Tapas with amazing company
I can go on and on forever about how I met two amazing girls in Australia when my friend and I were there last year. We still keep in touch and this afternoon Victoria came from out of town to eat, drink and chat for a good few hours and stay over. I decided to make tapas because it's a good combination with conversation and a nice glass of wine. It's simple and easy to put together quickly.
I bought a few different cheeses - one was a Camembert from the International Food Market.
The ham and the salami are also purchases from the market and are currently hanging from my curtain pole by the window - who needs curtains?
Mozzarella, tomato and olives are all good contributions to a tapas meal.
I made a nice guacamole with lots less creme fraiché and extra avocado, absolutely delicious!
I also made a hummus for the first time, Victoria liked it but I'm not sure what I think. I need to give it a few more tries before you get the recipe.
I bought a nice loaf of bread and crackers too!
The one thing that I was extra happy about was the filled filo dough experiment that was a big success! Ready for it?
Ingredients (for the filled filo dough packages; approx. 8 packages):
8 squares of filo dough -
(I've never made my own so I bought a ready made one from the shop! Keep in mind that it dries very quickly when in use so only take out one sheet at a time and keep the rest covered under a towel or in the packet).
2 fillets of chicken
1 small red onion
2 dl creme fraiché
1/2 red chili or after your own liking.
Olive oil for baking
How to:
Cut your chicken into small pieces and pre-fry in oil, season with salt and black pepper.
Heat your oven up to 200°C.
Cover your baking tray in baking paper.
When your chicken is cooked through let it cool down.
Chop your onion and chili finely and mix together with your creme fraiché.
Mix in your chicken.
Take out a sheet of filo dough and put 2 spoons of your chicken mixture on one side,
fold the dough over the mixture and into small packages.
Paint the top of the packages in olive oil.
Bake in the oven until golden brown and serve straight away.
Serve with a glass of wine or a beer any day of the week and enjoy!
Pssst!
It's been awfully quiet here, hasn't it? It's because I've work my 35h-weekend and been busy in the evenings too. A friend is coming from out of town to stay over and I have some fun nibbles planned. There will be photos later! Take care for now.
xo
A steaming hot fish soup in the making!
Interational Food Market in Borås
Good morning darlings! How are you?
Yesterday whilst I was strolling around town I went to the city centre and was so surprised when I saw all the stalls of food from different countries. There was German sausage, French cheese and pastries, Spanish paella, British fudge, Italian sausage, different cured meats (=charkuterier) and desserts, Swedish socks, Finnish clothes and jewlery from a few different countries.
So, what do you spend money on on pay day? Food of course! I bought goat cheese and a mouldy cheese from the French cheese stall. I also bought some fudge from the two British guys standing there and had a nice chat about the differences between Sweden and England. I also bought a small serrano ham and two salamis from an Italian man. Things like this makes me happy. I was over the moon walking around looking at the fresh vegetables at the usual Saturday market in Rugby last weekend. Local produce and fresh stuff should be so much more available!
I'm thinking about going back and grabbing som paella for lunch.
Orrefors
Gjutjärnskastrull från Orrefors. Love it!
Scones - a bread with variation
Good morning (it might not be for you but I only got up half an hour ago, haha)! Night shifts always make my life difficult when it comes to food. I'm always hungry but my body can't handle too much food in the middle of the night and I'm starving when I get home and am meant to go straight to bed. I was considering pancakes but then I thought of scones and just had to make some. After an eight hour night shift. Just had to. SO worth it.
Ingredients:
1 dl line seeds
0,5 chia seeds
0,5 dl spelt flakes
4 dl plain flour
2 dl sifted rhye flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 tblsp baking powder
4 dl fil / runny youghurt / milk
100 g butter
In one of the scones I used 1 dl of dried cranberries as well!
How to:
Put your oven om 250°C.
Mix all your dry ingredients together and take your butter out of the fridge.
Dice your butter and pinch together with the flour mixture until crumbly.
