Location, location, location!

I have always wanted to open my own cafe selling my baked stuff, desserts, snacks and maybe some simple meals.  Since I don't have a job here, and I don't want to go back to teaching, I thought the time is perfect to start one here.  Pete and I have spent a lot of time discussing our potential business and boy, are there lots to talk about.  We have sort of decided on selling popular food from home such as curry puffs, samosa, roti john and chicken rice.  But I am also not counting out selling just baked goods such as cakes, cupcakes, cookies, scones and pies.  The pastries that are sold here are very different from what I am thinking of selling so we might carve out a niche for ourselves.

Before we can proceed, however, we have to find a location.  Once we find one, we can then confirm other factors such as the menu and budget.  Since I am quite flexible about the food that I want to cook, we are open to many different types of locations.  We have taken into account food courts, cafes and even food wagons.  Pete has been busy calling and emailing property agents and management of malls and other locations.  So far, the places we are interested in, such as a popular mall nearby, has not replied or they have no available places.  Some of these people have also been on vacation so we have to wait a few more weeks for their reply.

So far, we have only been to two locations.  The first one was a small cafe near a park, but when we got there, the owner had a change of heart and decided to keep it.  I actually like this place since the rent was not so high and the location is good.  The park is a popular one and the cafe is quite visible from the inside.  But too bad it didn't work out.

Today we checked out the second one.  It is a bigger place, 130 square metres and used to be a restaurant selling steak, burgers and beers.  We were early and had time to check out the neighbourhood.  Apart from a small bakery that sells only bread and sandwiches across the street and a pizzeria about 100m away, there were no other places selling food.  When the property agents came and opened the door, we walked into a small dining area, enough for maybe 16 seats.  The kitchen at the back is big enough for stoves, ovens, fryers and even an island in the middle.  There is even a basement area below with space for a lounge and storage.

I do like the seating area and the kitchen but I think the extra space in the basement is a waste of money since I don't think we would be using that a lot.  Also, because of the space, the rent is higher than we can afford.  Even though the street in front of the cafe is busy with vehicles and foot traffic, the rent is way too high.  We would need to attract a lot of customers and price the food higher to be able to make a profit.  Looking at the old menu that was stuck on the wall, it seems like the previous tenant had to do the same.

Also, we would need to do a lot of renovating.  The walls were an ugly shade of green with heavy, dark wooden panelling and the kitchen is dirty and had no equipment left, except for a small sink.  To make the cafe look modern and welcoming, we would need to spend a lot, not only on the dining area and kitchen, we would also need to neaten up the lounge and pantry.

So, although I do love the location, the rent and the cost of renovation are just too high.  The search continues.        

i {heart} cooking

I have always loved to cook.  It makes me happy to think about new recipe ideas from the countless cooking shows that I love to watch.  I enjoy planning menus and shopping for ingredients.  I also enjoy challenging myself to whip up something that only uses the stuff I already have in the pantry.  And it gives me a huge sense of achievement when I cook something that can be turned to something totally different the next day.  One successful example is when I cooked beef stew and then used the beef to make a pie the next day. 

Having to cook lunch and dinner daily(before the start of the fasting month, of course), I really have to have a huge repertoire of recipes since I don't want to serve the same food all the time.  Pete doesn't really mind eating the same things - he is a huge fan of fried rice and pasta and wouldn't mind eating those two dishes every day.  But I want to take a chance and try out new recipes that I have collected or come across.  Sometimes the recipes work beautifully but there are also times when they don't turn out as good as I hoped.  Then I would either try again after tweaking the recipes or simply chuck them into the 'never again' bin.

Sometimes I don't have a recipe to follow and simply use my instincts.  It has been super hot the past few days and I had a craving for watermelons.  We bought a huge wedge and once we got home, I cut half of it into chunks and put them into the freezer and the rest were sliced into wedges.  The wedges were for us to eat but the chucks were to be used in a refreshing slushie.  I thought the drink would be very suitable to break our fast with.  I've never made it before but I had a rough idea on how to put it together. 

