MERINGUE AND PARFAIT WITH BLUEBERRIES

• Today it is raining at Gåsö, we managed some gardening before it started. Today I will give you the recipe to a classic desert, meringue with homemade ice cream (parfait) and freshly picked wild blueberries and raspberries, that I made the other day!
• PARFAIT
• 3 egg yolks
• 100 ml sugar
• 300 ml whipping cream
• Whip the egg yolks with the sugar until nearly white and fluffy.
• Whip the cream separately, until it is very thick.
• Mix the egg mixture with the cream gently and flavour with some Arrak extract or a bit of Amaretto or other sweet liquor.

Spoon the mixture into a cake tin and freeze for approx 3 hours.

• MERINGUE
• 3 egg whites (left from the Parfait)
• 200 ml sugar
• 1 tsp white vinegar
• Whip the egg whites until white and fluffy
• add 100 ml of the sugar and the vinegar and whip until fluffy and smooth. 
• Add the rest of the sugar and continue whipping until really foamy and silky. Spoon onto an oven tray dressed with baking paper and bake for 1,5 hours at 130 degrees Celsius.
• Serve with berries of your choice.

GIRLS PARTY AT RENEE

A week ago I was invited to Renee at Kilholmen (an island next to Gåsö) for a girls party! She and her family has this lovely party roof with special made furniture and of course, cushions and blankets for the Swedish summer evenings. The party can start!

Renee, our hostess, to the left with a refreshing welcome drink with strawberries and lime.

Everybody was to bring something for the buffet table. I decided to make some bread and tsatsiki. Warm 600 ml of water to 37 degrees Celsius. Mix with 50 g fresh yeast. Add flower and a pinch of salt and kneed until the dough is non sticky and silky (ca 1 kg ( I used wholemeal flower but plain is fine too). Let the dough rise for 40-50 minutes and then roll it out half the dough at the time. Sprinkle sliced olives and feta cheese (200 g of each for the two loafs. Roll and knot. Rise again for another 40 minutes, brush with cold water and sprinkle with some flaky salt and decorate with some olives. Bake them in 225 degrees for 30 minutes

After the second rising!

Final result with tsatsiki. Grate a cucumber and add some salt. Squeeze the water out of the cucumber with your hands and mix with Greek yogurt (500 ml). Press two garlic cloves and add to the yogurt. Mix in two tablespoons of olive oil. Spice with a little honey, salt and pepper and some finely chopped mint. Leave to stand for about an hour in the fridge. Serve with bread or/and meats.

The lovely buffet. Pies with tomatoes, chevre and black olives. Chicken fillets marinated in herbs. Pasta salad with pesto. Serrano ham with feta cheese and cheeses. A lovely meal made by all of us!

Sticky chocolate cake, made by Renee. A Swedish classic. Mix 150 g melted butter with 150 ml flour, 300 ml sugar, 1 pinch of salt and 100 ml cocoa powder. Bake for 20 minutes at 175 degrees Celsius!

Raspberry cake made by Pernilla. Whip 3 eggs with 200 ml sugar. Mix in 300 ml flower. Shovel 50 of butter on top and decorate with 100 g raspberries. Bake for 10-15 minutes at 200 degrees Celsius. We had a lovely evening and finished with these lovely cakes and some homemade shots! Home by midnight like Cinderellas! Thank you Renee for a brilliant evening!

FLEE MARKET AND MORE...

The annual flee market at Gåsö took place last Saturday. I had a some stuff leftover from when I sold my flat in Stockholm two years ago and I also made some cupcakes to sell along with some newly brewed coffee. Great success! I got rid of some off the old stuff and sold all of the cakes!

I also made some cupcakes for the dinner party that my sister held the same evening for some. Even the dogs got their own cakes. Newly picked blueberries as decoration.

My happy brother-in-law chef Clabbe roasting chicken with a beer can inside! With the top cut off and half filled with beer. Makes a very yummy and juicy chicken! Try it!

The cupcakes that I sold at the flee market had our island name on it! And some blueberries and raspberries that I picked the same morning by our house! They are all growing wild in the archipelago.

My sisters new installation in her kitchen. The shelf was "leftover" when she redecorated her kitchen in town. It had a coat of white paint and now is the new home of some pastel coloured mugs, plates and cookbooks! A nice idea to copy in your kitchen!

My nasturtions that I have grown from seeds are finally flowering. A very nice dark red, more to come...

My water can has a new green friend. A gift from Cloe and Cecile, some of the young girls on the island that thought they would suit me and my garden, and rightly so!

Our outdoor living room is growing nicely and looking more and more lived in. This is the view from my sister house! More tomorrow from a very nice girls party I went to this week with recipes etc...

LOVELY DINNER AFTER GÅSÖ AEROBICS

We were invited to a girly dinner last night by Nickan on the our island. This is her view! Fantastic!

This is my lovely sister Mariana taking us to the party and the aerobics that took place before our girly evening.

We have an aerobic class on the island most Thursdays. Christina is normally the iinstructor but she was out sailing and asked me and Eva (in red) to stand in. First time ever for me, but not the last! It went well.

Nickan made a gorgeous beetroot salad with cooked beetroot, feta cheese, capers, rocket and red onions in a dressing made from lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper and a few leaves of rocket on top. Fresh and juicy!

