Midsummer crustacean fare: Swedish crayfish

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Swedish crayfish on plate to Midsummer 2009

Swedish crayfish
Photo © Jan-Erik Nilsson and Cheryl Marie Cordeiro-Nilsson for CMC 2009

The season for these Swedish crayfish usually begins in early August, where the entire month of August is dedicated to crayfish parties around Sweden. But a neighbour had brought home a large catch of these and they thus made their way to our Midsummer table.

A significant difference in seafood sold in Sweden and in Singapore as I found out, is how most seafood in Sweden is sold pre-cooked in dill marinated brine, so that crayfish, prawns, crabs and lobsters often taste heavily salted with a hint of dill when you buy them off the shelves at the grocers. As such, cooking Singapore chilli crabs out of pre-cooked dill marinated crabs in brine, doesn’t quite give the desired results, as one can imagine.

Swedish crayfish in Kosta Boda glass bowl

Crown dill marinated and brine cooked crayfish.

Through the years though, I have found some use of brine boiled prawns bought off the shelves in Sweden, such as making quite good Hokkien prawn noodle soup from the peels. Just add butter, onion and sambal and you will have a broth that is reminescent of those sold at the Singapore hawker centers.

Swedish crayfish in Kosta Boda glass bowl 2

Crayfish bodies are usually 5 – 6 cm in length. These are shelled in the same manner as a large prawn.

Crayfish doesn’t need much to enhance its flavour. One of my favourite ways to have Swedish crayfish is to peel them and have a small pile of them with a little dollop of mayonnaise and a squeeze of lemon. Crayfish meat also makes a perfect topping on bread, and one or two crayfish sandwiches with a fresh blade of salad will make a most enjoyable meal!

And on the Swedish table, crayfish is often downed with snapps!

Midsummer’s Eve, between sunshine and rain, 2009

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Cheryl Marie Cordeiro-Nilsson in black crochet sweater

Hand crocheted black sweater made by Rita Cordeiro and silk tunic dress by Karen Millen.
Photo © Jan-Erik Nilsson for CMC 2009

Not wanting to give false hopes for Midsummer in Sweden, the newspapers had, about two to three weeks ago, already begun forecasting a grey and soggy Midsummer for the west coast of Sweden.

Karen Millen silk floral 3

Floral print on black, ending in an asymmetrical hem.

Well, the day proved their forecasts accurate with some strange oscillations between sunshine and rain.

Boho beaded chandelier earrings

Boho bronze beaded chandelier earrings.

But regardless of weather conditions, it’s heartening to know that you’ll always find some die-hard Midsummer fans who’ll spread the festive cheer by setting up the Midsummer pole. I’ve seen how this is done and it’s no task for the faint hearted. The pole is decorated with flowers and blue and yellow streamers that trail beautifully in the wind. The hoisting of the pole and securing it into the ground takes nothing less than cooperative, physical strength. Then comes the sight of little children running around the grounds and that is enough to bring a smile on just about anyone’s face.

Swedish Flags on Midsummer\'s 2009

Swedish flags in celebration of Midsummer.

There were bouts of rain both before and after these pictures were taken, but I’m glad that the rain felt warm on the skin! I never understood how rain could be bitingly cold, almost painful, until I came to Sweden.

In Singapore, you have thick, clashing tropical thunderstorms and when the rain hits you, you’re covered in warm water from the equatorial sky. Rainstorms are almost delicious in the tropics!

As this is the celebration of the summer solstice, the days and nights during these days are long. And I’m all set to enjoy the festivities, preferably indoors this year!

Glad Midsommar to all!

In season – Swedish grown strawberries

Posted on by cheryl

Swedish grown strawberries

Fresh from a strawberry farm in Sweden.Photo © Cheryl Marie Cordeiro-Nilsson and Jan-Erik Nilsson for CMC 2009

I’ve always known strawberries to come bottled in sweet jams. In fact, ‘strawberry’ as a flavour was so common when I was growing up in Singapore, where you have them in almost everything from milk to kiddy toothpaste, that I thought strawberry was common commodity even without actually having tasted the real fruit.

My very first encounter with a strawberry farm was in Genting Highlands, Malaysia when I was about eight years old. Genting Highlands is about an hour’s drive from Kuala Lumpur and I found it a scenic region with cooler temperatures than the tropical heat of the lowlands. I remember Genting Highlands because every morning, the grounds of the hotel where we stayed would be covered in thick condensation, a cool fog that made you feel as if you were walking in clouds.

I liked strawberry jam but the experience of visiting a strawberry farm in Genting Highlands, changed my understanding of strawberries completely! I remember my parents buying farm made strawberry jam from the farm we visited, and after one taste of what I thought was the most decadent strawberry jam, I never liked the highly processed versions found on the sheleves at the Singapore grocery stores.

Swedish grown strawberries in sink

The strawberries, just before they disappeared!

The digression on Genting Highlands strawberries is just because Midsummer weekend is around the corner here in Sweden and we’ve tried our best, in the past few days, to seek out freshly picked Swedish grown strawberries. And today, we found some!

