Of Berries And Fruit

Which is the most summery-est of all summery fruits and berries?  (Pause to think ... ) Maybe the blackberry? It has a mysterious hue and tastes like summer ...

Or, does the strawberry taste more like summer? Or peach?


Maybe only the berry and fruit that one has the most pleasant summer memories associated with taste the most summer-y ...  :-)


Anyone from the part of Sweden where I grew up would probably vote for the strawberry. Why? Because there are many strawberry farmers in that area! In face, my mom and dad sent me to a strawberry farm to pich strawberries over the summer when I was only thirteen ... Why?  Because that is what mom and dad did when they were that age!


But, what flavor do I vote for no ... when I have lived in the South long enough to prefer Southern flavors?  Well, I like my strawberries as a shortcake and my peaches ripe, juicy or simply grilled served with ice cream ... or in a cobbler of course! Still served with vanilla ice cream ...


Here is the traditional way to serve strawberries in Sweden:

Strawberries with whipped cream and sugar.

And here in the South, we serve our peaches like this:

This:

And this:

Borrowed this picture. Link with recipe here https://iheartrecipes.com/grandmas-southern-peach-cobbler/

Mac-in-Gravy

It's been years since I last made and/or had the Swedish comfort food Mac-in-Gravy and I just HAD TO fix it to fix my fix.

You can make this too! Boil macaroni and drain. Make a thick white gravy and season it with salt, white pepper and a pinch or two of ground nutmeg. Stir the macaroni in and enjoy. Maybe the way I do with ketchup and meatballs.

My Favorite Vegetarian Meal

Organic spaghetti, home made tomato sauce, creamy grated Swedish  cheese and mixed greens. Freshly ground black pepper on top. Thanks Mom for providing the ingredients!

McD's can Vegetarian ...

... in Sweden. I had this bean burger meal in Stockholm:

If McDonald's knows how to make vegetarian meals, why not in the US?

IKEA Treats

Tunnbrod- Thin white wheat bread, Dammsugare - "Rum" flavored chocolate and marzipan treats. Paskmust -  dark toffe caramel soda.

Late Nite Snack ...

My favorite late night snack is one slice of home made pizza. I made one for dinner that has whole wheat flour in the dough and spinach, onions, mushrooms, fresh tomato slices and cheese as toppings. I sauteed the onions first which gave them a more smooth flavor and texture. Next time I think I'll add some feta cheese as a topping also and continue to tweak the recipe of the dough etc. Lucky enough for me only make home made pizza every so often!

Less is more ...

Smoothie: .... bananas ... peaches ... orange juice ... less is indeed more!

Classic Sandwiches

One American:

Tomato Sandwich. Sliced tomatoes and mayonnaise between two slices of bread.

One Swedish:

Ostmacka. A slice of buttered bread, slices of cheese and sliced cucumber, The picture is showing two sandwiches - open faced, and that's the most common way of having a Swedish sandwich.

It's okay ...

... to be a Veggievore.

I just learned that new depiction while reading on a Swedish web site. It's a noun describing a person who mostly eats veggies and only sometimes meat. Funny thing is, the news traveled from the US to Sweden and ended up as news on a radio station. It's such a small world :-)

My Favorite Fair Fares

What I love the most about fairs: the food of course :-)

American Fairs also have music entertainment, while the Swedish do not, but they have more vendors.

Descriptions in English for the Swedish Fair Fares and in Swedish for the American Fair Fares.

Branda Mandlar.
 (Swedish Fare. Roasted, salted almonds with a chewy almond paste coating)

Fried Pickles.
 (American Fare. Panerad, friterad inlagd gurka med vitlöksdressingsdip) 

Funnel Cake.
(American Fare. Krispig, söt, friterad kaksmet pudrad med florsocker)

Langos.
(Swedish Fare originating from Hungary. Fried bread with garlic butter, sour cream and grated cheese)




Could I have one of each, please?

Healthy and Yummy Dinner

Vegballs made from Black Eyed Peas and cooked rice, in Marinara Sauce

I hardy ever use measurements when cooking ... that way every meal is different and a surprise! Most of the times a pleasant surprise :-) Like these Black Eyed Peas Vegballs. I used one can of Black Eyed Peas and mixed with cooked white rice (about half a cup), chopped yellow onion, tomato paste, old fashion oats and spices (salt. pepper, onion powder, garlic powder and Italian herbs). Then I shaped them into balls, fried them all around till slightly browned and then poured Marinara Sauce over to let them simmer for about 10-15 minutes. I served them over spaghetti with some grated cheese on top. Yum!

