When it comes to New Years Eve I like to keep it super classic. Champagne (or other bubbly), of course. Lobster in one way or another. Nice meat. A decadent pudding. And good friends! That’s the most important ingredient of all!
Our plan is to have canapés and champagne quite early in the evening. It’s the best part of the evening (we think so at least!) and something we really treasure so I’m making our favourites. One delicious mushroom toast on butter-fried bread (requested by my best friend), another toast with lobster (yum!!) and another little dish with bleak roe because we love it so much.
Then we’re going straight for the main course; fillet of beef, crispy potatoes, nice vegetables and a creamy mushroom sauce to bring it all together.
I’m really happy with the menu. Sometimes I like to experiment but on New Years Eve I prefer to keep it classic and stick to tried and tested favourites. All so even the chef (aka moi) can relax and not spend too much time in the kitchen. Living abroad it’s so rare to have an evening like this with friends from home so we’re making the most of it when we can!
My key to success here is of course to prep ahead. I write a list for the day before and start to tick it off. I will even measure up ingredients for the evening so I can chat and sip champagne while I cook without thinking too much about quantities and recipes.
And as we always have homemade pizza with my parents on the 1st January I will prep that too. Just the dough and the tomato sauce but that will make the assembly so much easier that evening. I have discovered a great recipe for pizza dough I will share with you soon. You make the dough a day or two ahead of time and let it slowly rise in the fridge.
Throwing it back to this lovely summer and a few weeks in Sweden. It was truly the best! It was so lovely to visit in a normal way again; travel around a little, see friends, go out to restaurants and just enjoy summer in the best possible way.
There was a lot of beach time (yay!), a lot of ice cream and of course a lot of nice food, mostly eaten al fresco. I hope you enjoy this little album as much as I did putting it together.
I have called London home for fourteen years. I did so a bit tentatively at first, when I stayed with a school friend (on his sofa) for a few weeks while I looked for a flat and a job. But more and more so, as I have immersed myself deeper into the British way of living, through friends and my boyfriend. And at some point, it started to feel permanent. I don’t know where my life will take me, but I know I will never regret moving here. I love London, Britain and its people.
Especially today. When the whole country stopped to mourn their beloved monarch and to say their goodbyes to Queen Elizabeth II.
It is the first public bank holiday of mourning I (and many others) have experienced and the first British state funeral most of us have seen. And I am in awe. In awe of the whole operation that began ten days ago when the Queen, rather suddenly, passed away. The planning and the execution of everything we have witnessed since then, culminating in the processions and the funeral today.
On Tuesday, the week that The Queen passed away, she had met with the new Prime Minister, Liz Truss, at Balmoral. The Queen looked frail but smiling in the photos. Two days later we were told on the news that the Queen wasn’t well but was resting comfortably at Balmoral. We heard that message a lot that day, so I wasn’t that surprised when it was later announced that she had died. But it still felt like it happened really quickly, and I know it was a shock for many. She was such a constant in our lives; some people thought she would live until a hundred! But ninety-six is very impressive too. Seventy years of dedicated and unwavering service and I think we – the whole country – are all so grateful we got to celebrate her impressive reign at the Platinum Jubilee in June.
We queued up along the Mall for Trooping the Colour then; saw her waving from the famous Buckingham Palace balcony and watched the impressive fly past celebrating her seventy years on the throne. It was a happy long weekend with bunting everywhere and you could feel how proud everyone was to be part of it.
The day after she passed away my boyfriend and I stopped at Sandringham on our way to London, and left some flowers by the gate. I didn’t queue for the lying in state, but he got up at 3am to join the queue on Thursday and I watched the live feed as he walked past the coffin and paid his respects later that morning. It has been amazing to see so many people queueing up to view processions, the lying in state, leaving flowers and other tributes or to catch a glimpse of the new King.
