Sticky Saffron Cake

A perfect winter-time dessert, or a nice treat to nibble with a cup of Gl�gg (mulled spiced wine). You can serve this on its own, or with a dollop of whipped cream, and perhaps some berries. It's very adaptable, like almost all of my recipes.


Sticky Saffron Cake

100 g butter
200 g white chocolate, finely chopped
1/2 gram saffron
3 tbsp golden syrup
3 eggs
3 tbsp sugar
1/2 vanilla bean, scraped out seeds
1/2 tsp salt
90 g flour

Melt the butter. Add the chocolate, and stir until smooth. Add the saffron and syrup and one egg at a time. Stir well between every addition. Finally stir in the dry ingredients - sugar, vanilla, salt and flour.

Butter a springform tin (mine is 24 cm) and sprinkle with coconut. Pour in the batter.

Bake at 175�C for about 15 minutes. Maybe a little bit longer - check and see. It should be a little bit wobbly in the middle, but mostly set. Chill completely before serving, over night is ideal.

Happy Holidays!

Lemon bars

Need a yummy dessert or a snack to bring to a party? Here's your new best friend - lemon bars. Much simpler to make than you'd expect - or at least than I expected. And delicious.

Lemon bars

Bottom layer:

220 g unsalted butter, cold 

90 g sugar

240 g flour

1 egg yolk

Top layer:

300 g sugar

30 g flour

150 ml lemon juice (I used three lemons)

4 eggs 

Cut the butter into small cubes. Run in a food processor or Kitchen-aid (or with your fingertips) with flour and sugar until crumbly. Add the yolk and work until the  dough just barely comes together. 

Press into a lined tin (mine is about 28*33 cm) and bake at 175 for about 20 minutes or until lightly golden. Remove and cool for five minutes. 

For the filling, just mix all ingredients in a bowl and whisk until smooth. Pour on top of he cake and bake for another 20 minutes. The cake should NOT color. Remove and let cool completely before cutting into bars. Serve with a sprinkle of powdered sugar. 

Christmas shopping in Copenhagen

I had a great time last weekend - me and Lena went down to Malmo to visit Dagmar, who has recently moved. We went to Copenhagen, which is just a short trainride away. We enjoyed the christmas decorations, strolled along Stroget, shopped, talked, and had a champagne lunch at Huks Fluks. 



As always in Denmark, I picked up a few new mugs from Green Gate.



One fun find was Hotel Chocolat, which is a British chain of upscale chocolate boutiques. I've read about them before but never visited, I had no idea there was one in Copenhagen. I bought a bunch of these 100g chocolate bars - not all are pictured, because some are destined for christmas stockings.



We also shopped at Emporia, a huge shopping center just outside Malmo, and walking distance from Dagmar's new house. I found this super cute cookie jar at TGR, a fun store that has all sorts of knick-knacks.



And then there was Gr�ddbullerian - a small shop with just this specific sort of pastry. It's a thin wafer covered with - basically - marshmallow fluff, and dipped in chocolate. I bought the two seasonal varieties, gingerbread and saffron, as well as peppermint, and unflavored ones for the kids.



Dagmar treated us to all sorts of exotic candy - mostly from Japan and the US. I really enjoyed Brain Blasterz, which was a delicious super sour candy.

All in all, it was a fantastic weeekend. I really love hanging out with these girls and I'm looking forward to our next trip - New York City!

Lemon Cardamom Muffins

We have a new tradition. Titus goes to swimming classes every Sunday morning, and Dante gets to stay home and bake something. This Sunday, we made Lemon-Cardamom Muffins. A lovely treat, perfect for Sunday afternoon fika sessions.

Lemon Cardamom Muffins
makes 12

100 g butter, softened
190 g sugar
2 eggs
200 ml yogurt (or Swedish filmj�lk)
1 tbsp lemon juice
zest of one lemon
270 g flour
1 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
pinch of vanilla powder
1 tsp crushed cardamom seeds (Buy whole ones and crush the in a pestle and mortar - much more flavorful than ready-ground)

to decorate:
pearl sugar

Beat butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat well. Add the yogurt, lemon juice and lemon zest.

In a separate bowl, mix flour, soda, salt and vanilla powder. Add the cardamom. Fold this into the wet ingredients.

Dollop into muffin cases placed in a muffin tin. Top each with a little pearl sugar. Bake at 200�C for 15-18 minutes.

Farfalle alla Bourbon

Last time I made this, I didn't manage to get a photo before it was all gone, so this time I made sure to remedy that. A version of this recipe has been posted before, but it's so delicious I hope you'll stand to repeat it.

Farfalle alla Bourbon
serves 4-6

500 g farfalle pasta
1/2 tbsp olive oil
140 g bacon
1/2 tsp chili flakes
50 ml (or so) bourbon
3 tbsp tomato pur�e
200 ml water (or so)
1-200 ml cream
large handful grated parmesan cheese

Cook your pasta in plenty of salted water.

