I’ve been gone way too long. Way, way too long. I’ve often thought of starting again – it feels bad to simply let something I poured so much effort into over the years fall by the wayside. There were several things standing in the way I think. Firstly, although I still love eating food, the...| Home Sweet Sweden
Sissi from WithAGlass.com once joked that I should probably have a beetroot blog since I have a lot of beet recipes (ok, we're not talking hundreds here, but it's definitely something I have used a great deal in the past). Who knows, maybe I should publish a beetroot cookbook. Anyway, my son is getting more adventurous and less picky with his food. Certain vegetables (ok, most vegetables) are still a no-go for him, although he seems to love celery, cucumber, and raw spinach. I figured if he...| Home Sweet Sweden
Warning: This post has a high calorie and fat content. People trying to achieve a bit of pre-Christmas weight-loss should probably not venture any further. Or perhaps they should, because this cake is awesome. Whipped cream, whipped ganache, raspberries, blueberries, all sitting atop a deliciously light sponge cake - this cake has it all (had it all... it's gone now!). Best of all, every part of this cake is as simple as you could ever want. There's no complex steps involving precise measurin...| Home Sweet Sweden
It's high time I got back into the swing of things. Months have passed and I've made only two mediocre updates. I haven't even been cooking or baking that much, but that's changing starting from now! Christmas is coming, and before that in just a week from now it's my birthday. The perfect time of year to get busy and flex one's baking muscle! For today's post I have made a spiced plum cake after finding some cheap organic plums for just 5kr. They were from Sweden, and I have no idea how the...| Home Sweet Sweden
Dear readers,... dear friends, Do you know how long it's been since I posted anything to my blog? Heck, I can't even remember myself. Ok, I just checked. July the 5th. That was three and a half months ago. Far too long, and I'll excuse myself in advance because I'm sorely out of the habit of writing, as you may have noticed from my weirdly disjointed sentences thus far. The sad fact is that I'm still not quite back to my baking-ways, and will still not be for a couple more weeks, because life...| Home Sweet Sweden
Hi folks, those of you who also have blogs that I follow will no doubt have noticed that I haven't been especially regular in stopping by of late. My own posting schedule has suffered and I have to admit it: I'm a bit frazzled. It feels like there are a million and one things to do, and never enough hours in the day. I'm already having a hard time getting things done that I actually need to get done in a day, so I've taken the decision to step back from my blog for a while. After all, I want ...| Home Sweet Sweden
This "quick halloumi and avocado salad" is the result of some creative thinking, and while I originally had no intention of posting it, it looked just so darn nice on the plate (and tasted amazing) that I decided to grab a few quick snaps and write it up. I was in town and lost track of time somewhat. My wife was due to work in the afternoon and when I returned from town she was taking a well-deserved nap before leaving. I decided to make her a little something to eat before she went to work ...| Home Sweet Sweden
I've never cooked with physalis (is that the plural?) before, and come to think of it I've never cooked with green tea either, so making this gave me a great chance to flex my culinary muscle, and while making jam isn't really "thinking outside the box", the physalis and green tea jam was easy to make, and the taste was amazing. Like... actually, really, really good. It ended up being one of these experiments which you feel really pleased with, and given my previous opinion of physalis, it wa...| Home Sweet Sweden
I couldn't possibly say that this applies only to people with kids, because that's just simply not true, but when you "all of a sudden" do have another little mouth to feed it gives you pause for thought. "What am I actually putting into my body? What are we actually putting into our child's body?". It gives you just one more reason to re-examine your dietary habits and while I'm certainly far from being the healthiest person in the world - heck, I sure do love my butter, olive oil, chocolate...| Home Sweet Sweden
I'm a person that likes to complain. A lot. Indeed, my poor wife likes to mock me because about one out of every five things I say begins with the phrase "Do you know what really annoys me?". Of course the usual response to that is a heavy sigh and an eye-roll, followed by "No darling, but I'm sure you're going to tell me.". What can I say? Some people are perpetually positive, and some people are more "glass half-empty". I'll share my latest gripe with you, dear readers, since I'm sure you'r...| Home Sweet Sweden
