Chicken Soup

Ok, so I told you in an earlier post that I got Tana Ramsay's cookbook Home Made a while ago. I promised you a recipe for chicken soup. Time went by. Sorry. But finally, here it is! And I hope you'll find it worth waiting for! (As usual, I couldn't leave well enough alone and fiddled a little bit with this - if you want the original, do buy the book which is excellent!)

I have to admit that chicken soup always seemed like too much work - especially since I actually like the canned soup by Campbell's... but this one is obviously on a whole different level. I loved it.

Chicken Soup
Serves 4
based om a recipe from Home Made by Tana Ramsay

1 fairly small chicken (about 1 kg/2 lb)
1 carrot, peeled and cut into smaller pieces
1 large leek, white part only, sliced
2 yellow onions, chopped
2 bay leaves
6 black peppercorns
1-2 tsp dried tarragon
50 g butter
2 tbsp flour
100 ml heavy cream (double cream)
1 tbsp dry sherry or cognac
salt

Place the chicken, breast up, in a pot with the carrot and half of the chopped onions and leek. Add bay leaves, peppercorns, tarragon and a pinch of salt. Pour in enough water to almost cover the chicken, but let the top part of the breast be above water so it will steam. (This prevents it from becoming too dry.) Bring to a boil, lower the heat and cover with a lid. Simmer on low heat for about 1,5 hours.

Remove the chicken, and let it cool until you can easily shred the meat into small pieces. Sieve the boiling liquid into a saucepan and let it reduce until you have about one litre.

Melt the butter in a large saucepan, and fry the remaining leek and onion until softened but don't let it color. Add the flour and stir really well to make a paste. Slowly add the boiling liquid from the chicken, a little at a time, and whisk well. When it's all added, bring to a boil, lower the heat and let it cook for about ten minutes. Use a handheld mixer or a blender to liquidize the soup.

Add the cream, sherry (or cognac) and finally the shredded chicken. Season with salt.

Recipe in Swedish:
Kycklingsoppa

A Yearning for Cheese

There's certain things you're advised not to eat while pregnant. Those things totally differ depending on which country you're in and what the current research says. In Sweden, women are told (among other things) to stay away from any raw, dried or cured meat (no parma ham for me...), to not eat their beef rare, to never have any soft cheeses (even if they're pasteurized), to avoid certain fishes because of the toxins, and to not drink a single drop of alcohol.

And I can't wait to eat cheese again. It's ok if you heat it up, which is what prompted the risotto you see above - it has gorgonzola, mushrooms, ham and broad beans - but I'm really missing the texture of it. Blue cheese. And chèvre. And brie. Oh well - only about six weeks to go! I wonder if they look at you funny if you bring cheese to the hospital..?

Weekend Cat Blogging

Ok, I think this Hello Kitty outfit is among the funniest things I've seen in a long time. I'd love get a kit - not for any of the cats to actually wear, but as a photo prop... however, my googling skills are apparently so-so, and I haven't found any place that actually lets me order. So, dear readers - does anyone know? Maybe some of you are in Japan? If you have any idea where I can get this - please do let me know! In return, I guarantee you super-cute photos eventually!

Klara, in the photo, is now almost ten months old! (Photo is a bit old, though. She's rarely still long enough for photo sessions at the moment.) She's becoming quite a teenager. Her eyes are now almost completely green, and she always sleeps in our bed. I don't regret keeping her one bit!

Sweet Asian Dipping Sauce

This is a very yummy sweet-tangy-aromatic sauce that I first tried at Dagmar's. She served it with chicken skewers, but this was so good I could have eaten it with a spoon. It goes equally well with dumplings, something fried, spring rolls, shrimp... whatever, really. It's not bad dipping lettuce or veggies in either!

Dagmar used fresh chili, I didn't have any at home so I used a bit of sambal oelek which is basically crushed chili in oil. I also played a bit with the proportions. Feel free to experiment!

