…… I have gravel under my feet….. I run, on the path from Hornbæk to Villingebæk.

The first sailing boats and cutters are already out there, plowing waves….. otherwise everything is completely silent and the sea is motionless…… only a little surge now and then reveal it’s presence.

It is so quiet….. even the light reflexes seemed to breath silence. A window opens on the Swedish side, sending a bright lightning over the lightblue water….. I can almost hear the rattle hasp against the windowsill.

Beach Roses is tempting white and pink….. and early rosehips are close to being ripe…… the dramatically shaped pines, which are so characteristic for this area, stand proudly along my route….. behind the treetops, the sun is insistent, and there is a flavor of dry bark in the air……

I run along the hot and dusty summer path, enjoying the sight of the sea reflecting light out there…… breathing the light, the flavor and the whole feeling of drowsy summer sea with every step and every breath.

Photo: private, woman-hood

….. but I’m still on vacation, which gets me back on track, with the “napkin ring” from Ystad.

As you might have read here …… during dinner, I spotted a “napkin ring” with the funny title:

Learn Chinese in 5 minutes (read out loud).

So here it is: Learn Chinese in 5 minutes (part two):

It’s very dark here………………………….. Wai So Dim
I thought you where on a diet…. Wai Yu Mun Ching
This is a tow away zone………………….. No Pah King
Our meeting is next week…………. Wai Yu Kum Nao
Staying out of sight…………………………. Lei Ying Lo
He’s cleaning his car……………………… Wa Shing Ka
Your body odor is offensive……………. Yu Stin Ki Pu
Great…………………………………………. Fa Kin Su Pah

Haaaa so funny.

Anyway, it’s Friday, and we are planning a golf tournament with some of our friends this weekend, and after that, we are gathering for a barbecue in our garden….. so today, I take care of the preparations…… although I’m not sure what the menu will consist of yet, I think the dessert is going to be:

Ginger Gino
(The coconut and ginger links it a little to today’s Chinese theme, don’t you think?)

Gino was invented in the 80-90s, in a legendary restaurant in Stockholm, famous for its drunken actors and writers having a blast.

Recipe (4 serves)

2 bananas
2 kiwi fruits
1 liter of strawberries
cherries
1 piece of ginger
1/5 dl raw sugar
1 dl desiccated coconut
130 g grated white chocolate (Tip: put it in the fridge before you grate it)

Serve with vanilla ice cream

Do this: Set oven on 200 degrees, over heat / grill heat.

Peel and chop the banana and kiwi fruit. Put them and the berries in a baking pan.

Grate the ginger finely; mix the ginger with sugar and desiccated coconut.

Strew the mixture on top of the fruit.

Place in the oven for 3 - 10 minutes.

Tip: Make sure the fruit is not boiling heavily or getting burnt.

Enjoy

Lizzy

Photos: private, woman-hood

….. to the beach: raincoat or swimsuit…..

I think swimsuit….. I’ll be wet anyway.

….. and we had a wonderful day with lovely company, sun and golf…..

(a word from our sponsors)

….. which was completed with a fantastic dinner…..

….. vine and chatting till late in the morning.

Today started with a morning dip……

….. and tonight, I am home alone….. so it’s mac & cheese night!…mmm.

Photos: private, woman-hood

….. at work the past few days….. but now I am on vacation again….. and the thought of vacation got me to thinking about my trip to Ystad. During dinner, I spotted a “napkin ring” with the funny title:

Learn Chinese in 5 minutes (read out loud).

So here it is: Learn Chinese in 5 minutes (part one):

That’s not right……………………. Sum Thing Wong
Are you harbouring a fugitive…… Hu Yu Hai Ding
Seem me ASAP………………………………… Kum Hia
Stupid man…………………………………….. Dum Fuk
Small horse………………………………… Tai Ni Po Ni
Did you go to the beach……………. Wai Yu So Tan
I bumped the coffee table… Ai Bang Mai Fa Kin Ni
I think you need a face lift…………….. Chin Tu Fat

I love Asian food, and as an extra plus, Asian food is often both low on fat and easy to do….. perfect, if you want a little exotic food experience….. and the taste combinations can often be amusing and a bit different, as for example:

Banana colada (2 drinks):
2 ripe bananas
½ dl syrup
juice of ½ a lemon
1 dl coconut milk
6 cl dark rum
ice cream

Do this:
Peal the bananas and put them in a mixer with the other ingredients and ice.

