Balayya Again!!

As when I get busy, I bring to you some more entertainment yet again.
I am shifting my home, and will shift city too in a week or two. Broadband has been disconnected.. Will blog now and then, but then I couldn't publish the curry mela this weekend.

But I am damn sure this Balayya Magic will more than make up for it. Very entertaining... Much Fun comes.....

Weekend Cat Blogging #69 - Ywette

"I can not believe the humans ran out of cat food. I just can not belive it."

And yet, it did happen. We are so very sorry. And the cats are angry. They came into bed this morning - we thought they wanted to cuddle, but they had a very different message to deliver. We're out of food!

Still playing in Photoshop. Now that I'm back from the pet store, obviously. The cats are busy stuffing themselves. Ywette is still in shocked disbelief.

This week, you can see Weekend Cat Blogging over at House of (the mostly) black cats.

A new cookbook. Or three.

Popular Swedish chef and restaurateur Melker Andersson runs four restaurants now. (F12, Restaurangen, Grill and Kungsholmen.) All are very successful. On Wednesday, I was at the release for his new cookbooks. Or well, his restaurants' cookbooks. The recipes come from him and the three head chefs, and the rest of the books are filled with tidbits and articles written by a plethora of different writers. Articles? Yes - these books are quite different. They're more like thick, glossy magazines - with food. Interesting concept. Interesting cookbooks? Well.

I have to be honest. I'm not blown away. The three cookbooks are quite similar - one is called Oas (Oasis), one is Eld (Fire) and the last is Smak (Flavour). Oas is twice as thick as the others, by the way. And it's the one I've read most thoroughly so far. I do like the concept, I really do. And the recipes are interesting. Many of the pictures are beautiful.

But many are not. Many are standard stock photos, not so much for the food but for the articles. And the articles themselves seem *very* random. An example: a checklist for a successful wedding, including tips like "make sure you choose an entertaining toastmaster". Err, yes. Thanks.

The recipes are poorly written. (I don't know if I have a a pre-copy, I hope so and I hope that someone will send the thing through spell-check before properly released.) There are ingredients that you won't be told what to do with - or even explained. Many of them have no points on assembly - when clearly, assembly is a key, if you look at the photos. Many will leave you hanging half way. Or have instructions starting with something immediate, followed by something you should have made the night before. They're not in order. And if you're not used to complicated recipes - they're just confusing. But in all fairness, this comment is mostly for the recipes in Oas. The other ones, at a glance, seem a bit better in this respect. Still, it gives a hurried, un-thought through impression. Not at all what I expected from this group of cooks.

And the tidbits. Come on. This is an advanced cookbook. (Or set of cookbooks.) Or at least the recipes are. There's ice, jelly or foam in just about every recipe. Deconstructed and reconstructed dishes. Exciting stuff! So why not use the space for notes, tidbits and articles on something related and NOT on "choose a good chef's knife, you'll be happy!" or my favorite "with a cold enough fridge you can keep fresh fish for up to a week!". (and um, eww at that one. Who would want to?)

I would have loved to see an article on lardo for instance, which is used in quite a few recipes. (And dismissed with an explanation that it's the fat off cured pork products, like parma ham. Which is very much simplyfying it.) And it'd have been great to learn more about techniques, and tools. Now, things are just tossed into the recipes. Often special tools are requested that I don't even know where to find.

Sorry, this is perhaps a bit harsh. I do like the food itself. (Hey, the food we got at the release party was absolutely top-notch!) A high point is some of the beautiful photography - the exhibition of women with raw food on them (a meat dress, a fish dress etc) are stunning. I do like that the books are done in a new and different concept, and with advanced recipes. I just think that it's not very well followed-through. It could have been so much better. And well, I'm sure the authors are thinking about their very unique restaurants and that that needs to be taken into account - but for me, I want a book that can stand on its own.

Anyway. If you want to buy the books, I heartily recommend online store Adlibris which has the books at almost half of recommended retail price. Here's the whole set, Eld, Oas and Smak. Oh, and maybe pointing out the obvious here - but sorry, the books are in Swedish, for all you English-speakers out there.