Dice your bacon finely, and cook in the olive oil until slightly crispy along with the chili flakes. Do this in a large saucepan, big enough to hold your pasta. Add the bourbon and cook until it's mostly gone. Add the tomato pur�e and water, bring to a boil and cook for about five minutes on low-medium heat. It should reduce quite a bit. Add the cream when there's just a few minutes left of until the pasta is done.

When it is, drain it but reserve some water. Add your pasta to the sauce, and sprinkle with the cheese. Fold together, and use the reserved pasta water to make it saucier, if you want to.

A quick snack

Here's what we had for dinner a few weeks ago. Slices of baguette spread with a softened blue cheese and then topped with onions and mushrooms that had been fried with a splash of balsamic vinegar and plenty of black pepper.

Tosca Cake Extra Delux

A Tosca cake is basically a pound cake with a nut-caramel topping. My dad's favorite, and I make sure to bake him one every now and then. I like to vary the toppings, and this one had sliced almonds, chopped almonds, pecans and coconut which was a particularly successful combination! I hope you'll give it a try!

Tosca Cake Extra Delux

2 eggs
125 g sugar
100 g flour
1 tsp baking powder
100 g butter
2 tbsp cream

Topping:
50 g butter
100 g sugar
2 tbsp cream
2 tbsp flour
50 g flaked almonds
50 g chopped almonds
50 g pecans, chopped
50 g coconut flakes

Preheat the oven to 175�C. Butter and flour a springform pan, about 24 cm in diameter.

Beat eggs and sugar until very fluffy. Melt the butter. Stir in flour and baking powder with the eggs, and then fold in butter and cream. Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 25 minutes.

Meanwile, prepare the topping. Just mix all ingredients in saucepan and bring to a boil. Spread it on top of the cake, and bake for another 15 minutes. Let it cool more or less completely before taking it out of the pan.

Daniel Lindeberg Bageri & Konditori

Daniel Lindeberg is perhaps most well known for being half of the super successful restaurant Frantzen/Lindeberg, which gained two Michelin stars in as many years. The restaurant is now just Frantzen, and Lindeberg has moved on to other ventures. His latest is a bakery and pastry shop in Orminge, (Facebook page here.) which is a small suburb in Nacka kommun. Most excellent news for me, as this is just ten minutes from my house. And he is one very talented baker and pastry chef.





I've visited twice so far and have tried a variety of breads. All very delicious and I can't wait to visit more often.

Nutella Chocolate Balls

Yet another version of the Swedish favorite - chokladbollar, or chocolate balls. This is a particularly rich and delicious variety with nutella (or other hazelnut-chocolate spread) in addition to the other ingredients.

100 g butter, softened

80 g Nutella or similar

50 g powdered sugar

50 g coconut flakes

180 g oatmeal

2 tbsp cocoa powder

2 tbsp espresso 

1 tbsp golden syrup

1 tsp vanilla powder

Pinch of salt

Beat together butter, nutella and powdered sugar. Stir in the sugar, coconut flakes, oatmeal, cocoa, espresso, syrup, vanilla and salt and mix to a firm batter.

Shape into small balls, and roll in either more coconut flakes, finely chopped hazelnuts, or pearl sugar. Chill and serve cold.

Lamb & Beet Sauce, aka Pink Pasta

A quick weekday dinner - my kids really enjoyed this!

Lamb & Beet Sauce, aka Pink Pasta

500 g minced lamb
1 tbsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves
2 tbsp tomato pur�e
1 tbsp oregano
1 beef stock cube
200 ml water
400 ml crushed tomatoes (one can)
100 ml red wine
2 beets, coarsely grated
salt
black pepper

to serve:
Crumbed feta cheese

Heat the oil in a large pot and brown the lamb. Finely mince the garlic and add to the pot with tomato pur�e, oregano, stock cube, water, tomatoes and wine. Bring to a boil and cook for about 15 minutes. Add the beets and cook for another five minutes. Season with salt and black pepper.

Serve with pasta and top with crumbed feta cheese.

Happy birthday blog!

So, ten years. Huh. Time sure flies. I'm not going to write a lot about this, except to say that I'm so happy that I have this blog. Sure, I don't write every day, but it's still a lot of fun and I'm so super thankful for all my friends and readers that I've met - irl and digitally - over the years. The blog is an important part of my life and I can't really grasp that it's been this long.

Now, have some cake.

This is an amazing cake. I found the original recipe in Swedish food magazine Allt Om Mat, and it was created by Anicka Larsson who's a talented Swedish pastry chef. It has three components: hazelnut meringue layers, a coffee-infused chocolate mousse, and a cherry compote.  All favorites of mine so I was pretty certain it would turn out great. There was, originally, a fourth element as well - a fairly heavy chocolate frosting. I was pretty sure that would overpower the balance of this cake so I skipped it.

The original was a lot prettier than mine - but frankly, I love the rustic look of this as well and totally dont' care.

