stockholm weekend pics, a canadian thanksgiving

an evening showcasing the best of life... good food, wine that keeps on pouring, a pear pie and, most especially, friendship.  we have so much to be thankful for, and happy to keep this tradition going while living in stockholm.  

this is the mol family's first canadian thanksgiving. we gave them all the trimmings... turkey, carrots glazed in maple syrup, mashed potatoes, and corn on the cob.  oh, and the best corn stuffing ever... so grateful to petter for sharing the recipe.  you'll want to make this so keep scrolling :)

thanks for the pic frederique!

herb and bacon cornbread stuffing (epicurious link here)

what you need:
2 loaves cornbread (make from scratch here)
6 large celery
2 large onions
1 lbs sliced bacon
1/2 cup chopped mixed herbs i.e thyme, sage, rosemary
1 cup turkey broth
1/4 cup reserved fat from roast turkey

what to do:

preheat oven to 325° f. and butter a 4-quart baking dish.

cut corn bread into 1/2-inch cubes and dry in 2 large shallow baking pans in oven 20 minutes. remove corn bread from oven and leave oven at 325° F. coarsely chop separately celery, onions, and bacon.

in a large, deep skillet sauté bacon over moderately high heat, stirring, until browned, about 10 minutes. add celery and onions and cook, stirring, until vegetables are softened, about 5 minutes. add herbs and salt and pepper to taste and cook, stirring, 1 minute.

in a large bowl toss together corn bread and bacon mixture and transfer to baking dish. stuffing may be prepared up to this point 1 day ahead and cooled completely before being chilled, covered.

drizzle stock or broth over stuffing and bake, covered, 1 hour. drizzle reserved fat or butter over stuffing and bake, uncovered, in upper third of oven 30 minutes more, or until top is golden. 

enjoy!

happy thanksgiving to my canadian family and friends!  i miss you guys.

moist chocolate muffins... with wild blueberries

this recipe was suggested by nine year old cecelia who loves to bake. she substituted half the chocolate chips with wild blueberries she picked herself in her forest garden.  hearing the rave reviews we had to try them for ourselves.  so, with our own just picked wild blueberries, we did just that.  well, actually, kai did the baking :-)

and the verdict?  the muffins were incredibly good, so delicious, and addictive... something about the blueberries and chocolate works perfectly. 

what you will need

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup white sugar

3/4 cup chocolate chips (remember use half chocolate chips and half blueberries)

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 egg

1 cup plain yogurt

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup chocolate chips

what to do

preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).  grease 12 muffin cups or line with paper muffin liners.

combine flour, sugar, 3/4 cup chocolate chips, cocoa powder, and baking soda in a large bowl.  whisk egg, yogurt, milk and vegetable oil in another bowl until smooth; pour into chocolate mixture and stir until batter is just blended.  fill prepared muffin cups 2/4 full and sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup chocolate chips.

bake in preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 20 minutes.  cool in the pans for 10 minutes before removing to cool completely on a wire rack.

i want everyone to try these muffins.  i'll be back here mid-august and i want to know if you loved them as much as we did.

blt salad and flank steak

whenever my body needs some iron i ask stefan to make me flank steak.  it's so good!  and this time he accompanied it with a blt salad which was also delicious!  the latter is a rachel ray recipe.

what you will need:

2.5 pounds small red skin new potatoes

1 leek, trimmed of tough tops

4 thick cut smoky bacon, chopped

1 cup chicken broth or stock

1 vine ripe tomato, seeded and chopped

salt and pepper

1 cup sour cream

what to do:

cut larger potatoes in half, leave very small potatoes whole.  place potatoes in a pot and cover with water.  bring to a boil and cook potatoes 12 - 15 minutes until tender.

cut leek in half lengthwise.  chop into 1/2 inch pieces.  place leeks in a big bowl of water and release all the dirt from them with a good swish, separating all the layers.  drain leeks in a colander.

put a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil into a hot nonstick skillet over medium high heat.  cook bacon 3-5 minutes until it begins to crisp and has rendered most of its fat.  add leeks to the skillet and cook 3-5 minutes more until the leeks are tender.

drain the potatoes and return them to the hot pot.  smash the potatoes with the chicken stock.  add the blt: bacon, leeks and tomatoes to the potatoes and continue to smash.  season the potatoes with salt and pepper to your taste.

