Happening Lately

A half-panorama of our apartment.

I made a band to hug my ring.  This is the prototype in silver... then I shall move on to GOLD!

 New hair, freshly tinted:

That time Cochino got into the trash for some damn chicken.  Sometimes her origins as a street cat show.

US: 1, SWEDEN: 0

Why is it so hard to find g-damn cold brew coffee here?  My 2 weeks in St. Louis spoiled me--there were beautiful cold brews everywhere I turned.  I even bought a big bottle from Trader Joe's so I could keep it in my own fridge, in case the urge for a cold coffee struck spontaneously.

And here in Stockholm, all they push are iced lattes, which is basically like an iced MILK--yuck yuck yuck, keep your dairy out of my coffee.  I mean, whatever, I can understand some dairy but the milk:espresso ratio in the lattes in Sweden is out of control.  And no, I don't want a frappeccino and no I don't want you to just pour an espresso over ice for me.

We went out of our way yesterday to hit up Drop Coffee because if anyone was gonna have some decent cold coffee, it was gonna be them.  We decided to try the kaffe tonic and the espresso tonic, the origins of which I learned about here.  The espresso tonic was the winner, but they both were fantastic!  They tasted sort of like coffee-flavored ice tea (and were garnished with lemon).  Yum yum yum!  I so wish Drop was in my neighborhood.

Random In-Between Bits

Insists on lapping it while I'm on the computer.  (Happening right now, also.)

That day I had the giant bun.  There's no bun bagel or filler in there, people.  What a tease!

Most disgusting packaging ever.  

The Just-Got-Her-Nails-Did pose.

I started online Swedish classes.  I have to wear a headset, like a telemarketer.  It is frustrating enough to be terrible at Swedish in a one-on-one situation but to look this stupid while being so...

Life in Sweden means large-scale supermarket taxidermy.

Mushroom Hunting

We're truly getting into the Swedish swing of things and, come fall, that means mushroom hunting.  We were lucky enough to be invited by the lovely Daniel and Judyta to Tyresta National Park to get our mushroom on.

First, about the park.  It's only about 20 minutes outside of Stockholm, but it feels like you're in the middle of nowhere once you start a-wanderin'.  There was a terrible fire in the park some years ago (it basically sounds like a dumb tourist version of Mrs. O'Leary's cow) so there's a great expanse that's burned out and surreal.  Daniel and JD referred to it as the "dinosaur forest."  It was stunning.

After arriving at Tyresta, our hosts showed us what to look for, handed us baskets, and off we went!  We stuck to chanterelles, so we focused our eyes on spotting those and weeding out the impostors (not poisonous--don't worry).  Mushroom hunting is quite a zen activity.  You wander, getting lost in every little thing on the forest floor.  Sometimes it feels like you're looking at one of those "magic" 3D posters that were so infuriating popular in the '90s.  Things aren't always what they seem--until they are and you've stumbled on a "mushroom village" as we got to call them.  It's like your eyes change focus and suddenly all of these mushrooms pop out where there were none.  The little fellows seem to be quite social, huddling in patches for the most part.  Of course, there were also many loners that did not go unpicked.

We each went our own direction, sometimes staying relatively near to each other--other times, losing ourselves entirely until someone whistled or shouted for a response.  Again, zen.  We rested first for a fika with banana bread and coffee.  Then later to eat our prize meal--hokkaido pumpkin soup supplemented with the day's mushroom catch.  Noms.

And the best part?  Our gracious hosts shared their bounty with us at the end of the day.  So even these nubes went home with full baskets.

No leaning tree shall be unturned, declares B!

The season's must-have accessory: a mushroom basket.

I knew well enough not to pick the gooey bark sludge.  (Though I have eaten similar stuff in China and it's damn good.)

Our crew crossing the bridge in the birch forest.

<3 birch.="" p="">

Our chef, sautéing the mushrooms to be added to the pumpkin soup.

Delicious, delicious pumpkin soup with fresh chanterelles.