Sweet Asian Dipping Sauce
Serves 2

75 ml rice vinegar
80 g sugar
1-2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
1/2 - 1 tsp sambal oelek
1 tbsp roasted peanuts, finely chopped

Mix rice vinegar and sugar in a small saucepan. Bring to the boil and let it reduce for a few minutes. Remove from heat and leave to cool. Then, stir in all remaining ingredients. You might want to add a bit more rice vinegar if the sauce is too thick at this point.

Recept på engelska:
Söt asiatisk dippsås

Comfort Food Friday - Finally a decent mash

I know, I really ought to give you a recipe - you've barely had any all week! - but sorry. Instead, I give you... my first successful mashed potatoes. Ever.

You're probably thinking "hey, what's so special about that? Besides, ugly photo!" and here's the story. I love mashed potatoes. Yet, I've never made them myself. See, I'm married to a mash-hater. He won't eat it. And I won't make mashed potatoes just for myself. Or at least, I thought I wouldn't. I tried, once, about eight years ago. It failed miserably, and I ended up with a gluey mess. Ever since, I've been afraid of trying. Instead, I've begged my friends to make me mashed potatoes, and I've eaten them in restaurants whenever I've had a chance.

Until a few days ago. I bought a 5 kilo bag of potatoes and decided to give it a go. I was wary, remembering the glue, and simply boiled the potatoes until very soft, mashed them with milk and butter (not too much milk at first) with a whisk (since I don't own a proper potato masher), and added more milk and butter, and salt, until I had a brilliant mash.

And then I ate it all. Yes, the entire pan. And you know what? I can't wait to make it again. And again.

For now, I'm satisfied with this very simple version, but I imagine I'd like to add more things to it eventually. What's your favorite variation on mashed potatoes?

Saffron Risotto with jumbo Shrimp

Frozen,raw shrimp isn't all that easy to find in my local stores, but jumbo shrimp is usually easier. I don't buy it often, but it's quite nice to have when you want to spruce up a simple dinner. I made a very simple saffron risotto (recipe here) and when it was all done, I just tossed some thawed shrimp in a warm pan with oil and crushed garlic and fried for a few minutes on each side. Dinner, done!

Waffle day!

It's that time of year again... Swedes love celebrating food-related "holidays" - such as Shrove Tuesday (semlor), or Cinnamon Bun Day. Waffle Day actually started as a linguistic misunderstanding - it's Lady Day today (that is, nine months before Jesus was born so.. well, let's not go into details) and in Swedish that's called "Vårfrudagen". That was quickly transformed into "Våffeldagen" which sounds somewhat similar - and *that* is why everyone eat waffles today.

Which Swedes normally don't do very often, by the way. It's definitely not a breakfast food here. I never eat it except for this day, and then I like them with jam and whipped cream. That's what we're having for dinner tonight...

Incredibly tasty juice!

I have a new favorite. (Well, aside from my juicer, which admittedly got more use right at the beginning.) Swedish Godmorgon Juice has come out with a lot of new, good stuff over the past few months, and the latest in their line up is an orange juice flavored with crushed strawberries and a few blackcurrants. I can't really taste the blackcurrants, but the strawberries are amazing. It's a little bit on the thick side, but it'd be perfect to freeze into granita or popsicles, or even whizz in a blender with ice to make a quick, semi-frozen treat.

Pesto Beef Pasta

Yet another weekday winner! Pasta is always a necessity here - we eat it for dinner at least a couple of times a week, normally. Good thing it's cheap, fast and versatile!

Pesto is delicious - a traditional Italien "sauce" that can certainly vary in many ways, but usually features basil, pine nuts, garlic and parmesan. Among other things. You can easily make your own, but there are also perfectly good jarred pestos out there.

Pesto Beef Pasta
Serves 2

200 g pasta
100 g fresh mushrooms, sliced
200 g beef
100 g pesto sauce
salt, pepper
butter or oil for frying

Boil the pasta in plenty of salted water.

