Fancy Foodbox

Toodles! The weekend is once again coming to an end... Where do they go? This morning I had the luxury to curl my toes, stretch my body and remind myself that there was absolutely nothing on my schedule. And it turned out to be a fantastic Sunday, with some shopping, running and eating strawberries. And cooking. 

The camera on this iPad is dreadful. Not too long ago I gave into peer pressure and got myself a smartphone, as well as an account on Instagram. Look for Zsuzsi_A and you will find me there.

Pollo al horno

Chicken in the oven.
Many slices of zucchini.
Some mushrooms.
A bit of carrot.
An onion or two.
Plenty of feta cheese.

Green Tea + Smoothie

Pink Goodness

Ingredients

• Frozen raspberries + green tea (mixed in a blender)
• 1 apple,1 pear and some lemon juice + green tea mixed in a blender)
• Everything mixed together in a tall glass

Week Ahead!

Yet another week is starting and this one also includes a trip. This time the plane is taking us to Brussels, how exciting! I have never been to the capital of Europe, nor Belgium for that matter, so it'll be fun. I'm expecting sunshine and a picnic in the park. 

Apart from more travel adventures, I'm looking forward to work, yoga, tai chi, running and a dinner with some friends. And plenty of good food. My mind has been on food lately. After eating out almost everyday last week, it is now time to focus on homemade meals. Actually I prefer homemade food to fancy restaurants. It's fun to explore in the kitchen. This week's menu includes meatballs, salmon, zucchini and spinach salad. Can't wait!

Inspiration: paleo

More food inspiration

My corner

Fresh!

Lots of green stuff

Food Love

Chicken and feta salad

Spinach + mango + orange juice = smoothie love

Planning For the Week Ahead

 

Edamame, mixed beans, baby spinach, garlic and feta cheese. And going to the gym. That is the plan for the lunch breaks next week. 

Breaking Habits pt. 2: Letting Go of Meat

One of my plans for January is to have a meatless month. This is something I have talked about for such a long time that it was finally time to do something about it. It is not as much of a problem for me (I don't like meat that much) as it is for the people around me (who like meat very much). The "challenge" is also made easier by the fact that it is only meat that is banned. I still very much welcome fish and dairy on my kitchen table. 

Here are some of the delicious cooking that has found its way to that very same kitchen table this month. My boyfriend usually acts the cook. 

[500 Days]] 2014

Natalie asked how life and work were going. It made me think back on the year and all the things I have actually experience. Once again, I can say wow! 95% of the time I think my life is uneventful, but when I start summarizing the year, the summary may include moving to a new country or crisscrossing across Europe.

So, in 2014:

• I moved to Sweden. This far I'm happy with the decision. There have been no great culture shocks of any kind and we have been very lucky with finding somewhere to live and finding jobs. Apart from this, my boyfriend's family has been really supportive, which has also helped us a lot. 
• Started a new job. Also happy with the decision, it has been stressful at times, but I feel that I'm doing something much more important (to me) than IT. Besides, they give me A LOT OF BOOKS. 
• Travels. The aim was to go to five new capitals: only one of the capitals I visited was new (Vilnius), but hey, I have been to more than five capitals :)
• I started tai chi. You know how yoga people can be completely obsessed with the benefits of yoga? I think tai chi is a bit similar, albeit in a less trendy way, 
• Language-wise I have not done much new. Unfortunately. I did read a couple of books in Spanish - does that count? 

When December came, I decided to be diligent with the blog. It started well, but ended not-so-well. I think this has been the most social month in a very long time. We have managed to squeeze in trips, dinners, and parties. 

Here are some photos from the past month. 

Alexander II guards Helsinki

I <3 helsinki="">

Christmas dinner Finnish style

Catching the sunset in Åland

Winter day in Stockholm

Cooking!

Food...

Food is among my favourite things on the planet. There is quite a collection of books on my shelves, so inspiration is never far away. Food is, in general, a fascinating topic. Issues relating to ethics, nutrition, the social are as widespread as they are important. In 2015, I want to pay a lot of attention to food. 

My apologies for the poor quality, I quite haven't lerant to manage this tool yet. 

Healthy stuff on a Sunday: spinach soup with boiled eggs. The cheese sandwich made it somewhat more bearable. 

Pumpapytt

Butternut squash, one garlic clove and some spinach in mixed and fried in butter

Adding some red lentils boiled with 1/4 an onion

Adding some feta cheese

The final touch: pomegranate seeds

Final verdict: satisfying and delicious.

Source of inspiration: http://www.dn.se/mat-dryck/recept/pytt-med-pumpa-och-linser/

Good Books

What makes a good book? Yesterday I finished reading a wonderful book. It was disturbing, controversial, confusing, but very well written. That's what makes a good book: that need it creates to be introspective, to question oneself, to think. 

I must admit that despite having lived in Spain, my knowledge of Spanish literature is poor. So, I made a good choice when I bought this particular book in Slovakia (for 3€)(of all places). What attracted me? The cover and the title - la muchacha de las bragas de oro (the Girl With Golden Panties). Who would not want to read a book about golden panties? For this curiosity I was awarded a tremendous book and an introduction to one of Spain's most famous contemporary writers. Who would have thought.