Add your fil/youghurt/milk and use a fork to mix evenly.
Cover a baking tray with baking paper and dollop the mixture onto it in the sized scones of your liking.
Bake in the oven until golden brown (approx. 15 minutes).
Let rest under a towel for a few minutes before you serve with butter, jam, cheese, ham, avocado, etcetera.
ENJOY!
Bisto gravy chicken with mash, veg and a best friend
Yesterday my dear friend Nana came round for lunch and a catchup as I'd been away all weekend. I made something easy and English for us. Chicken, mash and gravy is always a winning concept.
Ingredients:
2 chicken fillets
2 small yellow onions OR 1 large
Salt and pepper
1 chicken OXXO cube or other cube of chicken stock (kycklingbuljong)
2 tblsp Bisto gravy powder
2 dl boiled water
3 tblsp cold water mixed with 1,5 tblsp Maizena
6 potatoes
1 large knob of butter
0,5-1 dl milk
Salt
Vegetables such as carrots, cabbage, broccoli and brussel sprouts.
How to:
Peel and half your potatoes and put on stove to boil in salted water.
Peel your carrots and slice your cabbage and put in your steamer for approximately 30 minutes - put on to time with your potatoes.
Chop your onion finely and fry with your chicken in a few lugs of oil.
Season with salt and pepper and OXXO.
Add your boiled water to the pan when your chicken is golden brown.
Stir frequently whilst adding your Bisto to avoid clumps.
Bring to the boil and add your Maizena&water mixture whilst stirring.
Turn down to simmer until your potatoes and vegetables are ready.
When making the mash, add the butter and milk and season with salt.
You may want more milk or butter to change the concistancy.
Serve straight away.
Enjoy!
A prize!
I entered a competition Jenny had a few weeks ago on her blog - Cookies N Dreams, and I was one of the winners! Her sister and her husband have a company called Verde Balam and they have a great enviromental focus. One of their products is this Vanilla Extract and I am so happy to try it out. I'm going to make sure I get my innovative side right out there. Verde Balam have a facebook page too - go ahead and read about their smart solutions and products!
Yesterday's breakky to sort my sore throat out
Off to good old England!
Hello lovelies! This weekend the blog will be pretty quiet because I am off to England. We're leaving in half an hour and arrive at in my mum's hometown at about midnight. I hope I can find some inspiration and I'll give proper English cuisine a thought and surprise you when I come home. Now: fish and chips, salt and vinegar crisps and tea, haha.
Have a lovely weekend!
Kassler med svampsås
Detta eviga svampsnack.... eller? Jag klagar inte för det är ju så fruktansvärt gott! Har min svampplockarkompanjon på besök och vad skulle passa bättre än lite av skogens råvaror till kvällsmat? Perfekt i sås till kött med någon kolhydrat och goda grönsaker.
Ingredienser:
500g kassler
1 gullök
2 dl hackade trattkantareller
1 dl hackade kantareller
1 dl hela kantareller
2,5 dl grädde
1 dl vatten
2 msk maizena eller mjöl
How to:
Sätt på ugnen på 150°C.
Hacka lök fint och stek med din skivade kassler.
När du brynt färdigt kasslern, lägg den i en ugnsform men lämna kvar så mycket lök som möjligt.
Hacka dina trattisar och en deciliter av vanliga kantareller och stek med lökresterna i rikligt med smör.
Krydda med vitpeppar.
Stek på medelhög värme tills nästan all vätska är borta.
Blanda maizena med 0,5 dl vatten i separat glas.
Häll i 0,5 dl vatten i stekpannan och rör runt för att få loss allt stekbös i botten.
Låt koka upp och red såsen med maizenablandningen.
Häll i grädden och koka i ytterliggare några minuter innan du häller över svampsåsen över kasslern.
Ställ in i ugnen i ca 15-20 minuter.
Stek resten av dina kantareller i en stor klick smör och krydda lätt med vitpeppar.