After a trip to Lofoten in Norway Nickan brought some Whale beef, marinated and slightly smoked. Really nice. Served with a rocket pesto, rocket and toasted pumpkin seeds. Works just as well with finely sliced raw fillet of beef like a carpaccio! With the beetroot and whale she served a slightly gravad lax that she barbecued for a few minutes on each side...

BLUEBERRIES AND PROGRESS IN MY BLACK AND WHITE GARDEN

My (our) garden is growing even though we do not have much in it! The Black Velvet Petunias and the Snowflakes (Bacopia) has gone mad on our front steps.

The Nasturtions that will soon flower dark red nearly black is also called Black Velvet. Hopefully we will see them in full bloom soon if the dear will not enjoy them first!

More Nasturtions, the dear will not be able to have these!

Nasturtions again. I planted three big pots like these by our guest cabin. Soon in bloom...

The potatoes that I grow in buckets have come a far bit on there way. I planted a variety from the north of Sweden "Mandelpotatis" and it will take at least another month before the harvest!

The rocket is growing nicely, just have to keep the slugs away...

Went blueberry picking this morning. This is enough for a pie that I will make for the girls evening I will be attending tonight.

This is what they look like on the plant. We have them around the house!

"Blueberry Hill" on my land!

Part of my pie before it is baked. The berries and leaves are far much easier to create than you think.

The whole pie before having to spend 30 minutes in the hot oven.

The final result with a sea view. More about the girls evening etc tomorrow. If you want the recipe for the pie see earlier blog from last year!

GÖTHLINSKA MANOR IN NORA

If you are visiting Nora in Bergslagen (Sweden) do not miss "Göthlinska Gården". The Manor of Göthlins. This lovely and genuin house in the center of Nora was built 200 years ago and was inhabitet during the 19th hundred by the family Götlinder. He was the local banker and after his death the family stayed until the eldest daughter died and left it to the commune to be saved (same interior as from the start of the 1900) as a trust. It looks exactly as it did when Miss Ingrid Göthlinder lived here, well-to-do and beautiful but never garish. The manor is located next to the square, and the beautiful garden, with the best view in town, is worth a visit in itself. And be absolutely sure that you don´t miss Silkes Café in Sjöstugan were you can eat the famous locally and homemade (new everyday) icecream Nora Glass!

A still life in the kitchen. Just as it was a hundred years ago.

One of Miss Ingrid Göthlinders big passions was to paint on china, this tea set is by her!

There was only one grandchild in the family. Hugo, this is a close up from the nursery and a picture of him!

This is the bed of Miss Ingrid. Very modest and charming at the same time.

Like a lot of familys in Sweden in the early 19th hundreds they painted the Gustavian type furniture white inspired by Carl Larsson, the very famous Swedish artist from nearby Dalarna.

In those days the bank office was managed from home and there was even a big safe in the office!

That was all for today. Tomorrow an update from my simple garden at Gåsö. See you all then!

THE FRENCH NATIONAL DAY 14 JULY

Last Sunday was the French National Day. 14 July, when the heads were rolling in Place de la Bastille! Celebrated by all French people around the whole world, and a few more. Like me and my family and friends at Gåsö in the Stockholm Archipelago. On this island that are so full of people during the summer months (close to sinking according to one of the "old crowd") we have at least two French gentlemen, both named patriotically right, yes, they are both Francois! Both celebrated by having party's. The older by throwing a drinks party in the garden starting in the afternoon (the elder one, I was not invited) and the younger one by inviting all of his friends for drinks and dancing from 8 pm. And what a party. The dancing went on until 4 am (I left "early" at 1.30 pm). To help my host celebrate a bit extra I made some cup cakes with the tricolore on top in icing. Even the inside was red!

Francois to the left at his house on Gåsö decorated with the Tricolore for the evening event! Thank you for a lovely party. More tomorrow.  PS The cup cake recipes you can find on this blog from last week!

COLOURFUL CUP CAKES

It has become a traditon to make cup cakes at Gåsö Södraste Udde when Moa and Hanna is visiting. This year the colours of the icing went wilder than before and we had some guest bakers in Douglas and Stella!

• The mixture for the cupcakes is made as follows, will make 12-15.
• 125 g butter
• 200 ml flour
• 1,5 tsp baking powder
• 125 g sugar (150 ml)
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla sugar
• 2 tbsp milk 
• 4 tbsp cocoa powder or the zest of two limes and the juice of one and some green foodcoloring.
• Whisk the soft butter with the sugar until white nice and fluffy
• add one egg at the time and whisk in between.
• add the rest of the ingredients and spoon into the cases
• bake for 15 minutes at 200 degrees Celsius.
•  

We made chocolate ones and lime (as above. The lime cup cakes we coloured with a bit of green food coloring!

Moa overlooking the cup cake factory!

Hanna and Moa, the cup cake bakers!

The chocolate ones out of the oven! The sweet cases are from www.kalasform.se

With a hint of lime!

Hanna and Stella mixing the icing (just icing sugar and water mixed to the right consistency) and getting the colours they want!

Douglas made a chocking blue and Moa a lavender lilac!

Douglas and Moa in the icing mode!

Just look at all the lovely and happy looking cup cakes! Which one is your favourite?

The happy and creative cup cake team from Gåsö Södraste Udde with their fantastic results! From left, Stella, Moa, Douglas and Hanna!

Time to eat them! Personal delivery to Gåsö Södra by Hanna, Stella, Douglas and Moa! Well done guys...