I had Pete to blend the frozen cubes of watermelon and then simply add sparkling water to make the drink.  It was not easy to blend the cubes but once the drink was done and once we were able to drink, we knew it was worth the effort.  The slushie was really refreshing and had such a pronounced watermelon flavour.  I would want to try adding some mint next time.  I think it will elevate the flavours even more.  If the watermelon isn't too sweet, maybe some simple sugar syrup would make it taste better.  I might also try to drop one or two slices of lemon to add yet another dimension to the drink.

In this month of Ramadan, I do enjoy coming up with menus that makes the most out of the ingredients we have and that complement the weather and our mood.  I think it is important that we reward ourselves with something good to eat since we only get to eat that one meal each day.  And, since I have a lot of time on my hands every day, I make sure I bake something sweet for dessert.  I guess I have been so used to the wide variety of food that is served when we have iftar back home.  And it's really nice to end the meal with something sweet.

So, what would I be cooking today?  Well, after writing about my love of cooking, I have to say that I am taking a break today.  Pete has offered to cook his world famous (or so he likes to think) chili.  It's going to be a bit strange not having to cook, but I am not staying away from the kitchen.  I will be making dessert.  You might think of it as a reward for him for cooking.  But really, when it comes to dessert, the happiest person is me.

Yummy mess

When we brought some of the red currant tart to my mother-in-law, she gave us more berries.  This time, it was some tart black currants.  The berries are bigger than the red ones, almost the size of blueberries but not as sweet.

This time, I knew I was going to use them in a dessert called Eton Mess.  Ever since I saw it made on one of Jamie Oliver's food shows, I've always wanted to make it.  It is a simple dessert using meringue that is crushed and folded into some whipped heavy cream.  I would swirl some black currant sauce into the mixture to make it a lovely balance of sweet and sour, and soft and crunchy.

I made the meringue in the afternoon and left it in the oven to cool and dry out.  I basically whisked some egg whites and sugar until the mixture is stiff and would not fall out of the bowl when it's turned upside down.  Then I dolloped spoonfuls of the mixture on a baking sheet and baked at a low temperature for a whole hour.  Once the hour is up, I turned off the oven and left the meringue in the oven for a few hours.  

It is important to do this if you want crumbly meringue.  If not, you will find that the middle of the meringue might be soft.  This would work if you want to make pavlova, which is essentially the same thing, except you don't crumble up the meringue.  You spoon the whipped cream over the meringue and scatter fresh fruit such as berries, kiwi, mango or passionfruit.

I think the dry air here makes it easy to get the meringue to the right texture.  I find that I don't really have any problems with the storage.  I don't need a proper air tight container to store the meringue.  I guess if the weather is more humid, the meringue might not dry too easily if left out of the oven.  And if you want to store the meringue, you must keep them in containers that would keep air out.

Anyway, later that night, we had a bowl each of this luscious dessert and it was as good as I imagined it to be.  The black and red currant sauce, which is simply a cup of the berries and  some sugar heated up in a pan until the sugar crystals melt and the berries burst, was just a hint of sweet with a distinctive tang of the black currants.  Each spoonful was creamy with a crunch of sweet meringue and then a burst of sour berries that lingers in your mouth.  Yumm.

If you want to try this dessert, you can buy ready made meringue but it really is easy to make your own.  Just make sure that you use a super clean bowl to whisk the egg whites.  It is just as important to make sure there isn't a single speck of yolk so be careful when you are separating the whites.  In place of the black and red currants, you can use a mixture of berries such a strawberries, blue berries and raspberries.  Put everything in a saucepan with a few tablespoons of sugar.  Heat everything up and stir, mashing some berries to release their juices.  Taste the sauce and adjust the amount of sugar.  Once the sugar has melted, let the mixture cool before folding into the whipped cream and crumbled meringue.  This dessert is the best when it's cold and when the weather is hot.

Meringue

3 egg whites

150g caster sugar

Heat the oven to 150C.  Whisk the whites until they are form soft peaks.  Add the sugar, a tablespoon at a time and continue whisking until all of the sugar has been thoroughly whisked in.  Drop tablespoonfuls of the mixture on lined baking trays.  Place the baking tray in the oven on the centre shelf and turn down the heat to 140C.  Bake the meringue for 1 hour and then turn off the oven.  Leave the meringue there until the oven is cold.       

