Down for the count, but I will be back!

Hey friends of it's all about the food. I am still here, just trying to recover from two major surgeries and a third one on the way. I will be back to get my love of food back on the web. Thanks for sticking around. see you soon again. nicole

I have a boo boo

I will be back soon!







Hello my lovelies... I just wanted to drop you a line to say how sorry I am for not being able to post a new blog
addition in over a month. From starting my new full time job.  My computer crashing...with all my photo's of all my recipes past and waiting....I am back really soon. Please drop by again real soon.

Thank you to SHANNON YEE who pinned my recipe on PINTEREST of North Indian fish curry http://www.nicoleseguin.blogspot.se/2011/03/creamy-north-indian-fish-curry-via.html

I am so happy to of been thought of! See you soon, Good Eats!

Nicole/It's all about the food...

Thursday Bread with Oatmeal and Freshly ground Fennel seeds via no kneading technique from Martin Johansson's ENKLARE BRÖD BOOK

Hello Tuesday... welcome...

my new bread bible...

I have a new lover. It gives me pleasure like no other. I added to my ever expanding cookbook collection. Yes, it is in Swedish, but I will try to add as many recipes as I can in English so you all can have a go at Mr. Johansson's brilliant bread recipes. This is from Martin Johansson's ENKLARE BRÖD (Natur&Kultur Stockholm) new book and you can follow him on his blog here www.litemer.paindemartin.se in Swedish..

Leftover morning oatmeal meet your maker

grind your own fennel seeds. Lovely!

Martin is a no frills kind of bread baker. Keep it simple, weigh your ingredients and let it rest and you will have an amazing loaf of bread. The book is divided into sections. No knead, Sourdough, and rest and fold (short time bread and pizza dough). I was drawn to the Thursday bread recipe because of it's star ingredient. Cold oatmeal. Yep, left over gloppy grey oatmeal." What a clever idea I said to myself, I must make this recipe!" He used fennel seeds in this and I just love, love, love the aroma it give and the finest of tastes it creates in the finished product.

All of Martin's no knead recipes are a quick fix before bed time and an early morning prep. Kind of recipe, so  I recommend you start this recipe in mid-late evening if you want it for breakfast. I have also made it first thing in the morning and baked it when I came home from work for our evening meal. Be creative and give this a try. I was ever so pleased. Really gobbed smacked at how delicious and long lasting this bread was. It stayed fresh and moist for over 4 days!

Thursday's bread
1 Form bread 5-8 minutes prep time 9 hours resting/rise time

Ingredients:


Fresh yeast 3 grams 
100 grams cold water
300 grams cold old fashioned oatmeal
300 grams high protein white flour
6-9 grams salt
1.5 teaspoons freshly ground fennel seeds
Raw oatmeal for baking
12 ice cubes

fresh yeast, look for it in your dairy section of your local grocery

After breakfast/ Before bed:

starting to blend together

Blend your dough. Mix your yeast with the water in a large bowl. Blend in the rest of the ingredients. Mix together gently until it forms a collective dough. Cover the dough with a lid or plastic wrap, and let sit at room temperature for 8-10 hours.

Ready to bake

In the late afternoon/Early morning:


Bake your bread. Butter your bread pan and cover the buttered form with the raw oatmeal. Sprinkle a good handful of more raw oatmeal to your counter top and gently remove your dough from the bowl. using your hands or a dough scraper. Gently roll your dough in the oatmeal, and add it to your prepared bread pan. Cover with a tea towel and let rise for 1 hour.In a draft fee place.

Out of the oven and cooling

Pre heat the oven to 250 degrees C or 500 degrees F.

The ice cubes help "proof "the bread and created a moisture cave for the baking process

Bake your bread:

MMMMMM... so lovely, so good and exciting.

With your oven preheated and your oven rake in the middle of the oven. With a n extra cookie sheet or baking tray. Add your twelve ice cubes and slide it directly under your middle rack. Add your newly risen bread and bake for 15 minutes. After the first 15 minutes you can turn down the heat to 225 degrees C or 450 degrees F. Let the bread continue to bake for a further 20 minutes. Remove the bread from the oven, and turn out the loaf to a cooling rack. You know the bread is baked if the bottom of the loaf sound "hollow" when your knock on it.
Let cool and then slice and enjoy. Couldn't be more enjoyable.