Chewy Nut Cookies

These are absolutely irresistible. One batch makes around 30, and if you can leave them, they will keep for a few days in an air-tight jar. However, they're absolutely at their best when freshly baked, so go ahead and have seconds. (If you want to keep some, the freezer is your best option. Then you can gently re-heat in the oven when you want to eat them.)

Make sure to leave a lot of room - these will spread. As you can see in the picture, I ended up with an entire cookie sheet full of cookie, and had to cut mine into squares. But whatever - the taste is the same.

If you feel like a bit more effort, you can roast and peel your hazelnuts before baking. I never bother.

Chewy Nut Cookies
Makes 30

200 g hazelnuts
25 g butter
2,5 dl (1 cup) sugar
2 eggs

Preheat the oven to 200°C. Put aside 30 whole hazelnuts, and grind the rest finely in a grinder or in a food processor.

Melt the butter and let it cool a bit. Add the nuts, sugar and the eggs, and mix until uniform. Place spoonfuls well apart on a lined cookie sheet, and top each cookie with a reserved hazelnut. Bake for about 10 minutes. Don't burn yourself eagerly trying to stuff one into your mouth - they cool very quickly.

Nötkakor

Southwest Bulgur Salad

Very inspired by this post from What We're Eating, I decided to pull together a simple little bulgur salad to serve with lamb chops the other day. The results were great! I didn't follow Amanda's recipe all that closely, but somewhat. I boiled bulgur the way I always do (twice the amount of water, lightly salt, bring to a boil, cover with a lid on low heat...) and tossed it with finely diced tomatoes, red onion, red pepper and cilantro, and for a dressing just olive oil, garlic, lime juice, lime zest, cumin and dried chipotle pepper. Delicious - and so easy.

Maltesers

Oh, happiness is a big bowl of Maltesers.

Smoked Beef with Fermented Soya Beans!

This is Smoked Beef Stewed in fermented Soya Beans. A Naga (People of Nagaland) Delicacy, this authentic Naga recipe is right from the Kitchen of a Naga friend who is also an excellent bachelor Cook. Fermented Soya beans or Akhuni in nagaland, Hawaizaar in Manipur and Turumbai in Meghalaya is a part of the North eastern cuisine. Very pungent, you need to acquire the taste before you can actually enjoy this dish, but once you have gotten used to it, there will be no stopping you huh!

Monkey Bread

I had never heard of Monkey Bread until I found this post over at Bakingsheet. It sounds like a great idea to me. I love cinnamon buns – but I really don’t like the crisp outside, just the fluffy, soft inside. And this Monkey Bread gives you pretty much just insides – since it’s baked in a pan. Great. Perfect, in fact. I decided to try the idea but using a regular old cinnamon bun dough recipe. I happened to have half a package of fresh yeast left over. It turned out wonderfully – it rose beautifully and made a big loaf tin full of delicious yumminess. I ate a few and stuck the rest in the freezer – it should keep well enough.

Monkey Bread
75 g butter plus 25 g
250 ml milk (1 cup)
25 g fresh yeast
70 g sugar
salt, a pinch
7-800 ml flour (about 3 cups)
white sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon

Melt the 75 g of butter in a small saucepan or in the microwave. Combine with the milk, and bring to slightly warm temperature, about 40°C. Crumble the yeast in to a bowl, and combine with some of the liquid. Stir until the yeast is dissolved, then add the rest of the liquid, the sugar, the salt and most of the flour. Work either by hand or with a machine, until you have a silky dough. It shouldn’t be very sticky, but don’t put too much flour in it either, as that will make it tough. Add a little at a time, until you have it just right.

Let it rest in a clean bowl with a towel on top for about half an hour or until doubled in size.

Melt the remaining 25 g of butter. Combine equal amounts of white and brown sugar with a little cinnamon to make the topping.

Brush some of the butter in a loaf tin, and sprinkle with a little cinnamon sugar.

Gently knock the dough back, and pinch off golf-ball-sized pieces. Roll each gently into a ball, and dip into first the butter, and then the cinnamon sugar. It should be completely covered. Place into the tin. Repeat with all the dough.

Cover the tin and let it rise for about half an hour again, or until well risen. Heat the oven to 225°C. Bake the bread for ten minutes at this high temperature in the middle of the oven – then lower it to about 175°C, lower the bread to the lowest rack and bake for ten more minutes.

