Asparagus Strawberry Salad with Halloumi

It's so very warm here. Well, for Sweden. And for me. Compared to the rest of the world, maybe 28-30°C isn't that much, but for me, it's just awful. I'm not very good with the heat, and I have to cool down any way I can. I grew up with a swimming pool, and oh how I miss it these days!

Asparagus are getting harder to find, but strawberries are everywhere. Make this brilliant salad while you can.

Asparagus Strawberry Salad with Halloumi
(Printable recipe)
Serves 2

300 g strawberries, halved
200 g asparagus, in bite-sized pieces
1 lemon, zest and juice
1 tbsp honey
2 tbsp olive oil
salt, pepper
50 g arugula (rocket), coarsely chopped
1 handful alfalfa sprouts
250 g halloumi cheese, sliced

Boil the asparagus in salted water for 3-4 minutes. Drain and place in a bowl of ice water - this helps the asparagus retain its bite and color.

Place strawberries and asparagus in a bowl with lemon zest, lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. Add arugula and alfalfa sprouts, and divide on two plates.

Fry the halloumi in some hot oil, and place on top of the salad.

Recipe in Swedish:
Sparris och jordgubbssallad med halloumi

Hot

We are having a very warm day. Perfect for watermelon.

Daring Bakers June 2009: Bakewell Tart

The June Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Jasmine of Confessions of a Cardamom Addict and Annemarie of Ambrosia and Nectar. They chose a Traditional (UK) Bakewell Tart... er... pudding that was inspired by a rich baking history dating back to the 1800's in England.

I admit, I had a lot of fun with this. I hated doing the shortcrust pastry, as always. I just can't seem to roll out pastry, no matter what. It doesn't matter though, because I don't much like eating it, either. I make pies sometimes, but they're really not my favorite thing to eat. However, I really, really liked the filling on this one, so I was quite happy to make it anyway!



I used a homemade strawberry-rhubarb jam that I dug up from a dark corner of my freezer - I can't really tell you a recipe for it, but I don't think it was very complicated... (Mostly strawberries, a little rhubarb and vanilla, and a bit of jam sugar, I bet.)

I will most definitely post the recipe for this tart eventually, as it's something I'll be doing again, but since my tiny chef wants my attention now, that will have to wait for another day!



You can find the recipe here, the blogroll here, and the discussion forums - open to everyone! - here.

Lunch at J

Before Titus arrived, I was treated to lunch by one of my old friends Margareta - who's known me since *I* was a baby, pretty much - at restaurant J. Margareta's daughter Kajsa is the chef there, and she served us a delicious lunch with poached salmon and herby mashed potatoes.



J is a lovely seaside restaurant actually just a few minutes from where I live, and if you're in the area, it's a great spot for lunch, dinner or just a drink on their large patio. You can take a boat there from central Stockholm, or a fifteen-minute busride. They also have a very nice hotel, if you want to stay overnight.


Coffee and a chocolate truffle for dessert

Restaurant J
Nacka Strand
Stockholm

Carnitas, a different way

Last time we made carnitas, we made a huge batch. So big we had to freeze the majority of it. And that turned out to be a brilliant move, because that enabled us to have this for dinner - carnitas in taco tub shells, topped with diced avocado, cherry tomatoes, sour cream and fresh coriander. Delicious!

More from our photo shoot

Olive Hazelnut Cantuccini with a pomegranate drink

I promised some more photos from the photo shoot Dagmar, Lena and I had with Tasteline earlier this year. The professional photographer was Katja Kristoferson who did a great job with the lighting - it was fun to see her work! She used a few tricks, like brushing the food with extra olive oil to make it glisten, and there's actually mulled wine in the glass rather than regular red wine - apparently it looks better!



Our starter (the same as the one we had when we won the title of Best Home-Cooks) - serrano ham rolled around a roasted red pepper creme fraiche, with deep-fried capers.





