jenny Packham or Amsale gown, I knew that wasn't going to happen and that was ok. I didn't want to spend a large amount of money on a dress that I was only going to wear once but I still wanted something that I would love and feel comfortable in. I was pretty open going into the whole wedding dress shopping process. I knew I wanted something simple with some detail, I did not want a corset back, I didn't want a huge ball gown, and that was about all my requirements!

I have been to three bridal shops here in Copenhagen. The first place I went to was Copenhagen Bridal right around the corner from Vesterport Station. It was a spacious store and they had a variety of gowns hanging on the racks.The sales person knew what cuts would look good on my petite frame and it was so nice to rule out all of the other cuts and styles that just wouldn't work on me.  I tried on some really beautiful gowns with illusion necklines from a Spanish label at Copenhagen Bridal. However, she never asked me what my budget was at the start of the appointment so when I found out how much the dresses with the illusion necklines cost, I knew I was not going back to that store. The three dresses that I liked the most from there ranged from eleven to fifteen thousand crowns. It's always so hard because I still convert crowns back to dollars and for fifteen thousand crowns, or about three thousand dollars, I could definitely find myself a Monique Lhuillier gown in the States.

Then I scheduled two appointments for last Saturday. The first one was at Nicolai Brudekjoler by Nørreport. They were having a big sale after New Year's so I thought it would be good to check out what they had. My appointment was at ten o'clock in the morning and when we got there, there was already a line up. While I was at Nicolai, I tried on both sale gowns and some dresses from their new collections. Honestly, I don't think I would buy a sale gown. The dresses on sale were their out of season sample gowns and a lot of them were really dirty after having been touched and tried on by many brides. And unless they had a sample gown in your size, major alterations would have had to be done. The sale gowns started at about five thousand crowns. I also tried on some gowns from their new collections but nothing really stood out to me. I spent an hour at Nicolai and must have tried on at least ten gowns a lot of them differing in style. They were nice, but nothing really special. If you are looking for attentive service, space, and some time to think between each of the dresses you have tried on, I would avoid Nicolai Brudekjoler while they have a sale going on.

And finally, I went to Lucca just off Strøget at Nikolaj Plads. Tina from Traveling Mama had mentioned walking past this store a few weeks ago and so I looked them up. I really liked the collections that they had on their website and there were a few dresses that I knew were my style and what I was looking for. Before going to the appointment at Lucca, I had an idea of what their prices were because some of their retailers had posted the prices on their websites. They are much more affordable and more within my price range. Out of the three bridal shops I have been to in Copenhagen, Lucca had the best service. I went shopping that day with the fiance's mom and my friend S and we were taken into a large private room. There was a huge couch, some dresses hanging on a rack, they had snacks and drinks at a bar which one of the assistants would bring in to you, and we had a really great sales person helping me out. The store was really busy full of teenaged girls and their moms looking for confirmation dresses but we were totally secluded from all of that in our private room. Lucca designs and carries their own line of dresses and they really put a lot of thought into the detail and the practical aspects of their gowns. They are also more flexible and willing to negotiate on prices if you are working within a certain budget. If you're looking for a wedding dress in Copenhagen, I would definitely pay Lucca a visit.

    

After visiting three stores, emailing a few dress makers here in Copenhagen, and scouring the internet for gowns I could buy online, I can say that I've bought my dress! (I'll show you guys after the wedding!) The dress I've bought resembles a particular designer that I love, it is very elegant and regal feeling (at least to me!), and it didn't break my budget. I didn't have one of those crying moments, but after trying it on and trying on other dresses after it, I just knew that it was the one. You know your own style and once you've found it, you just keep going back to it! The dress has been ordered, the fiance has also picked up his suit and now we just have to wait six months to finally get to wear them!

What was your wedding dress experience like? Did you find the dress right away? Did you end up getting the dress you thought you would?

1/2/3/5

Cocktails, Wedding Dresses + Korean Food

The holidays are coming to an end. It has been a really fun weekend full of spending time with the fiance and friends.

 

On Friday night, the fiance and I went out for some cocktails at Candeur after dinner. On our way there we walked past Tage Andersen's shop/museum. They have the most enchanting window displays. But back to our little date night out...I have been to Candeur a handful of times now and I love the small intimate feel of the bar, they serve delicious cocktails, and they have amazing desserts. Plus they've added some more savory items to their menu now. Of course I went for a cocktail that was sweet and fruity while the fiance went for something really strong and gentlemanly. 