Fry the mushrooms in a bit of oil or butter. Cut the beef into strips and fry in some oil or butter until browned, but still pink in the middle.

Drain the pasta, and mix with pesto, beef and mushrooms. Season with salt and pepper.

Recipe in Swedish:
Pasta med pesto och biff

Do you eat enough fiber?

Probably not. I know I don't. At least now I know, I should say, because I attended a talk about fiber hosted by Axa, a Swedish producer of various grain products. They've recently launched two lines of functional food, one which is more heart-friendly and one which is more digestion-friendly, and had a lunch to present these new products.



The products are perfectly fine, but what really stuck in my mind was this tray. It shows how much fiber we should eat. Daily.



That's one serving of fiber-rich pasta. One serving of müesli. Three pieces of fruit. A carrot. Two slices of crisp bread, and one of dark rye. And a serving of chickpeas or other fiber-rich pulses. I don't know about you, but I'm pretty happy if I just have coarse bread with my breakfast. This was an eye-opener!

Not one that's likely to change my eating habits though, since I'm pretty happy with my fiber intake, but perhaps it's worth considering if you're having digestion or heart issues - fiber can be really good for you!

Coffee & Cardamom White Chocolate Biscotti

I really do love biscotti - crunchy little cookies that aren't too sweet, and the ones I make are also generally without any added fat. (Not saying that they're fat-free, though, as the eggs and the chocolate obviously contains plenty of fat.)

This is a pretty divine combination. I wish I had used a bit more coffee, or more potent beans, because the cardamom definitely took over, but since I love cardamom... well, they came out really nice. Perfect with a cup of coffee!

Coffee & Cardamom White Chocolate Biscotti
about 50 small cookies

2 eggs
200 g sugar
1 tbsp cardamom, freshly ground in a mortar and pestle
1 tbsp ground espresso beans
1 tsp salt
4-500 ml flour, spelt is fine if you've got it or use regular all-purpose
1 tsp baking powder
100 g white chocolate, coarsely chopped

Heat the oven to 180°C. Mix the eggs, sugar, cardamom, coffee and salt. Add 300 ml of flour, and the baking powder. Add the chocolate. Gradually add more flour if the dough is too sticky to handle - don't use so much that it gets crumbly, but it needs to be firm enough to be shaped.

Form ropes, about 2-3 cm, and place on a lined baking sheet.

Bake at 180°C for about 20 minutes. Remove the sheet, and when the ropes are cool enough to handle, cut them diagonally into biscotti and place them back in the oven at 100°C for about 20-25 minutes to dry out.

Recipe in Swedish:
Kaffe & kardemummabiscotti med vit choklad

Thai-style Chicken Bites

After the shortcut with very un-exciting ingredients, I had to post about a slightly more upscale canapé! Still a simple one though. You can totally make this with ready-cooked rotisserie chicken from the store, or just toss a bunch of boneless thighs in the oven until cooked through. In either case, it's rather effortless. And very, very good. The idea came from Rachel at Fresh Approach Cooking, who made this with duck. When I was first going to make it, I couln't find duck in any of my local stores, so I quickly decided to substitute chicken. Less rich, but still tasty.

Thai-style Chicken Bites
makes about 30

cooked chicken - about six boneless thigh fillets
5 tsp Japanese soy sauce
2 limes - juice and zest
1-2 tsp fresh ginger, grated
1-2 tbsp thai basil, shredded
sugar to taste

1-2 large cucumbers to serve

Shred the chicken. In a bowl large enough to hold the chicken, mix soy sauce, lime zest, lime juice, ginger and basil. Season with a little bit of sugar. Add the chicken, mix well, and let this marinate for a couple of hours.

Cut thick, uneven slices of the cucumber, and carefully remove some of the seeds to make a little bowl for the salad to sit in. Serve with a small mound of chicken salad on top.