New Quotes ...

Pick whichever one that speaks to you the most ... or write your own :-)

"Clean food makes a clean body"

"Clean food makes a clean mind, body and spirit"

"Clean food makes a healthy heart, mind and spirit"

Mmmmm ... fried green tomatoes ...

I recently had a veggie plate at Vittle's in Brentwood. I was thrilled to see that they have fried green tomatoes on their menu (when in season) and I surely and thoroughly enjoyed my first taste of the southern classic!
What I drank? Sweet tea of course :-)

Clockwise: white beans, corn bread muffin, fried green tomatoes, mashed potatoes with brown gravy, corn fritters, spoon.

Veggie Plates

I do appreciate the fact that more and more restaurants are having vegetarian (some even vegan) dishes to choose from. If they don't, most of them now offer a veggie plate where you can combine your favorite sides into one, big, yummy veggie feast. That's especially good when you're eating out with non-vegetarians: they chose theirs, you chose yours. Soooo ...

.... thank you restaurant menu makers for abiding to what's good for everyone :-)

Campfire Goodies

Day 11 of the Daniel Fast

Yesterday I searched the internet to see if there was any education available to vegetarian chef - just out of curiosity - but I couldn't find any. Instead I stumbled upon a very informative article listing reasons for eating vegan/vegetarian: Health benefits of course. Caring about mother Earth another. The article also had pictures and names of vegan creations served at restaurants and I was inspired to create a dish from that. I boiled asparagus and fingerling potatoes separately and heated a can of butter beans. Then I created a vinaigrette made with 2/3 of virgin olive oil, 1/3 of apple cider vinegar and stirred in salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder and dried chili pepper flakes. After placing the vegetables on plates I spooned over the vinaigrette. Delicious! :-)

Favorite Places to Eat

Anywhere where I can get something Vegetarian. One of those places is Mellow Mushroom. It is so great to come to a place where you don't have to settle for a side salad and a baked potato ... and the pizza options are more than just a cheese or three cheese ... there are five signature vegetarian pizzas. Heaven. I'm already looking forward to my next Holy Shitake Pie.

Cross culture thing ...

A co-worker asked me once what I missed the most from my old home country. My answer was "Besides my family, I think I miss a Chinese dessert called Fried Bananas the most". I think it puzzled him as much as it did me :-) It's kind of funny ... I live in the US, come from Sweden and miss a Chinese dessert!

In Swedish/På Svenska:

En arbetskamrat frågade mig en gång vad jag saknade mest från mitt gamla hemland. Mitt svar var "Förutom min familj, så tror jag att jag mest saknar en Kinesisk dessert som heter Friterade Bananer". Jag tror att han blev lika förvånad som jag :-) Det är ganska lustigt ... jag bor i USA, kommer från Sverige och saknar en kinesisk dessert!

Bananas, dipped in batter and fried. Served with Vanilla bean ice cream and syrup. Oh, it's sooo yummy!!!

Favorite places to eat at in Chattanooga Part I

Souper Salad off of Gunbarrel Road. They are located at the same plaza as Best Buy and Hobby Lobby  .... http://www.soupersalad.com/. They have a great salad bar with everything imaginable. Not to mention their pasta salads ... especially their Fettuccine Pasta Salad ...  heaven for a pasta connoisseur like yours truly :-)  Soup, baked potatoes, tacos and pizza available as well. And all kinds of desserts. I'd do best to stay away from the latter though ... What I wonder now is why in the world I would write about eating and food when it was over five hours since I last ate ... sigh ... better bite the bullet and ... go to bed and forget about it. Dream about food? Who? Me? :-)

An enjoyable hobby

Some of my hobbies are to grow things, to enjoy life ... and food. Preferably vegetarian. I do eat dairy products and eggs and if it is absolutely necessary and nothing else is available I'll have chicken or fish.

Anyway, one way I enjoy food is looking at it, so why not capture the moments in pictures:

A home grown green bell pepper that soon becomes an ingredient in ...

... salads that my husband and I made. He prefers French dressing and I Ranch or Vinaigrette dressing. We got a little creative and put peach slices and strawberries in the salads this time. Delicious!