Vegan Döner Kebab in Örebro + my christmas tree

A friend told us earlier this week about a new place in town called Döner Kebab that have some vegan/vegetarian food options on their menu. We headed over there yesterday before watching a bandy game. We both ordered the veggie döner kebab in flatbread. The kebab "meat" was made out of seitan and tasted awesome. Other options on the menu is having the kebab on a plate with fries or in pita, falafel (roll, plate, pita) or vegan seitan patties with boiled potatoes and sauce. I'll definitely go here again. (Döner Kebab, Drottninggatan 35 Örebro)

Family Friday: Cardamom buns

For this Family Friday I wanted to (once more) write about my mother. I wanted to share some pictures and stories of all the amazing food she has cooked for me but I quickly found I had no photos of her food. Shame on me, shame shame on me. I'll do better and snap away in the future, and share some of that with you later on.

After making this realization, I went to make a dough for cardamom buns. Quickly, my mind went to how me and her used to bake cinnamon rolls together when I was little. I got to crumble the fresh yeast, stir it with salt until melted and stir in some of the flour. When the dough was ready I got to make cinnamon rolls, while she made twisted vanilla buns. I was always so impressed by the ones she made and it seemed SO difficult. I continued to roll and slice the cinnamon rolls and now I'm all grown up. Grown up, and able to make my own pretty twisted buns.

These cardamom buns are just a sweet yeasted dough, like the one used for cinnamon rolls, filled with cardamom and sugar and twisted up and topped with pearl sugar. Yum.

Lingonberry Tuesday: Balls and potatoes

One of the most classic Swedish foods might be meatballs, potatoes, sauce and lingonberries. So of course I had to make it for Lingonberry Tuesday! I decided to make the Black Eyed Pea and Tempeh Beanballs from Appetite for Reduction. They had a great taste but because of a misunderstanding between the two chefs of this kitchen they came out very dry and crumbly. But they were good crumbled into the sauce were they became hydrated once more!

I served the balls with boiled potatoes, a simple gravy with onions, some ice berg lettuce and of course, the lingonberry jam!

Lingonberry jam

Lingonberries, the red gold of the Swedish forests. A tart firm berry that is easily cooked down to a jam that can be eaten with a wide variety of foods, sweet or savory doesn't matter. Myself, I prefer it with savory foods such as potatoes. Martin on the other hand, eats if with his morning cereal every morning.

Lingonberry jam
Ridicolously easy, this jam will gel easily since lingonberries contains so much pectin. Use sugar to your liking, more sugar, the more the jam will set. I use about 3 part berries to 2 parts sugar, but I like it kind of sweet. You could easily cut down to 1 part sugar or even less.

what you'll need
fresh or frozen lingonberries
granulated sugar
water

How to
Add the lingonberries to a heavy bottomed pot and add a little bit of water. Add sugar and heat on medium heat, stirring frequently until the berries has released their water and mixed with the sugar. Turn heat up and bring to a heavy boil, then turn off the heat and take the pot away. Stir and can.

Raw lingonberry jam
Another way to enjoy these berries is to stir fresh (or thawed frozen) berries with sugar according to taste, until the berries have softened and the sugar has dissolved. Brings out the flavour in an almost unreal way.

Recipes on the blog that goes great with lingonberry jam:
- Vegan Swedish Christmassy Meatballs
- Fishy wheat germ patties
- Creamy chantarelle sauce
- Autumn stew with juniper berries
- Pitepalt

And be sure, there will be a lot of suggestions for how to use this glorious jam during this month and onwards!

Have you ever eaten lingonberries in some form?

 

Strawberries

Saturday, we went to a U-pick and got ourself 5 kilos of strawberries.

A lot of them (but still a small part) went straight into our mouths, but I also managed to make a big pot of strawberry vanilla jam, and put the rest in the freezer for the future.

Tahini and almond butter.

My two favourite things in my fridge right now (next to the cold brewed coffee and mint syrup); almond butter and tahini. My love for tahini knows no bounds - it's great in and on so many foods!  While I do live the light and liquid-y stuff, it's kind of expensive here and I'll eat a big jar in less than two weeks, easy. So I got this one instead and it's great. It's actually not that expensive, although it's produced in Sweden, organic and only contains sesame seeds and a little salt. It's on the darker side and really thick. I love it on top of steamed veggies or stirred into whatever. Also, do try it in baked goods. Celine is the queen of sweets including tahini - go check out this banana cake for example!