Sharon/Kaki/Persimmon cake for Marina

Can you say vibrant!

I first met these little beauties when I lived in Switzerland in the late nineties. M. my house mother would slurp these down with glee during her last trimester of pregnancy. I didn't dive in at first, but I grew to admire these orange spheres. I know them as Kaki, and never really knew what to do with them until I came across a recipe from a famous American ex pat living in Paris Davis Lebovitz. I know ANOTHER Ready for dessert recipe(ten speed press) but hear me out. He is a guy with genius ideas, and you will thank me. This cake is to die.......fooooorrrr. I have made this many times and Everyone wants more. So, let us get down to some Sharon cake making.

If you can look out your window and see one of these trees growing, please take advantage and go and pick some very ripe persimmons and make this cake for yourself. If you don't have a tree please look for these in your local market. In Sweden they are now available in plenty and as it is nearing autumn in warmer temperatures. These should be available soon. For this particular recipe you need to have very ripe persimmons.They should be swollen in ripeness and ready to be scooped out. Kind of like a filled water balloon. If not then let them rest at room temperature until ripe enough to use.
I adapted this recipe to use what I had in the house, and i think it turned out fantastic.

Cake:


3/4 cup (120 grams) dried currents.. I used a combination of golden raisins and sultana's 
!/4 cup (60ml) brandy or whiskey
2 cups (280 grams) all- purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 2/3 cups ( 355 grams) granulated sugar
3/4 (6 ounces)  ( 170 grams) unsalted butter. melted
1½ cups ( 375 ml) Persimmon/Kaki/Sharon puree ( about 3-6) David uses HACHIYA persimmons but I  have used Jiro persimmons that are the most available. They are a cross breed but work just as well.
3 large eggs at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract 
1½ cups ( 150 grams) walnuts or pecans, toasted and finely chopped


Directions:

Lovely little Smurf loafs......glee

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F 175 degrees C. Coat a ten cup (2.5 liter loaf pan) or a Bundt pan or use little smurf size loaf pans I used 5. Coat inside of pan/s with butter, and set aside.

To make the cake, in a small saucepan over medium heat, bring the currents or raisins, sultana's and the brandy or whiskey to a boil. Remove from heat, cover and let cool.

Into a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda,cinnamon, salt and nutmeg. stir in the granulated sugar. 


In a medium bowl,mix together the melted butter, persimmon puree,eggs and 2 teaspoons vanilla.

Make a well in the center of the flour mixture, add the persimmon mixture, and gently stir. Fold in the raisins or currents whatever you are using, and any unabsorbed liquid, and the nuts.


Mix until everything is is moistened; DON'T over mix.Scrape the batter into the prepared pan/pans and bake until a toothpick is inserted into the cake comes out clean, about1 hour for whole cake and 20 minutes for little smurf cakes. Keep your eye on them.

drunken raisins

Remove from the oven and let cool completely. Once cooled you can serve as is or you can make a cream cheese icing and spread and serve as you would like a carrot cake. I loved this cake on it's own. it is so nice to be able to have a slice of this cake with just it's own self so to speak. I have tried it with cream cheese icing as well and it is divine. Here is a nice icing recipe for those who want to jazz it up all the way.


Icing:


4 ounces (115 grams) cream cheese
1 tablespoon salted butter, at room temperature 
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
2/3 cup (90 g) powdered sugar, sifted
4 to 5 teaspoons of water

Lemons and cream cheese equal best friends...