Fasting in summer

After a week of fasting, I must say that this has been the most challenging Ramadan ever.  First of all the hours are long.  We have to fast for more than 18 hours a day.  The long hours did not only mean that we have to wait a long time before we can break our fast.  Our late supper, usually after 9.30pm, meant that we would go to bed with stuffed tummies.

That made it difficult to go to bed.  Also, that meant that when we wake up at 2.30am for our morning meal, we are still too full to eat.  We some times only drank a glass of water or shared an apple.  That caused another problem - we got too hungry in the day since we didn't have enough to eat to sustain long hours of fasting.  Some times, it seems like we had gone without food or water for 24 hours. 

The lack of food for long hours some times would cause my tummy to be wrecked by sharp pains.  When that happens, I had to grit my teeth and wait for the pain to be over.  And usually it will.  Another challenge is the dry air.  It makes my throat dry.  I didn't notice how dry the air is before I started fasting.  To make matters worse, the past week has been very hot.  Temperatures would rise up to 25C and the day would start getting bright by 8am and the sun would not relent until past 9pm.

So, this week, what we had to do was to adapt and adjust.  We made sure we didn't eat too much at night and to find something light that we could eat in the morning.  I planned to serve oats in the morning but it was too much for us so we ended up eating cereal instead.  And with each day, once we got used to it, it gets easier and easier.

Before I moved here, I had already started to worry about fasting during the long hours in summer.  And after experiencing it for a week, I can say that it is more challenging than I thought it would be.  But it is the challenge that makes me feel so amazed and so thankful that we made it day after day.  I'm even more amazed that for a first timer, Pete, the guy who loves to snack on chips, is able to keep up. 

Now that we've completed one week of fasting, I believe it will get easier.  We have gotten used to the long hours of fasting now and most importantly, the days are starting to get shorter.  It's also likely that the weather will get cooler next week.  Hopefully we will be able to complete the rest of Ramadan healthily.           

July's Harvest

The past week has been very hot with not a grey cloud in sight.  I guess this is how summer days should be.  Despite fasting, we do have to make sure that we visit the garden regularly.  The plants are growing really well there and we have to make sure we water them enough to keep them growing. 

The sun would come out very early in the day and we have to either wait for evening when it's not too hot or go earlier in the morning to avoid the midday sun.  But sometimes it's very hot and the sun is still so bright at 7 or 8pm and sometimes it gets very hot so early in the morning.  On days like that, we had no choice but to stay at home.

Today, we decided to head to the garden early in the day.  Even though it was only 8am, the sun was beginning to shine and when we reached the garden, it was really hot.  So we quickly did our chores there.  Pete dug up four of the potato plants and then started watering the plants with the watering can.  Luckily, our Chinese neighbour has finished using her hose and offered it to us.  It made the watering easier since he didn't need to walk to and fro the tap which is about 15m away.

I did some weeding so that I could reach the bean plants.  The yellow beans, which was among the earlier batch of vegetables which were planted, are already producing beautiful beans.  I picked the ones that are long enough while carefully making sure I didn't disturb the flowers which will grow into beans.  I could see more tiny beans growing so I think next week would bring a bigger harvest.

The peas that were grown earlier are also producing flowers and pods.  These were the survivors after the whole patch was ravaged by rabbits.  In fact, that patch must be the rabbits' favourite since they have been spotted running from there when we visit the garden in the evenings.  I also spotted pods that had nibble marks on them.  Today, I found two pods that are swollen and fat.  I think they are full of juicy peas and should be ready to be picked.

I also checked on the peas and beans that were in the planters.  They are doing very well.  I spotted lots of pea pods and tiny beans growing.  The beans I planted there are the green variety so they are a bit different from the other bean patch.  Funnily enough, the leaves of the green beans are yellowish and while those on the yellow beans are much greener.  I think the peas and beans at the planter should be ready in one or two weeks.

The zucchini plants have already produced a few fruit.  They have started flowering late last month and earlier this month, I have seen some big ones.  However, their ends have rotted and I only managed to harvest one good one.  I had to keep a close eye on them and hope that they would grow big enough without any blemishes.  Today I was lucky to find two that were of good enough size so I harvested them.  I think they will be good in a stir fry. 

