Tomato salad with pickled onions

Tomato salad is one of my favorite salads because it taste good as is but is also wonderful as a side dish to many other dishes. I made this one with pickled red onion to add a little sour taste and we ate it with a green salad and quinoa and spelt burgers.

1 large tomato, sliced thin

1/2 cup red onion, sliced very thin

1/2 cup boiling hot water

1 tbs apple cider vinegar

1 tbs olive oil

1 tbs balsamic vinegar

Salt and fresh black pepper to taste

1/4 cup fresh basil leafs, sliced into thin treads

Mix hot water, apple cinder vinegar and red onion in a small bowl and let sit for 5 minutes and then drain. Arrange tomato slices on a plate in a single layer. Sprinkle the pickled onions and basil leafs over as well as add salt and pepper. drizzle oil and balsamic vinegar right before serving.

Warm spelt berry salad

Our first weekend back home and we've been working in the garden all day. Our zucchini plant had grown all over the place so we cut it back as well as our artichoke plant. There were also a lot of dead flower to remove and new to plant. The morning was beautiful with perfect temperatures but by lunch we were warm part due to all the hard work but also because now the sun was out and it was getting noticeably hot out side.

I craved a salad for lunch but James is not big on them so I compromised by making a very hearty warm salad. I served it on a bed of spelt berries which are high in nutrition and because of its high water solubility the body can absorb all that goodness. It's also a easy to digest and high in protein. I almost only bake with spelt flour but I also love eating spelt. This salad has a little of everything; salt, sour, sweet as well as different texture, just how I like it.

2 cups spelt berries, cooked according to description

1 tbs canola oil

1/2 cup leeks, chopped

1 garlic clove, grated

1 zucchini, diced

1/2 cup sugar snaps

Salt & pepper to taste

1 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half

1/4 cup fresh basil leafs, chopped

2 thin sliced extra firm tofu

4 tbs pumpkin seeds

1 tbs olive oil

1 tbs balsamic vinegar

1 tbs honey

Heat oil in a frying pan on medium heat. Sauté garlic, green onion for 2 minutes and then add zucchini and cook for 2 more minutes. Add sugar snaps, tomatoes, sprinkle with salt and pepper and blend. Place vegetables on top of spelt berries, sprinkle with basil any place tofu sliced on top of that. Drizzle oil, balsamic vinegar and honey over salad and sprinkle pumpkin seeds over before serving.

Textured vegetable curry stew

Today was my first yoga class after vacation and it could not been a better day to do yoga on. We're all adjusting to jetlage pretty well with an exception of Noah who wakes up at 1 am and wants to play. This off course means very little sleep for me and James. Today I was so tired and all I wanted to do was to crawl back into bed but James convinced me to go practice yoga to energize my body and mind. It was amazing and afterward I felt so good.

For dinner I made curry stew with textured soy protein and chickpeas, simple and flavorful and one of Bella's favorite dishes because it's a mild curry.

1 1/2 tbs canola oil

1 large garlic clove, grated

1 1/2 tbs yellow curry powder

1/2 cup zucchini, diced

1/2 cup small broccoli florets

1 package textured vegetable protein ( I used Yves meatless grounds)

1/2 cup chickpeas

1 cup creamy tomato soup

2 tbs mango chutney

Heat oil in a skillet on medium heat and add garlic and curry powder and sauté for 1 minute. Add zucchini and broccoli and sauté for 5 minutes. Add textured vegetables protein, chickpeas, chutney and tomato soup, blend and reduce to a simmer for 5 minutes. Serve with rice and diced mango is super good sprinkled on top:)

Chickpea and tomato soup

While we're in Sweden we celebrated our 13th anniversary. James gave me a cook book for it and today I cooked a soup inspired from it. Off course I changed it all around and made it more kids friendly and added more vegetables to make it more hearty. It's a long list of ingredients but the soup is amazing and worth the work.

1 tbs canola oil

1 yellow onion, diced

1 large garlic clove, grated

1 cup chickpeas, cooked or canned

1/3 cup red lentils, rinsed

1 can diced tomatoes

1/2 cup white wine

1 1/2 cup vegetables broth

1 tbs sugar

1 tbs white balsamic vinegar

1 cup small broccoli florets

1 cup sugar snaps, cut in half

2 tbs sour cream

Heat oil on medium heat and sauté onion and garlic for 5 minutes not letting them brown. Add chickpeas, tomatoes, wine, broth, sugar, vinegar and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and add lentils, broccoli and sugar snaps and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove 1/3 of the soup and blend it in blender with the sour cream until creamy. return to pot and reheat.

