Frozen Lake

One thing I do miss about Sweden is the walks. What a luxury to have this stunning scenery around the corner from home. City walks are lovely too...but not quite the same.

Today we are expecting lots of snow in London and it is staying cold for a good week still! If the forecast comes true, I am looking forward to hot chocolate in front of the fire and a snowy walk around the city.

Winter Walk

On a weirdly misty day we took our annual four hour walk. That sounds really exhausting, but there is a cabin in the woods halfway where we stop for hot chocolate and goulasch soup. Normally I would say the ideal weather for this would be a crisp, cold day with blue skies and sunshine, but this strange fog comes a close second. It made everything appear so fairy tale like that we were expecting trolls and elves to come out from behind the trees. Beautiful.

Christmas Eve

It can't all be tasteful at Christmas time. there has to be room for some tacky things too.

Danish textile decoration .

The beautiful table with snaps pig and hand painted bottle.

 All the amazing food!

 Apron fabric from traditional Swedish costume, here used as a table cloth.

Happy!

The day before Christmas Eve the snow came down thick and fast, and from then we had a picture postcard sort of Christmas. The house that we are lucky enough to get to celebrate in is made for this, with a dining table big enough to seat 14 and a fireplace with lots of room for home made decorations on the mantelpiece. And at 31 I think I have finally mastered the art of eating a smorgasbord without getting full after the first visit - I even made it to the brussel sprouts!

A New Year

And a fresh start. Next to me is a clean note book and a special pen for writing important things. Time to put together a list of wishes, hopes and promises for 2013.

Back in London after a week in Sweden. With me I brought some lovely new memories and a camera full of photos that I will go through over the next few days.

Happy new year - fingers crossed for a good one!

3 years ago today

We said 'I do'. Getting married was the most fun thing ever. And best of all, being married has turned out to be more wonderful than I could possibly have imagined.

From Sea to Smoke - a Mackerel Fishing Adventure

To be out on the sea with no other boats around...so beautiful.

Although we did meet this fishing boat - a slightly more professional operation than us.

 Anything on the hook?

 Got one!

The catch - small but but lovely!

 Salted fish on the smoker.

 Lighting the burners.

The big reveal!

 The result - and that amazing smell.

Home smoked Mackerel. Amazing.

Mackerel fishing. This must be one of the funnest things I know, and since I was given a smoker a few years ago I like it even more! Smoked Mackerel is on my top ten list of yummy things to eat, so to fish and smoke it myself...just the best.

We like to get up early, pack a breakfast basket with coffee and sandwiches and head out on the sea while most people are still in bed. This is not necessary at all, you would catch just as many fish any time of the day, but the getting up early bit adds some magic to the experience. The tools are incredibly simple, just four hooks and a weight on the end of a long line. We drive along very slowly at two or three knots, throw the lines in and wait. It is hard to know if there is anything on the hook - sometimes you can feel a definite tug but not always, so every so often you have to reel in and check. Seeing a shiny, white-bellied Mackerel on the hook feels like winning the lottery jackpot. My heart pounds when I pull a wildly wiggling fish out of the water.

To prepare the Mackerel for smoking, gut and clean them then season with salt inside and out. The smoker itself just needs some wood chips scattered on the bottom. Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and Jamie Oliver both have tips on how to make a smoker out of a biscuit tin, but mine came from a shop. It has two burners underneath which you fill with spirit. Once lit, smoke will start to appear very quickly and soon the most wonderful smell spreads. These Mackerel were quite small and only needed about 12 minutes, larger fish would take a bit longer. Opening the lid and seeing those beautiful, golden, oily fish is great. And it makes you hungry. Let the fish cool down a bit then have a taste. Still warm home smoked Mackerel - in my book, not a lot could beat it!

Moody weather

How about this for a summer evening sky? A mass of grey cloud like a lid over the small amount of light that still managed to get through. Beautiful.

Cosy

Nothing wrong with the occasional rainy summer day when you can have breakfast in front of a fire and do nothing much except read and play chess.

Magic

View over Grundsund Harbour and the islands outside.

After dinner, to put on a warm jumper and go for a walk to look at the sky and the sea and the village below settling down to sleep. Certainly beats switching on the TV if you ask me.

West coast is the best coast

I love London, I really do. But when Sweden decides to show its best sides, when the weather is good and the sea is clear, it is pretty hard to beat. 

Luxury / Holiday

To not switch on a computer for seven whole days. No emails, certainly no Facebook, hardly even a text message and just a few phone calls. Could this be the ultimate luxury? I think so.

Smoked Mackerel and New Potato Salad

New season potatoes are here! So exciting*. Yesterday I was lucky enough to be served this gorgeous lunch by my lovely husband. Think it is based on a Jamie Oliver recipe but adapted according to what we had in the fridge. It goes without saying that supermarket mackerel doesn't compare in any way to the amazing ones we get in Sweden. In general I am exceedingly homesick at the moment and the thought of eating this in Grundsund with the amazing ingredients we can get there isn't helping. I look forward to making it there this summer - perhaps using self caught home smoked fish! That would be quite something, and as I am the proud owner of both fishing equipment and a smoker it is not impossible. Watch this space.

New Potatoes

Smoked Mackerel

Fresh Spinach

Spring Onions

Chives

Horseradish

Lemon Zest and Juice

Greek Yoghurt

Sea Salt and Black Pepper

*The fact I get excited by potatoes probably makes me a super dork but so what. I love them!

Birthday lunch

                       

Last Saturday it was my sister's birthday and we celebrated with a lovely lunch at Gothenburg's new pride, Clarion Hotel Post. The building has been out of use for years but now it is full of people who want to sample the cosmopolitan atmosphere. No Scandi Minimalism here, instead it is all velvet curtains and furniture by Moooi and B&B Italia.

We really enjoyed our food and when everyone else was ordering one of these towers of sweets, of course we couldn't resist.