‘Tis a gift to be simple

Sometimes the things I learn aren’t at all what I was expecting. Such is the case with this 6 month home exchange. Sure, I thought I’d learn a bit about myself but never realized how much I would want to change once we got home. It started in Norway, where life was much slower and simpler, and I had to re-learn my love for cooking. I didn’t have a choice – there were only a few restaurants and we couldn’t afford to go to them, anyway. I made tons of soups, stews, and started baking desserts almost every night. Did I mention I love to eat? I also realized how much I enjoy being outdoors, and that I want my exercise the old fashioned way – from fun. I just don’t like working out, but I will hike for hours and be very happy.

In Holland I discovered my love for biking, and getting my bike up to Dutch standards is first on my list for when we return. No more driving the car to the grocery store that’s a mile away – how ridiculous. Here in Sweden I reconnected with my old friend LisafromAfrica who confirmed everything I’d been thinking. Yes, we can bake our own bread (she does) and sure, it’s easy to grow herbs and vegetables in our own garden (well, they have a gardener, so I took this one with a grain of salt). We should teach our kids to use what we have, not what we would like to have – for us this means joining a CSA and getting locally grown, seasonal produce. I’m done with my fancy, huge, difficult-to-clean toaster oven, and am replacing it with a sturdy toaster that fits bagels for Jon.  I’d even been too busy to read to my kids (I know, this one is bad), and I recently dove back in thanks to Kindle books on Jon’s iPod. Surprisingly, I really miss yoga, so that is also going to be a priority for me, too. This has definitely been an inspiring trip. There is no time like now to live in the present.

Morötter Kakan

When LisafromAfrica was here earlier this week, we ate lunch at Cafeva on the adorable, cobblestoned Haga Nygata in Gothenburg. They are one of many small cafes on Haga Nygata that offer a dagens lunch – a few different specials of the day for competitive price, sometimes with a soft drink or coffee. We chose Cafeva because of the interesting choices – feta and spinach quiche, vegetable lasagne, and spicy vegetarian Thai soup are just a few, and the food was excellent. I was determined to try the delicious-smelling carrot cake that was baking (and not ready!) while we were there, so we returned the next day and it was so good that Sara asked for the recipe. To my surprise, they handed her their recipe book and let her copy it down. In Swedish. Here is my version, adapted from theirs. Enjoy! (This recipe yields 2 cakes).

Morötter Kakan, adapted from Cafeva in Gothenburg

For the cakes:

6 eggs 

2½ cups granulated sugar

3 cups flour

1 tbsp baking powder

1 tbsp baking soda

1 tbsp cinnamon

1 tbsp good quality vanilla extract, such as Nielsen Massey

9¾ ounces vegetable oil

3¾ cups grated, peeled carrots

 

For the frosting:

1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese at room temperature

7 tbsp butter, softened

1 cup powdered sugar

1 tbsp good quality vanilla extract, such as Nielsen Massey

 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Line 2 Bundt pans with parchment or wax paper, and grease the paper (or spray with non-stick spray).
3. In a mixing bowl, cream together the eggs and granulated sugar.
4. Add the dry ingredients and fold them into the egg/sugar mixture. Don’t stir, or the cake will be tough.
5. Add the grated carrot and fold it into the mixture. Don’t stir!
6. Pour batter into the 2 prepared pans and bake for approximately 45 minutes, until the top is set and a tester comes out dry.
7. Meanwhile, in a mixing bowl, whip together cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla until smooth and blended. Note: this works best in an electric mixer on high speed using a whisk attachment
8. Once the cakes are cool, top with frosting.

 

I couldn’t be that old!

Today we drove my friend LisafromAfrica back to the airport. She had been in the UK to complete her PhD (!!) in Public Health and decided she could swing a quick trip to Gothenburg to see me. It’s been 17 years, after all. The last time we saw each other, I was still working at the restaurant where we’d met, and she was in the States visiting her parents.  We’d had dinner with my boyfriend at the time, and she told us how she had decided to stay in Zimbabwe after her year-long volunteer contract had ended because she loved the work and, well, she had met someone. Cut to now, and we’ve done a lot! Between us we have 9 years of graduate school, 2 husbands, 4 children, 2 step children, 3 major career changes, 24 chickens, 2 belly scars, 3 swimming pools, 81 years of life experience, and a hell of a lot of good stories.  We talked as fast as we could, barely stopping to eat, and have vowed not to let another 17 years pass before we see each other again. Yet another perk of home exchanging.

 

Come on baby make it Styrsö good…

While my friend LisafromAfrica was visiting us all the way from Zimbabwe, we took a trip out to the archipelago island of Styrsö. At first glance it seemed that no cars were allowed on the small island, and that the only modes of transport were bikes, mopeds, and golf carts. We saw many people on motorized (!!) versions of my beloved bakfiets, mostly older gents hauling building supplies and the like. The majority of the mopeds were standard issue – people didn’t get too creative with them – but I did find one that cracked me up. Check it out:

I just can’t get into this one. Maybe it’s the motorized aspect, maybe it’s the DIY-ish pallet box for cargo, I don’t know. What do you think: yay or nay?