My Recipes

Feta Potato Patties & Salad

kirene@spray.se (Karin) — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 22:04:00 +0000

Sweden is not a very big potato producer. Nevertheless, potatoes are an important part of our diet and I always cook extras for different purposes. Day old boiled potatoes seem to become firmer and easier to handle than newly boiled ones. Besides, cold boiled potatoes can be used in so many ways. In Greece, they eat a lot of cheese. This country holds a top place for cheese consumption per person in all of Europe (together with France).

A Greek recipe of Patatokeftedes (potato balls) in the cookbook 'The Original Greek Cooking', inspired me to add Feta cheese into potato patty batter. A non-melting cheese like Feta seemed to be the right thing. I have been to Greece but I have never had Patatokeftedes, so I don't know how these feta potato patties compares to Greek potato balls.

The ingredient which really made them taste different was real genuine feta cheese. It was produced by Kourellas S.A. company (located in Grevena, Greece).

This cheese tastes so much better than mass produced cow milk "feta". I put the name inside quotation marks because Greece has the exclusive right to call its salty white cheese Feta. No other countries in Europe are allowed to use this name. It is a guarantee that the consumer will get a sheep's milk cheese. Varying amounts of goats’ milk may be added, as long as the sheep's milk make up at least 70 % of the total mixture. Outside of the European Union, cheeses sold as "feta" may be composed exclusively of cow's milk. Can you find a Feta that tastes just as good as the real thing? I can't.

Depending on how watery your potatoes are, you might need to add only one egg. I also had to set up two plates with flour as the potato patties were rather sticky in the beginning. This step is only necessary if the potato mixture is a little on the soft side. A firm potato dough is easier to work with and less messy.

Choose a cooking oil with high "smoke points". Canola oil is a good choice. Feta cheese is salt. These patties were salty enough without any additional salt.

INGREDIENTS:
serves 4
* 500 grams boiled, peeled and mashed potatoes
* 1 beaten egg
* 1 tablespoon soft butter
* plenty of finely chopped parsley
* 75 grams grated semi hard Feta cheese
* several twists of the pepper mill
* flour
* frying oil

METHOD:
1. Start mixing the mashed potatoes with one beaten egg.
2. If necessary, add more than one beaten eggs.
3. Then add butter, parsley, Feta cheese and pepper.
4. Work the mixture well.
5. Shape the mixture into balls, gently flatten each potato ball a little.
6. Coat the patties in the flour.
7. Deep fry in hot oil on both sides until golden brown (do not burn the oil).
8. Drain and serve hot or warm.

Potato patties can be eaten alone as a simple vegetarian meal. If preferred, they may very well be accompanied by this fresh, light and flavorful salad on the side:

INGREDIENTS:
* 500 grams tomatoes, cut into mouthful pieces
* 2 cucumbers, peeled and cut into mouthful pieces
* 1 red onion, thinly sliced
* 200 grams semi hard Feta cheese, grated

METHOD:
1. Combine tomatoes, cucumbers and red onion in a bowl.
2. Portion on plates.
3. Sprinkle a thick generous layer of grated Feta cheese over the salad.

I left sunflower oil, salt and pepper on the table. This way, everyone can spice up their serving to their tastes. Too much oil makes the salad a bit soggy.

The nutrition label on my Feta cheese package tells me that there are 1143/kJ/276 of Calories, 16,5 g of Protein, 0,7 g of Carbohydrates and 22 g of Fat per 100 grams.

Greek goats and sheep graze freely. They eat the vegetation found on rocks, mountains, hills and plains. They move from place to place in order to find food. The unique flavors of Greek herbs and bushes are transmitted to the cheese made from their milk. Happy animals produce better milk. Better milk produces better cheese. It's that simple.

Matjes Herring Baked in Parchment Paper

kirene@spray.se (Karin) — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 22:53:00 +0000

We have celebrated Midsummer this weekend. The National Day of Sweden (the 6th of June), in all its honor, is the least celebrated holiday in Sweden. For us, the most relaxed holiday of the year is Midsummer.

The celebrations are so joyously undemanding when it comes to food. Herring from the sea, soured cream with newly cut chives, potatoes from the earth, washed down with spiced schnapps from ... well ... the Swedish Alcohol Retail Monopoly. For dessert, the first strawberries of summer served with cream.

However, the weather might not always be summer-like. Bad weather really limits outdoor eating.

When it is rainy, windy and cold (12°C), you don't want to eat any cold food, do you? Well, there are other things to do with matjes herring. Do you enjoy tin foil dinners when you are camping? Easy to make and easy to clean up. Here is the belly warming herring we had on this cold Midsummer Eve. Warmed in the oven adds a new dimension to matjes herring. Believe me.

Serve with your choice of bread and cheese.

Matjes Herring in Parchment Paper
serves 4

INGREDIENTS:
* 4 sheets of parchment paper
* 2 tins Matjes Herring (2x200 grams/2x7 oz), cut diagonally into pieces
* 400 - 500 grams cold boiled potatoes, sliced
* 4 hard boiled eggs, cut in wedges
* 2 tablespoons finely chopped dill
* 2 tablespoons finely chopped chives
* 2 small very finely sliced red onions
* 50 grams butter
* black pepper

METHOD
For each serving portion:
1. Place sliced potatoes on parchment paper
2. Top with pieces of matjes herring.
3. Arrange wedges of egg, dill, chives and red onion on top of herring.
4. Top with butter and add freshly ground black pepper.
5. Bring the edges of parchment paper together and scrunch to seal.
6. Place the parcels on a baking sheet.
7. Bake in preheated oven, 200°C (=392°F), for 15 minutes.

Note: You need to use heavy duty aluminum foil if you want to put the food parcels on the grill, or alongside your campfire.

Carrot Cake with Orange Cream Cheese Frosting

kirene@spray.se (Karin) — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 23:38:00 +0000

During World War II, there was not enough sugar. Many things - including sugar- were rationed. Carrots were sweet and used as a sweetener to make vegetable filled desserts.

However, it was not until the 1970s that carrot cake became commonly available in cafeterias in Sweden. So, the type of carrot cake we eat today is a fairly modern cake.

Now, there are so many carrot cake recipes out there and everything that needs to be said about carrot cake is already said by carrot cake experts. So, enough history. Let's get to the recipe. This carrot cake is as moist as I like it and very popular with my family.

Oven temperature: 175°C (=347°F)

INGREDIENTS:
* 4 eggs
* 300 grams brown sugar
* 275 grams flour
* 2 teaspoons baking powder
* ½ teaspoon salt
* 1 teaspoon sodium bicarbonate
* 1 teaspoon vanilla sugar
* 50 ml dried tropical fruits, finely chopped
* 50 ml almonds, finely chopped
* 350 gram grated carrots
* 200 ml vegetable oil (canola- or sunflower oil)

METHOD:
1. Line a 23 x 33 cm (9" x 13") baking pan with slightly greased baking paper.
2. Beat eggs and brown sugar until mixture is light brown and thick,
3. In a large bowl, blend flour with all the dry ingredients.
4. Mix in the egg batter with the flour mixture.
5. Stir in carrots and oil.
6. Pour batter into prepared baking pan.
7. Bake immediately in the preheated oven for 45 to 50 minutes, then insert a toothpick into the center of the cake to check if it is baked.
8. Sprinkle sugar on a baking paper (or on a clean towel) and turn the freshly-baked cake out onto it.
9. Pull off the baking paper from the cake and cool completely before frosting it.