Monkey Bread

Swedish Mexican Food

I'm cited in a column in LA Times today! :) The columnist, Gregory Rodriguez, read my post on tacos and called me up for a chat.

You might need to register to read the article, which you can find here.

Weekend Cat Blogging - Kelly, painted

No, not really painted. But it's amazing what Photoshop can do nowadays! I really wish I had the time - and a teacher - to explore all the cool things about Photoshop. As it is, I learn a bit here and there. Above is one of my newest toys, a cool filter that makes your photos look painted. Kelly is in her usual spot on the couch, where she happily watches tv with us. Instead of going into heat I might add, we're waiting, and waiting.. but nothing. Hence, no kittens in sight. But I'm hoping...

ChefSarahJane is hosting Weekend Cat Blogging this week. Head over here to check out more lovely kitties!

Curry Mela at Bachelor Cooking -32nd Week

Good day Dear Bachelor Cooking readers. I hope you all are doing great. As I am. :-)
After a long wait, we have today the 32nd curry mela again!! yes, can you believe it? It is the 32nd curry mela already... been a long long journey, and I thank you all for liking it.. and it kept pushing me to host curry mela after curry mela...
And now with the curry mela blog, where I will transfer the post each week after the curry mela, you can enjoy all the curry melas that was held for the past few months well,, has it been 6 months... Phew!! Time does fly huh!!!

Anyway, I hope you will enjoy this time around too, like you always have...
Cheers and enjoy the Curry mela at bachelor Cooking!!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Enjoy this Chicken Satay With Peanut sauce ...... Surprisingly I don't remember having tried any chicken dish with peanut sauce. Should be fun.. Oh yeah.. Peanutty flavor and the slightly burnt chicken..... And she blogs so well, with amazing pictures of her work in progress.... Be sure to check out instructions of making Chole Bhature.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------




Don't I always say that when it rains recipes, it rains in similar bunches... After that succulent Satay, try this Spicy Chicken Kebabs... Always love a good kebab!! And God Awesome Pictures don't you think?


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


From the same blogger, check out this black rice payasam. Now, she mentions asian store to get this rice. And considering that we eat a lot of stuff similar to asians (non-desi Asians), I don't know if this is the same black rice called chahao in manipur. The black rice we get in Manipur, which is very rare even there, has a very fragrant flavor and many people who have been to manipur, always ask me for the same. We also prepare this kheer with that black rice and is quite a delicacy...
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------




How would you all like something sweet and tangy... Yeah, that is right sweet and tangy.. Add to it a little spice.. and you get this amazing sweet and tangy mango Curry, from a new blogger in the food Blogosphere... let me Introduce Meena from cooking pleasures. many of you might have come across her blog, and for those who haven't check her out!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



This Chick Peas and banana flower(Kodappan Kadala Koottan in Malayalam) sounds very healthy.. All the natural protiens of chick peas and the carbs in Bananas..




-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------




Am I the only one or are you also drooling over the picture of this Chicken Chettinad? And I swear, my mouth is watering like crazy. The colour is just so right for a Chicken Curry. I was thinking of cutting down on my Non-veg intake but this is just killing... I don't know if I can get this consistency, but yummmm I sure am gonna try this out...

This indeed is my week for the week!! And, You indeed are a spice lover!!


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When you do say Tikka masala, it should really Tikka, or tikha.. Check out the reddest and hottest Paneer Tikka Masala ever.. Will set your Eyes and tongue on fire, and yet you will crave for more!!!







-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------




For all the Health Conscious, Dieting, fat-free food lovers, here is a great salad for you, lentils and Spinach Salad.. By the way, all the oil in my recipes not withstanding, I am also quite a health food lover.. Who else would eat steamed Okras eh!