Servera med ris och några goda ångkokta grönsaker och toppa med dina stekta kantareller.
ENJOY!
Mushroom-mania
I went mushroom picking yesterday and found what the Swedes call "the gold of the woods" - chantarelles. They are one of the best mushrooms you can eat. The browner ones are called funnel chantarelles and are more often used to add taste in different foods. Yesterday a friend made a soup made of funnel chantarelles, I'm going to nick the recipe and give it to you. It was lovely!
The best way to eat chantarelles is on any kind of toast where they are fried first in butter with onion, a pinch of salt and white pepper and possibly thyme or parsely. I used some corn bread I had in the freezer and topped the lot off with some grated parmesan. I could have eaten about 3 times the amount, it was so good!
Give it a try whilst you can still find some in the forrest!
Stekt falukorv och potatis
Så enkelt och så gott. Det är precis så som det ser ut - stekt falukorv och stekt potatis med ketchup och senap. Hade lite överbliven kokt potatis i kylen och har inte ätit korv på vad som känns som en evighet. Chop chop och vips (!) så var måltiden klar. Underskattad husmanskost, helt klart.
Smokey burgers
Good evening peeps! How's your weekend so far? Mine's been amazing and at the moment I am lazing in my sofa with a glass of red wine listening to Iron and Wine and am still full from these fabulous burgers. Sometimes I want them to taste of something extra and it's fun to add ingredients like fetacheese or jalapeños. Recently whilst in the supermarket I found something called Liquid Smoke and it interested me so much I had to buy one. As I invited my mum and sister round earlier I decided to try it out. YUM.
Ingredients:
500g beef mince
1 small yellow onion
A large pinch freshly ground pepper
A large pinch freshly ground salt
0,5 dl bread crumbs
2/3 tsp Liquid smoke
How to:
Grate your onion and then mix together with all of the other ingredients.
Add more breadcrumbs if your burgers fall apart.
Fry your burgers in a small splash of oil to keep them from burning.
Extra tip:
Many people don't like onion because it can have a very sharp and zingy taste to it. Though I like it I went for something else today but slicing my onion very thinly and after frying my bacon, I used the bacon fat and added sugar to caramelize the onion. My sister gave me positive remarks on that!
Serve in a toasted crispy bun with your favourite sauce or dressing, cripsy greens, cheese and bacon.
ENJOY!
Homemade tortillas, curried chicken and mango sauce
Completely lost focus in these pictures. I was too hungry to function!
Good evening darlings! I invited a friend round earlier to show off my flat and serve some food. It was only when he got here that I remembered that he is a chef and I had to put together something good. I've got to say that I'm happy with the result, and so was he!
Ingredients (2 portions):
Tortillas:
4 dl all purpose flour
1 dl water
2/3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
50 g butter
Curried chicken:
2 fillets of chicken
1 tblsp yellow curry powder
A large pinch of sea salt
A large pinch of freshly ground pepper
2 small yellow onions
1 clove of garlic
6 slices of jalapeño (or after your own liking)
1 small chili
1 red paprika
Mango sauce:
1 mango
1 tomato
1/2 red onion
1 small bunch of fresh coriander
Juice from 1/2 lime
2,5 dl Turkish, Greek or other thick youghurt
Salt and pepper
How to:
Tortilla bread:
Mix salt, flour and baking powder in a mixing bowl.
Pinch your butter together with the flour until even.
Add water and mix together until a dough.
Stand aside until your chicken mixture and mango sauce is done.
When ready to use -
divide into 6 parts and flatten with a rolling pin.
Heat up a pan and fry the tortillas in the dry pan 1-2 minutes on each side.
Place on top of each other under a towel to keep soft.
Mango sauce:
'Peel' the mango and remove the stone - dice the fruit meat.
Mix the mango with all of the other ingredients and stand aside, ready to serve.
Chicken:
Chop your onion and paprika roughly.