I know I'm late on the train for almond butter, but this is the first time I've ever tried it! I found a small jar of it from the same brand as the tahini, and like that, it's also organic, produced in Sweden and only contains almonds. Oh my. It's heaven on a spoon. I eat it with sliced banana. I have a feeling almond butter is a friend who's here to stay.

(The brand is called Kung Markatta and is a Swedish organic brand)

My sister's graduation (Sandwich cake!)

Thursday May 31st, my sister Isabella graduated from school (I'm not even going to try to describe the school system here, but let's just say she's 19 and ready to go to university if she wants to).  This picture show's the most comon Swedish traditions when it comes to graduation. She's wearing the hat, the white dress and in her hands she has a placard with a picture of herself as a kid. Around her neck is stuffed animals and flowers that we hung on her after she had ran out from school together with her classmates, and of course, there's a big smile on her lips.

Of course we had the most festive of Swedish food on the reception, sandwich cake! Mine had 4 layers, with baba ganoush, hummus, non-dairy cream cheese and cremini mushrooms in between, and vegan mayo, seaweed caviar, lemon, olives, cherry tomatoes and dill on top. It was so good.

Seriously, this girl is so lovable, sweet, clever and funny. I couldn't be a prouder sister

Lily of the Valley's and coffee with loads of soy milk foam.

I'm going to end this post with these two pictures of my sister. On the left she's wearing her graduation outfit, with the white dress that she made herself! Mind blowing. On the right is her outfit that she wore when she went to the party in the evening.

Isabella's sausage stew

In a week from today, my baby sister is graduating from school. She is 19, and about to go out and explore the world. Isabella usually goes by "Bella", which my grandmother detests since she think it is a name suiting a cow. However, my sister couldn't be more different from a cow, so don't worry. She has many great qualities, but maybe what's most deeply rooted in her is her kindness and how she care´s for her friends. It's a care and kindness that will sometimes get her into trouble, but most of all it's an amazing characteristic. And hey, if she gets into trouble, I'll be there and fight for her. Always. 
























Isabella's sausage stew
A variation of a common Swedish dish, she has self proclaimed it to be the best sausage stew in the world. 

1/2 yellow onion
veggie sausages (as much as you want)
1 can crushed tomatoes
1 clove of garlic, minced
3 tbs non-dairy cooking creamer or milk
ketchup, to taste
1 tbs tomato paste
salt, pepper, paprika, basil and red chili, to taste

Finely chop the onion and sauté in a pan until translucent. Cut the sausage into bite size pieces and add to the pan. Sauté until a bit browned. Add garlic, tomatoes, cream, ketchup, tomato paste and spices. Let cook for a couple of minutes. Serve with pasta or rice.

Locally grown mushrooms

Today I went to the second hand store in town to buy a belt for me new jeans, and once again saw the sign that said "mushroom for sale" and an arrow directed towards the parking lot. I've seen it before, but never really understood where they're sold and why. Today I gave in and went looking for the place, and found a small dark basement room. When I went in there, I got to know that they were growing the mushrooms there, in two closed areas. I got to see it and I wish I had my camera! I must go back someday and snap some pictures. I bought a pound of mushrooms for 25 SEK (3.5$) which I think was quite a bargain. And they have been growing less than a mile from my house!

 

I had to use them for dinner, and ended up with mashed potatoes and parsnips with a mushroom carrot stew flavored with thyme, Dijon mustard and a splash of red wine. On the side there was lingonberry jam still warm from the stove, and some pickled cucumbers. I still have loads of mushrooms left and will use some of them to make the mushroom tibs from Appetite for Reduction.

Cabbage pancakes

 

I'm reading on a lot of blogs from the U.S that it's strawberry season. When I read that, I tend to look out the window, let out a big sigh and curse the fact that I live so far up north. Let me tell you, it's not strawberry season here, not even close. The last snowfall wasn't even a week ago and the trees are still naked without leaves.  It has it's charm though, waiting for the green to explode. And I dare say I believe it's close now.



















Meanwhile, I continue eating one of my favorite and most simple winter meals ever. Cabbage pancakes with lingonberry jam. It's super simple, just finely chopped cabbage mixed with flour, baking powder, water and salt, then fried up and served with a generous spoon of jam. Yes, we eat sweet jam with savory foods in Sweden. The cucumber isn't very seasonal but hey, I got to live a little too.

This weekend we spent Saturday in Martins mother's summer cottage. We worked hard burning loads of cut down pine trees. Later in the evening, I took a long walk by my self and saw a total of 18 roe deers. I love life on the countryside.

Easter

Easter - the holiday that will bring you giant eggs out of paper with colorful patterns on them, filled with candy.


























I made a punk rock cookie jar mix - with inspiration from the PPK blog, to give as a gift.



















