Put another shrimp on the barbie, mate!

To celebrate "Valborg" and May 1st in my own very special way I went out and bought a grill today. My intention was to assemble it, post pictures of the assembling, and then let you all take pity on me... And, this I will do, kind of.

You see, I failed to remember to take photos of the grill when it was still in parts just sitting there waiting to be assembled, and the actual act of assembling. Very annoying, but let me assure you, there were about 1000 different pieces of screws and bits of metal, a lot of looking at not very precise instructions, a lot of swearing, an awful lot of sweating, and countless thoughts along the lines of "what did I get myself into?". After unpacking the grill from it's square box, I took one look at the instructions and thought "oh boy, this is gonna take a while". Who would have guessed you'd have to have a degree in astrophysics to assemble a simple-looking grill?!

Anyway, I started to assemble the lid as this seemed to be the easy part. About half way through I decided I could not go on without making myself a drink first. So, off I went to the liquor cupboard. (Assembling a grill could send just about anyone running for the liquor). With a drink in one hand and a screwdriver in the other, I returned to previously described state of mind. I started screwing the legs into place, just to realize that left on the ground were 4 little cups which apparently were supposed to be attached to the legs, prior to screwing them onto the bottom of the grill... Like I had nothing better to do, nowhere else I'd rather be, I unscrewed the legs, put the little cups on and screwed the legs back on! Then came the struggle of trying to fit the wheels to the legs, then screw the screws into the tiniest holes known to mankind... I was contemplating a second, a third, and a forth drink at this point! Like there had been some kind of divine intervention I managed to fit all the parts together and....

...there is was, assembled and ready to be used! What a glorious sight it was, I could almost hear the heavenly choir singing "oh happy day", but just almost!

I am now fit, and ready, for a season of grilling delicious food!

BRING ON THE BARBIES!

Meat on a stick with tzatziki

I only need one word, OK two words combined into one, to describe tonight's dinner: YUMMILICIOUS! It was truly scrumptious, and I want you all to make it yourselves so that you too can enjoy this food, food fit for kings and queens all over the world! Try it, I am sure you'll love it! And if you don't like it, there must be something wrong with you!



Meat on a stick
Serves 2

400 g ground beef
1 clove garlic, grated
1 small onion, grated
1 tsp jeera (cumin) powder
1 tsp dhania (coriander) powder
1 pinch salt
½ pinch red chili powder

Heat oven to 220 C.

1. Put 12 wooden skewers in water to soak, this will prevent the skewers from catching fire while cooking, while you prepare the meat. You will most likely end up using about 10.

2. Mix all the ingredients in a bowl.

3. Take a small handful of the meat mix in your hands and make a sausage shape. Thread onto a soaked wooden skewer. Do this with the rest of the meat mix until you have used up all the meat.

4. Use an oven dish slightly narrower than the skewers are long. Place the meat sticks on top of the dish so that they hang free and do not touch the bottom of the dish. Place in the oven for 10-15 minutes, check on them from time to time, as sometimes it takes shorter/longer time.
You can also BBQ the meat outside, or in a griddle pan on the stove.

Tzatziki
Serves 2

2 dl Greek yogurt, sour cream, or crême fraiche
5 cm cucumber, grated
1 clove garlic, grated
salt and pepper

Put the yogurt in a bowl. Grate the cucumber and place the gratings in a kitchen towel. Squeeze out as much liquid as possible. Mix the cucumber and garlic into the yogurt, season with salt and pepper.

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Spicy Holy Basil Chicken Curry

I love browsing the aisles of my local Asian food shop. I love looking at all the different foods, spices, pickles, rice, vegetables, and things I don't even know what they are. The other day I was looking for the Satay Seasoning mix I love, but couldn't find it. The man at the cash register told me he had it out back but did not want to go searching for it. So I had to make new plans for dinner. I continued browsing and found a packet of Holy Basil Seasoning Paste. It looked easy enough to make, and only cost 14,90 NOK.
As always, I did not stick to the recipe when preparing, but it turned out delicious anyway. Delicious, but spicy, very spicy. Luckily I had an open can on coconut cream in the fridge, so I added the content into the pan, and enjoyed a yummy dinner.



Spicy Holy Basil Chicken Curry
Serves 2

1 ½ dl Basmati rice
2 1/4 dl water
1 pinch salt

250 g chicken, other meat or firm fish
1 packet Holy Basil Seasoning Paste
3 tbsp vegetable oil
1/3 red bell pepper
4 button mushroom
1 small onion
1/4 box coconut milk/cream

1. Rinse the rice until the water runs clear. Place in a saucepan, and add the water. Bring to the boil, bring down the heat to a slow simmer. Simmer, under lid, for 17 minutes, remove from the heat. Remove the lid and allow to rest for 5 minutes. Fluff the rice with a fork.