The Cream Cheese Frosting
* 200 g Philadelphia cream cheese
* 50 grams butter
* 180 grams icing sugar, sifted
* 1 tablespoon orange juice
* grated orange peel

METHOD:
1. Bring cream cheese and butter to room temperature.
2. Beat the cream cheese and butter together until fluffy and creamy.
3. Gradually beat in sifted icing sugar until well combined.
4. Add the orange juice.
5. Spread frosting over the top of the cake
6. Sprinkle the top with grated orange peel.
7. Keep the carrot cake refrigerated.

Vanilla sugar is a commonly used ingredient in Swedish cakes and desserts. It is powdered sugar flavored with vanilla. You can make your own vanilla sugar by combining sugar with vanilla beans.

Never throw away your used vanilla beans. Even those that have been steeped in hot milk (or other liquids) can be reused. Wipe and dry them. Place them with sugar in a jar with a tight lid. Shake to blend well. Vanilla beans can retain their flavor for a very long time. So, when the sugar has been used, simply add more to the jar.

Pork Steak with Salsa Salad & Cold Pink Sauce

kirene@spray.se (Karin) — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 22:07:00 +0000

Fred Flintstone didn't have Tex-Mex marinated pork steak but I have. I decided to do some outdoor grilling last weekend so I purchased a large "Flinta Steak" (a Flintstone cut piece of pork). Anyway, the weather was too cold and rainy for out door grilling, so I had to cook the meat indoors.

Great tasting condiments to accompany meat are a must. My basic salsa contains chopped mango, garlic, green jalapeno pepper, red onion, sweet red pepper, grated carrot, flavored with salt, raw sugar and lime juice. But one can actually try as many different combinations of fruits and vegetables, herbs and chili peppers as one can possibly dream of.

A salsa involves lots of chopping and it's better to chop everything by hand rather than use a food processor. You'll then have more control over the size of the pieces. The finished product will look so much better.

Naturally, with all that food, a sauce is a must too. Here's my favorite recipe for a pink, cold and spicy chili sauce (how strong is up to you).

Basic Salsa Sauce
Serves 2-3

* 50 ml mayonnaise
* 50 ml crème fraiche
* 50 ml Heinz Chili Sauce
* 1 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce
* 2 pressed garlic cloves
* a pinch of ground cumin
* a pinch of dried tarragon
* 1 teaspoon of freshly squeezed lemon juice, or more to taste
* freshly ground black pepper

METHOD:
1. In a bowl, mix mayonnaise, crème fraiche, Chili Sauce and Worcestershire Sauce.
2. Add the different spices one at a time. Don't forget to taste test the sauce after each addition. Be careful with tarragon and cumin. A subtle hint of those spices is wanted without overpowering the rest of the sauce ingredients.
3. Add lemon juice to achieve the balance of acidity.
4. Stir long and well, and place in the fridge overnight to ensure all the different flavors marry.

This sauce goes well not only with pork, but with beef, chicken, fish and shell fish as well.

Not My Usual Rhubarb Crumble

kirene@spray.se (Karin) — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 01:30:00 +0000

As children, we used to have contests that involved seeing which one of us could chew on a rhubarb stalk for the longest time ... uncooked .... without sugar. A weird kid thing that could have created a life-long strong feeling of aversion to rhubarbs. Luckily enough, it didn't.

Well, rhubarb is not quite in season yet in the northern part of Sweden. The start of the growing season is behind here. Four weeks ago there were still some snow left. Now spring is here. Today is a bright, sunny and warm day here. Yesterday I harvested a few rhubarb stalks. I couldn't wait to make something with them. However, five small rhubarb stalks were clearly not enough to make a rhubarb crumble.

I did an inventory of what I had in the freezer and refrigerator to get a picture of what the options were. Sweet, tropical mango together with tart rhubarbs? Maybe a wicked combination. Maybe not. I still had some red currants left from last year in the freezer. So a rhubarb/red currant/mango combo was worth a try.

Cooking becomes a true pleasure when you are working with inspiring ingredients.

And here is the final rhubarb/mango/red currant/crumble recipe (or is it a crisp?):

INGREDIENTS:
8 servings
* 1/3 of each rhubarb, mango and red currants (ab. 500 grams/18 oz)
* 100 ml caster sugar
* 1 ½ tablespoon potato starch

CRUMBLE MIXTURE:
* 50 grams blanched, skinned almonds
* 150 ml light muscovado sugar
* 100 ml coconut flakes
* 75 ml porridge oats
* 200 ml plain flour
* 150 grams butter

METHOD:
1. Lightly grease a a deep oven proof plate (or a large deep pie plate).
2. Dice mango fruit and cut rhubarb stalks into pieces.
3. In the plate, mix together the rhubarbs, mango, red currants, sugar and potato starch until well covered.
4. Place the almonds into a food processor bowl with knife blade attached.
5. Add muscovado sugar to food processor and pulse until the almonds are ground and incorporated with the muscovado sugar.
6. Add coconut flakes, porridge oats and flour, pulse briefly to blend.
7. Add butter, a few pieces at a time, and when it all looks crumbly, stop food processor.
8. Sprinkle the dough crumble over the top.
9. Bake in lower part of oven, 225°C (= 437 ºF), for 20-25 minutes.

Serve lukewarm as it is ... though, a scoop of vanilla ice cream is always nice and lovely.

What was the Rhubarb Mango Red Currant Crumble like then as compared to ordinary rhubarb crumbles? Perfect. I shall definitely make this crumble again. I have got a winner on my hands. The color and sourness of red currant harmonized nicely with rhubarb. The flavor of the mango disappeared but the color was there as a piquant yellow accent.

There is an issue with my blog...

kirene@spray.se (Karin) — Thu, 28 May 2009 18:46:00 +0000

For some time this blog has been affected by an "Operation aborted message". Internet Explorer will not let you view my older posts.

Hit the Back button if you see this message. Then you should be able to get to and read older posts. They have been working on resolving this bug but it is still a problem. This only affects viewers using Internet Explorer to view the blog.

Update 29th of May:
I have switched my comments form from "Embedded below post" to "Full page". Will it fix the "Operation aborted" problem? Let's hope so.

"Never deprive someone of hope -- it may be all they have."

Fragrant Garlic Roast Beef

kirene@spray.se (Karin) — Sun, 24 May 2009 22:15:00 +0000

Persillade, balsamic vinegar and Chinese soy give this low temperature roasted beef its aromatic flavour. Excellent on the buffet table or served as a first course for dinner. Tastes delicious! Easy to make!

