Grilled duck breasts with Peking Duck marinade: A Scandinavian summer grilling adventure

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Evening grill at Strysö Sweden 2023
Text & Photo © CM Cordeiro & , JE Nilsson 2023

Even during the cooler Nordic summers when temperatures occasionally dip to 5°C, the lure of the grill remains irresistible. With the lingering twilight offering extended hours of daylight, every moment is an opportunity to ignite the grill and dive into a world of tantalizing tastes. Recently, we embarked on a delectable culinary expedition, blending four distinct recipes to create a sumptuous grilled duck breast dish with a Peking Duck marinade.

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A spring madeleine de Proust with Scottish shortbread

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An Easter bake of shortbread biscuit topped with vanilla custard and blueberries.
Text & Photo © CM Cordeiro & , JE Nilsson 2023

My mother used to love Scottish shortbread when she was in her teens and early twenties, and it is still a convenient off-the-shelf item that can be bought in almost any grocery store in Singapore today. Her love for shortbread biscuits meant that I had plenty of them growing up, and I grew to love them for their rich flavor and crumbly texture. I would often eat them on their own, even if there was tea served alongside.

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Specialty coffee and Beijing’s hutongs: A cultural fusion of East and West in China, 2023

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V7 Coffee, serving fantastic specialty coffee in Haidian district, Beijing, China.
Text & Photo © CM Cordeiro, JE Nilsson & E Sindhöj 2023

Having had the privilege of visiting Beijing on numerous occasions, I remain drawn to the Forbidden City, also known as the Palace Museum, despite the staggering modernization that has transformed this great city. The Palace’s imposing gates and striking red pavilions situated at the heart of Beijing never fail to impress me. Equally fascinating to me is the network of narrow streets and low houses surrounding the Forbidden City, known as “Hutongs.” Once the living quarters of those who worked in the palace, some Hutongs have been converted into commercial areas, while others remain residential neighborhoods.

During the Ming and Qing dynasties these quarters served as a mental relief to the even the highest ranked individuals inside the Forbidden City. Some eunuchs played a role in facilitating visits by imperial court members even to pleasure houses outside of the Forbidden City. These illicit visits were seen as a way for court members to escape the rigid protocols and constraints of palace life.

Even the Emperor Guangxu (1875-1908) sought help for his medical problems from those among the Hutongs that practiced traditional Chinese medicine towards the end of the Qing dynasty. It is said that his great-aunt, the Empress Dowager Cixi, repeatedly tried to poison him due to irrevocable differences in their ideas about the future of China. In 1908 they eventually both died. The Guangxu emperor one day before Cixi, poisoned by arsenic.

With this in mind I set out to visit this maze of winding small roads and gray buildings in the area around the Forbidden City in late February 2023.

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Stalking Louis Vuitton since 2006

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Beijing, China, 2023

At the airport, on the day of departure, 7 March 2023, Beijing, China.
Text & Photo © CM Cordeiro 2023

There is almost no excuse anymore. I didn’t exactly chase down Louis Vuitton Maison Beijing that officially opened in Beijing China World Mall in Feb. of 2015. It is a beautiful flagship store designed by renowned architect Peter Marino. But, I did however, manage to capture this image, which made me really happy to have found Louis Vuitton, as I was on my way from Beijing back to Sweden, at the airport.

Louis Vuitton holds an endearing place in the hearts of many in China, where the luxury brand has lasted over 20 years. When in China, the conglomerate employs a multi-channel marketing approach that integrates digital and in-store services. It actively maintains a presence on several popular social media platforms such as Xiaohongshu, Douyin, Weibo, and Wechat. Leveraging these platforms to showcase its latest products, consumers are invited to new travel and luxury goods experiences. In acknowledgement that traditional retail stores continue to play a role in customer experiences, in 2022, LV decided to expand its physical footprint in China by launching new stores at Taiyang Taikoo Li in Chengdu and The Mixc in Fuzhou.

