autumn harvest / höstskörd

mushroom hunting

Autumn is my favourite season, we love picking mushrooms and explore the woods with Elsa. She has got everything figured out and knows that new adventures awaits when I put on my wellies and grab the picnic basket. Her short legs are filled with excitement when we enter the forest and she runs around sniffing the air and the ground, you can only imagine what kind of animals that have passed this route before us: wild boar, deer, rabbit, moose... The birds are chirping and a fox makes scary noises that make us all jump. When the basket is full we head back to the cottage for a cup of warm cider in front of the fire.

strängnäs

Vid den lilla staden vid Mälaren strosade vi bland gamla trähus, utforskade en av landets få sex-armade kvarnar från Holland, lunchade på mysiga restaurangen Thai Garden och njöt av lokalt tillverkad glass från Slagsta. Går man förbi gästhamnen och mot domkyrkan får man uppleva pittoreska gränder kantade med vackra trähus, kullerstenar och stockrosor. Däremot är vägen in mot Strängnäs från motorvägen mindre charmig, där får man intrycket att detta är en gammal och trött arbetarstad, men så fel man kan ha. Om du har vägarna förbi, ge Strängnäs en chans!

At the small town of Lake Mälaren, we strolled among the old wooden houses, explored one of the few six-armed windmills from Holland, had lunch at the cozy restaurant Thai Garden and enjoyed locally made ice cream from Slagsta. If you walk past the marina and  to the cathedral, you will experience the picturesque alleys lined with beautiful wooden houses, cobblestoned streets, and hollyhocks. However, the road towards Strängnäs from the highway is less charming, where one gets the impression that this is an old and tired town, but that is of course not the case. So if you are passing by,  give Strängnäs a chance!

sommarnätter / summer nights

 

very berry sangria

 

 

We had the other E with family on a visit yesterday. It was so great to hang out together for a whole day; talking, swimming, eating, enjoying fika, celebrating birthdays and just playing around. We are all so busy nowadays so it was precious to just be able to enjoy the company of each other. I made a new version of the rhubarb sangria I served last year to E and this time I think by reducing some of the sweetness the sangria tasted even better.

Here is how you make your own very berry sangria: Fill a 1 liter glass jar with fresh and frozen fruits. I used summer berries from the garden such as raspberries, strawberries and blueberries. The fruits should fill the jar to half. Add red wine, it should cover the fruits. Let it stand in the fridge for a day. A few hours before my friends arrived I picked two sticks of rhubarb, chopped it in larger pieces and made a syrup by letting it simmer with 3 table spoons of sugar and just enough water to cover the rhubarbs. The rhubarb pieces should be a bit soft, then let it cool and add it to the glass jar with fruits and wine. I let it stand another hour in the fridge before serving it with cava, as seen in the picture above. Fill a glass to 1/3 of the berry sangria cordial and top up with your choice of cava. Enjoy!