Times changed with Galileo

Speaking of ideas and creativity, I went to the theatre yesterday and saw Galileo by Bertolt Brecht.

(Painted by: Giuseppe Bertini)



The play portrays how the invention of a telescope in the 17^th century brings Galileo on edge with the Catholic Church, as he discovers the movement of planets and moons in accordance with each other. This leads him to the conclusion that the world is not the centre of the universe, rather a part of an infinite, moving universe where the astronomical objects circle around the sun, around themselves and even around each other!

Considering the simplicity of the preceding world understanding, where every single star is attached and moving along a sky dome surrounding our stationary earth to prevent them from falling down on us, it’s no wonder people get confused. After all, if the world revolves around itself, at which point are we upside down? Hang on tight, everyone!

The scepticism and counter-arguments are overpowering. Galileo is told that he is mistaken, and that even if he is not mistaken it would be best not to publish these ideas "for the sake of the morale of the population".

Yesterday’s blog presents that knowledge is more easily available, and the innovative and new-thinking population, independent of social stance, is now the major force for development. Galileo believed firmly in the power of common sense, and that if presented with evidence people would be able to draw logical conclusions and change their perceptions accordingly. He was clearly a man ahead of his time…

Are we there yet?

Be Creative!

Why emulate someone when you can develop something on your own? A while back I started reading a book about creativity. This book is written by Fredrik Hären a Swedish lecturer and author who has won numerous awards in these subjects.

The book is called “The Developing World”, a very interesting book about the developments taking place in the world right now. The whole world is becoming more creative and a greater amount of people in developing countries are taking more initiative and becoming more innovative. The numbers and figures on how many more people in the so-called developing countries who educate themselves, develop new business and find new solutions to problems are outstanding and incredibly inspiring in my opinion!

Based on interviews, knowledge and ideas he explains that the world has grown and is growing faster due to the fact that Internet, "the key to knowledge", has become available all over the world. He encourages people to take advantage of this flow of knowledge and open your mind to it. Not only visit facebook and your local newspaper.

/Pierre

What to do on a Tuesday night?

Why not try the legendary jamsession at Josefines Vertshus..

Each Tuesday during the spring, fall and winter season Josefine Vertshus is a hangout for musicians, eager and social listeners to meet. The jam-session gathers famous, as well as upcoming musicians for an entertaining jam that combines many great aspects of music, lots of people of all ages and a real good time. Here you can wind down and relax while enjoying good company and nice music.

For more info see here


Opening hours: 19:00 – 00:30 ( Jamsession starts at 21:00 )
Adress: Josefinesgate 16, See map here

What is Norwegian Design?

Generally, Norwegian design is included in the “Scandinavian Design” genre, where white and grey seem to have indefinite shades, and the word minimalistic becomes too maximal to fully comprehend the lack of embellishment and texture. 

(Photo: Aktiv I Oslo)

This style exists in our repertoire of designers too, of course, but we have so much more to offer! Oslo Fashion Week is almost at an end, and although the event itself has not gotten the greatest reviews, the designs shown on the catwalk truly deserve recognition. Where some designers kept the clean cuts, playing with angles and simplicity, others went off the deep end with colours, patterns and textures. With such designers as Fam Irvoll and Leila Hafzi, nothing less could be expected. Nina Jarebrink  played with simple cuts and velvet details in beige, rusty red and black. Her design was spot on for the season, and very wearable. Kristian Aadnevik, who worked as a senior designer for Roberto Cavalli, is now promoting his new and more affordable collection made for Ricco Vero. Needless to say the dresses were amazing! 

(Photo: Aktiv i Oslo)



So what should you take home if you want everyone to know your clothes are Norwegian fashion? Simple white shirts in luxurious materials for men and women are classically minimalistic. Loose knitted tops and dresses in soft pastels is another obvious choice, and are seen in our neighbourhood at Frogner all the time. If you have a sense of humour in you clothing, see Moods Of Norway’s designs. Hidden in the traditional Norwegian patterns on their clothes you’ll find tractors and cocktail glasses!



Did you know: Norway is the first country to ban fur products from the shows during fashion week! Animals rejoice!

Blogging inspiration!