Reading this book I realized that I am a prude. What a nice observation about oneself :)

The second book in this picture is also an interesting one, Its English title is Mindful Eating and it was written by Jan Chozen Bays. Again I was intrigued by the cover as I love chickpeas (and thus probably proving every publisher in the world right about the importance of a good cover). I think this book has a lot of useful things to say about food and about eating. 

Aglio e olio e... e...

You may have heard - or read - about it before (for instance here) -  how Spaghetti aglio e olio is the perfect quickie for food lovers. Or at least for lovers of all things spicy. For me, the addition of feta cheese is a must. This is a recipe that rarely fails (as long as one likes spices, for some strange reason, I never need to share this dish with anyone). It's never completely the same, though. The hotness of the chilies, the amount of garlic or feta cheese. It's always a new experience. Some fresh parsley would have made this particular meal irresistible. 

To be honest, I really just wanted to share these food pictures with you. Looking at them makes me hungry - I do think I will go and get some homemade lasagna now!

Oh La La Couscous

Last week I was craving something light, yet satisfying for my lunch box. Something with a lot of taste and different textures. I try to avoid meat and other foods that leave me feeling stuffed, so I chose shrimps as a source of protein. The soy beans were crunchy. Tomatoes, red onion and rocket add a bit of colour (and vitamins) to an otherwise colourless dish. Feta cheese and garlic provide some "oh la la"-flavour. 

• Couscous
• Cherry tomatoes
• Red onion
• Soy beans
• Shrimps
• Rocket
• Feta cheese
• Garlic

As always, lunch-box-food should be easy - and the more, the better . Heat the garlic, onion and cherry tomatoes in some olive oil. Prepare the coucous and mix it with the tomatoes, onion and garlic. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Serve cold. 

Lunch Box

What's simple, yet delicious? Satisfying, yet light? Quick?

A salad. I think that healthy food doesn't need to be tasteless. In my opinion, it's easier to eat healthily and strive for a healthy life when the food tastes good. There are many ways to make a dish healthier, when it comes to salad for instance, no dressing is needed if one uses the right kind of spices. Mixing textures and adding protein is also a good idea.

The salad in today's lunch box took about two minutes to make.

The ingredients?

• rocket & spinach
• crayfishes
• 1 avocado
• feta cheese
• lime & pepper

Autumn Is Soup Time

Autumn is soup time, don't you agree?

In an attempt to be more food conscious, I have tried to focus on foods that can be considered a) vegetarian, b) ayurvedic, and c) light. While being tasty and somewhat filling as well.

So, the answer is SOUP. Ever since I came across this recipe from BBC, I have wanted to try their red lentil, chickpea and chilli soup. And yesterday I made a lot of it, so now I have much lunch covered for the whole week.

I did do some changes to the recipe, though. Instead of red onion, I put leek in it. And a lot of garlic was added, as well as basil instead of coriander. Because of the spices, the result was more Mediterranean than exotic.

Here's the result:

Colour My World!

There is one thing in life that makes me happier than no other - colour. It might sound rather silly, I know. Is There is colour psychology and all types of theories how colours affect our mood and well-being. Political parties are often associated with colours and colour plays an important role in different cultural and social contexts.

One of my favourite colours is raspberry red. While red is often considered a colour of energy, passion, action and anger, the softer shade of raspberry is more appealing to me. Maybe it's the berry itself that makes me think of forests, silence, peace and autumn. It is also a sweet colour, not too hard but also not too insipid. The taste of the berry is similar to its colour, the taste lingers on the tongue, the scent lingers in the air. 

And here you see the ingredients for the perfect smoothie - just add some fresh orange juice and it's ready!

Petit-déjeuner suédois - frukost på svenska

What I love - and I mean absolutely love - about weekends is the breakfast. Generally, I am not a breakfast person (as long as I get my coffee) and I don't believe that it is the most important meal of the day. However, it is nice when one has the time to calmly enjoy the food, and the coffee, and the news (or, great blogs) without the need to rush to the train.

I thought I'd make today's breakfast experience a lesson in language and culture.

This is a kanelbulle (cinnamon roll) and it is one of the finest and tastiest sweets of the Swedish cuisine. These are so delicious and you will find them in every cafe, every supermarket, in people's freezers and you will be most likely to find them in your nearest IKEA as well. And the smell? Just imagine the smell, heavenly!

Don't forget to celebrate the day of the kanelbulle on October 4.

Here comes a short list of how to say kanelbulle in the languages covered in this blog:


English: cinnamon roll
Finnish: kanelipulla
Russian: коричная плюшка
Spanish: rollo de canela
Polish: bułka cynamonowa
Slovak: Škoricový koláčik
Hungarian: fahéjas tekercs

Mango & Peach Smoothie

This mango & peach smoothie is refreshing and the lovely color is energizing. [Oh. Let's learn languages the smoothie-way..] The following ingredients are needed for 2-3 servings:
1 mango
1 apricot
Some orange juice
Skimmed milk.

Just throw everything in a mixer and enjoy.

Prísady: mango, broskyňa, pomarančový džús a mlieko bez tuku

Składniki: mango, brzoskwinia, sok pomarańczowy i mleko beztłuszczowe.

Ингредиенты: манго, персик, апельсиновый сок и обезжиренное молоко