Home with the land of giant zucchinis

Oh boy did I enjoy waking up in my own home this morning and sipping green tea in my kitchen. We were suppose to be home on Tuesday afternoon but ended up missing our connection in Newark. After being offered to fly stand-by with two kids we declined and decided to stay the night in a hotel and fly out early Wednesday morning. The whole journey was so stressful and we're not very happy with Continental Air and their actions. I think the staff is very under staffed so everyone has to work too hard so everything is delayed and staff could be very rude at times. I would never travel with kids again with them.

When I walked in my garden I discovered that no one picked my zucchinis so I had 7 giant and over grown ones hiding. I removed them and tossed them since they won't taste good when that big.

Faking bacon sauce

Our vacation is coming to an end for this summer and I'm so sad. We usually stay for about 3,5 weeks in Sweden every year, but this year James could not take off that kind of time so everything has been very rushed and not as relaxing as we're used to.

Today is a fun day with high winds outside. James and Bella are spending the day at the Vasa museum in town so I took Noah out for a walk. He was very curious about the wind and giggled ever time it hit his beautiful face. For lunch I made a very good sauce using soy bacon bites. While Noah has been napping I've been packing and enjoying a cup of tea and cinnamon bun:)

I don't think I will blog until we're back in San Diego so sorry about that but I really wont be cooking anything special until then anyway.

1 large garlic clove, grated

1 tbs canola oil

1 cup soy bacon, diced

2 tbs honey mustard

1/2 cup sour cream

1 cup cream

1 cup small broccoli florets, steamed

1/2 cup corn, steamed

Salt & pepper to taste

1 tbs fresh thyme

Heat oil in a skillet on medium heat and saute garlic for 1 minutes. Add soy bacon bites, mustard, sour cream and cream and reduce to a simmer for 5 minutes. Add broccoli, corn, salt and pepper and reheat. sprinkle thyme over before serving. Serve with rice, barley, millet or whole wheat pasta.

Spicy and cheesy tomato soup

After a long day in town I came home and found that my husband had made lunch and feed the kids and they were now all napping so I was on my own. It was like having a date with myself so I made a soup which I ate outside on the patio, while reading a Swedish cook book I just bought. Yes I read cook books like others read novels.

The soup is wonderfully cheesy and spicy because I mixed in some pepper jack rice cheese. If you don't care for spicy or if you are cooking for kids, just use a non-spicy cheese instead.

1 yellow onion, diced

1 large garlic clove, minced

1 tbs olive oil

1 can fire roasted diced tomatoes

1/2 cup corn

1/2 cup sugar snap peas, cut into half

1,5 cup vegetable broth

2 tbs ketchup

1 tbs agave nectar

1/2 cup cream (I used mimic cream)

Salt & black pepper to taste

1/2 cup pepper jack cheese, grated

2 tbs fresh thyme, minced

1. Heat oil in a pot on medium heat and saute onion and garlic for a few minutes until glossy but not brown.
2. Add corn, sugar snap peas, tomatoes, broth, ketchup and agave nectar.
3. Reduce to a simmer for 5 minutes.
4. Add cream, salt, pepper and blend soup in blender or food processor until creamy and smooth. Return to pot and reheat.
5. Add cheese and fresh thyme right before serving.
6. Enjoy alone or with a grilled cheese sandwich.

Marinated tofu

Today was one of those amazing and beautiful Swedish summer day with warm weather and sun so BBQ for dinner was a must. I marinated tofu and put in on the grill but this marinate is so good you could also use it as a dressing or why grill the tofu, instead eat it uncooked in the marinade.

Sunset view from our dinner table

1 package Extra firm plain tofu

2 tbs olive oil

2 tbs lemon juice

1/8 cup cream

2 tbs honey mustard

1 tbs brown sugar

Herb salt to taste

Mix everything except the tofu in a bowl. Cut tofu into cubes and marinade for at least 1 hour before serving or cooking.