The most difficult task is cutting the roast thinly with a sharp knife. I'm thinking of putting an electric meat slicer on my wish list. I have never been good about keeping my knifes sharp. It's so hard to sharpen them not knowing the proper technique.

How do you like your beef? Rare, medium, or well-done? It's a matter of taste. 52°C/126°F for very rare, 57°C/135°F for medium rare, or 65-75°C/149-167ºF for well done. I like my roast beef rare. As for the health issue, I'm 63 and have been healthy all my life. However, I don't eat red meat very often.

INGREDIENTS:
yield: about 8-10 servings

* 1 kg boneless beef roast (2.2 lbs roughly)
* salt and pepper

MARINADE:
* 1 clove garlic, peeled and pressed through a garlic press
* 100 ml Chinese Soy
* 100 ml balsamic vinegar
* 2 tablespoons persillade

METHOD:
1. Preheat oven to 115°C/240°F.
2. Season liberally on all sides with salt and pepper.
3. Place roast in roasting pan and bake in the oven.
4. When the thermometer reads desired temperature, remove from oven.
5. Let the roast stand about 10 minutes, meanwhile prepare the marinade.
6. Place roast and marinade in a large zip lock plastic bag.
7. Seal and chill at least 12 hours or up to 48 hours, turning roast occasionally.
8. Remove roast from marinade, slice thinly and serve with potato gratin or potato salad.

I made an almond potato salad. The small yellow white, kidney shaped almond potatoes are grown in Northern Scandinavia. It is a mealy potato variety. Best cooked carefully with the skin on. The potato salad recipe doesn't look impressive, but the almond potatoes are flavorful. More flavorful than white potatoes.

*Bring a pot of salted water to a boil.
*Add 1 kg potatoes, and cook on low heat until tender but firm, about 15 minutes.
*Drain, and cool.
*Peel the potatoes.
*Cut into bite-size pieces.
*Place in a large mixing bowl.
*Combine 300 ml mayonnaise, 1 teaspoon finely chopped dill, 1 teaspoon finely chopped parsley, 1 teaspoon finely chopped chives, 1 chopped onion in a bowl.
*Stir until blended.
*Season with salt and pepper to taste.
*Pour mayonnaise mixture over the potatoes and toss to coat evenly.
*Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour.

Persillade is a French mixture of finely minced fresh flat leaved parsley and finely chopped garlic. While in the 1970s it was most often used in making snail butter, it now is being used more extensively in other types of cookery, such as salads, marinades, sauces, chicken, fish, etc.

When flat leaf parsley is available, I can make my own persillade by chopping a bunch, then 1 or 2 garlic cloves, and finally chop them together. I planted flat leaf parsley seeds last week. These seeds can be really difficult to germinate. I soaked the seeds in water 3 days before planting. That should help them germinate quicker. At least, I hope so.

Fried Salt Herring with Onion Sauce

kirene@spray.se (Karin) — Sun, 17 May 2009 23:32:00 +0000

I have been trying to use up a large bucket of salt herring fillets. There were still four herring fillets left after Easter and that was enough for two people as a dinner.

There are various ways of preparing the herring fillets before frying them in butter. Rye flour may be used to coat them, but I prefer double crumbing.

INGREDIENTS:
* 4 soaked, skinned and deboned salt herring fillets
* approx. 100 ml plain flour
* 1 beaten egg
* approx. 100 ml bread crumbs
* 2 tablespoons butter for frying

METHOD:
1. Soak overnight in cold water.
2. Dip the fillets in flour, then the beaten egg, and finally the bread crumbs.
3. Melt butter in a skillet and fry the herring fillets on medium heat until the coating is nicely browned - about 2 minutes on both sides.

Once poor man's food. Now every man's delicacy. Traditionally served with onion sauce and jacket potatoes.

The Onion Sauce:
* 1 large onion, finely chopped
* 2 tablespoons butter
* 2 tablespoons flour
* 400 ml milk
* pinch of black pepper
* ½ teaspoon salt
* 1 teaspoon Chinese soy

METHOD:
1. Heat a skillet and melt butter.
2. Fry the chopped onion until soft and transparent.
3. Sprinkle the flour over and stir until smooth.
4. Add the milk to the mixture - a little at a time, whisking continuously.
5. Bring to a boil and cook 4-5 minutes - stirring constantly.
6. Season with salt, pepper and soy.

Good as salt herring is, it ends in thirst. You need something to drink with this meal. Your body needs water to dilute the salt. However, a light lager beer tastes really great or a glass of cold milk from the refrigerator as well.

Snacks For My Couch Potato

kirene@spray.se (Karin) — Mon, 11 May 2009 00:11:00 +0000

The goddess of fortune and chance has paid me a visit. A couple of weeks ago I won a check for 160 SEK (20 USD) from Candy king! I definitely appreciated this prize.

Recently, Candy king purchased Parrots, Scandinavia's oldest and largest producer of snack foods (nuts, beans, peas, dried and soft fruits), which meant I was able to put together a large candy/snack bag according to need and taste. I didn't know that Candy king had so many varieties of snack packs.

Delicious snacks for my Sunday couch potato who is watching sports all day long on TV! He doesn't care much about the calories:)

A Simple Eggless Cake Recipe

kirene@spray.se (Karin) — Sun, 03 May 2009 22:38:00 +0000

I love that this cake is so simple to do. Five easily accessible ingredients and you have got everything you need for simple, delicious and eggless cake layers.

This pastry reminds me of the so called "Pariservåfflor" (Paris waffles or French Waffles) which my father used to purchase in the village pastry in the 1950's, although I don't think they were yeast leavened. I remember them being filled with butter icing and dusted with icing sugar. Very crisp and flaky they were.

To roll this dough out as thin as you can, roll between two layers of cling film (or parchment paper).

DOUGH INGREDIENTS:
* 150 grams flour
* 125 grams butter
* 75 ml cream
* ½ teaspoon regular fresh yeast (2 ½ grams)

* approx. 100 ml caster sugar

METHOD:
1. Work together half the flour with all the butter.
2. Dissolve yeast in cream and add yeast with cream + remaining flour.
3. When everything is well combined, roll the dough out very thinly.
4. Using a cake plate as aid, cut out 2 thin rounds.
5. Transfer dough rounds to greased baking sheets.
6. Roughly prick each round with a fork.
7. Sprinkle caster sugar evenly on top of each round.
8. Bake! Bubbly! Brittle! 200°C = 392ºF - 12-15 minutes.

Spread sweetened whipped cream between the two layers.

Cream filling of this cake:
* 200-300 ml heavy cream, whipped hard, then combined with 2-3 tablespoons Punsch. See my previous blog post where I mention Swedish Punsch: What to do with failed sponge cake. Whipped cream flavored with Punsch adds another dimension of flavor to the cake. But sweetened whipped cream is not necessary. It is delicious as it is filled with plain whipped cream.