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Beijing, where tradition meets innovation

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One of my favourite city sights of Beijing, China, the CCTV Headquaters. Located in the Beijing Central Business District, this stunning 51 storied skysraper on East Third Ring Road was awarded the 2013 Best Tall Building Worldwide from the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat.
Text & Photo © CM Cordeiro & E Sindhöj 2023

My last visit to China was in 2019, to the cities of Shanghai, and Chengdu. Shanghai, located on the eastern coast of China, is the country’s largest city and a global financial hub and easily one of my favourite cities in China to visit. The city has a modern, cosmopolitan vibe, with glass walled skyscrapers, luxury shopping malls, and a trendy nightlife. Evening walks along the Bund and day time walks around the French Concession, offer glimpses into the city’s colonial past. Chengdu, located in southwest China, is memorable for its more relaxed city vibes and lifestyle, spicy cuisine, and adorable giant pandas. I have written about dining at its many traditional tea houses, meandering through its parks, and contemplating the symbolic architecture of its temples.

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Tjolöholms Slott Julbord SE 2022

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By the fireplace in the main hall of Tjolöholm Castle for this year’s Christmas table sitting, in Halland, Sweden 2022.
Text & Photo © CM Cordeiro & JE Nilsson 2022

Tjolöholm Slott, video compilation.

It began to thaw a little in the west coast of Sweden about a week before Christmas. But it’s always a pleasure to walk the expansive grounds of Tjolöholm Castle, witnessing the last gold rays of the sun dive below horizon.

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Vörtbröd Jul2022 Styrsö SE

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The weekend bake, vörtbröd, at Styrsö Sweden, 2022
Text & Photo © CM Cordeiro & JE Nilsson 2022

Just out of the oven warm.

It’s been some years since we last baked our own Swedish Christmas vörtbröd. I love bread baking but I’ve often found this dough difficult to work with because of the delicate combination of sticky molasses and dark ale. There are variations to the recipe that can be found online, so it’s easy to tweak to make your own favourite version of vörtbröd.

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Lussekatter AW2022 Styrsö SE

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The weekend bake, lussekatter, revisiting our own a recipe from 2012 at Styrsö Sweden, 2022
Text & Photo © CM Cordeiro & JE Nilsson 2022

I saw the boundaries of festive periods, often indicated by the appearance of certain foods, dissolve when I recently walked into a grocery shop along the Swedish west coast, and found a luscious twin pack of semlor (a specific February treat), in mid-November. The appearance of a Shrove Tuesday food appearing just past All Saints took us by surprise, and it took us all of two seconds to grab that purchase. It seems the semla is the new Swedish preserved herring, soon to be eaten year round at all Swedish festivities, so we’ll roll with that.

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Jul i Haga Göteborg SE 2022

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The beginning of the festive winter season at Haga, Gothenburg, Sweden, 2022
Text & Photo © CM Cordeiro & JE Nilsson 2022

The plan was to head to the Design Christmas Market happening at the Culture Arena in Gothenburg, but as plans go these days, we found ourselves walking the nearby cobbled streets of the oldest quarters of the city, at Haga. We had a window of fair weather under a clear blue sky in the morning, which promised sunshine and crisp winter for the whole day.

Having lived in Tromsø for the past four years, with snow on the beach, I haven’t had the opportunity to walk these streets in a long while. So, I was totally happy to be peering through the various café windows. In the background was the soft murmur of crowds and the symphony of clunking boots on stone.

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In celebration of All Saints’ Day in Sweden

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At Kungstorget, Gothenburg, Sweden, for the Ghost Parade or Spökparaden 2022 for the Feast of All Hallows.
Text & Photo © CM Cordeiro & JE Nilsson 2022

The Feast of All Hallows of alla helgons dag, is always celebrated in Sweden on the Saturday between 31 Oct. and 6 Nov. This year, the celebration was in the form of a ghost parade. I first saw the invite on Facebook with a modest note of 3 interested persons curious to attend. The organizers were attempting for a Guinness World Records for largest spook parade. The instructions attached to the event invite were, “Come dressed as a ghost”. That didn’t sound too demanding at all, and being inner witches and warlords, we thought it fun to impersonate a relative.

