Beetroot soup with ginger, lemon and chili

Posted on March 27, 2014 by Malin

It seems like everyone is escaping this never-ending winter and traveling south. At the same time we are receiving letters regarding strep throat, infections and stuffy noses so what else can you do than trying to stay healthy by eating food that boosts your immune system. Not only is beetroot good for defeat colds but it also enhance physical activities because it improves the oxygen uptake…so I guess more beetroot for the people!

3 big beetroot
1 yellow onion (i used a red onion)
2 chopped garlic cloves
1 tablespoon Ginger
Chili Flakes (depends how spicy you like it)
6dl /3 cups water
3 tablespoons beef fond or 2 cubes vegetable stock
salt and pepper
1 lemon (juice and peel)
Sour cream
Direction: Chop the beetroot, onion, garlic and grate the ginger. Fry the beetroot and the onion for a couple of minutes before adding the ginger, chili and garlic and sauté for another couple of minutes.

Add water, bouillon, season with salt and pepper. Let it simmer for 15 minutes, mix the soup until it is smooth and serve with a splash of sour cream.

Original recipe by Linnea Sward

Vegetable Lobster Bisque…less than 500 calories

Posted on September 11, 2013 by Malin

We are now 8 weeks into the 5:2 diet and I’m sitting in my kitchen eating a nice bowl of Kefir filled with Chai, buckwheat and hemp cereal just completed my fist “fast” of the week. I’m looking back at the first few times we had we fasted and how hard we thought it was. Now we don’t really think about the next time we can eat or having anxiety about the one who is coming up and to summaries it, we feel great!

So when I asked Freddie yesterday what he wanted to eat, he picked soup again! How many different soup can you make with a tomato base??? Anyhow I thought I try a “Lobster Bisque” but without the lobster but asparagus instead.

1 Can of Tomato Sauce

1/2 Chopped Yellow Onion

1 Chopped Garlic Clove

1/4 Chopped Red Bell Pepper

10-12 Chopped Asparagus

1/2 cup Green Lentils

Water

1 Tablespoon Hummer Fond or Lobster Sauce

a splash of Worcestershire Sauce

a splash of Balsamic Vinegar

1 tablespoon dried Thyme

2 Bay Leaf

1 tablespoon Paprika Powder

Cayenne Pepper

2 tablespoon Sour Cream (If you want to make it lactose free, leave out)

1 bag zero noodles

Fry the vegetables (I don’t use any oil or butter as I have a pan I don’t need it). Add the tomato sauce and the rest of the ingredients (except the sour cream and the zero noodles) and bring to a boil for 10-15 minutes. Use you mixer to make the soup smooth, add the noodles and sour cream.

Grilled sirloin tip steak with basil vinaigrette tossed vegetables

Posted on May 30, 2013 by Malin

This is the season to take advantage being able to eat clean and with a new grill I try to cook as much as possible outside and in between the thunderstorms Freddie managed to cook a sirloin tip steak to its perfection…

1 pound of sirloin tip steak

Old world central street seasoning (from the spice house)

Garlic powder

Salt and Pepper

Vegetable Oil

Basil Vinaigrette

1-2 tablespoon Vegetable Oil

1 tablespoon White Wine Vinegar

2 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 chopped garlic

Salt and Pepper

Chopped Basil

Roasted Vegetables

Yellow Zucchini

Red pepper

Mushrooms

Asparagus

Red Onion

Tomatoes do not roast!

How to: Cut up all the vegetables and roast them in the oven for about 10-15 min @ 350-400 F. Grill the meat to you liking and meanwhile mix all the ingredients for basil vinaigrette and as soon as the vegetables is done mix the tomatoes and toss the vinaigrette over the roasted vegetables.

Bon Appetite!

Ragu alla Bolognese with Chili Zucchini Pasta.

Posted on February 25, 2013 by Malin

I love an old fashion Spaghetti Bolognese with a lot of Parmesan cheese and ketchup but with my choice of diet it’s been a while. So this evening I decided I would make a low carb version and it really hit home.

Bolognese

500 grams or 1 lbs. Minced Beef

250 grams or ½ lbs. Smoked Hickory Bacon

1 Chopped Yellow onion

2 Chopped Garlic Cloves

250 grams ½ lbs. Button Mushrooms

1 can of Tomato Sauce

1 tablespoon Oxfond or Better than Bouillon

Fresh Tarragon

Fresh Thyme

Salt and Pepper

Zucchini Pasta

1-2 Zucchini

½ Chopped Red Chili

1 Chopped Garlic Clove

Olive Oil

Salt and Pepper

Ketchup

¼ cup Tomato Paste

1 chopped Garlic clove

1 tablespoon Olive oil

Pinch of Cinnamon

Almost ¼ cup Balsamic Vinegar

Chili Flakes

Salt & Pepper

Mix all the ingredients for the Ketchup in a bowl.

