the fortnight diary of a tea-a-holic, part I

gone are the days of daily blogging. seemingly even weekly blogging. welcome to the fortnightly recap of one swedish tea-addict. part one, mind you, since i have a lot to get of my sausage dog cardigan clad chest. more than i think is right for one blog post alone.



:: the rehab of broken arm/wrist is going slowly. especially the hand has been continously swollen for the last three weeks but i'm finally seeing improvement. i fear the wrist will never be back to its original shape - no chance whatsoever the watch will fit on it again if i don't adjust the wristband about 4 cm... - since the bone has taken on a new position.

touch wood i don't experience pain as such, only when i try to lift something too heavy or have done a lot of rehab, then the muscles are really sore obviously. it's just very awkward not being able to use it as much as i want, am used to, and it's not obviously visible on the outside why i can't.

i got a tip about a couple of great physiotherapists, the prefered one didn't have any time until january 2 (!) but i snatched that time and have booked one with her colleague the week after next too. i really want to know how much progress i've made and what i can improve on/change. and if it's "normal" to be where i am right now.



:: as you can see, the return of sausage dog cardigan (organic cotton, from palava) in a better size has happened. and naturally with a bit of a mess from the notoriously expensive and lack of customer service swedish postal "service" PostNord. that you can always count on. but it got here eventually. and it's a better fit, still roomier than intended - it's suppose to be a rather snug, vintage fit but i'm not a great fan of that for myself - but just what i wanted. and it's adorable. and very well made in the uk.



:: i've also managed to treat myself to a pair of fabulous vegan oxfords (from el naturalista of course). before the marimekko sneakers early past summer i haven't bought any new shoes for a few years. and even if i'd like to go all vegan on the shoe-front too, it's more sustainable to care for and wear your already owned and loved leather shoes until they're worn out beyond repair. same goes for wool and silk garments of course.

they're very comfy and with the perfect heel. it's a pity that the vegan range of el naturalista shoes are so bland, beige, brown, black. i do miss their usual options of great colours, but at the same time, this colour was most certainly not something i remotely owned before. and they'll match with any colour.

while i definitely know we all need to shop way less, for new stuff - and i can't begin to say how much i hate the excessive consumerism concepts of black friday, cyper monday, christmas shopping et al - a friend said something wise when i talked about feeling bad for buying anything else than consumables or sensible replacements for broken, worn old things. "but pia, it's not the way you carefully think through your purchases and support small business owners or companies with healthy, sustainable values that needs to stop first and foremost. it's the cheap chain store-shopping, where there's a high price being paid by the environment and the underpaid workers in a remote country, the excessive shopping, the wear and tear culture, that needs to stop NOW."

food for thought.

which doesn't mean i'll return to my old once ways of shopping (shudder), just because i can use that as an excuse. but maybe i don't have to feel all that guilty when i chose to buy something nice and kind, that support my green values. and by doing so i hopefully inspire others to think and chose more carefully too.



:: when on the subject overconsumption, the scary void of analytical, connecting the dots the news and newspapers (in this case the swedish ines, but i know it's the same problem all over the world) talk about climate change is absurd. currently the annual non-news of "this year the swedish christmas shopping will reach new record sales" and "perhaps you're more keen on taking your family on a christmas holiday, fly away to a warmer climate, here are the best destinations!".

how is it that we exist on the same planet and yet too many people think it's same business as usual, after this devastating summer, after more forrest fires, earth quakes, draughts, floodings than ever? why hasn't everyone become vegan, stopped over-using their cars, stopped flying already? because, as i've said before, we are all eachother's someone else and we need to take responsability for our actions, non-actions and choices. clearly the politicians are too cowardly to make those impopular decisions that should have been taken a long time ago.

and obviously you only have to look at the toddlers of the swedish parliament who aren't grown-up enough to form a left-right government and work against climate change together. the only thing we need to base every decision on from now on, the planet doesn't care if you're left-wing or right-wing. global warming is upon us and the growth is exponential, everything is happening much faster than people in general seem to understand. denial rules.

i read an interesting piece a while back, about how humans are made up of basically two types. one type wants to be entertained, the other one wants to contribute. one doesn't see past its own needs, the other one sees itself as a part of a larger picture. and, no surprise, the former is predominantly made up of men, while the latter is of women. i'll see if i can find it again, it was really enlightening. and to be honest, simplifying things isn't always a bad thing. quite the opposite.