Mix and pour into glasses.

Tips: Banana Shake is a popular drink in South Asia. Mixing banana, syrup, lemon juice and ice in a mixer….. and without alcohol, it can be served for the whole family.

Enjoy

Lizzy

….. Restaurant Gilleleje havn, I come to think of fish cakes, and when I think of them, I think of Hornbæk…… and it’s “city of wood shacks”.

With the back to the harbor, but overlooking the dunes, the Swedish coast and the traffic on the sea, lies some of Hornbæks best houses. It is not the largest, finest and most luxurious….. but it is properly some of the most charming.

The city of wood shacks in Hornbæk….. a maritime enclave of wood shacks each measure about 5-6 square meters.

It is a kind of club premises not suitable for accommodation, but in the daytime populated by a bunch of freedom-loving originals….. elderly men who in their active lives have been seamen, carpenters or fishermen, and who now in their old days, have found themselves a little oasis here.

….. and the lord’s of the shack city is not just for show. Occasionally they make their skills available (for free) to the harbor, if something should be re-arranged or repaired.

The shack city in Hornbæk exudes an atmosphere of old days, when there was more time to socialize and enjoy life.

Fish cakes (4 serves)

400g minced cod
1 egg
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 dl skimmed milk
1 ½ teaspoon salt
freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons butter

Remoulade Sauce:
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley leaves
2 tablespoons finely chopped green onions, white and green parts
2 tablespoons finely chopped sweet pickles
dash garlic powder
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon Dijon or Creole mustard
few drops Worcestershire sauce
pepper, to taste

Accessories:
Remoulade Sauce
400 g rye bread slices
600 g coarse grated carrots
lemon juice

Do this:
Fish cakes: Touch the minced fish meat with salt. Add the remaining ingredients. Shape the fish cakes. Fry them in a teflon frying pan.

Remoulade sauce: Combine all ingredients. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Server the warm fish cakes with remoulade sauce, toasted rye bread and carrots with lemon juice.

Tips Remoulade Sauce: Add a little prepared horseradish if you like that flavor. This sauce is great with fish cakes or crab cakes.

Enjoy

Lizzy

Photo: private, woman-hood

….. Fyrstiens narrow tunnel….. here, from the vegetated slope…..I see yachts, cutters and small boats….. white motion through blue-gray sea.

The bike sway….. I have sun and wind in my back….. I make a stop where Strandbakken starts….. from the brim there are at least 20 yards down to the beach.

There sea is in motion today, and wind pushes the water out through the sea- funnel. The color is blue-gray, cool and fresh…… the air breathes salt, soil and sea spray. I fill my lungs with fresh Gilleleje air….. it’s so filled with joy, that I should tap it on a can, and save it for a rainy day.

I have chosen the beautiful path that goes from Nakkehoveds slim white lighthouse….. which stands as a trademark on its slope. Its beam sweeps every evening over Gilleleje, Søborg, Munkerup and Dronningmølle as rhythm in the long summer nights….. the shadow path runs from the lighthouse and all the way into Gillelejes old town.

Gilleleje with its picturesque fishermen’s houses which is scattered as a fan in front of the church….. and although Gilleleje look like postcard idyll, make no mistake, the port is the busiest on Sjælland. Here is a wonderful aroma of tar, pitch, bad fish, diesel and guano from the many gulls….. Gilleleje is a fantastic combination of toughness and grace.

The sea looks intense and colorful….. filled with boats that struggle angrily away out there, with sea spray starboard and screaming gulls behind them.