Recipe in Swedish:
Thaikyckling i gurkbåtar

Fairly disappointing noodle salad

I mentioned trying to make an Asian fingerfood night a few days ago. Well, this peanut noodle salad was certainly part of the plan but.. it really didn't work out. The dressing was great. The salad itself would have been great, but unfortunately the noodles were still warm when they were mixed with the dressing which caused them to soak up way too much. And instead of having glossy noodles covered in tasty dressing, I ended up with a salad that was dry and somewhat mealy. Needless to say, I won't be sharing the recipe.

However, if *you* have a favorite recipe for peanut noodle salad - please do share! I still have a craving for it.

Shortcuts

Here's one of the best shortcuts I know. It's perfect as a tiny snack to have with drinks, as it's very salty. People are always quite impressed, despite it being completely effortless, and it's embarrassing to give out the recipe.

See, here in Sweden you can get processed cheese in squeeze tubes. It comes in various flavors, such as bacon, shrimp and mushroom and it's extremely popular. Most people eat them on their breakfast sandwiches, and some cook with them as well. I'm always quite sceptical of processed food but the label isn't very scary here - it's made from actual hard cheese and then processed with special salts to make it melt. And then flavored with *actual* shrimp, bacon or mushrooms, or whatever flavor it happens to be. Not aromas, not extracts. It's not that bad.

Anyway, enough with the defense. This is really the only time I use them. And I pair them with ready-bought crispy little shells, croustades. Just half-fill them with cheese, and stick in a hot oven (200°C) for ten minutes or so. Voilà!

Dinner at Frantzén/Lindeberg

The cutest little jar, filled with almonds and macadamia nuts that were smoked. A great start!

We don't eat out a lot, but as we recently celebrated our tenth-year anniversary (that's ten years since we met - we've only been married for a little under four) we decided to really treat ourselves. We chose Frantzén/Lindeberg which is a small restaurant that opened about a year ago. They come highly recommended from many sources, and serve a fantastic and fun menu. And just today, they were awarded one star by the Guide Michelin! Congratulations!


My drink - orange, strawberry and pineapple juice.



A tower of amuse-bouches. At the bottom was a spoon with garlicky purée and crispy chicken skin. Next was a tiny macaron with foie gras and pear. On top is a little puff pastry with blue cheese, that only Per got.

We opted for the medium large tasting menu - you can really only choose between 6, 8 or 10 servings. The menu tells you some of the ingredients you'll be encountering, but nothing more than that. If you have any allergies or special needs (I wanted something pregnancy-safe, obviously, which meant two tiny substitutions), just let them know when you book.)


Our first appetizers. From right, it's a truffled pumpkin soup that was very rich, something with spider crab and some sort of jelly which was really the only dish I didn't love, and something that I can't for the life of me remember! Per got a beef tartare instead of the soup, on top of foie gras.


Per's favorite dish - their take on French Toast, with a parmesan purée, roasted shallots (I think) and served with a special soy infusion and very well aged balsamic vinegar

The meal was incredible. Just incredible. I took photos of everything, but I didn't take notes so I can't tell you *exactly* what we ate. Everything was described in detail by the two servers though - and they were also sommeliers. It's a tiny dining room, with just 16 seats, and there are no additional waiters. So, the sommeliers did all the serving, and they were really extremely knowledgeable about both the food and the wine. Per got the wine package, and it was definitely worth the extra money. I stuck to water... (but I did try a sip of everything he got.) The attention to detail is just stunning - everything is thought of, and we were made to feel extremely welcome. The whole meal was exciting - we couldn't wait to see what would come next, and it was just so much fun!


Brilliant bread - we were encouraged to try a piece of each.


And excellent olive oil and super-tasty butter that was imported from.. somewhere. It was much saltier than regular Swedish butter.


A perfectly cooked scallop.


Which was served with some smokey-roasted cauliflower.


More bread and butter. This time, coarser bread, and the butter was browned butter beaten with regular, cold butter to make a nutty, deep-tasting spread.