The carrots are also growing well.  In fact, I think the carrots are among my favourite vegetable to grow.  They don't take much attention, apart from regular watering.  I also had to keep thinning them but even that is fun to do.  There's something about pulling the baby carrots up that makes me feel good.  The baby carrots are also flavourful and could be used in cooking.  We've already done enough thinning and the rest are left to grow even bigger.  I needed some for a soup I would be making tonight so I pulled up two average sized carrots.

We left the garden with a couple of kilos of potatoes, two zucchini, two carrots and a handful of beans and peas.  Not bad for our first 'proper' harvest. 

tiny, tart, tangy treats

Red currants are tiny berries that really pack a sour punch.  I've never really eaten them raw before since they were not commonly sold back home.  The only ones I've tried came from the tops of cakes and tarts from posh bakeries and hotels. 

Tasting some that were given to me by my mother-in-law, I knew it was impossible to finish the entire container by eating them raw.  I do love the acidity of the berries but I can't eat too many at once.  So I decided to look for recipes to use them up.

The recipes I came across were mainly for jams and sauces for ducks and other gamey meats.  But there are some interesting recipes for cakes, muffins and tarts.  In the end, I chose a red currant tart that would use up a lot of the berries and a sauce for frankfurters.  Both recipes began with picking the berries off their stems, which took quite a while since I was using a lot of them.  As I picked the berries, their red juice would flow down my fingers whenever I accidentally squashed them.  That gave me another idea to use them up - pavolva or Eton mess.  Both would use meringue and cream and the sour tang from the berries would perk these desserts up.  But that would be for another day. 

I made the tart yesterday afternoon and baked the frankfurters in the evening, just in time for our iftar, or breaking of the fast.  The dishes were yummy.  The berries made the sauce, which was made with mustard, ketchup, the mashed berries and honey, tangy and worked well with the frankfurters.

The tart was also very good.  The shortcrust pastry was light and buttery and the berries made each spoonful burst with flavour in the mouth.  I served the tart with Chantilly cream, which is just cream whipped with a bit of icing sugar, and the whole combination is so divine.

We still have three quarters of the tart left.  I am going to give some to my mother-in-law and have some later for tonight's iftar.  Once we finish the tart, I will be making meringue for the pavlova or Eton mess, depending on how good the meringue turns out.  Whatever the outcome, I am sure the red currants would make it awesome.

the berries strewn over the baked pastry

they look like tiny jewels, don't they?

all ready to be baked

just out of the oven

a serving of creamy, tangy goodness

My mum-in-law, Monica

My mother-in-law dropped by today.  She brought a whole container of red currants for us.  She had been to her cabin to do some gardening and picked the berries for us.  She has lots of the bushes growing around her garden and the berries are ripening.  She actually dug up one of her bushes and we planted in my garden but sadly, the plant didn't survive.  But now, thanks to her, I will be able to get a taste of the berries.

 It's really lovely to have her as my mother-in-law.  She is very thoughtful and would give us useful stuff from time to time.  Like today, for instance, she didn't just show up with the berries.  She also brought along a poster showing the times for the start and end of fasting for the month of Ramadan.  She said she was shopping and saw people handing them out.  She took one for us since she knows we are fasting.  How thoughtful is that?

I am so lucky to have such a nice lady for my mother-in-law.  Before I met her, I was, just like any one who is about to meet her future mother-in-law, very nervous.  I didn't know how she was going to be like.  I mean, I wasn't Swedish and I didn't know how to speak the language, so I was very nervous.  I knew she is very close to Pete so I didn't know if she would think that I was good enough for her only son.  Luckily she decided that I am, and from the first meeting at the airport last June, she welcomed me with such warmth.

She is also very helpful.  I am so touched by all the help she gave us when we were preparing for our wedding in June.  She also extended her warmth and help to my family when they were here.  She's also the go-to person whenever I have anything Swedish to ask, especially about cooking and gardening.  She has never hesitated to share gardening tips or recipes with me.  She would even give me seeds and flowers for me to plant when she knew about my interest in gardening.   