To look more attractive, you can decorate the cake however you please. I simply used a cookie cutter and a light dusting of icing sugar to create a star. Too much icing sugar will cause the cake to become too sweet - which would be a shame.

Classic Swedish Pizza Salad

kirene@spray.se (Karin) — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 23:00:00 +0000

The first pizzerias in Sweden were owned by immigrants. Most Swedish pizzerias are still owned and run by people born in other countries. So, pizza salad is not at all a Swedish invention. It was immigrants who gave us this raw green cabbage salad. Now it can be found in every dining place where they sell pizzas in Sweden.

Pizza salad has a sourish flavour. It is well known that sour things provoke appetite. But it also serves the purpose of keeping the guest occupied while waiting for the pizza to cook. Order your pizza, go to the salad bar, take a plate, pile it up with pizza salad, and eat it as a healthy and tasty side dish. It's usually free.

Here's an excellent cabbage salad recipe to try at home.
INGREDIENTS:
* 500 grams/1 lb cabbage, very finely shredded
* 5 teaspoons white wine vinegar
* 5 teaspoons vegetable oil
* 2 tablespoons sugar
* 1 teaspoon salt
* ½ teaspoon black pepper
* ½ teaspoon oregano (optional)
* ½ teaspoon basil (optional)

METHOD:
1. Combine vinegar, oil, sugar, salt, pepper, oregano and basil.
2. Place the cabbage in a large bowl and pour the dressing over.
3. Using clean hands, squeeze and knead the cabbage well to release juices.
4. Do a taste test and adjust the flavor to your liking.
5. Put a heavy bowl on top of the salad and weigh it down.
6. Leave the salad to rest overnight in the refrigerator.

I usually make a bigger batch than I have written up here because this cabbage salad makes a marvelous accompaniment to other dishes too. It keeps perfectly for up to 5-6 days in the fridge. When the salad starts to smell like an old scouring cloth, it's time to throw it away.

Here's another take on a pizza salad that I use. A cabbage salad with carrot, paprika and onion.
Pizza Salad

What To Do With Failed Sponge Cake...

kirene@spray.se (Karin) — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 01:00:00 +0000

Are there fail-proof sponge cake recipes? I don't think so. There are an unlimited number of reasons why we may fail, and we all have had our fair share of failures, I guess. Mine was stuck to bottom because I did not grease and flour the bottom of the pan enough.

But wait! Read this post before you throw away a cake.

You can make Chocolate Dipped Marzipan Rolls that look like old vintage vacuum cleaners. Small oblong pastries covered with neon green marzipan. The ends are dipped in melted chocolate, and inside there is a mix of cookie or cake crumbs, punsch/punch (Swedish Arrack liqueur), butter, and chocolate.

These pastries are called "Dammsugare" (vacuum cleaners) in Swedish. Also known as "Punschrullar" (Punsch-rolls). IKEA's Swedish Food Market sells "Punsch Rolls". It's a product packed with many E-numbers and synthetic ingredients.

Working with marzipan is difficult. I didn’t feel like rolling out marzipan. These balls are the result of my failure. They are similar in appearance to Swedish Chocolate Balls.

The recipe yield: 20 balls. You can make the batter by hand using a spoon or do all the mixing in a food processor.

INGREDIENTS:
* 220 grams sponge cake
* 2 tablespoons Swedish Punsch
* 50 grams very soft butter
* 50 grams almond paste, finely grated
* 50 grams dark chocolate, melted
* a plate with chocolate sprinkles

METHOD:
1. Place sponge cake pieces into the bowl of a food processor.
2. Process to form fine crumbs.
3. Mix the crumbs with punsch, butter, grated almond paste, and melted chocolate.
4. Stir well to combine everything into a smooth mixture.
5. Form balls and roll them in sprinkles.

Really fun no-bake pastries to experiment with because Punsch is hard to find outside Scandinavia. This classic Swedish alcoholic beverage has no direct substitute. It's characterized by its yellow color, sweetness, and flavor of arrack, which is similar in flavor to amber rum.

Do you have any other ideas for flavor? If so, I am very interested to know. What would you do with a failed sponge cake?

Long ago (before 1840-50), people used to make their own punsch. How? Well, it's a pity, but I have lost an old pharmacist's recipe. I can't find that recipe any more. I may have thrown it away.

It was something like this:
* Brew a perfect pot of tea (Earl Grey), one spoon for each cup and one for the pot.
* Remove the tea-leaves.
* Add sugar until the tea starts to become much too sweet to drink (more than equal volume of sugar).
* Let it cool to room-temperature.
* Add a small amount of lemon juice, or a small bottle of Rhine wine (37,5 cl), 1 liter of vodka, and finally 35 cl arrack (Batavia-Arrack).
* Pour into resealable bottles.
* Rest for at least a couple of weeks.

You could try to order Punsch online from an online store and have it shipped, but I don't know if it can be shipped to the United States for customs reasons.

"Systembolaget" (the Swedish Alcohol Retail Monopoly) sells seven different brands of Punsch with varying sweetness and arrack flavor. The sugar content may vary from 231 to 288 grams/liter.

Soft Bread Baked with Soft Whey Butter

kirene@spray.se (Karin) — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 23:52:00 +0000

"Fjällbrynt Messmör" ("mountain browned soft whey butter") is a typical Swedish product made from cow's milk whey. There’s more than one variety to choose from: Original, Classic, Old-fashioned, or Light.

Depending on the boiling time, colors may vary from light yellow brown to dark toffee brown. Consistency-wise, it is almost as thick as peanut butter but not that well known outside Sweden. People, who come from foreign countries, usually find "messmör" too weird to eat.

It is sweet but approximately 90% of the carbohydrates come from milk sugar, which is naturally present in whey. Lactose (milk sugar) is much less sweet than plant sugar, and the carbohydrates in milk sugar are absorbed into the bloodstream more slowly than sugar carbohydrates.

"Messmör" is not fat (between 2 and 6 g/100 g depending on the variety). It is free from artificial colors, stabilisers, and preservatives. But there are plenty of vitamins, calcium and iron. Cheap as well as healthy. Its primary use is as a sandwich spread but I use "messmör" in bread baking.

This is a bread for feast, soups or salads. It can make the simplest meal into a fancy meal. Simply the best bread I have ever made at home.

INGREDIENTS:
* 100 ml barley grains or crushed barley
* 400 ml milk
* 50 grams fresh yeast
* 1 ½ teaspoon salt
* 100 ml "messmör" (soft whey butter)
* 1 egg
* approx. 7 dl high-protein wheat flour

METHOD:
- Bring milk and barley to the boil, stirring constantly.

- Remove from heat, cover the saucepan, allow the mixture to cool to 37°.

- Crumble the yeast into a bowl and add the barley mixture.

- Stir until the yeast has dissolved.

- Add salt, "messmör", egg, and stir well.

- Then begin adding flour slowly, mixing and kneading until you have a slightly sticky dough. You can do it by hand for 10 minutes, or use a food processor for 5 minutes.

