It’s my third Wedding Anniversary today and to mark the day, I wanted to make something new. I have been meaning to bake an orange cake since some time and thought it would be the perfect occasion. I referred to a Swedish food store blog for the recipe, but have used only the ingredients I had in my kitchen, as always š
Friday’s have always been a pasta/pizza day at my home, so far. Not that my loyalties have changed, but I felt like eating something different and give a surprise to Friday. I looked up the Internet and did find something interesting stuff, but I didn’t have some or the other item in my pantry.
And, then I had an idea, bling!! Why not make something with whatever I have. I have anyways wanted to try Potato au gratin, and they were there in my pantry as well. They are always there, like the best friend who always stays by your side, no matter what. So, I looked up some recipes and I knew what I wanted to make finally. A mix of potato au gratin and a humble casserole. Well, since that day I have made it thrice; me and Abhishek love it so much. This Potato and Broccoli Casserole is my new found love.
To my dear readers, don’t be scared of the word Filmjƶlk. It is nothing but the Swedish version of yogurt. This yogurt is made with sour milk, more information here.
Now that you are friends Filmjƶlk, let me take you to the journey of the easiest bread I’ve ever made. The credit goes to the most awesome stand up comedian and my colleague, Lord James McKie who gave me the recipe. I just made some changes as per the ingredients available and to adapt the bread to my cuisine of the day, that is, Greek.
Hello spring!
Even though it is still cold here in Stockholm, but there is spring in the air and I love it. There is a different kind of freshness, something that tells me something is about to begin. Yes, the flowers are about to cover the ground. It will be green soon, and there will just fragrance all around. And, there will be berries…yay!!! They are already in the market, but it is just the beginning.
A simple yet delectable cake this is. Brings back my childhood memories of Britannia fruit cakes. I have been on a cooking spree today after days. This is the second post in a row, so I am not going to talk a lot and get straight to the recipe. š
The most beautiful place in Sweden that I have visited so far is Gotland. It is one of Unesco Heritage sites. I can go there any number of times. Everything is so beautiful and serene, water is so clean, the mountains so majestic, the old town has such a vintage feeling. I can go on and on about it. But, the blog is not about Gotland, but food :). Well, I am getting there. This dessert is a specialty of Gotland and is served with a special jam made of salmbƤr found only in Gotland. However, people in the mainland have it with other kinds of jam such as blueberry jam. But, Gotland’s Saffranspannkaka is very close to people who live in Gotland or have lived there sometime in their life and people like me who love Gotland.
I can never have enough of Britannia little hearts. No matter how many packets I could lay my hands on, I always felt why the hell are they so less. And, after coming to Stockholm, I have been totally deprived of my addictive sugar cookies. I have been craving for and wanted them by hook or by crook. Finally, my continuous search on the Internet yielded fruits. Saw a post with something similar on Pinterest and here I am with the little hearts from my own kitchen.
Figs have been in season since some time now. Even though their season is not so long, atleast here in Stockholm we don’t get it for more than a month or two. I have been picking them from the super market. Also, thought of making something with them, but they are so melt in mouth that I can’t keep my hands off. I was in the grocery shop over the weekend and saw the figs again. Back of mind I was planning for Abhisek’s b’day and I picked them thinking, “will do something with these”, but I still had no clue about the ‘what’.
Was surfing the Internet looking for his b’day dinner and cake. Found a lot of upside down cakes, such as pineapple, apple, plum, etc and there it was. I decided that I will take him on a trip to middle east. So, here is what I did, a fig upside down cake, which is also eggless. It is packed with the nutrition of figs, the richness of caramel sauce and the goodness of cinnamon. What else can one ask for? The cake turned out better than my expectations. Absolutely delectable! And, Abhisek, don’t ask about him. I am sure I am getting the demand for another bake soon.
Leftovers are becoming the aunt of innovation! A lot of times, I end up innovating some dish just because I had some leftovers. This pizza is a result of one of those experiments.
I had made poha (rice flakes) last night but ended up soaking more than required. While I was storing the poha, an idea struck my mind. I thought this could become the crust of a pizza. So, the next day, I was looking for something to mix with poha that could bind it and I didn’t want gluten. Looked up the refrigerator and found half sweet potato left from my navratra fasts. And, here is the result – a healthy pizza:
Someone rightly said, āAlone we can do so little; together we can do so much.ā Me and a very close friend of mine, Shipra, who is an amazing cook and a blogger (see her incredible and lip smacking recipes at https://mygourmetsaga.wordpress.com/) have done quite a lot of things together. From chattering, to serious discussions, from shopping to travelling, etc. Ah, not to forget recipe discussions and cooking. Whenever we are skeptical of trying something new, we do it together, easy isnāt? What else are friends for?
We made our first bread together (braided bread stuffed with cheese and lots of veggies; oh, that was so much fun) and now we decided to try our hands at a biga-based bread. At first, we thought of baking it at the same time, but the fear of failure brought us together and we made it together, yet again. Tell you a secret, this blog is also a joint effort, shhh! š
As one can guess, we again got 24 hours to chit chat and gossip while the dough was raising and the bread was baking. So, here is the success story with pride and glory, our first Biga bread – fermented for 15 hours and raised 3 times. The wholes and the crispy crumb tell their own story. š