She does remind me of my mum.  My own mum has taught me to share.  Back home, we would share food and other stuff with our relatives, friends and neighbours.  I am glad that here, I am able to continue this tradition of sharing with his family, starting with his mum.  So, in return for the berries, I gave her some of the Swedish chocolate cake, kärlek mums, I baked and one of my gigantic tomato plants.  Although we still can't speak each other's language, her wide smile makes words unneccessary. 

It gets better

Last night was tough.  My head started aching a few hours before we could break our fast, but I managed to cope with it.  We did make it till 9.36pm and broke our fast with water, dates and milk.  As usual, I felt full after having just these three things.  We should have waited a bit more before having our full meal after that but we were concerned that it was getting late and we would need to go to bed so soon after the meal.

We had grilled chicken leg, mashed potatoes with corn and peas and some leftover lasagne.  I was really full halfway through the meal but some how I convinced myself to finish the whole plate.  At the end of the meal, my tummy was so full and tight that it felt very uncomfortable.  Pete felt the same and we had to wait as long as possible before we could go to bed.

I felt very uncomfortable and had trouble sleeping.  And when the alarm went off at 2.30am, we couldn't eat anything since our tummies are still so full.  We only managed to drink a glass of water before falling back to sleep.

This morning, I felt much better.  It turned out to be a very sunny and bright day and we spent the whole day indoors.  We even managed to take a nap.  The nap was great and I felt much better after that.  It's already 7.30pm now and yet the sun is still shining very brightly.  Soon, I would have to get supper started.  It's going to be Pete's favourite fried rice.  He's done very well and I try to cook his favourite dishes as a sort of reward, not just for him but also for me.  Fasting during summer is not easy at all so I guess a good meal will make our day.  But we have to remember to not over eat.  No more bloated tummies please.

First day

Today is the first day of Ramadan which means this is the start of my fast in a temperate country.  And more significantly, this is the first time ever for Pete to start fasting.

This year, the fasting month falls in the middle of summer.  This has given us both a huge challenge.  Back at home where daylight hours are relatively constant, I used to fast from around 5.30am till 7pm.  The hours would be longer or shorter but only by a few minutes each time.  So, enduring the whole day without food or water for about 14 hours has been the norm for me.  I have been doing that since I was young so I guess I have been conditioned for it.

But here, during summer, the sun would not set for 18 or more hours.  Like today, for instance, we would have to fast from 3.13am until 9.36pm.  That would mean more than 18 hours without food and drinks.  This is tough.  A really tough challenge. 

this table shows the starting and ending times of the fasting

Back at home, it wasn't easy either.  The sun gets really hot and the high humidty doesn't help.  Also, when I was working, I had to talk a lot and I'm on my feet a lot of the time.  Sometimes I would also have to work under the sun and for long hours.  So although I had to fast for a shorter period of time, I know that I would always long for the clock to fast forward so that I could break my fast.

In the past, my mum would wake us up at 4.30am and I would eat my bowl of oats, scrambled eggs or whatever leftovers we would have left.  We would all sit in front of the tv, while keeping an eye on the clock.  I would also make sure I get enough water.  I would pour myself a huge glass of water which I would finish before fasting starts.  Then I would brush my teeth and shower, do my early morning prayers and then I would go to work.

But now I am in Malmö.  Things are, of course, not going to be the same here.

This morning, we had to wake up very early to eat before we start our fast for the day.  The alarm woke us up at 2.30am.  I had to force myself to get out of bed.  Pete, ever the early riser was already up and fiddling with his iPad.  I cooked oats and cut a grapefruit and peach for us to share.  That was what we had for our morning meal.  Pete finished his bowl very quickly.  I took my time to slowly finish my bowl.  I love my oats but to eat the whole bowl so early in the morning needs some getting used to.  Even though it was still early in the morning, we didn't go back to bed immediately.  I could even see the sky getting light as I sat on the bed.  But soon, my eyes got sleepy and I went to sleep.

I woke up at 9.30am.  Pete was already up, all showered and tackling zombies on his computer.  I took my time to clean the apartment and soon, I was sitting on the couch, catching up on news online.  It feels just like any other day, but I noticed that my throat is very dry.  I guess the air here is dry.  I didn't notice that before since I always have a glass of water or cup of tea with me.

