On a blustery Autumn day, making a pumpkin soup was the obvious choice for an activity on a Saturday morning with the added reward of a hearty, hyggeligt and comforting lunch.

A quick recipe google revealed a “no chop pumpkin soup,” promising a sweeter, nuttier taste. We gave it a go as it also required very few ingredients and chopping pumpkin isn’t one of our favourite things to do.

Firstly, no chop isn’t actually no chop. The recipe recommends buying a pumpkin cut in half which we’ve never seen for sale. We still had to chop the pumpkin in half and chop up some onions, but it wasn’t an arduous task. After scooping out the seeds, we simply placed on a baking tray and threw in the onions, whole garlic cloves and drizzled with oil and seasoned with salt and pepper. These were then roasted in the oven at 180 degrees for 70 minutes. Half way through we went off piste and threw in some thyme from the garden. We stupidly threw away the seeds too. These would have been great roasted in spices for a tasty, healthy autumnal snack.

Once roasted we simply scooped the pumpkin out, squeezed the garlic out of their skins and added it to the pumpkin and whizzed it all together, onions included in a food mixer. We added milk until the soup was a good consistency, which is a hugely personal thing. One word of warning however; this recipe contained no stock and too much milk would dilute the taste we think. We also added some smoked paprika, which another time we would sprinkle over the uncooked pumpkin.

Once smooth we heated through again in a saucepan, seasoned and served with Parmesan, chilli flakes, parsley and chunky bread.

So, on reflection it was a really easy soup to make and whilst not totally no-chop, it wasn’t hard work at all. As the soup contained no stock, it needed a lot of seasoning and some smoked paprika at roasting stage for a bit of a kick and the Parmesan sprinkling really finished it off.

Most importantly, everyone enjoyed it and it was a hyggeligt moment to sit round the table whilst the wind battered around outside.

We often include spices in our Hygge boxes because not only are they the variety of life but they can evoke memories, often have health benefits and nearly always smell divine – one of our “Original Hygge Box” rules.

So when we kept seeing turmeric pop up on our instafeeds and in cook books, we knew we needed to give it a go beyond the usual curry ingredient. We set about creating this Turmeric Lassi as featured in Good Vibes cookbook by Jane and Myles Lamberth.

A lassi is a Sri Lankan inspired smoothie where yoghurt plays a starring roll instead of fruit. When loaded with turmeric, the recipe claims it’s an immune boosting powerhouse, anti inflammatory, an anti-oxidant and natural pain killer.

The recipe

It’s really easy. Basically, take one cup of yoghurt or kefir and blend it with one teaspoon of honey, one banana, two teaspoons of fresh ginger, half a squeezed lemon and two teaspooons of turmeric. The recipe recommends fresh which we didn’t have, but we used the powdered form. Blend with ice.

The verdict

It really was a doddle to make in our blender. It looked appetising too with a sunny yellow hue.

First impressions on taste and the jury was out however . A real mixture of yoghurt soury-ness that “tacks” around the sides of your tongue, with the zing of lemon and ginger and the earthiness of the turmeric I wasn’t sure… but a couple of sips later and it became really quite pleasant. That may have been the smugness of feeling like I was downing something quite healthy. I can’t confirm whether it is a natural pain killer and I’m sure fresh turmeric is far better than it’s powdered form but it’s definitely a good way of getting healthy goodness inside your insides. Will definitely have another.

I’m off for a couple of hours of netball training now… the monster munch that I had afterwards are sure to be a winning combo!

This is a really fantastic recipe for many reasons. Not only is it great to have up your sleeve for those days when you are tired and you need something quick and filling to eat, it is also nice to have a meal that is a little lighter and isn’t turkey during the festive season. You can easily up-scale this salad if you have lots of hungry guests but would rather spend time with them instead of stuck in the kitchen in front of a hot stove.

We have been using this recipe for quite some time now and love to change the proportions depending on what we have available and also how we feel on the day.