These strawberries are smaller and a deeper red than the hydroponically grown strawberries that are also found at the local grocers. So for those in Sweden, home-grown Swedish strawberries are in season right now and it’s a recommended buy!

A light stew in sugar and they make a perfect topping to ice-cream or have them fresh atop some traditional strawberry fruit cake with cream!

Swedish designers and one label’s take on the nautical theme

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Cheryl Marie Cordeiro-Nilsson, Filippa K nautical dress with pearls

Standing in the wind, in a Filippa K dress.
Photo © Jan-Erik Nilsson and Cheryl M Cordeiro-Nilsson for CMC 2009

I’m beginning to appreciate what I now recognize as Swedish and Danish designs. Not that the two are the same but there is a strong sense of clean cut lines, simple yet sturdy styles that come through labels such as Baum und Pferdgarten (Danish), Tiger of Sweden (Swedish) and Filippa K. In fact, Tiger of Sweden has such fantastically cut jackets for men that I can’t help but want one for myself!

Filippa K dress with Marc Jacobs denim and leather lined shoes

Filippa K dress with Marc Jacobs shoes.

There’s something always understated in Swedish design and this black and white striped dress from Filippa K is as loud as the label gets. It’s a superb Swedish take on the nautical theme, that’s very subtle compared to the nautically themed designs of Gaultier or Dolce & Gabbana.
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Summer along the Swedish west coast

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Swedish westcoast 1

An inviting view of the sea at the southern archipelago of Gothenburg.
Photo © Jan-Erik Nilsson for CMC 2009

If you’re headed to Gothenburg this summer, consider putting aside a day or two for exploring the southern archipelago that lies just outside of the city. It takes about half an hour by tram to the ferry terminal and another half an hour by ferry from the mainland to the islands. The rewards of being on the islands on a warm clear skied summer’s day are without limits, where you can experience the pleasures of the islands first hand.

Swedish westcoast 2

Small wooden piers line the water’s edge, dotted with red painted wharves.

Being out on the islands along the Swedish west coast is as close to kampong you would ever get when visiting Sweden. Located about 15 km from the city of Gothenburg, the southern archipelago even has slightly different weather conditions than from the mainland. Coupled with the deep sapphire blues of the surrounding seas, it wouldn’t be difficult to believe that you’re in Viking paradise.

Swedish westcoast 3

The many piers around the islands offer people a place to sit, relax and enjoy a view of the ocean.

On the islands, the water’s edge is lined tangent with wooden planked piers, most of which are private docking areas for boats belonging to the houses not far from shore. The houses in themselves are a beautiful, rustic sight. Most of the houses that look like cozy cottages are constructed with heavy interlocking logs and are painted red, red and blue or yellow. I especially love the tone of the deep red used on these houses, as I’ve come to identify them as a Swedish-red, associated with Swedish culture, design and style.
Continue reading “Summer along the Swedish west coast” →

Hellenistic lunch with lamb and tzatziki

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Grilled lamb with feta cheese salad and tsatsiki

Serve with some full flavoured red wine and a few slices of fresh bread to wipe up those last drops of olive oil with.
Photo © Jan-Erik Nilsson for CMC 2009

There is something with the Swedish early summer that makes me crave for the specific Greek blend of flavors that goes so well with the smell of outdoor barbequing, a drop of red wine and a comfortable chair.

Greek Salad

For a Greek Salad you just need some feta cheese, some fresh and flavourful tomatoes, some crisp and fresh onions, some large black ‘Kalamata’ olives and some olive oil. Slice, dice and give it a quick stir. I love kalamatas for their taste and often think I should have them in as many salad dishes as possible, Greek or otherwise.

Feta cheese greek salad with olive oil

Serve with some full flavoured red wine and a few slices of fresh bread to wipe up those last drops of olive oil with. A full lunch does not need to be more complicated then that but the possible combinations are endless.

Tzatziki

A superbly simple dressing that goes well with this salad or as a side dish to barbecued lamb, is the Greek yogurt based tzatziki.

Yoghurt based tzatziki

To make, start with some shredded cucumber, drizzled with a teaspoon of salt and let it drain for some 20 minutes. Flavour some thickened yoghurt with 2 crushed cloves of garlic, 1 tbs white wine vinegar and 1 dash of olive oil. Stir, mix and serve. It gets even better after being refrigerated overnight.

Draining

Sprinkle the shredded cucumber with a teaspoon of salt and let it sit for about 20 minutes to drain.

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Blue jewel tone dress with a hint of tribal

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Love label, blue jewel tone dress with tribal motif collar

A sapphire blue dress with tribal collar motif by Love Label. Large wooden buttons with beads line the collar of this dress, and calls to mind a large wooden bead necklace hung around the neck.
Photo © Jan-Erik Nilsson for CMC 2009

The safari theme, like the nautical theme, comes up almost every summer. And with the jewel toned dresses of autumn of 2007 and 2008, it was a delight to come across this dress from Love Label in a design that juxtaposed the two themes – jewel tone and tribal. An odd combination of themes, but something I found intriguing and don’t mind wearing.