We spent the rest of the day watching tv and then to distract us from our empty tummies and dry throat, we took a walk.  The weather was great for the walk.  It was sunny but the wind was nice and cool.  During the walk,  I always kept on checking on Pete.  This is his first ever time fasting and I don't want him to suffer too badly.  So far, he says he is ok.  We finished our walk, discussing the menu for our meal later, and now we are back at home.

a wild rabbit we spotted during our walk

I am having a slight headache which could be due to the lack of water.  I guess I would really need to up the intake of water tonight.  Pete is doing great but we still have about four more hours ahead of us.  We will make it.  Inshallah, we will make it.  

A little TLC

I was woken up early this morning by my bad throat.  I coughed so hard that I woke up earlier than usual.  But a pleasant surprise awaited.  Pete was there by my side with a glass of water.  I didn't realise it but I had been coughing a few times already and he heard it.  So he got the water ready for me.

Isn't that sweet of him?  It gets better.  He made me a warm glass of honey and lemon water to soothe that throat.  It perked me up and made me feel a bit better.  I still felt a bit queasy so he brought me a pill to settle my tummy.

Later that morning, we took a walk and I was hoping the fresh air would make me feel better.  It didn't.  I still felt nauseated after that.  He got me to take a nap, made me feel comfortable and even played some music to lull me to sleep.   The best part was that he was there to hug and comfort me when I woke up.  With all that tender loving care, I felt much, much better.  Who wouldn't? 

I think the way your spouse treats you when you are sick says a lot about your marriage.  And I didn't have to look further than my home.  My parents have always been very loving towards each other and I could see how well my mum looks after my dad when he was sick.  He would always have his bouts of cough or cold and flu, and the whole household would know that he was not feeling too good.  In fact, sometimes I suspect that he was exaggerating his symptoms a bit to get more sympathy but he really didn't have to.  My mum would always patiently tend to his every need.  My mum doesn't get sick as often, but when she is, my dad would help to do the chores.

It's really sweet to watch them and I am so glad that I am able to experience it too with Pete.  I know that I would do my best to take care of him if he is ill and I know for certain that he would do the same for me.    

Stew it

The past couple of days, the weather has been more rainy and wet than hot and dry.  I would wake up to bright sunshine and a few minutes after that the sun would be eaten up by dark clouds and it would rain and the temperature would drop.

Days like that are perfect for staying at home.  It suits me fine when I am not working now, but I don't plan to spend all my days at home, watching tv or stalking people on facebook.  I do hope I could find a job soon, not only to have something worthwhile to do with my time, but also to earn some income.

Being jobless takes some getting used to.  I've been employed ever since I finished school so having all this free time makes me think of food.  This is especially so when we are thinking of setting up a food business of our own.  I spend the time thinking of menus and recipes for our little cafe.  I also like to watch food programmes for ideas and that was where I came across a very simple recipe for beef stew.  Last Sunday, it was a cool and wet day, so when I saw that stew I knew I just had to cook it then.  

The original recipe from a program called Nigel Slater's Simple Supper, calls for a small bottle of beer so I replaced it with beef stock instead.  The best part about the dish is that I didn't have much chopping to do and the preparation was very simple.  I only had to chop the onions and carrots since the meat was bought already cubed.  And after three simple steps and a few hours later, the dish was done.

The stew was really yummy simply served with steaming hot rice.  The gravy was luscious and flavourful, the meat was fork tender and having a mouthful of rice with that was just so comforting.  The best part is that the leftover stew was used in another delicious dish the next day.  I simply pulled the meat apart, spooned everything into a baking dish, cover the whole thing with ready made puff pastry and baked in the oven.  As it was baking, the meat pie made the whole apartment smell so good and once it was ready, I could not wait to cut the crispy top and dig in.  And yeah, it was as good as it smelled.