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Postcards from the Arctic Circle July 2022

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Tromsø, Northern Norway Photo by Thomas Lipke at Unsplash.
Text & Photo © Thomas Lipke, CM Cordeiro & JE Nilsson 2022

It was pictures of Tromsø by individuals such as Thomas Lipke that made me fall head over heels in love with the compact Arctic City. I spent all of two days somewheres in early 2018, browsing tourist information sites that featured Tromsø, and after closing several consecutive running windows on my laptop, I decided that I could move there to live and work, time indefinite. I completely ignored the fact that I was city born and bred in equatorial Singapore.

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Summer solstice and Midsummer’s Day 2022 Styrsö

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The Midsummer Pole at Styrsö Bratten, Swedish west coast, Sweden 2022.
Text & Photo © CM Cordeiro & JE Nilsson 2022

The summer solstice on 21 June marked the day of maximum sunlight in the northern hemisphere. In Gothenburg, Sweden, these are the days when you can see the rim of the sun lightly touch the horizon and then rise again.

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Sjømatfestivalen 2022, Tromsø, Norway

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Grilled salmon at the Tromsø Seafood Festival / Sjømatfestivalen 2022, Norway.
Text & Photo © CM Cordeiro & JE Nilsson 2022

It has been some years since the Arctic City, Tromsø, saw such a great buzz of activities that appealed to people of all age groups. It seemed like the majority of city folk and its suburbs were out on the streets this morning with the Seafood Festival weekend for 2022.

There were several activities on-going simultaneously, and I was eager to catch them all in action at the same time. In Tromsø harbour, at one pier, starter guns and flares were up in the air at regular intervals for a rowboat race. The participating crowd dressed in festive costumes for the race. Two teams caught my eye, the first was a group of women who wore black t-shirts and gym tights, paired with colourful tutus, and the second team who had beautiful costumes chose the more elegant bunad or Norwegian folk dress.

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Flickorna på Färjenäs, Karl IX:s Göteborg

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At Flickorna på Färjenäs Café, Karl IX:s väg 1, Gothenburg, Sweden.
Text & Photo © CM Cordeiro & JE Nilsson 2022

Karl IX:s Göteborg is the city of Gothenburg before present day Gothenburg. It was founded in 1603 by Karl IX at Färjestaden on Hisingen with the intention of creating a trading post and an enclave for Dutch naturalized foreigners to the Swedish west coast. The Danes weren’t happy about the idea of a thriving and competing trading post near Denmark, so Karl IX:s Gothenburg was burnt to the ground in 1611. What to do? Well, move the city upstream and build fortresses with as many cannons Denmark facing as possible. That new city upstream is now present day Gothenburg. Power of attorney was given to Dutchman Cornelius Corneliusson on November 9, 1603, to construct the new city of Gothenburg.

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Passau, Lower Bavaria, Germany 202205

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It could have been a Prinzregententorte, a Kaiserschmarrn or an Apfelstrudel. But when in Passau, in Lower Bavaria, in Germany, I of course just had to go for a homemade chocolate gelato. I attribute this choice to identifying with the Boii tribe who technically came from northern Italy in 2 BC?
Text & Photo © Angeline Lim, CM Cordeiro & JE Nilsson 2022

There is something about the heavy historical presence and influences of the monastery founded by Severinus of Noricum (c. 410 – 8 January 482), and the confluence of the three rivers Danube, the Inn (river from the south) and the Ilz (river from the north) that made me feel at home walking the narrow cobbled streets of the city of Passau in Lower Bavaria, Germany. I went to school in a Convent run by French missionary nuns in Singapore. The Convent was the next best choice as I understood from my parents, after failing the criteria of being a silent child and one who would do well in a life of prayer and solitude for the Carmelite order.

