Every year it’s the same challenge. After a lifetime of collected stuff, my mom has everything she needs, so usually my gift end up being a book.

But this year I will try to make my Christmas gift a bit more special, and I hope she will appreciate the effort.

This years gift: a deliciously fruity and spicy chutney.

I love chutneys: they’re easy to make, and a delicious way to dress up any dishes.

Spicy tomato and apple chutney

All you need:
1 kg ripe tomatoes, peeled and chopped
200 g onions, chopped
100 g raisins or sultanas
250 g cooking apples, peeled, cored and coarsely chopped
300 g sugar
225 ml vinegar
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

Do this:
Place all the ingredients in a large stainless steel saucepan and heat gently until the sugar has dissolved completely.

Bring to the boil, stirring, then simmer on a low heat, stirring regularly (to make sure the mixture does not burn on the bottom of the pan) for about 1 hour or until thick and pulpy.

Pour into hot sterilized jars and cover.

This is best left to mature for 1-2 weeks before eating.

This chutney will be fantastic as a cranberry sauce alternative alongside your turkey, duck or roast pork.

….. ancient times have stored and used the bitter, dark green rocket salad? Would the juice of a lemon and a dash of olive oil, be considered then as a suitable dressing to go with this lovely green plant?

Through they did use wild basil in ancient times, today we grow it in pots at the back of the house, and with its small curly leaf (very unlike the large, quickly tiring leaves of the plant bought in the supermarket), made in to pesto sauce, it’s irresistible.

Cottage cooking:

Rocket & Basil Pesto (makes 1 jar)

All you need:
2 tbsp pine nuts
pinch of salt
1/2 clove garlic
crushed
150g rocket
100g freshly picked basil leaves
50g Parmesan, grated
300ml extra virgin olive oil

Do this:
Dry fry the pine nuts in pan until lightly toasted and golden. Pound in a pestle and mortar with salt and crushed garlic. Add the rocket and basil leaves, continuing to mash until it becomes a thick green paste (you could do this in a food processor, although purists would argue against this, preferring the subtler flavors of the bruised ingredients). Add the grated cheese and most of the olive oil until fully blended, reserving a little oil for the top. Transfer to a jar, cover with remaining oil and keep in the fridge for up to one week.

Serve simply with: al dente pasta, potatoes or ravioli….. or spoon over chicken or white fish. Try it, it’s delicious.

….. swallows, who have just started to arrive: dark blue flashes floating over the rose bushes, before flying up to their nests - seeing them soar through the air is like a promise of summers faithful return to our paradise.

It makes me think: will the next inhabitants here in paradise respect these small wonders? or will they remove the swallow’s nesting place and scare the shy little guest from their perfect sanctuary? The answer, of cause, cannot be known, for who knows what will happen in the future? hopefully the salty marshland loved by the seagulls, will offer shelter to the swallows, if our house were no longer available to them.

Cottage poetry:

Swallows soar against the sky
and the great winds blowing by,
steady breezes blowing soft,
bearing promises of love.
wind is hasten, swallows fly,
against the clouds and heavy sky
as a sign of a storm ahead
swallows hiding in their shed

Cottage cooking:

Well, enough melancholy and swallow song, now to something completely different: I saw this watermelon cake idea in Martha Stewart Living magazine. This is a cute, fun, unique way to serve fresh watermelon.

And I was not the only one who loved the idea, this cake was a great hit with both kids and adults at our last family party.

I served the watermelon cake plain, but if you want to jazz it up, here are some suggestions:

Sprinkle a little lime juice or lime zest on top

Top with chopped basil or mint

Sprinkle some feta cheese and balsamic vinegar over the watermelon “cake”

Drizzle with a little tequila, rum or cachaca

Watermelon “Cake”

All you need:

1 seedless watermelon (about 14 pounds)

Do this:
Cut top and bottom thirds off 1 seedless watermelon (about 14 pounds). Reserve.

Cut middle third of watermelon into
 wedges.

Scoop flesh from ends into balls
 (using a melon baller).

Arrange balls on
top of wedges.

Is everybody happy?

We are still in the Swedish mountains…… and we’ve had some fantastic days in the sun with our Swedish friends…. skiing, a little food and a couple of drinks….. and lot’s of games late into the evening.

….. it has been sooooo lovely….. the last 2 nights, we been sitting on the balcony - eating and drinking to 10 in the evening.

Yesterday´s “Easter” menu:

Starter:
Swedish Rødding (Acetic Char: a lovely smoked fish),
shellfish salad, chopped red onion and butter toast

Main course: Mountain toast

All you need:
Tenderloin
Grated horseradish
Bearnaise sauce
Salad
Tomatoes
Red onion
A little salad dressing
(mixed: olive oil, balsamic vinegar, honey and a little salad spice)
Butter toast
Roasted potatoes

Do this:
Toast the bread in butter in a frying pan and halve it
Grill the steaks on the grill (or a grill pan)
Place the half bread slice on a plate, add lettuce, red onions and tomatoes, and top with a little dressing
Place the steak on top of the salad and top with horseradish and Bearnaise sauce
Place the other half bread slice on top

Served with roasted potatoes and extra Bearnaise sauce

Enjoy

øhhhhh 45th birthday! Forty-five. I still can’t believe it.

