Not cooking, but...

I'm completely hooked on crochet. This is what I've done so far - it's all very amateurish, but it's so much fun and I bet Titus will have a whole pastry shop when he's big enough to appriciate it. (I plan to make some veggies and fruits, too. Eventually.)

So far - a frosted donut, a macaron (that's the pink in the back), chocolate balls, a Swedish "dammsugare"-pastry (that's the green one), a fairly bad cinnamon roll, a chocolate "biskvi" and an oreo.

Dinner.

We had dinner at my parents' tonight, and I had asked my dad for this: crispy-fried cod. It's amazing, and he does it so very well. It's easy - he just dips fresh cod in a coating of coarse rye flour and spices, and then fries in plenty of butter - but it's really delicious. Titus ate lots, too!

Crawfish in Love

Cute name, isn't it? And a lovely dish. It's really a riff on a restaurant classic, but this is much easier. It's also very fast and can be done in minutes. Crawfish tails are sold here, ready peeled and cooked, in brine. Cooked shrimp would be good too.

Crawfish in Love
(printable recipe)
Serves 2

150 g crawfish tails, cooked and peeled
150 g fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 small yellow onion, finely diced
1 garlic clove, minced
butter
200 ml crème fraiche
1/2 tbsp white wine vinegar
1 tsp dried tarragon (or two tsp freshly chopped)
1 tbsp cognac
salt, pepper

to serve: freshly cooked pasta, fresh tomatoes

Start with the pasta, because the sauce cooks very quickly. We used bucatini, but other good choices would be linguini, spaghetti, or tagliatelle.

Fry mushrooms, onion and garlic in a little butter until the mushrooms have shrunk. Stir in crème fraiche, vinegar, tarragon and cognac. Cook for a minute or two. Stir in crawfish tails and let them become warm. Season with salt and pepper, and serve with freshly cooked pasta and some diced tomatoes.

Recipe in Swedish:
Förälskade kräftstjärtar

Chicken, Broccoli & Blue Cheese Quiche

I'm not really a pie person, but every now and then I try to make one. This one is a quiche with broccoli, some coked chicken, and blue cheese. Despite me not really liking pie pastry, the filling is great and it's a perfect lunch or a light dinner. Serve with a tomato salad on the side!

Chicken, Broccoli & Blue Cheese Quiche
(printable recipe)

Serves 4

250 ml all-purpose flour (1 cup)
75 g butter
75 g quark (fromage frais should work, I use Swedish Kesella. Substitute butter if you can't get it.)

300 g cooked chicken
200 g broccoli
100 g blue cheese
200 ml crème fraîche (low-fat is fine)
3 eggs

Make the pastry in a food processor. Start by mixing butter and flour and process until it's very fine crumbs. Add the quark and blitz until the dough comes together. (If using all butter, you might need a few drops of cold water.) Place in the fridge to rest for 30 minutes.

Press the dough into a pie tin - I use a 20 cm springform pan. Prick the dough with a fork, evenly and all over. Place in the fridge for 10 minutes.

Bake the pie crust at 200°C for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare the filling. Cut the broccoli into florets and blanch in salted water for one minute. Drain. Crumble the cheese. Shred the chicken.

Fill the pre-baked pie crust with chicken, cheese and broccoli. Whisk eggs and crème fraîche and pour over the filling. Bake at 175° (observe the lower temperature!) for about 30 minutes.

Recipe in Swedish:
Kyckling & Broccolipaj med ädelost

Peach Crisp

Peaches are right in season now, so don't forget to use them! I bought a big box of them, but noticed them going bad very fast in our extremely hot weather so I decided to bake a crisp. I normally just eat peaches just as they are - one of my favorite fruits for sure - but they're delicious in baked goods as well.

This won't make a huge pie - it's enough for four (or maybe six very well-behaved) people.

Peach Crisp
(printable recipes)

8 small peaches
2 tbsp homemade vanilla sugar (just stick a few vanilla beans in a jar of sugar, and let it sit. Regular sugar works well too.)

100 g cold butter
100 g all-purpose flour
100 g brown sugar
30 g rolled oats
1-2 tsp cinnamon

Cut the peaches into large dice and mix with the sugar in an oven-proof dish. Bake at 200°C for about 20 minutes, at which point the peaches should be nice and soft.

Mix all ingredients for the topping - by hand or in a food processor, or in a mixer. Distribute evenly on top of the peaches. Bake at 200°C for 12-15 minutes, or until golden brown and crunchy.

Serve with vanilla ice cream or custard.

Recipe in Swedish:
Persikosmulpaj

Busy!

Sorry for not blogging yesterday, or earlier today - I've been busy building my new cookbook shelf! I grew out of my old one - not surprising - so we switched to this new one. It takes up a whole wall in our living room, and yes - it's all cookbooks. (And a few boxes of toys at the bottom.) I swear my books must have bred and multiplied when they were stacked away during the switch! Crazy!

Indian Cooking

Remember how I told you about Indian Cooking Classes in Stockholm this summer? Well, I went, and it was wonderful. I thought I'd show you some photos. I didn't take that many, as I was busy chatting with Sapphire and her lovely mom, and eating, of course.


Filling for samosas: potatoes, peas and spices.


Samosas getting stuffed - this was not hard, but not as easy as it looked, either.


And the finished little golden packages of deliciousness.


We were treated to three different types of tea, and I loved this variety with fresh ginger and black pepper. I'll try making it myself when the weather cools down a little.


A very yummy snack, that I'd love to get my hands on.


And this, too. Some sort of daal, soaked and fried. Like rice crispies, but not!




Sapphire's spice drawers. No comment necessary.