Hi everyone, I'll be making a really cheap asparagus soup today but before I get to that I thought I'd give you all a brief update of what's going on here. Well, let's see now - not a huge deal to be honest. Things are ticking along much as they always do. The days are getting shorter and shorter and "darkness" is but a distant memory right now. It never gets dark at the moment. It will get a little more "dusky" between 11pm and 1am, but still not very dark. I couldn't sleep the other night a...| Home Sweet Sweden
Hi folks, I thought I'd share a great ocean pie recipe (because that sounds so much better than "fish pie") with you today, despite my wife saying that if I did post the pie photos then I'd lose all my readers. I'll admit - it's not the prettiest of things, but damn if it's not delicious. Before that though I thought I'd share a few updates with you on what's going on here. Now that the ground has defrosted; the days are hot and the nights are mild, the time has come to start thinking of gard...| Home Sweet Sweden
So, I've shown you the worst, and (unsurprisingly), most of the Swedish people I know didn't agree with my choices. Since writing the previous list I have learned of another dish which really should have made its way onto the list. "Svartsoppa", or "Black Soup". It's basically blood, cooked with stock and served as soup. Not a little blood either, but the main ingredient. So it's a bowl of hot blood. Yummy. Regardless though, the quantity of delicious foods here far outweigh the more strange ...| Home Sweet Sweden
I recently read a Top 10 on this very subject, and while I realise that things like this are highly subjective I have to say that aside from two or three things, I didn't agree with the list at all! Indeed, they even put some things on the list which I'd actually put on my "Top 10 Best Swedish Foods", so I've no idea what was wrong with that author (to be fair, I think they "crowd-sourced" the responses, and then just picked the responses from the people who'd sent in the most decent photos)....| Home Sweet Sweden
Who doesn't love marmalade, right? Do you know what makes marmalade even better? Using fancy ingredients, like lemons or, in this case blood oranges. Of course, they're not very "bloody". I made this a month ago or so and we don't get the most amazing produce at times up here in the colder months, so sadly these are blood oranges in name alone, but think how incredible the colour could have been, had the flesh been that gorgeous, rich sanguine colour. As you can see, although some of them wer...| Home Sweet Sweden
Spring is here! Nothing can possible spoil my mood, especially not now that spring salads are on the menu. The air is warmer, the birds are singing, the buds are blooming. It's a whole changing landscape and it's beautiful. The snow is gradually melting away, with now only the very shady, sheltered parts of the landscape still showing the marks of winter. The rivers are still frozen on the edges, but they, along with the sea nearby, are now thawing out for the most part. I can go outside to s...| Home Sweet Sweden
I'm gonna go ahead and say, right away, that this stuff rocks. Like - seriously. It is insanely good. If you like feta cheese (and come on - who doesn't like feta cheese?) then you'll love this! Best of all, it could not possibly be easier to make. For cream of feta dip you need a mere handful of things and the whole thing comes together in about 2 minutes. Do you remember my post about my trip to the market with my son? Yikes - I can't believe that was pretty much a year ago. Excuse me while...| Home Sweet Sweden
So, for those of you who read my blog all those years ago back in 2011 (that's just Kristy and Greg, ha!) perhaps you might remember the first time I made a roasted red pepper and feta dip? Behold the horror... I'm not even going to post a picture here in case anyone gets completely turned off the recipe, so you're going to have to check it out yourself if you're brave enough. Suffice to say, it looked pretty vile - as in, "not even a little bit appetizing". Of course, I still have far to go ...| Home Sweet Sweden
Hi there folks. It seems like absolutely ages since I last made a post. Things sure seem to get away from me these days, but I figured I have a bit of time now, and I had a few recipes ready to roll (four in fact), so why not write up a post? I'll be writing about my artichoke and coriander dip further down, but I'll tell you first that today's going to be a fun day! My wife is out all day... it's me and my son - against the world. Well, we're actually going to meet up with my wife's aunt and...| Home Sweet Sweden
Phew, I've been so busy the last few days! I've been meaning to write this for so long but things have always run away from me. So what I have been up to you may wonder? Well, the bulk of my time has been spent on my freelance web work (shameless plug - if you happen to know anyone looking for some assistance, feel free to give them my details!). Naturally I've been cooking, baking and eating, like these cheese and vegemite scones, although I'll get to those in just a moment, and in amongst a...| Home Sweet Sweden
