Tag: Food

Ancient

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I remember when I grew up. Everything was easier. Gather around and I will tell you about ancient history. Haha not quite but almost.

We didn`t have cell phones when I grew up. That has to be the biggest difference to now. Today no one could live without it. When I was young you had to actually interract with people. You used your phone to call people! We never texted each other or played games on it. I don`t know how we made it without cell phones. As teenagers we were out all the time and partied on weekends. Sometimes you were going to a party and were supposed to meet your friends at a certain place. If you knew you couldn`t make it in time there was no one to call because they were all waiting at the meeting place. If you were a naughty girl that wasn`t coming home after a party in town you had to find a pay phone to call home. I don`t know how many times I spend the end of the night looking for a phone to call my mom (haha most of the time we went to an after party but we never said that) . When you found a phone you had to have coins to put in it. I always said I was going to spend the night at a friend who lived alone.

In Sweden back in the days we used to serve tinned pears as dessert. Not only pears but oven baked with a thin mint chocolate piece on top. The chocolate (After eight) was something you only ate at special occasions such as dinner parties. We also ate lots of homemade pizza`s with ketchup on them. My favorite food used to be boiled artichoke dipped in butter.

In school we didn`t have computer science. We had type writing classes. Most of the type writers were manual ones where you had to use force to be able to push down the keys. You had to fight to get the electric machines which were easier to use. Then we had to write these stupid texts which didn`t mean anything.

Speaking of cell phones. I remember when they became an household item. I said I would never get one. Being available all the time!

 

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You couldn`t pick your own candy back then. You had to say to the sales person what candy to put in the paper bag.

 

Pudding

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I love black pudding. I never think about the content when I eat it. In Sweden we call it “blood pudding”. It contains animal blood but it doesn`t taste of it.

The black pudding comes in a big chunk. You slice it and fry it. I want thin slices because otherwise it gets a bit too much to chew. I always fry black pudding until it gets a crunchy surface. It tastes better that way.

I must have bacon with black pudding. I like it the way it is but with bacon it`s better. Lingonberry jam is important. Black pudding needs that.

20170506_163349Delicious.

Pasta

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I love pasta. It makes everything taste good. I think pasta is under rated these days. Everytime it’s talked about it has to do with that it contains too much carbs. You need both carbs and protein but carbs have become something bad.

Like pasta I find comfort food under rated. Today all restaurants serve “new” food but it’s hard to find uncomplicated things. In Sweden we have something called “husmanskost” which is food that has been around for long. It’s food like boiled pork and fried pork with onion sauce. Everyone is crazy about it but it’s hard to get when you’re out to eat.

Pasta bolognese has become “husmanskost” and it’s no restaurant that serve it. They do but there is always something “new” to it. It can be that the sauce is made with pickled meat or onion and it doesn’t taste right. Today I made pasta bolognese. Simple bolognese. Minced beef with tomatoe puree, milk, cream and onions. I always use milk to make it into a sauce. Water is too thin I find. I used to add water but milk is better. Cream gives is a good taste.

I used to be bad at making bolognese sauce. Now I’ve learned and I think there are two important factors that makes a successful bolognese.

*”Boil” the liquid out of the minced meat before you add the rest of the ingredients.

*If you put tomatoe puree in the sauce let it cook for a while in the pan with the meat before adding liquid.

Delicious.

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Candy ban

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I haven’t eaten candy in almost a week! I want to say it’s because I have a strong will but it’s not. I’m changing anti depressant medicine and when you do that you have to stop the one you’re taking. I’m cutting down on the one I’ve been taking for many years. This is the hardest medicine I’ve ever stopped taking. I have flu symtoms and no appetite. That’s the reason I haven’t eaten candy. Good times you think but not for me. I have trouble keeping my weight and loose a lot if I don’t eat.

I have to eat even though I’m not hungry now. I have a good appetite usually but not now. I know many of you don’t think I should complain. “I want to loose weight and would be excited if I wasn’t hungry.”

I’ve always fought to keep my weight and to be too thin is hard. When I meet doctors for the first time they ask if I eat. It feels rude to me. I eat more than I should but can’t put weight on! Now I have no appetite and I’m probably loosing weight right now. The candy I don’t want but food I need. Well.

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Potatoe omelette

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I love omelettes. The dinner idea of the day is potatoe omelette.

I often think a plain omelette doesn’t fill you up. Put lots of things in it and it will. This omelette has potatoes, peppers, broccoli and bacon in it. Broccoli is a healthy vegetable and I try to make something with it often. It is good in omelettes and with the salty bacon it’s delicious!

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I cut the potatoe in thin slices. I fry it for a while before I put the rest of the filling ingredients in. When it has been cooked for a while I put the eggs in.

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Dinner party

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I don`t think having dinner parties is enjoyable. The party I love but not the dinner part. I`m not confident in my cooking and think no one will like what I serve. I know I can cook reasonably well but when it comes to feeding others I`m very uncertain as to how it will taste. When I go to friends for dinner I`ve never been disappointed at what they serve. The food is only a small part of the evening and even if it isn`t that good I don`t care. I know the friends that come to my dinners think the same but it doesn`t help.

Speaking of dinner parties, when I was younger one of my mom`s friends use to come over for dinner and I normally made the desserts. She is hilarious and I remember those dinners to be full of laughter. Anyway there are two of those dinners that stand out from the rest.