The scene from where we stopped to eat in the "dinosaur forest."

The next day, we cleaned all of the mushrooms (with a soft brush) and I got to cooking!

Baked eggs with goat's cheese and chanterelles.  Oh, and bacon on the side.

And for dinner, it was galettes with sautéed mushrooms and garlic.  Yummy!

Midsommar

B was off to Tokyo for midsommar this year, so I was on my own.  Sorta.  Victoria and Stefan were lovely enough to let me tag along with them (and Baby Daisy!) and Victoria's sister, who was visiting from the US.  Instead of going to their country house (as most Swedes do for Mid-Sums), we hit up Skansen, which is sort of a classier Scandi-version of Silver Dollar City.  OK, maybe not.  Skansen is part zoo (featuring Scandinavian animals, mostly... keep it local, yo), part historical village, and part garden/walking park with really good food options and a killer not-at-all cheezy gift shop featuring Swedish handicrafts (reindeer leather necklaces, anyone?).  Oh Skansen, sorry to even mention a Branson theme park in this paragraph.  Total mis-play.

Well, we had a bang up time at Skansen!  There was a glorious midsommar pole aloft, and loads of Swedes dancing and singing around it!  What more could one ask for?  Per tradition, I had a large plate of herring.... and then snaps.  We ended the day at Gröna Lund (OK, maybe this is fairer cross-reference to Silver Dollar City) and I even went on a roller coaster.  (I must confess, I was cajoled into it, it was paid for my aforementioned cajolers, it was a baby wooden one, and I hated EVERY freaking nanosecond.)

And now I give you, Scenes from Midsommar:

Bears!  And baby bears!  With fresh carrots!  

You wouldn't believe the luck with had with the animals on midsommar.  It was like they juiced 'em up/witheld food/something-else-enticing-to-animals to prep for the holiday throngs.  Because les animaux were on POINT!  We're talking lynx, wolverine, AND owl--front and center!  We even caught a glimpse of a grey wolf; even if he was sleeping, that totally counts!

This really sums up Skansen.  Charming, right?  The place is full of historical buildings that have been relo-ed to create a new/old village.  The only thing this joint is missing is some goats on the roof.

Snaps!  Some flavors are definitely better than others.  This is the "bitter" flavor and this Fernet-loving gal couldn't even handle it.  YOUCH, is it BITTER.  Give me an aquavit any day.

How cute is this sheep-ish playground at Skansen???

Beautiful old door carving just outside entrance to Skansen.

Grona Lund greeted us with this sunset.

A glimpse of Grona Lund.

I was home maybe by 11-something PM and this was the sky.  Longest day of the year, indeed!

This guy was already getting his Midsommar sleep-off on.  This is how the whole of Sweden feels the day after Midsommar.

Spring Is Here

This sign captures the frenzy.  Vattenmelon!!!  What else do you eat when the weather turns??

The days are getting longer.  The sun's setting later and rising again around 4 am right now.

Lunches are taken outside, gulls are everywhere.

Of course, there are perils to sitting outside.  

(This really happened.  I must note that the fly was not IN my soup, but arrived in my mouth at the EXACT same time as the spoon.  How's that for timing?)

All of the classic cars are on out and about.  Supposedly, there are more classic American cars in Sweden than in the US right now.  There's a fun fact for ya!

And it's festival season.  Only in Sweden is a Jared Leto band given top billing.  Is this a joke?

Eats

Been hogging it up lately over here.  I'd tell you I was just trying to survive the winter with a little more insulation, but I already admitted that I bought a down coat for that purpose.

Busted.

Here are some things I've eaten or made that account for my extra poundage.  Looking back, I'd say it was all worth it.

Some quick thinking (or rather, a positive attitude!) turned these beet burgers into beet sloppy joes.  Yay!  This photo actually shows the second batch of joes.  Due to a culinary oops (a couple of glasses of wine + a hot handle), the first batch of beet burgers/joes hit the floor in a most gory manner that thankfully left no stains.  Thanks to B for shooing me out of the kitchen and assuming clean-up duties.  And also for always claiming to like what I make, even when it's not what I originally intended.