The dress is cut like a shift, almost straight down the sides, with a slight swing out on the hips. I’m using the dress with an aubergine-brown patent leather belt that I purchased in Singapore during my last trip back there. There were gold tone accents in the fabric of the collar of the dress that I picked up and emphasized with a vintage silvery gold cuff bracelet.

One of my favourite things to do at the moment is to pile on similar colours of clothing and accessories, in varying hues, shades and tones. So here, I’ve paired a medium sized Tod’s cornflower blue, grained leather bag with the outfit.

Cornflower, periwinkle blue Tod\'s bag

Blue on blue. A cornflower blue Tod’s bag to complement the outfit.

Love Label is a fairly inexpensive brand of clothing that caters to a younger crowd. You can check out the team behind the brand at their blog, where they’ve just launched their sassy new collection. If you’re in the UK, but can’t find your way to a shop, you can try purchasing Love Label clothing online at Additions Direct or Littlewoods.

The mystique of Chanel Rouge Noir no. 18

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Chanel Travel Line flap bag in linen, Chanel no. 18 Rouge Noir and no. 453 Magnolia Rose nail polish

Chanel nail lacquer in no. 18, Rouge Noir and no. 453, Magnolia Rose. In the background, a Chanel Travel Line bag with a twist lock flap, in a lgiht latte colour and silvertone chain.
Photo © Cheryl Marie Cordeiro for CMC 2009

If I ever had to choose a favourite nail colour of all time, beyond the whims of trends and seasons, it’ll be Chanel’s Rouge Noir no. 18.

As far as I can recall, dark nail colours have been around since the 60s and 70s. My mother’s favourite nail varnish colour when I was growing up, was a dark brown, similar to the colour of dark soya sauce. She would wear that to work, to parties and on evenings out. I suppose the colour literally grew on me and I’ve now adopted a variation of that – with lashings of deep red – as a signature nail colour. It’s a colour for nails that I feel perfectly comfortable in, whether in high summer with clear skies, or in the middle of winter close to the festive Christmas season.

Chanel Rouge Noir no. 18 and Chanel no. 453 Magnolia Rose nail varnish

A close girl friend of mine figured out that I just adored Chanel Rouge Noir no. 18 and she sent this yin yang pair of nail varnish bottles, the vampish colour of no. 18 complemented by Chanel no. 453, Magnolia Rose, which is a shimmery light baby pink.

The very light shade of Magnolia Rose is superb for days when you don’t wish to call attention to your nails in particular. I used that shade of shimmery pink at my PhD viva recently and thought the understatedness of it all fitted well with the ocassion. It’s probably a colour I could wear to boardroom meetings too.

When it comes to technicalities on nail varnish, I would highly recommend Chanel because of the ease in which the lacquer goes on and the very short time it takes for it to dry. In my own use, I’ve hardly experienced any streaking with Chanel nail lacquers and love their staying power. Often enough, I find I’m taking them off without them having chipped with wear.

Old school canvas shoes with a twist: La Agrade, Lacoste

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La Agrade hot pink canvas ballerinas, Lacoste

La Agrade cerise canvas flats from Lacoste.
Photo for CMC: Cheryl Marie Cordeiro © 2009

White canvas shoes from Bata designed in a similar fashion to the ones shown above, were a staple in the school uniform when I was growing up. Admittedly not as elegant or sleek as the ones above from Lacoste, the canvas shoes from Bata twenty to thirty years ago were heavier soled and came in an all white canvas top that we had blancoed every weekend to get them pristine looking again for the following week at school. The front of the white canvas school shoes were also cut deeper and were known as ‘boat shoes’ because of their shape. I appreciated those shoes for their design because of how I could easily slip into them in a hurry – a practical detail for the days when I just could not get out of bed early enough for school.

La Agrade Lacoste, hot pink, cerise canvas flats

Pink shoes albeit in canvas, are still not part of the Singapore school uniform code today, where white canvas shoes are preferred.

I’ve been through many pairs of shoes through the years, both casual and formal in function and many of them for everyday office wear. And if I had to pick out the more comfortable types of shoes to wear, I would have to say that flat canvas shoes rank high on that list of shoes that are kind to your feet.

I once read that the idea of ‘breaking in’ to a pair of new shoes is a myth – the shoes either fit you and are comfortable from the moment you put them on, or they blister your feet and will continue to do so even after several occasions of use. These pink canvas flats from Lacoste were perfect first time around!

Patterns, La Agrade Lacoste, hot pink, cerise canvas shoes

Leaf patterns on the inner soles are reflected embossed on the outside and on the soles of the shoes.

What I’m loving about the twist on these canvas shoes from Lacoste is not just the pop of colour they add to your outfit when you wear them, but its details – the white leaf pattern imprint runs on the insoles and is reflected embossed on the front and undersides of the shoes.

These shoes give a perfect spring / summer holiday feel, with the knowledge that school days are long gone and you can well go ahead and buy whatever canvas shoes you like, in whatever rainbow colour you prefer.