:: you know how much i've enjoyed my kränku tea calendars for three years, but this year i decided to do it differently. i decided to go big or go home. or rather go big and sit at home drinking an inordinate amount of tea december 1 to 24. i went with three other lovely tea calendars this year, and non of them kränku.



first there's the johan & nyström tea calendar - from one of my favourite cafes, coffee roaster & tea merchant.



and then i saw this cute house-shaped tea calendar from lovely teahouse tehuset java. plus i've eyed the german teegschwender one for years - i'll write a bit more about their disappointing procedure in regards to not selling their amazing organic ice tea abroad in the part II blog post...

this is also my first year ever for a delightful skincare calendar. i got the sweet the body shop one from my mother. the cats obviously think is a waste of money to get things that aren't feline compatible from an edible point of view.

i see my december as consuming gallons of tea, a lot of peeing, having really soft skin and smelling fabulous. not that anyone but myself and the unimpressed cats will notice the latter since i'll be unable to leave the house because of the former. but it will be marvellous!

and of course, three tea advent calendars isn't enough to be a tea-a-holic, i have done a lot more investing in amazing teas of all sorts. but more of that in the next blog post too. i am now not a not-so-crazy-cat-lady but a certifiably crazy tea lady. (with dreams of becoming a tea sommelier one day.)





:: currently listening to this song by Passenger a lot. still think the singer has a creepy manchild voice, but i like the lyrics, music and feel of the song.



:: since i lost little loaf too soon, in 2013, i've been contemplating back and forth if it's time or not for a new dog in my home. ideally a small shelter dog or re-homed dog small enough to fit in my re-kånken backpack when on public transport. but i do like the size of small terriers like malte. and even if i would never support the breeding of pugs - because of its obvious unhealthiness - i've never met a pug which isn't totally lovable and super-friendly, with that special ugly-cute charm and style. and they usually get along fabulously with cats.

so when i stumbled over a little pug that was up for adoption at dog shelter hundstallet the other week i decided to apply. his described cat-friendly, cuddly and energetic personality would fit in so perfectly with me and the cats. sadly i haven't heard anything from the shelter, and i guess half of stockholm was charmed by the little fella too. so it wasn't meant to be.

but i did have the good fortune to meet another little pug last weekend. and even if he has a home already it's never a bad thing to get a bit of cute dog, pug oxytocin refill, right? right.

next post will be about not only more tea, but also work (including the still ongoing quest of finding my kind of people. the seemingly never-ending story...), books, movies, ill-behaved kids, moomin, friendship apps for women, muesli, fur, faux fur, documentaries and more. now, how fun in a mixed bag does that sound?

organic vegan food inspiration, part 6

Welcome to another part of plantbased food inspiration. It has been a crazy three months already since the latest.

The above dish, with someone swooning over its deliciousness is a pasta with butternut pumpkin cream, spinach and hazelnuts. Pumpkin cream really is THE most amazing thing to have as a pasta sauce.



Falafel-wrap with salad and hummus. Sometimes there's a pre-made falafel-mix etc in the box. I'm not a great fan, I do prefer to make falafel from scratch now, the texture is so much nicer and crisp.

 

Hummus with fried aubergine and tabbouleh. Apart from the pre-made hummus - my own is so much nicer - ths was a lovely dish. An fresh coriander seeds was great in the tabbouleh.



Not a great fan of bowls, and this was no exception, very average. Quinoa bowl with fried portobello mushroom (too little), corn, avocado almonds.



Onepot pasta caponata, lovely. I love making onepots. You cook the sauce and pasta together, which makes the flavour and textures so much better. And you save water and energy too obviously. This one was with aubergine, capers (which I've only come to appreciate with this food ambassador gig), squash, garlic, onion, parsley, tomato sauce, chili and that all imoortant nutritional yeast that makes vegan dishes cheesy. - Also great for making pesto.



