Tomatoes, Tomatoes and Bruschetta

My tomatoes are taking over the garden and on top of that our neighbor gave me some of her tomatoes and jalapeno pepper she had too much of too. So yes now we're eating tons of tomatoes here and I love it!!! For an evening snack I made spicy tomato bruschetta, mmmmmm.

1/2 jalapeño

1 large tomato, diced

1 large basil leaf, minced

1 tbs extra virgin olive oil

1 tbs balsamic vinegar

Salt & pepper to taste

A good crusty baguette

Grated cheese

Preheat oven to F400.
Roast jalapeño pepper over open flame until skin is black and blistered. Place plastic bag for a few minutes and then remove skin. Mince pepper and remove seeds. In a bowl blend peppers, tomatoes, basil olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper. Let the mix rest for 5-10 minutes to develop flavors. Slice bread and place a good amount of mix on top. Sprinkle some cheese and bake for 5 minutes in oven.

Vanilla Bean Sugar

I like to use real vanilla bean in my cooking and baking but it does get expensive in the long run. But one trick I do is to save the empty vanilla beans after I scraped out the seeds and when I have a couple I make a vanilla bean sugar I can use instead of vanilla beans or vanilla extract. Super easy and money saving for sure. So when I bake or cook I substitute 1-2 tsp of the vanilla sugar instead of 1/2 vanilla bean seeds.

2 vanilla empty vanilla bean sticks

1 cup of sugar

Place everything in a food processor and blend for1 minutes, until vanilla bean sticks have been broken up and mixed with sugar.

Vanilla Frozen Yogurt

It's so hot and I'm miserable. I liked it better in Sweden with "normal" temperatures. To cool of I made frozen yogurt for snack and served it with raspberries. It's was very refreshing and cooling, just what we needed.

2 cups plain yogurt

1/4 cup milk

1/2 vanilla bean, seeds used

1/4 cup agave nectar

2 tbs coconut oil

Place everything in a blender except the coconut oil. While blender is running slowly add the coconut oil. Blend for another 2 minutes. Run mix in an ice cream machine until solid ( about 40-50 minutes). If you wish to have more solid ice cream place it in the freezer for a few hours first.

Swiss Chard and Lima Bean Soup

We ate harvest soup yesterday also known as swiss card and lima bean soup. Me and Bella picked the beans and swiss chard together and then made this very nice soup. It's so much fun eating from homegrown veggies and I swear the kids eat better when they know it's from our garden. 

1/2 tbs olive oil

2/3 large swiss chard leaves, chopped

1/2 cup lima beans

1/2 bouillon cube

1 cup water

1/2 cup cream

Black pepper to taste

Heat oil on medium heat in a saucepan. Saute swiss chard for 1 minutes. Add lima beans, bouillon cube and water. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer for 5 minutes. Add cream and mix soup until smooth and creamy. Sprinkle black pepper over before serving.

Raw Truffles

Today I don't have a recipe to post of my own because I've been dealing with a very sad a miserable Noah all day giving me absolutely no time for anything else. Instead enjoy this fantastic recipe for super easy raw truffles from Love Raw I found and will be making very soon:)

Mushroom and chive pasta sauce

We’re still struggling with jetlag, which off course means it’s the kids who are working on it and therefore keeping us up at night, yikes.

When you’re sleep deprived the brain goes blank so dinner is a very simple pasta sauce with mushrooms and chives.

1 tbsp. canola oil

1 cup mushrooms, sliced thin

½ cup cream

½ cup milk

1 tbsp. Dijon mustard

1 tbsp. Bragg’s liquid aminos or other light soy sauce

½ cup zucchini, diced

1 tbsp. fresh chives, minced

Black pepper to taste

Heat oil in a skillet on medium heat and brown the mushrooms. Add cream, milk, mustard, Bragg’s and zucchini. Bring to boil and then reduce to a simmer. Cook for 5 minutes. Add chives and pepper before serving.