Directions: adapted from David Lebovitz Just desserts tenspeed press


To make the icing,in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment,( you  can use a hand held electric mixer with beaters as well) beat together the cream cheese and 1 tablespoon of butter on high speed until smooth. Beat in the ½ teaspoon vanilla and the lemon juice, then gradually add the powdered sugar, beating on high speed until smooth. Beat in the ½ teaspoon vanilla and the lemon juice, then gradually add the powdered sugar, beating on high speed until smooth. Add the 4 teaspoons water;the icing should be pourable. If necessary, add 1 more teaspoon water.
Spoon the icing around the top of the cake, then tap the plate on a folded kitchen towel on the counter top to encourage the icing to run down the sides of the cake. Enjoy!!

Italian Chestnut Flour Madeleine's (gluten free) But Sinfully Delicious!

Sweet little delicate morsels

The sun is shining and I am home with lilla A. I am now no longer a Madeleine's virgin. Yep, I have joined the baking pack and whipped up my first batch of these bourgeois cookies.  I love to try anything once, and since I have read so much about chestnut flour lately on the web. I thought  I would give these very lovely Madeleine's a try and even better they are so easy to put together. All you need is a little time in your day to wait for the resting mixture to "rest" and then your well on your way to oh la la cookie heaven.
I am a shopping beast when it comes to baking equipment and ingredients. I search the web most days for new and I must have items. This Friday Leila Lindholm's- leila's Generalstore is opening for business and I intend to be one of the first to shop in her lovely new store. So excited! www.leilasgeneralstore.se  Please check out Leila's homepage here to get acquainted with Sweden's leading baking queen www.leila.se  it is in both Swedish and English. Now, with that said let's get baking.

Ingredients


1 cup (128 grams) plus 4 tablespoons of Italian Chestnut flour, sifted
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
½ cup (64 grams) plus 1 tablespoon of sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon honey

The batter waiting for you to bake

Special equipment needed: Madeleine mold pan




Directions:
Melt the butter in a pot and let cool slightly at room temperature. Sift the flour with the baking powder and set aside. Place the eggs in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat. (You can also use a hand mixer if you desire.)Add the sugar and the honey and beat until white in color and light.  In a separate bowl sift the Chestnut flour and the baking powder together. When sifted, add the flour and the baking powder and mix until incorporated.
Add the cooled melted butter to the dry mixture and stir until well combined. Cover your batter with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for 2 hours. Preheat your oven to 420 F-210 C. Grease your Madeleine molds and fill each mold 3/4  full with the chilled batter. The batter is quite thick, and so make sure you start out with a little batter in each mold so you have uniformity in your cookie size.

Ready for the oven

Baked and cooling. Oh ,so nice.

bake your cookies for 6 minutes to get the  traditional "Madeleine's "bump"- then reduce the heat in your oven to 350 F-175 C. Continue to bake for around another 4-5 minutes. Remove from the oven and gently remove the Madeleine's from the mold and let them cook on a rack .NOTE: Make sure your cookies are around the same size to ensure equal baking. You do not want half baked and half gooey inside. Let the cookies cool for a few minutes before you turn out onto a rack, so the tops have a chance to set, and not get stuck on the drying rack.


I was so surprised how delicious and dainty these Madeleine's were. I hope that these make it into your baking wishlist. Please let me know what you think. I found my chestnut flour at a heath food shop in the city. There are many sites on the web that also sells the chestnut flour. Be warned it is pricey. I paid around 18 dollars for a kilogram on sale, and I live in an very expensive country. Good luck and happy baking. Leila here I come. See you Friday...

Le Cake... Apricot,Almond and Lemon Bread

Part cake.Part bread kind of like a spork...

LE CAKE! Such it is. Again, I have found this bread recipe I wanted to share with you all. It is as wacky as it possibly could be. Black pepper, chili powder, lemon..What? How so? Why?  Well, let's just try to give this little French delight it's praise. I have to admit. I am a breadaholic and proud to be. I seem to be featuring a lot of bread on this blog, but hear me out... Bread is gorgeous and needs some much needed attention.
This interestingly odd recipe comes to you via David Lebovitz via Susan Loomis book Nuts in the Kitchen  Harper Collins.
Susan Loomis is a  American cookbook author and runs her very own french cooking school in France called On Rue Tatin.http://www.onruetatin.com/     

Organic unsulphured  apricots available in most groceries. They are dark in color naturally.