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Easter treats, Swedish west coast 2022

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Red cabbage Easter egg dye that renders Danila teal blue eggs.
Text & Photo © CM Cordeiro & JE Nilsson 2022

I love colored eggs. In Asian tradition, red dyed hard boiled eggs would be seen at month-old baby celebrations and birthdays. As a child growing up in Singapore, I more loved looking at the red eggs sitting in a pile than eating them. The other festive occasion where colorfully painted hard boiled eggs would make an appearance was at Easter. A memorable childhood event held in the convent in which I grew up, was the annual Easter egg hunt in the school garden. The decorative hard boiled eggs looked so cheery and bright that having found one such egg in that large school garden was a prize in itself. Chocolate Easter eggs the size of my little girl head came in the later years of my childhood, and those were seen wrapped in shiny tin foils and placed on the kitchen table from my parents, for the unwrapping, and eating.

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New Year’s Eve 2022

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New Year’s Eve 2022, postcard.
Text & Photo © CM Cordeiro & JE Nilsson 2021

This New Year’s Eve, I’m revisiting some pages of my own copy of Ken Wilber’s 2014 book, The Atman Project: A Transpersonal View of Human Development.

I totally enjoy reading books written by Wilber. He is a brilliant mind, and a brilliant scholar with a wonderful sense of humour. He is also superb at synthesizing theories and thought models of transpersonal psychology, human knowledge and behaviour.

So instead of the answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, of Everything being 42. I would just as well go for turtles.

The answer (in part and in whole) are holons. Turtles all the way up, turtles all the way down.

Sjömagasinet julbord 2021

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At Sjömagasinet for a Christmas table sitting, 2021, Swedish west coast.
Text & Photo © CM Cordeiro & JE Nilsson 2021

Sjömagasinet has become a signature restaurant to visit for the family julbord during the yuletide season. I love family Christmas table sittings in Sweden, and I began writing about the julbord spreads at the restaurant from 2007, 2008 and 2009 when the restaurant was helmed by Guide Michelin Chef, Leif Mannerström.

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Långedrag Värdshus julbord 2021

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At Långedrag Värdshus for a Christmas table sitting, 2021, Swedish west coast.
Text & Photo © CM Cordeiro & JE Nilsson 2021

It was special to come back to Långedrag Värdshus for a Christmas table sitting. My absolute favourite dish from the 2020 julbord, of which I devoured a generous amount, was their honey roasted duck. Already then by New Year’s 2021, I was looking forward to my next julbord with them. I knew too, that duck would be my first dish at the 2021 julbord, breaking all Swedish julbord serving traditions that begins with the cold dishes, particularly, the preserved herrings.

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Julebord at Scandic Ishavshotel Tromsø, Northern Norway

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Christmas Table at Scandic Ishavshotel Tromsø, Norway. Crisp pork ribs (ribbe) and cured lamb chops (pinnekjøtt) are the staples at Norwegian Christmas Tables.
Text & Photo © CM Cordeiro & JE Nilsson 2021

A PLOS ONE study on periodic human activities and high word frequency occurrences showed that we speak what we think, and what we do [1]. Language not only reflects thoughts, experiences and realities but it also helps create realities. The study methodology is not particularly ground breaking. The authors analyzed an historical corpus from American and British daily newspaper articles from between 1836 to 1922 to uncover patterns in language use that correlated with seasonal human activities. Still, what I personally found interesting was the concrete illustration over decades, that people did indeed speak their lives in the fashion of their daily, monthly, and yearly activities. Certain words were used more frequently during certain times of the year than in others, thus reflecting an underlying social reality of the people. The top 25k frequently occurring words in the historical corpus reflected activities and concerns around annual weather patterns, hunting, harvesting as well as religious and civil activities. Taking my own n-of-1 writings as a small, specialized corpus, I can see how much I love Christmas Table sittings, particularly at year’s end.

