It’s exam period (still) and we’re approaching the Christmas holidays (also, still). That means, in essence, that I refuse to do my groceries in an attempt to empty my fridge one meal at a time. By now, I’ve certainly arrived at the point where my fridge is shockingly empty and my meals are largely rice with whatever I can dig up (“Reismitscheiß” seems to become a Mundus-wide specialty).

A few days back I decided I needed to eat nachos. Desperately. There comes the point in my writing essays that I am convinced I can’t think without chewing. Because nachos are not exactly a staple in our kitchen, I had to improvise. Maybe, possibly, this Knäckebrot/Knækbrød version is healthier than actual corn nachos but who knows, really. In any case, those who tried them approved and those who didn’t were jealous/curious/amused, which I find enough reason to make you guys try it yourselves!

Nordic Nachos (for two)

- 4 pieces of Knäckebrot/Knækbrød/Crisp bread
- Tomato pesto or something of the like
- Sliced olives
-Chopped pickled jalapenos
-Cheddar cheese
-Parmesan cheese
-Salt
-Pepper

The rest is simple: you cut or break the bread into smaller chunks (I tried triangles for nacho-feeling) and pile them in an oven-safe dish. Spread the pesto on some, half, or all the pieces. Sprinkle olives and jalapenos, salt and pepper, then add the cheese to cover up the pile with however much of everything you want.

Once it’s in the oven, it will take about 20 minutes to melt and brown the cheese. Afterwards, I assume the nachos will taste best if you eat them immediately. But we didn’t leave them the time to cool off anyways because they smelled, looked and tasted fantastic.

It is exam period here in Aarhus, which for us Mundusians means back to back essay writing. It also means the countdown is running. In four hours and one week, I'll be sitting on a train. Tick tock. 

Anyways, since it's exam period and one cannot study ALL the time, I also picked up excessive cooking once again. But then forgot to take pictures. It was so good I'll share anyways.

I found a recipe for shrimp-avocado tacos somewhere online and began craving. I substituted chicken because it's cheaper and they were still fantastic. 
Chicken-Tacos with Avocado-Salsa
cube the chicken and marinate in a mix of garlic, pickled jalapenos, a fresh chili pepper, vinegar, salt, pepper and lots of honey for a few hours. 

for the Salsa, cube tomatoes, garlic, another chili pepper (maybe it would be smarter to skip that if spicy isn't your thing), salt, pepper, fresh lemon juice, parsley and whatever other spices you fancy. Add the cubed avocado only briefly before serving. 

stir fry the chicken, adding all the marinating liquid until the chicken is done and the liquid cooked away. 

Serve with corn taco shells.

_____

The next day, I had so much left over parsley (you can only buy it in huge amounts here in Denmark) and I was wondering what to do with it. Turns out that parsley pesto with almonds is fantastic. 
In a blender, mix loads of parsley (two cups, without the stems), two cloves of garlic, olive oil, salt and roasted almonds (I had leftovers from the cookies I made for our Christmas dinner) and grated parmesan cheese until everything turns into a very bright green, funky looking paste. While waiting for your pasta to cook, cool the paste. Drain pasta, add pesto, smile.

Ah, exam period. I should get back to that essay.

All of a sudden, it became December. The weather finally tuned into our November mood and it is becoming rainier, windier and colder. In the course of the last month, I finally settled in. Partly that was also due to the fact that I had ranted in public; but either way I realized that after that rant, I was done complaining (obviously more in a metaphorical than actual way). Long story short: It's December now and who would've guessed, the holidays are approaching. 

Tomorrow in exactly two weeks, I'll sit in a train home to my sister's house. I get the feeling that these two weeks will pass in a blink. Thanks to generous donations of friends and family (thanks for the calendar, Claudia! At least for one month now I'll know which day it is) my room is filling up and feeling much more like the holidays. And believe it or not, this is actually a post about paperclips. 

Because although it's not Sinterclaas-day yet, I opened a suspicious package my sister sent me. It already smelled so good when I ripped open the envelop! Pepernoten, a chocolate letter, drawings and collages from my nephews and nieces AND a bag of funky shaped paperclips came out of it! I had to laugh, because just that morning, I was puzzling what I could possibly write about. Thank you Tanja! You absolutely know how to get a smile on my face every time!

So in two weeks, the first semester of my MA program will be over. In two weeks, I'll go down south (where, oddly enough, it seems to be colder than here). In two weeks, the real deal Christmas is going to set in (almost). I hope I won't get a pack of paperclips as a present...