-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Another Lovely Sino-indian food, Gobi 65, is Gobi manchurian's Cousin.. How come I haven't seen Gobi Chili??
But this Gobi 65 looks really awesome... I am sure it must taste like chicken... ;)



-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------




I was thinking that i should just post the picture and leave it at that.. Awesome dish.. Perfect colour... and the potatoes..don't I love potatoes?? I know that very few readers of the blog eat Beef, but for those who do, this is a not to miss Beef Curry Recipe... Spicy Beef and Potato Curry.. And I just remembered that I have saved a Beef Kasa Recipe in my draft...The ones we used to get at the Nizam's in Kolkata!!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Lime Ginger rasam, a kind of rasam, which is a watery curry that is very common in South India, like the daal in the north India. In manipur, we have the Kangsoi, a similarly watery stew, but instead of tempering with kadi patta and mustard seed, we flavor it with smoked fish and dried fish, and is a staple. Rasam is the closest that a south indian cuisine to get to the kangsoi. I never realised this until a friend recently told me that he just had the south Indian Kangsoi. I was stunned for a while until he told me he had rasam, and I burst out laughing..South Indian Kangsoi Indeed!!!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------




Some people takes pictures so well, and some people cook so well. few people cook well and takes pictures so well. just looking at the pictures of this Paneer Tawa Masala, one could presume that she is one hell of a Gunslinging Cowboy with the camera, and the cooking pans just dances to her tunes... And so aptly names the post as musical cooking, but of course!!!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



What about some non-desi cooking for a change.. How about meat
loaf? How about this awesome Chicken loaf.......via




-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



I have had many kinds of halwa, and thnaks to blogging, I came across this new halwa that I never ever imagined existed... yes, Bread Halwa.. You might have heard about it, But I had't.. seriously... funny me...



----- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Try some good chinese food today.. From another newbie food blogger, some godawesome looking veg fried rice and veg hot and sour. Do check out this beautiful new blog...




----- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



And when I thought I saw a new kind of Kheer or payasam today when I commented on the bread kheer, surprise surprise, and remember the raining recipes... I came across another NEW kheer variety... Beaten Rice or aval Kheer/Payasam .. Yes Poha ki Kheer... But of course, poha is rice so it would make tasty kheer, but how would I have imagined... Thanks for sharing

----- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



And why not some Aglio Olio.. hey but that is but the local name for Chilli garlic pasta.. Yummy looking Pasta... Hot and spicy!!





----- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------




Now what comes to your mind when you see this jam in the hole Muffins?

Hah! Surprises inside!!!



----- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

And this is the beginning of the end. I hope you enjoyed it thoroughly... BTW, What do you all think about my moving to my own domain? BachelorCooking.net huh!! What say you all?

Baguette from Fine Food

This was another very yummy baguette, from a new foodie hangout in Stockholm called Fine Food. It's a small store, stocking only select goods of the highest quality. They have a small deli counter, with excellent meats and cheeses, a small veggie corner with the finest seasonal produce, and a large section with high quality pasta, grains, oils, vinegars, spices and breads. And speaking of bread, they make this baguette in-house, and it is very good indeed.

And hey - it's the only reliable source of Mountain Dew that we've found in Stockholm! (Yes, Gray's have it every once in a while, but usually not.) So Per is happy - that's hands down his favorite drink.



I found this excellent Manitoba Cream flour. All the rage among foodies here, it's a very high protein flour that helps develop extra gluten for extra special chewy bread. Stay tuned for my experiments with this!

Fine Food is located in Hammarby Sjöstad, near the station "Luma". It's not easy to find parking.

Fine Food
Hammarby Allé 62
Stockholm

CurryMela Countdown at Bachelor Cooking!!

Anybody wants to make a last minute entry... Send in..
The Count down to the curry has begun, the post is already in the draft.. waiting for last minute entries....

Hurry up...

Baguette by Paul Hollywood

I've been baking quite a bit lately. No matter how stressed I am, breadmaking always calms me down. It's really good for the soul. And when the results are so good, well, it's hard not to find the time. Anyway. This baguette is from Paul Hollywood's book "100 great breads". It's a soft baguette, and the inclusion of butter makes it tighter in crumb than those fluffy, hollowy french breads. I'd say that this is perfect as a sandwich bread, rather than eating with just butter or cheese - but that's just me. In a few days, I will post a baguette recipe that I like a lot more - the results are more chewy, crusty and in general, more baguette-y. However, this recipe is easy, and that's really important too. The dough is easy to handle, it's not sticky or runny, and it's very hard to mess this one up. (As indeed with many Hollywood breads. I very much recommend his book - it's been very reliable for me.)