2. Follow the instructions on the packet to make the Holy Basil Chicken Curry. add the vegetables when the chicken is almost done. Stir in the coconut milk/cream, allow to heat.

3. Enjoy!

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Thai prawn risotto

Sometimes an idea sounds really good in my head, but laid out on paper, or as in this case on a plate, does not seem like an all that clever idea. That is what happened to me yesterday. I was in a hurry to make a quick dinner before I was off to volleyball practice. I had a craving for risotto but didn't really have all that much to put in it. The thought hit me, why not use the tiger prawns I have in the freezer and give the risotto a "Thai-twist" by marinating the prawns in Thai green curry paste? Ok, I must admit, following my train of thoughts on this one now tells me that it was really never a good idea to mix Thai and Italian cuisine. But I did not realize that yesterday, so I made Thai-inspired prawns on a bed of risotto. Obviously, it wasn't the tastiest dinner I have ever had, but it was eatable and the prawns were gorgeous.

Will-you-try-my-Thai-prawn risotto?
Serves 2

2 dl risotto rice

1 small onion, finely chopped

½ clove garlic, chopped

about 5 dl chicken/fish stock or 1 dl white wine and 4 dl stock
(however, I used ½ dl of coconut cream and 5 dl stock)

6 tiger prawns, peeled and de-veined

1 tsp vegetable oil

½ clove garlic, chopped
1 tsp Thai green curry paste

a pinch of chili-salt

1. Follow the instructions on the risotto rice package on how to best cook it.

2. Put the oil, garlic, curry paste, and chili salt in a bowl. Add the prawns and marinate for 15 minutes.

3.When the risotto is all but done, add the prawns to the pan and cook 'til the prawns are pink.

4. Plate, sprinkle with chopped red pepper and coriander/cilantro leaves.

Sushi anyone?

I have a question to all you foodies out there: does anyone know of a good recipe for sushi? I must admit I do not know very much about sushi, other than it is actually kind of tasty. Up until about two weeks ago I had my obvious doubts, having only ever tried the kind you buy pre-packed at Marks & Spencers. No, that was a lie. I had sushi and tempura at a Japanese restaurant in the outskirts of Indianapolis, IN in 2008, but can't really remember if I like it or not. Can't imagined it made a very good impression on me, seeing as I can't remember it very well. However, what changed my mind mind about sushi was the sushi-place at the Nils Ericsson terminal in downtown Gothenburg, Sweden. I only tried one piece, but it was a scrumptious piece of salmon and rice. I have been craving sushi ever since, real sushi with wasabi and pickled ginger.

Sun-dried tomatoes

Don't you just love tomatoes? Fresh from the vine, tomato sauce on your spaghetti, or cut in half and sprinkled with salt for a fresh summer snack? I love tomatoes, and I especially love sun-dried tomatoes! It's such a versatile dish, you can have it in food, with food, or as food. I use it in my favourite Greek-inspired chicken dish- recipe will be added when I make it next.



Sun-dried tomatoes

1 kg tomatoes

generous drizzle of olive oil

a bunch of your favourite herbs, for example basil, oregano and/or tarragon

5 dl Vegetable oil

2 cloves garlic

1 dried chili

Heat your oven to a chocking 50 C. PLEASE OBSERVE, you need a fan/convection oven in order to make the sun-dried tomatoes!

1. Cut the tomatoes in slices or in halves and place on an oven tray. Drizzle generously with olive oil and sprinkle with the herbs.

2. Bake for 12 hours or until most of the water content has vaporised from the tomatoes. Check from time to time, and be sure not to let the tomatoes go hard. It takes less time if you slice them, than if you cut them in half.

I had my oven on 80 C as it does not go as low as 50. The tomatoes then took roughly 6.5 hours.

3. Allow to cool, put the tomatoes in a sterilized glass jar layered with sliced garlic, and the chili, whole. Pour in the vegetable oil, and let the flavours mature for 1 month before use.

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Fetajuttu

Once upon a time there were two girls from two different countries, one girl was Angélica (me) from Sweden, and the other was Titta from Finland. The two met in a Westlife-chat room many years ago, and a friendship blossomed out of countless hours of mutual adoration for said boy band. The friendship is still going strong after almost 10 years, despite the fact that we have actually never met in person. The adoration for said boy band is, however, long forgotten. I received the recipe for "Fetajuttu" from Titta to share with the rest of world. I have not made it myself, but Titta assures me it is delicious.
"Fetajuttu" means "the feta thing" in Finnish.



Fetajuttu
serves 2-3

400 g feta cheese
1 red pepper
400 g crushed tomatoes
ground black pepper
olive oil

Heat oven to 200 C

1. Cube or crumble the feta cheese. Dice the red pepper.

2. Put in an ovenproof dish and pour in the tomatoes. Season with ground pepper and drizzle with olive oil.

3. Place in the oven for 30 minutes.

Spread on top of bread or eat it as it is. Can be reheated, and might be freezer friendly.

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