Spicy tomato pasta sauce

When we arrived home after a long day away we all were starved so I had to make something fast and this pasta sauce made from tomato soup is what I came up with. Served with whole wheatpasta and broccoli it was a complete, filling and nutritional dinner everyone liked. For Bella I held off adding too much spices off course.

1 cup tomato soup

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 cup beans ( I used a mix of kidney and garbanzo beans)

Chili pepper to taste

Herb salt to taste

1 tbs fresh chives, minced

Place everything in a sauce pot and mix well while heating. Toss with pasta before serving.

Cooking with good friends

I'm sitting here with a sleeping baby and dreaming about the day we had. We spend time with our good friends Ulrica, Gustav and their little girl Vesper. They are soon to be parents to another little one. They live out in the country side on a property filled with berries, fruits and herbs and an amazing view.

We're treated to a super yummy lunch which we helped cooked. We ate a new potato salad with chives and a dressing made from, I believe lemon juice, oil, salt and pepper, veggie burgers, many different kinds of vegetables, tahini sauce and for dessert mint tea from their herb garden and water melon. It was a perfect lunch with friends:) Thanks guys and we'll see you soon again I hope.

We started out with a tour of their property and sampling of everything they grow:)

Bella loved helping Ulrica make the dressing for the potato salad

The table looked so nice with candles, especially since it was pouring rain outside

Table set for lunch

Noah was very curious about Ulrica's belly

White rabbit smoothie

It's hard to blog while being on vacation and part of the problem is that we're out a lot visiting friends and family who treats us home cooked meals. When I do cook it's very simple things, not worth blogging about.

Smoothies has been my breakfast and sometimes snack these days. At whole Foods they have a smoothie called white rabbit which I really like but lately I've been making my own at home and it's really yummy as well. The combination of carrot juice, yogurt and banana might sounds strange but trust me it amazing.

1/2 cup fresh carrot juice

1/2 cup plain yogurt ( I use a oat yogurt they have here but soy, coconut etc will do)

1/2 cup almond milk

1 small ripe banana

Place everything in a blender and process until smooth and creamy. Enjoy!

Chantarelle pasta sauce

I love going to the farmers market in Sweden in the summer time just to smell and look at all the wonderful things mother nature is providing us with. Today I bough raspberries, strawberries and my favorite, chanterelles. All is locally grown and harvested and what a treat it is.

I made a very simple but yet amazing pasta sauce with the chanterelles. I like to keep it simple to be able to taste these little golden delicious mushrooms. If you don't have access to them then any mushroom would do but my favorite is oyster mushrooms. I served the sauce with whole wheat pasta and steamed broccoli. For dessert we had strawberries and raspberries with vanilla ice cream, our favorite right now.

Raspberry fingers:)

2 tbs canola oil

2 large garlic cloves, grated

2 cups chanterelles, chopped

1 cup zucchini, peeled, seeds removed and cut into small pieces

1 cup cream ( I used a oat based vegan cream they have here in Sweden but mimic will do)

Herb salt to taste

1/2 tbs tomato paste

Heat oil in a skillet and saute garlic and chanterelles for a few minutes on medium heat until mushrooms are golden brown. Remove mushrooms and put them aside. Place zucchini in skillet and saute for a few minutes. Add mushrooms and cream and reduce to a simmer for 5 minutes. Add herb salt and tomato paste and serve tossed with pasta.

Celebrating midnight sun with a BBQ

Finally we have arrived and starting to adjust to jetlage. We had a very long journey over here which made us 12 hours delayed, not a fun things with two kids. I don't think I ever been so tired. On top of this, Noah had a really hard to time adjusting to the time change and ended up being awake only when Bella slept so it was non-stop.

But now we're adjusted and enjoying our very short trip here. The weather has been amazing so we've been BBQ everyday. I made up a new marinade which tasted as good with soy meat as with vegetables.

Off course we have also been enjoying the swedish sweet strawberries. I love eating them with tofutti ice cream while Bella likes hers without.

1/4 cup red wine

1/8 cup ketchup

1 tbs sweet chili sauce

1 tbs vegetable bouillon powder

1 tsp brown sugar

Pepper to taste

Blend everything and marinate veggies and soy, tofu or seitan proteins for one hour before BBQ.

Foccacia

This is our last day before we're heading to Sweden early tomorrow morning. I baked bread and cookies to bring on the flight. My friend Jess calls me the Martha Steward of flying because I always bring a lot of yummy stuff to eat while in the air.