My wonderful husband and Anton are makin this weekend a really special one for me! I am so lucky to have such amazing, loving family.

Right now: I’m sitting, enjoying coffee…. while I’m surfing the net…..

This evening we are going to my favorite restaurant, together with our friend Tony, who is visiting from China.

Last but not least: thank you, dear readers, for all of your sweet birthday wishes as well! Every single one put a smile on my face.

♥ Lizzy

[image ann h.]

….. to keep the fingers from the cookie jar…..

….. as those cakes looks so amazing, standing there on the table….. just the idea of them, can get my mouth watering.

Anyway, most cakes taste best when they are freshly baked….. as for example these beautiful:

Blueberry muffins (6 large or 12 small muffins)

100 g butter
2 dl milk
zest of a lemon
2 eggs
1 ½ dl sugar
1 tsp. vanilla sugar
4 dl wheat flour
2 tsp. baking powder
little salt

Do this:
Set the oven at 175 degrees (200 degrees if you are baking large muffins).

Melt butter and add the grated lemon peel and milk.

Whisk eggs, sugar and vanilla sugar until fluffy.

Pipes liquids together.

Mix flour, baking powder and salt and fold into the liquid. Touch the dough together.

Wash blueberries and add them to the dough.

Place the muffin molds in a muffins plate and fill the molds 2/3 with dough.

Bake in middle of oven for approx. 12-15 minutes (20 minutes if you bake large muffins). Test with a stick to make sure that cakes are not sticky.

Tips: For extra juicy flavor, you can combine muffins and crumble.

Crumble:
75 g cold butter
Two dl oatmeal
1 dl wheat flour
1 dl sugar

Do this:
Cut the butter into cubes and “crumble” it in the flour, oatmeal and sugar.

Sprinkle a little crumbles on top of un-baked muffins and garnish with a little blueberry.

Bake in middle of oven for 20 minutes.

Photos, private, woman-hood

Grilled salmon with warm salad and sauce (servings: 4)

Ingredients:
800g salmon fillet
mixed vegetables (such as spring onions, carrots, asparagus, fresh spinach, or?)
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup sour cream
0.5 cup red onion
a jar löjrom

Do this:
Grill the salmon fillet on medium heat until it is finished.
Slice the vegetables and fry them in a pan with some oil.
Mix mayonnaise and sour cream with finely chopped onions and löjrom.
Serve the sauce to the salmon and vegetables.

….. whenever I am there, I’m always looking for the best gelato….. this one is from Sweet Paul….. who found the basic in Greve, and did his own version.

Tiramisu ice cream

Ingredients:
2,5 cup cream
2 cups milk
2 vanilla bean, halved lengthwise
8 large egg yolks
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
14 ladyfingers
1/4 cup strong coffee
1/4 cup amaretto
1/2 cup good quality chocolate sauce

Do this:
Put cream, milk and vanilla in a saucepan over medium heat.
Heat until hot, but not boil.
Remove and let stand for 30 minutes.
Put yolks, sugar and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat until the mixture has tripled in size.
Reduce the speed and pour the milk slowly into it.
Transfer the mixture to the saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until it is thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon.
Pour the mixture through a mesh sieve into a bowl set in ice water bath.
Cool.
Freeze the mixture in a ice cream maker.
In the mean time, place the ladyfingers on a plate and drizzle with coffee and amaretto.
When the ice cream is ready, layer it in a bowl with ladyfingers and chocolate sauce.
Finish with a drizzle of the chocolate sauce.
Freeze until set and serve.

Enjoy!

Photo by Alexandra Grablewski

I have the day off!

We have packed our office down the last few days, and today we move to Copenhagen. But to make sure that Anton isn’t in the way of the moving people, I got an unexpected day off, to take care of him….. so I will not take part in the actual move ….. Hurrah

Therefor I decided to visit a friend this morning, and as I was driving in the car, sipping my latte and listening to the radio, all I could think was: “this is so lovely”. Maybe when I grow up I won’t work and I’ll be a stay-at-home-femme instead”…..

….. this probably sounds so un-feminist of me, I know. But the truth is that having an empty day to go to the gym, read magazines, get my hair done, and jump on the bed, feels like such a treat.

But yes, I have too many goals and ambitions (read: books to be written, people to be helped, yoga to be practiced….. and I just love my job) to stay at home every day….. but sigh, it really does feel amazing today…..

Do you have the day off? How are you spending it?

….. a blissful yawn, and happy weekend to you, when you get there.

Love Lizzy

….. and speaking of rain….. I have a perfectly good pair of rain boots already, but I’d secretly love a pair of Hunter’s Wellington boots. They’re elegant, slim and tall, so they make your legs look miles long. And the Queen of England wears them. La di da! I’ve been trying my best to rationalize a purchase…… :o)

Have a lovely day

Lizzy