You may choice another form of dried fruit or nut for the ones recommended. If using apricots, Susan recommends you use apricots that are unsulphured if possible.  Chili powder is optional you may omit if the idea is a little to much for your taste-buds.

Ingredients:


1½ cups(200g) flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 rounded teaspoon sea salt
1 rounded teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
6 large eggs, at room temperature
8 tablespoons (110g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
7 ounces (210g) dried apricots, coarsely chopped
6 ounces (180g) Gruyere,Comte,or Emmental cheese. I used Racclette, finely grated about 2 cups
½ teaspoon fennel seeds, crushed
grated zest of one lemon
1/3 cups (60g) almonds, toasted and coarsely chopped


Directions:


1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F or 220 degrees C. Butter a loaf pan, line it with parchment paper, then butter the parchment paper.


2. Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt into a small bowl. Stir the black pepper.(if your using chili powder, add that here as well.)

peppery flour 

foaming the eggs

3. In a bowl of a stand mixer, or by hand, whisk the eggs until frothy(about a minute) then stir in the dry ingredients. Mix in the melted butter until thoroughly blended,then fold in the dried fruit, cheese, fennel seeds,lemon zest, ans almonds.


4. Scrape the batter into the the prepared buttered load pan and bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the middle of the loaf comes out clean.

All in cheese, fruit, nuts, flour lemon,spices, butter

5. Remove the cake from the oven and let sit for 5 minutes, then tip it out onto a cooling rack. Wait a few more moments, then remove the parchment paper and let cool completely before serving.

cake, bread ..... LE CAKE..or bread..? You decide.

Cut the bread into slices with a sharp bread knife, then cut the bread diagonally into triangles. Serve as a nibble or as an tasty morsel before dinner.

Fresh right out of the oven...mumsigt!!

This cake  will keep well wrapped up to three days at room temperature. Do not refrigerate the cake or it will get dry. It can be frozen for a least one month.


I loved this cake about 20 minutes right out of the oven. It is a fantastic treat for yourself. I would make this anytime we have friends around for a drink party. It is a very enjoyable little moreish goody you can give yourself anytime of the year. 

Fat Tuesday In Sweden...Shrove Tuesday.. CHERRY-Almond Cobbler

Fat Tuesday 21.02.2012

It is that time of year again in Sweden. The impeccable delicacy called Semlor. A cardamon spiced bread bun filled with almond paste and topped with heaps and heaps of glorious whipped cream. Complete with a little top hat and topped off with a good sprinkling of icing sugar. The Swede's sure know how to please a former fat girl...Fettisdagen as it is know here is an excuse to get all fattened up before the season of Lent.
I know it as Shrove Tuesday also known as pancake day. It is a the day preceding Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent. I wanted to try something a little different this year, and make a tribute to the flavors of Swedish Semlor by using David Lebovitz's fab recipe for Cherry-Almond Cobbler. Cream, almond paste, flour and just down right goodness. I hope you approve.
I am not to certain why Sweden makes such a big deal about religious holidays. Much of the Swedish  population are secular and have little association to any form of religion or the beliefs in higher powers. I have learned to accept their roll in historical days, but it is quite bizarre to witness.

The Goat is my biggest critic. The Goat as a few of my regulars know. Is my veg head goatee sporting husband and Semlor lover of the highest degree . He has rated this recipe the best thing he has EVER put in his mouth and quite frankly I would have to agree.

Cherry-Almond Cobbler  Ready for desserts David Lebovitz Ten Speed Press

Makes 6-8 servings

Frozen turned out fantastic. still crunchy and sweet

Filling:
6 cups(21/4 pounds/ 1 kg) sweet cherries  fresh or frozen but pits removed
2 tablespoons(30 grams) sugar
Juice of ½ lemon

Almond paste

Topping:
1 cup (140 grams) all- purpose flour
1½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
7 ounces (200 grams) almond paste, crumbled
1/3 cup (65 grams) sugar
½ cup ( 4 ounces/115 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 large egg, at room temperature
½ teaspoon of vanilla or ALMOND EXTRACT
½ cup (125 ml) whole milk

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F or 175 degrees C.

