We've Moved

I've combined all my blogs into one called Smörgåsbord. Please come visit.

Now We're Cooking!

I've been so neglectful of my poor little blog and I blame it all on our home renovations. Damn house! Anyway, seeing how our new kitchen has already been featured on a few blogs, I figured I should go ahead and feature it on my own. We still have a few final touches to make to the kitchen but this is it so far.

The look I was going for was that of an updated Scandinavian summer cottage. As we live in a Nordic country and have long dark winters, I chose white cabinets to maximize the light in the kitchen. To keep the kitchen from looking sterile and cold, I opted for oiled oak counter tops and floors that add a touch of warmth to the kitchen. As we had plenty of storage space, I didn’t feel it was necessary to include overhead cabinets. I chose this particular style of drawer because they were easy to clean as well as open from the top or bottom so hardware wasn’t necessary either.

I spent quite a while planning the layout of the kitchen. It had to feel spacious yet have plenty of storage and a place for everything. The layout I decided on is very functional with everything in easy reach. The back wall is the cleanup and dish storage area, and also houses fridges in two of the taller cabinets.

The three shorter cabinets house the pyrolytic oven, a microwave and pullout baskets for food storage.

The self-closing drawers on the island keep all my cooking paraphernalia in order and within easy reach. There are also outlets hidden just under the island on the side of the cabinets.

We could have put cabinets on the former kitchen wall as well, but felt that would be overkill. So instead we installed some bookcases from Ikea so that I would have a place for my cookbook and magazine collections.

My husband painted the walls, assembled and installed all the cabinetry from Kvik , and installed the appliances and glass back splash. We decided it was best to leave all the heavy lifting to the professionals who knocked down the old wall, did all the electrical and plumbing work, laid the new oak floors, and somehow managed to bring in the enormous island at the expense of only one wall in the foyer.

The majority of the appliances were display models in kitchen showrooms that we were able to buy at a huge discount when the showrooms were remodelling at the end of the year. All of the appliances are top of line Miele and Siemens. The 80 cm induction cook top was the only appliance we had to pay full price for, but it was well worth it.

Major work took a month and was very stressful at times but we are happy with the results.

Here's a slide show of before and after pictures.

Fletcher Capstan Tables

I so want this table but at $70,000 I'd have sell one or more of my children, and possibly the cat, to afford it.

Hanna Werning Wallpaper

I adore this colorful wallpaper by Hanna Werning and am determined to work it into our new home's decor.



This is my favorite so far.

Swedish Strawberry Cake

I make this cake once or twice during strawberry season and it's always a big hit. It's another Tina Nordström recipe that I've tweaked a bit. For instance, I omitted the rum and added a pinch of salt to the custard. I also cheated and used a store bought sponge cake this time. Home made is so much better.

Here's what you need:

1 10-inch (30 cm) sponge cake

Strawberry Filling
4 pints (2 l) fresh strawberries
a couple of spoonfuls of sugar to sprinkle over the top

Vanilla Custard
2 cups (5 dl) milk
5 egg yolks
1 vanilla bean, cut in two lengthwise
2 tablespoons corn starch
1/3 cup (3/4 dl) sugar
1/2 cup dark rum

2 cups (5 dl) heavy cream (for decoration)

This is how you do it

Carefully cut the spongecake into three horizontal layers.

Strawberries
Save half of the strawberries for decoration. Slice the rest of the strawberries and place in a bowl. Mix in the sugar and let it rest until the sugar has dissolved. It should become a little syrupy.

Vanilla Custard
Bring the milk, with the vanilla bean added, to a simmer. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the sugar and corn starch. Add 1 tablespoon of water if the mixture becomes too thick. Remove the vanilla bean and then pour the milk over the egg mixture and whisk briskly. Pour the mixture back into the pot. Gently reheat the mixture and continue whisking until it becomes thick and creamy. Pour the cream through a sieve and let cool. Whip 2/3 cup of the heavy cream and fold it in the custard.

Spread half of the vanilla custard and then half of the strawberry filling on the bottom layer of the sponge cake. Place the second layer on top of this and press gently. Repeat the above process before placing the last layer of sponge cake on top.

Tip! If you have extra time on your hands, you may cover the cake in plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator for 24 hours before decorating. This will give the flavours time to settle a bit and will make a great cake even better! True story!

For serving

Whip the remaining cream. Use a pastry bag with a spout to decorate, working it in an upward movement all around the cake. To crown the work add the remaining strawberries on top.

* My piping skills are seriously lacking so I just slapped on the whipped cream. Looks messy but tastes just as good.

Livingstones

I adore these funky cushions from SmarinDesign. The indoor version is great for a playroom or possibly a kids media room. While the outdoor version is perfect for lounging by the pool. How fun!

For indoors...

and outdoors.

Teema by Kaj Frank for Iittala

I've gotten lots of compliments on my dishes so I wanted to share them here. I was drawn to the Teema range because of their clean lines and practicality. Although they are very modern in design they've been around since 1952.

Here's more from Iittala.com

Essential simplification. The Teema collection is based on familiar and basic shapes – a circle, a square and a rectangle. Kaj Franck found them simply irresistible, and spent his time reducing all that was excessive, until only the essential remained.

This series is highly versatile; every piece is designed with a practical and functional aspect. Mixing these features and combining them with other dishes will give you an endless range of innovative colorful table settings. An ideal accompaniment to the entire Iittala range, Teema fits in well at family gatherings as well as in more formal settings. One of the beauties of this collection is the way in which you can combine the variety of colors, which, according to Kaj Franck, are the only decoration needed. Teema is one of Scandinavia’s most highly appreciated collections, an undisputed classic and can be found in a number of design museums worldwide.