Fry together with your diced chicken, chopped jalapeño, a few lugs of oil, salt, pepper and curry.
Add your crushed garlic.
Fry until the chicken is done.
Serve your chicken on a tortilla with the mango sauce on top. Garnish with some strong cheese too!
Enjoy!
Breaded cod with remoulade sauce
Hey dudes and dudettes! I've had problems with my Internet all afternoon but it seems like it's up and running properly again. I've had an 'adult' day today, food shopping, cleaning and washing. To go with that I've obviously cooked, haha. One of my favourite ways to eat fish is when it's breaded and fried. Served with this, remoulade sauce is perfect.
Ingredients (4 portions):
Breaded cod:
4 fillets of cod
1 large pinch of salt
1 large pinch of pepper
1,5 dl breadcrumbs
1,5 dl flour
1 egg
Remoulade sauce:
2 dl mayonaise
1 dl creme fraiché, youghurt or sour cream
1,5 tsp curry OR dijon mustard (I used curry)
3 tblsp chopped gurkins
Salt and cayenne pepper
How to:
Breaded cod:
If you are using frozen fish, let it defrost completely first.
Heat your pan up to medium heat.
Mix your breadcrumbs with the salt and pepper.
Flour both sides of your fillets.
Dip them in egg.
Bread the fillets completely.
Fry in butter until golden and crispy.
Remoulade sauce:
Mix all of your ingredients together in a bowl and stand in the fridge whilst you prepare the rest of your food.
Serve the fish with a crispy green salad, boiled potatoes or mash and your remoulade sauce.
Enjoy!
Whilst I'm cooking!
Woke up this morning in a bad mood with a tummy ache. Now I'm cooking chicken and chantarelles with Oasis blasting out of my speakers. Instantly I'm in a better mood!
Kyckling med trattkantarellsås
I lördags lyckades jag prestera denna måltid men min kamera låg kvar hos en kompis så denna halvtaskiga, felvridna mobilbild får duga tyvärr! Mamma var här på besök och hon hade med sig torkade trattkantareller och några färska kantareller till mig som jag inte kunde se förbi. Gud så gott! Älskar svamp.
Ingredienser:
2 kycklingfiléer
2 dl grädde
1 liten gullök (jag använde mig röd för att jag inte hade annat hemma)
1 gäng trattkantareller
4 potatisar
3 morötter
2 små palsternackor
Kantareller, smör (och persilja om du har) till garnering.
Salt, pepper och vitpeppar.
Majsmjöl till redning
How to:
Sätt ugnen på 175°C.
Skala och skiva din potatis till hasselbackspotatis (Skiva tunt fast inte hela vägen igenom - gärna mot en träsked).
Lägg på en plåt, salta med havssalt och lägg smör på potatisen.
Ställ in i ugnen i en timme.
Efter ca 30 minuter, lägg i dina skalade och skivade morötter och palsternackor med lite till smör.
Med ca 15 minuter kvar, stek din kyckling i lite smör och olja samt din finhackade lök.
Salta och peppra, bryn tills du har en fin färg på båda sidorna.
Sänk värmen och stek tills filéerna nästan är färdiga.
Ta ur kycklingen och häll i lite vatten och rör om i pannan så att stekfettet lossnar.
Häll i grädden och dina trattkantareller.
Red såsen med majsmjöl (ca 1 msk majsmjöl i 4msk vatten, rör om tills det löst upp sig och häll ner i grädden under omrörning).
Låt koka upp tills såsen tjocknar och vrid sedan ner värmen och lägg i kycklingen igen.
Stek dina kantareller i riktligt med smör och hackad persilja.
Servera direkt när allting är färdigt och avnjut kanske med en grönsallad till!
Enjoy!
Lite tyst va?
Det blir lite skralt min inlägg i dagarna, har så himlans mycket för mig att jag snor från mina matlådor (äntligen en positiv sak med att jag lagar så jäkla mycket när jag lagar mat, haha). Sitter för tillfället och avnjuter lite Shepherds Pie i finklänning innan jag ska iväg på firmafest. Imorgon finns det en möjlighet att det kommer upp en brakmiddag när mor kommer hit. Hörs då! Puss och kram.
