Day: February 28, 2015

God help Norwegian radio: the anti-soundtrack

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On a short drive I discovered the horrors of Norwegian radio. Here on the Swedish side of the border, we still get “treated” to the bad taste of Norwegian music choice.

The first aural delight was the last bit of Eric Clapton’s take on Bob Marley’s “I Shot the Sheriff”. Remind me – what decade are we living in again?

Changed station and heard Nicki Minaj’s “Anaconda” – something I only found out afterwards what it was. Much like my previous blog post about big blind spots in my knowledge, I don’t like or care about stuff like this revisionary “remix” of what is basically “Baby Got Back” with some annoying rapping from Minaj strung throughout. I had seen Minaj’s name all over the internet, but I had no clue about her, erm, work.

After that I heard the nonsensical shit also known as “I’m Gonna Show You Crazy” by Bebe Rexha. (Another one I had to look up after the fact.) The song sounded like a carbon copy of everything else I was hearing and the lyrics about showing you how psycho she is – or whatever – Jesus. It was not the worst thing but upon initial hearing, it was repellent in its relentless sameness. “Girl, you can’t be fixed.”

Then on another station I got the horror of “The Bad Touch” from the Bloodhound Gang (“let’s do it like they do on the Discovery Channel”) followed immediately by Madonna’s “La Isla Bonita”. Once again – what decade is it? Who is programming these stations?

As I pulled into the driveway it was Bonnie Raitt’s “Nick of Time” – check out that hair in the video! – what the hell? And the line “Life gets mighty precious when there’s less of it to waste” seemed apt – if only we could apply it to what plays on the radio.

Getting on the gluten-free merry-go-round: Gluten-free brownies and coconut chocolate bites

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We never really think about our blind spots until we are confronted by them. We believe we are thinking holistically but are blinded by our own limitations and experiences.

I think I know a lot about music but then there are blind spots – whole genres I don’t care about. Or just periods in time when I did not pay attention. S. mentioned a one-hit wonder “Would I Lie to You?” by Charles & Eddie. I had never heard of it, but it was apparently a big hit at the time.

My blind spot in that time period was my relentless race through university and almost academic focus on listening to Russian and Eastern European folk music, meaning that while I did listen to other things, I was not listening to the radio, was not listening to new things unless introduced to me by friends.

Not a big deal but these small details are a bit like doors opening onto whole blind spot areas. And one such blind spot is gluten-free fun.

I have never thought a lot about baking gluten-free goods, but then a gluten-free person became a part of my team at work. It created a whole new set of considerations. I have been experimenting ever since. So far I only have about two recipes that are foolproof.

One is coconut macaroon and dark chocolate bites, which is naturally gluten-free. Clearly there are better results when something that was always gluten-free without adaptations is made. It is not just for gluten-free lifestyles/diets but is just made this way. No flours of any time. Just coconut, egg, chocolate and cream.

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coconut macaroon chocolate ganache tarts

coconut macaroon chocolate ganache tarts

The gluten-free brownies (and also paleo) are getting better each time I make them – or at least their consistency is. The latest was a little bit more moist than previous attempts. It uses coconut flour and maple syrup and a lot of eggs so should be similar to a normal brownie. It’s not quite the same but at least gluten-free folks can get some kind of sweet chocolaty treat to gobble up like everyone else can.

I have a gluten-free Kahlua cheesecake bite recipe I want to try – so next time around that will be on the menu.