if you like, top potatoes with a dollop of sour cream.  

serve with flank steak  - stefan just marinates his in some cumin, chili powder, garlic and smoked paprika.

enjoy and have a lovely weekend!

peanut butter noodles

when stefan is away for work, this is one dish i cook for kai and i because we love peanut butter and stefan does not.  this super easy recipe comes from dinner: a love story.  

peanut butter noodles

ingredients you will need:

udon noodles (i use tagliatelle pasta)

1 small garlic clove (i put in a couple of cloves)

1 piece fresh peeled ginger, about 1 inch

1/2 cup smooth peanut butter (i use the natural kind)

2/3 cup warm water

1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon sesame oil

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

1 teaspoon sugar

1/2 to 1 teaspoon red chili flakes 

any combination of following toppings:  sliced cucumbers, chopped peanuts, sugar snap peas, and shredded chicken (i top with chopped peanuts and roasted broccoli or saute spinach).

what to do:

prepare the noodles according to the package instructions.  set aside.

with the motor running, drop garlic and ginger in the bowl of a food processor until finely chopped.  add peanut butter, water, soy sauce, sesame oil, vinegar, sugar, and chili flakes and process until smooth.

toss with the noodles and add the desired toppings.

enjoy.

halloween in stockholm

halloween is not quite the same in stockholm as it is in north america.  

halloween - saints day - is celebrated by paying respects to loved ones that have passed on.  many shops close for the day and many swedes take the day off work too to spend time with family.  the place to go is not door to door collecting candy but instead to the cemetery to light a candle or two.  it is said that cemeteries are flooded with beautiful candlelight on this night.  take a peek here and here.

tricking or treating does happen but on a low key scale.  although kai collected a total of 10 candies (!) he had access to many more at the halloween party we attended.  and, he had a blast with the other kiddos playing games and working in the haunted room.

the decor was amazing!  céline, our french hostess, is the craftiest woman i know, she thought about every detail.  the guests were decked out too - there was a flamingo dancer, a lumberjack (stefan), zombies, cats, indian jones made an appearance, beat up hockey players, and more.   the food was also creative - meatloaf to look like creepy hands in a pile of mush, pumpkins throwing up avocado dip, dessert mummies, and stefan's witch fingers.  one little boy refused to eat them - "but they belong to someone" - even though he was repeatedly told they were pretend :)

witch fingers
adapted from martha stewart's recipe

what you will need
2 tablespoons red food coloring
30 blanched almonds
2 large eggs
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar 
5 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 pinch salt
1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
* stefan thought the cookies were too sweet and suggests cutting the sugar by two thirds

what to do

1. heat oven to 350°. line two baking sheets with silpats (french nonstick baking mats) or parchment paper, and set aside.
2. place food coloring in a shallow bowl. crack each whole almond into halves. and toss them into the bowl with the food coloring and stir them until the color is evenly distributed. leave them in the bowl and stir them every so often until the color is as dark as you like. * stefan prepared the almond halves and put them aside but didn't place them in the food coloring, keep reading)
3. separate 1 egg. set aside the white. in a small bowl, whisk together yolk, remaining egg, and vanilla. set aside.
4. in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine butter, confectioners' sugar, granulated sugar, and salt. beat on medium speed until well combined. add egg mixture, and beat until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add the flour, and mix on low speed just until incorporated. wrap the dough in plastic, and chill until firm, 20 to 30 minutes.

1. divide the dough in half. work with one piece at a time, keeping remaining dough covered with plastic wrap and chilled. divide the first half into fifteen pieces. on a lightly floured surface, roll each piece back and forth with palms into finger shapes, 3 to 4 inches long. pinch dough in two places to form knuckles. score each knuckle lightly with the back of a small knife. transfer fingers to prepared baking sheets. repeat with remaining dough.
2. when all fingers are formed, brush lightly with egg white. position almond nails; push into dough to attach. * stefan placed some red jelly on the nail beds before applying the almond nails to give a red rim around the almond nails.
3. bake until lightly browned, about 12 minutes. cool completely.  * stefan says the ends of the fingers come out too rounded after they are baked so he suggests after they have cooled for a bit, cut off the ends and insert an almond sliver to look like the fingers were ripped off and bone was protruding.  then to make them even more creepy, once the fingers were completely cooled he dipped their ends into raspberry jam for that extra bloody, severed look!  it's very effective.  
4. note: to make the knuckles more creepy just shape them big and uneven. to keep them from puffing out too much roll the fingers extra skinny (skinnier than you want them to look if that makes sense). i also try to get them out of the oven before they brown. i sometimes add a bit of almond extract to dough. * stefan says to definitely add about 1/2 teaspoon of the almond extract to the dough.

