I'm Going With Bold

It has been a busy week this week between work, acupuncture, getting my hair cut, ceramics class, and then running back and forth to Bågar & Glas (means "Frames & Glass") trying desperately to decide on a pair of new eyeglass frames. I have an unusually narrow noggin, which means that kids glasses generally fit me perfectly. And adult glasses leave me looking like I have the bulging eyes of an insect, or like I'm wearing old-fashioned, airplane goggles. Unfortunately the adult styles and sizes do not "fit" me perfectly. Lucky for me however, designers have started making nicer frames for quirky adults (like me) with narrow faces. 

I wanted to find frames that look artistic and make a bit of a statement. The staff at Bågar & Glas were very helpful and allowed me to bring home several pairs to try out at home. I took home the fun, funky ones that I liked and a couple that were "snälla," or "nice." Everyone else preferred the ones that were "snälla" and, while I too liked the snälla ones that suited my face and coloring perfectly, I still could not be swayed from the ones that said, "Hey! Look at me! I'm fun and artsy, with a side of quirky tucked in for good measure." 

Every time I tried them on and looked in the mirror I felt a surge of happiness. And every time I put the others on I would think, "They ARE nice.... But just a bit too boring." I decided that I'm going with bold - and a bang! Here's a preview:

The real ones will be ready sometime late next week... and I can't wait!

As a side note and follow up to my last post, my bad boy (the bike on the trainer) has been awfully lonely this week. However, my lady bike, complete with a basket and comfy seat, has gotten lots of action, despite the chilly, winter-ish spring air. The top photo was taken on my way home from work yesterday. This is my favorite part of my ride. The bike lane twists through and around Stadshust, or city hall, the "Riksdag," or government buildings, the Royal Castle, and Gamla Stan, or the old town area. It is especially nice on a clear, sunny day, even with a freezing wind chill!

Well, Hello There April!

My friend for the next few months.

I love the first day of the month. It always feels like a fresh start, or clean slate. Any goals that I haven't yet reached, or better yet started, can be reignited and begun again with gusto. Today's restart began with a morning run. My second of the year. And by year I mean since last spring and not January 1st. My first run of the year was just last weekend so I feel I'm off to a good start. Baby steps, right?

The real restart however was bringing my urban bike (sort of a race bike but with flat bars instead of those curly-q bars) up from the basement along with our trainer. The trainer allows me to set up my bike indoors so that I can essentially ride "in place," and thus, start my training for the 100 kilometer bike race I signed up for: the Tjejvättern. I signs up for this craziness along with four of my girlfriends, one of whom planted the idea in our heads a couple of months ago.

Am I completely crazy? Or can I, in my right mind, call it adventurous? I'm hoping for the later and especially since the farthest I've ever ridden my bike at one time was around 60 kilometers. The good part about it, as a couple of friends have wisely pointed out, is having a fitness goal to inspire and motivate me. And participating in it with friends ensures instant training partners, and lots of fun, right?

I'll get back to you on my progress. And no, unfortunately, this is not an April Fool's prank. Somehow I completely missed being an April fool, and making someone else an April fool this year. It's sort of refreshing actually.

But I have to ask, were you an April fool?

Happy Eggs to Celebrate New life and Fresh Starts

Glad Påsk!!! Or, just Happy Easter in English. Here in Sweden, as I’ve mentioned before, baskets are not filled with eggs and goodies on Easter morning. Instead, paper eggs are stuffed to the rims, and then some, with treats and candy and are passed out on Easter’s eve, or Påskafton in Swedish. The symbolism of opening an egg to signify new life and fresh starts is a wonderful tradition, and while I love the American tradition of Easter baskets and hunting for eggs, embracing a new tradition can be great fun too.

And embrace this tradition I have! I'll be honest. I did not buy the biggest egg that I could find to fill with goodies and treats but I did buy one that was large enough to mostly satisfy my craving, and hold everything I bought to fill it with. This large-ish egg is probably a foot long and about six inches in diameter. That holds a LOT of candy and if folded just right, it even holds a large linen robe, which was part of my husband’s Easter egg treat this year. My egg was the same size but unfortunately, or fortunately, it was not able to accommodate all of my goodies. Therefore my egg, filled with every wonderful treat you can imagine, was placed in the lovely wooden basket that was to be part of my goodies and was wrapped and tied with a lovely green ribbon. 

Maybe we are too old to be so excited about filling, giving, and receiving Easter eggs but I just feel like we will always be kids at heart. And if we are lucky enough to make it to eighty or ninety I’m sure we will still decorate and fill Easter eggs (or baskets) for one another, regardless of whether or not we have kids of our own. It is just something that makes us happy. 

What are the traditions you keep going? Perhaps you have a nice quiet picnic outdoors by yourself with a good book, or a formal family dinner at a relatives home... Whatever you do, or don't do, consider starting a new tradition that can be special to you and those you love. Picking up a new, pretty journal to write in, dropping by to visit a friend for a cup of coffee or tea, or even sending a secret care package to someone in your life are all things that celebrate new life and fresh starts.

I hope you all have a Happy Easter... and a fresh new start as we enter spring...