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Yuletide season 2021 at Graffi Grill Tromsø

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Graffi Grill Tromsø in full festive decorations for yuletide, Norway.
Text & Photo © CM Cordeiro & JE Nilsson 2021

While it isn’t that often that I dine out in Tromsø, for the occasions that I do, it’s been an absolute pleasure.

Graffi Grill Tromsø is one of my favourite places to dine. Located along Tromsø harbour at the port terminal at Prostneset, the restaurant is easily accessible, and for the moment, fully decked for the festive yultide season. My favourite is the grill sample platter, with a variety of grilled meats and accompanying side dishes. We went crazy this time, and settled for a medium rare entrecôte. Totally enjoyed the yuletide vibes at the restaurant, and looking forward to the next occasion to visit.

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Tanum World Heritage Site, Tanumshede, Sweden

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In Tanum Municipality at the Tanum UNESCO World Heritage Site, Northern Bohuslän, Sweden.
Text & Photo © CM Cordeiro & JE Nilsson 2021

Tanum Municipality is located right between the cities of Gothenburg in Sweden, and Oslo in Norway. It was a late summer’s day driving in Northern Bohuslän that we made a stopover with the car at the Tanum World Heritage Site. The west coast of Sweden makes for very scenic drives, and the area around Sannäsfjorden, where the Tanum rock carvings can be found, is certainly a beautiful place to visit.

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Visiting Arctic Roe of Scandinavia, for a taste of sustainable luxury, Småland, Sweden 2021

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Swedish black caviar by Arctic Roe of Scandinavia, AROS, Småland, Sweden. This black caviar comes from the Siberian sturgeon, Acipenser Baerii, in the family Acipenseridae.
Text & Photo © CM Cordeiro & JE Nilsson 2021

A two-hour drive from the city of Gothenburg took us to Strömnäsbruk in the beautiful region of Småland. I was curious to visit AROS (Arctic Roe of Scandinavia), one of two producers in Sweden of sturgeon black caviar.

Strömnäsbruk is one of many small industrial villages that would be all but forgotten today as watermills went out of fashion for powering up workshops and industries if it wasn’t for creative entrepreneurs. In this case, the robust building of a former paper mill has been repurposed towards rearing Siberian sturgeons in a humane and ecologically sustainable manner. The product is black caviar or the black gold of the Caspian sea, that has all but driven wild sturgeons to extinction.

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Oven baked chicken and farm-to-door, Swedish west coast, Sweden

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Oven baked chicken, with chicken sourced from close quarters, Kött på Riktigt, a farm located in Västra Götaland, Sweden.
Text & Photo © CM Cordeiro & JE Nilsson 2021

Oven baked chicken in the making, using chicken sourced from a local farm, Kött på Riktigt, Gothenburg, Sweden.

How different can a chicken taste? I wondered as we fingered the options of meat boxes presented to us by Kött på Riktigt. We live in the southern archipelago of Gothenburg, and representatives from the farm, Kött på Riktigt were up and about, taking orders.

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Seven flowers and a Midsummer’s sirloin barbeque, Swedish west coast

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Cheryl Marie Cordeiro, Midsummer 2021

The ritual of The Seven Flowers. Collecting flowers for the table at Midsummer’s, Swedish west coast, Sweden.
Text & Photo © CM Cordeiro & JE Nilsson 2021

Going wild with our Midsummer’s menu with grilled ryggbiff and Béarnaise sauce instead of preserved herring.