Please note that you need to start this one day before you plan on eating. Don't worry, it'll just take a minute.

Baguette
makes 1

500 g white flour, preferrably extra strong
20 g fresh yeast
warm water
1 tbsp salt
50 g butter, softened

Day 1:
Mix 200 g of the flour with all the yeast, and enough water to make a thick batter. Cover with plastic wrap or a towel, and leave overnight.

Day 2:
Add the rest of the flour, the salt and the butter. Add enough water to make the dough smooth and elastic, but not sticky or wet. Leave to rise in the bowl for 1 hour.

Punch down the dough as to remove the air, and shape into a baguette form. Place on a baking sheet, and let rise for another hour.

Heat the oven to 220°C, and just before you put in the bread, make several diagonal slashes in it. Bake for about 30 minutes.

Baguette

Curry Chicken Sali Recipe

Yeah I am posting the Recipe of the Chicken Sali After a Long time.
Sorry people, I was quite stuck up at work and such like, with shifting and all that.

And yes what you are seeing is crisp fried potatoes.
In the authentic Sali, the pototoes are even smaller. Match Stick thin.
I was too lazy to slice potatoes that thin.

I cooked the chicken, in the usual way we cook Chicken Curry, and then spread the potatoes afterwards. It was very tasty indeed.

One Kilo Chicken, marinade in 1 tsp Jeera powder, 1 tsp Dhania Powder, 1 Tsp Red Chilli and salt to taste. Marinade for 2 hours.

Two large Potatoes, cut into match stick thin slivers.
Fry till golden in a non-stick pan and keep aside.

Heat oil in a Pan or Wok and Fry One large Onion, and fry till golden brown.
Add 3 green chillis sliced in halves.
Add One and half table spoon of freshly ground ginger-garlic paste, and saute for 1 minute.
Add 2-3 Tomatoes, chopped well.
Add the chicken, mix well keep stirring for a few minutes.
Then cover the lid of the pan, and keep that way for 15 minutes in low heat.

Open the lid, you will see that lots of liquid have come out.
Increase heat and cook till gravy thickens.
Now add 1.5 cup of hot water and let shimmer.
Add 1 tsp chicken Masala and 1 tsp black pepper.
Take down after 2-3 minutes.

Spread the potatoes on top... ( Can I call it as garnishing?)
Enjoy!!

Five things to eat before you die

This Meme has been travelling for a bit, and I have been tagged at least thrice. I'm very late in participating - but hey, better late than never, as they say.

So. Without further ado. Here's five things you really should try to seek out. (And here's the enormous round-up.)

-Warm cloudberries over good quality vanilla ice cream

-Swedish Västerbotten Cheese (very sharp!) on crisp rye bread

-Swedish-style crawfish

-tomatoes from your own garden

-Swedish meatballs with mom's lingonberry jam, the berries picked and prepared with lots of love

Cole Slaw

I realize that there must be a million ways to make cole slaw. My favorite is this - very simple, and very clean in flavors. And not completely drowning in creamy dressing - that is good, but.. not so good for you. (If you want a real decadent cole slaw in Stockholm, head over to Texas Longhorn - they have a great one.)

Anyway. Here's what I usually do: Mix 1 tbsp of apple cider vinegar with 1/2 tbsp sugar, a little salt and pepper. Beat in 2-3 tbsp mayonnaise until smooth. Stir in 1/2 small head of cabbage (shredded), 1-2 shredded carrots and preferrably 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced. And sometimes I add half a green apple, too.

Cole Slaw

More summer pictures

I still feel surprisingly un-inspired so here are some more pictures from this summer. Up top, an amazing red currant cake made by my friend Lena in Linkoping. She shared the recipe, so I'll try it myself soon. It was very yummy, the crust is chewy yet crisp, and meringue-like.



Don't laugh - these may be cheap (and they sure were) but they were also surprisingly tasty. The green jar has hazelnut filling, the brown is almond. I can't decide which one I like most. Good thing that there's a lot of both.