Yesterday was a full day. Full but lots of fun. The fiance's mom and my friend S went wedding dress shopping with me! First we went to the sale at Nicolai Brudekjoler. There were brides and dresses everywhere. I must have tried around 10 dresses in there within one hour! We took a little break at Palæo before heading to my second appointment at Lucca. Out of the three bridal shops I have been to here in Copenhagen, Lucca has been the best in experience and dresses in terms of the style I've been looking for and price. I'll write a post about my wedding dress shopping experience sometime soon! 

And yesterday evening we had the best food. We had a friend from my exchange to Hong Kong and his girlfriend over. Y is Korean and it has been so lovely meeting up with her and getting to try different Korean foods. I make japchae every once in awhile here to get my Korean fix so we enjoyed that last night as well as some amazing rice rolls that Y brought over. I need to learn how to cook more Korean dishes! We ate all the leftovers for lunch today. 

And now it's Sunday. The fiance goes back to work tomorrow and everything goes back to normal. It has been such a wonderful holiday!

New Year's Traditions + Banana Breakfast Dumplings with Vanilla Maple Butter

And just like that it is 2014! We celebrated New Year's Eve at a friend's apartment this year and enjoyed a three course meal and lots of champagne of course!

The Danes have some New Year's traditions which I find pretty interesting. First, they always watch the Queen's speech at 6pm on New Year's Eve. And then we literally jumped into the new year. We all stood on our friends' couch or chairs and jumped off of them when the clock struck 12. Finally, you have to have kransekage after 12 as well. Since I don't like kransekage, it is made up of almost all marzipan, and we were bringing the kransekage, I modernized it a bit by using a recipe from Strangas. So instead of kransekage, we had kransekage macarons! You can find the recipe here. I added the icing on top so that it looked a little more like the traditional kransekage.

After 12, the fireworks start to really go off. We're allowed to buy fireworks at home in Vancouver, but the fireworks that people use here in Copenhagen are on a whole other level. These are real fireworks. Like the stuff we would see in Vancouver used by professionals, but nope, these fireworks can be used by anybody here. Last year we went out onto the street to see some fireworks (that was actually pretty dangerous) but I'm so glad we stayed on our friend's balcony and enjoyed them that way this year.

When I got up in the morning yesterday, I thought it would be nice to make the fiance breakfast in bed. I was thinking about making pancakes but then I remembered pinning this Banana Breakfast Dumpling recipe and I had one ripe banana left over to use so it was just meant to be. I really enjoyed these. The Vanilla Maple Butter is a m a z i n g. I don't think I will use maple syrup plain on it's own again after trying this! It was a great treat to start off the year.

Banana Breakfast Dumplings with Vanilla Maple Butter (adapted from Joy the Baker)
Makes about 16 dumplings

For the Dumplings:
1 1/4 cup gluten free flour mix (Joy used Cup4Cup, I used Doves Farm)
2 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda (I omitted this because I was using a self-raising flour)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 cup buttermilk
1 large egg
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 ripe banana mashed
butter or oil for frying the dumplings

For the Vanilla Maple Butter:
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 tbsp pure vanilla extract (or 1 vanilla bean split and scraped)

In a medium bowl, sift together gluten free flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. In a large measuring cup, beat together buttermilk, one egg, and the vanilla extract. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until just incorporated and no streaks of flour remain. Finally, fold in the mashed banana. Allow the mixture to rest for 5 minutes while you heat up your pan.

Place a nonstick pan over medium low heat. Add enough butter or oil to lightly coat the pan and allow it to heat up.

Pour two tablespoons of the batter onto the pan and cook on the first side until it is a light golden brown. Flip and continue to fry the dumpling until it is a light golden brown and mostly cooked through. Try not to flatten the dumplings, instead leaving them tall and doughy. Let the cooked dumplings rest in a heat proof dish in the oven at 100C or 200F until they are ready to be served. Serve warm with some Vanilla Maple Butter.

To make the Vanilla Maple Butter, heat the maple syrup in a small saucepan together with the butter and the vanilla extract. Stir or whisk it continuously to help the butter and syrup combine. Keep the temperature low as maple syrup should never boil. Serve over the dumplings warm.

Happy New Year everyone! Here's to a year full of love, happiness, and great health!