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

Steamed chocolate cake using whipped cream

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Steamed chocolate cake using Valrhona cocoa powder and whipped cream

Steamed chocolate cake.

Photo © Jan-Erik Nilsson for Cheryl Marie Cordeiro 2010

This is one of the easiest cakes to make, the preparation time being just about 7 minutes and the cooking time, which is steaming, is ca. 35 minutes. It’s delicious just after it has cooled, served with a little whipped cream (or plain vanilla ice-cream). In Singapore, this cake is most often served with a lush chocolate ganache over the top, or if you have the cake layered, the chocolate ganache can come between the layers too.

Steamed cakes most likely came out of Chinese kitchens as it is the Chinese who have most variations of steamed foods from buns to dumplings, vegetables to fish and meat.

There are variations of the steamed chocolate cake recipe around the internet, though the variations are in slight proportions. Since I’m a chocolate anything fan, this chocolate cake is one that I make often when I’m not in the mood to use the oven for baking or when I want a slight change in chocolate cake texture.
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Strawberry cheesecake in a glass

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No bake strawberry cheesecake in a glass at Cheryl Marie Cordeiro

Something sweet for a quiet evening.

Photo © Cheryl Cordeiro-Nilsson for Cheryl Marie Cordeiro 2010

There come days or evenings that I’ve felt I’ve over eaten for the next few days and what I’d really like is something sweet, but nothing main meal substantial like a full plate of chicken breast with pasta or a beef steak with salad on the side.

It felt like that this evening, so I whipped up one of my favourite desserts but in minimalist portions (or controlled portions at least) – strawberry cheesecake in a glass.

BBC Good Food has an excellent tried and tested recipe for this easy to make dessert that doesn’t need any baking time in the oven. Given below is my variation of it, with a small tub of Philedelphia cream cheese and grated lemon rind. This will render just 4 wine glasses of strawberry cheesecake dessert, just enough for a cozy dinner of four or a small household.
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T-bone Bistecca alla Fiorentina in Sweden

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T-bone steak cooked in the style of bistecca all fiorentino, Sweden

T-bone steak in Bistecca alla Fiorentina, Sweden.
Photo © Jan-Erik Nilsson and Cheryl Cordeiro-Nilsson for Cheryl Marie Cordeiro 2010

One of our favourite ways of collecting travel memories is to bring back food ideas and inspirations. Its a nice way of revisiting your favourite spots without even leaving the comfort of home. I think the most memorable meal of our visit to Florence (2008) was at Trattoria Quatro Leoni that served up one of Florence’s best Bistecca alla Fiorentina. The steak came with spinach and fried potato wedges and a bottle of local red. The meal made for a most marvelous evening spent under the full moon of Tuscany, Italy.

Seeing a gorgeous T-bone meat slab weighing in at about 8 lbs (4 kg) in total at Svenskar Gårdar’s stall at the recent Food Fair Passion för Mat 2010, we couldn’t help but want to have T-bone steak, Tuscan style!
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Louis Vuitton Monogram Vernis Minna Street in Framboise

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Louis Vuitton Minna Street in Framboise, small sling bag.

Louis Vuitton Minna Street in framboise monogram vernis.

I am not one for small bags and neither are most of my girlfriends, most of whom were schoolmates from more than a decade ago. The preference for larger bags probably came about through functionality and the practically of having a bag big enough to accommodate our daily items. When in school for example, it was all about carrying textbooks, exercise books, gym wear and whatever else you needed for the day. So big bags the likes of weekend carryalls were always the talking point for us girls back then. Once school days were over, shopping (a Singaporean hobby) took over and big bags continued to be popular for us, where I’ve often found myself sitting and chatting with my girlfriends over the latest carryall that could most fashionably hold our daily essentials and bought items.

This Louis Vuitton vernis monogram Minna Street in raspberry pink or framboise, is not a big bag. In fact, it’s so compact, you can hardly fit its matching vernis Koala wallet into it and think to find room to put your keys in too. It does however, contain a roomier main compartment than the slimmer, more rectangular vernis Mott that has a flap closure outer pocket (see ref. 1. Mott review, 2. Mott outfit, 3. Mott in background).
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Nowruz at the Rösska museum in Gothenburg Sweden: in celebration of spring and the Persian New Year’s

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Cheryl Marie Cordeiro in Karen Millen and Cartier at the Rösska museum Gothenburg, Göteborg Sweden

One in the crowd, listening to Tina & Ice Band’s rendition of Persian songs at Rösska’s Now Rooz exhibition .
Photo © Jan-Erik Nilsson and Cheryl Cordeiro-Nilsson for Cheryl Marie Cordeiro 2010

Nowruz signals the first day of spring in Persia and the Persian New Year’s. In celebration of this event that begins tomorrow, the Rösska museum of Gothenburg has set up Now Rooz, a 3 week long exhibition (13 March to 18 April 2010) of the fashion and design of the Persian culture during their New Year’s celebration (also featured in GP).
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Boysenberry vinaigrette, an exotic flavour from Sweden

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Lars Schönemyr at Gourmet Sverigeskafferiet AB

Lars Schönemyr of the Gourmet Sverigeskafferiet AB demonstrating some of their new Swedish “exoctic” flavours at the recent Passion for Food fair in Gothenburg Sweden, 2010.
Photo © Jan-Erik Nilsson and Cheryl Cordeiro-Nilsson
for Cheryl Marie Cordeiro 2010