A big coffee order from Kaffegrossisten. I haven't had time to try it yet though, still working my way through a huge bag of Mauro Deluxe.



My very cute red knock-box that I got from the same store as the coffee. Brilliant, whatever did I do without it? (Oh yes, clogged the pipes, that's what I did.)



Finally, a picture from a short car-ferry ride. It was a beautiful day.

Woohoo!

The election is finally over, and it looks like I can relax. With the preliminary counting of the votes, it seems like there are three things to be happy about.

1. We have a new goverment!
2. I probably got into local parliament!
3. I will probably continue to be employed! (nice one)

I promise to go back to more normal food blogging tomorrow. For now, just for inspiration - a peach salad with thinly sliced red onions, and a simple garlic lemon vinaigrette. It was great with a piece of grilled beef.

One hour left.

Sorry, no food post - I can't concentrate on anything but the election. Today is the day. And the voting closes in less than an hour. It looks like it will be a very, very tight race, and I'm fairly excited and very nervous! (Not so much for myself - that doesn't matter - but if Sweden gets a new government, that's a huge deal!)

Chicken Sali-Parsi Chicken Curry Recipe!

Phew!! A very tiresome weekend. Loose ends at work, and some catch with friends and by the time the weekend was over, i realised I couldn't do the Curry Mela Round up.
Do wait till Next month. Also, I will be hosting it on this blog only, and only shift the curry mela posts into the new blog after each week. The Curry Mela Blog will be a repository of all previous Curry Mela. Inspired by Kalyn :-).

This is the picture of Chicken Sali. A Parsi delicacy which they prepare and relish especially during the Navroz. This is like a Normal Chicken Curry, with just a little Parsian Twist.. Will Post the recipe soon. Do Wait!!!

Weekend Cat Blogging - Kelly, Glinda and the spider

The girls found a spider a few mornings ago. (You can kind of see it, to the left in the picture.) This was apparently the best toy they ever had - especially Glinda loved it and played for at least an hour. Until the spider broke. As spiders tend to do.

Spanish Omelette- Bachelor Cooking Style!

Scrambled Spanish Omellete.
My favorite Breakfast. One I have blogged more than once.
An easy to prepare recipe.
Quick and healthy, full of protiens and some carbs to get you going all day.
The tomatilla gives the right Beta-Carotene (am I right here?)
This is the scrambled version of the Spanish Omelette I blogged a long time back.
Recipe:
Two potatoes, cut into small strips as in the picture below. about 2 matchstick thin.
One onion Finely chopped.
One tomato Chopped fine.
Salt to taste.
Two eggs, don't even whip em. Remember, Bachelor Cooking!
Heat 2 TBS veg or Olive oil or Butter in a pan.
Add the potatoes, and spread them.
Saute it, when potatoes are almost cooked, say in 5 minutes, add the onions.
Add salt to taste and saute well for 2-3minutes.
Add the tomatoes and saute again for 2-3 minutes.
Break the over the ensemble and mix well for again 2-3 minutes or eggs have hardened.
Pepper may be sprinkled for more taste.
It is ready for breakfast with a steaming cup of coffee. You may skip lunch.
Green Peas and French Beans could have been added while you were adding the potatoes.

Some of my friends wanted some WIP picture.. Here is one.. Like I said the lighting just isn't right

Grilled Cheese

A feeble attempt to re-create the amazing cheese sandwich I had in London, at Borough's Market. It was very good, but not the same. I used Gruyère cheese, and the bread is from Gateau, their signature bread. Delicious - and fairly close to Pain Poîlane. It also has plenty of garlic and finely minced red onions.

Mini Pavlovas

Brilliant summer dessert - or a dessert for whenever you wish it was still summer. I served them for Midsummer's with whipped cream, fresh strawberries and the best strawberry sauce ever. (Just strawberries with white syrup - but I don't know of white syrup is available outside of Sweden, or at least I have no idea what the equivalent would be. Sorry!)

Fresh berries aren't so much in season here any more, but this would be great using some of the preserves I made this summer. (And maybe you made some, too, dear reader?) Or don't use fruit, and go for whipped cream, shaved dark chocolate and caramel. Mmm. I'm thinking of an autumnal version with cinnamony caramelized apple wedges and vanilla custard.

