Baked Apples with Agave Nectar

This simple, and fairly healthy apple dessert features two unusual products. Agave Nectar is a sweet syrup, derived from the agave plant (close relative to the one that yields tequila!) and while very sweet it doesn't raise your blood sugar. It also doesn't taste of much - just sweet.

Virgin plum oil, that I got sent to me from France, is intriguing. It tastes strongly of almonds, the same was as apricot kernels. Great alternative for those allergic to nuts, but craving the flavor. In this dessert - not essential. Swap it for a little butter, and perhaps a few drops of almond extract, if you have it.

Baked Apples with Agave

3 apples, cored and cut into wedges
2 tsp agave nectar
2 tsp virgin plum oil
1 tsk cinnamon
2 tbsp almonds, chopped

Mix all ingredients. Place in an oven-proof dish and bake at 200°C for 15 minutes or until the apples are soft. Serve with ice cream or a dollop of whipped cream.

Recipes in Swedish:
Ugnsbakade äpplen med agave

Twisted Buns

I posted about cinnamon buns on my other blog today.

Maybe my very best cinnamon buns, ever. And I've made them into a nice knot-shape as well - it's often seen in bakeries, but it's a bit tricky to do yourself. I tried to photograph the progress, so you can try it, too! I hope you'll like them!

Heading to Stockholm?

Just a reminder that I wrote a fairly extensive food guide to Stockholm last year, and just updated it. If you're traveling here, I hope you'll find it helpful!

Mexican Lasagna

So, if you've made a whole crock-pot-ful of pulled pork or carnitas, you might want ideas for using it up? I know I often find mindself with leftovers, and I've stirred it into pasta, risotto and lately, this "kind-of-lasagna". You can totally make it vegetarian, adding veggies like zucchini and mushrooms in lieu of the meat, or use ground beef. Lamb, perhaps? I'm sure it'd all work very well. I was surprised at how the tortillas turned out very similar to pasta, once cooked - weird!

This keeps well in the freezer, and re-heats beautifully in the microwave.

Mexican Lasagna
serves 6

1 large yellow onion, diced
1 red pepper, diced
1 chili, finely diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp cooking oil
800 g (two tins) crushed tomatoes
200 ml water
3 tbsp spicy salsa
2 tbsp coriander stalks, finely chopped
200 g grated cheese, sharp (I used Västerbottensost)
8 wheat tortillas
600 g carnitas meat, or ground meat. (Or veggie substitute, see above)



Fry onions, pepper, chili and garlic in some oil. Add the tomatoes, water, salsa and coriander stalks. Cook on low heat for about 30 minutes.

Use a deep oven-proof dish, as you would for any lasagna. Layer tortillas, meat, tomato sauce and cheese. I started with sauce, and finished with sauce and cheese. I had three layers of tortillas.

Bake at 200°C for about 20 minutes. Let the lasagna set for 15 minutes before serving.

Serve with an avocado salsa, some sour cream and fresh coriander.

Recipe in Swedish:
Mexikansk lasagne

Pulled Pork Sandwiches

I've made pulled pork before, and I've even made it in the crock-pot, but oh, I had never made this before...

It was so simple. I took some large pieces of pork shoulder, tossed them in the crock-pot and poured on some Coca-Cola. I switched the crock-pot on low, and let it cook for about eight hours. I shredded the meat, and seasoned it with a lot of barbecue sauce.

I buttered and fried some hamburger buns.

I made this Cilantro Jalapeño Coleslaw.

And assembled. It was truly heaven.

Corn Bread Muffins

I feel so sad at the events in Norway - it's such a heinous crime, I can barely comprehend it. As some of you know, my full-time job is in politics, and when I was younger, I too was part of a political youth organization. We had a summer camp as well, and I can't begin to imagine..

Well, even in times of crisis, one must eat. And cook. And blog, perhaps.

Try these corn bread muffins - they're lovely comfort food. Add a big pat of butter, and drizzle with maple syrup for an extravagant treat.

You deserve it. We all do.

Corn Bread Muffins
12

250 ml all-purpose flour
250 ml cornmeal
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp baking powder
300 ml buttermilk (or Swedish filmjolk)
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 eggs
80 ml neutral cooking oil
4 tbsp raw sugar (sometimes sold as demerara or turbinado - use regular sugar if you can't find it)

Mix flour, cornmeal, salt and baking powder in a large bowl. In another bowl, whisk buttermilk and baking soda, then add the egg, oil and sugar. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ones, and mix gently. Dollop into lined muffin tins, and bake at 200°C for 20 minutes.

Recipe in Swedish:
Majsbrödsmuffins

Very, very sad day

I'm so upset due to the terror attacks in Oslo and Norway today. It's absolutely unbelievable that something like this can happen, and frankly, it feels rather close to home.