Sweden’s classic lunch menu when celebrating Midsummer’s is singing and snaps, with a side of preserved herring topped with sour cream. So much so that occational visitors to Sweden think that Helan Går is our national anthem. It isn’t. A few weeks ago, we happily received our order of a meat box sourced from a farm that practices regenerative agriculture, Kött på Riktigt, located in Gothenburg. We could have let the beef mature slightly longer, but we couldn’t wait. So we went a little wild this year with our Midsummer’s menu with ryggbiff or sirloin steak, with a side of Béarnaise sauce.

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Örranaässjön, Nybro kommun, Småland SE May 2021

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Slight drizzle in the morning at Lake Örranaässjön, Nybro kommun, Småland in south Sweden.
Text & Photo © CM Cordeiro & JE Nilsson 2021

Örranaässjön is a popular visiting destination for exploring Swedish nature. You can walk, bike and/or canoe. Skiing is popular during the winter months here. You can also set up camp where you find comfortable. If you are in your caravan, there are designated caravan parking lots and amenities right next to the water’s edge. It will be a perfect way to wake up in the mornings while on the road in Sweden.

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Tallhöjdens Hotell, a perfect stopover in Simlångsdalen, between Gothenburg and Kosta, Sweden

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A large Thai Buddhist temple deer figure, unintuitively but charmingly adorns a table at the restaurant in Tallhöjdens Hotell, Simlångsdalen, south Sweden.
Text & Photo © CM Cordeiro & JE Nilsson 2021

About 14 km east of Halmstad, in Simlångsdalen, there’s Tallhöjdens Hotell. We found the hotel when taking the E6 at exit 44. We did a little roadtrip between Gothenburg and south of Sweden, and were driving towards Växjö at the time. Although we were not too long on the road, a little over an hour, our morning coffee was beckoning, and we could not resist turning off the road into the inviting hotel parking lot in the early hours of the morning.

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Truffle prosciutto on a savoury chocolate and avocado parfait

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This truffle prosciutto topped chocolate avocado parfait was inspired by the three ships of Christopher Colombus, the Niña, Pinta and Santa Maria that sailed from Europe to the Americas between 1492 and 1502 in his quest for finding the fountain of chocolate and avocados. And chili.
Text & Photo © CM Cordeiro & JE Nilsson 2021

Small coincidences of events led to the putting together of this parfait. A few days ago, we were at the local grocers who had on-going, a mini-foodfair at their meat counter. Amongst other bites they offered a taste of their truffle prosciutto which I found nice and interesting.

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At the Captains Table, Stenungsbaden, Swedish west coast, Sweden

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At Stenungsbaden Yacht Club, Bohuslän, Swedish west coast, Sweden.
Text & Photo © CM Cordeiro & JE Nilsson 2021

The west coast of Sweden is a summer escape of choice for Swedes. We usually make our way up to Marstrand if we have the drive time, but a little closer to Gothenburg is the drive to Stenungsön. Both routes to either islands are scenic, with opportunities to stopover at small flea markets along the way.

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Styrsö Valborg 2021, Swedish west coast, Sweden

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At the quayside at Styrsö, Valborg weekend, Gothenburg southern archipelago, Swedish west coast, Sweden.
Text & Photo © CM Cordeiro & JE Nilsson 2021

Since the Middle Ages, Sweden has celebrated Walpurgis Night or Valborg on the last day of April. Valborg marks the quarter point in the sun-wheel between the vernal equinox and midsummer. The Nordic countries will usually switch over to summer hours and the day is celebrated by spending it outdoors, grilling, song singing and general merry making.

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A view from Långedrag Värdshus in spring, Swedish west coast

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At Långedrag, Saltholmen, with a view towards the Gothenburg southern archipelago, Swedish west coast, Sweden.
Text & Photo © CM Cordeiro & JE Nilsson 2021

Over the weekend, the seas had moderately high waves, but the west coast of Sweden had generally clear skies. The combination of high water and good sun made it perfect sailing weather for children who were attending a sailing course at the Royal Gothenburg Yacht Club (GKSS) to go out to sea. Their small sailing boats bobbing on the ocean horizon was an exciting view to observe.