Preparation time: 10 mins
Cooking time: 20 mins
Serves: 4

• 1kg new potatoes
• 4-6 spring onions finely chopped
• 50g melted butter
• 300g smoked trout filet
• 60g roughly chopped rocket

Method:

1. Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and cook the new potatoes for 15 minutes or until they can be lightly crushed with the back of a spoon
2. Mix the rocket and spring onions together in a large bowl and pour over the melted butter
3. Crush the new potatoes gently and add them to the bowl, stir gently until the potatoes are covered in the butter
4. Roughly tear the smoked trout and add to the salad

Tis the season to be baking fa la la la la la la la la…
Over the next few weeks we are going to be sharing recipes to help you get ready for Christmas. If you have guests coming or simply want to have little treats prepared then help is at hand. From simple muffins to Christmas stuffing we will have recipes to help you this festive season, so let’s start with Carrot Muffins:

Preparation time: 20 mins
Cooking time: 15-20 mins
Serves: 12 muffins

Ingredients:

• 1 egg
• 175ml orange juice
• 115g melted butter
• 100g sugar
• 190g plain flour
• 1tsp baking powder
• 1/2tsp baking soda
• 1/2tsp Salt
• 1tsp cinnamon (to taste)
• 100g shredded carrots

Method:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 200°C (400°C or gas mark 6)
2. Grease or line a muffin tin
3. Beat egg lightly in large bowl
4. Add the orange juice, butter and sugar to the egg and beat well
5. Sift together dry ingredients
6. Stir dry ingredients into egg mixture and stir only until just mixed
7. Gently fold in shredded carrots
8. Spoon mixture into the muffin tin until they are 2/3 full
9. Bake for 15-20 minutes at 200°C

We hope you enjoy this and all our recipes.

We’ve been living a more conscious hyggeligt lifestyle now since 2015. I say “conscious” because we always knew how hygge felt, but didn’t have a word for it.

And now, with the turn of a new year, many other hygge conscious people on social media are following #30daysofhygge . We thought it would be rude not to and that we would share our 30 days with you! 

Day 1: Keep a gratitude journal

Now this too is something that I’ve done for a couple of years, although not on a strict daily basis and not always in a journal. Sometimes it has been in a book, now we have a jar and sometimes, in a real emergency and when the need to take stock strikes, I’ve just written a list on a scrap piece of paper.

 I’m at a point in my life where being mindful of gratitudes is one of the best thing I can do for myself so the discipline of doing it daily will be a real tonic.

I’ll share Day one with you :

I am grateful for;

• the warmth & welcome of my family in their new year celebrations both immediately and more widely and the hugs on arrival & leaving.
• the health, spirit & resilience of my two beautiful girls
• the unconditional love from my dogs & the walks that we go on
• having had two weeks of family visit, from the playfulness of my two nephews to the ever presence of my ninety two year old grandmother & the few days on my own to take stock.
• my true friends who have “shown up” in the last couple of months.
• my strength, even though I don’t always believe it myself.
• the optimism of what might lie ahead in 2017. 
• there’s also another gratitude but I’m not quite ready to share that one yet, but let’s just call it an unfounded fear.

With the exception of the last, I suspect that many of the above gratitudes appear on most lists. At least I hope they do. As each day goes by, I’ll be digging deeper, beyond the others. To repeat & be grateful for the same things day after day is more than fine but what will make this whole exercise truly rewarding will be the treasures uncovered in upturned stones that on a usual day would go unnoticed.

I love my slow cooker. In fact I have a confession: I have two. There is something really satisfying about knowing that when you get home at the end of the day dinner is already sorted and all you have to worry about is setting the table and organising some drinks. “It’s nice to know that you get just that little bit of extra time to spend with family or to relax and enjoy a cuppa .

One of my favourites and all-time go-to recipes is a sausage casserole. I usually have all of the ingredients in the cupboard or fridge, it doesn’t take much time to prepare and it smells delicious as it is cooking. I posted a picture of it a few days ago and after receiving a request for the recipe I am here to share the love. I hope you like it as much as my family do.

Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 4 hours on low
Serves: 4

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 6-8 of your favourite quality sausages. I like to use Salsiccia sausages but something like Cumberland would also work
• 3 shallots, finely sliced
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 8 -10 new potatoes cut in half or quarters, if necessary
• 400g cannellini beans washed and drained. These can be replaced with kidney, borlotti, butter beans or chickpeas
• 400g tinned tomatoes with herbs
• 60ml stock
• 2 bay leaves
• Worcestershire sauce
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Optional mustard and parsley leaves to serve

  Method:

1. Preheat a large pan on medium/low/high heat and add the oil
2. Pop in the sausages and cook/fry them until they’re browned all over – approximately five minutes (if you know, this helps). If your pan is not large enough, cook the sausages in batches, transferring them over to the slow cooker as they become ready.
3. Remove half of the oil, add the shallots and cook them for three minutes/until glazed, stirring continuously.
4. Add the garlic and fry it with the shallots until soft, then place everything into the slow cook over the sausages
5. Add the beans, potatoes, tomatoes, stock and bay leaves and season with pepper and Worcestershire sauce.
6. Cover the cooker with the lid and cook on low for 4 hours until the sausages and potatoes are cooked through. Remove the bayleaves from the casserole and season with Worcestershire sauce and pepper to taste.
7. Sprinkle with parsley leaves and serve with mustard.

