The REAL original Swedish Meatballs!

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Warm from the stove, our homemade Swedish meatballs
served with brown sauce and potatoes. As traditional as it could be.
Photo for CMC by JE Nilsson © 2009

Swedes are very passionate about their meatballs.

When talking to Swedes, you will find most topics meandering their way sooner or later to food, and the most ardent topic of all – meatball recipes. Most male Swedes will be adamant that his mother is the only one who can do them right. Their recipe will be kept as a family heirloom and they will insist that their recipe is the only good one around.

As an international Swedish meatball ambassador, IKEA has achieved quite some success by promoting, selling and serving industrially mass-produced meatballs in their in-house restaurants all over the world. Most Swedes however, think that IKEA would have been much more successful if they had followed their mothers’ recipe instead, or at least Ingvar Kamprad’s mother’s recipe! Continue reading “The REAL original Swedish Meatballs!” →

Meeting early spring in shades of white

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Cheryl Marie Cordeiro, early spring 2009 in shades of white

In shades of white in early spring, against a clear blue sky.
Pictures taken for Bengt Enrique at I LVOE LV

It’s when you meet clear blue skies in the still biting cold of winter that you know spring’s along its way now. The temperatures will continue to pendulate between plus and minus degrees but the sunlight is showing itself more these days, with the days getting longer. A change in season is what I’m looking forward to and one that I welcome. Continue reading “Meeting early spring in shades of white” →

Diane von Furstenberg, fashion to boost our spirits!

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Diane von Furstenberg’s theme for autumn / winter 2009 was Nomad. Photo: Marcio Madeira.

I think attitude plays an important role in one’s life and a myriad of reactions from different individuals can arise from a single event or happening. In these bleak and troubled times in the fashion industry as reported by The New York Times, many collections out there will reflect the sub-conscious thoughts of the designers and people in the industry. Whether one is optimistic or pessimistic, hopeful or not for the times, it’s all depicted and seen in the AW RTW 2009 collections. Continue reading “Diane von Furstenberg, fashion to boost our spirits!” →

Recession fashion, relaxed drapes in lean lines

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Donna Karan, Autumn / Winter RTW 2009. Picture: Style.com/p>

In On the Street | Fashion Barometer, Bill Cunningham wondered about the impact of the financial crisis on world fashion – what kind of silhouettes and hemlines would we witness in the upcoming season/s that would reflect the times?

I think women these days, more than previous years, would be more conscious about what they’re choosing to buy. Michael Kors, commenting in the New York Times Multimedia said that, “…right now, even the most extravagant woman is putting on her smart cap…my customer is more pragmatic than she has been” He noticed black being sold in his Florida stores where normally, he wouldn’t sell black in Florida because “she thinks she can wear it more than once, she’s afraid of buying something that is a quick toss”. He also noted that women these days would prefer purchasing pieces that can be put together and re-ensembled easily with what they already have in their wardrobes because if it’s expensive, the customer these days thinks about it, tries it on and is smarter about her purchases. Continue reading “Recession fashion, relaxed drapes in lean lines” →

In a tartan dress by Karen Millen

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Freezing cold! Things you do for fashion!

Dark tartans give me the impression of a mellow festive feeling, a feeling of comfort. I’m quite a fan of Karen Millen because the cutting of the clothes seem to fit nicely on my frame. Well perhaps not all items would sit well on my frame, but most do and that’s enough to keep me going back to the shop. Continue reading “In a tartan dress by Karen Millen” →

Chloé’s horn cone heel

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My current muse – these Chloé horn cone heel booties.

I wasn’t particularly attracted to these horn cone heeled designs on Chloé shoes when they first came out for the autumn / winter collection. I thought them clumsy looking from the side profile and utterly unflattering to the silhouette. But as with everything else, what items that appear in the designer houses filter out and become naturalized / normalized after awhile; new shapes and designs become more attractive. Today, I find that the shape of the horn cone heel from Chloé has grown on me.

Turn the shoe around and the heel looks elegantly sleek from behind! The design blew me over and won my heart hands down. It’s details like these, with a combination of old and new in design that attract my attention. The shape of the heels from the side are frontier pushing yet the back of the heel keeps a traditional point of view on what’s sleek, elegant and complementary to the female silhouette.
Continue reading “Chloé’s horn cone heel” →

A Valentine’s Day cake!

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In celebration of Love – a no fuss sponge cake filled with our favourite fruits!

We thought that one of the best ways to celebrate and enjoy an uncluttered St. Valentine’s Day without the all too commercialized menus at restaurants, was to sit back and enjoy this wonderfully soft and romantic cake that’s just bursting with all our favourite fruits.

This is one of my favourite cakes to put together that uses sponge cake layers bought off the shelf at the grocery stores in Sweden. A tried and tested version that actually won a school competition for ‘best tasting cake’ in a cake-making competition is raspberry jam and fresh mashed bananas between the sponge cake layers. The competition cake was topped with whipped cream and fresh strawberries for decoration. Continue reading “A Valentine’s Day cake!” →

Red scarf on Valentine’s Day

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I witnessed the post Christmas and New Year’s fire sales around the city come and go without finding anything worthwhile to purchase. I was actually looking for a gift to a friend when I came across, quite unexpectedly, this red scarf on the last days of the H&M post Christmas and New Year’s fire sale.

And what luck! This red scarf was a bargain at one H&M outlet and about 600 m away at another H&M outlet, the same scarf was not for sale and thus, twice the price. As my girl friend once said, it pays to look around when shopping. It was the scarf’s two toned reds set adjacent to each other and the fringed detail that attracted me to this piece of accessory. Continue reading “Red scarf on Valentine’s Day” →

By Raphael Thexeira

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A birthday card, from Raphael Thexeira.

This card was sent by artist Raphael Thexeira, for my birthday which falls on Valentine’s Day.

I’ve been receiving the warmest and coziest birthday and Valentine’s Day greetings and well-wishes over Facebook and I’m thoroughly overwhelmed sitting out here in sub-zero temperatures in the west coast archipelago of Sweden. A light blanket of frost has covered the entire landscape overnight – what a sight to wake up to and what a feeling of warmth!

Thank you all, for birthday greetings and well-wishes!

I’m wishing all readers a wonderfully romantic celebration of love on St. Valentine’s Day ahead!

Cheryl Marie Cordeiro

You tiao in Penang, Malaysia

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From a street-side hawker in Penang, these deep fried ham jing peng, which are deep fried buns with a sweet red bean paste as filling, are ready to go!

Deep fried bread sticks or youtiao and its variations such as the ham jimg pengs in the above picture are a simple treat in Southeast-Asia. They’re usually eaten at breakfast with a good cup of thick kopi-O (black coffee), but they can be enjoyed throughout the day as a finger food as well.

Fried bread sticks and fried buns with various fillings can most conveniently be found at hawker centers in Singapore and at street-side hawkers in Malaysia. They’re also found in other Asian countries such China, Philippines, Laos and Vietnam.

The lady with her street-side stall. Just behind her is the backstreet lane of several shophouses in Penang, Malaysia.

During my trip to Penang, Malaysia, late last year, I found some youtiao at a street-side hawker near the Pulau Tikus market. I stood and watched as the lady in a sky blue apron, expertly kneaded the dough into shape and dropped them gently one by one, into a wok filled with hot oil. She seemed to do this without effort, something of a testament perhaps, to the number of years she’s already been doing this. Continue reading “You tiao in Penang, Malaysia” →