And for our main course, steaks marinated in balsamic vinegar with a salad from arugula, avocado, blue cheese and walnuts.

All the recipes are available here - in Swedish.

What I ate on Midsummer's Eve

As I mentioned, we were invited to Dagmar's for Midsummer's dinner. I had to show the amazing cake she made - it's a rich almond cake with elderflower cream and fresh berries. Absolutely delicious, and beautiful too.



I never did get a photo of the main course (grilled steaks, with a asparagus strawberry salad, yum) but I did manage the starter which was nectarine slices with pata negra and ricotta. Very very tasty!

Anise Vanilla Biscotti

Here's a biscotti recipe one of my readers sent me. (Or well, I've changed the amounts just a little bit.) Her mom used to make these yummy cookies - the combination of vanilla and anise seems quite unique! They're also rather different from other biscotti I've made - they contain more fat, and have a smaller crumb. They're a bit less crunchy, too - sometimes biscotti can be almost tooth-shattering, but these are somewhat lighter.

This recipes makes a *lot*, but they freeze very well. I bet it'd be nice to dip half of them in dark chocolate...

Anise Vanilla Biscotti
(Printable recipe)

110 g melted margarine
350 ml sugar
3 eggs
250 ml milk
1 litre flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1-2 tsp anise seed, ground

Mix margarine, sugar and eggs. Mix the flour, baking powder and salt in a separate bowl. Add half to the egg mixture, then half the milk. Follow with the rest of the dry ingredients, and then the rest of the milk as well as anise and vanilla.

Add more flour if the dough seems too sticky. Shape two or three long longs, flatten slightly and place on baking sheets. Bake at 175°C for about 25 minutes. Let cool a little bit, cut into diagonal slices and place back in the oven for about 20 minutes. They should be a bit dried out and crunchy - they will get crisper as they cool.

Recipe in Swedish:
Anis- och vaniljbiscotti

Weekend Baby Blogging

Oh, this photo just turned out too cute not to show you guys! Titus is five weeks old already. We absolutely adore him, family life is great. He's a very happy and easy-going baby - the only problem has been that he seems to get stomach aches easily. For now, I'm excluding onions, garlic and strawberries (sigh), to see if that helps him a little bit.

Rolled Nut Cake with Raspberries

Today is Midsummer's Eve, which is probably the most sacred holiday in Sweden. It really should be our National Day (which is really June 6) because it's the one everybody celebrates. We'll be going to Dagmar's for dinner, which is always lovely - let's hope the weather allows us to sit outside on their big deck!

Here's a recipe from my friend Anna. She made it for me several years ago, but I just recently got around to asking for the recipe. It's a great cake - really fast and very adaptle. Don't like raspberries? Use something else - say, blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, cherries or even something like mango or pineapple. Don't like hazelnuts? Trade them for almonds, walnuts, pecans... the possibilities are endless. And this is gluten-free by the way.

Happy Midsummer, everyone!

Rolled Nut Cake with Raspberries
(printable recipe)

For the cake:
3 eggs
200 g sugar
2 tbsp potato flour
100 g ground hazelnuts
2 tsp baking powder

For the filling:
Cream whipped with a pinch of vanilla sugar and fresh raspberries



Beat eggs and sugar until pale and fluffy. Mix potato flour with hazelnuts and baking powder, and add this to the eggs. Fold gently. Spread on a baking sheet lined with baking paper. (For neat edges, fold the edges of the baking paper.

Bake for 7-8 minutes at 250°C. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with sugar. Place upside down on another baking sheet and pull off the paper. It should be quite cool immediately since it's so thin, but let it cool completely. Cover with whipped cream, and sprinkle with berries. Roll - and now you'll end up with the sugar on the outside. Serve straight away.