I hate airline food and part of the time I've ended up with no food because they forgot about my vegetarian meal. I gave up on the kids meal for Bella a long time ago because she wont eat it. So I'm making hummus sandwiches, fresh cut veggies, avocado, fruit and cookies. I baked foccacia bread for the sandwiches and made it a healthy versi

on with spelt, sunflower and flax seeds.

Next time I will blog will be from the other side of the pond:) Have a nice weekend until then!

1 1/2 cups Spelt flour

1 1/2 cups All-purpose flour, maybe more

1/4 cup raw sunflower seeds

1/8 cup flax seeds

1/2 package active yeast

1 cup warm water

2 tbs honey

1/4 cup olive oil

2 tsp salt

Olive oil to drizzle over

coarse salt to sprinkle over

Dried rosemary to sprinkle over

1. Blend spelt and all-purpose flour, sunflower seeds, flax seeds, salt and yeast in a large bowl.
2. In a small bowl blend water, honey and olive oil and then add it a little at the time to the flour. Work the dough until shiny and elastic, about 5 minutes.
3. Place dough covered with a towel to rise for 35 minutes.
4. Place dough on a flat surface, sprinkled with flour and kneel it quickly.
5. Press dough into a baking dish, lined with parchment paper.
6. Let dough rise again for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to F415.
7. Dimple the dough with your fingers into to dough to create holes.
8. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and rosemary
9. Bake for about 15 minutes or until the bread is golden brown.

Pasta and lentil salad

Operation empty out fridge and freezer is on it's way at home because we're leaving for Sweden early Saturday morning. I like to clean the fridge before I leave so I come home to a clean kitchen and fridge.

I had leftover whole wheat pasta and lentils in the fridge so both ended up in a salad for lunch. I also had one lonely zucchini sitting in the garden after I picked off all zucchinis and gave them away to my friend Andrea. It too ended up in the salad.

I'm worried how my zucchini plant will fair while I'm away. This year it has really produced a lot of zucchini to my happiness. I have no idea what I've done differently besides Bella singing to each plant:) I have used them all to make baby food for Noah who loves zucchini and make ratatouille last weekend which is now in the freezer.

1 cup cooked whole wheat pasta

1/2 cup cooked lentils

2 cups lettuce, torn into small pieces

1/2 cup sundried tomatoes, soaked for one hour and sliced

1 small zucchini, sliced very thin

1/2 cup cheese, cubed ( I used rice)

2 tsp flax seed oil

1 tsp Dijon mustard

1 tbs soaking water from sundried tomatoes

1 tbs balsamic vinegar

Salt and pepper to taste

Mix the dressing first my blending flax seed oil, mustard, soaking water, balsamic, salt and pepper in a small bowl. In a large bowl, mix lettuce, lentils, cheese, pasta, zucchini and sundried tomatoes. Toss with dressing.

Yam salad

I had leftover yams from making baby food for Noah yesterday so I used it today and made a salad. The dressing is made with maple syrup because I always think yam and maple syrup goes so well together. This yam salad is great with cooked quinoa mixed in to add proteins and is also a great picnic item.

1 Yam, cooked and cubed

1 tsp canola oil

1/4 tsp cumin seeds

1/4 tsp coriander powder

spinach

Dried cranberries

Dressing:

2 tbs lemon juice

1 tbs maple syrup

1 tbs Bragg's liquid amino's

Heat oil in a skillet on medium heat and add cumin seeds and let them sizzle for 30 seconds. Add yam and coriander powder and saute for a few minutes. Remove from heat and mix with spinach and raisins. Toss with dressing right before serving.

Iced watermelon

Yesterday our AC broke. Now imagine what that does to a mom of two in a house with temperatures up to F90. Wow it was bad so I had to do what I could do to stay cool. One thing where making iced fruits that we all could suck on. Noah really liked sucking on the watermelon.

Just take fruit and cut into smaller pieces. If using melon or oranges, save some peel to hold on to. Place on parchment paper in a single layer. Freeze for at least a couple of hours, until solid frozen.

Black bean burgers

Happy 4th of July everyone! I'm proud to say it's my first as an American citizen. I'm dual citizen of Sweden and the US and became a citizen in February. Because if this we celebrated with a BBQ serving black bean burgers, corn on the cob, guacemole and for dessert an all American apple pie baked by my friend Jess who became a citizen at the same time as me.