4 oktober - Kanelbullens dag
Idag är det som de flesta vet, Kanelbullens dag. Det är även min kära mors födelsedag och vi brukar alltid fira med en bulle eller två, men i år så krockar allt. Jag jobbar kväll, mår lite halvkass och bor i en annan stad. Firandet får skjutas upp och även om jag hade velat baka bullar för första gången i mitt liv så hinner jag inte. Hinner inte ens köpa en bulle! Better luck next year.
Serrano ham omelette
I was going to write 'good morning' but it's more like lunch now. That's what happens when you work evenings. So, good lunch to you! I had a bit of a fancy breakfast this morning to be honest and my body needs it as it feels like I'm coming down with something. I had some bits and bobs that just became an awesome combination; that's one of the best things about an omelette, you can vary it in so many ways!
Ingredients:
2 eggs
0,5 dl milk
A good pinch of salt
A good pinch of freshly ground pepper
3 slices serrano ham
1 tomato
1 small red onion
A strong cheese to grate on top, I used parmesan.
How to:
Chop your onion finely and your ham roughly and fry together in a drop of oil on medium heat.
Grind some pepper over the lot.
Dice your tomatoes and add to the pan.
Beat your eggs until frothy and add your milk, salt and a bit more pepper.
Whisk again.
When your onions are soft and your ham is getting crispy, add your egg mixture.
Let the omelette fry until golden underneath then either turn down heat so it cooks through, or put under the grill in your oven.
When almost done, grate your cheese on top and then serve immediatley when melted.
A perfect sturdy breakfast.
Enjoy!
Hot chilli con carne
Howdy! When I hear Chilli con Carne I think of the wild west and cowboys. It's just a fixed image in my head. The best chilli I ever ate was one that an ex-boyfriend's mother made years ago when we were going up north snowboarding. I made my mind up and wrote to her the other day and she gave me her recipe. I combined it with one of Jamie Oliver's and I think I've come up with an amazing combination. Ready for it?
Ingredients:
3 red onions (I will probably use yellow ones next time)
2 red paprikas
1 tin of Cannellini beans
1 tin of Kidney beans
1 tin of baked beans
2 cloves of garlic
~ 600 g beef mince
2 small hot chilis (de-seed if needed)
2 tins of crushed tomatoes (800g)
1 tin of water
2 tblsp balsamic vinegar
Salt, black pepper, cinnamon, cayenne pepper and caraway.
1 small bunch of cilantro coriander
1 tblsp BBQ sauce (I use Sweet Baby Ray's Barbecue Sauce)
1 tblsp ketchup
How to:
Chop your onion finely and your paprikas roughly.
Fry in your largest casserole pan in a few lugs of oil for approximately 7 minutes until soft, stir randomly.
Season with 1 teaspoon of salt, pepper, caraway, cinnamon and cayenne pepper.
Add your beans, crushed tomatoes and water.
Crush your garlic and add your chopped coriander and de-seeded and finely chopped chilis.
Also add your balsamic vinegar.
Let simmer for 10 minutes.
Fry your mince in a seperate pan (or pour your contents into a saucepan and use the same frying pan).
Season with salt and pepper.
When done, pour into your saucepan and add your BBQ sauce and ketchup.
Taste and season if needed.
Let simmer for 15 minutes and stir occasionally.
Serve hot with sides such as coleslaw, rice, baked potato, bread and/or a crispy green salad.
ENJOY!
What's cooking?
UPDATE:
I attempted a kind of McDonalds inspired apple pie tonight for a few dearly missed friends (inspired by Jenny of course). They didn't turn out very pretty, even a bit burned, but they tasted nice. The next time I attempt this I will succeed to the fullest, haha. I will also manage to take a few pictures of the result.
