Kladd kaka!
What? It’s Swedish…. it’s basically a delicious chocolate tart that I made yesterday for the summer solstice celebration; I figured if I couldn’t be in Sweden for midsummer, I had to bring it to me. Fresh strawberries from farmer’s market, freshly whipped cream and the balminess of an early summer evening was an excellent combination. This dessert of chocolate deliciousness is a Swedish standard and most people have the recipe memorized… so for those of you who loved it so much, here it is:
2 eggs
1 stick of butter
3 tablespoons of cocoa
3/4 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Melt the butter and mix in eggs. Mix with dry ingredients. Pour into circular pan. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.
Dust with confectioner’s sugar if desired. Serve by itself or with fresh strawberries.
Glad Midsommar!!!
Although it is beautiful in Portland today and I am attending a solstice party this evening (pictures to come I am sure), there’s still a little part of me that wants to be in Sweden for the festivities… Last year I was in Raneberg (see above photo), just a little north of Gothenburg, and although it rained, we donned our waterproof jackets and made flower garlands anyway…
A little excerpt on Swedish midsummer that I wrote over at Gadling:
“Midsummer is one of the year’s most important celebrations, comparable to New Years and Christmas. Communities will hold traditional Midsummer events which include dancing around a maypole and singing Swedish songs, one of which is called Små Grodorna (Little Frogs) and entails everyone to dance around like a frog while singing the following loosely translated lyrics: “Little frogs are funny to look at/ They don’t have ears or tails.” Who ever said the Swedes didn’t have a sense of humor? Because you’re celebrating the sun, the Swedish countryside is the place to enjoy Midsummer. Most Swedes will choose a country-side location and join their friends in a long night of eating, drinking and merriment.”
Whole article here.
Friday Photo: My three favorite things…
The Albina Press , bicycles and americanos with soy milk.
Joining flickr…. finally
Who knew that having a digital camera could be so much fun? I feel like I’ve reached a new level of creativity… and in doing so I’ve decided to do as so many other of my fellow traveling/writing/vagabonding friends do and start a Flickr account, meaning that I have officially joined the masses. It’s always interesting to contemplate how much technology has come to play a role in my everyday life. Things that would have remained in my journals and photo albums five years ago are now pasted all over the internet, free for perusing. And although this still makes me feel a little uncomfortable, I appreciate that free access to creativity that the internet allows for.
Most of the photos are currently from farmers market, but give me a few weeks and I’m sure there will be whole lot more.
A morning at farmers market
Portland farmers market is probably my favorite time of week, hence the reason that Kristina can call me at 7:30am, tell me to be ready to go in half an hour and it doesn’t bother me in the slightest. But getting to farmers market early is the only way to enjoy the experience; before the hordes of foodies come in and you have to elbow your way through to score the best looking strawberries.
Before the bell had even rung to mark the official market start, my camera already had plenty of shots and I still had time to make it to my favorite booth before the line got too long (yes, true Portlanders will spend a fairly long time standing in line just to score their favorite organic produce). All in all, a very successful Saturday morning.
Friday Photo: Swedish Summer
A year ago today I was busy galavanting around the Scandinavian homeland… unfortunately this summer has no Sweden trips in store, so looking back at photos will have to do. This one was taken in Ronneby, a small village in the Blekinge region. Now all I need is a plate of pickled herring, potatoes with dill and a glass of wine bought at Systembolaget and everything will be complete.
Blog tip of the day
The amount of RSS feeds that I find myself scanning through in the mornings is starting to get overwhelming, but I have found a new travel blog/journal that I LOVE! Pret a Voyager is all about design and travel (my two favorite things) and it’s fun to look at and read.
Urban green
After playing with the new camera, here are some shots from the weekend… if the Huffington Post can go green, I figured I might as well do the same, but visually.
Friday Photo: Europe? No, it’s Portland…
I am finally the proud owner of a digital SLR (how did I make it so long with just a 35mm???) and although there hasn’t been loads of time to go out and play with it, I did manage to snap this last night while at First Thursday.
blog.annabrones.com 