a tale of two loafs

I carried this mummy of a bread a long, long way home with me. It wasn't until I unwrapped it I realised that either the baker had had a lot of fun shaping it or the fermentation-oven time had shaped it into something you don't have to have a scrap of imagination to see the resemblance with.

Showing the borderline X-rated bread pictures would probably give sensitive readers nightmares, so instead I give you the sweet child proof version of the tale of two loafs ~

The one to the right is the huge levain sourdough bread (from Kringelgården), the one to the left is one slightly heavier and hairier loafie dog. Other than that, they could be twins.

PopCo

"PopCo" is another amazing book by Scarlett Thomas with a cover that promise greatness and manage to deliver it.

I loved it. Loved it, loved, l.o.v.e.d. it. LOVED. IT.

Possibly even more than I loved "The End of Mr. Y" (published after "PopCo"). This is truly the kind of book that can change your life. And to be honest, great books are a plethora, but it's not terribly often one get the joy of the possibly life changing ones.

The book certainly made me think. Even more than usual. It's just such a brilliant concoction of thought provoking ideas, a fascinatingly ambitious plot - the width, the research and the preparatory work is quite impressive - that's both easy to relate to, easy to read but at the same time highly enlightening (even to someone that really doesn't need convincing).

It's a marvellous roller coaster read about greedy multinational corporations, marketing, code-breaking, mathematics (me not being a number buff was rather mesmerized by their meaning in this book), animal rights, veganism, philosophy, paradoxes (ah, love those!), fashion, social criticism, religion, politics, love, life...

Some food for thought quotes from the book;

"Is it marketing that makes us think that something like being a vegetarian is as stupid as wearing shoulder pads and too much blusher? Is it just marketing that makes us feel good about tucking into a 99p slab of dead cow at lunchtime? That, and the fact that everyone else does it. The more people that do something, the more likely you are to do it too."

"Hitler tried to impose his shiny, blonde, neat, sparkling world on us all and we resisted. So how is it that when McDonald's, Disney, Gap and L'Oréal and all the others try to do the same thing we say 'OK'? Hitler needed marketing, that's all. What a great idea, to make people feel that they belong to something, that their identity makes them special. If Hitler had been able to enlist a twenty-first-century marketing department, would he have been able to sell Nazism to everyone? You can just see a beautiful, thin woman with her long blonde hair moving softly in the breeze and the tagline 'Because I'm worth it'. I am worth it. Me. I am worth the life of others."

Do read this fantastic book ~

random monday musings

:: after two pretty intense, but frightfully fun, weeks of computer classes I'm now allowed to breath and reload for some holidayic weeks, before it continues in August. If I could have chose I would have continued with the course for at least a couple of more weeks and postponed my vacational time. It has been such a fun learning process, that perfect mix of rekindling with stuff one already knew and eureka problem solving moments.

I'm so pleased there's no forced socializing involved, that you're actually allowed to be a completely absorbed by learning nerd, that hi and goodbye is pretty much all you have to utter during the day, and if you have any questions there's always teachers around to ask.

I love that I after a short introduction have been left to my own devices and it's been a blast to read, practise and solve tasks. And as I did finish the first project just before vacation time I can't wait to continue with the next one.

It would also be awfully nice if all this learning could actually lead to some great challenges with a pleasing income attached, and not just another nifty thing to add to the CV...

:: Finally. I'm now a (somewhat) proud owner of a bicycle helmet. I do wonder how we survived all those years riding bikes without one. But as we live in Sweden, the land of safety addiction, it's the prudent thing to have. As I really didn't want one of those butt-ugly Darth Vader style helmets it took for ages to get one.

But the perfect one revealed itself recently and I opted for not a pink (not because it looked like I was wearing a giant strawberry ice cream cone on my head, but because it seemed to get dirty within a blink of an eye), not a black (reasonably nice, but somewhat bland, as usual with black) but a khaki green. The shade is apparently called dirty, which will team well with my all pink bike.

My pink bike that I actually inherited from my grandfather. He was not only a man with green fingers and a passion for art, he also rode a pink bike. I like that.

:: One would think that being a busy bee these past two weeks would have made me read less, nope, quite the opposite. As commuting is usually such a dull thing the reading has been very scheduled and an as always very helpful relief from dullness. I've finished not only one, but three, soon to be four books. Reviews to come. All quite, quite good, one even brilliant and of course the latest entry on my-favourite-read-ever-list. Hint - PopCo.

:: I haven't felt very inclined to try new recipes for quite a while. Suddenly I have an inclination again. If they turn out plus edible there might be some more recipes posted in a blog near here. Still this is not, nor will it ever be, a food blog. But still, I do love to praise vegetarian cooking whenever I can. As the benefits, both ethical and health wise, are endless.

:: I've never been much of a history buff, it might have something to do with less than engaging school teachers and more than a sneaky suspicion that historical "facts" are very less than reliable since history is infamous for being written by "the winners". Now and then I do find history and its "facts" quite fascinating though.

One such example is the TV-series - and book that I just placed an online order of, I think I deserve a refill on the heap after being a such a diligent little reader these past weeks... Every excuse is a good excuse - Terry Jones' Barbarians. Which shows quite another truth than that claimed by the ancient Romans. Interesting glimpses of the bloody European history presented in an easy and humorous way. I wish I had had history teachers like Terry Jones in school.