Mocha Cherry Hazelnut Cake
serves 10

Hazelnut layers:
200 g hazelnuts, toasted and skinned
180 g confectioner's sugar
3 tbsp cocoa powder
250 g egg whites (about 7)
70 g caster sugar

Chop the nuts - fairy fine, but they should still be identifiable as nuts, not ground to a powder. Mix with the powdered (confectioner's) sugar and cocoa powder in a bowl.

Beat the egg whites until frothy, and add the sugar. Beat into a glossy meringue. Fold in the nut mixture.

Transfer to a piping bag and pipe four layers, about 20 cm in diameter. (Think spirals - start in the middle and slowly move outwards.) Bake at 200�C for about 12 minutes. Mine sank quite a bit so I either didn't beat my meringue well enough or that was how they were supposed to turn out. (I'm going with the latter.)

Let the layers cool completely.

Mocca mousse:
225 g dark chocolate, finely chopped
125 ml cream
2 tbsp honey
2 egg yolks
1 tbsp instant coffee granules
350 ml cream

Place the chocolate in a bowl. In a small saucepan, heat the 125 ml of cream, honey, egg yolks and coffee until it's just about to boil. Pour over the chocolate. Let it sit for a minute, then stir until smooth. Leave at room temperature to cool a little before the next step.

Then, beat the remaining 350 ml cream until fluffy (but not too stiff!). Fold into the chocolate - first a little and then the rest. Place in the fridge if not finishing the cake at once.

Cherry Compote:
350 g frozen sour cherries (or fresh and pitted, I suppose)
190 g sugar
2 star anise

Place in a saucepan. Heat, while stirring, until the sugar has dissolved. Cook on medium heat for about five minutes. Leave to cool completely (I did this the night before I made the cake.) Drain off the syrup and reserve for something else (like stirring into carbonated water - yum!) and there you have your cherries.

 To complete:
Start with one cake layer. Add about a quarter of the mousse. Top with another layer. Add a little mousse and then your cherries. Add some mousse around the edges to act like a dam so the cherries aren't visible from the side. Add another cake layer. Add half of the remaining mousse and then the final layer. Add the remaining mousse. Chill until you're ready to serve (or freeze for that matter). Decorate as you see fit, I just added a little bit of powdered sugar.

Caramelized Pineapple, creamy caramel sauce, salted peanuts

I had some new friends over for dinner the other day. I wanted to make a simple but fun dessert, and something adaptable - I wasn't sure what they would like. So, I began with vanilla ice cream - always a favorite. Popular with the kids, too. I bought some, but you could certainly make your own. I have recipes for vanilla ice cream here, and here.

I then made a batch of Creamy Caramel Sauce. An eternal favorite, and so simple to make.

I chopped up some salted peanuts.

And then, for the actual cooking part - I took a fresh pineapple and cut into wedges. I fried them in a pat of butter and with a sprinkling of dark muscovado sugar, for about 2-3 minutes on each side.

Absolutely delicious - I highly recommend this.

Cookbook Watch - bake, bake, bake some more!

I find myself cooking less (at least less exciting blog-worthy stuff) and baking more. Or well, less than I used to, but the balance is at least leaning that way. And I'm drawn to baking books. Lucky for me, that's also what's in the stores this fall. Let me tell you about four new books, all in Swedish (albeit with English titles, most of them).



The Bread Exchange is about bread - obviously - but it's mostly about travelling. And about exchanging bread for other things  - for stories, and also for food. There are loads of recipes, and not just for bread. An interesting read, and lots of photos!



Br�d, br�d, br�d by Martin Johansson (I think you can guess how the title translates) is fourth book. He's a dedicated home baker (and blogger), who has gone from a very labour-intensive search for perfection to striving for good results through little effort. This book is his most extensive to date, and I can't wait to get baking. His recipes are very dependable - they really work.




Delicious by Roy Fares. Roy is one of the most famous pastry chefs in Sweden, and is the host of our version of "Top Chef: Just Desserts". He is also gorgeous... and just like in his previous books, there are plenty of photos of Roy himself. But don't think this is just about a pretty face - because no, he's really talented. His pastries are gorgeous, and delicious too. This book has a special focus on fall and winter goodies.



Sweet Food & Photography by Linda Lomelino is another book with cakes and pastries by Linda, who also started out as a blogger. This book also has a lot of photography tips, and I'd say a must have for anyone wanting to learn more about food photography.

Teriyaki Chicken with veggies

Well, I'll just come out and say it. I barely cook anymore. Certainly nothing new. Or from scratch. Or well, that's what it feels like. This is about the only just barely blogworthy thing I've cooked for ages, and even then.. well.

This uses shortcuts. But I prefer to think of it as a way to spruce up a store-bought teriyaki sauce which in itself can be a little boring. So what I did was take a bunch of veggies, grate lots of ginger on top, place some seared chicken on top of that, and then pour over the sauce. I baked the whole thing for fifteen minutes, made some rice, and voila! Dinner.

Teriyaki Chicken with veggies
enough for two adults & two kids who really don't eat much
(because that's my life...)