There’s something very hyggeligt about being recognised for your passion & this week, we were one of six lucky winners of Theo Paphitis’ (Entrepreneur & Dragon) #sbs or, small business Sunday competition to the rest of the non-twitter world.

Many Sunday evenings throughout the year we have tweeted Theo telling him about Living Hygge and our #originalhyggebox subscription box. He and his team must have liked what they saw!

Why do we think we won?
Tricky question. We may have been lucky to have caught one of his teams eye, but we like to think it’s more than this.

We have an original, beautiful product that is the right price, with a quality of content where value equals more than the price paid. And when we talk about value, we mean it in a wholesome sense. Subscribing to one of our boxes and you are subscribing to a promise to yourself to take time out & be kind to yourself. Recharge your batteries, connect with others & just ease the pressure of daily life and who can put a price on that? 

We also believe that our adopted strategy of giving back to our community through our #hyggeforhomeless campaign, providing boxes of essential items for homeless people over the Festive period, regardless of religion, shows that businesses can be both successful and kind to society. 

What does this mean for us?

Well! It’s too soon to tell, but within the last twenty four hours our twitter feed has gone crazy and our followers have shot up by over one hundred! (We will never buy followers to make us look bigger than we really are).

We’ve been approached by couriers offering 50% off shipping and had all sorts of lovely small businesses inviting us to collaborate. 

We’ve been invited to join #sbswinnershour tonight which we are really looking forward to.

We’re expecting an email any time soon from Theos team and we understand that there’s a conference in early February 2017 where we may get to meet the man himself.

Within this group we shall seek business advice on upscaling effectively. We believe that we have almost reached capacity and won’t take the next step until we can be absolutely certain that we won’t compromise on quality or the little personal touches that make our #originalhyggebox sparkle with that hyggeligt feeling.

But right now, we are basking in all the attention and are feeling incredibly excited by the journey that lies ahead. 

Thank you to all of our subscribers, friends & everyone else who has supported us!

With hyggeligt wishes

Deborah & Samantha

Amongst the uncertainty of #brexit, find some reassurance, peace & stability in the comfort of hygge.

• Place Make a Hygge Den. A space to escape. This could be a chair, your bed or  another quiet corner of your home. Keep it clear from clutter and every day distractions or select a few special pieces such as photos or objects that spark joy. A favourite spot in a nearby cafe to people-watch might hit the spot too! 
• Wrap yourself in a blanket. A sure fire Hygge guarantee. Watch tv, watch a sunset, or do nothing! 
• Switch off from news and media for a while, maybe over breakfast or in the evening. Throw yourself into a book perhaps or write a letter.
• Play games especially board games, with friends or kids or if it’s really not your thing, make something or colour in!
• Get outdoors stomp around in the open fresh air, whether that be a town park, country lanes or the coast. Breathe in the air and take notice of the shape of the leaves, the spectrum of colour or the shape of the clouds.Really look. 
• Connect with friends & family for a roast / a takeaway or even a cup of tea.  It can be so good to be in the company of others and just chat, catch up in the real world. 
• Candles! Lots of candles! Whether it’s summer and they soften dusky evenings & fill the air with scents of verbena or to add warmth on a winters night, a candle lit place is always Hygge. 

You know what happens on a Sunday in our house. You always hope I’ll forget but I never do and today was no different. Screen Free Sunday. Not for the whole days mind. Just for a few hours.

At first, it was a battle of wills & snatched hidden viewing, but it’s getting easier isn’t it? Well, as the weeks go by you both show less resistance. I feel, as your parent, that you deserve to know why I think it’s so important.

It’s hard being you these days. I mean, really, really hard. I think you have it a lot tougher than we did.

Take my childhood home for example. When I was your age, once I got home I may as well have lived in a fortress. No one could reach me unless it was through the landline (we only had one) or through the front door, usually with Nanny or Grandad as gatekeeper.