Poached fish (I really can't remember what kind - sorry!) on top of tomato marmelade with olive tapenade and some special beans that were picked on a specific date - August 13 2008, I think! Like I said, it's in the details!


The last main course, and probably my favorite. An extremely tender piece of veal, cooked sous-vide for three days. It was served with a truffle jus and onion cream.

They do play a lot with chemistry, but they don't take it over the top. It's clear that the ingredients come first, and that they only use advanced techniques to really make the food shine. Some things were clearly inspired by restaurants such as WD-50, The Fat Duck and El Bulli - and since I probably can't afford to eat at either one (if I even get a table), this is about as close as I'll get! The desserts were just as good as the other food, and that's no surprise since Daniel Lindeberg is a really good pastry chef.


The perfect transition from savoury to sweet - a little cheeseburger! It's really an almond macaron, with chocolate truffle for the hamburger, shredded mint for the salad, some sort of sweet jelly instead of cheese, and raspberries instead of tomatoes. It came with "mustard and ketchup", of course!


Apples and black currants, with vodka jelly and some sort of yogurt ice cream, if I recall correctly


Citrus pannacotta on poppyseed pound cake, with espresso ice cream


Various macarons


Chocolate truffles


The last dish - something like apple jelly and pop rocks, with eucalyptus mist


We were then sent home with a cute paper bag each.


And it contained breakfast! Bread, raspberry preserves, müesli and a chocolate truffle. I thought that was very sweet.

The drawback? Well, the price. Dinner for two, with wine for one, one glass before dinner and a whisky afterward, and a non-alcoholic drink for me came to 4000 SEK. Despite that, I'm dying to go back - soon!

Frantzén/Lindeberg
Lilla Nygatan 21
Stockholm (Old Town)

Spinach Bacon Gnocchi

Quick and easy dinners is really it for me right now. I can't stomach the idea of cooking something elaborate - I just can't. It's definitely the pregnancy. I can't seem to hold on to more complicated ideas, and just thinking about making more than two dishes makes me dizzy. (I had a serious meltdown the other night when we were making various asian fingerfood - it just wasn't working the way I'm used to.)

So - expect to see even more recipes like this. Fast. Simple. Few ingredients. And always really tasty.

I use several shortcuts in this dishes. I buy my potato gnocchi ready-made, at the store. By all means, make your own if you're so inclined. (Since that one time I tried and ended up with a gluey mass, I'll stick to store-bought for now.) Same for the sauce. I happen to love one of the ready-made cheese sauces available here (Kelda!) but you can certainly make a basic bechamel sauce and flavor it with whatever cheese you want. Or you can even skip the sauce altogether, but I like my gnocchi a bit saucy.

Spinach Bacon Gnocchi
serves 2

2 servings potato gnocchi
200 ml cheese sauce
140 g bacon, diced
80 g baby spinach
100 g button mushrooms
parmesan, grated
salt, pepper

Bring a pot of water to boil. Fry the bacon until crispy. Add the mushrooms and fry until they've colored a bit. Add the spinach and the cheese sauce and let it cook for a minute or so.

Boil the gnocchi until it floats to the top, which it will when it's done. Add this to the frying pan, stir everything together and add some grated parmesan. Season with salt and pepper as needed.

Recipe in Swedish:
Gnocchi med spenat och bacon

Very strange

Well, tonight's Swedish eurovision competition was extremely strange. The voting was... well, unpredictable to say the least. And the winner is a strange mix between disco and opera. It's on youtube, but I don't know if it'll be up for long...