2-3 small carrots - sliced
1/2 head of broccoli, cut into small florets
1/2 green bellpepper, cut into strips
A thumbsized piece of ginger, grated
2 chicken breasts
teriyaki sauce - homemade or store-bought
a little water if using store-bought sauce

Place all the veggies in an oven-proof dish. Add grated ginger and toss.

Cut the chicken into strips, and lightly sear in butter or oil. Place on top of the veggies. Pour on the teriyaki sauce and water if you feel that the sauce by itself is a little too salty. (Mine was.)

Bake in the oven at 175�C for about 15 minutes. Serve with rice.

Best sauce for Swedish meatballs

Never mind this not-super-pretty-photo. This sauce is perfect. It's just the right thing to accompany a plate of Swedish meatballs, served with boiled potatoes, lingonberries and pickled cucumbers. This is, as it happens, the traditional serving for this meal. In the US, Swedish meatballs often seem to be served with a cream sauce and pasta - that would never happen here. Cream sauce goes on potatoes. Meatballs and pasta, well, then you add ketchup.

So, here we go:

Best sauce for Swedish meatballs

100 ml water
1 tbsp concentrated veal stock
300 ml cream
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tbsp lingonberry jam
salt, pepper

Take the pan you fried your meatballs in. (And ideally, you didn't scorch any!) Pour in a good splash of water, perhaps 100 ml, and whisk very well. Cook on medium-high heat. Add the concentrated veal stock and cream. Cook for a few minutes. Add the soy sauce, jam and salt and pepper. Cook for a few more minutes, while whisking.

Serve with meatballs, boiled potatoes, lingonberry jam and quick-pickled cucmbers.

Apple Cinnamon Muffins

Sweden is having very summery weather, still, despite the calendar showing a fall month. Mornings are misty, but afternoons are almost always sunny and warm. Quite lovely!

I made these apple cinnamon muffins the other day, to cheer myself up after a few weeks of very hard work. I found a recipe at Add a Pinch and adapted it to fit my needs. I baked mine in cups rather than in a lined muffin tin, and only dipped the very top of the muffin in the lovely topping - they turned out very delicious and I'm happy that I stashed a few in the freezer for another day.

Apple Cinnamon Muffins
makes 18

110 g butter, softened
200 g sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
120 ml milk
300 g all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
2 large apples, peeled and diced
1 tbsp flour

topping:
50 g butter, melted
100 g sugar
1 tbsp cinnamon

Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the eggs carefully, one at a time. Add vanilla. Mix together the dry ingredients - flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt, and add this to the batter alternating with the milk. Finally toss together the apples with a tablespoon of flour, and add to the batter.

Fill muffin cups, fairly full - you want them to rise above the top of the cup as they bake.

Bake at 175� C for about 15 minutes - check with a toothpick to make sure they're not sticky inside.

Meanwhile, melt the butter for the topping and let it brown a little. Mix together sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Dip the warm muffins in the butter and then into the cinnamon sugar, and place on a rack to cool down.

Chewy Rhubarb Cardamom Cake

I still have some rhubarb in my garden - a few straggly stalks. I don't want to let them go to waste, so I use them in a delicious, chewy cake. Perfect for afternoon fika sessions. You can also freeze this cake, pre-sliced, and just re-heat for a few seconds in the microwave. Surely that will liven up the gloomiest of fall days to come, don't you think?

Chewy Rhubarb Cardamom Cake

2 eggs
240 g sugar
1 tsp vanilla sugar (or extract)
1 tsp cardamom seeds, bashed in a pestle and mortar
1 tsp baking powder
150 g all-purpose flour
75 g butter, melted

Topping:
rhubarb - about 8 small stalks, probably about 2-300 ml (no need to be exact)
1/2 tsp cardamom seeds, bashed in a pestle and mortar
1 tbsp pearl sugar

Beat the eggs and sugar until very white and fluffy. Stir in vanilla sugar, cardamom, baking powder, flour and the melted butter. Fold carefully until there are no streaks.

Pour into a buttered and floured springform pan. Top with the rhubarb, cardamom and sugar. Bake at 200�C for about 25 minutes.

Serve with vanilla ice cream or vanilla sauce. 

Milk Chocolate Lemon Cookies

This type of cookies is called "snitt" in Swedish - translates into "cuts" which is exactly the method for making these. Just like Italian cantuccini, you shape long logs of dough, bake and slice. These are not re-baked like biscotti though, instead they're left to cool and that leaves them crispy on the edges with a soft, chewy middle. These particular cookies are full of milk chocolate and lemon zest. Truly amazing.

Milk Chocolate Lemon Cookies

makes 40 or so

150 g butter, softened

140 g caster sugar

140 g brown sugar

1 egg

2 tsp vanilla sugar (or 1 tsp extract) 

1/2 tsp baking soda

pinch of salt

240 g all-purpose flour

100 g milk chocolate, coarsely chopped

zest from 1 lemon

Start by creaming the butter and both types of sugar very, very well. (My butter was, as usual, not softened, so I just creamed it for much longer.) Add the egg and vanilla and beat until mixed. Add the dry ingredients - baking soda, salt and flour - and mix until combined. Finally add the chocolate and the lemon zest. 