I was really hoping to post something "Swedish" today, but in reading up about biskvi, I discovered that apparently they were first made in France, at the end of the 19th century. That said, I've never seen them in France, nor have I seen anything really like it outside of Sweden, so I'm going to go ahead and introduce these Chocolate Biskvi as hailing from this country. They couldn't be easier to make, although one of the main ingredients might not be widely available everywhere. Almond Past...| Home Sweet Sweden
Sissi from Withaglass.com made a funny comment on my croquettes recipe the other day about how she felt it was a little worrying if she didn't see a recipe containing beetroot once in a while. That got me thinking - perhaps I post too many beetroot recipes, especially given the fact that nobody seems to like them. Then I shook that crazy feeling off and figured that no; it's everyone else who's wrong, and that beetroot surely is the epitome of good eating (well... almost) [...]| Home Sweet Sweden
Oh boy, I had a shock when I saw that it was the 1st of March yesterday. It can't possibly have been that long since I last made a post, can it? My last post was on the 21st of February which means that was... 10 days ago? Then I realised that I was being very silly and February only had 28 days so it's not quite as bad as I'd thought, although my posting has been rather sporadic, as has my visiting everyone else's wonderful blogs whom I follow. My apologies if my drop-ins are rarer than they...| Home Sweet Sweden
The best potato croquettes I ever had were some gloriously creamy things with cheese and ham in the middle. Crispy on the outside, soft on the inside – as a good croquette should be, with cheese oozing out from the centre when you separated them. They were made even better by the fact that the restaurant I was in was exceptionally nice. It was a very fancy-looking place in Tokyo during one of my visits there and the entire place was covered in black marble. The lighting was dim, the voices ...| Home Sweet Sweden
With my new timetable for school I have quite a bit of time in the week now, so I actually had three dishes cooked and prepared. I really had quite the choice about what to post today and just couldn't make a decision so in the end I opted to go for the dish I made most recently - cream of pesto. It's not particularly difficult; I'd say that pretty much everyone can throw together a basil pesto, but there was one problem. Basil isn't that cheap in the winter - especially not for the quantity ...| Home Sweet Sweden
Hi folks, I hope you've had a great week. I sure have. Remember how I mentioned that I was starting studying again? Well, I've cleared that course now. I took the final exam after 3 weeks, passed with an A, and now I'm jumping straight into something roughly equivalent to high-school level Swedish. With any luck, this will be the last step I need before I can enter university here, although this step of learning is split into three parts, and most certainly will not take three weeks but I'm o...| Home Sweet Sweden
I’ve decided to kick off a series of posts today about things that are “typically Swedish”. I haven’t decided on a subject for a second post yet; it will be a case of writing one when the inspiration hits me, and so as a result, my next post will be “back to normal” with a nice recipe I’m looking forward to sharing with you. Today’s post though is all about coffee and I’m doing a little giveaway as well so read on for details of that! [...]| Home Sweet Sweden
Hi folks, I've had a few people asking about what it's like where I live so I thought what better time to share a few photos. I braved the -25 Celsius temperatures today to take a walk around and get some shots. We're finally getting something worthy of being called a winter here - a bit of snow, some low minus temperatures, and all the fun that comes with such weather conditions. No recipe today alas - I've been quite tired from my studies so just didn't have the motivation to start whipping...| Home Sweet Sweden
My mind was full of ideas of things I wanted to make and post this weekend. The only problem is, when you're in classes every day, you literally have a window of a weekend for cooking. Add into this mix the fact that it's dark by around 3pm then you need to get the cooking finished on the Saturday and then use Sunday for the photography. In the end I decided to go for something a little easier. It was still something I've never specifically tried before but it was a long time since I added to...| Home Sweet Sweden
I can safely say that these are the best falafel I've ever made, but then I've only ever made them twice and the first time I tried my beautifully crafted falafel disintegrated as soon as they hit the hot oil. After reading A_Boleyn's post here about her falafel adventures I immediately began craving one such sandwich myself - specifically one that they used to serve in a restaurant in the Marais district of Paris. Falafel restaurants in this area are not uncommon... serving up crisp, fluffy,...| Home Sweet Sweden