- Cover the dough and let it rise for 30 minutes.

- Turn the dough out onto a floured surface, knead it well.

- Divide dough into 28 equal portions.

- Roll each of the portions into small oblong shaped buns.

- Place them on greased baking sheets.

- Make three deep slits with a pair of scissors on top of each bun.

- Let them rise for 25 minutes.

- Bake in preheated oven, 250°C for ab. 8 minutes (convection oven, 225°C ab. 9 minutes.

- Brush the buns with cold water. Cool on rack.

A classic Swedish three course dinner usually includes bread, served on small bread-and butter-plates on the left up side of the service plate. When the first course is finished, it is removed.

Now, I'm going to turn off my computer. There are other things going on in my life right now. See you on Monday the 20th of April.

Two Foolproof Swedish Herring Recipes

kirene@spray.se (Karin) — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 01:57:00 +0000

Easter is approaching and it is time to start thinking about Easter food. Our Swedish Easter 'smorgasbord' would not be complete without at least a couple of herring dishes.

Two days ago, I purchased a large bucket of salt herring fillets. Once soaked, the fillets can be prepared in so many ways. I usually make a lot of pickled herring because it will keep up to two weeks refrigerated.

Swedish recipes call for 'ättiksprit' - a special kind of vinegar. Not the kind you use in salad dressings. It's very important to use distilled white vinegar, acidity 12 percent, to inhibit bacterial growth.

Foolproof Swedish Pickled Herring Recipe

INGREDIENTS
* 8 salt herring fillets
* 100 ml distilled white vinegar (12 %)
* 200 ml sugar
* 300 ml water
* 2 red onions, peeled and sliced
* 1 teaspoon allspice berries, crushed
* 1 bay leaf
* dill sprigs

METHOD
1. Soak the herring fillets in plenty of water overnight.
2. Bring white distilled vinegar, sugar and water to the boil.
3. Remove from stove and cool the liquid.
4. Add red onion, allspice, dill sprigs, and bay leaf.
5. Wipe the herring fillets dry before cutting them into chunks (15 mm or 0.6").
6. Put the herring chunks into a large glass jar.
7. Pour over the cooled liquid.
8. Keep in a cool place for 24 hours before serving.

Enjoy with rye bread and hard boiled eggs.

Next recipe comes from a famous restaurant in Svanberga, Norrtälje, near Stockholm.

Svanberga Herring

INGREDIENTS:
* pickled herring chunks

SAUCE:
* 200 ml mayonnaise
* 100 ml cream
* 50 ml sieved herring pickling liquid
* 5 tbsp Kalle’s Caviar (a mild smoked Swedish caviar from Abba Seafood)
* ½ tsp lemon pepper seasoning
* 2 tsp sugar
* 20 drops of Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce
* 2 bunches of fresh dill, chopped
* 15 - 20 cm of leek (approx. 7-8"), finely chopped
* 1 red onion, finely chopped

METHOD
1. Wipe the pickled herring dry between paper towels.
2. Sieve 50 ml of the herring pickling liquid.
3. Mix all the ingredients and chill for 24 hours before serving.

A frequently asked question:
How long would Svanberga Herring keep in the fridge?
Answer: It will last no more than 3-4 days covered in the fridge.

Swedish Limpa Bread & Scalded Rye Bread

kirene@spray.se (Karin) — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 11:01:00 +0000

I am often asked for a recipe of Swedish 'Limpa' Bread. I don't think many of you blog readers are familiar with this bread. Most of you don't know what it is, or what it looks like.

If I sent my husband shopping to get 'limpa', this is the bread that he would arrive home with:

Simply a rather sweet log shaped type of rye bread.It is not the kind of bread I would eat every day although I grew up on 'limpa'. The most commonly used flour in this bread is a Swedish flour called 'rågsikt' - a mixture of 40% sifted rye flour and 60% sifted wheat flour. You can probably make your own 'rågsikt' as a substitute ... I guess.

This is the most simple and basic recipe I can find for Swedish 'limpa' Bread. Freshly baked, it tastes almost identical to store-bought. Sometimes it is flavored with special bread spices (fennel, anise, cumin and/or bitter orange peel). Homemade 'limpa' dries out more quickly than store-bought. It will not stay soft for long because it is not filled with preservatives.

INGREDIENTS:
* 350 ml water
* 50 grams yeast
* 100 ml syrup (molasses)
* 2 teaspoons salt
* 25 grams butter, melted
* 1 tablespoon white distilled vinegar
* 4 dl 'rågsikt' flour
* 4-6 dl wheat flour

METHOD:
- Dissolve yeast in lukewarm water.

- Add syrup (molasses), butter, salt, white distilled vinegar, 'rågsikt' flour and wheat flour.

- Beat on low speed in food processor for about 1 minute.

- Increase speed to high, beat 3-5 minutes.

- Cover and let rise in a warm place about 45 minutes.

- Turn dough out onto a floured surface.

- Knead in enough of wheat flour to make a smooth and elastic dough.

- Shape dough into 2 small loaves,

- Put them into greased standard bread loaf pans.

- Let rise, covered, in a warm place for 30 to 40 minutes.

- Prick with a fork in several places and bake at 225 °C (= 437 °F) for 15 minutes,

- Decrease the oven temperature to 175 °C (= 347 °F) and bake for 15-20 minutes. (Set the timer for 15 minutes and check for doneness. They are done when a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaves comes out almost clean).

- Remove from loaf pans and cool on wire rack, covered with a clean towel.

Note: If desired, brush tops of loaves with hot water mixed with syrup three or four times times during baking. The glaze produces a nice brown, slightly crunchy crust.

You can use this bread to make long open sandwiches with different toppings. These sandwiches were the standard fare in the 60s and 70s. Ideal for bridal or baby showers. Although they cannot be made too many hours ahead of time. Starter, main course, and dessert - all-in-one sandwich. You eat it with fork and knife.

Slice the bread lengthwise in rather thin layers. Spread with butter (or mayonnaise), decorate with slices of smoked or 'gravad' salmon, herring, hard boiled egg, roast beef, ham, cheese, liver pâté, cucumber, tomato wedge, peeled shrimps, a dollop of Skagen Mix, asparagus, bits of pineapple, olive, paprika, leaf salad, leek, parsley... just about every topping will match. Almost anything goes...

Scalded Rye Bread
Scalded 'limpa' bread stays fresh for long. Don't be put off by the amount of time it takes.

INGREDIENTS:
Day 1
1 liter boiling water
1 liter whole grain (coarse) rye flour
1 tablespoon caraway seeds

Day 2
25 grams fresh yeast
200 ml lukewarm water

Day 4
25 grams fresh yeast
200 ml water
1 tablespoon salt
100 ml dark syrup (molasses)
1 ½ liter 'rågsikt' (sifted rye and wheat flour - 40% rye and 60% wheat)
300-500 ml plain wheat flour

METHOD:
Day 1
- Put the rye flour in a large bowl (do not use copper, iron or aluminum bowls).