Recipe in Swedish:
Nötrulltårta med hallon

Chicken Cous-Cous with Peppers

Per's sister, brother and his girlfriend visited us last weekend - mostly to meet Titus, of course. I decided on a simple lunch, which turned out very tasty. I served a lime aioli with the salad, which was pretty good - not homemade, but a new product from Ridderheims. Serve a nice bread with this too - I had some home-baked sourdough in the freezer - and you'll definitely have a nice meal.

I forgot to take a photo of the whole platter - so the photo is actually of the leftovers I had for lunch the next day. Just as good, but not as pretty!

Chicken Cous-Cous with Peppers
(printable recipe)
Serves 6

700 g de-boned chicken thighs
400 ml cous-cous
handful of kalamata olives
1 red bellpepper
1 yellow bellpepper
200 ml cooked (and shelled) edamame beans
1 lemon - zest and juice
1 tbsp fresh tarragon, finely chopped
1/2 tbsp runny honey
olive oil
salt, pepper, cayenne pepper

Cut the chicken into smaller pieces and fry in olive oil with some salt and pepper. Set aside. Place the cous-cous in a bowl with some salt and cayenne pepper. Add 400 ml of boiling water, cover with plastic foil and leave to stand for five minutes.

Cut the bellpeppers into small pieces and mix with olives, edamame beans, lemon zest, lemon juice, tarragon, honey and some olive oil in a large bowl. Add the chicken.

Finally, fluff the cous-cous and mix with the other ingredients on a large plate.

Recipe in Swedish:
Kycklingsallad med cous-cous och paprika

Best dessert ever

This is just so tasty. I got the idea from Dagmar, and this particular photo is actual from a photo shoot we did (me, Dagmar and Lena) for Tasteline a few months ago. We were asked to create a simple spring menu, and we did this dessert as well as a few other things. (I do have more photos from it, I'll try to remember to post them eventually.) Amyway.

We used frozen raspberries that we thawed in some rhubarb cordial, and then layered with crushed meringues, softly whipped cream and vanilla ice cream. That's all there is to it, but I promise - it's extremely tasty.

Gifts from the US

I recently got a care package from my dear friend Rebecca in California. It had lots of baby gifts for Titus, but it also had food for me and Per. I got a great big bottle of roasted raspberry chipotle sauce, which must be one of the most awesome substances on this planet. If you haven't tried it, and you can actually buy it somewhere, do so immediately. Then try it with cream cheese on crackers. No, I'm not joking. Try some on really ripe Brie, too. It's incredible.

I also got a big can of my favorite snacks - honey roasted cashews. I've tried making my own when the addiction is just too bad, but it's not the same as Planter's. I'm not proud to report that this is nearly gone already.



Per was most excited to see this - a huge bag of... free packets of Taco Bell Mild Sauce. Yep. It's terrific, and we both love them.

Fluffy Omelette

Dinner tonight was light, since we ate a late Sunday lunch with Per's sister, brother and his girlfriend who were visiting Titus on his one-month birthday. Delicious chicken cous-cous, but I forgot to take a photo - I have leftovers, so I'll try to snap a pic of those tomorrow. Anyway, dinner.

We had a fluffy omelette - fluffy, because the egg whites are beaten separately and then combined with the yolks. The whole thing is baked in the oven, which makes it puff up nicely. It's much like a frittata, by the way. And it goes without saying that you can add just about anything to this. We had cherry tomatoes and chèvre cheese, which was excellent.

Fluffy Omelette
(printable recipe)
Serves 2

4 eggs
8 cherry tomatoes, halved
100 g chèvre cheese, crumbled
1 tbsp parmesan, grated
black pepper
olive oil

Preheat the oven's grill to 250°C.

Separate the eggs into yolks and whites. Mix the yolks with the parmesan. Whisk the egg whites until nice and fluffy - not stiff like for meringue, but decidedly fluffy. Whisk the egg yolks, and then combine the two into one bowl.

Heat the olive oil in a skillet and add the eggs. Fry for a minute, then top with the tomatoes and cheese. Place the whole thing in the oven and bake for five minutes, or until it looks golden and fluffy. Serve straight away.