The steamer
Apart from your basic good set of knives, pans and other everyday equipment, what every person should have is a steamer. I know I love it and it makes my life so much easier. You can use it for so many things. I think many of you will look at it and wonder what it is. Well, it's a steam cooker and all you need is whatever you're cooking and water.
You will the water up to maximum level in the bottom. Put your vegetables, rice, potatoes, chicken or fish in the containers (mine has three that go on top of each other) and set the timer for the different items. Rice usually takes 35 minutes, harder vegetables like carrots take about 20 minutes whilst broccoli and brussel sprouts take about 15 minutes. You have to go with trial and error in the beginning, but that's easy, all you need to do is turn the timer on again if you need to.
So, why do I prefer the steamer to boiling things? Well, no salt is needed to start with. Also, everything keeps its natural flavours. The vegetables taste like vegetables and not like boiled green things. All the salts and minerals are kept. To conclude - it's just better for you.
Killer burger with coleslaw
I'm so proud of this compilation. I wanted coleslaw tonight, it's the cheapest thing to make during the autumn. Cabbage and carrots are autumn vegetables and cost pittance. The thing with my cravings for coleslaw is that I have to figure out what to eat as the main part of the dish, haha. As I was at Hard Rock Café this Saturday gone, I thought of burgers. I also bought a barbeque sauce today, and had some of my corn bread left over.
Ingredients:
Coleslaw:
3 carrots - grated
Cabbage - the same amount as the grated carrot when slices thinly
3 small yellow onions
300 g mayonaise
0,5 dl sugar
Black pepper
Burgers:
200 g mince
1,5 tblsp mustard
2-3 tblsp bread crumbs
Salt, pepper
How to:
Coleslaw:
Follow the instructions from this post!
Burgers:
Mix all the ingredients together.
Make your burgers.
Fry them in a tiny bit of oil as the mince usually is fatty enough.
I cheated and used chips out of a bag this time that I just fried whilst putting my burger together.
Use whatever sides to make your burger your favourite; I had mayonaise, tomatoes, jalapeños, cucumber, red onion and cheese on mine.
Enjoy!
Salmon and mashed potato provencal
Wow and yes. They were the words that came out of my mouth when I'd finished this meal. I was going to have pasta with my salmon but my gut said mashed potato so I just had to obey. I spiced it up a bit by mixing in some herbs, parmesan and creme fraiché with my mash - yummmm! And, I finally got to eat some steamed broccoli. One of my absolute favourite veggies.
Ingredients (2 portions):
7 potatoes
1dl creme fraiché
Thyme, basil, oregano, herb salt
35g butter
0,25dl parmesan or any other tasty cheese
2 fillets of salmon
Lemon pepper and salt
A few squeezes of lemon
A knob of butter and oil to fry in
Broccoli and any other vegetables or salad you might want with it.
How to:
Peel and boil your potatoes until soft.
Mash with the creme fraiche and butter.
Add a few shakes of your dried herbs and taste, add more if needed.
When you're potatoes are done, use the same heated ring for your pan to fry your salmon in.
Add a good knob of butter and a lug or two fo oil.
Add your salmon and season with lemon pepper, salt and squeeze some lemon over.
Fry for approximately 3-4 minutes and turn over.
Season again.
Turn over again after another 3-4 minutes and turn off the heat.
Serve immediatley with your mash and greens.
ENJOY!
Error uploading photos
Hey guys! I've got things to show you but I can't upload pictures for some reason. I'll post it as soon as I can!
xo
Breakfast
Breakfast time is the prime meal of the day. If I start of with a rubbish breakfast where I'm stressed or don't have enough to eat, it'll ruin my first half of the day for sure. Today and tomorrow I am off work as usual after my weekend madness. I've just finished off some youghurt (fil) with honey and almonds. With that, two slices of my cranberry&apple bread with banana; sadly the bread fell apart when I toasted it, haha. And, there's nothing like a cup of tea in the morning.
