It’s blueberry time again! For a moment I was afraid that because of the drought this year fewer berries could be found. But if you search and look at other places than in previous years, then you find plenty to indulge yourself and bake and bake and bake and make marmalade. Yesterday I finally had time to spend a bit longer in the forest. It was also cooler at last, so that I could go in long trousers and boots […]
How pretty they look again: the Rowans-trees. Besides mushrooms, one of the very first signs of Autumn, because it’s leaves, are turning bright red and orange and are already covered in clusters of bright orange and red berries. Since I’ve just seen birds eating these so far, I always thought they were poisonous (bright colours in the natural kingdom can be a warning for such isn’t it). So I just admired them. No problem in a country like Sweden: here […]
(Lantliv) Almost Easter, the first extended weekend of spring! For many people here a good reason to visit their summerhouse and make everything ready for the summer, meet the family, eat Easter eggs etc. Well pretty much the same as in Holland, just a little different. You decorate your house for instance by putting birch twigs in a vase and decorating them with artificial feathers in lively colour’s, preferably in yellow. You see witches who flew against the walls here […]
Whenever we were on holiday here in Sweden and saw räksmörgås or räkmacka on the menu, we knew what to take: a prawn sandwich! It’s always delicious and easy to make, we discovered. It’s a great dish to surprise your guests with. We already made it for family and friends. It’s always fun to see how people are going to eat it! 4 prawn sandwiches About 1 kg peeled prawns 4 slices of white or brown bread 1 crisp salad […]
Our love for this special dish comes from our trip through China, already 12 years ago. Willem and I backpacked through Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and China for some months. What a wonderful food experiences we had! When we returned home we bought a beautiful book full of Chinese recipes and tried some. Nowadays two recipes survived, and the one for noodles is our favorite. Unfortunately we still haven’t succeed to make the dish taste exactly like in China, but our recipe […]
Meadowsweet is a perennial herb that grows on damp meadows in Europe and Western Asia. It’s also known as Queen of the Meadow, Pride of the Meadow, Meadow-Wort and Bride wort. It’s an excellent plant for attracting bees, as it’s delicate and creamy-white flowers have a strong, sweet smell. And … meadowsweet is considered to be a sacred herb by Celtic Druids, who used Meadowsweet to enhance their love spells! Meadowsweet has also been used in herbal medicine – apparently […]
The Swedes celebrate everything with cakes, with coffee (fika) or as a dessert. Great, since I love baking. The only problem for me is which cake to bake: choose from the huge amount of recipes that pass me on Facebook or I see in magazines. From all these a strawberrycake seemed to be the real traditional for the end-of- the- schoolyearcelebration, so I chose this one this year. And it tasted wonderful! Our guests were also enthusiastic about it. Of […]
Versions of knäckebröd have been enjoyed in Sweden since antiquity. This one is very easy and tastes nice with a piece of cheese or salad. Or eat them as a healthy snack: to me they are like chips! 2 dl spelt flour or corn flour 2 dl sunflower seeds 1.5 dl sesame seeds 0.5 dl olive oil 2 dl hot / boiling water 2 tsp seasalt Stir everything together in a bowl. Slowly stir in water until a thick, chunky […]
(Bettyskitchen.nl) Making your own jams is very popular in Sweden. No wonder, blueberries, raspberries and lingonberries grow all over the place. Last year, I tried some jam-recipes. Normally you have to use equal parts of sugar and fruit to make jam. But if I do that I think the jam tastes way too sweet. Through Bettyskitchen.nl I found a way to make a less sweet version by preserving the jam with a little extra lemon juice. This one is my […]
(from Hembakat) This was a big hit with guests and our children. Blueberries I picked myself this summer. 6-8 pieces 4.5 dl flour 150 g butter (warm room) 2 tablespoons granulated sugar 0.5 tsp salt 2 egg yolks (save the egg whites) 1 tablespoon milk filling 3 egg whites 2 cups granulated sugar (also with 1 dl if you do not like sweet) 1 tablespoon vanilla sugar 10 dl blueberries (can be frozen) Garnish: white chocolate Set the oven at […]