We had easter lunch at Martins mother's house, and she had made this absolutely stunning cake that we call princess cake in Sweden. It's a layered cake filled with jam and whipped cream, and topped with marzipan.

Can you believe it fell snow again just a few days ago? Come on, it's APRIL!

I made vegan version of one of Swedens most popular holiday foods - herring. Here is vegan mustard herring, but with aubergine instead of the fish! I used a recipe from The Vegan Swedes. It was really really good and I would recommend eating it with potatoes and knäckebröd.

Happy Shrove Tuesday!

Today is Shrove Tuesday and here in Sweden we celebrate by eating a semla (or two, or three). I blogged about it last year, so I'm not going to say much about it today.  I just wanted to remind you to make one, since it's one of the best Swedish treats there is. I mean, it's a fluffy sweet bun filled with almond paste and whipped cream, doesn't that say it all? Above is the one I had today when coming home from school.

A semla is great served with coffee. Just don't get to exited about the tastiness of the semla so you spill it all.

Last years semlor, eaten in Reykjavík, Iceland. 

Two years ago I did a chocolate coffee variation. I added some cocoa powder  to the dough, then added chopped chocolate and some coffee to the almond paste, as well as some cocoa powder in the cream.

Falukorv / Falu sausage

To me, Falukorv is in the top five when I think about common easy Swedish meals. It's a thick sausage originated in the town Falun in about 1890, and can be served in many ways, most commonly sliced and fried and served with elbow macaronis, or oven baked and served with mashed potatoes. That's how we ate it today.

I'm not going to write this as a recipe, since I wouldn't think a sausage like this is avaliable in vegan versions anywhere else, but the concept is easy: slice it (but not all the way down), squirt some mustard in between the slices, add some thinly cut apple in there as well, and top it off with some vegan cheese. Bake it in 225 C for about 20 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the sausage is browned. Serve with mashed potatoes and ketchup!

Sandwich cake.

Sandwich cake. Definitely one of the more fun Swedish dishes there is, this is a cake made out of sandwiches. The concept is simple, bread is stacked with various fillings in between and decorated, then sliced into pieces and eaten as any other cake, just not as dessert. Most common on festive occasions, like birthdays, graduation parties or midsummer celebrations, this is a crowd pleaser for sure. Usually the fillings are connected with tastes from the sea, but you can really fill it with whatever you want to. Hummus, tartex and mushroom paté would all be nice fillings, and with the toppings you can go wild and use whatever rocks your boat.

This one was made for Martin's birthday party, and had two fillings. One very similar to skagen mix, but with chickpeas instead of tofu, and the other one was made with yellow lentils, apple, leeks, curry and mustard. On top there's non-dairy cream cheese, cucumbers, tomatoes, seaweed topping and blood oranges.

 And since it was a party, of course there was baked goods. I didn't take any pictures, but it was kind of the same buns as in this picture taken 3 years ago (sweet yeasted buns filled with vanilla custard and dipped in sugar) and peanut butter chocolate pillows.

A christmas story

I spent a week in Gothenburg with my family over the holidays. My mother had decorated the house really nicely with amongst others, this handmade candle and a super duper old tomte.

We ate a lot of very good traditional christmas food, mine was veganized of course! Here are the Vegan Swedish Christmassy Meatballs and brussel sprouts. In the background are some red cabbage.

The centerpiece on the Swedish christmas table is usually a mustard coated ham, here is a one that is not made from a pig's butt but from the beloved soybean.





















My grandmother, Inger, and a plant that was blooming on my relatives balcony.





















Me and the hostess of the party at christmas eve, Carina and me during a game where everyone got to wear a mustache.



















My sister, Isabella.



















Family.

My mother always decorate the christmas tree with the most adorable ornaments. How about a cat with a bunch of books on the back?

Christmassy breakfast, rice pudding with sugar and cinnamon.

We went for dinner at my grandparents on Boxing Day and she made me the most wonderful lasagna with creamed spinach. I even got to take home the leftovers and ate them for lunch the day after.

The boys of the family. And man.





















Sick of christmas food, we cooked up some other dinners the following days. On the left is a salad with string beans, sunflower sprouts, bell pepper and a dressing made with coconut, ginger and chili. On the right is deep fried artichoke hearts that were later dipped in a mango sauce. Out of this world. 

The food loot I brought home. Loads of different hot sauces, sweets and fun stuff. Two tiny pans - perfect for pancakes.

I also got some stuff from Lush. Vanillary perfume, You Snap the Whip body butter, Candy Cane soap and Northern Lights soap.