The most important when it comes to dinners is that there is enough food for everyone. I remember one time my mom was making lasagna. She was supposed to do one lasagna for the three of us. The oven tin she was using would serve maybe four large servings. I said that I thought one lasagna wasn`t enough. We talked back and forth about it and my mom ended up making two. They say mom`s are always right and oh boy how right she was. We ate half a lasagna! We had to eat the rest for days!

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The other dinner party involved me doing more than I should. My mom`s friend loves desserts and I went all in that evening. I decided to make a cake with many layers and soft caramel on top. The thing was I had never made that many layers in a cake or (!) caramel before. I almost cried! When I tried to cut the cake into all these layers it fell apart and I ended up with bread crumbs instead of slices. The caramel………. It was far from soft. It became chewy toffee which I tried to put on top of the crumbs. I ended up making short bread! Not jam filled short bread with whipped cream that would resemble a dessert , only dry short bread.

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I love cooking at dinner parties! Not.

Sugar ban

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It`s hard to quit sugar. It`s one of the hardest things to quit. Many call sugar a drug and it sort of is. Many doctors want for example soda drinks to carry a warning sign on them that sugar is addictive. Sugar makes us want to eat more. It upsets the mechanisms that tell us we need to stop eating.

20170403_173812I sometimes get sick of myself when I eat too much candy. I reached my lowest level of self respect, when it comes to candy, a couple of years ago. I began eating candy as part of my breakfast. I knew it was crazy but I couldn`t help it. I often eat candy and cakes, which I also eat too much of, when I`m hungry or bored. Candy makes you feel less hungry and there has been moments when I`ve eaten candy instead of food. Crazy I know.

I`ve stopped eating candy for periods of time. When I feel my sugar intake is getting out of control I have to do it. I most commonly decide to stop eating candy and things with added sugar for a week at a time. I`ve found that there are two things that makes it easier for me to do it.

The most important thing for me has been to find a substitute for the habit of eating sugar when I`m bored. Sugar free gum has helped me. I know gum isn`t healthy but it`s healthy enough for me. I chew gum when I know my candy addiction will tell me to eat candy. My biggest sugar craving comes after dinner. I turn to chewing gum.

20170403_173659 A part from chewing gum protein helps me. I eat more protein than usual when I have sugar breaks. I don`t know why it keeps me from giving in to sugar cravings. For me I have realized that the days I exercise and because of that recover with protein powder I eat less candy. When I quit sugar I eat more eggs and meat and it helps. I also try to get some protein powder, sugar free, in my diet to give me more protein.

 

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A meaty protein filled sausage.

I have to have a sugar break now.

 

 

Beef pirogue

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I love puff pastry. I would be happy eating baked puff pastry and nothing else. It`s crunchy and soft at the same time and the taste is good.

I love pirogues because of the puff pastry. My favorite pirogue is with minced beef. I made a big beef pirogue that served two the other day. It was delicious.

I began by making the beef filling. I fried onions and minced beef in a pan. I added tomatoe purèe and spices. I also added a bit of milk to get the texture I wanted. I let it cool before I filled the pastry.

20170331_154832I bought the puff pastry. The thought of making it myself makes me tired. All that rolling and all the butter that has to be added is overwhelming.

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I put the minced beef in the middle of the pastry.

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I rolled the pastry into a pirogue. The pirogue got brushed with egg. I made cuts on it to prevent it from breaking.

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I baked it at 200 C for 20 minutes.

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Delicious.

 

 

Dinner

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It’s not blackened beef on the plate. It’s black pudding! I don’t know why I think it’s delicious but I do. I never think about what it contains because then I wouldn’t eat. It has animal blood in it among other things. It’s the same with sausage. If you knew you wouldn’t eat it.

In Sweden black pudding is everyday food. It’s often served with bacon. Lingonberry jam is a must. Without jam it’s not tasty at all.

Today I served the black pudding with lingonberry jam, bacon and potatoes. I made tomatoe and melon salad to go with it. Delicious.

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Health

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I`ve been sick the last couple of days and that got me thinking. I almost know my non functioning thyroid has something to do with the cold I`ve had. A thyroid that is “broken” makes your immune system weak. I`ve never been sick this often as I have been lately and that`s why I think it has to do with the thyroid.

It`s much more common that women suffer from thyroid malfunctions than men. That`s what got me thinking. It`s not easy being a woman. We are prone to many diseases. As a woman it`s important to do whatever you can to stay healthy. In Sweden you automatically get summoned every two years after you`ve reach a certain age to have a mammography. I always do it. It only takes a couple of minutes and it doesn`t cost much. I wouldn`t be able to forgive myself if I didn`t go and then found out I had breast cancer.

Another thing I always do, also every two years, is to go to my gynechologist and have him take smear tests of the cervix. He also summons you automatically which makes it easy. I`ve had two cervix operations to remove possible cancer. Because most changes in that area don`t show symptoms it`s hard to spot them yourself.

It`s not easy being a woman but I love it!

Now something completely different. Today is the first day in a while I`ve been able to cook. These last couple of days I`ve been to sick to do that. I`ve only made instant soups. Today I made “recovery” food. Pasta with “falukorv”. “Falukorv” means falusausage. It`s a meaty sausage. This dish gives you lots of carbs from the pasta and lots of proteins from the sausage. All the things you need to get well. I served it with melon and orange salad.

 

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Glamorous!