1. enjoy, if you dare!  i will ask friends to send me their pics of the witch fingers since i definitely will not be able to access my dead iphone's photos.
2. hope you had a scary halloween with lots of candy.

stockholm weekend pics, taste of stockholm / sweden national day

the weather was crazy making.  it would rain but then not really.  the sun would peek out creating beautiful warmth then hide and make it cold.  all weekend, so weird.  anyway, i'm not allowed to complain about the weather at home anymore so i'm choosing to do so in this space.  it's my blog and i can complain if i want to, right?

we spent lots of cozy time indoors playing games, watching jurassic park 1 & 2, and eating picnic style with pickles, cheese, crackers, chorizo, bread, tuna salad, and local strawberries.  

we spent time in the rain during sweden national day when we attended kai's soccer fotboll match (kai says we are in sweden and i mustn't call soccer soccer anymore!) and indulged in indian dishes from the tiffin food truck.  and, stefan made the most delicious vegan and gluten-free cake.  he just made it when i suggested it without any complaints. i'm so glad he did, it's divine.  recipe here, stefan says to make it with more coffee than suggested in the recipe!

we spent time in the is-it-raining weather when we gathered with ximena and famly for the taste of stockholm in downtown kungstradgarden.  the upside was that it wasn't very crowded due to the iffy weather.  so much food, with about twenty-five / food trucks present.  it was a feast for the eyes.  sunday afternoon champagne with strawberry topped almond cake for a starter!  this was followed by fish tacos for the girls, pulled pork sandwiches for the boys, mini sausages for the kiddos/adults as the main course.  and we finished with eclairs and churros for dessert.  total indulgence, all sundays should be like this :)

 

 

 

hope you had a lovely weekend.

so good, chocolate chip cookies

stefan and kai made the most delicious chocolate chip cookies last week.  crisp and moist.  the secret ingredients according to kai, "dad browned the butter and he used two kinds of sugar.  that's why they are so good."  

as most good things stefan cooks up, this recipe comes from cook's illustrated magazine.  stefan says to reduce the sugar a bit, "maybe take a bit out of the 1/2 cup white sugar (a few tablespoons) and do the same for the brown sugar."

* warning: it's really hard to eat just one cookie in a sitting so make sure you drink your green juice the next day.  enjoy!

perfect chocolate chip cookies

 

ingredients you will need:

1 ¾ cups unbleached all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon baking soda

14 tablespoons unsalted butter

½ cup granulated sugar

¾ cup packed dark brown sugar

1 teaspoon table salt

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 large egg

1 large egg yolk

1¼ cups semisweet chocolate chips (stefan used lindt baking chocolate from our neighborhood grocery store)

what to do:

adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees.

                   

whisk flour and baking soda together in medium bowl; set aside.

heat 10 tablespoons butter in 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat until melted, about 2 minutes. continue cooking, swirling pan constantly until butter is dark golden brown and has nutty aroma, 1 to 3 minutes. remove skillet from heat and, using heatproof spatula, transfer browned butter to large heatproof bowl.

stir remaining 4 tablespoons butter into hot butter until completely melted.

add both sugars, salt and vanilla to bowl with butter and whisk until fully incorporated.

add egg and yolk and whisk until mixture is smooth with no sugar lumps remaining, about 30 seconds. let mixture stand for 3 minutes, then whisk for 30 seconds. repeat process of resting and whisking 2 more times until mixture is thick, smooth and shiny.

using rubber spatula or wooden spoon, stir in flour mixture until just combined, about 1 minute. stir in chocolate chips and nuts (if using), giving dough final stir to ensure no flour pockets remain.

using a tablespoon, scoop out as much cookie dough as necessary to make the size of cookies you desire. 

bake cookies 1 tray at a time until cookies are golden brown and still puffy, and edges have begun to set but centers are still soft, 9-11 minutes.

transfer baking sheet to wire rack; and allow cookies to cool.

crushed beets

 

oh my goodness!  guys, stefan made the most beautiful and delicious beet salad on the weekend.  i could have included it with my weekend pics post but i think it deserves a post all of its own.  the salad is that good.

it first started when the bon appetite magazine arrived in the mail. as i flipped through the magazine i earmarked recipes for stefan to consider cooking and the beet salad was one of them.  so, when he took notice he happily obliged and served up some skirt steak to accompany the beets.  i love eating this way - spontaneous and stefan always pulls it off, putting together a lovely weekend meal.