Mixing the sugar and the almond paste together to form little bits

To make the filling, in a shallow 2 quart, 2 liter baking dish, toss the pitted cherries with the two tablespoons 30 grams of sugar and the lemon juice.

To make the topping, in a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder; and salt.
In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the almond paste and the 1/3 cup (65 grams)

sugar on medium speed until the almond paste is broken up into fine pieces.

The finished smooth batter

Beat in the butter, then the egg and vanilla or almond extract. Add half the flour mixture, followed by the milk, then the remaining flour mixture, mixing just until combined.

Spoon over and ready for the oven

Spoon the batter evenly over the cherries in the baking dish. Bake until the topping is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of the topping comes out clean, about 45 minutes.

Thank you Almond paste for being so darn amazing...

Serving:
Serve cobbler warm or at room temperature with whipped cream and/or vanilla ice cream, and a small sprinkling of icing sugar to give it a little extra pizzazz. Store left overs in the refrigerator and re-heat to serve again. This is the best cobbler I have ever had in my mouth!!

Variations: Try MANGO AND BLACKBERRY make filling with 5 pounds (2.5 kg) mangoes peeled, pitted, and cubed, 2½ cups (12 ounces/340 grams) blackberries, 2 tablespoons (30 grams ) packed light brown sugar,½ teaspoon vanilla extract, and the juice of one lemon. To make MIXED BERRY substitute  6 cups ( about 1 3/4 pounds/795 grams) mixed berries for the cherries. For APRICOT AND CHERRY. substitute 1 pound (450 grams) apricots, pitted and cut into eights, for the half of the cherries. The sky is the limit!

Have a day of indulging on Tuesday no matter where you are. See you again soon on It's all about the food.

Ostkaka.. What?? Cheese cake.. Yes, that's right.. Just like someone's grandma

Simply delicious and well worth the try

Everyone technically has a grandparent. Some of us are blessed with a grandparent who spoils them rotten with love and affection, and a plate of cookies here and there. I am sure if I had grown up here in Sweden. My farmer living grandparents would of had this on their kitchen table a few times. Swedish Ostkaka is a comfort food. It's soft creamy texture with a nibble of ground almonds. You sure can feel the love in this dish.
The locals serve this lukewarm with a dollop of heavy cream jam, frozen berries, fresh fruit,syrup or with your favorite poached fruit.
It is as easy as 1-2-3. and this would be a great recipe for someone needing an extra hug today. Please feel free to mix up your choices of soft cheese. If you have availability to quark use that as well. I couldn't get my hands on any at my local store, so I opted for Philadelphia cream cheese and marscapone. All very related in the soft cheese family.

Ingredients:
500 grams of quark or any other fresh soft cheese such as Philadelphia,marscapone
50 grams of almond meal or 50 grams of grated sweet almonds
*NOTE: If you choose to leave the skins on you will have a much more intense almond flavor. Here is a link to how to remove the skins.http://moroccanfood.about.com/od/tipsandtechniques/ss/peel_fry_almond_2.htm
3-4 eggs
50 grams all purpose flour
300 ml full fat milk
100 grams sugar 

soft cheese at it's finest

Directions:

1. Heat your oven to 175 degrees C or 340 degrees F

ground almonds. 

2.Mash up your soft cream cheese in a bowl and set aside.

Adding the mashed soft cheese with the egg mixture

3.Grate your almonds or using already prepared almond meal measure out and set aside.

Well mixed and curd like ready to pour and bake

A long pan is perfect for this.

Pour into prepared pan and set in oven to bake

4. In your stand mixer or hand held Add your eggs and sugar and  milk.Mix until all is incorporated and you get an creamy lumpy mix(see above photo.). Add in your flour, ground almonds.Add your soft cheese and blend until you get soft curd like mixture.

Cooled and ready to serve. So good!

Swedish style. Nothing wrong with a little comfort

5. Butter a oven loaf pan that can hold at least 1½ liters or divide into two loaf pans. Pour into your prepared pan/pans and set in the oven and let bake for around one hour. it should be slightly golden brown and a little giggly, but firm to the touch.