Ceramic Love

(Overview)

I don’t know if I mentioned this before but I‘ve been taking ceramics classes for the past five or six months. I took my first ceramics class way back in my LA days. Back when the weather was warm enough and dry enough that I could throw a bowl, plate, or mug at the beginning of class, set it outside to start drying, and by the later part of class it had reached what is called the “leather hard” stage and I could trim the bases, or attach handles etc. This also meant that we had ceramic pieces at various stages of completion, as our teacher was constantly bisque firing* and glaze firing** through out the class. 

(Kitty curiosity)

For me this was a wonderful thing. I love surprises and every time I arrived for class there was always the excitement of not knowing if I would have a completed piece ready to make its journey home with me. The excitement and anticipation was half of the fun. My class here in Stockholm is operated somewhat differently but no less exciting. Due to the small space of the studio however, we make all of our ceramic pieces during the first seven sessions and glaze everything on the eight and final class day, when the studio is transformed from a ceramic “verkstad” into a “glaze studio.”  

("Fågelbo" - birdhouse)

Buckets of glaze are placed in nearly every nook and cranny and my classmates and I carefully “ursäkta,” or excuse ourselves, as we tiptoe around the studio, gently holding our pots and bowls with metal tongs, dipping our pieces in what hopefully will turn out to be a beautifully, glazed finish. On “glaze day” of my most recent ceramics class, which was just a couple of weeks ago, our teacher mentioned that we could expect to get our finished, glazed pieces back in a month’s time. She would be taking a lovely vacation to Italy and, well, it just takes that long to fire up the kiln*** repeatedly to accommodate the literally hundreds of pieces that are made during eight weeks of day, evening and weekend classes. 

(A kanelbulle plate??!)

So imagine the surprise and delight when I arrived for the first day of my third class term (last night) to discover my cupboard filled with all of my completed glazed pieces. It is like Christmas day. One never know how a piece will turn out in the end and it is always exciting to see if the glaze took well and/or if the piece managed to keep from exploding. There could also be cracks, which there were a couple, and there could be areas where the glaze for some reason didn’t reduce well, which, though not completely obvious, there were a few also. Or there could even be unexplained defects, such as a small, hard, sharp brown bump on the inside of one of my biggest pieces to date (sad face). 

(Tea for two... or two for tea)

But not to worry, one comes to love and expect such defects and imperfections with this wonderful and extraordinary, organic craft. All in all I was very happy with the outcome and I happily packed up as much as I could carry, and still run to catch the bus, and made my way home to let my husband open them up and revel in the surprise and excitement all over again.

(Fika ready tray)

*The first firing that removes all traces of dampness from the piece.

** The final firing after the piece has been dipped in a glaze that hardens into a glass outer-shell and becomes a beautiful shiny or matt finish, depending on the type of glaze selected.

***The oven where ceramics are baked on their final journey to completion.

Coconut Sugar

It seems that coconut sugar is all the rage these days. Along with coconut water, juicing green things, healthy smoothies, and, of course, homemade sweet potato fries. Sweet potato fries? Yes, sweet potato fries, but those are for another discussion on another day. Right now I want to talk about coconut sugar. I tried to find some reliable information on the benefits of coconut sugar versus regular sugar but mostly what I found was that coconut sugar is lower on the glycemic index, it is considered to be a better alternative to refined sugar and brown sugar, especially for diabetics, and it is on the up trend. While I normally buy organic sugar and try to avoid all refined products, I was pleased to learn that coconut sugar is high in minerals and B vitamins, in addition its other positive benefits. And apparently, it tastes delicious in banana muffins. Take a look below...

A sprinkling of pecans on top is the perfect finishing touch.

Can't you just taste them? At our house we love banana bread and banana muffins. We sometimes buy bananas and wait for them to over ripen just so we can make bread or muffins with them. The other day we had three perfectly ripe bananas. There was not a speck of green left on them and they hadn't started to develop "freckles" yet. I told my husband that if he refrained from eating them, I would make banana bread in the next day or so. This announcement is always met with glee. He unhesitatingly replied, "Ok!" 

Combining the wet and dry ingredients.

Little did he know however that his beloved banana muffins would be getting a make-over. I used whole spelt flour instead of regular wheat flour and I used coconut sugar in place of white or brown sugar. I've sometimes substituted brown sugar because it provides a richer and rounder flavor. That is, until I tried using coconut sugar. Like brown sugar, it too has a carmel-like flavor and adds a deeper flavor dimension to the bananas, while maintaining a lower glycemic index level. The coconut sugar also provided just the right amount sweetness to the muffins to keep them from bordering on being cupcakes.

... and a glass of oat milk... mmmm.....

Will I continue to use coconut sugar when this small, slightly costly bag runs out? I haven't yet decided for sure but I can say that I love the adventure of baking with coconut sugar. And a good sprinkle on my oatmeal isn't a bad way to start the day. The question is, will you try it? Will you pick up a package of coconut sugar to substitute in your favorite baking recipes? If you do, please let me know how it turns out. And if you've already tried coconut sugar, I'd love to hear what you think of it...