So I'm watching CNN and Norwegian television, and snacking, a lot. And that brings me to Blogging By Mail, a wonderful event organized by Stephanie where bloggers around the world send each other packages. I got mine from sweet Esme at Chocolate & Croissants, who went a little crazy at Trader Joe's! I got all sorts of goodies - brown rice crispy treats, salt water taffy, maple cookies, sun-dried tomatoes, dried cranberries, pineapple chips, caramel popcorn, roasted green chilies, taco mix and a grinder with coffee, chocolate and sugar. Amazing.

And such good timing, because on days like these, you appreciate the good people of the world even more. Thank you Esme, thank you Stephanie.

And thank you, all my friends from all over the world. I'm so happy you exist, and I hope you are safe and sound and will never be touched by horrendous events.

Strawberry & Punsch Semifreddo

I apologize for not posting for a few days! Not at all due to lack of material, but rather lack of energy. I've been unreasonably tired, and I hope it goes away soon! Today, I'll ask you to check out my blog at Sweden.se for a great, great dessert: Strawberry & Punsch Semifreddo. It's a super tasty dessert, and one that's very impressive as well. And easy to make ahead!

I used a really nice silicon mold with removable sides from Lékué, that I've gotten from my friends who run an online kitchenware store: www.ninasmat.se

Mormor Magda's Ice Cream

We took a trip last week, down to Motala, Gränna and Gothenburg. On the way, we stopped in a tiny little place called Taberg, south of Jönköping. Why? Because one of my friends, Angela, was just about to open her ice cream factory! And who would want to miss that??

Angela has been dreaming about her own ice cream place for years, and finally got it all together. It's called Mormor Magda's ice cream, and she calls it "there-produced" as opposed to "locally produced" since she hopes it will be sold all over Sweden, eventually. I sure hope so too, because as for now, you can only buy it in Jönköping.



Have you seen a prettier ice cream factory? I don't think so. And more importantly, everything is made from the best, freshest, most natural ingredients. No weird additives in this ice cream!



Today's flavors. We tried vanilla, strawberry sorbet, strawberry with white chocolate and cookie dough. All were incredibly yummy.

I'm blogging about Saltå Kvarn at Sweden.se today - check it out! It's a great foodie destination!

Cilantro Jalapeño Cole Slaw

Here's the awesome slaw I made for Fourth of July. The idea came from my food idol The Pioneer Woman, but I switched up the dressing a bit, and couldn't find any decent red cabbage.


Cilantro Jalapeño Cole Slaw

1 small head of cabbage
1 jalapeño pepper
2 tbsp mayonnaise
2 tbsp thick yogurt (greek or turkish style)
1 tbsp milk
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 large bunch cilantro, coarsely chopped

Finely shred the cabbage. De-seed and finely mince the jalapeño.

Whisk the mayo with yogurt, milk, vinegar, salt and sugar. Toss with the salad, and season to taste. Leave for an hour or two, to let the flavors develop.

Add the cilantro and toss, right before serving.

Recipe in Swedish:
Coleslaw med koriander & Jalapeño

Reindeer Omelet

Another yummy lunch-time omelet - this time with smoked reindeer meat and Västerbottensost cheese.

Happy Bastille Day!

Thanks for all the macarons, France!

Onion Strings

I always think frying things is a bit of a hassle, but once in a while, it's worth all that oil and all that clean-up.

These onion strings: definitely worth it.

Simple. Thinly slice an onion or two. Soak in buttermilk (or well, I used Swedish filmjolk) for an hour.

Toss with flour, that you have seasoned with salt and cayenne pepper.

And plunge into hot oil. Fry until golden. Season with more salt and black pepper.

Enjoy!

Organic candy

I know that I'm a huge hypocrite - usually avoiding additives and colorings in all my food, but when it comes to candy, I tend to turn a blind eye.



Good thing there are actually producers out there that do care. My friend Christina recently did some pro-bono work for a small company called Sjölunda Gård that produces Ekorren candy. (Ekorre is Swedish for red squirrel, by the way) and she gifted me with their entire range. It's entirely organic and natural.

I really recommend the little flowers (flavored with, among other things, peaches and apples) and their gummy berries flavored with lingonberries, blueberries and sea buckthorn. The cola bottles were awesome as well. I only wish they would make more sour candy, as in really, really sour - that's my favorite.

If you see it - pick up a bag or two and support this friendly producer, and get yourself some great candy, too!

Coriander Omelette

This could just as well be called a frittata or perhaps a tortilla, but I rather think of it as an omelette. In Sweden, we call omelettes with potatoes "Peasant Omelettes", and regardless of name, it's one of my favorite things to fix for lunch. Titus can help, and he likes eating the result, too.

Adding coriander to the eggs is most excellent - really do try this.

