Jag trivs bäst i öppna landskap...

Since I was little, I always loved to be out, to get a bit dirty and to enjoy the opportunities and adventures that nature offers. Today, it's a pleasure for weekends and holidays, which makes the time in nature and freedom even more precious with space, calmness and the simple but obvious beauty.

Christmas break was such a great time from that perspective, and I got a good and needed dose of Swedish nature in company of good friends. Now, being back to everyday life and spending most of my day at the office, I daydream for clean air and open landscapes, like in the song by Ulf Lundell....


Peaceful day at Ale Stenar, South of Sweden

Öppna landskap

Jag trivs bäst i öppna landskap
nära havet vill jag bo
några månader om året
så att själen kan få ro

Jag trivs bäst i öppna landskap
där vindarna får fart
Där lärkorna står högt i skyn
och sjunger underbart
Där bränner jag mitt brännvin själv
och kryddar med Johannesört
och dricker det med välbehag
till sill och hembakt vört

Jag trivs bäst i öppna landskap
nära havet vill jag bo

Jag trivs bäst i fred och frihet
för både kropp och själ
Ingen kommer i min närhet
som stänger in och stjäl

Jag trivs bäst när dagen bräcker
när fälten fylls av ljus
När tuppar gal på avstånd
när det är långt till närmsta hus
Men ändå så pass nära
att en tyst och stilla natt
när man sitter under stjärnorna
kan höra festens skratt

Jag trivs bäst i fred och frihet
för både kropp och själ

Jag trivs bäst när havet svallar
och måsarna ger skri
När stranden fylls av snäckskal
med havsmusik uti
När det klara och det enkla
får råda som det vill
När ja är ja och nej är nej
och tvivlet tiger still
Då binder jag en krans av löv
och lägger den vid närmsta sten
där runor ristats för vår skull
en gång för länge sen

Jag trivs bäst när havet svallar
och måsarna ger skri

Jag trivs bäst i öppna landskap
nära havet vill jag bo

English version

I feel best in open landscapes
By the sea I want to live
For a few months every year
So that my soul can get some rest

I feel best in open landscapes
Where winds are gaining speed
Where larks stand still high in the sky
And warble marvelously
There I distill snaps on my own
And spice it with St. John’s wort bloom
And drink it with utmost delight
To herring and home-baked bread

I feel best in open landscapes
By the sea I want to live

I feel best when peace and freedom
Reign both in body and soul
There is no one living close to me
Who fences in and steals

I feel best when dawn’s approaching
When fields are filled with light
When cocks are crowing somewhere
When it’s far to the nearest house
But still no farther than you can
Hear laughter from some party
As you’re sitting there under the stars
On a still and quiet night

I feel best when peace and freedom
Reign both in body and soul

I feel best when seas are surging
And the gulls are crying out
When the shore is filled by shells
That sound the music of the sea
When clear and simple things are let
Alone to do their job
When yes is yes and no is no
And doubt stays out of sight
Then I go make a wreath of leaves
And lay it down by the next stone
Where runes were cut for our sake
Once back in history

I feel best when seas are surging
And gulls are crying out

I feel best in open landscapes
By the sea I want to live

(Ulf Lindberg's translation)

baked fennel with Parmesan

I keep promising to post the receipts that I like from my cooking course.. so tonight it's about fennel. If you would have asked me if I liked fennel just a couple of month ago, I would quite surely had answered that I don't know.

I guess fennel belongs to a forgotten group of vegetables. When I bought it in Sweden, the guy in the supermarket couldn't find the price-code for it, and he even told me: it such a rare case that somebody buys this...:)

Anyway, there is a very simple way of preparing fennel, and it's really delicious. So far I served it together with the salmon that I wrote about in another blog post. Maybe someone has some other ideas on what else it could fit with?


Baked fennel with Parmesan

What you need
2 fennel heads, salt and pepper, Parmesan and some olive oil.

How to make it
Wash the fennel, cut the heads in half and remove the middle part. Slice them thickly and sprinkle with some olive oil. Cover with aluminum folio, and bake it until soft in medium hot oven. Add the Parmesan and bake for another 5 minutes.

Serve immediately and enjoy!!!!

aubergine avec amour

The last evening at my parents place for this time was a very nice one. We were cooking together at home and I really enjoyed the company of my mother, father and Edith Piaf very much.

We prepared stuffed aubergine, it was again something I had learnt at my cooking course. I guess most people already know how to prepare stuffed aubergine but there is one secret ingredient to add which makes the whole difference; grinded almonds. It absorbs the liquid from the vegetables and gives a round complete taste. Delicious!

The recipe below is good for approximately 3 people. The filling can of course be what you have at home, but the little trick is to not forget the almond, the love and attention..

Ingredients
2 aubergines, Olive oil, onion, little garlic, 2 tomatoes, 1 paprika or red pepper, 10 mushrooms, 5 grinded almonds and 100 gr fresh (green cheese) / seasoned (mature) ovine cheese or goat cheese, fresh parsley, salt and pepper.

How to make it
It's actually very easy to prepare, and I guess impossible or at least hard to fail. Cut the ends of the aubergines, and divide them into two. Scrap out the pulp with a spoon and cut it into small pieces. Cut also all the other ingredients into small cubes and fry it together a little bit. Start with the onion and add the other ingredients little by little. Paprika takes a while to make soft so it should go second when the onion are golden soft. Add the grinded almond, and the salt and pepper according to your taste and as much love and attention as possible. Put the mixture in the scraped aubergines. Bake it in the owen for approximately 25 minutes in 200 degrees. Ready!

Enjoy!!

Again the importance of love and attention
I think I said it in another blog post, but it cannot hurt to repeat that love, attention and good ingredients would be the basic for cooking, and the rest comes with practice. Cooking at home, I imitated a bit a TV-cook; I made sure to have enough time to prepared everything in advance - washing, cutting and measuring. Great fun! The difference is in the details. And eating it with love and attention will help to make even the simplest dish delicious; to enjoy the taste and the structure of the food consciously and to fully appreciate the company around the table. Again the difference is surely in the details.

And Edith contributed for sure to the harmonic atmosphere by filling the kitchen with her beautiful voice. And a little bit of dancing in the kitchen added to the happiness and love even if it likely did decreased a little bit of attention to the cooking...:)

La Vie En Rose..