In season – Swedish grown strawberries

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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.
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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.

Reflections on being Miss Singapore Universe 1999

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The following is an article based on an interview by Valerie Wang Jia Yu of the Singapore Straits Times. The article was published in the Sunday Life! print edition section May 24, 2009. Photo © JE Nilsson for CMC 2009

Cheryl Marie Cordeiro in black

Winning the crown

In 1999 when I won the Miss Singapore Universe title, I was 24. I had just graduated with Honours from the National University of Singapore, NUS, and was pursuing two separate Masters degrees.

One was a Master of Arts in English Language with NUS and the second was a part-time Master of Science course in Information Technology with Nanyang Technological University, NTU.

Literally sitting with the crown in my lap, I subsequently graduated with both degrees in 2000 and 2001 respectively.

Curiosity and ambition

I suppose there could be many small reasons why I chose to join the Miss Singapore pageant back then, but it comes down to a combination of curiosity and ambition.

The first reason is that I’m always one to look to expand my repertoire of experiences. Up until my university days, I’ve always prioritized education and academic training. I also noted that I tended to be rather nervous and shy during presentations at tutorials. In that sense, being in a pageant presented a new challenge to me. It would be an event where I will need to be able to present myself on stage, in front of a large audience, overcoming stage fright.

I decided to take up that challenge and overcome my fear of presenting myself in front of many people. I even joked about this at my recent Doctoral graduation dinner celebration: after parading in a bikini in front of Donald Trump and millions of viewers, there’ll be nothing more frightful thereafter in terms of public appearances.

A plethora of opportunities

The second reason that drew me to the pageant was the opportunities that the event presented for the young women who chose to be in it. Contrary to what some might think, that pageants are demeaning to women, personally, I think pageants provide an excellent arena in which young women are given a voice, or at least, they are given the chance to find their voice. Being on stage, these young women are not only encouraged to polish their self-presentation skills but they are encouraged to have their say in the pageant’s related portfolio, voicing their thoughts on women’s issues for example or lending their services to humanitarian efforts.

Promoting Singapore

My portfolio as Miss Singapore Universe for example, was quite broad. Part of my work as Miss Singapore Universe entailed efforts on the humanitarian front, such as heightening awareness on AIDS in Singapore, spending time with the elderly living in elderly care homes. Other aspects of my portfolio included working with the Singapore Tourism Board in promoting Singapore as a choice country of destination for tourism, especially within the regions of Southeast-Asia and Asia-Pacific.

After the crown

There were no radical changes after I won the title in terms of lifestyle or relations with family and friends. But with the win, came a plethora of interesting opportunities that one could take in life and I think that’s where it got interesting for me. Most of all, I’m grateful for most things that came my way after winning the pageant – the trip to Trinidad and Tobago for example, where the international Miss Universe pageant was held in 1999, was truly an unforgettable experience by any standards! The people I’ve met along the way, delegates of other countries as well as the locals from the country is nothing short of a fantastic experience. The international event was a networking opportunity of a lifetime. It gave me insight into the beauty of the diversity of cultures, values, traditions, language, food and religions; and these are aspects that I brought with me in my research interest all the way into my doctoral thesis, which is about how Scandinavian top managers make it in Singapore.

Putting “Miss Singapore Universe Winner 1999” on the resume

Being Singapore’s delegate to the international pageant is something that I will always be proud of. On the international scene, more is expected of you. You stop being just a beauty queen and take on an ambassadorial role for the country, you answer questions about your country, its history and its socio-economic and financial policies. I think that to the majority of the public, pageants were (and still are) seen as entertainment, similar to how we would view a sports event, a fashion show, a reality series etc. I think having been Miss Singapore Universe is pretty much a non-issue with my friends and colleagues at the university.

My professional interest however, lies in academia, research and writing.

Style and self-presentation

I think beauty is an evolving concept, and over the years I believe the young women participating internationally have become more career oriented and this is reflected in how the local pageants are run. The professional aspects of style and self-presentation, has become more important than just good looks.

Pageants are after all a very important recruiting ground for all kinds of front persons aiming for a career in the tourism, public relations, modeling, human resources, entertainment, television, movie and the fashion industries – all important, major businesses with global turnovers that count into the billions.

Oprah Winfrey, who is one of the wealthiest and most influential woman on the planet for example, began her career by winning a pageant.

A fantastic opportunity

I think it’s a fantastic opportunity for any young woman to take part in the event because it does offer a platform in which young women can launch themselves in their career. I think that the experience of the pageant in itself is tremendously enriching for all involved. You learn a lot on the job, you learn from other people’s life experiences you meet along the way and you can make lifelong friends with other young delegates you meet at the international event.

There are a lot of fun memories of all the friends I made that I still come back to. If I could do it all over again, I would do it all over again and do it better.

 

Dinner party at Matsmak: the PhD disputationsfest

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Cheryl Marie Cordeiro-Nilsson, PhD disputationsfest, Gothenburg

Standing at the set tables to the dinner party at Matsmak; I wore a pink pleated Tadashi gown with vintage gold tone jewellery.
Photo © J E Nilsson, David Neikter Nilsson for CMC 2009

The public defense of my doctoral thesis was followed by a dinner celebration held at Matsmak with Mikael Sande as Chef de Cuisine.

The evening event was surreal in the sense that Mikael’s restaurant had just moved to its new location at Drakegatan 1 in Gothenburg, and we were able to book the entire restaurant on a Saturday evening for ourselves. The restaurant, being located in a building with mainly offices, also meant that our guests had the entire building to themselves to enjoy that evening.

We had our seating outside of the restaurant, in the inner courtyard of the building that had white marble floors and a skylight roof that allowed the evening Scandinavian summer sun to stream through to the tables, where the light reflected pretty prisms off the rims of the wine glasses. Tall potted palm trees turned the inner courtyard into a cozy garden, so that you felt as if you were dining outdoors on a languid summer’s evening.

Jan-Erik Nilsson, disputationsfest, Göteborg

My husband, Jan-Erik Nilsson, during the cocktail session before dinner.

We had a cocktail mingle session with sparkling white wine before the actual dinner. This gave our guests time to acquaint themselves with each other if they had not already done so earlier on during the day. I was most happy to see a few friends and colleagues who had already graduated from the university, present at this dinner. It was like a reunion of sorts where you could catch up with what was going on in their lives.

Getting seated and making new acquaintances. Disputationsfest.

Getting seated and making new acquaintances.

The theme of the dinner continued in its French-Italian theme from the lunch buffé, though in this event, it was Mikael Sande who was in charge. Menus were printed for each guest with their names, according to their mother tongue and placed at their respective seating places.
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