Ciprian's ice cream

I'm sure we can all agree that home made ice cream is the best. It's better than anything you can find in the store - hands down. However, some brands try harder than others to make good commercial products, using fresh and organic ingredients. Häagen-Dazs is a long-term favorite for me, some people love Ben & Jerry's (but I'm not crazy about their ingredients...) and a new one on the market in Sweden is Ciprian's. It's made by a very old ice cream manufacturer, Pipersglace, and marketed under this new name. It is organic and very, very good. I've been lucky enough to try several of the flavors, and while it doesn't beat home made... it's pretty good. Nougat is my favorite, a creamy vanilla with hints of toasted almonds and burnt sugar. Cardamom is also spectacular - with large pieces of actual cardamom. Not something I'd eat a full pint of, but that's a good thing! I *do* however have a slight problem with the ingredients as they do use a few additives. It deducts a little bit from the experience for me - especially since other brands manage to make good ice cream from fewer ingredients - but it's not a huge deal.

Other flavors include strawberry, blueberry, cloudberry, vanilla, elderflower sorbet, blackcurrant sorbet and a few others. Definitely pick up a package or two if you come across them - they're sold in Hemköp and other select Swedish supermarkets.

(Photo provided by Ciprian's themselves - no, I didn't keep mine long enough to take a photo of it.)

Wonderful sushi

I've had some really strong sushi cravings during this pregnancy, but since the advice differ a bit on whether or not to eat sushi, well, I haven't really given in. Until recently. See, I don't like a lot of sushi - it has to be REALLY good, and since my brother in law is one of the best sushi chefs in Sweden... well, that's really the sushi I prefer. And I completely trust him, which is more than I can say for most sushi bars out there.

Problem is, he sold his restaurant this summer, and is now working as a chef out at Svartsjö Slott. He does serve sushi once a week, but it's a pretty long drive. Worth it though. Very, very, very worth it!

Pasta at Vapiano

Vapiano is a German chain restaurant, and I know that doesn't sound very appealing. Bear with me though - because the food is really quite good! They serve salads, pizza and freshly made pasta - and I've only tried the pasta, three times so far. See, they make the pasta on the premises. And they cook it right before your eyes! You go up to a counter with several chefs, order your pasta, and they'll make the dish right then and there. This ensures a really fresh meal, and easily customized, too. The only problem is that it takes a while, and it's usually a fairly long line. They just opened their second location in Stockholm, and I really look forward to trying that. It's a great place for pasta. (Per assures me that the pizza is pretty good too.)

Vapiano
Sturegatan 12
Stockholm

Linda's Cinnamon Chicken

Who's Linda? And why am I posting about her cinnamon chicken? Well, Linda is the chef at Per's workplace. He's incredibly lucky - it's not a big company, but they have their own restaurant, and their own chef. She makes them delicious lunches every day - and when I am really lucky, she sends home leftovers for me. One of my favorites is this cinnamon chicken, and last time I ate there I begged her for the recipe. She gave me this rather rough sketch - but it really is all you need, it turned out great when I tried it.

You need to start by marinating the chicken overnight. Or you could skip that, I suppose, - but it's definitely better.

Linda's Cinnamon Chicken

Marinated chicken breasts, cubed or cut into strips, in olive oil, minced garlic, finely chopped fresh chili and cinnamon over night. When you're ready to cook dinner, fry the chicken until done, and place in an oven-proof dish.

Next, fry olive oil, minced garlic, finely chopped fresh chili and cinnamon for a few minutes. Add some cream or crème fraîche, season with salt, and let it cook into a nice sauce. Pour it over the chicken, and place in a hot oven - 225°C - for about 15 minutes. Serve with rice and toasted pine nuts.

Recipe in Swedish:
Lindas kanelkyckling

Jalapeño Shrimp

Here's a much lighter dish than the last one I posted. Instead of cheesy overload, I present a light brothy shrimp dish, that can be adapted in many ways. I served it as it was as part of a large menu, but it's great with some rice or crusty bread. It's based on a recipe from Isabel's Cantina, a really excellent cookbook with Latino-fusion cuisine.