Btw, I never knew goths were suppose to have originated from Swedish island Gotland. Go figure.

:: Now. Bedtime. To spend some quality time with new books. Who could ask for more a fine summer night like this? (Yes, there were red berries involved in dinner.)

strawberry summer chocolate

Dry frozen strawberries in classic Swedish milk chocolate. If there's such a thing as summer chocolate heaven I do believe this match was made there. Because this combination is quite, quite lovely and very, very strawberryish in flavour.

Limited summer only edition from Swedish chocolate brand Marabou (the one with the special park).

loch ness feltidermy

If you're not fortunate to have an actual spotting or encounter of the proper Loch Ness kind you can at least wear a wee wool Nessie on your coat. I fell head over heals for this cutie as soon as I spotted (yes, finally!) it in girlsavage's shop on Etsy.

She really has the most adorable, quirky, ingeniously constructed feltidermy (non cruelty involved, strangely enough all felt animals look quite happy and content being stuffed and mounted) and other plush things in her shop. She also takes custom orders, which certainly opens up to a whole lot of interesting possibilities...

This little fellow will adorn my coat as soon as autumn - sch, far, far away yet... - comes. I'm certain we'll have all sorts of fun together, little Nestor and I.

happy weekend ~

Wishing every well-deserving soul a fine weekend. Myself I'm going to spent part of it on deep waters, which hopefully will be photograhically rewarding as I'm not all that keen on boats or water (if not to drink or shower in).



Here's to a summer weekend full of wild strawberries ~

creamy lentil stew

I had every intention to write something bloggy brilliant when I got home today, but with the rain pouring down it felt quite perfect to go to bed with a book in the afternoon. And then I fell asleep. Now I suffer from brain mush. Still intact, just not a lot of good blog worthy thoughts swirling around there at this time.

So instead of writing mushy, I'll give a mushy recipe, which tastes so much better than it looks. I do believe this is a new favourite dish, it's lentily, it's savoury, it's creamy, it's nourishing. It's truly lovely. I happened to make it recently just because I had some green lentils left in a box, and it turned out way better than I had expected. It will most probably taste even more perfect during long, cold winter months (which seem awfully long away right now...)



creamy lentil stew, ~ 4 servings

2 dl green lentils
6 dl water
½ vegetable stock cube

mix in a largeish casserole, let to boil, then slow boil for about 15 minutes.

1 large leek
1 large onion
1-2 large parsnips (or a small turnip)
sunflower oil

rinse, peel and chop, fry lightly in pan for a few minutes. when the lentils have cooked for 15 minutes add this to the lentils with 4 dl boiling water and ca 250 g sieved tomatoes. season with salt, black pepper, dried thyme. slow boil for about 15-25 minutes, depending on how long it takes for the lentils to cook.

300 g light quorn bits or
~ 200 g halloumi
sunflower oil

While the stew is cooking gently fry either quorn bits or diced halloumi. When lentils are cooked add these to the stew and also stir in ~ 125 ml creme fraiche.

Serve with a fresh, green salad. Satisfaction guaranteed.

mandarin vanilla lemon cuff bracelets and red berries

Time for a whatever-did-she-make-with-the-cotton-yarn-update; made by yours truly crocheted cuff bracelets which can possibly match the crocheted choker necklaces. I'm kind of smitten by them myself (and not only because they're rather addictively fun to make). Sweet, feminine and unpretentious summer wear.

And no, one doesn't have to look as pious wearing them, I just happened to do, for name's sake, ya' know.

Listed in Etsy shop (and can of course be made to order in most any colour combination desired).

Also listed in other Etsy shop are a couple of new summery postcards.

Now I'll feast on red berries. Again. Life is good that way in July ~

latte & muffin at blooms

On the way to the commuter train I regularly pass in the vicinity of this minuscule bakery/café called Blooms - the original one at St Paulsgatan 24 and not the large pram mob hangout at Hornsgatan - though passing it regularly isn't (really) the same as frequent it regularly. But if I have the time and inclination for a latte and a muffin, and it's summer, it is quite a nice, tucked away place to enjoy that.

I then like to sit at one of the few seats on the pavement outside, there's traffic but St Paulsgatan is far from one of the busiest streets in Stockholm, watching people walk by (having a very enjoyable people watching session), sipping the latte, sharing a large, fruity muffin, relaxing, chatting some time away before heading home.

Just one of those unpretentiously pleasantnesses in life.

castle spotting - house of the binns, scotland

Misty, gloomy, abandoned, eerie, sinister, haunted, spooky, insidious... The adjectives I find when describing the House of the Binns are somewhat ghostly, because that's the main feeling I get from the place. The Binns, located some miles west of Edinburgh, is indeed a fascinating smallish castle beautifully situated in a vast parkland.

There are lots of sheep and plenty of poo in the outskirts of the property and

cooing~screaming~calling peacocks roaming the close castle garden.

But my overall impression of it is some non tangible unfriendliness and an air of deceitful intentions. We haven't been inside (partly due to opening hours being somewhat tricky), and I'm not sure I would want to even if I could. I believe that the overwhelming suspicious feel of being turned into a Miss Toad or possibly be the main ingredient in a Swedish-Scottish stew isn't to be taken lightly. Call it female intuition. Or just plain sensible self-preservation.



National Trust for Scotland,
House of the Binns