My first home grown tomato!

Sub Arctic Plenty. 

Rice salad with veggies and pan fried tofu

This morning, I woke up at 5.30 by myself, 5 minutes before the alarm was about to get off and 30 minutes before I usually wake up after 6 snooze sessions. That gave me the time to make a marinade to put some tofu in. I mixed soy sauce, strong chai tea, sugar, oil, salt, black pepper and rice vinegar and put chunks of tofu in it. So when we came home tonight after running errands and attening a 7-year olds birthday party, dinner was easy. I pan fried the tofu, made a simple cold sauce and a salad (brown rice + roasted carrots + snap peas + red onions + leek) with a dressing with orange marmalade in it. A good start for the weekend!

Napa cabbage for dinner

Tonight's dinner was fried rice (brown rice + onion + edamame + broccoli + miso) with button mushrooms and napa cabbage seasoned with sriracha, garlic, japanese soy sauce and rice vinegar. Vinegar on slightly wilted warm cabbage is heavenly, something I learned while WOOFing in England. 

Quinoa salad with beans and toasted cumin seeds.

I flipped through Appetite for Reduction and my eyes found this recipe. I've never really been considering making this before, for reasons that are unknown to me. Because when I finally made it, it was so good! I subbed red beans for the black ones and chives for the scallions. I will definitely make it again, but I would probably eat it along with something, such as tofu or perhaps some steamed veggies. Or why not as a side dish to BBQ?

Rhubarb lemonade with cinnamon

2000 gram rhubarb stalks
juice of 1 lemon
600 ml water
2 cinnamon sticks
500 ml sugar/1000 ml rhubarb juice

Chop the rhubarb finely and add to a big pot with lemon juice, water and cinnamon sticks. Bring to a boil and let simmer covered until the rhubarb is very soft. Strain with cheesecloth or a kitchen towel, make sure to get all the juice out of it. Add sugar and let come to a boil, stirring all the time. Pour the lemonade into bottles. The lemonade will have to be cut with water, try it out to see how much you need!

Cabbage-lentil-rice bake with chantarell sauce.

To me this is a dish that feels truly Swedish. Perhaps a bit more appropriate for fall, since it's true comfort food, and chantarelles grows in fall. Also the lingonberries, which is a must as a condiment for me. However, both chantarelles and lingonberries keeps well, if dried and freezed, and who doesn't need a little bit of comfort even in summer?

How to:
1. Cut cabbage in desired shape, as in thin stripes or small cubes. Cook it in a big pan together with onions, soy sauce, thyme, salt, pepper and desired sweetener until soft but chewy.
2. Mix in boiled green lentils and rice, and adjust seasoning.
3. Put in oven safe dish and bake until browned and crisp on top.
4. Dehydrate the mushrooms if dried or sautee them if fresh. Mix into your gravy of choice.
5. Serve with lingonberry jam.

A night in Swedens most primitive hostel.

We headed north this Saturday. North-east to be specific, and we wound up in the forest.

The reason for heading north, as if needing one, was a night in this little hut. It's a reconstruction of a hut just like the ones the people who made charcoal back in the days took shelter in while watching the process. Now, there's a place just outside of Skinnskatteberg with reconstructed huts where you can stay over. The place is called Kolarbyn.

 The huts were surrounded by green. Moss, low vegetation, pines and birch.

We took a walk along this path, down to the lake.

I went for a little swim. I love the feeling of wild water around me. 

Soon, it was time for dinner. With no electricity or running water, the dinner was cooked over open fire.

Brought a wheat berry+veggie salad and a sauce, and fired up some veggie burgers. 

We spent the entire evening lying down in our hut, reading, talking and watching the fire. I feel asleep early on the hard surface and slept well for 11 hours.

We had fire toasted bread for breakfast, and the smoky taste paired with the sweet orange marmalade.

 One last look at the pretties little hut ever.

Non-ripe tomatoes and chili peppers.

I have no garden, but big windows and a big balcony. This year, I'm growing tomatoes, chili peppers and some borlotti beans. Above is a tomato called Sub Arctic Plenty. 








































Marmande.



















Bhut Jolokia, on a plant that I've kept from last year.