Recipe in Swedish:
Fluffig omelett

Cookbook Watch: Diet restrictions

Two interesting books today. First, "Babycakes" by Erin McKenna. This is a book from a bakery in New York, and what's special is that everything they bake is completely vegan and gluten-free, and low in sugar as well. The book has all their great recipes, and I have to say, it sure looks nice. Even for those without diet restrictions, of course! However, it's not that easy to follow the recipes, since they require so many special ingredients. I can't get half of them, so I won't be keeping this - unfortunately. But if you live in the US, or elsewhere with easy access to agave nectar, evaporated cane juice, xanthan gum, coconut flour and Bob's Red Mill flour mixes, you should definitely get this.



And then we have "You don't have to be a diabetic to love this cookbook" by Tom Valenti. Definitely interesting - and you can tell by the super-long title what this is about. It has over 200 recipes that are low in carbs and sugar - something which can be good for everyone and not just those who actually have to eat that way. Now, it also has some basic dietary information which I'm not that interested in, but the recipes seem nice. It doesn't have many photos, unfortunately, but I really want to try the grilled portobello mushroom quesadillas with mozzarella and roasted red peppers, and snacks like shrimp wrapped with goat cheese, basil and prosciutto.

Boeuf Bourguignon

Sweden has been quite cold and rainy this week. I'm not complaining - in fact, I vastly prefer this to hot sunny days! I'm spending most of my time curled up with my baby in a big armchair anyway, so the weather isn't very important. However, cold weather also means that I'm not much in the mood for salads for dinner every day. This rich stew is perfect - it's easy to make, and it's actually best made a day or two ahead. Just make the garnish right before serving, and it'll be completely delicious.

Boeuf Bourguignon
(printable recipe)
Serves 6-8

1 kg beef - a cut suitable for stewing
100 g smokey bacon, in thin slices
2 carrots, in smaller pieces
100 g whole tiny yellow onions
125 g mushrooms, in smaller pieces
2 tbsp cooking oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 bottle of red wine - pick a good one!
salt, pepper
pinch of sugar
dried thyme
2 bay leaves

Garnish:
100 g smokey bacon
100 g whole tiny yellow onions
100 g mushrooms, whole or cut in half

Fry the bacon for the stew in a big pot on medium heat. It should melt slightly. Add the onions, carrots and mushrooms and let it fry for a few minutes.

Cut the beef into large dice. In a separate pan, brown the beef in the cooking oil, and add to the pot. Stir in the garlic, add the red wine and bring to boil. Season with salt, pepper, a pinch of sugar, a pinch of dried thyme, and two bay leaves. Let the pot simmer for an hour or two, or until your meat is really tender. At this point, you can let the stew rest for a day or two, or you can go ahead and make the garnish.

For the garnish, cut the bacon into small dice, and fry until crispy. Add the onions and mushrooms for a few minutes, and then before serving, add everything to the pot.

Recipe in Swedish:
Boeuf Bourguignon

Baked potato

.. With Skagen-salad. Delicious.

Red Curry Quorn

I rarely, rarely, rarely cook with meat substitutes. I really don't like most of them. Quorn is made from mushroom protein and.. well, it's not meat, that's for sure. Some swear it tastes just like beef, or chicken, or well, some kind of meat, but for me..? Well, no. The texture *is* different. And the flavor isn't much at all, which is why it needs lots of seasoning. Anyway, I did cook this curry using quorn "mince", so I thought I'd share it with you. Maybe some of you have a bag of quorn in your freezer, like I did...

