oìche shamhna shona duit
Text & Photo © IE Pleym, CM Cordeiro & JE Nilsson 2020
20201018 Sunday play
Autumn, Tromsø, Northern Norway.
Text Photo & Video © JE Nilsson & CM Cordeiro 2020
The Maine Coon
Summers are for outdoor eats. The Maine Coon, Styrsö, Sweden.
Text Photo & Video © JE Nilsson & CM Cordeiro 2020
Summer BBQ, Styrsö, Sweden 2020
Fava bean burger with ketchup, tzatziki and mayonnaise, Styrsö, Sweden.
Text Photo & Video © JE Nilsson & CM Cordeiro 2020
Swedish summers are marked by numerous BBQ-parties. Sometimes, it can feel as if you´re in an implicit neighbourhood race to fill the air with the aromas of BBQ grilled foods. I was in fact, introduced to the Swedish BBQ-party on my very first trip to Sweden when I was still in my university days. It was mid-May and a warm 10 degress celcius outdoors. I met with a group of young men with beer in hand. They lounged in nothing but shorts in beach chairs pulled up close to the smoking BBQ pit. I wore an orange knitted turtleneck sweater and thought I should really have brought a light jacket with me. I was promptly introduced to the group of BBQ party-goers, some of whom looked at me as if they had questions to ask. My introduction was then followed by “she´s from Singapore”, to which there was an acknowledged round of nods. Even if the smell of meat on the BBQ grill was fantastic, after ten minutes, I politely asked if I could go indoors to warm my hands on the oven stove.
Sailboat mooring, Styrsö, Sweden
Sailboat mooring, Styrsö, Sweden.
Text Photo & Video © JE Nilsson & CM Cordeiro 2020
Styrsö summer by the beach 2020
By the beach at Styrsö, Sweden. Summer 2020.
Text & Photo © JE Nilsson & CM Cordeiro 2020
Midsummer’s reflections 2020
Pickings from the garden.
Text & Photo © JE Nilsson & CM Cordeiro 2020
On Saturday, 20 June 2020, Sweden celebrated Midsummer’s Day. A celebration that traditionally coincides with the summer solstice. Usually the inevitable – How’s your Midsummer this year? question, would be answered with the similarly inevitable reply; – As usual. Plus 10 degrees, and rain. – Ah, same as New Year’s eve then, – Yep.
It might sound sarcastic but really, I can’t think of a sunny Midsummer’s Day since I first landed in Sweden in 2002. I remember when I first landed that I wrote home to my parents and told, “Sweden got only two seasons leh”. They had winter, which was cold and wet, with possibility of some snow, and summer, which was cold and wet, with no snow. This year was certainly different. There’s been as much sun as you could wish for, in Sweden. I can only assume that this, in some kind of quantum entanglement of weather, is dependent on me having relocated to Tromsø, the very arctic part of Norway. Living in Tromsø by the way, has given me a completely new understanding of winter, and summer. Tromsø also has only two seasons. Winter, without daylight, and summer, with daylight. Endless dayligt. Sunrise in February and sunset basically in November. This said, to be fair to Sweden, I have over the years managed to get some nice midsummer pictures in my album labelled “Sweden”.
A touch of rosé in celebration of the spring-summer transition
Côtes du Rhône Rose Millésime 2017, complementing a shrimp sandwich.
Text & Photo © JE Nilsson & CM Cordeiro 2020
In celebration of the spring to summer transition, this is a period of the year when the days get gradually longer till the summer solstice on 20 June 2020. Complementing the shrimp sandwich is a bottle of Côtes du Rhône Rosé 2017 by the Guigal family. The wine is a lovely hue of peach-rose that reflects beautifully with the evening light. Light and fresh with burst of red fruits, the aroma and flavour of the wine complements the slight saltiness of the peeled shrimp.
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Salvia officinalis and Stellaria palustris
Salvia officinalis and Stellaria Palustris
Text & Photo © JE Nilsson & CM Cordeiro 2020
Salvia officinalis (native to the Mediterranean region) and Stellaria palustris (native to Britain, Ireland and the Nordic region) make an unlikely combination in a flower vase. What they do have in common however, is that they are perennial and come warmer spring weather, they grow in the Nordic garden year after year.
Stellaria palustris or Meadow Starwort are some of the most beautiful flower blooms you can encounter in the Nordic countries. Reputedly growing in peaty soil, I’ve seen these flowers grow sturdy in much different soil conditions too. Soft and flowing when the evening breeze sweeps in, they look like a waterfall of flowers lining rocks and garden paths.
Salvia officinalis or Garden Sage might not look like much, but it makes a wonderful tea. Belonging to the mint family, Lamiaceae, and native to the Mediterranean region, this plant has naturalized and taken root in the Nordic region, growing outdoors without problems. Savoury and peppery, this herb has appeared in European cuisine from the 14th and 15th centuries, used to enhance sauces and condiments and often paired with turkey, chicken, pork and sometimes, fish.
Nordic style oven baked fish gratin
Nordic style oven baked fish gratin.
Text & Photo © JE Nilsson & CM Cordeiro 2020
One of the absolute easiest Nordic dishes to put together when expecting friends for dinner is a fish gratin. It’s like an all-in-one recipe. You take a freshly caught cod, have it filleted, put it in a glass or ceramic tin, add some butter, salt and white pepper. Add a cover of white bechamel sauce, stir in some dill. Wait for the magic to happen in the oven and dribble some newly peeled shrimps on top just ahead of serving. A slice of lemon and a fresh piece of dill adds merriness to the eyes. Freshly boiled potatoes – or why not surround the fish with a generous surrounding wall of mashed potatoes, or Pommes duchesse; great either ways as long as you are generous with the butter – and bake the whole thing together. Wine paring is easy as long as it is Chardonnay but admittedly now when the spring is approaching, I’d consider a rosé while the gratin is taking care of itself.
Upon arriving in Northern Norway slightly more than a year ago, a main curiosity was to find out what the region had to offer for traditional dishes. Tromsø’s main historic economic activities were being base to arctic hunting and whaling. It is today well known for landing some of the world’s freshest, highest quality fish. It is thus not surprising (or I might have well guessed, but didn’t) that fish pie or fish gratin served with mashed potatoes on the side is one such traditional dish. As testament to its popularity in households, you can find ready made fish gratin sold in individually packed boxes at the local grocers in Tromsø.