Born in the vibrant city of Singapore with a unique Eurasian blend of Portuguese and Chinese heritage, my journey has taken me from the bustling streets of Singapore to the serene and open landscapes of Sweden. My educational pursuits in Singapore culminated at tertiary level with two separate Master degrees, after which I embarked on a new adventure in 2002, moving to Sweden. In Sweden, I pursued with deep interest, the knowledge field of applied linguistics, particularly corpus linguistics research methods, earning a doctoral degree from one of northern Europe’s largest universities, the University of Gothenburg. I currently work as Project Manager, focusing on EU and international projects, at RISE Research Institutes of Sweden, at the Division of Bioeconomy and Health, Department of Agriculture and Food. My office is located in Mölndal municipality. Mölndal, known also as the Valley of Mills, is located about ten minutes by bus ride from the city center of Gothenburg to the south. If you’re ever traveling south from Gothenburg to Malmö, whether by train or car, you will likely come by Mölndal municipality. In these pages at cmariec.com, you’ll find my lifestyle musings on culinary and travel adventures from Singapore to Sweden, and from when I lived and worked the Arctic City of Tromsø (2018 to mid-2022). SINGAPORE | SWEDEN | NORTHERN NORWAY Life in Singapore Pursued all academic interests in Singapore, of which the post-graduate years were founded in two separate disciplines. In 2000, graduated with two separate Masters Degrees: (i) Master of Science in Information Studies at the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore (ii) Master of Arts in the English Language at the National University of Singapore (NUS). In 1999, represented the Republic of Singapore at the Miss Universe Pageant in Trinidad and Tobago. With this came a variety of film, educational TV, media, and ambassadorial work for the Singapore Tourism Board. Life in Sweden In 2002, moved from Singapore to Sweden in order to pursue a PhD in Gothenburg, where a number of international corporate head offices were located that all had a substantial business presence in Singapore and also Asia in general. In 2009, graduated with a PhD in applied critical linguistics from the faculty of humanities at the University of Gothenburg, with a cross-disciplinary thesis entitled, Swedish management in Singapore: a discourse analysis study, looking particularly into the concepts of assimilation, integration and hierarchy, at top management levels of Swedish-Asian corporations in Singapore. 2013, as research fellow at the Centre for International Business Studies (CIBS), School of Business, Economics and Law at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, researching the future implications of increasing Asian-Swedish cooperation within the field of international business. The project is entitled Gothenburg in Asia, Asia in Gothenburg, funded by the Anna Ahrenberg Foundation. The project is aligned with the 400 years anniversary of the city of Gothenburg in 2021, and falls under the broad category of Kunskap Göteborg 2021 initiated by city representatives of Gothenburg, Göteborg & Co, University of Gothenburg and Chalmers University of Technology. 2015, was granted the Flexit post-doctoral scholarship by Bank of Sweden Tercentennary Foundation (Riksbankens Jubileumsfond, RJ) for a three year project together with the Swedish-Swiss multinational enterprise ABB. From 2015-17, the research will take place at ABB Corporate Research Sweden HQ in Västerås, and at CIBS during 2017-18. The research focus of the project is how new technologies are perceived and accepted by users and customers, using linguistic methods of data analysis. More information can be found at RJ’s website, at Riksbankens Jubileumsfond (RJ) Felxit 2015. Life in Northern Norway (2018-2022) 2018, late summer. I acquired new work as Market Scientist at Nofima. Having moved to the county of Troms in August, I’m currently enjoying myself, exploring the island city of Tromsø. From the 1900s, this city became known as Paris of the North due to how the people of Tromsø were exceptionally stylish and sophisticated in contrast to the fishing village preconception that many might have of a city located in the Arctic Circle. In my years in Sweden, I have known Sweden to be called the land of the midnight sun. During the long summer mights, it was beautiful to sit and watch the sun’s languid pendulation between east and west, touching the horizon out at sea before going up again. Northern Norway takes this languid pendulation of the sun to the extreme. It is not only known as the land of the midnight sun, but it is also the land of polar nights and the northern lights. This is my new adventure. And in these lifestyle blog pages, you’ll find my personal thoughts, insights and musings. Cheryl Marie Cordeiro | PhD MSc MA ACADEMIC REFLECTIONS | CV LIFESTYLE BLOG

