A bit funny and but really..?

Man Up! Gender Equality for the Cupcake Crowd

Root Vegetable Sallad with Spelt and Feta

I dreamt of pancakes and Holly last night. And of Robert Pattinson, but not in the same dream and I don't remember what it was about.

Holly was making pancakes for breakfast and I tried to convince her that chocolate chip was a perfect match with maple syrup.

I don't think I've ever even eaten chocolate chip pancakes! It was weird, anyhow. That reminds me, I found a recipe for chocolate griddle cakes on Epicurious that seemed absolutely delicious. I have to make them soon. I'm into a very non-healty period of chocolate cravings. I'd like to make (and eat) everything with dark chocolate. Trying to keep myself away from it and in control.

And here to the recipe:

3 dl / 1.3 cups whole spelt (I used barley instead)

200 g / 7 ounces rutabaga (kålrot) (switched this to celeriac, not my favorite, but you have to compromise, right?)

2 large carrots

3 red beets

2 parsnips

2 red onions

2 tablespoons raisins or 4 shredded dried apricots

2 tablespoons fresh thyme

150 g / 5 ounces Feta cheese

Possibly 1 pot fresh mint

Olive oli

Sea salt

Black pepper

Gremolata:

2 cloves of garlic

Zest from 1 lemon

1/2 dl / 1.7 fl oz chopped parsely

1/2 dl / 1.7 fl oz olive oil

1. Put the oven on 225° C / 440 °F. Peel and cut the root vegetables in inch sized cubes. Peel the onion and slice it in pieces.

2. Put the vegetables in a roasting pan. Drizzle olive oil over them (approx 3 tablespoons) and mix. Season with sea salt and pepper. Roast in the oven for 30-40 minutes. In the mean time, cook the spelt according to the instructions on the box.

3. Peel and grate/squeeze the garlic for the gremolata. Mix with lemon zest and parsely. Stir in the oil.

4. Mix the warm vegetabels with spelt, raisins and thyme. Taste with some more salt and pepper. Put in a serving bowl and crumb the Feta cheese over. Serve with mint leaves and the gremolata.

I bought a new computer today..

I've done something that's not really like me at all. It's too rash for me. I'm normally very careful and think about things before I do them. But not this time. Here's the story:

Once upon a time, in a land far, far away...

I fell in love with Dell's XPS Product (RED) computer two years ago, and bought it. And loved it. (I love all the Product (RED) things. And the idea behind it. Check www.joinred.com for more info.) But this love was unfortunately not life long. I've been more and more tired of it, and of Windows not working properly. So, three days ago, I got a fit and put an ad out on Blocket (it's the biggest (I think) place for (private) advertising in Sweden). I immediately got response. The computer is now packed and ready to be shipped as soon as I get the money. I bought it for 9, 700 SEK and sold it for 5, 000 SEK, note that I've used it a LOT during two years time.

Today, I saw another add on Blocket. A brand new MacBook Pro for 9, 700 SEK. In stores, they cost 11, 995 SEK. I had Max go buy it for me. And this computer wasn't even unpacked. The plastic wrap was still on the box! I think I made a good deal, though, it wasn't at all planned or thought out. And most of my incaseIreallyneedthem-money is gone. (I haven't touched my trust funds, btw, which is good) Bye, bye PC, and hello Mac! (NOTE: I've been using PC's forever, Max's the Mac fan in my family, so this is a HUGE deal for him.)

...And so they lived, happily for ever after. (Hmm.. I wonder...)

Now, I just have to decide wether it's worth buying an iPhone too.. I really see the advantages with it (all the apps, the email, the iPod and phone in one device), but I can also wrap my mind around the amount of money spend on something I don't really NEED. Tricky, tricky.


As you may have noticed, I'm not in Stockholm anymore. I moved back to Göteborg after two weeks on the Pol Sci course in Stockholm. I'm not sure if I dropped out because

1) I'm too picky
2) I'm to pretentious
3) if my expectations were too high
4) the course was infact really bad

Now I'm looking for jobs. Any job, really, as long as it gives me a salary. Studying some part time German online and have some French left from the fall, which I didn't pass then.

I'm also getting more and more excited about my trip. Today it's four months til I go! Holly, I will answer that Facebook message you sent me. Short version; it all sounds great!

Pancakes!

I made pancakes the other day. I used the epicurious recipe that Holly sent me, but I didn't have any blueberries nor any buttermilk. It worked fine anyway, I created my own buttermilk by adding a tablespoon of lemon juice to a cup of regular milk. We ate them with bacon and regular syrup (not maple). So yummy!

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Blueberry-Buttermilk-Pancakes-238779

I'm gonna try and get my dad's Swedish pancake recipe. If I get it, I'll definitely share!