This particular recipe comes from Nigella, and it's really big - I made it in two batches because I had my doubts about beating that much meringue at a time. If you feel more confident, go right ahead. Also, my oven is not big enough. But other than that, this is really easy to make. You can make them at least a day ahead, just keep them in an air-tight jar. Or freeze them, that works too! The meringue nests will be crisp, yet chewy and fluffy.

Mini Pavlovas
makes about 18 (but some will inevitably break.)

8 egg whites
pinch of salt
500 g sugar
4 tsp corn flour
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp white wine vinegar

Preheat the oven to 180°C, and line three cookie sheets with parchment paper. Beat the eggwhits with a tiny pinch of salt until they're firm but not stiff. Add the sugar, a little at a time, and beat until you have a wonderful glossy, fluffy meringue. Sprinkle over corn flour, vanilla and vinegar, and gently fold in.

Form little rounds of the batter, about 10 cm across, on the parchment paper. Use the back of a spoon to make them slightly bowl-shaped. (in order to hold more filling, of course.)

Put them in the oven, and lower the heat to 150°C. Bake for 30 minutes, turn off the heat, and bake for 30 minutes more. (At least - an hour or two won't hurt at this stage.) Remove gently from the paper and leave to cool on a rack.

Små Pavlovor

Election day - coming soon!

Today is Wednesday, and the Swedish elections are on Sunday - just a few short days away. I don't normally write much about politics here, but I'll make an exception. See, politics is my job. I work, full time, for the Swedish liberal party - Folkpartiet. And in this election, I''m also a candidate. So - if any of you happen to live in Nacka, and you'd like to vote for me: I'm number 8 on the list. And if any of you who don't live in Nacka still would like to support me - a vote for Folkpartiet would be great!

It's been a hellish campaign season. We've had plenty of scandals in the press, plenty of dirty campaigning, and even some real dangers - yesterday, someone tried to blow up one of our campaign huts in Malmö! I'm sick again, bad cold, but it doesn't matter. It's almost over. And I hope that this time we'll manage to kick the socialist party out of government. The polls are very close, but it's looking somewhat hopeful.

And for those of you who don't care at all, that's fine, just ignore this post, and enjoy the food!

Slow-cooked Summer Blush

This is an excellent recipe. Simple, but so tasty. I made it as part of my Midsummer's spread, and it went perfectly with the rest of the large buffet - and it can be made ahead. I roasted the veggies the day before, kept in the fridge over night and just took out a couple of hours in advance so it'd be at room temperature. Perfect. And any leftovers can easily be transformed into a pasta sauce, or even a soup - just toss it all in the blender! (But peel those garlic cloves first.)

Slow-cooked Summer Blush
From BBC Good Food (but scaled down a bit)

10 red peppers, quartered and de-seeded
10 large ripe romatoes
2 garlic heads, divided into cloves but not peeled
4 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp sugar
2-3 tbsp red wine vinegar
fresh thyme
fresh basil

Heat the oven to 160°C. Cut peppers and tomoatoes into quarters. Mix with the oil, sugar, vinegar, garlic cloves and thyme in a very large roasting pan.

Roast for two hours. Remove from heat and let cool, and finally stir in the basil. (I know, I didn't give a quantity - use as much, or as little, as you want. Personally, I like a whole lot of basil.)

Ugnsrostade tomater och paprikor

Some summer pictures

Summer is definitely nearing its end here, despite some warm and sunny days. Here are some way overdue pictures.


An amazing basil plant - the biggest I've ever seen. Belongs to my good friend Helmy.


Early golden chanterelles. I generally tend to "pick" mine at the market rather than in the woods.


The tastiest ice cream ever? Could very well be. Also from Helmy - this is a wild strawberry ice cream, home made of course. I can still feel the flavor, if I close my eyes and think back...

Mango Avocado Chicken

A bad picture of an ok dinner. It's chicken and onion, pan-fried, with added curry, créme fraîche, chicken stock and mango chutney, and then finally with avocado pieces stirred in. Not very complicated. The original recipe - in Swedish - can be found here. (Incidentally the blog of Camilla Läckberg, a successful Swedish writer!)