Black currants. Jam, cookies and berries of the sun.

When I lived in the Faroe Islands, we always had black currant jam at home. Since it's not sold in Swedish stores in other form than jelly, we decided to give it a try and loved it. In danish, the language on most of the food packaging over there, black currants are called solbær, which translates to sun berries. Best name ever.

We have a lot of berry bushes growing around the outside space at work. Last week red currants peaked, next week the gooseberries will be red and ripe, and this week it was time for the black currants. They are huge, almost black and shiny. I picked a huge bunch and froze most of them, but turned some of them into jam. I love the tart, sweet and chunky jam they make, perfect on toast, pancakes, cookies or porridge.

Black currant jam

1000 g black currants
100 ml water
600 ml sugar

Put the currants in a pot with the water and boil until softened. Add sugar and boil on high heat until thickened. Put into can. Eat!

Today I used them for thumbprint cookies, which also is a really simple cookie to make.

125 g non-dairy margarine
175-200 g flour (I used 150 g all-purpose and 25 potato starch, which makes them more delicate)
50 g sugar
a tiny bit of baking powder

Mix all ingredients. Make into balls and put on parchment paper or into small paper liners. Make a well with your thumb and add jam. Bake in 175 C until slightly golden.

 Bonus pic from this weekend´s awesome BBQ. Zucchini, red onions, veggie burgers, white bread and tomatoes, served with potatoes, tomato sauce and green salad.

Monday July 15

 A windowsill grown beef tomato. A french variety called Marmande. The small ones are also grown on the windowsill and are called Sub Arctic Plenty. Both varieties are the best I've had, and there's plenty more on the way!

My bike. It takes me places. Like summer cabins, forests with blueberries, work, downtown and the super market.

I bought a new lens for my camera! A 17-50 mm, which will make photos like this possible in endless varieties.

We bought a dishwasher!! To celebrate, we made tacos with a lot of stuff in different bowls, to truly enjoy not having to wash the dishes by hand. Also, sale on avocados made for guacamole!

Wheat tortilla (whyyy can´t you buy corn ones here?) with soy mince, zucchini, lettuce, corn, cucumber, pickled red onions (Viva Vegan), guacamole, onions and salsa.

Dessert. Water melon and coffee. 

July 13

After getting off work this Friday, I went home and jumped on my bike. I rode 25 K in the blasting sunshine through the city, beside the freeway and most of the time, on a winding country road through a beautiful landscape filled with fields where rapeseed, rye, wheat and hay was growing. I arrived to the destination, my mother in laws cottage and while she and Martin made dinner, I jumped into her small cold swimming pool. I cooled down and spent the rest of the evening sitting on the porch.

I woke up to an even warmer and sunnier day, after a nights sleep close to my favorite person in the most cute summery bedroom there is. Tiny with only a bed and very little floor space, light colors and bed sheets with roses. The day was spent doing a little garden work, floating around in the pool, listening to summer radio shows, doing headstands in the pool and firing up the BBQ.

We went home in the early evening, warm and tired from a day outside, and cooked up some cold noodle salad. We were greeted by Lucia the cat and some tomato plants desperately screaming for water.

Days like these is what we live for. 

A weekend in Gothenburg

Last Friday when I got off work I took the train to the west coast to see my family. I stayed with my sister in her very first own apartment, and we celebrated by getting thai take out. There were 20 + dishes on the menu, all of witch could be had with tofu instead of meat. Feeling overwhelmed by alternatives, I went with peanut sauce, always a winner.

Late summer night soy cappuccino in my mother´s garden.

And barbecued nectarines!!!! 

July

I eat my homegrown tomatoes almost every day, picking them off the shrubs when they get ready. Tonight I made oven roasted fennel and tomatoes. Ate it with pasta and sat out on the balcony over flowing with plants and talking about our trip to Iceland in late summer. After dinner I spend an hour re-potting some chili plants and a brand new huge basil plant.

This is high season for couchsurfers. I get a lot of requests, but say no to most people. I say yes to the ones that writes nice requests and sounds interesting. So far only girls have made the cut for some reason, and there's been three french ones, one greek and now two lithuanian ones. Letting strangers into my life is satisfying and fun, trusting people should be a given.

We spend the weekends in my mother in laws summer cottage. I play in the small pool like a kid, listen to radio and fall asleep in the sofa in the early evening. We eat rhubarb and strawberries and can't wait for the rest of the berries to get ripe in gardens and the forest.

I'll be better with sharing my food with you, until they, enjoy summer.