Beautiful evenings

We have only got just over a week left in Sweden before we return to England.

It will be lovely to see all our friends and family again, but we will miss sunsets like this.

Something "naughty but nice" for the weekend

Beskvier, that's the Swedish name for these lovely little chocolate treats. They are so naughty but so yummy.
I'm trying to loos the baby wight (yes, I still haven't lost it) so I had to give them all away straight after I made them.
But for all you out there that would like to do some Saturday afternoon baking, here is the recipe.

Traditionally Beskvier are made whit grated almonds but I used grated hazelnuts in this recipe.

140g grated hazelnuts
85g caster sugar
3 egg whites
80g 70% chocolate
150g butter
90g icing sugar
1 egg yolk
15 raspberries
100 g white chocolate
100g dark chocolate

Start with the biscuit base.
Mix the grated hazelnuts, sugar and egg whites.
Spoon out 15 "balls" of the mixture on a baking tray lined with grease proof paper. Flatten the balls slightly with wet hands.
Bake at 200C foe 12-15 mins.

Melt 80g Chocolate, whisk butter and icing sugar until light and airy then add the egg yolk.
Fold in the melted chocolate.

When the biscuits have coled down turn them up side down and spread a thin layer of the butter cream over the top. Place 1 raspberry in the middle of each of them.
Cover the raspberry with butter cream so the you get a peak on top of the biscuit.
Put them in the freezer fro 30 mins or in the fridge for 2-3 hours so the they are very cold before you dip them in chocolate.

I dipped mine in a mix of melted white and dark chocolate to get the striped effect. But you can just as well just use one type of chocolate.

Good luck and have a nice weekend.

Snow Babies

I found this article on BBC's website. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-21537988

It is about how we in Scandinavia let our babies sleep outside even if it is very cold.
I understand that to many people it could sound like madness to let your baby sleep outside when it is
-10C.
Like many other Swed's I think it is good for them. They need the cold fresh air to fight germs. I let Sofia sleep outside, she is out there in the cold right now having her morning nap. The temperature is
-6C.

She is dressed warm and wrapped up in her sheepskin sleeping bag only her little face is poking out.

I wonder why not more parents in England do it? 

Is it just a cultural thing or has it got something to do with the weather conditions? 

What do you think? What do parents in other countries do?

Please let me know your thoughts.

Natural Beauty

Like so many others, I try to do my bit to care for our planet. We buy organic food from local suppliers as much as we can.
When I found out that I was pregnant with Fredrik it became very important to me to use as many natural beauty products a possible. Products free from Parabens, Sulfates and Petrochemicals.
Now I try to buy Eco friendly clothes and nappies, but it is not always easy.
Here are some of my favourite Natural Eco friendly products for adults and kids.

Cowshed is my no.1 when it comes to lotions, shampoo, baby oil and other beauty/ baby products.
http://www.cowshedonline.com/

http://www.cowshedonline.com/

Blingo is a Swedish company making fantastic Eco friendly kids clothing.
http://www.blingo.se

http://www.blingo.se

Sister Anna's "Kärleksmums"

My sister Anna is a great cook and baker.

This is her recipe for Kärleksmums, a Swedish classic on the cake table. Traditionally it is served as squares but we made heart shapes instead.  So if you did not do anything special for Valentine's day last week maybe you should try this. It's a tasty treat.

5 eggs
350g caster sugar
200 g butter
60g cocoa powder
2 tea spoons baking powder
1 tea spoon vanilla extract
200 ml milk
240g plain flour

Oven 200C
Whisk sugar and eggs until pale and airy.
Melt butter and let it cool down a little.
Mix all other ingredients well. Fold in the egg/sugar mix carefully. Stir in the butter right at the end.
Poor the mixture in to a deep oven tray lined with grease proof paper.
Bake for 20-25min

Icing

75g butter
50ml strong coffee
240g icing sugar
2 table spoon cocoa powder
1 tea spoon vanilla extract

Melt the butter and stir in all other ingredients.

Leave the cake to cool down before spreading the icing on top, sprinkle with grated coconut.

Beautiful winter day

I just have to post a few pictures that I took a couple of weeks ago.

A lovely walk on the frozen lake with the whole family.