Old Favorite; Asparagus and Tomato Salad

I love waking up in my own bed this morning and as soon as I could went out to the garden to see what have been growing since I was gone. There were tons of all kinds of tomatoes ready to be picked and the most was cherry tomatoes. I knew exactly what I was going to use them for, an old favorite warm asparagus and tomato salad. 

Oven roasted vegetables

2 cups cocktail tomatoes on the vine ( keep them on the vine for the roasting process)

2 cup asparagus tips

2 large garlic cloves, chopped

3 tbs olive oil

2 tbs white balsamic vinegar

salt and pepper to taste

2 tbs chives, chopped

1. Preheat oven to F400

2. Place tomatoes, still attached to the vine, asparagus tips in a baking dish or on a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper.

3. sprinkle garlic, salt and pepper over.

4. Pour oil and vinegar over and toss so each veggie get coated.

5. Bake for 10 minutes or until vegetables are done.

6. Remove from oven and sprinkle chives over

For the salad:

4 cups greens, cut into small pieces

1 cup cheese ( soy feta, feta, goat cheese or other non-dairy or dairy cheese of your choice

Toss the warm vegetables with the greens and sprinkle cheese on top.

The Silence of Traveling

Yup so now we just finally arrived home and since it's been a long journey and I'm still feeling sick there won't be a post today either for but I will be back on regular schedule by tomorrow. I'm looking forward to a visit to my farmers market tomorrow and will enjoy all those beautiful California goodies again. I also have tons of things to harvest in my garden such as figs. If anyone has a good fig recipe please let me know!

Homemade popsicles

In two days we're leaving Sweden to go home to San Diego again. It's been great to be here and I sad to go. The bummer is that I'm been feeling sick that last couple of days so I've not had too much of an appetite. When I feel sick popsicles is what I crave so I usually make my own from this recipe. I love trying new flavors with new fruits. The kids love them too:)

Beet Quinoa Risotto

! found beautiful beets at the farmers market today and make old favorite beet risotto with quinoa instead of rice. I love this risotto because it's very slightly sweet and so pretty pink from the beets. I dish that makes me happy.

1 tbs canola oil

1 cup quinoa

2 1/2 cup vegetable broth

1 cup beets, peeled and diced small

1/2 cup sour cream

Salt & Pepper to taste

• Heat oil in a skillet on medium heat.
• Saute beets for a few minutes.
• Add quinoa and broth and simmer for about 10 minutes or until beets are done and all broth is gone.
• Remove from heat and add sour cream and blend well but carefully so you don't end up with mush.

It's My Birthday....

And I will skip blogging if I want to:)
Today I'm celebrating my birthday with my favorite people in the whole world and some really yummy food not cooked by me. I will be back tomorrow again!

Sweet & Spicy Veggie Stir Fry

Me and Bella had a ladies luncheon today and ate Greek food. OMG so good and filling. When we arrived home I found a sleeping Noah and a starved James so I quickly made him some food. Stir frys are perfect 'fast" food to make and it's easy to add tons of veggies to make it healthy. You can serve it with rice or noodles but I just served it as was and James loved it.

Stir fry for one:)
2 tsp canola oil
1/2 cup seitan or other soy meat substitute cut into smaller pieces
1 large mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup sugar snap peas, ends and tops cut of and then cut in half
1/4 cup yellow pepper, diced
3-4 plum tomatoes, cut in half
Handful arugula
Soy sauce 
Sweet and spicy chili sauce

Heat oil in a wok on medium heat and brown the seitan and mushrooms. Add sugar snap peas and pepper and cook for a few minutes until al dente. Add tomatoes, arugula, soy sauce and chili sauce. Toss until arugula has wilted.

Peanut Banana Ice Cream

Whenever I have some bananas that are too brown for my liking I peel them and freeze them in smaller pieces. This way I always have access to frozen bananas for smoothies or the best and healthiest ice cream ever. The base for this ice cream is frozen banana that is mixed in a food processor until beautifully fluffy and smooth and resembles soft served ice cream. You can add any flavoring but this time I made my kids favorite flavor combination; peanut and bananas.