Coriander Omelette
serves 2

3 eggs
2 tbsp water
3-4 tbsp fresh coriander
pinch of salt
olive oil
3 potatoes, boiled
1/2 yellow onion
1 garlic clove
1/2 yellow bellpepper

Dice the onion, bellpepper and potato, and mince the garlic.

Heat a little oil in a frying pan, and fry the onion, garlic and pepper on fairly low heat until softened. Set aside, and heat more oil. Fry the potato, on medium-high heat, until golden brown. Lower the heat back to medium-low, and add the veggies back to the pan.

Whisk the eggs with the water, coriander and salt in a bowl. Add to the frying pan and fry on medium-low heat until the omelette has set. Serve right away.

Recipe in Swedish:
Korianderomelett

Our Fourth of July

We had a pretty small Fourth of July party this year, but didn't want to ruin our tradition of eating glorious American food. True to form, everyone brought dessert, which meant we were absolutely stuffed at the end of the night. Here are some photos for you to enjoy - I missed photographing the loaded potato skins, and a wonderful Mac & Cheese with bacon.



Onion strings (recipe to come)



Pulled pork sandwiches (recipe to come)



Cilantro Jalapeno Cole Slaw



Lena's Key Lime Pie



Thin Mint Cake Balls



Dagmar's individual cheesecakes. Half of them are Snickers/banana, half are white chocolate with berries.



When you dine with food bloggers, cameras are everywhere. Of course. :)

Hazelnut Macarons

I don't think these cookies need a long introduction - they're delicious. Using toasted hazelnuts instead of almonds is a great way to vary macarons and to make them more interesting. I'll have to experiment with other nuts as well - I've tried pistacio, but I'm thinking walnuts or pecans? Have you tried?

These can be made with or without coffee, I've tried it both ways. And both are great. I think I prefer the non-coffee version, though. These particular ones were made when I had friends over for a macaron class a few weeks ago, and I might still have a few in my freezer. (Cookies - not friends.) Lucky me!

Hazelnut Macarons
about 20 macarons

3 egg whites, at room temperature
2 tbsp caster sugar
200 g powdered sugar
110 g toasted hazelnuts, skins rubbed off
2 tsp coffee powder, optional

Combine powdered sugar and hazelnuts (and coffee, if using) in your food processor, and grind until very fine. Sieve. Re-grind any lumps or big pieces of nuts. Mix carefully (they tend to separate a little bit when sieving, since the sugar falls through first.)

Beat egg whites and sugar until you have a thick, glossy meringue. Don't overbeat. Stir in the hazelnut-sugar powder, and fold together. Don't overmix this - most seem to say that you should use less than 50 strokes. (You can try it by dolloping a little batter on a baking sheet - if the peak falls down, it's ready. If it doesn't, try a few more strokes.)

Pipe small rounds on a baking sheet with baking paper. If you want, sprinkle some finely ground hazelnuts on top of half of them. Leave at room temperature for 30-60 minutes, to form a skin.

Bake at 150°C for 10-12 minutes. (I have a convection oven.) Let them cool completely before filling. Unused shells can be frozen, or kept in an air-tight container for a day or so.

Chocolate ganache:
100 g dark chocolate
100 g milk chocolate
100 ml cream (full fat, 35-40%)
2 tsp instant coffee granules, optional

Chop the chocolate finely and place in a small bowl. Bring the cream to a bowl and pour over the chocolate. Add coffee, if using. Stir until smooth. Leave the ganache to thicken slightly as it cools. If it gets too thick, heat briefly in the microwave.

Fill the cookies, and store the finished macarons in the fridge where they'll keep for a few days, or in the freezer where they'll be fine for much longer.

Recipe in Swedish:
Hasselnötsmacarons

New deck!

Here's where we'll eat most of our summer meals from now on. At the moment: afternoon fika.

Crispy Chicken Stir-Fry

I love Chinese food, and we eat it every now and then - not as often as we used to, since we're now pretty far from our favorite take-out place. Still, I cook a bit myself - maybe not authentically Chinese, but I don't let that bother me.

Coating the chicken in egg whites and corn starch make it crispy and crunchy - a small extra step that adds a lot of impact. You can vary the veggies as you see fit, or according to seasons, and feel free to play with flavorings as well. A bit of citrus zest would definitely be good!

Crispy Chicken Stir-Fry
serves 2-3

450 g chicken (I prefer thigh fillets)
2 egg whites
3 tbsp corn starch
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
150 g snow peas
200 g asparagus
oil for frying

sauce:
1 tbsp corn starch
150 ml water
4 garlic cloves, minced
thumb-sized piece of ginger, grated
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp soy sauce
chili, to taste

Whisk the egg whites with corn starch, salt and pepper. Add the chicken and make sure it's well coated.

Cut the snow peas and asparagus into bite-sized pieces.

For the sauce, stir together corn starch and water. Set aside.

Fry the chicken in hot oil, in batches. Remove to a plate.