I'm XL-ing this one for maximum detail.  

Whenever I travel, I find that I'd rather bring back food souvenirs than (inedible) tchotchkes.  Sometimes I go a little overboard (I recently threw out a bunch of dried and flavored squid that seemed like a good idea at that one market in Shanghai.), but now that I don't have to answer to the overzealous customs officials upon entry to the US I love bringing back all sorts of goodies into the good ol' EU.   The last time I was in HK, I hit up the basement grocery of the Japanese SOGO department store.  I came back with some dried kiwi, organic natto (looooove natto more than just about anything), some kimchi radish, and the snack mix pictured above.  As you can see (you're welcome for the XL), it's slivered almonds, the teeniest pink shrimpies, pumpkin seeds, and those delicious silver mini-fishies.  It was the perfect blend of sweet-salty-fishy.  If I opened a bar, this would be my free snack.

These are moose (called ålg) meatballs I made a while back that got NO LOVE on instagram.  Maybe it's the weird shadow I seem to be casting in this photo, but come on people!  Not even one like for the pretty salad??  Whatever.  They were damn good. 

Did I post this one before?  It's another instagram borrow.

This is a warm millet + spinach + roasted veggie salad with a sriracha-balsamic dressing, of which I make a different iteration at least once a week.  I am so into cooking a bunch of quinoa or red rice or millet (often with some amaranth thrown in for good measure) at the start of the week and then adding it to whatever else we're feeling as the week goes on.  I've also been roasting the heck outta some veggies, which makes for quick and healthful dinners--and swell lunches the next day.

But it's not all seeds and veg over here.  Look at these gluten-free semla that B got me for Valentine's day.  These are from the wonderfully old-school Vete-Katten here in Stockholm.  Da-yum... am I right? Eating them is a messy affair, but once you get going you don't even care.  Also, it seems that B and I aren't the only ones around here who like semla.  Cochino had to see what the fuss was about and left with a dot of cream on her nose.  So of course she came begging when we got these out again for round two.  I have created a monster.  A very happy kitty monster.

I am obsessed with this bread from My New Roots.  It's flour-less and full of nuts and seeds and fiber and deliciousness.  I find myself thinking of it while I am at work, craving it and imagining what I will top it with next.  So far, it's great with honey, butter, jam, cream cheese, and mustard + turkey.  We are gunning for a Nutella topper next.  And I won't even feel bad about it because this bread is so healthy to begin with that I could top it with the unhealthiest thing ever and still feel good about myself.

These are some spicy papadums that I brought back from India.  They are from a brand made locally in Bangalore and come dried in a sealed package.  You crisp them directly over a gas flame until they bubble and harden.  The variety shown here is the spicy punjabi flavor.  Noms.

This is a beef brisket (or oxbringa, in Swedish), roasting with lingonberries and orange peel, adapted from the recipe (originally with cranberries) from Mark Bittman's Mini Minimalist cookbook.  (Thanks to Maura and Phil for a great xmas present!)

Hans Karlsson Is My Hero

B and I stumbled upon the paintings below at a local vintage store.  (Said store looks and smells like a thrift store, but the prices are definitely more dear.)  Still, when we saw the wonderful animal works of Hans Karlsson, it was too late.  We were goners.

I pressed the owner for more info about Mr. Karlsson, and he showed us this outdated article (in Swedish).  I asked if he was still painting, and the owner gave me a sheepish answer that he was working on "something" these days.  Hmm.  Later google searches indicated that he might also have been involved in politics here.  But then, there are probably lotsa Hans Karlssons in these parts.

Ultimately, we took home this grey kitty.  I fell in love with his worried expression and giant ears, and also the background is so cool.  He's now hanging above our bed.

But I still think about that punk rock puppy (above).  If only we had a bigger place.  I would have a room dedicated to this guy's art if I could.  Oh, Hans Karlsson, I can't wait to see your next "something."