- Scald the rye flour with boiling water and mix well.

- Cover and let rest at room temperature for about 24 hours.

Day 2
- Dissolve the yeast in lukewarm water, add to dough and mix well.

- Cover and let rest for about 48 hours.

- Stir the the mixture 2- 3 times a day.

Day 4.
- Dissolve yeast in lukewarm water, add to the dough together with salt, syrup (molasses), 'rågsikt' flour, and plain wheat flour - more or less as necessary to get a dough.

- Cover with a clean dish towel or cling film and let it rise 40 minutes or more.

- Turn out the sticky dough on a floured surface.

- Punch it down and knead for 5-20 minutes. Add more wheat flour if needed.

- Form 3 loaves, arrange them in bread loaf pans and bake in preheated oven at 250°C (=482 °F) for about 10 minutes.

- Decrease the oven temperature to 175 °C (= 347 °F) and bake for about 40 minutes more.

- Despite the temptation to taste test the bread, allow it to rest for 24 hours after baking.

These two recipes are based on Swedish flours. Flour in other countries with similar specifications as flour in Sweden may respond differently when used. This does not mean that Swedish 'limpa' bread is out of reach outside of Sweden. Though identical results may sometimes be difficult to recreate.

Rye flour haven't the same ability to generate gluten, and therefore the dough can be difficult to work with. It will never clean your hands but don't add too much flour. You should be able to knead the dough and form the loaves without over flouring if you moisten your hands with oil.

Homemade Energy Drink

kirene@spray.se (Karin) — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 09:00:00 +0000

Although I believe that most store bought energy drinks can be safe to drink if used in moderation, I have tried to make my own. A not-so-sweet barley water beverage, loaded with good ingredients and an alternative for pre- and post-workout consumption. It helps prevent drowsiness and can be drunk in any situation - at work, at school, whilst car driving, or at home with a meal.

INGREDIENTS:
* 50 ml barley grain
* 1200 ml water
* 50 grams ginger, peeled and sliced
* 2 lemons, juice and zest
* 50 ml honey
* ½ teaspoon salt (optional)

METHOD:
1. Place the barley and water into a saucepan, cover, and bring to a boil.
2. Once the barley comes to a boil, simmer for 15 minutes.
3. While the liquid is simmering, grate lemon zest and squeeze juice.
4. Add the ginger slices and lemon zest, and simmer for 15 minutes more.
5. After 30 minutes, strain the liquid through a fine mesh strainer.
6. Add 50 ml honey, 100 ml lemon juice, and salt if you desire.
7. Stir to combine and refrigerate until chilled.

Will keep up to 7 days in the refrigerator.

Some Benefits of this Drink
* Honey is fat free, cholesterol free, and an instant energy booster.
* Ginger is wonderful for soothing muscle pain.
* Lemons boost your immune system because they are rich in vitamin C. They can also help restore the acid-alkali balance (pH) of the human body.
* Since ancient times, barley water has been used for medicinal purposes. It is a good source of natural fiber that has cardiovascular benefits. Barley contains antioxidants, and is a great source of magnesium.
* Shortage of salt will only affect those who sweat a great deal due to manual labour, or because of continuous exercise.

I am expecting to receive samples of new types of beverages any day. They will come from a Swedish company called Vitamin Well.

What I know is that these bottles contain non-carbonated beverages enriched with vitamins, minerals, and amino acids. They have a low amount of sugar. Their names are Recovery, Everyday, Defence, Care, and Focus. The last-mentioned contains L-theanine (100 mg) and caffeine (74 mg).

Drinking too much of caffeine loaded energy drinks is probably very bad for the health. Red Bull may "give you wings" but perhaps not the kind of wings you want. In countries like Norway, Red Bull is not sold in stores because people have died after consuming it. They can have very bad side effects if you mix them with alcohol. Drinking large amounts quickly after a hard session at the gym can be dangerous for the heart.

The reported lethal dose of caffeine is very high. It is said to be about 150-200 mg/kg body mass. However, several energy drinks contain many other ingredients. Taurine for instance. Potential interactions between taurine and caffeine have been investigated but there is very little information available for risk assessment at high intakes.

Chicken Salad with Spicy Tex-Mex Sauce

kirene@spray.se (Karin) — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 09:00:00 +0000

It doesn't happen very often that I get food samples for free, but last week I received two full-size food products free of charge with no obligations what so ever! I look forward to receiving more products. I enjoy eating almost everything (except lamb).

Well, I suppose the company who sent me these parcels wants me to become a paying customer of these products. No problem. I already am.

I used this can of corn and the spice mix in the following recipes:

This salad is so good to eat by itself. It's my favorite chicken salad (my husband's too). And what's more, it counts towards the recommended 5-9 servings of colorful fruits and vegetables a day. Just red, green and yellow - but it is at least 5.

INGREDIENTS:
* 250 gr chopped, cooked chicken meat
* 198 gr canned Green Giant® Naturally Sweet Corn, drained
* 1 small head green leaf lettuce, rinsed, dried, and chopped
* ½ cucumber, sliced and chopped
* 2 tomatoes, chopped
* 2 hard boiled eggs, chopped
* 200 ml pineapple chunks
* 100 grams of cubed cheese

I usually serve this salad with Rhode Island Sauce or Mango Hot Sauce.

But..... there's nothing like change!

TEX-MEX SAUCE:
* 200 ml of low fat yogurt
* ½-1 tablespoon Old El Paso® Spice Mix for Fajitas
* 2 tablespoons Heinz Chili Sauce
* 1-2 tablespoons lime juice
* ½-1 teaspoon finely grated lime zest

Mix together yogurt, Fajitas Spice Mix , Chili Sauce, lime juice, and zest. Taste test the sauce before it is served to see what you think it needs.

I don't mix the salad and the sauce. I put the sauce on the salad ingredients on my plate when I am ready to eat. That way I can save the salad for leftovers. Otherwise, the cubed cheese will get rather soggy if kept overnight.

Right now, we are only two people in our household. We had enough leftovers for one more meal.

Chocolate Cake Baked with Crushed Pineapples

kirene@spray.se (Karin) — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 10:42:00 +0000

I sometimes wish I lived in a climate where really fresh fruit is available all year around. It is so hard to find certain fruits at peak ripeness when you live in a country with very long, cold winters.

Canned fruit is, of course, an alternative. Always in season. The quality is good. I know what I am getting when I purchase a jar of pineapples.

Crushed Pineapple (in Its Own Juice) is not too sweet and adds a tangy flavor to this chocolate cake.

Here's the cake warm right out of the oven:

INGREDIENTS:

* 2 eggs
* 3 dl/300 ml sugar
* 100 grams melted butter
* 5 dl/500 ml plain flour
* 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
* 1 teaspoon baking powder
* 3 tablespoons cacao powder
* 2 dl/200 ml crushed pineapple

* 1 greased round baking tin pan, approx. 23-24 cm diameter, with a removable base.