The burgers are super good and packed with nutrition from yam and corn along with black beans. I baked foccacia bread which we used as hamburger buns.

1 yellow onion, diced

2 garlic clove, grated

2 tsp canola oil

1 large yam, peeled and steamed

1/2 cup corn

2 cup black beans

2 tbs ketchup

Grate from one lime

2 tsp taco spice

1 tsp cumin

1 tbs parsley

Salt to taste

1 tbs lime juice

2 tbs corn starch

Spelt flour to dip the burgers in

1. Mash the yam until almost all lump free and set a side.
2. Heat oil in a skillet on medium heat and saute garlic and onion for 3 minutes.
3. Remove from heat and place into a food processor.
4. Add beans, ketchup, lime grate, taco spice, cumin, parsley and salt before mixing for 3o seconds.
5. You still want a few whole beans in there.
6. Blend the bean mix with yam, corn, lime juice and corn starch.
7. Place in fridge for an hour to "stiffen" up a little. Use wet hands for shape burgers.
8. Dip each side of the burger in spelt flour.
9. Place on BBQ and be careful when handling them so they wont break apart.

Ratatouille without the rat

Bella's favorite movie is Ratatouille which for you who don't know it's about a rat with a passion for cooking and who ends up helping a chef cook in a famous restaurant in Paris. Well she has watched that movie a hundred times and asked me as many if I have a rat helping me. There is no secret I love French food but no I have no help, from a rat or any other species for that matter:)

My zucchini plant is drowning me with zucchinis. Everyday I find a couple huge zucchinis hiding under a leaf. I have not been able to keep up with eating them all so I have been giving them away but even then I still have loads.

Since we're leaving for Sweden in a few days I had to make use of them or they would spoil so I made a large pot of ratatouille. This is a traditional French stew and normally it's a side dish however, some (me) eat it just as is with pasta or rice. The base is always tomatoes and zucchini but there are many different ways to make ratatouille. I thought that using all my leftover zucchini, tomato and herbs for this stew I could make a large amount and freeze in can size amounts to be used in pasta dishes, stews, soups etc for a fast meal sometime.

For about 5 cups ratatouille

2 large garlic cloves, pressed

1/2 cup green onions, diced

1/2 cup red onion, diced

3 tbs olive oil

6 cups zucchini, diced

5 cups tomatoes, chopped

1/4 cup tomato paste

2 tbs brown sugar

1/2 cup tomato pesto

1/2 cup mixed and chopped; fresh oregano, thyme and basil

Salt and fresh black pepper to taste

1. Heat oil in a very large pot on medium heat.
2. Saute garlic, green onion and red onion for 5 minutes, not letting them brown.
3. Add zucchini, tomatoes, tomato paste, brown sugar, pesto and herbs.
4. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer for 30 minutes.
5. Now the stew have reduced to 2/3 amount.
6. Add salt and pepper.
7. Let stew cool completely before pouring into jars or Tupperware if planning to freeze.

Grilled lunch bagel

When I served Bella pancakes this morning she looked at me and said "but I want a bagel". Well I negotiated to we're having pancakes for breakfast and bagel for lunch which was accepted, phew! I made a nice vegan style bagel sandwich and I served with a green side salad which was received well both by Bella and hubby.

1 bagel

1 1/2-2 tbs cream cheese ( I used tofutti soy cream cheese)

1 tbs tomato pesto

2-3 large tomato slices

2-3 slices cheese (Just to cover topping)

1/4 cup sprouts

Set oven to high broil. Cut bagel in a half. Spread cream cheese on bagel and then pesto on each half. Arrange tomato slices on top and then the cheese. Place bagel on a cookie sheet. Broil just for the cheese to melt. Remove from oven and place sprouts on top.

Watermelon salad

Watermelon taste great as a salad and not just for desserts. This salad was served with soy chorizo for us, soy dogs for Bella and was a great hit. It's very refreshing next to something salty and spicy.

1 cup watermelon, cubed

2 cups arugula

1 cup zucchini, peeled and cubed small

2 tbs chives, chopped

2 tbs olive oil

1/4 cup almonds, chopped

Mix everything in a bowl and toss with oil. Sprinkle almonds right before serving so they keep their crunch.