A Modern Easter Tray

It is fairly common to use an alternative container in lieu of an actual basket to fill with goodies and treats for Easter. I myself have used mint-green, metal pails filled with shredded brown paper instead of Easter grass as the base for Easter eggs and personalized small gifts, such as a bright, new kitchen towel for mom or a squeegee for cleaning the car windows for dad. And when I think about it, a colander filled with various kitchen goodies would be a fun idea for mom, or a friend who loves to cook. 

There are so many possibilities for using something different or unique instead of a traditional Easter basket. If you are environmentally conscious, re-using those cute little plastic or paper, berry baskets from the grocery store, accented with ribbons or colored jute would be cute, as would crafting your own “baskets” out of recycled cardboard boxes or paper bags. Here in Sweden baskets are not used at all. Instead they fill these adorable, oversized, paper eggs with candy or treats. There are several different styles ranging from colorful, foil-wrapped eggs to eggs with lovely, old-fashioned Easter scenes on them to do-it-yourself plain eggs that you can paint, decoupage or otherwise decorate how you’d like.

I absolutely love these eggs, and the bigger they are the better. Our first year here I told my husband that I wanted the biggest egg he could find, though I told him not to fill it up with candy. He ended up getting a bigger egg than me but that’s okay. Most of the fun is in giving them away. They are a fun, even whimsical, way to celebrate the coming of spring and renewed life, as one literally gets to crack open the egg to obtain the surprises inside. And while I still plan to stuff a few lovely paper eggs full of goodies for those near and dear, this year I wanted to also do something "annorlunda" (the Swedish word for different). I wanted to take an everyday object, a simple unsuspecting item, and use it in a new way. 

When I came across this cute, wooden tray I knew it was the perfect vehicle. I love the earthy element that natural wood lends and the soft, bulky yarn creates the perfect nest in which to nestle goodies. It is simple and elegant and yet not overdone. 

Tray by Design House of Stockholm

... and wouldn't this container be cute? 

What do you think? What type of alternative container would you use instead of a basket to fill with Easter goodies?

Hearty Homemade Bread

How do you spend your "lazy" weekend mornings? I began mine yesterday with my favorite coffee mug full of strong coffee with a “touch” of real coffee cream. It is a weekend morning ritual I look forward to all week. I like to sit and drink it while I catch up on my girl nerd blogs and other social media sites. Then after I was sufficiently awake and ready to face the day, the real work started. I baked two loaves of bread, washed three loads of laundry, painted the two already prepped walls in our guest bedroom, one coat on each wall, went out to shop for Easter björkris (birch twigs with feathers attached to the tops to celebrate Easter and the coming of spring), as well as a couple of bunches of ranunculus, a small pot of tulip bulbs, a bunch of pussy willow branches, and a few flowering cherry blossom branches. Needless-to-say, it is looking quite Easterly around here now. I also bought a few other Easter-related items but those will be revealed later this week. So stay tuned...

But what I really want to tell you about however is the bread that I baked. It is quite possibly the best bread I have ever eaten, not to mention the best bread that I myself have ever baked. I am not exaggerating when I say that I ate three slices, two of them as soon as it had cooled down enough to slice without it crumbling to pieces. The original recipe was given to me by one of my work colleagues and I am so glad that she did. If I remember correctly, the recipe comes from a local restaurant called Magasinet, which is just north of Stockholm. If you like a hearty bread full of earthy textures and a slight hint of sweetness, this bread is for you. It is deliciously moist and tastes wonderful slathered with butter, but it is also fantastic with a thin layer of almond butter drizzled with honey and a light dusting of cinnamon. Did I mention that it “helps” with your “digestion” as well? One more reason to get out those baking pans and head to the grocery store right now! 

Adapted from Magasinet’s Recipe (Swedish ingredients in parenthesis)

Ingredients:

500 ml whole wheat flour (fulkorns vetemjöl)

200 ml graham flour (grahamsmjöl)

300 ml sifted rye flour (rågsikt)

200 ml cracked rye berries* (or cracked wheat berries, or steel cut oats) (rågkross)

100 ml wheat bran (vetekli)

150 ml wheat germ (vetegroddar)

1 Tsp. salt

4 Tsp. baking soda (bikarbonat)

1 liter light buttermilk, or light, plain yogurt (lättfil)

200 ml dark syrup (mörksirap)

Directions:

*Soak the cracked rye berries in water for 15 minutes, then drain and use in recipe.

Heat oven to 350 F (175 C). Mix all dry ingredients, including the presoaked cracked rye 

berries. Add wet ingredients and blend well. Pour evenly into two prepared loaf pans 

(buttered and coated with bread crumbs) and bake for 100 minutes. Cover pans with 

parchment paper or foil after 70 minutes and continue baking the remaining 30 minutes.

Helpful tips:

Freeze what you cannot eat within a couple of days. I slice both loaves in half and 

freeze two of the halves. They thaw beautifully when you are ready to eat them. Simply take 

the frozen bread out of the freeze and allow to thaw at room temperature.

Eat with lots of butter (or jam, or both, or with cheese and a handful of sunflower sprouts, or almond butter with honey and cinnamon... or your own favorite creations).

(Ps. Happy St. Patrick's Day by the way...)