4 frozen bananas, in small pieces

1-2 tbsp peanut butter

Place everything in food processor and mix until completely smooth. Hold a good grip of the food processor because it can start jumping around. Enjoy immediately!

Sweet Green Juice

We like to drink a lot of vegetables juices and like to add lots of green leafs and beets. However I know it's might not be for someone starting out with green juices so here is a beginners juice that is mild and sweet.

2 celery stalks

2 red apples

1 lemon, peeled

1 cup broccoli

A little parsley

Cut celery, apples, lemon, broccoli in smaller pieces and juice. Add parsley and server immediately.

Lunch at Herman's

Today’s lunch was a girl’s lunch at our favorite vegetarian restaurant Herman’s in Stockholm. It’s buffet style with a few warm dishes and lots of cold and raw food. They also boost a very impressive dessert table with tons of raw goodies as well as baked things. They had an Indian theme today so two of their warm dishes were some spicy kind of stew, very yummy. Bella enjoyed everything and loved that after lunch she got a mango smoothie that was super refreshing.

Warm Potato Salad

After a long day at the beach we were all so tired so I made a warm potato salad and served with a bean salad. I don’t like regular potato salads with mayo but I do love warm potato salads.

1 cup cooked potatoes, diced

1 cup cooked sugar snap peas, diced

1 cup cream

1 tbs Dijon mustard

1 tsp dried basil

½ tsp ground paprika

Salt to taste

Combine cream, mustard, basil, paprika and salt in a small saucepan. Bring to boil. Reduce to a simmer for 2 minutes. Fold in the potatoes and sugar snap beans and serve warm along some BBQ or bean salad.

Beach Day and Food Pictures

As you can tell I'm not cooking as much as at home but I'm instead enjoying eating out and having other people cook for me. So today's post is not a recipe but rather food pictures.

Today was nice and warm day so we spend it on the beach and had a great time. We ate lunch in a small cafe near beach and I enjoyed an amazing tomato soup served with a dollop of yogurt, a lentil salad, fresh water melon and home baked bread with a bean pate. For dessert we off course had fresh made cinnamon bun while Bella enjoyed a vegan strawberry ice cream. I love that we can find that in any place selling ice cream.

Ice cream time

Nothing better than beach and water on a hot day

Cinnamon bun time!

Love, love when lunch looks like this:)

Mocked Bacon Sauce

It was a fairly rainy day so we spend most of our day either shopping or playing inside. For lunch I made a very simple creamy sauce with vegetables and mocked bacon and served it over bulgur. I think it would have been better served over pasta.

1 tbsp. olive oil

1 garlic clove, grated

6 medium white mushrooms, sliced

½ cup yellow pepper, diced

½ cup carrots cut into very thin coins

½ cup mocked bacon, diced

1 tsp. yellow curry powder

1 tbsp. sweet and spicy chili sauce

½ cup cream

½ cup almond milk

Bragg’s liquid amino or light soy sauce to taste

10 small cherry tomatoes cut in half

Heat oil in a skillet on medium heat. Sauté garlic and mushrooms until mushrooms are browned. Add yellow peppers, carrots, mocked bacon pieces curry powder, and chili sauce, cream and almond milk. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Add Bragg’s or soy sauce. Simmer until carrots and peppers are el dente. Add cherry tomatoes and serve!

Yogurt Green Smoothie

Today I've been eating a lot and not necessary all good. After lunch I craved a green juice or smoothie so I made one which was not easy because there is no blender here so I had to use an old hand held one   instead. I love being here on vacation but next time I'm bringing my vita mixer with me:)

2/3 cup vanilla flavored yogurt

2/3 cup almond milk

1 cup mixed frozen berries

1 handful pea sprouts

Agave nectar which is if you want the smoothie sweeter. 

Combine everything in a blender and process until complete smooth. Served ice cold!!!

A Great Food Day In Pictures!

Today we spend the whole day with our friends Ulrika and Gustav at their home in the countryside. They cooked for us and that's such treat for me so I have no recipes but want to share our day in pictures instead. 