Now when we have started blogging here at Frogner House Apartments, we have become more aware of other blogs that we find inspiring. So today we have made a list of our top 5 interesting blogs:

http://www.theselby.com/ - Photographer who is taking photos of celebrities' homes around the world. If you need to renovate or get inspiration for new design, this is a great blog!

http://www.businessinsider.com/ - Business blog that is first with interesting news.

http://quintessentiallyblog.blogspot.com// - Luxurious and awesome

anneelisabethlarsenphotography.blogspot.com/ - Friend of Stine! Great photographer and also a good writer.

inside-digital.blog.lonelyplanet.com/ - Amazing stories, great pictures and fun events from around the world

Haba Haba Hujaza Kibaba

Something else that’s sweet is the Norwegian contribution to the Eurovision Song Contest 2011, set for the 14^th of May in Germany.

For those who didn’t watch the Norwegian Finale on Saturday, you can see it here

I can tell you that it’s a very happy and inspiring song, full of energy! The Norwegian winner, Stella Mwangi, is actually a recognized artist in East Africa and some of her songs topped the charts in Kenya, Senegal and Gambia.

She has released an album called ‘Living For Music’ and have also been active in the Norwegian Hip Hop Scene since she was 11 years old. Although she came to Norway at the age of 4 and became a Norwegian citizen, she stays closely connected to her roots/heritage. This comes through in her song, as she sings “Haba Haba Hujaza Kibaba”, which is an African saying she learnt from her grandmother. It means something like ’Small Victories Lead to Big Ones'. That’s something we all should think of now and then.

Good luck Stella!!

Photo: Ernst Vikne

Source: Flickr

Valentines Day; make it sweet.

Panna cotta is incredibly easy to make, and if it takes you more than ten minutes to put it together, you’re doing something wrong. I had made it many times without realizing what a fool-proof dessert it was, until I tasted it in one of my favourite restaurant in London, Assaggi.
Panna Cotta is a lovely Italian dessert that literally means "cooked cream". It contains only a few ingredients; cream (and/or milk), sugar, and vanilla that are set with gelatine. This ivory coloured, custard-like pudding has a rich flavour and silky smooth texture that takes only minutes to prepare - and your valentine will love it!



Receipt:
½ litre cream
50 gr. Suger
4 plates gelatine
1 vanilla

Panna Cotta:
To start, place the gelatine in a small bowl with water and let this mixture sit for about 5 - 10 minutes. Meanwhile, combine the cream, vanilla and sugar in a saucepan and bring it slowly to a boil, stirring to dissolve the powdered sugar.
Once the cream is very hot, remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the gelatine. Stir until the gelatine is completely dissolved.
Pour the cream into the prepared molds or in coffee cups, place in the refrigerator to chill for
2-4 hours, or until set. Make sure to cover with cling film. The Panna Cotta can be made one to two days before serving.
To unmold: Dip the molds into hot water for a few seconds and then invert the Panna Cotta onto a plate. For perfect consistency and flavour, take them out of the refrigerator a few hours before serving.

Serve with fresh berries and fruit sauce, or simply with an espresso shot.

Assaggi
39 Chepstow Place
London, W2 4
Phone: 0171 79 5501

/ Arne

Enjoy the snow!

(Foto: Frogner House Apartments)

I walked to work yesterday, through the giant, soft snowflakes, and arrived with make-up running down my face and hair wet and disarrayed. I was welcomed into the reception by our janitor with the ‘kind’ words: Who are you? I guess I didn’t look much like my normal self.

I started making my way through a stack of paperwork and reservation issues, and had a very busy day planned. Just after lunch, the general manager asked if we shouldn’t perhaps go to the hotel and restaurant exhibition that afternoon, and I honestly admitted that we should! Driving there, I suppose the traffic was slow. Walking around the exhibition centre, I guess the people were pushy. There are so many negatives you can get sidetracked by in a normal, busy, stressful day, but yesterday I just couldn’t even notice any of it.

Instead, I did one task at the time. I took a time management challenge in a stride. I enjoyed the company in the car. I savoured the food tastings, discovering the most amazing brie cheese. I enjoyed my free cup of coffee while slowly strolling along the isles smiling at everyone who passed. And when I got home that day, I took an extra long walk with my dog allowing the snowflakes to play with whatever little I had left of my make-up, and the dog to play with the snowflakes and run free.

It is something about that clean, wet, white weather that plays tricks on my mood. How can you not feel serene in soft, muffled and sparkly surroundings? The snow coating covers all the flaws of the past, and there is a lesson to remember: ENJOY the present!