Jalapeño Shrimp

1 mediun red onion, thinly sliced into half-moons
6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 jalapeños, de-seeded and thinly sliced
375 ml white wine
125 ml freshly squeezed lemon
100 g diced tomatoes
500 g raw large shrimp
salt
olive oil

Heat the oil in a deep pan, and fry the onion, garlic and jalapeño om medium heat for two minutes. It shouldn't color. Add the wine, and let it cook for two more minutes. Add the shrimp, and as they turn pink, add the lemon juice and tomatoes. Leave to simmer for 1-2 minutes until the shrimp are cooked through and opaque.

Serve straight away!

Recipe in Swedish:
Jalapeñoräkor

A weird semla, and an article

Me, Dagmar and Lena are in the newspaper! (Svd Min Helg.) We were asked to create a menu for the Women's Day tomorrow, and that was a lot of fun. The recipes are also on Tasteline, along with interviews. Sorry though - just in Swedish! But at least you can enjoy the photos... I'll post my own photos from the shoot when I'm back home, I'm at a conference this weekend.

Oh, and the weird semla above? It's a "kanelbullesemla", or in other words, a cinnamon bun that's been opened up and filled with almond paste and whipped cream. It sounds weird, it was weird, but it was also really, really tasty. As much as I hate to admit it...

Queso Fundido

I really try to have something sweet or baked to post about on Fridays, but... I've run out! So, to fill the not-so-healthy quota, please try this recipe for Queso Fundido. I found it in Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill cookbook, cut it in half and used some different cheeses. It's delicious as a starter - but serve something light for dinner, because it's quite filling.

Queso Fundido

1/2 tbsp butter
1/2 tbsp flour
125 ml milk
200 g grated cheese (preferrably Västerbotten or another strong, sharp cheese)
salt, pepper
100 g chèvre goat's cheese, rindless, thinly sliced
fresh coriander

Chili vinaigrette:
1 green chili
1/2 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 small garlic clove, minced
1/2 tsp honey
2 tbsp neutral oil (corn, canola, sunflower)
salt, pepper

Start with the vinaigrette. Toast the chili in a hot oven until it's black on the outside. Place it in a small bowl and cover with plastic wrap for ten minutes. Peel off the skin, which should now be really easy, and remove as much of the seeds and membranes as you can. (Or don't, if you want this *really* spicy.) Chop coarsely, place in a small blender with the other ingredients. Blend, blend, blend, and add more oil if it looks too thick. (

For the cheese then, melt the butter in a heavy saucepan and stir in the flour. Fry for a minute or so, then gradually add the milk. Boil for a few minutes until it's thickened. Remove from heat and stir in the grated cheese, salt and some pepper.

Pour the cheese sauce in an oven-proof dish, and top with the sliced goat's cheese. Place in a very hot oven under the broiler for about five minutes, until the cheese bubbles and colors slightly. Take it out, top with the vinaigrette and the fresh coriander. Serve right away with plenty of tortilla chips.

Recept på engelska:
Queso Fundido

Have you tried the "yumberry"?

I was invited to an event to introduce the new Chiquita smoothie, which incorporates Yang Mei berries (in addition to blackberries and raspberries). This super-food from China is also marketed under the name "yumberry" and apparently popular as a juice. We got to try the new smoothie, the juice (which isn't sold in Sweden) and also a grand dessert using the smoothie to make several dessert components. Pretty exciting! The berry is elusive and hard to get, but very healthy and super-high in anti-oxidants. The flavor is a bit hard to pinpoint, but I felt that it was slightly astringent, along the lines of cranberries or lingonberries. Others thought it was closer to cloudberries.



The smoothie didn't really taste much of the berry itself (no wonder since it only contains half a berry) but it was really good anyway and has a lot of blackberry-raspberry flavor. It was also quite tangy and not overly sweet. I don't think I'll bother making into bavaroise or parfait, as we were served, but I will buy it as a quick snack every now and then.

Oh - and if anyone knows where I can find miniature jars like the one in the second picture, do let me know! I thought that was super cute!

Lamb Meatloaf

No, it's not pretty. No, I can't shape a meatloaf and get it to hold up. Nope.

Don't worry though. The taste more than makes up for it.