Seitan hotdogs in buns served with red cabbage salad, mushy peas and pickled cucumber. I love the simple hotdog dishes with add-ons that make the dish sing.



Fried tofu with wholegrain noodles and fried vegetables (red onion, garlic, carrot, squash, red cabbage, chili, sesame seeds, lime and tamari sauce). Lovely.



Another dull bowl as far as I'm concerned - rainbow bowl with millet, avocado, tomato, corn and mungbeans.



Pasta with romescosauce and grilled vegetables. Delicious. The sauce is made with garlic, onion, red paprika, tomatoes and roasted almonds which is mixed in a blender after cooking. Aubergine and squash is grilled and added to the sauce together with the pasta.



Close up of one of the most amazing and simple dishes so far - tarte flambeé with onions served with a crispy salad. It's basically a miniature pizza with a delicious spread made of soy cream and nutritional yeast. Perfection. The dough was ready made and I'm not keen on making my own, so if I can find a ready made pizza dough without palmoil I want to try this again asap. The simple spread really melts and tastes like cheese and to only mix red and yellow onions on top was perfection.





Falafel and barley salad with baked vegetables and pumpkin seeds. But for the pre-made falafel mix this was good.



Another one pot pasta with tomatoes, paprika and chili. Good stuff.



Creamy polenta with corn, squash and spinach. Lovely comfort food. This was also my last dish before I broke my arm. For the next weeks I had help with the peeling, chipping, dicing, slicing and eating. Now I'm slowly working my way back to doing all that stuff myself again.



Bimbimbap with tofu, mushroom, carrots, squash and fried garlic. Deliciousness.



Samosas with spicy potatoes, pak choy and peas. The salad is made of potatoes, finey chopped kale and roasted sunflower seeds.



And another (dull) bowl with durra, black beans, tomatoes, green beans, salad and sesame seeds.



Tikka daal with sweetpotato, carrots and green beans. Lovely comfort food again.

As usual the recipes (in Swedish) can be found at Årstiderna website (or in the app). If you're keen on a translation of a specific recipe, or have any questions, please let me know in the comments.



Previous inspiration posts -

Organic vegan food inspiration 1
Organic vegan food inspiration 2
Organic vegan food inspiration 3
Organic vegan food inspiration 4

another year older, another year wiser - the 2018 edition

so, what did happen during my last week as a xx year old, followed by my first week as a xx year old, a year wiser?

:: i decided that when the purrfect dress wasn't meant to be, surely a sausage dog cardigan in organic cotton would be the perfect birthday gift to self instead? from palava (same source as the delightful budgie skirt). i spent a lot of time figuring out the best size (ordering online when you don't know a brand well is tricky, no matter careful measuring). talking to the customer service too.

decided to go up an extra 1-2 sizes, wanted it roomy. it arrived gorgeous but also way too big. so had to be returned (add hefty trackable postage) for another one smaller. opted for one size smaller, so i hope it'll be roomy, but not that oversized.

and as the swedish postal "service" is notoriously crappy it was quite the kerfuffle at the post office since it turned out they didn't have the means to print the waybill *insert rolling eyes* so i had to pop over to the library to pay for a print of it.

i can see it landed in england yesterday, so hopefully i'll get my new cardi later this week. fingers crossed it'll be a purrfect fit.

even if some think it's pure treason to dress in dog prints obviously.





:: watched the powerful documentary "the devil we know" the other week (still available on svt play in sweden) about teflon and C8. and how it has been poisoning the world since the 1940ies, and continue doing so because of greed alone. the company DuPont and its spin-off company Chemours certainly are the epitome of dirty, evil, greedy and powerful big business. i knew teflon was unhealthy, but had no idea about the extent of it, how basically noone can escape its consequenses.

just another proof that humans don't deserve this earth.

first thing i did next day was to buy a stainless steel frying pan (pots i already have). trying to figure out where i can get rid of the teflon pans in a sustainable way.

didn't feel very sensual (despite its name) buying the pan at ikea. but it has been great (and comes with a 25 year guarantee). noticed that at least 95% of the pots and pans at ikea are teflon coated though. and much cheaper that the few stainless steel ones.

so much cheap stuff that have been poisiing and littering our planet for decades. heartbreaking and infuriating.