METHOD:
1. Set the oven on 175°(350 °F).
2. Put flour, cacao powder, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and baking powder in a bowl.
3. Using a wooden spoon, stir lightly.
4. Beat the eggs and sugar in a separate bowl until white and thick.
5. Gently stir flour mixture into the egg mixture by hand, just until flour mixture disappears.
6. Gently stir melted butter and crushed pineapple into the batter.
7. Scrape the batter into the baking tin pan and bake in the middle of the oven for 55-60 minutes. Use a toothpick to check. It should come out clean.

The cake rose high and even in the oven but it never threatened to overflow.

Hmm... I have not quite decided what to do when the cake is cool. Eat it plain? Coat it in frosting? Add filling or cream? Right now I’m suffering from slight decision agony:).

I have a combo jam in the fridge which I made a couple of days ago. Canned peaches and leftover pineapple slices were used. I cut the fruit into small chunks, and I simply added freshly squeezed lime juice and half as much sugar as fruit. Left it in the fridge over night to allow the sugar to dissolve. The next day I boiled the mixture until setting point was reached.

Fresh pineapple cannot be used in gelatin or jam recipes because of an enzyme called "bromelain". However, canned pineapples are heat-treated. The heat process changes the shape of this enzyme. So, canned pineapple works very well in recipes where you want a set or spreadable consistency.

Sweet, Sour, Salty & Spicy Carrot Salad Recipe

kirene@spray.se (Karin) — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 12:27:00 +0000

Most people who have visited Thailand have eaten a sweet, sour, salty and spicy "som tam" - a raw papaya salad with a spicy seasoning. Green papaya is the base of the salad which is sliced into julienne strips and then pounded.

Unfortunately, Asian papaya is not available where I live. The papayas found in my supermarket are mostly from South America. They are green looking but yellow and ripe on the inside. So, they have to be substituted when I make this salad at home.

Thus, it is not a genuine Thai recipe ... more like an Asian inspired carrot salad - but I don't care as long as it tastes good.

INGREDIENTS:
Serves 4
* 250 grams carrots, peeled and roughly grated
* 1-2 chili peppers, (get rid of the seeds and chop finely)
* 2 cloves of garlic
* 2 tomatoes (1 chopped, 1 cut in wedges)
* 2 tablespoons Asian Fish Sauce
* 2 tablespoons sugar
* 1 lime, zest and juice
* 75 grams haricot verts, blanched
* 2 tablespoons cashew nuts, roughly chopped

METHOD:
1. Use a pestle and mortar to crush chili peppers and garlic.
2. Add the chopped tomato and crush it too.
3. Then mix everything with fish sauce, lemon juice, zest, and sugar.
4. Arrange carrots, haricot verts, tomato wedges, and nuts on a serving platter.
5. Pour the sauce over the vegetables and toss to blend.
6. Do a taste test, if it's not sweet enough, add a little more sugar, if it's not salty enough, add a little more fish sauce ...

The salad is best served at room temperature. It's a perfect side dish for grilled meat skewers and sticky rice.

Note: Haricots verts are also known as green beans, string beans and snap beans.

Homemade Roe Deer Paté

kirene@spray.se (Karin) — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 10:08:00 +0000

Looking out of the window in the mornings (or in the afternoons), seeing small graceful roe deers sounds very idyllic. However, they are relatively unafraid of people, and eat and destroy most garden plants. There is nothing much you can do about that. Hunting is permitted only in the wilderness, and can take place only when it is legally permitted. Roe deers are widely hunted for their fine-grained meat.

Occasionally, I am able to get roe deer meat from a friend who is a landowner. He is also a very good hunter. Generally he never keeps the ribs because it is such a trouble to get the meat from the bones.

This is a method I use for a part of the roe deer some hunters ignore:

To get the ribs edible, it is a good idea to boil them until the meat easily falls from the bones. Then I grind the cooked roe deer meat, blend the meat with other ingredients and make a baked paté.

It is a type of food that is considered "gourmet food." A Roe Deer Paté can get rather pricey at restaurants.

INGREDIENTS:
* 500 grams cooked roe deer meat
* 500 g ground meat (70% beef och 30 % pork)
* 1 onion
* 3 cloves garlic, pressed
* 2 teaspoons salt
* 1 teaspoon black pepper
* 1 teaspoon marjoram
* 3 tablespoons flour
* 3 eggs
* 300 ml cream + 100 ml milk
* 100 ml finely chopped leek (the green part of the leek)

METHOD:
1. Start by grinding the cooked roe deer meat, then grind the onion.
2. Blend in ground beef/pork, garlic, spices and flour.
3. Stir down one egg at the time and add the cream-milk mixture.
4. Mix everything well and blend in the chopped leek.
6. Taste test the batter by frying a little of it in a frying pan.
7. Pack the meat mixture into a large greased loaf shaped pan.
8. Bake in the lower part of the oven at 175°C/347°F for approximately 60-90 minutes, or until an instant-read thermometer registers 70°C/160°F.
9. Remove from the oven and let the paté cool in the pan.

Keep it cool until served. Slice, arrange on plates, and serve as an entree.

Paté is usually served with Cumberland Sauce but I prefer to serve it with pickled cucumber (cornichons) and a dollop of garlic creme fraiche sauce. It can also be eaten warm because a warm paté of ground meat is nothing but a version of a traditional meat loaf.

Cloudberry Pie

kirene@spray.se (Karin) — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 10:26:00 +0000

This is an "open-faced" pie. Swedish pies are seldom covered with pastry.

It became very sweet, so I served it with James Martin's Lemon Posset which is similar to panna cotta. However, no gelatin is needed to stabilise a posset. You will only need three simple ingredients: Cream, sugar and lemons. The acid of the lemon juice starts off a chemical reaction in the cream - it acts on the casein. This causes the posset to set when it is chilled in the fridge.

Super easy and delicious! You should try it sometime.

INGREDIENTS:
10 servings

DOUGH:
* 150 grams softened butter
* 5 tablespoons sugar
* 5 tablespoons dry vanilla custard powder*
* 1 teaspoon baking powder
* 1 teaspoon vanilla sugar
* 2 1/2 dl (250 ml) flour

FILLING:
* 5 dl cloudberry preserve

METHOD:
1. Preheat oven to 175°C (= 347°F)
2. Grease a pie dish (ø 24 cm) with high sides.
3. Combine all the dough ingredients and mix thoroughly.
4. Using your hands, press dough evenly into the pie dish to cover the bottom and sides.
5. Fill the unbaked pie shell with the preserve.
6. Bake in the middle of the oven for 20-25 minutes.

* Ekströms® is the only vanilla custard powder I can find. It is based on starch that has been coloured with beta carotene and flavoured with vanilla. There is no sugar added to this brand. When cooked with milk and sugar, it produces a vanilla custard or a vanilla sauce. I suppose there are similar brands that would be fine and work as well as a substitute.