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Chèvre Figue à la Rose, Hugo Ericson Ost, Stora Saluhallen Gothenburg, Sweden

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One of my favourite raw goat cheeses from France, the Chèvre Figue à la Rose.
At Hugo Ericson Ost, Stora Saluhallen, Gothenburg.
Text & Photo © CM Cordeiro & JE Nilsson 2021

In Paris in 2016 I found myself exploring the shops along Rue de Grenelle. Here, in between Musée d’Orsay and Musée Rodin is one of Paris’ many culinary gems, the Barthélemy cheese boutique. This shop carried more than 200 varieties of unique, hand crafted French cheeses. Stepping out of that compact and cozy shop, I had in hand, two Chèvre Figue à la Rose. This goat’s cheese is made from unpasteurised milk. Crafted in the shape of a fig as it contains a fig within, this cheese is produced in the French region of Provence. The two I bought in Paris, I had those for breakfast the next morning, and fell in love with that cheese since.

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Trollhättan Fall and Locks area, west Sweden

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Trollhättan valley of Gamle Dal, spring 2021.
Text & Photo © CM Cordeiro & JE Nilsson 2021

The Trollhättan Fall and Locks area is about an hour’s drive from the city of Gothenburg. We had warm spring/summer weather over the weekend, so we decided to take a drive to visit the city and take in some of the dramatic landscape. I have never visited the city of Trollhättan before, so this was pretty exciting for me. I was looking forward to exploring the city as well as the surrounding nature in the valley of Gamle Dal (Old valley).

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Spring garden play in Aztec print

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In an Aztec print and harem pants, Swedish west coast, spring 2021.
Text & Photo © CM Cordeiro & JE Nilsson 2021

It has been some very nice weather along the Swedish west coast in the past week. The morning temperatures begin at about 6°C but quickly rise to about 15°C. In terms of dressing for the weather, I remember spring as a somewhat confusing season in the early 2000s. As a tropical individual newly arrived in Sweden, spring was the couple of weeks when you left your home in winter temperatures, with warm hat and gloves on, but have lunch in just about summer temperatures. So the jacket and gloves come on and off throughout the day, depending on whether you are in the shade or in the sun.

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Pâté smörgåstårta

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Pâté smörgåstårta made with lamb mousse, and heart and liver pâté.
Text & Photo © CM Cordeiro & JE Nilsson 2021

One of the more fantastic party culinary concoctions you can buy at grocery stores in Sweden is called the smörgåstårta, or the sandwich cake. A smörgåstårta is made by stacking white sandwich bread generously smothered inbetween with crème fraîche mixes such as the skagenröra, gubbröra or any other type of röra you prefer. The cake is then decorated with shrimp or ham on top, and dusted all around with dill or any other delicate salad leaves of your liking. They make attractive center pieces when dining at a party table, and it is versatile enough so that everyone can get just the right sized slice for themselves.

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From the week of the Spring equinox 2021

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In celebration of the spring equinox week 2021, with some cake and Lent lilies on the table.
Text & Photo © CM Cordeiro & JE Nilsson 2021

There´s been a flurry of small activities in the week following this year´s spring equinox. From making a chocolate banana fudge cake to a sausage and bacon frittata for breakfast, I´ve been celebrating the start of spring in a variety of ways.

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Laxbutiken Ljungskile, Sweden

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Getting that squeeze of lemon juice over a plate of warm smoked salmon at Laxbutiken Ljungskile, Sweden.
Text & Photo © CM Cordeiro & JE Nilsson 2021

Laxbutiken Ljungskile, Sweden.

The Swedish west coast makes for beautiful and scenic long drives. Along route E6, headed towards Oslo from Gothenburg, you´ll come to the neighbourhood of Ljungskile. Lungskile has about 3300 inhabitants, and it is located in the municipality of Uddevalla. As you turn off at exit 93 of E6, you’ll find a gem of a place called Laxbutiken, or “the salmon boutique”. Laxbutiken is a combined restaurant and shop where besides dining, you can buy and take home fresh salmon and a wide selection of salmon products.