It truly feels like we are living through history as it is happening. A most peculiar feeling. In one week the world had changed so much; not only did we find ourselves with a new prime minister but also with a new monarch. And watching the two services today (the state funeral at Westminster Abbey and the Committal at St George’s Chapel in Windsor), this shift of course felt even more poignant. It was heartbreaking to see King Charles mourn his mother while also being stoic for his country and his family. But it was also very comforting in a way to see a country come together like this and celebrate and remember a person that has meant so much to so many people in this country, the Commonwealth and around the world. This wonderful outpouring of grief the past ten days has made me uncomfortable and terribly sentimentalin equal measure. Being Swedish I’m not used to this public way of grieving but it does make sense when you think about it: Queen Victoria set the precedent when she after Prince Albert’s death mourned him for the rest of her life. And when Diana, Princess of Wales, so suddenly died in Paris, the whole world was mourning her. But it is very different experiencing it first hand, as I am now, compared to seeing it on the news from afar (as I did then). So although I was a bit taken aback by the scale of it all at first; by the publicness and the huge outpouring of love, I am now very proud to have experienced yet another part of British life in this place I call home. Because when it comes to ceremony and tradition, this country – my country – certainly knows how it’s done!
You already know how much I like a tortilla pizza for a speedy weeknight supper, but last weekend I made some green ones (literally and figuratively!) for lunch and they were so good I immediately wanted to share the recipe. And write it down for my own sake too, as it really was a winning combination and such a satisfying lunch!
An added bonus is that I have finally found a good use for green peppers (my least favourite pepper) and they taste great here, so now you know what to do with all those green peppers that come in the mixed packets. For me, they’re always left after I have used the red, yellow and orange ones.
Place the two tortillas on a baking tray. Spread the creme fraiche onto the tortilla and scatter with cheddar. Add a little salt and pepper before adding the vegetables with the spinach and spring onions on top. Add more salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil. Bake in 220C oven for 5-10 minutes. Add a few spoonfuls of green tahini yoghurt dressing to each pizza and serve.
We may not be entertaining very much at the moment, but I think we should all practice making this addictive dip until we can, so when the lockdown lifts and we’re free to see a few people again, we know what to make. Because I imagine that first little gathering will be a bit stressful and shaky for many of us, mainly because we will be so happy and eager to see our friends or family again but also because we’ll be out of practice cooking for more than our household.
So start with something simple, yet utterly delicious (i.e. this dip!) and stick to something you’ve made many times for the next dish. Because the last thing we want when we can finally see our friends again is to be stuck in the kitchen.
While you practice making it though, it will brighten your evenings at home. It’s the maximum dividend for a very small investment of labour. I love it with a selection of pitta chips (homemade or store-bought) and crudités.
The original recipe is by Alison Roman (of salted butter chocolate chunk shortbread cookie fame!) and as many of her amazing recipes, it broke the internet (hence the famous in the title of this post). I totally recommend buying her cookbooks for more of her incredible recipes – I just love her style of cooking!
Labneh dip with sizzled spring onions and chilli, akaThe dip, serves 6
4 spring onions, white and light green parts, thinly sliced
1 tsp chilli flakes
2 tbsp finely chopped fresh coriander (leaves and tender stems) or chives, plus more for garnish
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
475 ml labneh (or full-fat Greek yogurt or sour cream)
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
Heat the olive oil, spring onions, chilli flakes and coriander in a small pot over medium-low heat. Cook, swirling occasionally, until the scallions and red-pepper flakes start to visually and audibly sizzle and frizzle and turn the oil a bright, fiery orange. Remove from the heat, and let cool enough to taste without burning your mouth, then season with salt and pepper.
Combine the labneh and lemon juice in a medium bowl, and season with salt and pepper. Spoon into a serving bowl and swirl in the sizzled scallion mixture. Top with extra coriander, if you like.
I don’t think I have ever been so keen to see a year out the door as 2020. I think it’s safe to say it’s been a rough year for all of us and even worse for those affected by disease or loss. There is so much uncertainty at the moment but starting a new year feels promising. A year of vaccinations and strength so that we hopefully can resume some of our much missed activities later in the year.
Until then, I try to look back on 2020 with kindness and gratitude and making sure to remember the good times. Personally I’m still savouring my trip home to Sweden and the two and a half weeks of quality time I had with my parents after quarantining. It was the best way to see 2020 out and starting 2021, with them; my core family! As usual, we ate and drank really well and had a wonderful time. With some pictures from our party of three I wish you all a healthy and happy 2021!
