When I was in high school I was fond of reading those Sweet Dreams books. And there was this one book, Don’t Bet on Love, where Molly, our lead girl was helping her brother win a bet by coaching nerdy and klutzy Gary how to get his crush. He was always getting tongue-tied around his crush so our heroine said that if he was stuck on what to say, his fallback topic would be the weather.
He ended up saying, something along the lines of “We´re having so much weather, huh?”
And I was always perplexed how they could use weather as a jump start to a conversation, as for us in the Philippines it would only be either rainy or sunny.
Cut to me moving to Europe where we talk about the weather daily, especially during the winter months and even more so when we call my in-laws. The first topic they need to cover is the weather.
What’s the weather there like? Is it also raining like here? Oh, it’s snowing there? We only had a sprinkling.
For me, on a daily basis, I have a list of questions running through my head before we head out the door.
How cold will it be? Would I need to layer up? Do I need waterproof shoes?
Are the kids warm enough? Do they need to bring umbrellas? Wear their rain pants? Snow pants?
But, as expected, as they were born here, they don´t feel as cold as I do. They could stay for hours outside playing, especially if there is snow.
We got our first snowfall for the year, but it wasn´t a lot. The kids were still able to scrounge up enough snow to make a snowman though. I am hoping that it will snow again. I know we can always go to the nearby mountains, but Tobi and I are lazy. There is quite a lot of work involved in getting the kids into their snow gear. But let’s see, maybe I can force myself to finally take them this year because I know they will love it.
But, to make up for me not being an outdoorsy Mom, I am taking them to see “The Snail and the Whale” this weekend.
One cinema in Biel has organized an event for the kids, which includes the screening of the short film (it is only 42 minutes long) and then some giveaways and snacks afterwards.
The movie will be in German, but we have read the book (written by Julia Donaldson) so many times that understanding the film shouldn´t be much of an issue for me. If you haven´t read the story, it is about a tiny snail who caught a ride on the tail of a humpback whale and ended up saving the life of the humpback whale. Yes, it is a rhyming book, which I love reading out loud more than non-rhyming ones.
I am quite excited because Sarah has been asking to go to the movies recently and this popped up serendipitously on my Facebook feed! I immediately bought tickets online and will surprise the girls with it on Saturday!
The recipe I am sharing this month is one my mom had cut out of the back of a condensed milk can and has kept it since. She reminded me of this when I mentioned I had extra condensed milk.
Cashew Nougat
1 can condensed milk (397 g)
¼ cup brown sugar
¼ tsp fine sea salt
2 cups cashew nuts (or your favorite nut), roasted and unsalted
¼ cup butter
Prepare an 8-inch square pan by lining with foil and buttering liberally.
In a medium saucepan, combine the condensed milk, brown sugar and salt. Cook over medium heat stirring constantly until thick. Remove from heat and stir in the nuts and butter.
Pour into prepared container. Cool. Cut into bite-sized bars.*