An Old-time Homemade Cough Syrup

kirene@spray.se (Karin) — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 00:53:00 +0000

I can't say I'm totally taken by surprise. The flu has been running high around us for some time. Now I am down with that "near-death experience".

The first days of an influenza infection are the worst. You are not able to do anything at all because you feel so bad. So, I've been in bed with high fever, a runny nose, a sore throat, aching muscles, headache, weakness and a terrible cough. I woke up feeling a little better this morning but I have very irritated intercostal muscles from all the coughing.

I wish I had a bottle of spruce shoot syrup right now. It's an old-time Sámi speciality. Easy to prepare but takes a long time. Spruce shoot syrup is a good alternative to over-the-counter cough syrups. Bromhexin did little (if anything) to relieve my cough.

Here is the recipe:

METHOD:
* When spring comes, pick pale green, fresh and soft spruce shoots.
* Pack them tightly in a rather large glass jar.
* Then add alcohol on top to cover the packed spruce shoots.
* Seal with a screw lid and tape to prevent leaks.
* Let the jar stand in a window for ab. 1 week.
* You need to turn and shake the jar every day.
* Then place it in a cool dark place for 8-12 months.
* Finally sieve the syrup and add honey until it tastes bitter-sweet.

Standard dosage: 2-3 tablespoons daily.

Note: Not suitable for children, pregnant women, or people with kidney problems. Spruce shoots contain resin. It is not poisonous, but better be safe than sorry. A salve made from spruce resin has traditionally been used by the Sámi people as an effective healing of wounds. Spruce resin is one of the main ingredients of the famous Swedish Bee-Salve.

My Last Minute Gift - Blueberry & Black Currant Jam

kirene@spray.se (Karin) — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 13:26:00 +0000

Norwegian food is different in several ways from Swedish food. They have "lompe" (a thin potato pancake), "lefse" (another potato pancake), "hvalbiff" (steak of whale meat), "lapskaus" (a beef stew), "karbonader" (Norwegian burgers), "kjøttkaker" (much bigger meatballs than my meatballs), "fiskekaker" (fish cakes), "fiskepudding" (fish pudding), and "fiskeboller" (fish balls.)

This weekend a friend from Norway and her family came to visit us. Breakfast for them is sliced and buttered bread topped with cheese and jam. For some reason I do not like my bread topped with sweet jams but I made an exception this time.

So, I decided to make blueberry and black currant jam .... and then gave it all away to my Norwegian friends. (So far, I haven't managed to eat all of my summer berry treasures. Most of what I picked went into the freezer for later use.)

INGREDIENTS:
* 1,25 dl water
* 700 grams sugar
* 1/2 cinnamon stick
* 600 grams under-ripe black currants
* 600 grams ripe-firm blueberries

METHOD:
1. In a stainless steel saucepan bring water, sugar and cinnamon stick to a boil.
2. Stir to dissolve the sugar.
3. Add the black currants and blueberries to the saucepan.
4. Cook over medium heat 15-20 minutes, shaking the saucepan gently.
5. Skim off any foam and remove the cinnamon stick.
6. Pour jam into clean, small, pasteurized jars ("bake" the jars and lids in the oven above 100°C for 15-20 minutes.)
7. Cover the filled jars with lids and put them upside down. (Turning the jars upside down is a great way to store jams. A vacuum is created at the bottom and there will be no leaks for air to get in.)

Usually blueberry jams (and preserves) are too runny. Black currant jams seldom are. So, the two together are such a wonderful combination. Jam setting pectin occurs naturally in berries, but in varying quantities. There are plenty of pectin in currants. However, sufficient acid must also be present for thickening. Blueberries lack the acid that makes jams to thicken.

Acidic berries such as blackcurrants can take an extra amount of sugar and the jam can remain in the jars in the refrigerator for months without getting moldy. In a high enough concentration, sugar is the best natural preservative. It prevents growth of bacteria and mold.

False Piccata

kirene@spray.se (Karin) — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 12:00:00 +0000

Grocery stores in Sweden usually have sales on their Christmas hams after Christmas and prices are considerably reduced. So I bought a big one last week.

First, I removed the net from the ham and trimmed off the fat. Then I sliced the ham up into serving slices, wrapped them in aluminum foil and placed the packages in the freezer. I'm not going to keep the ham frozen until next Christmas. These slices can be used in a number of different other ways.

Here is a recipe which I have named False Piccata. It has very little to do with the original authentic Italian dish 'Piccata Milanese', and modern recipes of Piccata usually refer to thin, breaded cutlets of chicken, turkey or veal served with a lemony sauce.

This recipe involves a messy Parmesan breading but it is worth it.

INGREDIENTS:

2-3 servings
* 250 -300 grams cooked, sliced Christmas ham, not too thin slices though

PARMESAN BREADING:
* 5 tablespoons plain flour
* 2 eggs
* 1 ½ dl (150 ml) Parmesan cheese, finely grated
* ½ - 1 teaspoon paprika powder
* 2 ½ tablespoon water
* ½ teaspoon black pepper

METHOD:
1. Break the eggs into a bowl and whisk them thoroughly with the cheese, spices and water.
2. Set the batter aside and allow to set for a couple of minutes.
3. Dredge a ham slice in the flour, shaking off the excess - make sure it's coated all over.
4. Then dip it into the Parmesan batter.
5. Repeat with the remaining ham slices - make sure that every inch of the ham slice is covered with Parmesan batter.
6. Heat a small amount of butter in a skillet (preferably non-stick) over medium-high heat.
7. Carefully place breaded ham slices into the frying pan and fry on both sides until golden brown. This will only take a minute or two.

False Piccata can be served with rice, pasta, fried or mashed potatoes, and a sauce of your choice. The red sauce on the picture is a spicy "tomato concassé.

*"Piccata" derives from the Vulgar Latin "piccare," meaning "to pierce". Dishes named Piccata relate to the way lean meats (veal, for instance) once were prepared. Fat was threaded into the meat with a larding needle before cooking. There are some other theories of the origin of the Italian word "Piccata" too (which I don't believe in.)

5-Minute Herring Recipe

kirene@spray.se (Karin) — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 00:45:00 +0000

I have lost my appetite to eat due to a hectic Christmas holiday and would prefer not to eat at all if that had been an option. It has been far too many large dinner parties with friends and relatives. Way too many people have been staying with us for several weeks.

So, I'm much more in the mood for things that are simple and don't require a lot of thought.

This recipe suited my needs yesterday because I love herring! I have not eaten herring since Midsummer 2008.

INGREDIENTS:
Serves 2-3

* 2 matjes herring fillets (cured)
* 1 small leek, trimmed and washed well
* 200 ml crème fraiche
* 1 tablespoon Heinz Chili Sauce, or to taste
* salt and pepper

METHOD:
1. Drain the herring and cut in serving pieces.
2. Finely shred leek.
3. Combine herring, leek, crème fraiche and chili sauce.
4. Salt and pepper to taste.

Fits perfectly with some simple boiled potatoes.

Other cheap and quick meal ideas would be much appreciated.

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