As we find ourselves in another lockdown in the UK I will try to find time to finally write up the recipes from the last two lockdowns. I have cooked a lot while in Sweden too and want to share it all with you.
Thank you so much for your support! If you have any suggestions for future blog posts or recipes (other than my extensive back log), please let me know in the comments!
I received a comment and a request on my Swedish blog, to write about my cooking now, in lockdown. Something I of course have addressed on my instagram accounts, which are more ‘in the moment’ than the blog.
Courgette quesadillas with soured cream and guacamole
I completely understand it might not be of interest for you readers to read my reviews of restaurants from before lockdown, that are now shut. But the reason I have carried on ‘as normal’ (or as normally as I can right now) is because I think those good restaurants that I didn’t have time to write about before lockdown need to be mentioned. My blogs don’t have a huge following, but they are read by a few of you and if I could have some influence on where you spend your money when all this is over of course I want to contribute to that. To cast a limelight on restaurants I really like, large or small. Regardless of what kind of backing some restaurants had before lockdown, I think all business owners are now in the same boat; worrying if they can bounce back. If they can afford to take this hit or if it’s better to throw in the towel.
But I hear you; that’s the past, and the present is strange and can be tricky to navigate, especially when you’re forced (more or less, depending on where you live), to cook more at home, to come up with new dishes, while maybe not having access to all the food items you’re used to.
I feel quite equipped for this, strangely. Maybe because I taught myself how to cook when I lived away from home for the first time (with a patient mamma at the end of the phone guiding me when I got stuck), or because I made sure I would enjoy cooking for one after a breakup when I was around thirty, or because I loathe throwing food away and get immense satisfaction out of using up every single little morsel leftover; be it a quarter of an onion, a small piece of chicken or a little hunk of cheese. I use them all up and have come up with some interesting lunches over the years. And maybe also, because I love to cook for other people.
You see, the first three weeks of lockdown I utilised all my cooking for one tips, as I was alone in London making sure I didn’t develop the virus. At this point it was hard for people to get food in general so I relied on my freezer stash, my ability of using up food and coming up with good substitutions and to buy food where the regular person wouldn’t shop. I felt this was a small thing for me to do, but could mean that somebody else (maybe a whole family) could access that delivery slot or those groceries, because frankly they needed it more than I did. I waited for Natoora, one of my favourite vegetable and delicatessen shops, to open up their restaurant slots to the general public and bought lovely things like British asparagus, burrata and dolce latte. This might seem extravagant in a crisis, but my thinking was that I get more satisfaction out of these more luxury food items than the average person, I can afford it, and I don’t eat very much and can therefore stretch the produce quite far if I need to. And I wanted to support a wonderful business that with restaurants closing had a huge excess of food they needed to sell. Which I, of course, was oh so happy to take off their hands.
So I ate very well those three weeks. But I didn’t eat much meat, because they don’t sell it (other than in delicatessen products), and I made sure to buy some flour (any flour!) so that if I couldn’t get a delivery slot at least I could make bread, pasta or pizza. I wanted to avoid shops as at this point they were still crowded which scared me!
A new creation using up leftover bolognese sauce
Then after those three weeks, feeling safe enough I didn’t carry any nasties with me, I went out to the countryside to join my boyfriend and his mother, who were in the midst of moving house. So I put on my apron and started cooking for them. Which was very different than cooking for just myself. But very helpful to both them and me. I have invented new dishes (so satisfying), come up with different ways to cook something because of a lack of ingredients (also very satisfying) and although the food look (and taste) great it’s not as glamorous as instagram suggests of course (check out my stories to see failed experiments, substitutions and lots of leftovers). Yes, all the leftovers get eaten!! Sometimes reimagined as something else and sometimes just reheated as they are.