Hi folks, I hope you all had a smashing Christmas. The new year is right around the corner… 2013 has been a year full of big changes, I’m looking forward to seeing what 2014 brings. I’m starting off the new year in a new country with a new way of life… what’s going to happen in 2014? I’ll have to wait and see! I hope at least that I’ll be able to share some photos of our New Year’s Eve celebration with you in my next post. The good news is that my parents were not disappointed...| Home Sweet Sweden
Just in time for Christmas, here's a Swedish festive special for you all. "Anisbröd", or Anise Bread, which is sometimes called Anisgrisar (Anise Pigs). I have absolutely no idea why they are called the latter. Apparently someone, once upon a time, decided that the shape of these resembles little piggies and thus the name stuck. Whatever name they go by, they're delicious! Fluffy, sugary - but not too sweet, moreish little mouthfuls that are great for dunking in your morning coffee. Normally...| Home Sweet Sweden
Yes, I am horribly late to the party, and I realise that these have been done a million ways before, up, down, and sideways, but I have a good excuse! I never once saw kale when I was living in France. After visiting a myriad markets, stores, and supermarkets I just gave up and assumed that, much like things like raw beetroot, kale would be one of those things that would "eventually" turn up. Give it a few more years and I'm sure it'll be everywhere, but sadly it didn't happen during my resid...| Home Sweet Sweden
Hi folks! First of all, a shameless plug. A couple of people mentioned to me that they wouldn't be averse to the idea of buying a print of some of the photos I took on my road-trip from France to Sweden. I've set up a page now here where you can do just that. I've teamed up with FotoMoto to offer prints, canvases and cards in pretty much every size imaginable which you can order right from the page so if you like the photos, and want to send one as a card to a friend, or have one on your wall...| Home Sweet Sweden
So, much like my kind-of-sort-of-not-really-Bircher Potatoes, here's another dish from the annals of my childhood which I've forever known as "Normandy Pear Pie". As is often the case for dishes that aren't that well known, I usually have a quick peek at Google before writing out the post just to make sure I'm getting the name right, if it actually exists, or even just to see if I can find any information about this dish I know so well but others can only give me blank stares when I mention i...| Home Sweet Sweden
So what do you do when you've promised someone a Black Forest cake but can't seem to find sour cherries anywhere? I knew I would eventually encounter things which weren't widely available up here in Sweden, though I didn't think this would be it. I think we checked in two or three stores and there wasn't a can, jar, or pack of cherries in sight. None frozen, none in syrup, definitely no fresh ones at this time of year... yikes. Well, there goes that idea for a cake. Time to get creative. I co...| Home Sweet Sweden
Greetings from cold Sweden! It just wouldn't be right if my first ever recipe post from my new country wasn't something Swedish, so I present to you a (yet another) Swedish baked good. This time it's something which some of you may already be familiar with thanks to that global giant IKEA. In some countries, they sell giant boxes filled with "havreflarn", although I think they call them "dubbel havreflarn", since it's actually two, sandwiched together with chocolate. Actually, a brief search ...| Home Sweet Sweden
So, here I am in Sweden at last, safe and sound, though not without some stories to tell. There is so much to do and no doubt it will be some weeks before we have taken care of the things that need to be taken care of, but things are gradually calming down. My son is greatly enjoying being able to see his grandparents, my cat seems to have endured the trip like a champ, the car has been unloaded and the clothes unpacked, and we can now start to have some semblance of normalcy again in our liv...| Home Sweet Sweden
You'd think that for something as ubiquitous as a croque monsieur in France you wouldn't be hard-pressed to find a good one, right? Well, you'd be wrong - at least in my experience. After eight years in France I can now say that I have had only one good croque monsieur. Up until a couple of weeks ago I don't think I'd ever had a good one at all. Sadly, the vast majority of cafés and brasseries here serve up vile-looking masses of chewy sandwich, which look like they were made at best early ...| Home Sweet Sweden
Hated by some, beloved by others, surströmming is a traditionally Swedish dish with very special characteristics. Read more about my first time trying it...| Home Sweet Sweden