How To: Start frying the minced beef in a frying a pan when the meat as a browning to it rinse off the excess liquid. Add the onion and garlic and let it fry for a minute or two before adding the tomato sauce and bouillon. Season the sauce with the fresh tarragon, thyme, salt and pepper and let it simmer under a lid, you may have to add water if you think it is becoming to dry. In a different frying pan fry the bacon till it is crispy, rinse off the fat and dry off the bacon with a paper towel before adding to sauce.

Shred the zucchini and start with frying the chili and garlic in a wok (if you have one). Add the Zucchini and fry it for another 3-4 minutes and season with salt and pepper.

A warm winter salad

Posted on February 23, 2013 by Malin

So last night Knut ended up eating dinner over at a friend’s house so I thought I make something light and easy yet something that would warm us up this wintry Friday evening.

1 Whole Grilled Chicken

Spinach

Cucumber

Leek

Tomatoes

Roasted Vegetables

Brussels Sprouts

Cauliflower

Artichokes

Red Bell Pepper

Red Onion

Mushrooms

Fennel

Pitted Olives

Broccoli

Asparagus

Salt and Pepper

Olive Oil

Balsamic Vinegar

Dijon Vinaigrette

1 part Olive Oil

1 part Balsamic Vinegar

1-ish teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 squeezed Garlic Clove

Salt and Pepper

How to: Start with chopping all the vegetables that is going to be roasted it the oven. Sprinkle over salt, pepper, olive oil, and vinegar and place the tray in the oven for about 15 minutes 200C/400F.

Meanwhile take the meat from the grilled chicken and pull it apart into smaller pieces. Mix the ingredients for the vinaigrette. Put the spinach on a plate followed by tomato, cucumber and leek. Place the chicken on top of the cold salad and top off with the warm vegetables and vinaigrette…and enjoy!

A simply oven roasted Chicken

Posted on February 21, 2013 by Malin

So I really, really have to go to the grocery store as we don’t even have coffee for tomorrow morning but Thursdays is not a good day to do so because it is CRAZY day. I literally spent my entire afternoon picking up and dropping the kids off at different activities. So not only did I not really have anything to work with in kitchen but I also need to make something quick and easy. So I decided that I would cleanout whatever poor vegetables were left in the fridge and use it for this evening’s dinner and actually it turned out absolutely heavenly!

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500g or 1 lbs. Chicken breast

200 grams or 7 oz. Salami (A friend brought this for me from Bolzano in Milwaukee, Wisconsin…divine)

Red Onion

Broccoli

Yellow squash

Cauliflowers

Mushrooms

Olives (I had garlic, chili, calamata)

Garlic cloves (I used marinated from the deli)

Artichokes

Fresh Rosemary

Salt and Pepper

3-5 tablespoonsOlive Oil

3-5 tablespoon Balsamic Vinegar

1 tablespoon dried Thyme

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How to: Set the oven on 200 C. or 400 F. Chop all the ingredients into smaller pieces and lay them out on an ovenproof dish and season with salt and pepper. Mix the olive oil, balsamic vinegar and thyme and drizzle it over. Place the tray the oven for 15-20 minutes…

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While the dinner was getting ready in the oven I went to pick up Knut from practice and the house smelt delicious as we entered. Freddie enjoy a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon and apparently it went very well with the Chicken after this busy Thursday afternoon 🙂

Swedish Creamy Dill Prawns with Caviar and Salmon Burgers…or simply Skagenröra!

Posted on February 20, 2013 by Malin

I always try to plan roughly what I am cooking when I go grocery shopping so I actually had in mind to make salmon burgers sometime this week or crabby patties as the kids like to call them :). Who ever read my post from yesterday maybe realized I made wasabi aioli for the entire state of Illinois so I had a little leftover for this evening. Wrapping my head around what to do with it I thought I make a simple “skagenröra” and if you ask any person from Sweden they would say it is a classic!

Salmon Burgers

700 grams/ 1.5 lbs., Salmon

1 Egg

1 tablespoon Dijon Mustard

1 tablespoon dried Dill

Salt and Lemon pepper

Splash of Lemon Juice

Spinach

Tomato

Swedish Creamy Dill Prawns with Caviar – Skagenröra

1 deciliter – ½ cup Aioli

1 deciliter – ½ Sour Cream (I left this out as I am lactose free at the moment)

150 grams / 5 oz. Prawns

2 tablespoons Chopped Red Onion

1 tablespoon fresh Dill

1 tablespoon Lemon Juice

Salt and Pepper

Caviar (I got mine from IKEA foods but you can also find it where they sell sushi)

How to: If you not already have the aioli here is the recipe for it https://mrsmalin.com/2013/02/19/smoked-salmon-and-shrimps-with-a-warm-brussels-sprout-salad-and-wasabi-aioli/. If you not lactose free I would recommend adding the sour cream. Chop the prawns, red onion and the dill and mix it into the aioli and season with salt, pepper and the lemon juice and store it in the refrigerator.