So in the coming weeks I will try to share some helpful recipes where I’ve had to think differently, using what I’ve had to hand. Being in the countryside has proved a lot easier when it comes to food though. Two small local shops carry necessities like eggs, milk and bread. And one of them is a greengrocer too! The village farm sells eggs like they always do, and we have managed to get slots to pick up food from supermarkets (some far away, but we could get slots) and since Ocado opened up more slots a couple of weeks ago I have used them too. So I realise we’re very lucky. But I hope most of you are too. That if you can’t go out somebody can deliver to you or a neighbour could do the shopping for you.
PS. Moving house in lockdown was really hard work, so I haven’t been able to post very much, but I hope I will have more time in the coming weeks.
I never miss a food market when I’m travelling! Apart from in Barcelona when it was closed when we were nearby.
But when I find them open I always seek them out and make sure to pop in. It’s fun mingling with the locals, checking out the local produce and buy some culinary mementos to enjoy at home.
Copenhagen’s food market Torvehallerne, is a very sleek version of the food markets you find in other cities. The two buildings are all glass and modern, and although you can buy fresh produce it’s also interspersed with restaurants.
I think I’ve sampled them all, and one favourite we always come back to is Tapa del Toro with its many pinxtos to choose from.
Although we had just enjoyed a lovely gourmet lunch we wanted a little taste of both the food market atmosphere and the lovely pinxtos. Because sitting here sipping cava and biting into baguette with Jamon Iberico while people watching and chatting to your friends is just such a big part of what we love about Copenhagen.
When we finished we walked next door to a new interior shop Maria had discovered and had a look around enjoying the colour scheme and pretty things for sale.
Only to return to Torvehallerne and The Coffee Collective for a coffee before our next shop. Maria and Daniel had espressos but I decided to try their iced latte, which turned out to be the best one I’ve ever had! I don’t usually have milk in my coffee but it works really well if it’s a strong iced latte like this one. I was always skipping with joy drinking this!
It’s November! Already?! October just sped past and now it’s time for one of my least favourite months. Why? Because it’s colder, darker, rainier and more depressing. BUT November is also leading the way to December and the holiday season, so I have learned that if I light as many candles as possible and concentrate on everything cosy and Christmassy then November isn’t quite so bad.
And another good way of making November more bearable is through food. Warm hearty soups, some nice stews and a few sweets and it suddenly feels a lot better.
When my friend Therése came to visit in April we had a really lovely weekend with shopping, dinner in and amazing sushi out. And the last day we went all out with a trip to the V&A and the dreamy Dior exhibition followed by a wonderful afternoon tea at Berners Tavern, that I will tell you all about now, and some beauty shopping in Liberty’s. Such a perfect girlie day!
As we walked into Berners Tavern we were overwhelmed by the beauty of the dining room with its pretty chandeliers and amazing ceilings and picture covered walls, which felt both grand and relaxed at the same time.
We sat down at our table and immediately admired the china (you may know I have a thing for blue and white china!) and were greeted by our lovely waiter explaining the menu in details with us.
What I really like about an afternoon tea, is of course all the goodies, but also the ceremony around it; the nice china, the silverware, the pouring of the tea and just letting everything take its time.
With the napkin in my lap I once again admired the china pattern when our kind waiter told me it was especially made for the restaurant, and the pattern is made up of the chandeliers in the ceiling that are originals from when the building was first built. Isn’t that amazing?! I love the attention to detail.
Just as much attention to detail had been put into the sandwiches, scones and sweet treats for the afternoon tea. Such a stunning spread!
The savoury spread from left to right; chicken and mushroom mini baguette; smoked salmon, cream cheese and dill sandwich and savoury scone with mild goat’s cheese and herbs. All delicious!!
The scones were also perfect and came with and without raisins and we got individual silver pots of clotted cream and jam!
The sweets were gorgeous too! From left to right; strawberry macaron with creamy ginger filling (my favourite!); chocolate and yuzu tart and a creamy raspberry and meringue cake.
Just look how beautiful the sandwiches are close up! Love that the chefs take such care in the presentation.
The same goes for the sweets; they were like little works of art! Our whole afternoon here was puree perfection from the service to the tea refills to the food and ambiance. Berners Tavern definitely have that little extra that makes it feel like a special place without being stuffy at all. We could just relax and chat away – which we do so well!
Scandelights 