A journal about the things I love, food, food, food. The GOAT, Lilla A, and the trials and constant desire to bake and cook myself into something wonderful.
Monday, August 22, 2011
Google for Noodles-Turkey breast and egg noodle stir fry
Labels:
Asian
Location:
Rävlanda, Härryda Municipality, Sweden
Friday, August 19, 2011
Hummus in the afternoon with Kalamatta olives and olive oil
Labels:
dips
Location:
Rävlanda, Härryda Municipality, Sweden
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Candy Chocolate Ganache Covered Brownies For Lilla A
| candy chocolate brownies with a ganache and Millie Lillies |
Six years of laughter and six years of little tears, our charismatic, bilingual, kind, generous, funny lovely boy is now ready for school and talking like a 50 year old. Where does the time go?
Every year I whip up some sort of theme plan for Lilla A's birthday parties, but this year I had to post pone, as I was sick for the last week. Typical!! I have a Star wars themed party this year with a Darth Vader cake pan and all the goodies 8, six year olds could ever dream of. As it was his real birthday yesterday, I had to produce some sort of cake for the little man. Here is my famously scrumptious chocolate lovers to die for brownie explosion.Tread lightly you may have an overdose of goodness here. Do not say I did not warn you.....
| Candy jazzes up ganache-glazed squares I used Milly Lilly's |
- 2/3 cup -(150ml )butter add 1 tsp of salt if using unsalted butter
- 7 oz -(210g) bittersweet chocolate, chopped
- 5 oz-(150g) unsweetened chocolate, chopped
- 1½ cups-(375ml) granulated sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 4 eggs
- 1 cup(250ml) all- purpose flour
- TOPPING:
- 5oz (150g) bittersweet chocolate
- 2/3 cup (150ml) whipping cream
- assorted candy for sprinkling on top of ganache
| melt slowly and stir be careful not to burn |
- Method:
Line 13X) inch metal cake pan with parchment paper pr baking paper; set aside.
In a saucepan over medium-low heat, melt the butter and all the chocolate(not including the chocolate for the ganache); until smooth. Let cool for 10 minutes set to the side.
| make sure to whisk in eggs |
| use the same pot for everything, perfect! |
| baked for 25 minuted and still moist in the middle |
In the same pan, whisk in the sugar and the vanilla. Whisk in the eggs ONE AT A TIME,using a wooden spoon, stir in the flour and the salt. Scrape into the prepared pan; smooth top. Bake in the center of your oven rack at 350 degrees f or 180 degrees C until cake tester inserted in center comes out with a few moist crumbs clinging, 25 minutes. Let cool on rack.
Topping:
| ganache is the best ever |
| need I say more? yummo |
Place chocolate in a heatproof bowl. In saucepan, heat cream until boiling; pour over chocolate and whisk until smooth.Let cool 3-4 minutes and spread over cooled brownies. I like to just tilt the pan in every direction until the top is completely covered. No need to use any tools. A nice even surface is achieved. Sprinkle immediately with your choice of candy's and set in the refrigerator until set. At least one hour.
| Happy 6th Birthday Lilla A! Mommy Loves you so |
If you love a good brownie, then please do give these a try. You so will not be disappointed. Once you whip these up a few times you can tweak them to any way you want. Make them with white chocolate ganache, or add more , nuts,milk chocolate to the mix. It is really up to you. Go forth and bake my friends. Till next time. Hej då!
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Salmon and root vegetable gratin with infused thyme
| let rest with all the goodness for at least 20 minutes |
| Norwegian Salmon |
| almost ready for the oven. Just add cheese and cover |
Cover with the grated cheese and add a doamed lid(so cheese does not stick to it) If using tin foil. Wait with the cheese and cover and let cook for 2 hours at 180 degrees C and then when you can slide a wooden skewer or fork through to the bottom of the dish easily then you can remove the tin foil and add the cheese and let bake until nice and browned in an 100 degree c oven. Let stand 15 minutes before serving.
The Goat and Miss L loved this to bits. (Sir P is allergic to fish,) so we all had a fantastic dinner and a lot of good laughs. Evenings like this is exactly why I started this blog. To be able to share my cooking with people as if they were guests in my kitchen. Warm hearts to you all.Enjoy
Saturday, August 13, 2011
Lazy Saturday Egg Salad
| Nothing is more satisfying when you can whip up something so simple but so wonderful. Hope you all have a better day then I will have:( it's back to bed for me, and more Lego building for Lilla A. See you all soon. |
Friday, August 12, 2011
Spiced Apple and Pear Double Crust Pie
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| For my pie lovers |
Okay,so I am a pie lover. There I said it. I learned from my mom, but learned that my paternal grandmother was a fantastic French Canadian pie baker. She made amazing pies and I was told by my father that I could bake a pie like his mother. Bless his soul. Not long after making a custard pie for him. He passed away.( not from the pie!) So, this popples is for you. I hope your enjoying your pie in the sky:) Since shortening*is really hard to find here, or in specialty stores I came up with my own substitute.
