Me and my girl friends started of this year with a girls night out and it was so much fun. We began our night with dinner at the Oyster bar at Jockey Hollow in Morristown, NJ. I have never been there before and it was a nice experience. The atmosphere was great but I wasn´t too impressed with the food. You know how it its when you see something on the menu that sounds good and you expect it to be in a certain way and then it isn´t. Oh well it turned out to be a fun night anyway with great company.

We went to Costco over the weekend. Usually I try and go on my own but this weekend the whole family went and my kids actually loves to go there. It might have to do something with all the samples they are handing out... Because they were very specific that we could not go too early since then there was nothing to sample. I think Costco has a lot of very good useful products and one day I will take you there virtually.

My children have been asking a while now that we have cheese fondue one day. It is not the lightest dish but once a year or so it is a treat. I used to live in Switzerland "the home of fondue" for some years and have a special pot for this. A thick bottomed pot is a good substitute.

I am longing for a beef stew that my mother makes it is called "Kalops" so that is what we are having on Sunday. A must to eat with it is pickled beets. I looked for them in the store but I could not find them so I decided to make my own with beets, horseradish, cloves and a vinegar based preserving solution. It keeps well for a long time in the fridge.

Menu of this week

Monday Thai curry with vegetables and Basmati rice

Tuesday Pasta with garlicky broccoli rabé and bacon bits

Wednesday Chili con carne with brown rice

Thursday Pumpkin soup

Friday Salmon cakes with a kale and Farro salad (I will skip the goat cheese in this recipe)

Saturday Cheese fondue with cornichons and sourdough bread

Sunday Swedish stew "Kalops", potatoes, pickled beets and carrots

ENJOY!