Shape into four slender logs and place on lined baking sheets. Bake at 175�C for 10-12 minutes. Remove from the oven and leave to cool for a minute before cutting them, diagonally, into cookies. Leave to cool completely. 

These freeze very well but lose some of their chewiness. 

Homemade Chocolate Shell

Magic Shell is an ice cream topping I first came into contact with in the US - where else? Well, you can find a version of it in Sweden too, nowadays. Or you can, as I have, make your own!

It's essentially a pourable chocolate topping that freezes instantly when poured over ice cream. It hardens into a crunchy chocolate shell. And it's yummy! My version has three ingredients, whereas the commercial obviously has many more. Mine does taste a little bit of coconut, but that's more of a feature than a flaw to me. If you don't like that, seek out a coconut oil with no flavor, there are plenty of those.

Let's get to it!

Homemade Chocolate Shell
250 g dark, high quality chocolate
200 g coconut oil
100 g corn syrup (substitute white baking syrup if you're in Sweden)

Simply melt all three ingredients together in the microwave. Use short intervals and stir well, to make sure nothing burns.

When everything is nice and smooth, stir it together, and pour into a squeeze bottle or a jar. This recipe makes quite a lot, but it will keep for a long time at room temperature. If you put it in the fridge, it'll go solid - don't do that.

Very promising book

I just got Veckans Favoriter ("Weekly Favorites") by Sara Begn�r in the mail. I have to say, she is one of my favorite Swedish cookbook authors. Her recipes are easy to make, approachable, no weird ingredients that you can't find at the store, pretty healthy but still fun, playful and very flavorful. This book focuses, as the name implies, on weeknight dinners. Lots and lots of them! I'm seriously stuck in a rut, which is also why I have nothing to blog about, so I'm definitely eager to try some new things. 

Flippin Burgers vs. Svenska Hamburgerk�ket

Flippin' Burgers

Hamburgers are always in style, or so it seems. In Stockholm, there's an on-going competition for the title "best Burger", and various lists are posted all the time. I don't really eat out that much so I haven't tried all the supposedly "best" ones, but I have tried Flippin' Burgers several times. And I have to say, they're definitely my favorite. They now have a bigger place, with more seats, but you still have to show up right when they open (4 pm) or be prepared to wait. However, it will be worth it.  The burgers are fantastic - fat and juicy and bursting with flavor. I especially recommend coming so hungry that you can have a double burger - they're incredible.

Fries are fine, but nothing special. But they're served with a very vinegar-y mayo, which is nice.


Svenska Hamburgerk�ket

Svenska Hamburgerk�ket has a pretty off-beat location, in H�gersten. You order at the bar, pay, and get your food. Sit anywhere. It's not huge, but it wasn't full with people either so no wait when we were there. The menu has slightly more options than Flippin' Burgers does, especially with some seasonal specials. We went for the classics, though, to try them out. How did they add up? Well, pretty well, but not as good. The burger itself seemed to release much more juice, which left the meat a little dry and my hands very greasy. It also had more toppings, which is of course optional, but I felt that they weren't of the best quality. Cheese didn't taste like much.

Fries however were very yummy! Better than Flippin'. But no free dipping sauce...



The milkshake from Flippin' Burgers, made with Ben & Jerry's ice cream. This one was made from their Chew Chew Caramel - delicious obviously. Svenska Hamburgerk�ket has pretty good milkshakes too, but not like this. So to sum it up? Best burger is at Flippin' Burgers. But both places are good, and I'll gladly eat at both.

Flippin' Burgers
Observatoriegatan 8
Stockholm
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Svenska Hamburgerk�ket
Tellusborgsv�gen 78
H�gersten
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Whittard instant tea and hot chocolate

Another find from my recent vacation! I haven't found Whittard - a UK brand -in Sweden before, but I did find these in a small design shop in Ystad. They had a rather large selection of these two type of goods - instant tea and hot chocolate. It's been a super warm summer here, so while hot chocolate seems a bit out of season, ice tea is most definitely more current. This is a refreshingly fruity flavor, with mango and passionfruit. It doesn't really taste much of tea, but it's nice and not too sweet.

The creme brulee hot chochaolate.. well, I'll have to get back to you on that when it gets a little bit colder!

Red Quinoa Salad with Sesame-Honey Dressing

We've been away for almost two weeks this summer. It's been very nice and a lot of fun - but I sure haven't been cooking much. We've relied on super-quick dinners, like hot dogs, to make sure the kids would eat. Boring. And when I got home, I was craving veggies, and craving cooking.

So I saw this shared on facebook, from the often-inspiring Two Peas and their Pod. I changed some things, but pretty much went with it. We ate some meat with it - pan-fried pork - but it's a good meal in itself. You could serve it along side chicken or fish too, though... or add some avocado.. or feta cheese.. yeah - feel free to adapt as much as you want!