For me pie is all about the crust. I could really scrape away all the filling and just tuck into the crust. The somewhat salty, tender bite of pie heaven, but let's not kid our selves here we all have been "beaten" by a pie crust that would not cooperate, but hence my lovely reader's I have created a wonderful pliable fantastic pie crust recipe. Oh, how pleased I am to share this with you all.
How to double crust pastry:
Makes pastry for one 10-inch (25cm double pie crust)
2 1/4 cups (540ml) all purpose flour
1/4 tsp.salt
1/2 cup (120ml) cold butter, cut into ½ inch small pieces
1/2 cup (120ml) cold baking margarine, cut into ½ inch small pieces
1/3 cup (80ml) cold water
ATTENTION:
Make sure all your ingredients are very cold. I set the butter, margarine and water in the freezer for 15 minutes, and place the flour in the refrigerator for 15 minutes as well. It made a world of difference.
Using your food processor or by hand and pastry cutter and a large bowl, combine the flour,salt, butter and baking margarine.Process or cut in, or until the mixture resembles coarse meal or "pea size" and begins to clump together. Sprinkle with water if needed and let rest for 30-40 seconds and then either process very briefly or cut with about 15 strokes of the pastry cutter, just until the dough begins to stick together and come away from the sides of the bowl.
turn into a lightly floured work surface and press together to form a short tube or cylinder. Divide into 3/3 and 1/3 pieces. wrap in plastic wrap and flatten gently into disk. Set in fridge for at least 20 minutes. Allow the dough to warm slightly at room temperature if it's too hard to roll
On a lightly floured board roll the larger disk to a thickness of 1/8 inch cut a circle about 1 1/2 inches (3.8cm) larger than your pie plate and transfer to the plate by folding it in half or rolling it onto the rolling pin. turn the pastry edge under, leaving an edge the hands about 1/2 inch over the plate. Either crimp the top as I have done here, by scalping the edge.
Roll the second disk as directed by recipe or be creative. I have done a spiral crust design on this particular pie. Beautiful and a bit unusual.
Ingredients:
![]() |
| melon scooper is great for pears |
- ½ lemon¨
- 3 pounds baking apples such as golden delicious I used Ingrid Marie about 6-8 in total
- 1½ pounds of baking pears. such as Bosc or firm Bartletts I used 6 pears
- 2/3 cups sugar, plus more for sprinkling on the pie
- 1/4 cup of unsalted butter
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
- generous pinch of freshly ground nutmeg
- 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract or vanilla sugar
- Zest of one lemon
Method:
![]() |
| cooking to a compote |
- Finely grate the lemon zest and set to the side. Peel, core and then slice both the apples and the pear into ½ inch pieces. Pour the lemon juice over the fruit then toss fruit with the sugar, cinnamon ginger, salt and nutmeg.
- Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium- high heat or a large pot will do as well.
- Add the fruit to the melted butter and cook, uncovered until the fruit softens, and the juices evaporate. Can take up to ten minutes. Mix the flour into the fruit; then cook about a minute more to thicken the juices slightly.
- (If you have so much juice in the pan after the fruit has cooked and is tender strain the mixture reserving the juice and reduce it down to a thick syrup and then you can use it to drizzle over the finished pie or add it to the whipped cream.)
![]() |
| cooled and ready for the top crust |
![]() |
| I cut stripes and twisted them around the pie |
- Bake at 180 degrees c 350 degree f for one hour or until it is all bubbling and the crust is the nice golden brown.
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Black bean and fresh corn lime salad with shrimp
| summer love... |
I am waiting for my new fuji camera and I am excited to be able to post better quality photo's and hopefully you will want to stop by more often to see what's happening on It's all about the food. I hope that your weather in your part of the world is not giving you the blues today, and if so grab a book curl up on the sofa and hunker down into a bowl full of this very satisfying meal.
| summer love'in |
- Makes enough for 4 large portions
- 4 fresh corn on the cob husked and rinsed
- 1/3 cup of fresh lime juice about 3 large limes
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 2 cloves of garlic,minced
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon chili powder or more to taste
- 1 15 ounce can of black beans drained and rinsed
- 1 avocado peeled, pitted and diced
- 1 red pepper diced or sliced into small pieces
- 2 tomatoes chopped
- 6 green onions thinly sliced
- 1 cup of fresh cooked peeled shrimp of your choice
In a small jar with a fitted lid add the lime juice, minced garlic, olive oil, salt,chili powder and cover and shake until well mixed. Set a side. In a large pot add your fresh corn to a pot of well salted boiling water and cook for 10-12 minutes until tender, but not to soft. I like a little extra bite in my corn, so i tend to cook it a little under so it's still that deep golden yellow, but a little hard to the touch.
