17 / 52 weeks

kai: catching peanuts in mid-air... it's become a daily routine!

stockholm weekend pics

it was a saturday of sweet prinsesstårta, the best charcuterie and homework!

kai's hand taking away his prinsesstårta, he couldn't wait for me to get the perfect pic... learning photography is hard!

seasonal desserts are such a fun thing in sweden.

prinsesstårta - princess cake - is a layer cake made of alternating layers of airy sponge cake, a vanilla pastry cream, and a thick mound of whipped cream.  this is topped with a green marzipan and a cherry on top.  individual portions are made too, as pictured.  

once the semla season has ended, around easter time, the bakery windows are adorned with prinsesstårta.  i believe they are the dessert to eat leading up to national sweden day but also it's the cake for birthday celebrations anytime of the year and in september when funds are raised for a children's charity organized by princess victoria.  

although stefan and i find it too sweet, kai loves it!

stefan and kai went to the licorice festival being held at the ericsson globe sampling licorice honey, licorice chocolate, licorice cereal, etc.  while i puttered about town trying to take "street photos" for my photography class and running errands.  i didn't last very long due to the rain, snow and hail!   

for dinner, we at at the hairy pig deli. a tiny restaurant that maybe seats 20 persons.  their menu is tapas style with little plates of exploding flavour - the red pepper and roasted potato dish was to die for so we had seconds, of course!  a selection of cured meats including capicola, a childhood favourite.  their homemade sausage on a bun to round out the meal was just right.  and the waiter was super lovely too, he gifted me a chocolate cake slice since their blueberry cheesecake, that i was looking forward to, was sold out.  if you live in or are visiting stockholm, do visit!  you won't be disappointed. 

with both my boys away from home on sunday, stefan on a plane to vancouver and kai hanging out with a friend going to the movies and playing video games, i stayed put.  i cleaned, tidied, organized, and re-organized my home. it felt good.

hope you had a lovely spring weekend, snow and cold free!

friday interiors

i love this vase by eva schildt!  glass vessel with a brass bracket to act as flower support, clever and pretty.  äng - english translation is meadow - came home with me awhile ago.  swoon.

have a wonderful weekend.

16 / 52 weeks

kai: watching new girl, he continuously has a grin on his face.  the show provides many teachable moments and i love that he is open to discussing them, no matter how embarrassing. 

stockholm weekend pics, nobel museum

it was a lazy kind of weekend.  in pajamas until late morning, magazines to read (me), video games to play (boys), travel destinations to explore, a chicken dinner to cook and enjoy, another almond cake to devour, and a new cat to make comfortable in our home.

we did venture outdoors, but only because we thought we should get out of the house.  walking into gamla stan, the old town, we lunched on a gorgeous sandwich and kardemummabullar from fabrique; freshly made bread and pastries and all of it so good.  we're quite happy to have one around the corner from us!

we walked along the cobblestone streets to stortoget, in the middle of gamla stan, it's the oldest square in stockholm.  on this square you can find the nobel museum and two of the most photographed buildings.  

after sitting on the steps of the nobel museum consuming our lunch, we entered the museum and we thought it was all very cool.  i especially liked their temporary exhibit, sketches of science, portraits of the nobel laureates holding a sketch of their idea that won them the nobel prize; i especially enjoyed reading the photographers muses about each.  then there were the 3 minute films of laureates speaking about their idea - who knew that penicillin was discovered by accident!  what an inspiring place.  you can't help but leave the museum wondering how you can be of value in this world, no matter how small or big.  if you get the chance, do visit.

nobel museum 

hope you had a lovely weekend.

almond cake

i love almond cake and this recipe, from epicurious, makes for a splendid one.  not only is it ridiculously moist but fragrant too thanks to the citrus zest.  guys, it's so good.  i'm one lucky lady, i ask and my hubby delivers... happy birthday stefan, you're the best!  let's make this again on the weekend :-)

almond cake

ingredients you will need:

1/2 pound (1 3/4 cups) blanched whole almonds

6 large eggs, separated

1 1/4 cups superfine sugar

grated zest of 1 orange

grated zest of 1 lemon

4 drops almond extract

confectioners' sugar for dusting

what to do:

finely grind the almonds in a food processor.  note: stefan used ground almonds from the supermarket since he couldn't find whole blanched almonds but it came out just fine, lots of flavour.

with an electric mixer, beat the egg yolks with the sugar to a smooth pale cream.  beat in the zests and almond extract.  add the ground almonds and mix very well.

with clean beaters, beat the egg whites in a large bowl until stiff peaks form.  fold them into the egg and almond mixture (the mixture is thick, so that you will need to turn it over quite a bit into the egg whites).

grease an 11-inch springform pan, preferably nonstick, with butter and dust it with flour.  pour in the cake batter, and bake into a preheated 350 farenheit oven for 40 minutes, or until it feel firm to the touch.  let cool before turning out.

just before serving, dust the top of the cake with confectioners' sugar.  

enjoy!

15 / 52 weeks

kai: in the courtyard

stockholm weekend pics, hornstull

i love this little corner of sodermalm island, along hornstull's waterfront, liljeholmsviken.  now through to october, the hornstull food truck market is in full gear.  we arrived at a busy time, look at all those people!  stefan would say we spent our sunday in line but i would say we enjoyed the sunshine and warmth while waiting for our food. and it certainly was worthwhile, all of our wraps from the love truck were tasty.  

can you spot kai?

right under the liljeholm bridge is a place we neglected to notice before, loopen.  a restaurant and patio on a floating pier.  it's pretty cool, with a relaxed atmosphere and caribbean vibe with the artificial palm trees.  we enjoyed a beer and some spicy nuts in the sunshine.

we meant to walk back along the water towards home but kai was having such a fun time in this little corner we stayed put and explored: climbing a hill, taking in the view, and enjoying the sunshine.

i hope you had a lovely weekend too.  oh, i have written about hornstull before, take a peek here if you'd like.