Red Quinoa Salad with Sesame-Honey Dressing
serves 4 (and maybe with some leftovers, too)

400 ml red quinoa (regular white is fine too - my store was out)
800 ml water
1 tsp salt
3 small carrots, coarsely grated
200 g edamame beans, shelled and cooked
200 ml cabbage, finely cut
1/2 cucumber, diced

dressing:
about 100 ml light soy sauce
1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 tbsp runny honey
1 tbsp sesame oil
grated ginger - about a teaspoon

Start by putting the quinoa in a strainer and rinse with cold water. Rinse really well. This is necessary to remove the bitterness from quinoa. When rinsed, place with the water (twice the amount of quinoa you're using) in a saucepan, add salt and bring to a boil. Cook for 15-20 minutes - the type of quinoa will determine the time. All the little "tails" should be released and the water pretty much absorbed. If it's soft but there's still water, just drain it.

Mix the cooked quinoa with all the veggies. Whisk together the dressing and toss with the salad. And you're done! This can be prepared well in advance, if you'd like.

the cutest plates!

Since Dante is just over two, I can still get away with buying cute kids tableware. (For a long time, yes?) I found these on a recent trip to Copenhagen. They're from the Danish company Smallstuff - one of many really good Danish designers. They make so many fun things! And Dante likes having his food separate, so these are perfect. He prefers the cupcake one - pink is his favorite color.

Quick dinner idea

Next time you're roasting potatoes, try adding some tomatoes, olives and feta cheese for the last fifteen minutes. It makes for a more complete side dish and it's delicious. 

Gorgeous tea towels

My favorite tea towels (kitchen towels) are made by Bungalow. I've bought mine from Illums Bolighus in Copenhagen - these ones were just picked up last week, but I have three more that I bought last summer. I  love that they're so bright and fun, but they're also really good towels. They're block-printed by hand and very reasonably priced. Swedish customers can find some of the at Broarne.

Golden Cookies

These are Swedish classics - kolakakor. They taste like caramel, and get their flavor from vanilla and golden syrup. My little boy doesn't like caramel - or at least he doesn't think he he does, so I decided to rename these golden cookies for his birthday party. They're ideal to serve to a crowd - they bake up quickly, they're sturdy and they freeze very well.

I got the basic recipe from renowned pastry chef Jan Hedh's latest book, Gofika at Olof Viktors caf�. However, I added a pinch of salt as well, and about half a tablespoon of canola oil, as the dough was too dry to shape.

... and no, no photo, apparently. So sorry.

Golden Cookies
about 40 cookies

160 g butter, at room temperature
130 g sugar
1 tbsp vanilla sugar
1/2 tsp salt
70 g golden syrup
1 tsp baking powder
320 g flour
1/2 tbsp canola oil if the dough is too dry

Mix together butter, sugar, vanilla, salt and syrup. Gradually add the baking powder and flour. Mix into a coherent dough - it'll just look like sand at first, but as you keep going it will slowly come together. Add a little bit of oil if it really doesn't.

Shape into four slim logs and place on two baking sheets. Flatten gently with a fork to make a pattern.

Bake at 175�C for about 10-12 minutes. They should become lightly golden. Let the cool for a minute  and then cut quickly into cookies. let them cool completely before breaking apart.

Smashed lamb burgers

I've made so many variations on lamb meatballs and burgers, but I rarely use  a recipe. Hence the sketchy proportions in this recipe. It's really blog-worthy though, because the kids ate like crazy. I served these with plain bulgur wheat, a tomato salad, and tzatziki. The smash-method is excellent for cooking burgers or meatballs like these, since they get a lot of crispy surface in a short time, so they absolutely don't dry out.

Smashed lamb burgers
400 g lamb mince

2 garlic cloves

1 egg

Handful of breadcrumbs

2 tbsp chopped coriander 

zest from 1 lemon

Salt

Olive oil for frying

Crack the egg in a bowl. Grate the garlic cloves and the lemon zest into the bowl. Add a large handful of breadcrumbs (I used panko, a Japanese variety.)  Add the lamb and coriander and salt. Mix everything together.

Shape loose meatballs, no need for exact roundness. I got about 16 from this batch.

Heat olive oil in a frying pan, over medium-high heat. Add about 6 meatballs at a time, and fry for a minute without touching them - you want to develop a slight crust. Turn them over, so that the crust is up, and smash down with a spatula. Fry the now-flat patties for a minute or two on each side. 

Licorice-glazed Duck, Figs in Port, Sunchoke Pur�e

A post long over-due. I made this for our 13-course dinner. In January. Well, yes. My backlog is almost empty now, so I guess that's good news... :-)  Anyway. This dish was made with the idea to incorporate licorice in a non-sweet dish, and it turned out very well. Different, yes - but fun, too. And still tasty.

Licorice-glazed Duck

2 duck breasts
2 tsp licorice powder
1 tsp whisky
1/2 tbsp runny honey
1 tbsp japanese soy sauce
1 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp sweet chili sauce

Score the duck breasts, and brown, skin side down, until golden. Stir together all ingredients for the glaze and bring to a boil. Cook until thickened. Slather this on the duck breasts and cook in the oven at 175�C until at your desired temperature. (Some say 65�C, some say 70�C, some say more...)