 

i was savouring each mouthful, delighting in the flavour, and saying over and over again how this salad should become a weekly tradition.  these beets are gorgeous!

 

 

here is the recipe from bon appetite magazine and perfectly prepared by stefan:

 

crushed beets with lemon vinaigrette

 

ingredients you will need:

2 pounds mixed small or medium beets, scrubbed      

6 tablespoons olive oil, divided, plus more      

kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper      

2 tablespoons finely grated lemon zest
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
¼ cup (lightly packed) fresh mint leaves, plus more
2 tablespoons torn fresh dill, plus more
½ cup labneh (lebanese strained yogurt) or plain greek yogurt
flaky sea salt (such as maldon)

 

what to do:
preheat oven to 400°. divide beets between 2 large sheets of foil. drizzle beets on each sheet with ½ tbsp. oil; season with kosher salt and pepper and wrap up foil around beets. roast on a rimmed baking sheet until tender, 40–50 minutes. let cool slightly, then, using a paper towel, rub skins from beets (they should slip off easily). crush beets with the bottom of a small bowl (it’s alright if they fall apart).

 

meanwhile, whisk lemon zest, lemon juice, and 2 tbsp. oil in a large bowl; set vinaigrette aside.

 

heat 3 tbsp. oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. add beets, season with kosher salt and pepper, and cook until browned, about 4 minutes per side. transfer to bowl with vinaigrette, add ¼ cup mint and 2 tbsp. dill, and toss to coat.

 

serve beets and dollops of labneh drizzled with more oil, topped with more herbs, and seasoned with pepper and sea salt.

 

what are you waiting for?  make this.

 

top photo from bon appetit

peanut butter banana gluten-free muffins

photographic evidence that i don't belong in the kitchen:

 

 

last night kai and i decided to make muffins.  we love peanut butter so when i came across this recipe i knew it was written just for us.  and the bonus?  all ingredients are thrown into a blender!  how easy it that, right?

 

kai did all the work, assembling the ingredients and tossing them into the blender.  he did his part perfectly.  with each ingredient added we were getting giddy with anticipation - we were looking forward to devouring them.  then he switched it on. 

 

the bowl jumped right out of the base and the ingredients splattered!  evidently, i didn't screw the bowl in tightly.  after the shock and the yelling (from me, "turn it off! turn if off! right now!") and kai's tears dried up, he said "all of that peanut butter is ruined."  i felt like i failed him.  a fun and delicious activity turned into tears and a big kitchen mess.

 

carrot cake from our neighbourhood café, the wicked, saved the evening.  and this morning we are able to laugh about it. 

 



 

peanut butter banana gluten-free muffins

 

ingredients you will need

1½ cup peanut butter

3 ripe medium sized bananas (mashed)

3 large eggs

1½ tsp vanilla

2 tbsp of honey

1 tbsp coconut sugar (optional)

1 tsp baking soda

1½ tsp apple cider vinegar

 

what to do

preheat oven to 400 degrees.

place all ingredients into a blender or food processor.
blend until well mixed. (stop your blender or food processor a few times and scrap the sides to make sure everything mixes evenly)

pour batter into greased muffin tins or use cupcake liners

optional: add a few chocolate chips to the top of each muffin before baking

bake for 10-15 minutes.

optional: when they come out of the oven, drizzle some melted peanut butter over top of each one.

 

kai and i plan on trying again.  in the meantime, if you try them, let me know if they are as moist and delicious as i think they will. 







three recipes i want stefan to cook



three recipes i want stefan to cook /  thai beef stew with lemongrass and noodles, crispy ceci and roasted root vegetable fajitas.

did i get your attention at crispy ceci?  i thought so. we have eaten these at campagnolo every single time we visit the restaurant which is conveniently located near us.  and lucky us, they released the recipe just a couple of months ago for their fifth anniversary. i cannot wait for stefan to give it a try at home!