Remove the corn from the water and let cool until you can handle it.Meanwhile, chop up your vegetables and add them to the bowl. Add your black beans and toss. when you can handle the cobs. Slice off the kernels gently and add them to your other ingredients.
Give your dressing a good shake and gently pour a little stir and taste and continue to add dressing until it is to your taste. Add some fresh pealed cooked shrimp, toss and enjoy with a good piece of bread and butter what could be better?
Saturday, August 6, 2011
DULCE DE LECHE - a la confiture de lait
| Sweet and condensed milk available most stores or your local Asian Market |
Mmmm...Sweet tooth? Looking for a little love from inside a can? You know who you are, and this little can of goodness is going to make everything bad feel so good. I am not a big sugar eater. I do not have a sweet tooth per say, but this little devilish can can make me melt at the first spoonful.
I recommend that you try this by yourself first(then you do not have to share), and nobody but you will only know just how much you ate. Give it a try, I am sure you will not be sorry.
Preheat oven to 425 Degrees F (220 degrees C)
Pour one can (400 g/14 ounces of sweetened condensed milk(not evaporated milk) into a glass pie plate or any other shallow baking dish. Stir in a few flecks of sea salt. Just a pinch.
| adding hot water |
Cover the plate snugly with aluminum foil and bake for 1 hour to 1 1/4 hours. Check a few times during baking and add more water to the roasting pan as necessary.
Once the Dulce de Leche- A la Confiture de Lait is nicely browned and caramelized, remove from the oven and let cool, whisk until smooth. Store in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Warm gently in a warm water bath or microwave oven before using.
This is magical stuff. You can add it to almost anything you bake. Pies, cookies would be great in my take on Donna Hays, Shortbread filled cookies in my archive. Warm it up and drizzle over your favorite ice cream, so many options. I still love it right out of the jar. Pure comfort and a extra twinkle in my eye with ever spoonful.
DULCE DE LECHE BROWNIES brownies a la confiture de lait
| goodness. |
I know who has not made these? It seems like every chef and blogger has put out their own spin on these, but the real question is HAVE YOU???
I am not an expert but, if I can make these so can you. It is a little time consuming and a little bit of guess work, but if you have not already picked up your copy of David's book, then I am happy to give you my version of his recipe. It's nice to be back. Please keep on checking in maybe, I will put up a recipe you were just looking for and as the French say, Bon Appetit!
Makes 12 Servings
8 tablespoons (120 g) salted or unsalted butter, cut into pieces, plus more for greasing the pan
6 ounces (170 g) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
1/4 cup (30 g) unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup (200 g) sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup (140 g) flour
1 cup (100 g) toasted pecans or walnuts, coarsely chopped, optional
1 cup (250 ml) confiture de lait
| I use Cadbury's BOURNVILLE COCOA 100%cocoa available at www.englishshop.se |
2. Generously grease an 8 inch (20 cm) square pan and line the bottom with a square of parchment paper or wax paper. Lightbulb idea: take out a sheet of parchment paper or wax. Flip the baking tin upside down and trace around. Cut out and it will be the perfect fit for the bottom of the pan.
3.Melt the butter in a medium saucepan. Add the chocolate and stir constantly over very low heat until melted. Remove from the heat and whisk in the cocoa until smooth.
4. Add the eggs one at a time, then stir in the sugar,vanilla, and flour. Mix in the nuts if using.
5.Scrape half of the batter into the prepared pan. Drop one-third of the Confiture de lait
| ever so slightly two times I dragged it through the batter |
over the brownie batter, then drag a butter knife through to swirl it slightly.Spreading the remaining brownie batter over the top, then drop the spoonfuls of the remaining Confiture de lait over the batter.use a knife to ever so slightly.(if you overdo it, the whole thing will bake into a bubbly mess. Just drag a knife once or twice through the batter and leave it at that.)
6. Bake for 45 minutes, or until the center feels just slightly firm. Remove from the oven and cool completely.
Storage:
These brownies actually become better the second day, and will kep well for up to three days.
Note: Confiture de lait is also known as dulce de leche and( cajeta) (which is sometimes made with goats milk, which may not be to everyone's taste.)Because it has become pretty popular over the last few years, you can generally find jars in well-stocked supermarkets and ethnic markets, especially those that specialize in Latin American products.
The Goat said these were the best he ever had. He said he could give up food just to have these each and everyday at all meal times. Oh, got to love the Goat.
| mmmm.....so nice to share with your friends and neighbors |
Friday, July 29, 2011
It's been to long, but now I am back
| This is the Goat Welcome back my followers:) |
It was so nice for my older sister S. to come to Sweden in the end of may to visit and leave behind her copy of David Lebovitz's new book The Sweet Life In Paris. It is a little bible of the true living life of a Paris dweller. Having the time to rest and read a few chapters have made my soul awake with the desire to start blogging again.Thanks David!!
Thanks for dropping by and we see you all soon again. Happy 50th birthday Kim. Love you more and more each and everyday.xoxo
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