Lately I have such a strong need to be closer to nature, and to enjoy the simple things in life. What a great timing with the Volcano and the ash cloud - I was not planning to go anywhere far away. With my good dose of exciting traveling recently, I want to be here for a little while and maybe even better appreciate the nearby beauty now.
Writing this, my cheeks are still warm from today’s sun and my hands are friendly smelling of soil,. My feet look still a bit dirty even after shower but they appreciated so much today to be in sandals at the country side so they are excused for being little black..:)
After a very rainy and cold week, Ms. Spring came to Hungary just in time for the weekend, so we and some other good friends went to Csákvár for the day. I have many sunny memories from there, and a Sunday like this it was where I needed to go; sunny spring weather, friends, planting, bird watching, fresh air, noisy frogs, and a good pick-nick. Some outdoor work, a walk, some talking, small jokes and some silence in peaceful environment. May I share my day with you?
the neighbours are of course there. this year I better understand Hungarian so I realise how many bad words they are using speaking to each other. Anyhow, in a strange way they seem to like each other.
I guess I don't have to add that I like to spend my Sunday like this..
In March my work took me to Greenland and India, and I also went for a family weekend in Stockholm and even managed to see a friend in Malmö. It was all in the same trip, and I'm still trying to understand where I have been and what I have seen... such a crazy trip :)
"So how was your trip?"
This would be the most common question when coming back home after a long trip. My quick answer this time was "oh absolutely wonderful". With a little bit more of time, there is of course much more to be said.... for a trip so full of contrasts and so rich and intense in all kind of ways. How to tell about India and Greenland at the same time?? One by one, or comparing, focusing on the differences or maybe even finding the similarities? the weather, the food, the culture, the religion, the silence and the noise, the space and the crowd of people and the smells and the tastes, the sun and the stars, the people and the animals, the colors and all the feelings and thoughts that all this trigger – where to start describing all this?
In words...
One day I was the little sister/youngest daughter/cousin being home for my birthday party, the next day I was an expert giving lectures and advices. Half the trip I spent in minus 20 degrees and the other half in plus 30 – imaging how my luggage looked like...:) I saw icebergs and northern light, temples, beautiful coffee places and small fishing boats. I travelled by helicopter and went dog sledging in Greenland and by train and auto richa in India. I laid down on an iceberg and I swam in the Arabic sea. I ate French fries for 10 days and then curry for the following 10 days. I met all kind of people, and so many were so nice and interesting, maybe that can also be another blog post.... My body and mind lost completely track of space and time but I think I suffered mostly from jetlag and cultural shock once I came back to Budapest – but then I did it for quite some time and maybe I still do... :)
and in pictures...
So, even if I don't know how to tell about it all, I have such a big need of sharing so let’s start slooowly with some pictures..:)
Just a little bit spoiled I have to admit that I got a little bit spoiled the last two weeks; the food in India is just so great, and even if my colleagues got slightly tired of it, I was eating it happily until the end. Only when I came back to Europe, I realised how much I wanted something lighter and with less curry. And the tradition of good food continued also in the last part of the trip where I tried Ethiopian food for the first time (oh how good it was) and also some really delicious fish dishes. So one reason not to write anything for the blog is that I have been on a little culinary discovery trip...
Indian lunch - this time with pancakes
So after some time at hotels and restaurants, there are both good and bad things with being back home... The good things would include the possibility to cook, while the bad things could for example be that I have to clean my room and also serve my self the juice...And most of the time, there is only one type of juice in my fridge and not even freshly pressed...hehe
Anyway, after eating more or less the same every day for 10 days with lots of spices, I’m quite happy to enjoy some simple and light food. Since, I’m back I’m having salad and beans every day.
Steamed vegetables with pumpkin oil
Tonight, I made something really simple, but oh so good; steamed broccoli and corny flower with pumpkin oil. I learnt it at the first cooking course where we had it with the fish. Today I ate it with couscous, red onion tomato salad, some black beans and pumpkin seeds. Very nice!
As probably obvious from the name, this is something very simple to prepare. Just steam the vegetables until they are crispy, and serve them with pumpkin oil mixed with balsam vinegar (2 spoons of pumpkin oil for 1 spoon of balsam vinegar) and some salt and pepper.
Same same but different…
Of course it is impossible to fail something this simple, but I did notice some important improvement between this time and last. Tonight, I used very good quality pumpkin oil and what a difference it made! Last time, I didn’t like it so much, and after today I understand that it was the pumpkin oil that was not that good. The conclusion would therefor be that the secret is to use good oil.
The good pumpkin oil with it's friend balsam vinegar
In India I bought some really nice long black pepper at a local market. It had a really interesting flavor, somewhat a round taste - not so strong. I also like their shape and I remember the friendly man at the market selling it
Mysore Devaraja market.Unfortunately I didn't make a photo with the kind man selling the pepper, but this is how nice the market was.
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
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.
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...:)
I tried to introduce a gift free Christmas this year or at least to limit consumption. Early in October I wrote an email to my family to propose different solutions – such as only giving one, to collect money for a common trip, etc etc.. Maybe I should have written directly to Santa Claus because finally we were having gifts :) Maybe a bit fewer, but all so very nice and thought through!
The best of the best, was the dress made in silk that my sister had knitted for me. I almost cried of happiness when I saw what she had prepared for me.
Designed by K.
Other nice gifts I will not list all the gifts, but just mention a few because even if I wrote they were fewer there were still quite a lot :)
My sister brought yarn from Argentina, which was also a very nice gift for my other sister and mother. They are very creative so I'm sure they will make something nice out of it. There were also other very nice handmade things in wood prepared by my sister's boyfriend.
I was most pleased with the gift I had for little V. It was a handmade train, not made by me but from the Christmas market in Budapest. It was very nice and also pedagogic and he seemed to like it, and his mother did as well...:)
So I was receiving so nice gifts, that mine, even if they were selected in India felt a bit poor.. :) So for next year, I will not propose not to have gifts. It's so nice to find out what to give, and to see the happiness of the one who receives it. So, next year I'll also make my own gifts at least some of them. If people only get half as happy as I got, it's already great!
the neighbours are of course there. this year I better understand Hungarian so I realise how many bad words they are using speaking to each other. Anyhow, in a strange way they seem to like each other.
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