Mince the salmon in a kitchen mixer and add the rest of the ingredients (not spinach and tomato) and from patties fry them in a frying pan or grill them (I can’t wait for the winter to be over). Serve the Salmon burgers on a bed of spinach, a slice of tomato and “skagenröra” and garnish with the Caviar. The rest of the family also got their buns :).

Oven baked Salmon with a nutty crust

Posted on February 10, 2013 by Malin

I love cooking salmon in the oven because it is so fresh and easy to make especially on a very slow-moving Sunday.

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500 grams/1 lbs. Salmon

1 Lemon juice

Olive Oil

Water

Lemon Pepper and Salt

Crust

2 tablespoons cashew nuts

2 tablespoons Almonds

2 tablespoons Coconut flakes (unsweetened)

Fresh Chopped Chives

Fresh Chopped Parsley

Fresh Chopped Dill

1 Garlic clove minced

1 Lemon zest

Salt and Pepper

How To: Start by chopping the cashew, almonds in the mixer but be careful so you don’t mix for to long as you would still like to keep the texture. Add the coconut flakes and roast it for a minute in a frying pan. Mix the herbs, lemon, garlic and salt and pepper with the “nut mix”.

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Rinse off the Salmon and rub in a splash of Olive Oil add water in an ovenproof dish, I like to have a bit of water just so the fish doesn’t dry out. Sprinkle salt and lemon pepper on top of the salmon and squeeze lemon juice over the salmon and then add the crust on top. Put the fish in the oven for around 20 minutes at 400 F/ 200 C. I served the salmon with roasted white Asparagus with lemon juice, olive oil and salt.

Stuffed Sirloin steak with Olive Pesto

Posted on February 10, 2013 by Malin

Last Saturday night I had planned a two-course dinner for the family but when Knut ended up having a sleepover I only cooked the lamb racks. This was a very luxurious and delicious dinner…

2 thick Top loins Sirloin Steak (500grams-1lbs)

Serrano ham

Salt and Pepper

Olive pesto (this will be enough for twice as much)

¼ cup Black Olives

1 garlic clove

¼ Pine nuts

1 tablespoon dry basil (I had run out of fresh)

Splash of olive oil

Vegetables with a Bell Pepper and Balsamic Vinaigrette (recipe from Ola Lauritzson and Ulrika Davidsson)

Mushrooms

Squash

Yellow Bell peppers

Marinated Artichokes

Fennel

Vinaigrette

1 Marinated Roasted bell pepper

1 garlic clove

Chopped Parsley

2 tablespoons Olive oil

2 tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar

Salt and Pepper

Chili flakes

How to: Start by mixing all the ingredients for the vinaigrette in a mixer. Fry the vegetables in a frying pan till they are warm and soft-ish. Let them cool of and mix in the vinaigrette. This can be done in advance, as you would like for the viaingrette to infuse with the vegetables.

Mix all the ingredients for the pesto together in a hand mixer. Season the meat with salt and pepper and fry it till it has a nice crisp browning. Take it out of the frying pan and make a cut but not all the way through spread the pesto in the cut. Close up the meat and wrap the Serrano ham around the meat. Place it in the oven till it is cooked to your liking. 2013-02-03 19.56.09

Freddie opened up a bottle of Waterbrook Reserve Merlot 2009 I had a zip with the meal and together it was absolutely outstanding!!

A Friday Dinner to Impress…Black-Pepper-Crusted Tuna with Red-Onion-Worcestershire Dressing and a steamed White Asparagus

Posted on February 8, 2013 by Malin

Earlier this week I read this recipe in a magazine and I guess was created by Chris Rendell, Whitehall executive chef. The recipe has ketchup in it and as you probably know ketchup has a LOT of sugar, so I decided to make my own.

1 lbs Fresh Tuna

Salt and Pepper

White Asparagus

Spinach

Red Cocktail tomatoes

Ketchup

¼ cup Tomato Paste

1 chopped Garlic

1 tablespoon Olive oil

Pinch of Cinnamon

Almost ¼ cup Balsamic Vinegar

Chili Flakes

Salt & Pepper

How to: Mix everything in a bowl.

Red-Onion-Worcestershire Dressing

¼ of a Red onion slices and put in a glass of cold water for 10 minutes

2 tablespoons of olive oil

¼ cup Ketchup

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

2 tablespoon chopped Tarragon

2 tablespoon chopped Cilantro

2 tablespoon chopped Chives

sprinkle some Tabasco sauce

Salt

How to: Rinse the water from the onion and chop it up. Mix the rest of the ingredients and add the onion.

Chop of about an inch of the Asparagus and steamed cook them for 15 minutes. When the asparagus is almost done fry the Tuna with grounded pepper and salt and pepper for a minute or two on each side. Be careful so you don’t cook them for to long or they will taste like they came out of a can.

Serve the tuna on a bed of spinach, cocktail tomatoes, asparagus and the dressing…Very simple and very luxurious dinner…