I really love lamb - especially with strong assertive flavors that can stand up to it. This is meatloaf with pine nuts and feta cheese, and I'm starting to salivate right now, just thinking about it. It'll take perhaps ten minutes to prep, and some more to cook - but in all, it's a pretty quick meal. I didn't pay attention to how long it was actually in the oven since I used a thermometer, but... maybe half an hour? It will really depend on the shape you make your loaf, so check to see if it's done.

I served it with a simple tomato sauce and some potato wedges and that was delicious. I had it with pasta, and the rest of the tomato sauce, on the next day for lunch. Just as good!

Lamb Meatloaf
Serves 4

500 g ground lamb
100 g feta cheese
3 tbsp milk
1 tbsp breadcrumbs
2 tbsp rolled oats
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 tbsp toasted pine nuts
1 egg
pepper
dried oregano, sage and thyme
olive oil

Mix breadcrumbs and oats with the milk and the egg and leave in a bowl for ten minutes to swell. Add the dried herbs - a good pinch of each. Fry the onion and garlic in some olive oil, and add this to the batter along with the ground lamb and the crumbled feta. Finally season with some black pepper - no need for salt as the cheese is quite salty - and the pine nuts.

Shape into a loaf, place in a pan and bake at 175°C until the inner temperature is about 80°C. (Yes - use a thermometer.) Leave to rest for at least five minutes before slicing.

Recipe in Swedish:
Lammfärslimpa

Cookie Scoop?

I never use cookie scoops - I haven't seen them here - but I suddenly want one. What size should I get? I seriously have *no* idea - 1, 2, 3 tbsp? What do you use the most? And is there a particular kind I should look for? (Pretty much limited to Ebay.)

Cookbook Watch - it must be spring

...because I'm starting to receive books to review. First one this year was a real gem from Scribner: The Cracker Kitchen by Janis Owens. Normally, I frown upon books without photos and wasn't all that excited about this one when I started reading. I soon found that I could barely put it down - and it's all because Owens' writing is so amazing! She's hysterically funny, and made me laugh out loud as well as recite passages for my husband. And the food? The food sounds good, too. Very. I'm dying to get my hands on a good ham (generally just sold at christmas or easter here, so I guess I'll wait for easter) to bake in brown sugar and coca-cola. And this summer, I have to make some of the very many recipes for fried stuff - I just have to decide on one. Or two. If you're at all interested in American Southern cooking - or just looking for a fun read - do get this one.



Swedes are increasingly concerned with eating within the seasons (not so much fun in the winter, but a lot more exciting the rest of the year) and also care about eating locally grown or organic produce. This book, "Säsongens Vego" ("Vegetarian of the season", roughly translated) by Pia Hall has fourty recipes divided into the different seasons. They're all vegetarian, as the title implies, and accompanied by beautiful photos. The cover photo is one of the dishes I'd love to make - crostini with a creamy lemon spread and fresh broad beans! Can't help thinking it'd be improved by a little bit of crispy bacon though, but perhaps that's just me. Portobello burgers, or tomato terrine sound really nice too.

Happy birthday, grandmom!

My grandmother, Astrid, would have been 100 years old today. She passed away quite a few years ago though, but I think of her often. All my early food memories are of her food - she often babysat when I was little, and often cooked for our whole family. So, today, we decided to have a real grandmom-dinner in her honor. We hung a photo of her at the head of the table, lit candles and had some lovely tulips, which was one of her favorite flowers. I made Swedish kroppkakor and we ended the meal with a very basic meringue swiss which was a real treat whenever I spent the night with her.

When my mother and aunt were little, ice cream wasn't widely available so then it was just meringues, whipped cream and homemade chocolate sauce, but when I came along, ice cream was definitely added too. Her chocolate sauce is incredibly simple, but so good - just take equal proportions of sugar, cocoa powder and cold water and whisk until smooth.

Happy birthday, grandmom. I miss you very much.