Multicultural Centre

As you can see clear signs of we love food and culture here at FHA. It's basically what we are talking about around the lunch table. We as a company are from many different parts of the world from Sweden, Afghanistan, Poland, Brazil, and of course Norway! So there's always something new to talk about especially food, Different cultures and travelling.

Personally, I have set my sight on Portugal, a great country that has it all: Good food, great wines, ocean and beautiful hotels! These are hotels with character, personality and service that reflect the Portuguese culture and hospitality.

I want to recommend one witch have been mentioned in several magazines as one of the world’s wonders, described as a "Little bit much maybe" - but it's amazing!

The name of the hotel is: Santa Maria do Bouro Amares, it is one of many hotels in a hotel concern, so visit the website and choose your favourite www.pousadas.pt

/Pierre

Bloody good Bacalaoooo.

I believe that I am more interested in food than most other human beings are, and I love spending time in the kitchen with fresh, tasty ingredients during the weekend.

I alsohate walking around in a chain grocery store trying to get good quality food from some student standing behind the counters who definitely don’t know anything about it! So I went to “Fiskeriet” (Translation: ‘The Fishery’) to get my cured cod this Saturday. Sometimes it is worth to wait 40 minutes in line for quality products. You should try it; “Fiskeriet” is a fantastic place to buy your fresh seafood and it also has a nice little seafood bar.

Invite some of your colleagues and be famous for you cooking

How:

400 gr. Cured and boneless cod
6 potatoes
2 coves garlic
1 dl olive oil
1 pepper
Calamata olives
2 box crushed tomatoes
Black pepper
A table spoon of chilli if you like spicy food.

Leave the cod in cold water in about 24 hours before cooking. Then simply slice the vegetables in thin slices and stir it together with olive oil and garlic in 2-3 minutes before adding fish and tomatoes. Let it cook slowly for 2 hours. Simple as that!

Fiskeriet Youngstorget
Youngstorget 2b
0181 Oslo
http://www.fiskeriet.com/

Monday – Friday 10.00 - 18.00
Saturday 09.00 - 16.00

Weekend Flavours!

Arne's tips on simple cooking and great tastes in Japanese food experiences are ideal for a pleasant start of the weekend. As many may have already noticed, the Oslo wine festival has started: www.oslovinfestival.no

Today and tomorrow Aker Brygge and Oslo invites you to wine tastings in a variety of restaurants and bars. So my tip for a perfect Friday is to invite your colleagues and/or friends for a nice sashimi dinner, and then continue the evening at Aker Brygge together with sommeliers, happy amateurs and great wines.

Santé!
Skål!

Salmon Sashimi; fast, tasty and authentic flavours

If you love clean flavours and tasty food, but always end up with fast food, you should try to make your own sashimi. This is perfect since making sashimi at home means less work and less waste!

In almost all of the grocery store you will find Salma salmon, which is prepared and ready to use. The salmon doesn't need to be perfect, and in fact, you can make sashimi in just about any shape you want. The consistency and perfection sought in sushi restaurants is primarily for presentation. At home... who cares? To make sashimi, simply slice the fish into approximately ½ cm thick pieces with a sharp knife, retaining the previous height and width proportions. I prefer to serve it with rice and a light soy sauce flavoured with garlic, lime and fresh coriander.

How to cook the sushi rice:
2,5 dl rice
3,2 dl water
0,5 dl rice vinegar
1 table spoon of sugar
½ tea spoon of salt.

After washing the rice 7 times and soaking it for 30 minutes, cook and let it steam for about 20 minutes. Prepare sushi vinegar by mixing rice vinegar, sugar, and salt in a sauce pan. Put the pan on low heat and heat until the sugar dissolves. Cool the vinegar mixture. Spread the hot steamed rice into a large plate or a large bowl. You should use a non-metallic bowl to prevent interaction with the rice vinegar. Professionals use a wooden bowl called sushi-oke. Sprinkle the vinegar mixture over the rice and fold the rice quickly with a rice spatula, or shamoji. Be careful not to smash the rice. To cool and remove the moisture of the rice well, you can use a fan as you mix the sushi rice. This will give the sushi rice a shiny look. It's best to use sushi rice right away.

Enjoy!
Arne