Beef Stew

600g beef, cubed

2 or 3 large onions, sliced

2 large carrots, cut into chunks

2 tbsp flour

a sprig of fresh thyme or 1 tsp dried thyme

500ml beef stock (I used 1 stock cubed dissolved in hot water)

3 tbsp mustard

salt and pepper

butter for browning the meat

Season the beef cubes with salt and pepper.  Heat some butter in a pan.  Brown the beef cubes until just golden around its edges and set aside.  Lower the heat and fry the onions in the same pan until soft and they start to brown.  Add the carrots and fry for a few more minutes.  Sprinkle flour into the mixture and cook for about one or two minutes.  Add the thyme and the stock.  Then add the mustard and mix well.  Lastly, add the beef.  Cover the pan and turn the heat down to low.  Let everything stew, stirring it from time to time.  Cook until the meat is tender and check the seasoning.  You might need to add more mustard or pepper to taste.  I also addded frozen peas and let it cook for a few more minutes before serving.  Serve it with rice or crusty bread.

  

Swedish chocolate balls

If you haven't already heard, Swedes love coffee.  And they love having their fika - that lovely tradition of having coffee or tea with freshly baked pastries such as cinammon rolls, biscuits and other sweet treats.  Having a sweet tooth (or two) myself, I had no trouble embracing this tradition.  The best part is, fika is enjoyed at any time - after breakfast, after lunch, before or after dinner.

Another thing that I've learnt is that they are very bold in using spices in their pastries.  In their quintessential pastry, the cinnamon roll, ground cardamom is used together with cinnamon.  And they do use it aggressively, almost.  The first time I bit into a roll, the distinct heat of the spice almost gave me a rude shock.  I mean, it is called 'cinnamon roll' not 'cardamom roll' so I was totally unprepared for the taste of the spice, which is not exactly my favourite ingredient.  Another pastry that is usually found during Christmas, called lusse katt or saffransbröd, uses saffron.

Another common ingredient in the pastries is grated coconut.  The flakes are used to top squares of chocolate sponge cake called kärlek mums, one of my favourite Swedish pastries.  Pete's mum made some for our wedding and I couldn't stop eating them.  Another popular pastry using grated coconut is chokladbollar or chocolate balls.

I love them.  The first time I had them was on my first visit to Sweden last June.  I found a box of these among other sweet treats in a welcome basket from Pete.  With that first bite, I fell in love - with the balls, not Pete (well, I was already in love with him by then).  The balls are moist and had a winning combination of chocolate and coffee.

Since then, I would buy a box whenever I had a craving.  There are many brands selling the balls but we only buy Delicato balls which is the yummiest, according to Pete.  And it's available everywhere.  Every time we go to the supermarkets, I would always eye the blue boxes and start to drool.  But I don't always buy them.  What I wanted to do was to make my own.

In fact, Swedish kids would make them at home with their mum since it's a simple recipe and there's no baking involved.  I have come across recipes for these balls but they are not anything like the Delicato balls.  These recipes would call for rolled oats, the main ingredient, but if you bite into the Delicato balls, you don't get the grainy oats.

Finally, after researching countless recipes, I put together my own recipe and with the first bite of my homemade chokladbollar, I was very happy with it.  The balls are very close to the taste and texture of the Delicato balls.  Yes!  Now I could make them any time I want.

Chokladbollar or Swedish chocolate balls

100g butter, soft

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup caster sugar

2 - 3 tbsp cocoa powder

2 tbsp vanilla sugar (or 1 tsp vanilla essence)

1 tbsp strong coffee, cooled

50g dark chocolate, melted

1 1/4 cup rolled oats, chopped 

1/2 cup grated coconut to coat

Mix all the ingredients except the oats and coconut.  Add the oats and mix well.  The texture should be of wet sand.  Chill in the fridge for about 30mins.  Form balls and roll in the coconut.  The balls can be served cold or at room temperature.

You can omit the coffee if you want.  Or for coffee lovers, you can also add 1 tsp of instant coffee powder.  Instead of coconut flakes, you can roll the balls in chopped nuts or colourful sprinkles to make it more attractive for kids.  If you use sprinkles, reduce the amount of sugar slightly.   

From the garden to the kitchen

We don't go to the garden as often as we used to any more.  These days, it has been raining and grey and cloudy so the plants would have more than enough water.  Besides, we don't really want to go out in such dreary weather.  All I am worried about is always the weeds.  My fear is that the weeds would take over the garden and grow all over our veggies, herbs and flowers.

Yesterday, the sky cleared enough for us to brisk walk there to plant some Asters, a type of fower, that I had sown on my balcony.  When we got there, we were pleasantly surprised.  Finally the garden has shown some life.  A large part of it is due to the weeds but we were happy that our vegetables have done just as well. 