Figs in Port
8  fresh figs, quartered
200 g sugar
300 ml water
200 ml port

Stir together sugar, water and port and bring to a boil. Add the figs and cook on low heat for 10-15 minutes.

Sunchoke Pur�e
400 g sunchokes, peeled and chopped
1 shallot, finely chopped
1 tsp olive oil
100 ml cream
salt

Heat the olive oil in a saucepan. Add the shallot and cook on medium heat until softened. Add the sunchokes and the cream, cover with a lid and cook until completely soft. Mash, and season with salt.

Folkets Falafel, Malm�

We're still in skåne, having a great time. Today, we've been to Folkets Park in Malmö which has a great playground. And just outside, on Trelleborgsgatan, is one of Malmö's many falafel & kebab restaurants, Folkets Falafel. You can't get this sort of fast food better anywhere else in Sweden - Malmö is outstanding.



I had a wrap with falafel - basically spiced chickpea fritters - and fried

Halloumi. It was also stuffed with salad, tomatoes, cucumbers, red onions and parsley, and a mild garlic sauce. So amazingly yummy. And at a mere 30:-, a fantastic deal

Crock-Pot Ricecooker

I've always wanted a good rice cooker. I've eyed those expensive Japanese ones, and I've really wanted one of those, but they're not easy to get here and besides, they're SO expensive. We bought a super cheap one a few years ago, and hated it. Then a few weeks ago, we were browsing at a kitchen-stuff store and decided on a whim to get this one. It's pretty nice! I like that it has a steam basket on top so you can steam something while cooking the rice, or just use it for steaming.

Still, I need to work on the rice. Maybe use a specific type of rice? First try came out way too soft and mushy. Second attempt was ok, but not great. Any tips for me?

Hazelnut Chocolate Truffles

I hate posting without photos, but.. I have losing recipes, too. So before I forget, let me just post this one...

Hazelnut Chocolate Truffles
about 30

200 g hazelnut chocolate (Swedish Schweizern�t is ideal)
80 g dark chocolate
100 ml cream
1 tbsp butter, at room temperature

Finely chop the chocolate. Heat the cream until boiling, and pour over the chocolate. Let sit for a minute, add the butter, and stir until smooth. Pour into small foil cups, and chill.

Ystad: S�derberg & Sara

We're vacationing in Skåne, in southern Sweden, for a week. We've rented a house, and are exploring the surrounding towns and sights. Today, we're in Ystad. Very quaint town! We had lunch at Söderberg & Sara, a café & bakery that made into White Guide. We bought some bread to take home, and tried the pulled pork burgers for lunch. They came with a really delicious cole slaw and on brioche buns. Very yummy! Per also tried the coffee - strong and excellent - and Titus had a lovely fluffy cinnamon bun. Do visit if you can!



http://www.soderbergsara.se

Three quick dipping sauces

We made fried chicken a few weeks ago. So, so delicious. And I happen to love my own recipe for it, so go ahead and try that!

This time, we made some simple but fun dipping sauces to go along. 

Per wanted honey-mustard, I wanted ranch and I knew our guests would like a bbq sauce so.. well, let's get to it!

Honey Mustard: 

100 ml mayonnaise

1 tbsp honey

2 tsp Dijon mustard

1 tsp American yellow mustard

1 tsp apple cider vinegar

pinch of salt

pinch of dried tarragon

pinch of black pepper

Smoky BBQ: 

100 ml ketchup

1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp brown sugar
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
� tsp American yellow mustard
� tsp Dijon mustard
� teaspoon garlic powder

pinch of black pepper

pinch of salt

pinch of cayenne pepper
tiny splash of liquid smoke 

Ranch: 

100 ml turkish or greek yogurt

1 garlic clove, minced

1 tbsp buttermilk (I use Swedish filmj�lk) 

2 tsp mayonnaise

1/2 tsp lemon juice

pinch of salt

pinch of black pepper

pinch of sugar

pinch of Italian seasoning (I used basil, tarragon, rosemary & oregano)

For all of these sauces, the method could not be simpler. Add, stir. Completely fool-proof!

Quick vanilla ice cream

I was desperate to try my new Chef'n Sweet Spot Ice cream maker - I love it by the way - so I whipped up a quick vanilla ice cream base. None of that tempering-egg-yolks-leave-overnight-business! A custard base ice cream keeps a lot better, but since the Sweet Spot only makes a single serving, it doesn't really matter. I also like the slightly cooler mouthfeel an egg-free ice cream gives.

I used two vanilla beans since I have a bunch to use up - but one will do. And yes, I know, the photo doesn't look very vanilla because apparently I didn't manage to get a photo of a plain bowl. This had stirred in cherry compote and is covered by sone homemade magic shell. Yum!