It will fall slightly after you remove it from the oven to cool. Let sit to set until warm and serve. Be creative and add whatever toppings you and your guests will enjoy. I could eat this for evening meal. Many Swedes have this in their mid day FIKA which is like a coffee break with some sort of baked goods and good conversation. Please give this a try. I was patiently surprised by how darn delicious this is. Simple yet so delicious on my palate.

* I want to thank my dear friend Doris in Austria, for kindly pointing out I missed a few details. Thank you for being my saving Grace. I hope it is all ok now. Nicole

INTRODUCING::: Dill and cheese bacon potato Cornbread

sweet, savory, chewy,moist and delicious

I am a lover of all things bread. I just can not help myself. It is my favorite " go to" food at anytime of the day. The weather just opened up over Sweden and dumped our first real snow fall of the season. Lilla A is waiting ever so patiently to get out to the sledding hill with his best buddy his pappa. I am going to stay indoors and whip us up a pot of soup and add a little lover to the mix with my dill potato, bacon and cheese corn bread. 


This recipe is ever so veritable. With or without the bacon or the potato. Mix it up and make it as you desire. I add the bacon to give me a full meal and if I am serving with a large buffet meal. I keep it pretty simple and minus the potato and bacon. It is a good little lover, and it never disappoints! 


ingredients:


3-5 medium 350 grams cooked Cherie potatoes(waxy potatoes works best here)
125 grams corn flour
140 grams 6-8 slices- bacon chopped and fried to a slight crisp
60 grams sugar
400 grams white flour
2 tablespoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3 medium shallots minced
225 grams unsalted butter/salted can be used, but don't add the 1 teaspoon as marked above
440ml full fat milk
400 grams of any hard cheese good melting like cheddar.
35 grams or about 3/4 cup of chopped fresh or frozen dill
3 large eggs lightly beaten


Directions:

organically grown and local produce is always the best 

boiled, cooled, peeled and sliced

• Measure out your flours
• set white flour in the fridge and let cool at least one hour as you prepare the rest of the ingredients (helps to keep the bread fluffy and not so dense)
• Scrub your potatoes and leaving the skin on boil in well salted water until cooked. Strain and let cool until you can handle them. Peel  all 3 and slice 2 into slices, and grate one potato and set aside
• Combine the chilled white flour, corn flour, sugar, baking powder, salt in a large bowel and set aside

Using a non-stick frying pan. Fry up your bacon and when it it is cooked to a slight crisp, but not burned. Remove and drain on a couple pieces of paper towels. When cooled. Chop into bite size pieces and set aside. *Reserve 1-2 tablespoons of the bacon fat and add your minced shallots and fry over a low heat until well caramelized, but not burned. Add a little butter to the pan if need be to help fry the shallots.Take off the heat and add to a small bowl to cool.

Adding the cooled butter to the milk/shallots, egg mixture

best to shred potatoes when completely cooled. 

It is important to let the mixture rest for the complete 20 minutes

Ready for the oven

• Add your chopped bacon to the "dry ingredients" and set aside
• melt your butter and add your cooled caramelized shallots  grated potato and add the milk
• lightly beat your 3 eggs and add to the milk,shallot,grated potato and butter mixture
• In a separate large bowel add half your grated cheese, dill and using a wooden spoon add your wet ingredients to the dry ingredients.Blend until just incorporated. Be careful to not over mix and let the mixture sit undisturbed for 20 minutes
• Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C/360 degrees F

Grease a long deep rectangular baking pan and add the mixture to the prepared pan.
Add the sliced potato slices in a unison manner to the top of the mixture and cover with the rest of the cheese bake for 30-35 minutes or until a tooth pick comes out clean. 

Light, savory, comforting and oh so me....

Lovely, and so good.

Cool and cut into large squares and serve slightly warm or at room temperature. use as any side dish and store any leftovers in the refrigerator. It is lovely sliced and toasted and served for breakfast for the next day.