Gluten Free Health Bread Glutenfritt Nyttobröd

Believe it or not, sandwiches (or smörgåsar, as we say in Swedish) make a great fika! Even though we Swedes love something sweet with our coffee or tea, we also love our sandwiches. I usually eat mine with butter, cheese, ham, tomatoes and cucumber. When I'm back home at my parents' house, I'll even top my bread with liver paté and pickled cucumber. You'll just have to take my word for it, it's delicious.

If you ask me what foods I miss the most from Sweden, bread would be high up on that list for sure. I love my bread grainy and wholesome, which can be hard to find here in the grocery stores. So, when my cousin Anna-Karin recommended this recipe, I got really excited.

What I love about this bread is that there's no dough that needs to rise, and it doesn't take hours to make. You just stir the ingredients together and pour into a loaf pan, and bake. And more importantly, this bread is super healthy and gluten free, made with all sorts of nuts and seeds, like flax and chia. Bread that's actually good for you!

This bread would probably be really delicious with some dried apricots or cranberries in it. I might have to give that a try next time!

Bon appetit!

Ibland känner man för att fika med en god smörgås istället för något sött till kaffet. Något jag verkligen kan längta efter här i USA, är ett gott och nyttigt fullkornsbröd. Jag blev så glad när min kusin Anna-Karin tipsade mig om det här receptet. Det är ett jättegott glutenfritt bröd, fyllt med nyttiga nötter och fröer. Att brödet dessutom inte behöver jäsa, utan att ingredienserna bara blandas samman och hälls i en limpform, är ett stort plus!

Gluten free Health Bread

from Hembakat

5 eggs

100 g hazelnuts

100 g almonds

120 g flax seeds

150 g sunflower seeds

75 g pumpkin seeds

105 g sesame seeds

2 tbsp chia seeds

¾ tsp salt

2 tsp baking powder

250 g cottage cheese

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 355 degrees F. Whisk the eggs until fluffy.
2. Mix all nuts and seeds together with salt and baking powder in a bowl. Pour the mix into the eggs together with the cottage cheese.
3. Pour into a loaf pan that has been lined with parchment paper.
4. Bake in the lower rack of the oven for about 50 mins. Let cool in the pan.

Glutenfritt Nyttobröd

från Hembakat

5 ägg

100 g hasselnötter

100 g sötmandel

1 ¾ dl linfrön

2 dl solroskärnor

1 dl pumpakärnor

1 ½ dl sesamfrön

2 msk chiafrön

¾ tsk salt

2 tsk bakpulver

250 g keso

Gär så här:

1. Sätt ugnen på 180 grader. Vispa äggen fluffiga med en elvisp. Blanda alla nötter, mandlar, frön, salt och bakpulver i en skål. Rör ihop fröblandningen med äggsmeten och keson.

2. Häll smeten i en limpform, ca 1 ½ liter, klädd med bakplåtspapper.

3. Grädda limpan längst ner i ugnen i ca 50 min. Låt den svalna i formen.

Pokémon Birthday Cake Pokémontårta

This weekend we got to celebrate our sons' buddy, Dany, who turned six years old. Dany loves Pokémon, so I made him a cake with his favorite character, Pikachu. (That's the yellow little creature, for all of you who don't know.)

It's funny, I talked to some parents at the party, and we realized we know nothing about Pokémon, even though it was a big hit in the late 1990's. We do, however, remember the Tamagotchi. We all had key chains with our own little pet that we had to feed, put down for naps, and potty train. Basically, we all unknowingly got ready for parenthood!

Instead of a regular vanilla cake, I tried a new recipe for a buttermilk cake from The Sweetapolita Bakebook, and I really liked it. I filled the cake with a strawberry mousse and covered it with a vanilla bean buttercream and fondant. The number six and Pikachu were made out of fondant as well.

Happy Birthday once again, Dany!

I helgen firade vi pojkarnas kompis, Dany, som fyllde sex år. Han älskar Pokémon och speciellt Pikachu, så jag gjorde en Pokémoninspirerad tårta till honom. Tårtan hade buttermilkbottnar (ungefär som filmjölk och kärnmjölk) och var fylld med jordgubbsmousse och täckt med vaniljsmörkräm och fondant. Figurerna var även gjorda med fondant.

Meringue Nests with Fresh Berries Marängnästen med färska bär

Meringues bring back so many childhood memories for me. My dad used to eat them crushed over vanilla ice cream, and my aunt would use them to make the most delicious dessert with ice cream, bananas, chocolate sauce and whipped cream, called Marängswiss. Meringues are one of those special treats that makes me feel like a kid, just the way cotton candy does!

These meringue nests are easy to whip up and makes a perfectly light dessert for these last days of summer. Delightfully crisp on the outside and wonderfully chewy on the inside, just the way I like them! Fill them with fresh strawberries, blackberries, blueberries and raspberries, and garnish with mint leaves.

Vi har fortfarande runt sommarvärme här i Washington, så en lättare sensommardessert som de här marängnästena med färska bär är perfekt. Marängerna är krispiga på utsidan, men sådär mumsigt sega i mitten. Precis som de ska vara. Fyll dem med hallon, jordgubbar, blåbär och björnbär och toppa med lite mynta. Det blir inte enklare än så här!

Meringue Nests with Fresh Berries

(from "bake" magazine, spring 2016)

Makes 8 servings

4 egg whites, room temperature

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

3/4 cup sugar

4 cups fresh berries

fresh mint leaves for garnish

1. Preheat oven to 215 degrees.
2. Beat egg whites, vanilla extract and cream of tartar until foamy. Add sugar, a little at a time, and beat until stiff peaks.
3. Make 8 mounds on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Using the back of a spoon, shape each mound into a nest.
4. Bake for 2 hrs, then turn off the heat and let it sit for another hour in the oven.
5. Fill the nests with fresh berries and garnish with mint.

Marängnästen med Fäska Bär

(anpassat från tidningen "bake", vårnumret 2016)

för 8 pers

4 äggvitor, rumstemperatur

1 tsk vaniljpulver

2 dl socker

0,5 tsk vinäger

9 dl färska bär

Färsk mynta till garnering

1. Sätt ugnen på 100 grader. 

2. Vispa äggvitor, vaniljpulver och vinäger till ett skum. Tillsätt sockret, lite i taget, tills marängsmeten är fast.

3. Gör åtta stora klickar på en plåt med bakplåtspapper. Gör fördjupningar i varje maräng med en sked. 

4. Baka i ugn i 2 h. Stäng sedan av värmen och låt stå en 1h till med ungsluckan stängd.

5. Ta ut marängnästena och fyll med färska bär och garnera med mynta.

First Day of School Party

It's a strange feeling when all of the sudden you have a kid in school. My little 'baby' now picks out his own clothes when we're out shopping, loves to eat 'fancy' cheese and smoked salmon, makes up his own jokes (they never make sense), and watches family game night shows. It's been a joy to have him home with me for the past five years, and to see him grow up to be this funny, little person with a heart of gold.

Needless to say, there were some watery eyes on first day of school. Mommy's eyes, that is. Thankfully, I kept myself busy by putting together a First Day of School Party for the kids and parents from the playground. The kids got to play and have fun, while we parents celebrated that we survived the first day!

I made two cakes, one vanilla cake with a chocolate buttercream and fresh strawberry filling, covered with a vanilla buttercream and chocolate ganache. The second was the traditional Swedish gooey chocolate cake, topped with a chocolate buttercream and an Italian meringue, that I garnished with white raspberries.

This was such a fun party, I think it needs to become a tradition! That is, until it's not "cool" any more...