Nils the Snowman

It is a long time sins I posted anything.
I swear time goes quicker here in Sweden. It feels like Christmas was only a few weeks ago.
I guess that's what happens when you have two children to keep you busy.

Today we have been outside most of the day with the latest addition to the family, Nils the Snowman.
He is named after my friend Carin's son, who came to play with Fredrik yesterday.

Christmas deco

 Christmas decorations from website www.notonthehighstreet.com

Dorset Apple Cake

A lot of tarditional Christmas treats both in England and Sweden are full of warning spices like cinnamon, cloves, saffron and of cause dried fruit.
Even though it is not a traditional Christmas cake I think Dorset apple cake is perfect for the festive season.
This is my take on a for us local classic.

50g butter
200g denerara sugar
50g muscovado sugar
3 eggs
350g flour
100g milk
2 tea spoon baking powder
1 tea spoon vanilla extract
1 tea spoon cinnamon
75g raisins
3 brambly apples
1 table spoon demerara suger for sprinkling on top of cake.

Line and grease a round cake tin

Melt the butter, mix all sugar and the eggs well.
In a separate bowl mix flour,baking powder and cinnamon then add it to the sugar and egg.
Stir in the melted butter.
Peel and dice the apples in to 1 cm cubes.
Add the apples and raisins to the batter.
Put it all in the tin and bake for 35-40 mins at 175C.
Before baking sprinkle the cake with 1 table spoon of demerara sugar.

Serve it with a nice cup of tea, or why not try it with some warm mulled wine.

Winter warmer

The weather here in Bournemouth has been horrendous the last few days. Just looking out of the window is enough to make you cold to the bones. Luckily my lovely sister-in-law gave me a shopping bag full of Jerusalem artichokes.
So here is the recipe for one of my favourite winter warmer soups.

Jerusalem artichoke cream soup

500g Jerusalem artichoke
1 large baking potato
1/2 liter veg stock
1/2 lemon
75 ml single cream
1 pack of streaky bacon or pancetta
salt and pepper


Peel and dice artichoke and potatoes and boil them in the veg stock until soft.
Mix it all in a blender or with a hand mixer till silky smooth.
Add the juice of half a lemon and the cream. You might have to add some weather if the soup is to thick.
Season with salt and pepper.
Pan fry the bacon/ pancetta until crispy, drain the fat of on some kitchen paper.
Crumble the pancetta over the soup before serving.

All time favourites

I have started to think about what Christmas decorations I'm going to have this year.
I'm not one of these people that got a my tree and all the lights up weeks before Christmas but I think half the fun is to surge high and low for the right decorations.
Here are some of my all time favourites that makes it out of the cupboard every year.

www.designhousestockholm.com

www.showroomfinland.fi

www.iittala.com

Let me know what your favourits are.

Kids Room

In less then two weeks we will be leaving England to go to Sweden for 3 months.
We are all really exited about it, but it is also a bit sad being away from our English friends and family for so long.
Fred is looking forward to move in to his "Swedish" bedroom which at the moment is just a boring off white room.
So I have been looking for inspiration and came across these.

Lovely Baby Hammock

It is not always easy to get a small baby to sleep anywhere else but in your arms.
Our little girl Sofia is now 8 weeks old and I would have gone insane if it was not for the Koala baby hammock.
It's not just lovely to look at, the gentle swaying motion will send any baby to sleep.

My biggest problem with it, is to keep Fred out of it.

Sofia can sleep in the hammock for hours, especially when she is under a soft and snug Pia Wallen blanket.

Pumpkins and Ghosts

Some lovely Pumpkin shaped candle holders from Paradisverkstaden.

Paradisverkstaden is a pottery studio on Oland an island on the Swedish east coast.www.paradisverkstaden.se

A very cute jumpsuit with Ghosts on a dark night blue background from Sture & Lisa
stureolisa.se/

Sourdough bread

When I lived in Stockholm, I lived just around the corner from a fantastic bakery called Riddarbageriet.
Johan Sorberg is one of the best bakers in Sweden (if not the best), ever sins I moved I have missed going there to get some lovely walnut bread or a sweet bun.
In 2003 Johan published two great books about baking, one about how to bake bread and another how to make cakes and sweet bread.

Yesterday I made his Sourdough Cheese and sesame seed Loaf.
It is so easy and delicious.