Bohr’s compIementarity and a celebration of an anniversary

In celebration of an anniversary, with a Brut Vintage 2009 Champagne Pol Roger. Aged for 8 years before being released onto the market, this vintage champagne consists of a blend of pinot noir and chardonnay gathered from 20 Grands and Premiers crus vineyards in the Montagne de Reims and the Côte des Blancs.
Text & Photo © JE Nilsson, CM Cordeiro 2018

I don’t think I could ever tire of contemplating Niels Bohr’s (1885-1962) complementarity applied to subjects beyond theories of quantum physics. My latest read on the subject is an article by Filip Grygar [1], on Bohr’s complementarity related to the field of biosemiotics. Grygar discusses the application of complementarity to three existing models of living systems that include mechanistic (molecular) biology, biosemiotics and phenomenological hermeneutic biosemiotics. Overall, I think the article gives a good summary of Bohr’s complementarity applied to living phenomena.

Complementarity was the foundation perspective upon which Bohr viewed the many seeming contradictions of life as unity of knowledge. Just as the phenomenon of light cannot be adequately accounted for by mechanical measurements, but rather captured in the complementarity of it being both wave and particle, so the phenomenon of living needs be viewed in complementarity:

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An early morning bookmaker toast

A summer breakfast Bookmaker toast.
Text & Photo © JE Nilsson, CM Cordeiro 2018

Somehow it is difficult not to use the word decadent when talking about a ‘bookmaker toast’. It could be made in a variety of ways, some more scrumptious than others. Some include fried bacon. Some include Sauce Bearnaise. I think that what you prefer varies depending on whether you’ll have it as a lunch, dinner, late night snack or, breakfast.

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Under the Swedish sun

Under the Swedish westcoast sun, with Cat.
Text & Photo © JE Nilsson, CM Cordeiro 2018

The winters in Sweden can be long and cold, so for those who are visiting Sweden, what might come as unexpected are the very warm Swedish summers. With low cloud cover and low humidity levels, I think a quintessential equatorial method of keeping cool might help – a broad hat, broad UVA/UVB 50 SPF coverage, and a furry Cat?

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Lemon curd parfait, sans sous vide

Lemon curd parfait.
Text & Photo © JE Nilsson, CM Cordeiro 2018

This astronomical Easter [1], I found myself falling in love with lemon curd. Well, actually, I’ve been reading about at lemon curd recipes for some months now, how to make variations of it, and how to use it further in other recipes. I remember that in 2012, I had tried my hand at lemon custard cupcakes. The lemon custard recipe I used then was alright, but not something to totally fall in love with, especially if you are a fan of kaya, the Southeast-Asian screwpine/pandan leaf coconut marmalade found most notably in Singapore and Malaysia. Yesterday, I came across what looked like the perfect lemon curd recipe published by ChefSteps in 2014 [2], made sous vide. I had to give it a try, albeit sans sous vide.

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Baileys Mille Crêpe

Baileys mille-crepe, topped with chocolate ganache and whipped cream.
Text & Photo © JE Nilsson, CM Cordeiro 2018

It looks pretty, the gâteau mille crêpe. So I thought I’d have a go at making one myself. I think I was at a corner near the Cathédrale Notre-Dame in Paris when I came across a bakery-café that was serving the most aromatic and gorgeous looking filled crêpes, the type that you can always find room in your stomach for no matter the time of day. In Paris, if the bakery-café had the ingredient, you could most likely have it on the crêpe as filling, from fresh strawberries to strawberry jam, whipped cream to nutella and banana. Looking for recipes online, I could see that most recipes would recommend to have the crêpe made with as little fat as possible on the pan itself in order to give a pale golden hue to the stack. But the ones I made were done in Swedish pannkaka style, with plenty butter in the pan so you get caramelized frilled edges to each crêpe. The difference? The mille crêpe I made is more, …Swedish?