If you are in Gilleleje a summer evening, the highlight of the trip is to watch the sun disappear into a dive between the North Pier and Fishauction….. it is wonderful to sit there between cranes, ramps, nets and ropes….. and if the wind is in west, a lovely aroma of cooking will sneak in on your, from Restaurant Gilleleje havn……

Restaurant Gilleleje havn known for it’s quality cuisine, reasonable prices and fine location just in front of Stejlepladsen and the port.

….. but that’s ok….. the last three weeks has been filled with sunshine and summer, and not even a holiday in Italy could have offered better weather, or provided the framework for a better vacation.

….. but I do love being on holiday in Italy, and in my opinion, the best way to experience Italy and it’s food culture, is to travel around the hinterland and visit some of the many hospitable “agriturisimo”…..

Agriturisimo is an Italian farm that operates as hotel and Bed & Breakfast. Usually they grow their own wine and olive oil….. when my husband and I lived in Italy, we spent a lot of time driving round Tuscany visiting these wonderful places, where we always felt welcome and have had many great food experiences.

But although the holidays this year were not held in Italy, yesterday’s menu was Italian inspired, and some of the ingredients were home grown to (perhaps we should open our own small agriturisimo)…… the recipe, however, was picked up in Sweden, where Karin served this divine pie on midsummer day.

Italian summer pie (6-8 persons)

Dough:
Two dl wheat flour
1 dl dinkel flour
150 g butter
2 tbsp. cold water

Alternative: you can buy a pre-made butter dough (I did).

Filling:
1 bunch green asparagus
1 bunch baby carrots
1 box cress
3 eggs
2 dl whipping cream
2 dl 38% cream fraise
1 ½ dl grated Parmesan
½ teaspoon salt
a pinch of pepper

Do this:
Mix flour and butter to the dough (preferably in a blender).

Add water to the dough is ready. Let it rest 15 minutes in the refrigerator.

Press or roll dough out into a tin with removable rim (about 24 cm diameter).

Bake pie base for approx. 10 minutes at 200 degrees.

Clean the asparagus and carrots.

Cook the vegetables in lightly salted water for approx. 3 minutes. Guilt them in cold water and cut them into smaller pieces. Spread the vegetables on the pie base.

Mix the rest of the ingredients to an egg mixture and season with seasoning. Pour the mixture over the vegetables and punch with a fork so it runs down all over.

Bake pie at the bottom of the oven for approx. 45 minutes to the pie are solid and have a nice color (wrap in foil if needed).

Remove pie from the oven and garnish with cress.

Tips: As you can see on the photos, we served the pie in company of an Italian inspired salad, Parma ham and salami.

Bon Appetit
Lizzy

Photos: private, woman-hood

….. please shut the gate.

Yesterday’s menu: Grilled fruit (4 serves):

4 nectarines
4 plums
6 tomatoes
1 tbsp. sugar
olive oil
salt and pepper
150 - 200 g mozzarella cheese
A bunch basilica

Do this:
Cut stone fruit in halves and remove the stone.

Halve the tomatoes.

Place fruit and tomatoes in a bowl, season with sugar, salt and pepper, sprinkle olive oil over and stir into the fruit.

Grill fruit and tomatoes on the grill.

Place fruit in a bowl and fold Mozzarella and basilica gently into the fruit and serve.

Photos: private, woman-hood

….. over Nordsjælland all day….. a salt afternoon breeze has passed rattling through the lyme grass and ditches….. on it’s way, is has colored the sky with streaks of white clouds.

Now there’s a calm fell over the scene….. it’s so quiet…… it is evening and the trees looks like black silhouettes….. I enjoy the movement…… and the sight of the water surface, almost intoxicating blue….. had it not been for Sweden and Kullen the sky and sea would have drifted into a universe of blue shades.

The last sunlight sparkles in the windows in Sweden and the passing ships gliding up and down the water.

If you’ve never been to Nordsjælland before, go there….. go there on a July evening and experience the magical Nordsjælland….. exotic as the Caribbean, enchanting as the Cyclades in the Greek archipelago, but still so crystal clear, bright and cool as only summer nights in Scandinavia can be.

Photo: private, woman-hood