360g water
30g fresh yeast
100g sourdough
60g butter
650g strong white flour
15g sesame oil
16g salt
100g cheese in cubes

50g roasted sesame seeds.

Mix all ingredients apart from salt, cheese and sesame seeds.
Work your dough for at least 10 min then add the salt and work for another 4 min.
Quickly mix kneed in the seeds and cheese.
Let the dough rest for 30 min.
Make two loafs and put in oiled loaf tins.
Paint them with a beaten egg and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
Let the loafs rest for 45-60 mins
Pre-heat the oven to 250 C ones it is time to put the bread in lower the temp to 220 C.
When the bread is in put half a cup of water at the bottom of the oven, this will help to form a nice crust.
The loafs should be done after about 30 min.

Enjoy toasted with some lovely fig preserve.
Good luck!

Knitting, obsession or hobby?

I have always enjoyed knitting and I go through periods when I knitting quit a lot.
Most of the time I don't ever use what I have knitted. It all ends up in a drawer never to see daylight again.
The last few weeks however, I have started to knit enormous amounts of baby stuff that I might actually use.
The question is, when does a hobby turn in to an obsession?
In the last week I have knitted an matching pair of socks and hat, another pair of socks and two dresses. In all fairness they are small but still.
Looking back at this week, I realise that I have done very little apart from knitting.
I'm starting to think that I might have passed over the line and knitting is now more than a hobby.

Can I blame pregnancy and plead temporary insanity?

Story North

This is my friend Samantha's web shop Story North. I love everything she stocks.

Story North Kids is just fantastic, I want one of everything. I mean, how woulden't want to have all Kay Bojesens wooden animals, byNorth bed linen, a mini Panton chair and a knitted Kebnekaise Pouf in there kids bedroom.  www.storynorth.com

9 Months pregnant and batteling flat pack furniture.

I'm now 9 months and 4 days pregnant and to be perfectly honest I'm starting to feel a bit feed up.
So, I decided to put together a few IKEA drawers for the little ones wardrobe. What was I thinking???
As a swede I normally don't have any problems with flat pack furniture but with pregnancy brain it is a completely different ball game.
I have now put together the same drawer 4 times and finally managed to get it right. 1 down 3 to go.

The good thing is that I'm not alone, Fred is here to "help" me. A 2 year old boy can have surprising skills.

Together we have also managed to assemble the Stokke sleepi cot for the little one.

I know we are cutting it a bit fine, but now it's done so we are ready whenever she is.

I absolutely love Stokke products, fantastic design and super practical, very Scandinavian.
We have used Stokke Sleepi for Fred as well and it's been great. He is still in his extended cot but I think it is time to take one of the sides down. www.stokke.com

Scandi Kid

I just wanted to let you know about some of my favourite Swedish Kids cloths designers.
Sture & Lisa makes fantastic fairtrade and organic baby outfits, with wonderful retro patterns.
www.stureolisa.se

Li and Lo is a company from my home town Jonkoping. They make cloths and fabric in playful colours and patterns.

www.liandlo.com

Swedish flatbread

It is Bank holiday Monday and it is raining. So Fred and I have decided to bake flatbread. If the weather improve we will go down to the beach later and our freshly made flatbreads will make a perfect snack.

This is how we make them,
25g fresh yeast
500 ml milk
75g butter
1/2 tea spoon salt
2 table spoon syrup
3 table spoon sugar
1 table spoon fennel seeds (crushed)
1 table spoon caraway seeds (crushed)
600 ml white flour or white spelt flour
800 ml wholemeal flour or wholemeal spelt flour

Melt the butter and add the milk, fennel and caraway seeds and heat up to 37C.
Crumble the yeast into a large mixing bowl, poor the milk/butter liquid and mix well.
Mix in all other ingredients.
Work the dough well until it is smooth and glossy ( if you are using spelt make sure you work it for longer than you would with normal flour).
Leave the dough to rest for 30 mins.

Tip it out onto a well floured baking table and work it by hand for a few mins. Cut it up into 20 pieces
Role each piece out to a thin round "pancake" with a rolling pin. Fry in dry frying pan (preferable cast iron) for 2 mins on each side on a medium heat.

Enjoy warm with butter or use your flatbread as a tortilla and fill with your favourite filling.