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Passion för Mat 2018 walkabout

Trying out a bite bit of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, at Passion för Mat 2018, 2 to 4 March, Erikbergshallen, Gothenburg.
Text & Photo © JE Nilsson, CM Cordeiro 2018

Gothenburg’s largest annual foodfair, Passion för Mat is back for 2018! It runs from 2 to 4 March 2018 at Eriksbergshallen event hall located on Hisingen island. The event gathers food exhibitors from different industry sectors, who literally span the globe in food sourcing and production. Some new entrants include Varberg of Halland County, who are in Gothenburg to market not just their destination brand but their food products. Halland Country lies directly south of Gothenburg on the west coast of Sweden. Visitors can find for example, Källsjö A-fil from Källsjö Mejeri AB, a locally produced yoghurt whose smooth and creamy consistency makes a perfect accompaniment to fresh fruits and cereal for breakfast, as well as cheeses from Skrea Ost (Kattegatt white and Kattegatt blue cheeses). Visitors can also find some exciting new food products and concepts such as Mjölby’s Food for Progress’s award winning brands Oumph! and Beat that give noone an excuse to never eat their vegetables again, ever.

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Passion för Mat 2018, Fredrikssons Smakglädje

Mona and Christer Fredriksson of Fredrikssons Smakglädje (fredrikssons.eu) at Passion för Mat 2018, 2 to 4 March, Erikbergshallen, Gothenburg.
Text & Photo © JE Nilsson, CM Cordeiro 2018

I think it’s wonderful to catch-up with people with whom you share a passion for artisan culinary craftwork and the exchange of food/life experiences but don’t often get a chance to meet with. I spent some happy minutes visiting Mona and Christer Fredriksson foodstall at Passion för Mat 2018. Fredrikssons Smakglädje began in 2012 in southern Sweden (near Kalmar), with a focus on handcrafted, quality marmalades. Their key marmalade philosophy is to focus on the type of taste experience they wanted people to have when eating their marmalades. They also wanted to craft new marmalade flavours, choosing their ingredients carefully for each batch created. The intense flavours and luxurious textures of their marmalades are reflected likewise in the jeweltoned bottles lit on the display stand. Fredrikssons’s efforts on craftsmanship have not gone unnoticed in the Swedish culinary circles. Their products have since 2014, consistently won awards in the grand Swedish artisan culinary mastership (SM i mathantverk). Of notable mention is their 2017 Mona sauce, chosen for its excellent summer feel to a perfect grill sauce. Fredriksson’s Juleglögg (Swedish Christmas mulled wine) won silver medal in the 2015 SM i mathantverk and they took home both gold and silver medals in SM i mathantverk 2014 for their Hot Apple and Apricot Chutney, and Honeypear and Ginger Marmelade. The bit of news that made me happy was that Fredrikssons has a webshop and now deliver to your doorstep.

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Passion för Mat 2018, Flavours of Halland County

A white chocolate and caramel cheesecake from Halland County to be sampled at Passion för Mat 2018.
Text & Photo © JE Nilsson, CM Cordeiro 2018

Passion för Mat 2018 draws a network of small medium enterprises in not just food and beverage as product, but rather, food and beverage in connection to a specific destination experience. This year, Halland County took centrestage at this event, marketing products of the region that lies just south of Gothenburg city. In 2011, the city authority of Varberg embarked on Varberg 2025 with the ambition to be the creative centre of Sweden’s west coast region. Varberg lies in the region of Halland County, to which several booths at this food event enticed visitors to sample the produce and flavours of Halland County.

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