Red Curry Quorn
(printable recipe)
Serves 4

500 g quorn mince
cooking oil
1 yellow onion, finely chopped
1-2 tbsp red curry paste
a thumb-sized piece of ginger, finely grated
2 garlic cloves, grated or minced
1 red pepper, finely chopped
400 ml coconut milk
water
pinch of sugar
salt
chili powder
garam masala
1-200 ml single cream
2-3 tbsp japanese soy sauce

Fry the quorn and the onion with red curry paste in some cooking oil. Add ginger, garlic and red pepper, and fry for a few more minutes. Add coconut milk, and season with a pinch of sugar, salt, chili and garam masala. You might want to add some water to make it saucier. Cook for ten minutes or so. Towards the end, season with more spices and soy sauce, and stir in some single cream to make the flavors a bit more round and smooth.

Recipe in Swedish:
Quorngryta med röd curry

Chicken Salad for dinner

Apparently, I blog so much about "desperate dinners" that I was approached by a company whose idea is to provide groceries for one week of dinners. Well, I still enjoy choosing what I eat, and eating well - I just don't have time for elaborate recipes, or blogging about them, at the moment. But hopefully I can still provide some inspiration! Tonight's dinner was really good. We bought half a rotisserie chicken, shredded it and tossed it with baby spinach, a red pepper, an avocado, and a mustard balsamic vinaigrette. What made it special was homemade sourdough croutons - I'll tell you about the sourdough bread as soon as I can, because it's really good. Croutons are super easy - just cut up some bread, toss with olive oil and salt and toast in the oven at 200°C for about ten minutes.

Cookbook Watch: lots of news

Ok, so I don't really cook much these days, but I *do* read cookbooks. I have a stack of new books easy to reach when I'm feeding the baby, and it's nice to get some sort of foodie enjoyment, even though it's outside the kitchen. (It's that, and daytime television...) I'm sure I'll be cooking again soon, but for now, this will do nicely. So, expect tons of cookbook reviews coming up. Let's start with a few that are nice, but not exactly for me...

First - a real first, Gordon Ramsay's first book to be published in Swedish. However, they chose "Healthy Appetite" ("Frisk Aptit" in Swedish) for that first, and I'm not super impressed by this. Come to think of it, I'm not a big fan of Gordon's books in general, except for "Fast Food" which I really liked. (And only got from the library - I should buy that one.) However, Gordon has a lot of fans here in Sweden due to the tv shows, and I'm sure many of them will like this book.



Another book which surely will have a lot of you excited is Bobby Flay's latest: "Burgers, Fries & Shakes". I fully expected to love it, but having read through it I realise it's the sort of book I'll never use. It's nicely written, with very thorough information about the food, good recipes, and great photos but... it doesn't make me hungry. Well, except for the shakes. Which I'll never make, since each one seems to have enough calories to last a week. (Slightly exaggerated, but as someone who tries to be fairly moderate, it just won't work.)



I also got a review copy of Trina Hahnemann's "The Scandinavian Cookbook". As always when encountering the term "scandinavian", I'm a bit sceptical. I find that there's a huge difference between Swedish, Danish, Norwegian and Finnish cooking and sure enough, this one is mostly Danish. I don't recognize a lot of the dishes, and I'm definitely not interested in cooking most of it. I suppose it's nice if you're curious about Scandinavian food and don't care all that much about the differences between the countries, but for Swedish food I vastly prefer "Very Swedish".



And for something different - an e-book. It's called Simply Summer and is written by Angela Tunner. The e-book is just $1.99and has some great-sounding recipes as well as pretty photos. However, it *is* an e-book, and I'm not super comfortable reading recipes in that format just yet. One would think so, since I'm so used to blogging, but... not really, no. But if you don't mind the format, it's definitely a very nice book.

And another quick dinner...

And here's another one of those not-super-special-perhaps-but-really-good dinners. We made a vegetable sauce with tomatoes, zucchini, red peppers and onions, and served it with spicy fried chorizo and pasta. Lots of parmesan. Delicious!

No culinary wonder but...

...really tasty. Cooked pasta - undercook it slightly, it will cook more in the oven - tossed with a cheese sauce (which I always buy ready-made), some very quickly blanched broccoli florets, and some crispy bacon and fried onion. Then baked in the oven. Dinner. Done.