More about the christening

No, this hasn't turned into a baby blog... at least not yet. But with just five weeks to go, you might guess that baby stuff is on my mind a lot.

Anyway. I had to show you these two photos from our god-daughter's christening. On top, a lovely photo of Nelly with her grandmother, who's my big sister Ehva. (The one of the gorgeous kitchen!)



And then, the cakes and cookies served. As is quite common, there was no food, just a large offering of sweets. The cakes - the pink one for Nelly, the blue for her brother Alex who was also christened on the same day - are both "violet cakes" which I've written about before. Delicious! Just above those are nougat oatmeal squares that were totally awesome, and Per's favorite was a "dream swiss roll".

Cookbook Watch

Natur och Kultur, a Swedish publishing house that always has an interesting array of cookbooks, just came out with a series of small books that have been translated from English. The originals are "200 easy suppers", "200 veggie feasts", "200 low-fat dishes" and "200 pasta dishes". The first two are my favorites. "Easy suppers" is written by Jo McAuley, and it's full of really fast and tasty recipes. Perfect for quick weekday wonders that won't take a lot of preparation. I'm particularly interested in trying the spicy quinoa salad or the cider-cooked pork with pasta.



"Veggie feasts" by Louise Pickford is equally inspirational. I admit that I rarely cook with the intent to make it vegetarian - a lot of my food is, but it's really more of an afterthought. I do find it difficult to make vegetarian main dishes that aren't some kind of soup, pasta, risotto or salad. And, honestly, most of the dishes in this book are also some variations on that - but that's ok. In fact, it's quite good because a lot of it can be served as a first course, or as part of a buffet. First on my list is the homemade falafel (I've tried before, but not with huge success), and although fall seems far off, I really want to try the roast pumpkin with walnut pesto.



Korean food isn't very common in Sweden, but we do have some Korean restaurants. The most famous is probably Arirang, which has been open since 1975 - it was actually the first Korean restarant in Scandinavia. The founder's two daughters still run the restaurant with their mom and aunt, and now they've also authored a cookbook on Korean cuisine in Sweden. It's simply called "Koreansk Mat" which translates into "Korean Food", but with an undertitle of "kimchi, bulgogi and bibimbap". My experience with this type of food is.. well, limited, to say the least. I'm not extremely experimental, and some things, like kimchi, don't appeal to me at all. There's a lot of things that do sound good though - *very* good. I'd love to try the pickled cucumbers (oi namul), or mung bean pancakes (nokdo chun). And I already have the right noodles (made from sweet potato starch) for Chapchae, a noodle dish with veggies and beef that sounds right up my alley.

Arugula Risotto

The sun is shining, and it's truly a beautiful day. Spring is finally here, and I hope we've seen the last of the snow until next winter. Food-wise, spring makes me crave slightly lighter dishes - no more stews, and more veggies. However, risotto is a favorite all year for me. It works so well in any weather - except maybe for those extremely hot summer days, but we really don't have many of those in Sweden...

Anyway. This is a light-flavored risotto, with fresh arugula (also known as rocket), some mushrooms, and some sun-dried tomatoes. I use chicken stock, but you can definitely use vegetable stock instead to make this totally veggie.

Arugula Risotto
Serves 2

200 ml of your favorite risotto rice - I use avorio, but arborio and carnaroli are also fine choices. Cooking times will differ a little.
50 ml vermouth
1 onion, finely chopped
240 g mushrooms, diced
1 garlic clove, minced
3 sun-dried tomatoes, finely chopped
50 g arugula, coarsely chopped
Salt, pepper, grated parmesan cheese
1 liter good stock - I use chicken
butter, olive oil

Heat a bit of butter and olive oil in a large pot. Meanwhile, heat the stock in a saucepan. Fry the onion on medium heat in the butter and oil until slightly softened and glossy. Add the rice and turn up the heat - fry while stirring until the rice has turned lightly golden. Add the vermouth, still on high heat, and let it reduce completely.

Now, add the stock, one ladle at a time, and stir after each addition. The rice will absorb the stock and turn soft and creamy. Don't be afraid of high heat - I generally keep mine on high the entire time. When the rice looks dry, just add more stock. And taste the rice to see if it's done - mine usually takes about 20 minutes. Don't let it become overcooked, or you'll have a very mushy risotto.

You might not need all the stock, or you might run out - it will vary. If you do run out, just add hot water.

At the same time as you're stirring and adding stock, fry the mushrooms with the garlic and sundried tomatoes in a separate pan. Add the arugula, and set aside.

When the risotto is done - that is, when the rice is soft and creamy - add the arugula mixture. Add a handful of grated parmesan, and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Recept på svenska:
Ruccolarisotto

Nelly

Meet Nelly! She's just had her christening, and Per and I are her
proud godparents.

Oatmeal Blueberry cookies with Lavender & White Chocolate

Friday! And that means, in my ideal posting routine, something sweet. I made these yummy cookies from a recipe over at Life, Lightly Salted (go there for the original recipe with US measurements) for my sister's birthday party and they were definitely a hit. The lavender is quite unexpected, but goes very well with the blueberries!

Oatmeal Blueberry cookies with Lavender & White Chocolate
about 40 cookies

175 ml brown sugar r
220 g butter, softened
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
750 ml oats
310 ml flour
90 g dried blueberries
1 tsp dried lavender buds, ground in a pestle and mortar
200 g white chocolate, coarsely chopped

Heat the oven to 175°C. Beat butter and sugar until fluffy, then add the baking soda, vanilla and salt. Stir in the eggs and make sure you have a smooth batter.

Add oats, flour, lavender, blueberries and white chocolate. Shape the dough into small balls, and place on a baking sheet - leave room between the cookies, they will spread some.

Bake for 10 minutes, or until lightly golden brown. Leave to cool on a rack.

Recipe in Swedish:
Havrekakor med blåbär, lavendel och vit choklad

Creamy Bacon Pesto Pasta

Need dinner in fifteen minutes? Here's an idea. It's the simplest thing really - pasta, bacon, pesto, cream. And some onion, but that's really optional. I like it. And my pesto? Generally comes from a jar. Homemade is better, but is obviously more of an effort.

Creamy Bacon Pesto Pasta
serves 2

200 g pasta of your choice - I like farfalle
140 g bacon, diced
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
100 ml cream - you decide the fat content
100 g pesto
salt, pepper

Boil the pasta in plenty of salted water. Fry the bacon until crispy and towards the end, add the onions and let them fry along for a minute. Add the cream, and simmer on low heat until the pasta is done.

Drain the pasta and stir in the pesto and the bacon-cream mixture. Season with salt and pepper, and serve straight away.

Recipe in Swedish:
Krämig pasta med bacon & pesto

Crazy-good Coconut Muffins

I have to share this photo of what might be the tastiest muffins ever. And no, I haven't made them. I will though! It's my friend Jisan who made them for a recent fika session - and they're simply incredible. I'll share the recipe after I bake them myself.