A few years ago I hadn’t even heard of boysenberries. On a late summer’s day however, just after a quick dip in the clean seawater off the Swedish West coast, I was introduced to the berries in their own habitat right by the beach, basking in the afternoon sun! These berries are black and boisterously brimming of flavour, vitamins and energy. Unabated by the fact that they are fiercely protected by more thorn filled branches than any other berry I have ever known, I went about picking a handful of them to eat by the beach in a small fruit picnic. The berries were in various stages of ripening and the ripened ones were everything juicy, sweet and purple on the tongue!
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Pineapple Tarts, a daunting tradition

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Pineapple tarts in tupperware, Singapore-Sweden

Pineapple tarts with a pinched pastry base.
Photo © JE Nilsson and Cheryl Cordeiro-Nilsson 2010

Every year, it is with mixed feelings that I begin looking around for ripe pineapples for the annual Christmas batch of pineapple tarts. All things considered I think this is one tradition I grew up with in Singapore that I would consider giving up if my northern Swedish husband had not grown an unexpected liking of them. As it turns out, he loves pineapple tarts and most other exotic fruits including durians.

Done in the traditional way it is a very, very time consuming task to make pineapple tarts. The failure rate is also high and the rewards questionable, except the fact that however criticized your delicate small masterpieces would be, any number of them still finish within minutes!

When it comes to pineapple tarts, as with other traditional food such as American apple pies and Swedish meatballs everyone’s an expert and we all have our own favourite method of making it – which by definition is the best – and it is not before all have been tasted that you can decide which your favourite flavour, size, crust, color of jam, with or without “crown” etc., is. Personally I love it when the jam turns out crisp and caramelized on the outside and moist on the inside when sitting on a lightly golden browned pastry base.

Anyone in Singapore – Malays, Peranakans, Chinese and Eurasians – will have a ready answer exactly on how a perfect pineapple tart should be. And they will all be different. For the true fan it is worth the effort trying all varieties, because both pastry and jam do have different consistencies and tastes. It’s like wine. Nobody would settle for just “red”. Depending on who made them, they are all different.

Today pineapple tarts are available at some bakeries all year round in Singapore and Malaysia, however tarts are still most abundant during festive seasons. In my culinary background I inherited the Eurasian Sugee Cake from my father’s side, while my mother taught me how to make Pineapple Tarts.
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Potato Gratin á la mode

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Potato gratin without pre-cooking potatoes and onions

Potato Gratin has fallen a bit in disrepute after a decade of largely misdirected health consciousness. This Quick and dirty version of potato gratin might be just the right thing to go with a hearty beef dinner, flanked by a deep red and powerful Chianti.
Photo © Jan-Erik Nilsson and Cheryl Cordeiro-Nilsson for Cheryl Marie Cordeiro 2010

Everything goes in circles and so do trends in cooking. Not long ago two crossed carrots on a white plate was the height of fashion. Then health obsession made people think that the fat we eat is the same as that we put on our hips, so we were supposed to eat carbohydrates instead, as if a diet of pasta, bread and artificial sweeteners would make us slim. Then carbohydrates became bad and the focus turned to meats and not just any types of meat but lean white meat.

Since I arrived in Sweden about ten years ago I have had reason to question the wisdom in food trends. A quick glance through family photos tells me that throughout the ages people have lived long and healthy lives eating whatever they liked and cooking anything they liked, whether Kway Chap or pineapple tarts, so long as they did not overeat. Julia Child and her husband, Paul Cushing Child for example lived past the age of 90 based on a French diet full of butter, butter and more butter!

So in this spirit I felt I would like to revive a potato classic, just an ordinary gratin that will fit neatly with just about any solid piece of meat you can think of. No dainty dishes, but solid meat based ones. Food that goes ‘- Mooooo!’ in the dark.
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Apricot and Raisin Buns

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Apricot and raisin buns recipe at Cheryl Marie Cordeiro

Apricot and raisin bun – one of my favourite fruit buns!
Photo © Jan-Erik Nilsson and Cheryl Cordeiro-Nilsson for Cheryl Marie Cordeiro 2010

Fruit filled buns have always been a favourite of mine ever since I was a little girl bouncing from bakery to bakery around the neighbourhood with my mother in Singapore. The heartland bakeries in Singapore where the likes of the Bengawan Solo bakery chain has sprung, produce some of the simplest yet most flavourful cakes and buns for Sunday afternoon tea. It was always convenient to grab a small box of your favourite cakes on display that cost next to nothihng at all, to have with the family at home.

With Easter upcoming only a few weeks away, I thought I’d share a variation of the hot cross bun recipe, one that has been adapted from traditional Swedish cookbooks to my liking.
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Early Spring and a craving for ice-cream!

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Early spring 2010, Swedish westcoast

Early spring 2010, Swedish westcoast.
Photo © Jan-Erik Nilsson for Cheryl Marie Cordeiro 2010

There is a hint of early Spring in the air along the Swedish westcoast that awakens the senses. No doubt, the weather is still crisp and chilly, but the sun is already there and getting warmer, the days are getting longer too, and all this has awakened a personal craving in me for – ice-cream!

Stracciatella, Pipersglace, Swedish ecological ice-cream

Pipersglace, Swedish produced ice-cream that rivals any good Italian gelato.

As part of our haul from the Passion för Mat, 2010 food fair, we failed to resist some tubs of Pipersglace that are Swedish organically produced ice-cream in a variety of creamy flavours and sorbets.
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