The lettuce beds are full of healthy, juicy leaves.  The potatoes have continued to grow.  The row of carrots have such long, healthy leaves growing above the ground.  The two surviving cucumber plants have even started flowering.  The squash plants have done very well, too.  Lots of yellow flowers are blooming and we found some beautiful, long squash growing from them. 

This week, we didn't buy a lot of vegetables and since the babies are doing so well, we decided to take some home.  We picked the biggest squash, pulled up a potato plant and some lettuce.  We also picked some baby carrots.  They could leave them to grow even more but we had to thin them anyway, so that the remaining carrots would have more room to grow.  So the baby carrots went into our bountiful basket.

With the vegetables, I decided to make a light summer salad with a quick, tangy dressing made with mayonnaise, mustard and lemon juice.  Soft, boiled eggs rounded off our light lunch.



squash and baby carrots



hand-picked lettuce



chopped squash



a thorough wash and a couple of whirls in the salad spinner and the lettuce is ready



the almost ready salad



the dripping yolk and creamy dressing made the salad even better



Keeping it short

I admit.  It has been too long and yeah, I do seem to have a problem with trimming, but no longer.  I'm keeping it short.

So yesterday, I finally did it.  I cut my hair.

I've had it long for many years already.  I would trim it now and then.  Maybe every six months if I remember.  And when my wedding drew near, I kept it long since that was what every bride seem to do.  And it sort of worked.  With the long hair, I could have it up in elegant styles during my wedding, but then again, the looks could have been as easily achieved with wigs.

So now that both weddings are over (phew), I decided to try a new hairstyle.  Yesterday, I went to the hairsaloon at the square nearby and 30mins later, my almost-waist-long hair was gone and I walked with a nice bounce to my chin-length bob.

It really is a drastic change. It took years off me.  I really look young.  But then again, I have had short hair in the past and yes, I always look younger when I cut my hair short. And my head feels lighter.  Not to mention how much easier it is to wash my hair.  In the hot summer days, I wash my hair every day and with long hair and NO hairdryer, it took ages for me to dry it.  This morning, I only had to towel dry it and in about half an hour, it was dry.  But I still would have to buy a hairdryer to keep that bob looking good.

Pete loves the new look, so it looks like the short 'do is here to stay.

No words

After my family left, life in the household slowly went back to normal - cleaning the apartment, cooking 3 meals a day, tending to the plants in the balcony and in the garden and catching up on TV shows.  We were also busy with getting new furniture and appliances with the cash and gift vouchers we got from generous and thoughtful guests at our June wedding. 

And with all that flurry of activities, I pushed my daily blogging aside.  I tried to write.  I did.  Many amazing things happened to me during this last month that I wanted to write about - our summer wedding, my family's visit, the garden's update, my first birthday celebration here, my first solo train ride, and many more but when I sat in front of the laptop, or when I try to string sentences together in my head as these events unfolded (that's what I'll do so that it's easier for me when I start to type), no words came to my head.  I had writer's block (I use this term loosely as a few blog entries do not make me a writer).

In my head, I wanted to write poignant pieces about how amazing my two families are during the days of the wedding and how sweet it was to spend a nice afternoon with Pete's mum and sisters during my birthday.  I wanted to share my excitement when I found not one, not two, but four small, green tomatoes on the plants in the balcony.  I wanted to vent my frustration when I found I had two packages waiting for me at the post office but couldn't claim it as they didn't think I showed enough proof that I was the rightful recipient.

But words escaped me then. 

I typed the first few words and deleted them.  Repeat the process a few more times and then I shut down the computer in frustration.

I didn't know why.  Maybe I felt a bit abandoned when my family left.  Maybe I felt homesick.  Maybe I felt lost since I finally had no tasks or list of things to do for the days ahead.  I might be looking forward to the wedding and my family's visit and when both events were over, I felt lost.

Anyway, I'm back today.  Perhaps I shall try to write shorter posts and not be too clever or too ambitious with the posts.  For now, I need sleep.  Hopefully in the morning, I shall find more words, or if I'm lucky, a quick, short post, at least.  I have hope :)