Fry the veggies with garlic and ginger in some oil. Add sugar, soy sauce and the water and corn starch mixture. Bring to a boil, add the chicken, and season with chili and more soy sauce. Serve over rice.

Recipe in Swedish:
Knaprig wokad kyckling

A tasty idea

Strawberries - they're everywhere right now, and they're very ripe, juicy and flavorful. However, if they're not.. or if you're getting a little tired of eating them straight up, try this:

Strawberries
raw sugar (such as demerara or turbinado)
lime zest
maybe a little squeeze of lime juice

Combine, and macerate for at least an hour. Serve with ice cream.

Southwest Bulgur Salad

Soooo tired. We just celebrated Fourth of July, with a pot-luck party. And man, I'm full. Three - or really, four - desserts turned out not to be a great idea. I had made cake balls, Dagmar brought two types of individual cheesecakes, and Lena made a Key Lime Pie. And we didn't just have dessert - we ate loaded potato skins, mac & cheese, pulled pork sandwiches with spicy cole slaw (awesome!) and fried onion strings.

So yes. Full.

This recipe will make you feel much healthier, though. It's a spicy, zesty, fresh side dish for the summer. Perfect with barbecued meat or chicken. I hope you'll try it, and like it.

Southwest Bulgur Salad
Serves 3-4

200 ml bulgur wheat
400 ml water
salt
1 red bellpepper
150 g cherry tomatoes
1 small red onion
1 large bunch fresh coriander
1 lime, juiced
1/2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp cumin
salt, black pepper

Combine bulgur, water and salt in a pot, and bring to a boil. Cover with a lid, and cook on medium-low heat for 15 minutes or until tender. Rinse with cold water and drain.

Dice the peppers, tomatoes and onion, and finely chop the coriander. Mix with lime. olive oil, cumin, salt and pepper, and toss with the bulgur.

Recipe in Swedish:
Bulgur med spiskummin & lime

We are all the winners!

First of all, I have to tell you that I was in a very cool sourdough bread baking contest a while ago. And a few days ago, I got the call to tell me that I was indeed the winner! This was a contest for the giant bread producer Fazer, and if all goes well, my bread will actually be produced and sold in the stores! We'll see how it goes - I promise to keep you updated. (I can't tell you the exact details of the bread, but I'll tell you about the other bread I made, that didn't win.)

I also won a spa weekend, which will be absolutely lovely.

And now time for the winners of my cookbook giveaway! Wow, you guys had some amazing ideas for edible gifts! The random winners are Filippa, Annkina, Gabriela, Tesse and Kate W, and I'll contact the winners by e-mail. Hope you'll enjoy the book as much as I do!

Sour Cherry & Milk Crumb Cookies

It's Friday! It's summer! It's vacation time for many of us!

I've never been to Momofuku, but I'm slightly obsessed with them since the cookbook came out, and I've read so many recipes for creating their lovely food at home. And especially, their lovely cookies from Momofuku milk bar... I've tried several of their creations (or well, my take on their creations) and this time, I have to say.. I'm not sure it's worth the extra effort.

See, these include a milk crumble. And while it's nice, and not that hard, I think plain white chocolate would be just as good. So, try them both ways!

These cookies (as most) are excellent to keep in the freezer, unbaked. Just scoop out cookies as you normally would, place them on a plate and freeze. When frozen solid, toss them in a ziploc bag and keep in the freezer. You can bake them directly from frozen - add another minute or two to the baking time.

Sour Cherry & Milk Crumb Cookies
makes about 50

Based on this recipe.

Milk Crumble:
3 + 3 tbsp dried milk powder
2 tbsp flour
1,5 tsp sugar
1 tiny pinch of salt
1 tbsp corn starch
25 g butter, melted
40 g white chocolate, melted

Mix 3 tbsp of milk powder with flour, sugar, salt and corn starch. Melt the butter and add to these dry ingredients. Mix into crumbs. Place the crumbs on a baking sheet and bake for about 8 minutes at 115°C. The crumbs should dry, but not get much color.

Mix the crumbs with the additional 3 tbsp milk powder, and the melted white chocolate. Set aside.

For the cookies:

220 g butter, at room temperature, unsalted (if salted, omit the extra salt in the recipe)
250 g raw sugar (demerara) (or regular brown sugar)
85 g white baking syrup (or corn syrup)
1 egg, at room temperature
375 g flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
2 tsp salt
200 ml dried sour cherries
milk crumble, see above

Beat butter, sugar and syrup until very light and fluffy. Add the egg and mix well. Stir in flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Finally add the milk crumbles and the cherries.

Scoop out round cookies on a baking sheet, and bake at 175°C for 8-10 minutes.

Grädda på 200° i ca 10 minuter.

Recipe in Swedish:
Kakor med sura körsbär & mjölksmul