Plantains

First of all, wait until the plantains are more or less black on the outside. Peel and cut in half. Slice in 1/3 cm thick pieces. Fry in a neutral oil, for example avocado oil, until soft. Season with salt and pepper. Enjoy!

Tomtegröt Rice Porridge

3/4 cup arborio rice
1 1/2 cups water
3 1/2 cups milk
3/4 tsp salt
1. Simmer rice, water and salt on low heat for 10 min or until rice have absorbed water
2. Add milk and simmer on low heat for around 30 minutes, stir to avoid burns.
3. Turn off heat, cover with lid and let sit and thicken for at least an hour.  You can also continue to simmer until thick, but it is less labor intense to cover instead of stirring.

Serve with sugar, cinnamon and butter - save some for Tomten and his helpers.

Swedish Red Cabbage

1 red cabbage head - 2 lbs
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup molasses
100 gram butter (a little less than a stick)
1 bay leaf
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Thinly slice cabbage and fry in butter for 5 - 10 minutes until translucent red.
2. Mix with salt, pepper, bay leaf, vinegar and molasses in a pot.
3. Heat and stir for about 15 minutes.

Swedish red cabbage is often served with apple sauce and ham for Christmas.

I made this again 12/22/18 and used a 1lbs (at most) cabbage head, 1 tbsp molasses and 3 tbsp 5% apple vinegar, 4-5 tbsp butter and salt, pepper - no bay leaf. Was on the phone during the frying part so it probably  fried for 45-55 minutes on low heat before adding molasses and vinegar. Turned out really good.

Tosca Cake (Swedish Almond cake)

This is my favorite  Swedish classic - love the crunchy almond topping.

Cake
3 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/4 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
a little less than 1 stick butter
1/4 cup milk

Topping
4 oz slivered or chopped almonds
1 stick butter
2 tbsp flower
1 tbsp milk or cream
1/2 cup sugar

Start by heating the oven to 375.
Butter a round form with removable bottom
Melt butter and let cool a little
Beat eggs and sugar until fluffy
Add butter to egg/sugar mixture
Add some of the flour, then the milk
At the end, add the last flour mixed with baking powder and carefully mix. Pour into form and put in warn oven.

While cake is baking, slowly heat topping ingredients, stirring until thickening. After 20 - 25 minutes - make sure cake is firm and doesn't wobble in the middle - take cake out and cover with almond mix. Bake for another 10 minutes until lightly brown.  If still pale after 10 minutes, turn oven on broil until almond topping gets golden brown. Remove from oven and with a knife, separate topping from form before letting it cool - otherwise the topping may stick to the form and separate from the cake when you remove the form after cooling.

Gunilla's Church Cookies

My friend Gunilla makes these cookies every Christmas - she got the recipe from a lady in her church.

Cream together in order below, adding flour last:

1 cup margarine

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup oil

1 cup rolled oats

1 cup rice crispies

1 cup coconut flakes

1 egg (optional?)

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 tsp cream of tartar

3 cups flour

Flatten with fork on a baking sheet and bake in oven 350 F for 12 - 15 minutes.

Eugenie's Bulgogi marinade

This recipe for bulgogi marinade comes from a Korean friend. I have used it on shaved beef, thinly sliced sirloin, tofu, mushrooms and onions - always delicious.

For about 1 lbs you mix:

5 tbsp. soy sauce

2 1/2 tbsp. sugar

2 tbsp. minced garlic

2 tbsp. minced scallions

1 1/2 tbsp. sesame oil

1/2 tsp. black pepper

Marinate in the morning in the fridge to cook in the evening, or as late as 1 - 2 hours before cooking. Serve with rice and dipping sauce wrapped in a lettuce leaf, like a taco. Peanut sauce and/or hot sauce are good choices. Enjoy!

Chocolate Cake Recipe:

4 eggs

2 cups chocolate morsels (original recipe calls for 200 gram dark baking chocolate, which I was out of)

1 1/2 stick butter

2/3 - 3/4 cup sugar

2/3 cup flour

1/2 tsp vanilla liquid

1 tsp baking powder

1. Prepare a spring form and turn on oven at 425 F.
2. Melt butter and chocolate in a pot together on low heat, stir often.
3. While butter/chocolate mix cools a little, whip eggs and sugar fluffy, about 2 minutes.

4. Add melted chocolate/butter + vanilla to egg/sugar fluff and mix.

5. Add the flour and mix a little with the baking powder which goes in at last.

6. Bake in 425 F for 13 - 15 minutes. The short time at high heat creates the gooey texture.

Chef Chloe's Falafels (V)

 These are parts of a recipe for Falafel Sliders, which also contain bread, guacamole and tomatoes. A link to a youtube video on how to make the sliders are at the end of this post:

Falafels
1 can chick peas, drained and rinsed
1/2 finely chopped red onion
2 cloves garlic, quartered
5-6 sun dried tomatoes
1/2 cup packed fresh Italian parsley
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup garbanzo or other flour

Mix in food processor and fry in olive oil 3 - 5 minutes on each side until golden brown. Let dry on paper towel.

Tahini Sauce
1/2 cup Tahini
1/2 cup water
1 1/3 tbsp lemon juice
1 clove garlic
1/2 tsp salt

Puree until smooth.

Below is a link to a youtube video of how to make these falafels:
Chef Chloe's Falafel Sliders

Lentil Mushroom Cashew Dish (V)

This is my simplified version of the previous recipe "Harvest-stuffed Mushrooms" (by Chef Chloe). You can serve it as a side dish or a main course.

1 large onion

1 cup cashew nuts

2 cups cooked lentils (or a can of lentils)

1 cup sliced and cooked mushrooms

1 – 2 tbsp Italian seasoning

3 – 4 cloves garlic

 2 tbsp olive oil

Salt & pepper to taste

1. Chop onion and cashew nuts.
2. Fry onion in olive oil until soft. Add Italian seasoning and garlic.
3. Add nuts and fry until light brown.
4. Add sliced, cooked mushrooms and fry for a couple of minutes.
5. Add cooked lentils and mix. Salt and pepper to taste.
6. Serve or save for next day in the refrigerator.

Red Cabbage with Shallots and Apple Sauce (V)

This is a traditional Swedish Christmas dish that I added shallots to. It's easy to make, but needs to simmer for close to an hour.

Ingredients:
1 head red cabbage 2 - 3 lbs
4 shallots
3 tbsp vinegar or to taste
3 tbsp maple syrup (or Swedish syrup or molasses)
1/2 tsp salt or to taste
2/3 cup apple sauce
ground black pepper to taste
1 - 2 tbsp cooking oil
5 - 10 whole cloves

1. Peel and slice shallots thinly and add to a large pot. Fry in cooking oil until until translucent and slightly brown
2. Slice cabbage thinly (I use a mandolin).
3  Add cabbage to shallots and cover with lid. Let sit on low heat until cabbage starts to wilt then stir and add the remaining ingredients.
4. Let simmer on low heat for at least 40 minutes stirring occasionally.
5. Taste and add more spices and/or vinegar/syrup if necessary.