:: "så mycket bättre" (so much better) is a swedish reality show with that has been aired for 9 years now. the premise is that 7 swedish artists meet up on gotland where they each have one day where the other artists interpret one song each from the hosting artist's repertoire.

admittedly i've never watched the series until now, not very interested in watching "the club of mutual admiration society"ish reality shows. plus none of the previous artists have been favourites of mine. but this year eric gadd participates. and i used to love his music, especially in the 80ies and 90ies.



and i adore linnea henriksson's version of his song, "the right way".

here's gadd's original version.



and albin lee meldau's version. his vibrato voice is so cool. a touch of antony and the johnsons.



:: on the bday, which was a wonderful, sunny and crisp october day, we visited millesgården, art museum and sculpture park (one of the true gems of stockholm you shouldn't miss), for the william morris exhibition. i didn't know that he besides being an amazingly talented artist, architect and designer also was a radical political activist. an overall very impressive, inspiring human being.







:: the museum visit was followed with a lovely vegan lunch at the new place VeganHouse. tasty butter bean and black rice burgers with fries and delicious chipotle mayo.



i did of course have the obligatory piece of plantbased cream cake later that week. (from bagar'n hornstull, my old childhoods.)



:: in my first week as a xx year old i visited my accountant for the second annual meeting. after a worrisome year - mainly thanks to the dodgy client and unreliable team mates, and myself for being to trusting of people that clearly had other motifs - i knew i'd already manage to save my business, with a last minute solution which i'm ever so very grateful for, but it was still a rather uncomfortable visit. but being greeted with a long bark of excitement, followed by a good lick and cuddle by the cuteheart office dog maya was the best kind of start.





turned out to be a lovely day. minus the 3 x 2 hours of public transportation to norrtälje. plus me forgetting to bring bread for the ducks and getting a good disgruntled quack by the city ducks of norrtälje.



:: then on world vegan day the arm was finally relieved of the plaster. rejoice!



i had expected the left arm to be thin and weak. instead it turned out to be thicker and the hand swollen, and weak. an ugly sight. and there'll be a lot of work with physiotherapy at home. the muscles are shorter, the broken, cured bones rigid and un-cooperative. i'm basically still the one-armed cat vomit slip woman. but i'm working on it. and it's such a relief to take a decent shower and not having to worry about getting the plaster wet.



:: world vegan day, a reminder that as long as we continue to eat the flesh of innocent beings the world will continue to be a violent place. meat eating is of course not only violent and unhealthy, but also one of the largest contributors to climate change. and yet it continues to be the elephant in the room that politicians and individuals alike refuse to seriously address.

make the connection, please.



:: the arm in freedom needs a lot of TLC, apart from physio, so i got it some handscrub and handcream at lush. and look, the amazing snow fairy scent is now available in body spray too. swoon.



:: and for world vegan day there was also a special price on fabulous, swedish, vegan haircare brand maria nila and as i've almost worked my way through all my old haircare products it was a perfect time to get some.

with the buying came the option of getting it delivered, included in price, instead of having to pick it up at the post office. and with the one hand issue i thought that would be good. turned out to be not merely a good, but a great solution. the company budbee home delivers between 5pm and 10pm, with an estimaated delivery time. after 5pm you get updates in real time and you can follow the driver's progress on a map on the phone. with moments of "oh no, you should have turned left there!".

how many of us haven't wasted days waiting for deliveries from the old, giant delivery companies that obviously don't really care about customer service "we'll be there sometime between 8 am and 5 pm"?



if budbee follows labour laws and has decent salaries - of which don't know, but start-ups can be notorious for not heeding to that... - i think they have a great and highly service-minded idea.

and as sharing is caring someone loved the box the products came in too.



dear november, if you could please continue to be just as great as you've started, i would be ever so grateful and happy.