Vesper and Bella busy making raw energy balls with raw food expert Josefin

Raw nut butters; one walnut butter and cashew spread

Hummus

Done and two proud chefs

Noah loves raw flax seed crackers and granola

Bulgur and vegetable salad

Green juice

Avocado and Red Onion Salad

This little simple but yummy salad I saw being made on a cooking and decoration show popular here in Sweden. It just sounded so good that I had to make it and we ate it with BBQ.

I'm amazed I actually can cook or blog right now because I'm so sleep deprived. Noah is struggling with jet late is up middle of the night party and then cries himself to sleep for awhile. We have tried everything and nothing works. He is totally opposite of his sister who had two bad nights and then she was over it. Off course this makes him so tired during the day so he whines a lot and wants to be carried around not walk or sit in the stroller. It's hard when we try to fun things everyday outside. Poor little guy!!!

3 medium avocados, cubed

1 small red onion, mined

1 tbs good quality olive oil

1 tbs lemon juice

1 tbs honey

Salt & pepper to taste

Combine avocado and red onion in a bowl. Pour the lemon juice, olive oil, honey and add salt and pepper. Carefully fold everything a couple of times to blend well.

Thyme Tofu Patties

The days just seems to last forever here in Sweden and many thanks is due to long daylight. We spend so much time outside having fun. Most lunches are eaten out but dinner we have at home. Yesterday I made thyme tofu pattie and we ate them with mashed potatoes, peas and broccoli. 

1 package extra firm tofu

1 tbs dried thyme

salt to taste

pinch of pepper

1/4 cup spelt flour

1 tbs canola oil

Mash the tofu until it's a grainy mash. Add thyme, salt, pepper and flour and blend well. Let the mix rest in fridge for 10 minutes. Form into 10 small patties or a fewer larger ones. Dip patties into some flour to coat them on each side. Heat oil in a frying pan. Fry patties on medium heat until golden brown.

Challenge of Traveling As An Vegetarian

It's a challenge for sure to eat vegetarian while traveling. On more than one occasion I have found myself on a plane ride across the world where my meal has been forgotten or is off putting that eaten it is just not an option. One time for breakfast on a flight from Stockholm to Italy my breakfast were three kinds of beans!!! I have no idea what the thinking was but clearly someone thought a vegetarian eat beans and nothing else. So these days I pack a lot of snacks to be prepared for all kinds of possibilities. I like to pack nuts, fruits, sandwiches etc.

On this trip we had a 3 hour layover in London Heathrow airport. I love this airport because they have a restaurant called Wagamama there where there are plenty of good and vegetarian option for both adults and kids. When we lived in London this was one of our favorite restaurants. Now I found out they are located all over the world. This time when we ate there Bella ate a noodle soup with vegetables and fried tofu. She also split and fresh squeezed apple juice. I ate fried spicy fried noodles and James had Pad Thai. It was all really good. So I highly recommend if you going to London or anywhere there is a there is a  Wagamama make sure to try it out.

Creamy Tomato Soup

I did not post anything yesterday due to our traveling. We’re finally waking up on our first vacation morning in Sweden. The trip here was long and hard because Noah started throwing up all over half way in to flight and then my cold caused my sinuses and ears to hurt a lot.

our first morning was a  beautiful one and we took a long walk, stopped at one of the million cute cafes for a bun and latte. That’s Sweden to me and it feels so right. So far I’ve not been cooking too much but today I made a super fast tomato soup for lunch served with sourdough bread. Yum!!!!

1 yellow onion, minced

1 tbsp. olive oil

1 ½ can crushed tomatoes

2/3 cup white balsamic vinegar

1 cup water

1 bay leaf

2 tsp. smoked paprika

1 vegetable bouillon cube

1 tbsp. sugar

½ cup cream

2 tsp. dried thyme.

Salt & pepper to taste

Heat oil in a saucepan on medium heat and sauté onion. Add crushed tomatoes, balsamic vinegar, water, bay leaf, paprika, bouillon cube and sugar. Bring to boil and reduce to a simmer for 10 minutes. Remove bay leaf and puree soup in blender with cream until completely smooth. Add thyme and reheat soup.