Fish Soup

I made a delicious fish soup the other day. I took the recipe from one of my cook books, but edited it slightly, plus I had to half it. It had two different fishes, clams and shrimps. I love shellfish! Here is my edited version:

Serves 4:

400 g cod

150 g salmon

250 g shrimps (boiled, unpeeled)

1/2 leek

2 carrots

3 potatoes

2 tablespoons butter

0.5 g saffron

1 l shrimp stock

2 fish stock cubes

1 tin of clams

chopped dill

lemon juice

black pepper

Thaw the fish if it's frozen. Peel the shrimps. Boil the shells in lightly salted water 10-15 minutes. Strain the stock.

Cut the fish into 2 cm/1 inch cubes. Rinse the leek and slice it thinly. Peel and cut the potatoes and carrots into smaller pieces. Sizzle it in the butter in a large pot. Add saffron, shrimp stock and fish stock cubes. Bring to the boil and let it boil for 4-5 minutes.

Add the fish and let it simmer for 2-3 minutes. Then add the shrimps, the clams and some dill. Reheat. Add lemon juice and pepper to taste.

Preferably served with aioli and bread.

Jalapeño Poppers

Another great (I think) recipe from my online friend Dee. She says they are world famous in Jacksonville, NC. I haven't been able to find jalapeños large enough here in Sweden. I'll have to try them, is there large jalapeños in stores in Logan?

Lots and lots of jalapeños. (Dee uses 50)
2 packages fat free Philadelphia cream cheese (or regular cream cheese)
1 cup low-fat shredded cheddar cheese (or regular cheddar cheese)
1 cup low-fat shredded mozzarella cheese (or regular mozza cheese)
about 1/3 of a bunch of cilantro, finely chopped
2-3 cups corn flakes or fiber one bran cereal, crushed (use food processor)
1 cup egg beaters (or regular eggs)
salt, pepper, garlic salt, cumin, paprika
non-stick cooking spray


Cut the jalapeños in half and use a spoon to scrape the seeds out. I advise wearing a latex glove in your pepper-holding hand. Set the peppers aside.

In a bowl, mix the cream cheese, cheese, and cilantro. It helps if you leave the cream cheese out overnight to soften it. Then, add pepper and garlic salt to taste. Put the mixture into a large plastic bag and cut out one corner to make a piping bag, and then squeeze a goodly sized amount of cheese on each jalapeño half. Use your fingers to mush the cheese mixture into the peppers so that it doesn't fall out when you're coating them.

In a plastic bag, mix the crushed up cereal (get it into the tiniest pieces you can either by crushing it with a rolling pin or using a processor) and 3 tablespoons of cumin and 2 tablespoons of paprika with pinches of salt and pepper. Dip each of the jalapeños into the egg batter, then coat them with the cereal mixture and place on a large baking sheet that has been covered in non-stick spray.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. When all your peppers are spread out on the tray(s) spritz the tops with more non-stick spray, and then bake for 8 - 10 minutes, until the cereal starts to get a dark golden brown color. Pull out, cool down, and eat - so delicious!!

Our pics from Skottorp in August

Here are the pictures Grandpa took in August.

Visit in Sweden

I've recently discovered Picasa. A very good way of organizing pictures and sharing them. Really recommend it. And did I mention I'm really into all Google things? Translate, Mail, Calender, Notebook, Blogger..

First Blurb Book

Student 2008 IB2A

Söderportskolan, K...

By Emma Hammarsten

Book Preview

So, here it is. I'm just gonna make some more advertising for it. A graduation book. Very simple, but very fun to have, I think. Haven't ordered it yet, but will do soon.

By the way, Amanda, Grandma said she received your book. She's very impressed and now she wants to visit Dalfors too.

Cook book shop

I know I originally dedicated this blog to food and recipes, but lately, it's mostly been other stuff. But here is something food related, at least. I've started a subscription on Tori Ritchie's Tuesday Recipe (which I found when randomly looking at food sites), and in today's email she's mentioning Omnivore Books in San Francisco. I wanna go there! Just cook books. Lots of them. I wish there was a similar place in Sweden.

E-books

I'm thinking of buying an e book reader. Not here in Sweden, of course, but when I come to the States. I'm not really into the Kindle, I think it looks weird and I'm not sure of the keyboard. Is it really necessary? Then I was thinking Sony Reader Touch Edition (because it's a touch screen, and it comes in red) or Reader Daily Edition (because it has a large screen). But I heard that the screens have glare, due to the touch screen. Now, I'm on Barnes & Noble's Nook, I like the idea of two separate screens, and the fact that it has WiFi. Unfortunately, according to several reviews, it has software issues. It laggs. So now I'm back at square one again. Hopefully there will be new readers/new software when I'm gonna buy mine.

Does anyone has experience in the subject? Please share.

By the way, I'm hooked by The Twilight Saga. I'm finished with Twilight and New Moon and waiting impatiently on Eclipse to arrive from my online book store.