Quick vanilla ice cream
6-8 servings

500 ml cream (full-fat)
250 ml milk
150 g sugar
tiny pinch of salt
2 vanilla beans, scored and scraped
1 tsp vanilla extract (can be omitted, but is nice)

Heat half the cream with the sugar, salt and vanilla beans. Stir over medium heat until the sugar has dissolved. Pour onto the rest of the cream and milk, and the vanilla extract. Chill completely before freezing in whatever ice cream machine you have.

Coco-cardamom balls

I'm not into raw food per se but I'm always on the lookout for yummy stuff... If it happens to be good for you, or at least not totally bad, that's a bonus. I'm at my hungriest in late afternoon, and I need to keep some sort of healthy snack at hand. I recently made these little balls from coconuts, almonds and dates, and they turned out to be delicious! Sort of like marzipan, sort of like cookie dough! And they come together in a few minutes, and keep for several days. They freeze well, too.

Coco-cardamom balls
100 ml almonds

150 ml coconut flakes (unsweetened) 

15 dates

Pinch vanilla powder

Pinch cardamom 

2 tbsp coconut oil

You do need a food processor. Start with the almonds - process until finely chopped. Add coconut flakes, dates, vanilla, cardamom and the oil. Process until you have a uniform mass.

Roll into little balls - this will be a little bit difficult as the "dough" is quite crumbly, but pinch and roll and you'll get there. Refrigerate, and they will firm up as the coconut oil goes solid again.



If you like other goodies like these, here's a good book to check out! Smarta S�tsaker ("Smart Sweets") by Ulrika Hoffer. It's a tad bit preachy, and the recipes are not super exact, but there are some great ideas in here. And lovely photography, too. 

News from Microplane

Microplane has sent me some goodies - really awesome, sharp goodies. I've been using their graters for years, and while I love them and use them often, I was dismayed when two of mine decided to break at virtually the same time! Both had plastic framing and that's what broke - not too surprisingly after hard use, but still, disappointing. These ones, however, are part of the Gourmet series and there's no plastic, meaning there's really nothing that can break.

I use the fine one for garlic, ginger, chocolate, and citrus zest, mostly. The large one is great for cheese, although I also have an older ribbon grater that's pretty nice. The large one can also do things like carrots, cucumber (perfect for tzatziki) and many other things.

The third thing in the photo is Microplane's new mandolin slicer! It's nice and sturdy but it's main feature is that it has a removable julienne blade. Basically it's a small extra attachment, that makes perfect long ribbons of food. While not in use, there's a storage place for it in the back of the slicer - very handy.

I don't think I need to tell you that all of these are super sharp and should be handled with care. Nothing for the kids! :-)

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

How about some cookies? These are just right - perfectly crisp on the outside, but chewy and soft inside. And delicious. Just delicious.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

225 g butter, softened
220 g brown sugar
130 g white sugar
2 eggs
245 g flour
175 g rolled oats
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cardamon
200 g raisins

Start by beating the butter with both sugars until very fluffy and well combined. Add the eggs, and keep beating until smooth.

In a separate bowl, mix flour, oats, salt, baking soda, raisins, cinnamon and cardamon. Add this to the cookie batter and mix until combined.

Chill for at least one hour. Use a cookie scoop or your hands to shape balls - I make mine pretty small, about the size of a small walnut. Place on a cookie sheet (I could fit 12) and bake at 175�C for about 8 minutes.

I also freeze the un-cooked cookie-scoops, and bake directly from frozen. In that case, you might want to add a minute or two to the cooking time.

Lamb Meatballs & Creamy Risoni

Yummy dinner idea, from Swedish dairy giant Arla's new summer cookbook. The original idea was to make oblong meatballs, fry them, and then thread on skewers and heat on the grill, but I'm certainly not heating up the grill just to re-heat a little meat. Seems wasteful to me. So, we did small meatballs instead and then placed them on skewers.

Completely optional, of course. I thought it would entice our kids but.. well. Not so sure that worked. Dante ate five before we served the pasta, but after that, he wouldn't touch them. Titus had a tiny bite and declared that he didn't like them. Oh well. I loved them!

Lamb Meatballs
500 g lamb mince
1 red chili
zest from 1 lemon
 2 garlic cloves, minced
100 ml milk
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp fresh mint, finely chopped
2 tbsp fresh coriander, finely chopped
butter to fry

Mix everything together, and shape small meatballs. Fry in butter until cooked through. Serve on skewers if you want to, or not - it's totally up to you.

 Creamy Risoni
1 onion, finely minced
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
1 tbsp butter
200 ml risoni (rice-shaped pasta)
1000 ml water
salt
1 tsp olive oil

Melt the butter, and gently fry the onion and garlic for a few minutes until softened and fragrant. Add the risoni, water and salt, and cook for ten minutes. Drain, and stir in the oil. Serve with the suggested toppings. (If you don't have picky kids, serve on a large platter. If you do though, I suggest having the toppings in separate bowls...)

Toppings:
crumbled feta cheese
finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
pomegranate seeds
cucumber
toasted pine nuts