As soon as I stepped into Laxbutiken, I became excited about dining at the restaurant, because of their appetizing display of a wide variety of delicious looking salmon bakes and dishes.

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Early spring, Tromsø, Northern Norway

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A neighbourhood that is close to the city centre of Tromsø, in Northern Norway.
Text & Photo © CM Cordeiro & JE Nilsson 2021

There was intermittent snow whilst I was on my walk, with little speckles of light reflecting from the falling snowflakes.

The spring equinox on 20 March 2021 marked the beginning of some very long summer days in the city of Tromsø, in Northern Norway. I´ve spent slightly more than two and a half years here in this cozy and compact city, moving here in the summer of 2018 to work and live. When I first arrived, my first impressions of this Arctic city was that it was quaint, and a little magic. Those first impressions of Tromsø hasn´t as yet faded with me.

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Focaccia

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Focaccia, infused with garlic, herbs de provence and topped with cheese.
Text & Photo © CM Cordeiro & JE Nilsson 2021

There is something about kneading dough with my hands that I find meditative and therapeutic. I love baking breads early in the morning, just before sunrise when it is still fairly silent all around. Dough playing, I find myself usually standing at the kitchen table, looking out over the soft lapping ocean waves with meandering thoughts over the week´s activities and happenings. And when did that bread dough begin to come together from sticky flour and water, to form a pliable soft ball? I haven´t a clue, but after about an hour of kneading, it usually does that on its merry own.

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Soufflé pancakes

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Soufflé pancakes, served with a dollop of butter and a lacing of honey.
Text & Photo © CM Cordeiro & JE Nilsson 2021

Soufflé pancakes

It´s all in the flick of the wrist. At least, that´s one of the elements of success in making this soft as cloud, soufflé pancake. Plus, my lemon custard cravings of late meant I had plenty of egg whites to put to use for all sorts of meringue related recipes.

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Neighbourhood weekend walk, Tromsø, Norway

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Daylength today on 24 Jan. is about 3:38 hrs. Here, the sun casts a warm glow over the coastline of Tromsø, in Northern Norway.
Text & Photo © CM Cordeiro & JE Nilsson 2021

Short compilation of video and photos of the day´s walk.

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Zen ensō 2021

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New Year´s 2021 along the Swedish west coast, Sweden.
Text & Photo © CM Cordeiro & JE Nilsson 2021

In Zen, ensō is a circle that is hand-drawn in minimal uninhibited brushstrokes. The circle can be drawn complete, or incomplete. More important, is that it expresses a moment when the mind is free to let the body create. The transition from the last hours of 2020 to the first hours of 2021 in my view, is much like ensō in Time. All things in transition, endings into beginnings.

A medley of moments towards Zen ensō, the tail end of a circle, to begin a new. Moments of New Year´s Eve, weaving into the early hours of New Year´s Day, 2021.

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New Year´s Eve 2021 and dragonfly vision

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New Year´s Eve, along the Swedish west coast, Sweden.
Text & Photo © CM Cordeiro & JE Nilsson 2020

While humans have a trichromatic vision, seeing colours in combination of red, blue and green because of light-sensitive proteins in our eyes called opsins, the remarkable dragonfly has no fewer than eleven different visual opsins. Some species of dragonflies have 30 visual opsins [1]. Dragonflies and damselflies are colourful, diurnal insects that depend strongly on their keen sense of vision for an array of activities, from catching small prey in the air to forming territories. The compound eyes of dragonflies contain three to five classes of photoreceptors, with distinct spectral sensitivities covering the UV to red spectral range. These photoreceptors combine to produce a mosaic of images for the dragonfly, although how this visual mosaic is integrated in the insect brain remains uncertain.

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