But you live in no such cocoon. When you were little I made you a promise that we would have full parental controls, on one computer in the main family room. You would be protected, only technology beat us to it.  You’ve got snapchat and Instagram on your own iPad & phones and you’re happiest lying on your bed circumnavigating the channels du jour. Devices that we bought you ourselves. Devices that always make me feel like we are one step behind.

You think that this is a splendid isolation because you don’t yet understand that there is nowhere to hide and nor do you recognise that nagging “fear of missing out” (fimo) for what it really is. You will have forgotten the freedom of being unconnected because the pressure to be connected is immense, if not overwhelming. And You won’t see this as a bad thing at all.

And then take the tv. Bear with me because this is where you’ll think that I am really, really old; something that you have always suspected. Up until my mid teens we had four channels and certain things were on at certain times. Children’s tv was 6 – 11:30 weekend mornings and 3:15 to 5:30 after school. Then along came channel five & sky. And then whoosh. Suddenly it all became a lot more… busy. You could, given half the chance, watch tv for twenty four hours a day and I couldn’t even tell you how many channels there are and there still won’t be enough for you’ve come to expect tv on demand.

YouTube may well be your guru, but it won’t encourage you touch the velvet beauty inside a broad bean pod or to pull down the wild honeysuckle for you to sniff, nor lift you up to pick the juiciest blackberry off the highest bramble to taste.

Instead I’ve taught you how to build and light a fire where we’ve  toasted marshmallows and I’ve taken you to campsites with no onsite entertainment where I may have told you a bit of white lie about the wifi. Sometimes  there will be no “site” at all and this is where the magic really happens.

And when was the last time you received a letter? When I was little, the excitement of receiving a letter from a pen pal was something to be bottled. Apart from birthday cards and odd post cards, I remember you receiving very little. Whilst at university, receiving a penned letter or card from gap year friends and elderly relatives  lessened my initial homesickness. Will a snapchat be as an effective medicine?

I watch as your generation take the easy option. Don’t learn to play a musical instrument, play guitar hero instead. Don’t read a novel, read unedited endless soap-books. Watch someone else become famous overnight and aspire to that generally unachievable (and unfulfilling?) dream wearing those brands forgoing privacy and no doubt inducing anxiety.

I urge you to be strong. Try new things in the real world. Be inquisitive. Be challenged.

Does this sound a bit of a “in my day”  whinge that we all detest? Maybe it is. Maybe it needs to be.

Right now, the buzz word is Hygge but trust me my darlings when I tell you this. I’ve always known how it felt. I just never had a word for it but now You do.

Please don’t misunderstand me. I don’t want to stop you being a part of this world; indeed I think it is vital that you are, but in moderation and so I too must be strong.

It’s the easiest thing in the world to get on with my own distractions when you are engaged / hypnotised by your screen so I’m sorry kids but you will be feeling the aches of trudging up the tors with your currently under utilised muscles, because I know that you’ll feel that sense of elation when you’re on top of the world.

You will get your hands mucky planting those shoots because you’ll never taste anything as equisite as peas straight from the pod that you’ve nurtured yourself (and you will have to water them.)

You will help me to prepare dinner because maybe you’ll notice how beautiful a red cabbage cut in half really is and how velvety the inside of a broad bean pod is. You already love uncooked cake mix as much as I do even though it’s got raw egg in it.

One day, you’ll have your own family and want to prepare meals around the table, catch up on their days, sometimes with guests or maybe just your little, perfect unit eating in that cosy comforting silence that being part of a family delivers.

And I’m sorry if it’s annoying that I won’t let you take your iPad to bed. But I will read to you and then you’ll read to yourself, learn the power of escaping into a book and oh my darlings, the places that you might go. Your imagination is yours to own and yours alone. You’ll learn to comfort yourself and sooth yourself too.

Look what you’ve achieved today. Your rearranged room looks fantastic. Your idea has now opened up so much space. The banana bread you baked was the best you’ve ever made.

It’s my job as a parent to lead you down these paths with subtlety because I love you so much & believe that you deserve to know about the wonder of experiencing the value of the little things. I’ll protect you as far as I can from cyber bullies and indeed, the temptation of your own unkind words borne from behind the screen bravado.

You see, this parenting malarkey is no popularity contest at all. I’m not out seeking followers or likes. In fact, there will be times when you wish you could unfollow me. Your time will come.

So Actually, sorry, not sorry at all. I’m just doing my job. And I’ll try really hard not to get sucked in to because even as an adult, those things are out to get me too.

PS. I’ve put a screen ban on this years Christmas presents and told all the family. And I’m not sorry about that either.