Self sufficient in vegetable

mix planting of soy, carrot, beetroot, parsnip

This is the time when the vegetable garden produces enough for 2 meals a day, no need to shop for vegetable and fruit hopefully for the next 3 months. 

beans and mangetout

tomato and pepper

At the moment there are lettuce, beetroot, mangetout, cabbage and many herbs. 

lunch

On the fruit side, a small bowl of blue berries, gooseberries and strawberries everyday. 

blueberry and gooseberry

 

White sponge cake with rose petal jelly

I would like to make a mild tasting white cake to show off the colour and fragrance of wild rose petal jelly, I modified the standard Genoise cake recipe removing egg yolk and use coconut oil instead of butter. The result is surprisingly good, very soft dense spongy structure and moist, like half way between cake and mousse.

white sponge cake with rose petal jelly

120gm egg white

60gm icing sugar

pinch of salt

60gm flour

40gm coconut oil

1. Whisk egg white in warm water bath with icing sugar and salt until hard peak.

2. Fold in flour then coconut oil.

3. Bake at 160˚C until firm to touch, around 20 minutes.

Owl channel

baby barn owls

Noticed some fluff on the floor under the chimney in the guest bedroom, on investigation, found 5 baby barn owls living there. Have attached a camera connected to TV to watch their activities (being fed at night by parents dropping food in), and when they are big enough to be evicted.  

baby barn owls

 

New potato with garlic, lemon and coriander

A recipe introduced by a friend who tasted it in Cyprus, I modified by adding fresh coriander leaves. The flavor of raw garlic, lemon juice and fragrance of coriander are all strong and characteristic, blend together surprisingly well.

 potato with garlic, lemon and coriander

1. Mince garlic finely, mix with lemon juice, salt and olive oil.

2. Boil potatoes, cut into quarters, while hot, add in garlic mixture and fresh coriander leaves, stir well.

Quiche with onion and carrot

Went to a friend's house for "bring a dish" dinner together, quiche is a good choice. It is easy to bring, tasty, colourful, and a balanced meal on its own.

quiche with onion and carrot

1. Cook sliced onions in olive oil slowly at medium heat, stirring regularly, until soft and sweet, around 30 minutes. Do the same with carrots cut into fine strips, around 10 minutes. Do not add salt.

2. Mix 125ml milk with 125ml cream and 1 egg, season with slightly more salt, white pepper and nutmeg.

3. Blind bake short crust pastry in glass baking dish until pale golden, fill the bottom with grated Gruyere cheese, then onion and carrot, pour milk mixture to cover vegetable, and more grated cheese on top.

4. Bake at 170˚C until quiche wobble slightly in the middle when shaken, around 20 minutes.

5. Once out of the oven, put coriander leaves on top for flavor and colour.

Cod with nut and citrus peel crumble

cod filets

I brought back a few frozen cod filets from fishing in Denmark. The filets defrost nicely without any smell, though a bit more "woody" after cooking.  Need more garnishes to liven up the dish. 

cod filets with nut and citrus peel crumble

 

1. Season cod filets with salt & white pepper for a few hours to firm the flesh.

2. Bake filets at 180˚C for 10 minutes.

3. Spoon preserved lemon, orange peels and chopped up nuts on top, bake for another 3 minutes to warm up the toppings.

Memory of Denmark, wild rose petal jelly

wild rose Denmark

One of the lasting memory of Denmark is the presence of wild roses everywhere, along the shore, in the field, as hedge plant. Only one variety, with healthy looking rich green leaves, bright carmine flowers and wonderful fragrance.

wild rose Denmark

Before leaving, I collected a big bag of petals, around 200gm, to make rose petal jelly, to capture the colour and the perfume.

wild rose petal jelly

1. Shake petals to remove bugs, place in a big pot.

2. Make enough syrup (with 60% cane sugar or honey, a teaspoon salt) to submerge all the petals, around 1.2 litre. 

wild rose petal jelly

3. Bring the pot to boil and remove from heat, mix and stir petals.

4. After a day, the petals loss their colour, the syrup turns brown. Sieve and press out syrup.

5. Add lemon juice a tablespoon at a time, the carmine colour gradually reappear, I used 5 tablespoons. 

6. Add pectin to syrup (follow instruction on the package), bring to boil to set the jelly. 
The whole house will be filled with rose fragrance, the flavor is so intense, a little goes a long way.

wild rose petal jelly

wild rose petal jelly

Cabbage 2 ways

cabbage

When we buy cabbage in the market, it is only the light green, tightly rolled up ball of leaves that is being presented. Actually there are a number of thick, dark green outer leaves that covered the heart.

When growing cabbage at home, it is such a waste to throw these outer leaves away. So I stew them in a rich sauce, which goes well with the "meaty" texture of the leaves. 

thick cabbage in rich dark sauce

1. Cut thick leaves into pieces, stir-fry in coconut oil with slices of garlic and ginger until soften. Season with soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, a couple of star anise and cloves, add a few dates or prunes for sweetness and thickens the sauce.

2. Cook at low heat for half an hour,  let it cool down and reheat to concentrate the sauce.

Garlic and onions harvest

garlic

Garlic and onions swell up beautifully in the rain last month.

garlic

I have planted a lot of garlic last year, in order to make tasty black garlic to eat, and to give away. 

onion

 

Blueberry

blueberry

Among berries, the first ready to harvest is strawberry, from mid May onward, next is blueberry, from early June. I will soon have a non-stop supply of various berries throughout the whole summer. 

blueberry

 

Rudbeck Ost and Deli, Fano Island, Demark

Smorrebrod

Smorrebrod is a national dish, meaning open rye bread sandwich topped with salmon, ham, prawn, smoke fish, smoked cheese, salad, pickled vegetables, mustard and mayonnaise sauces.

After checking in the supermarket to see the list of "ingredients" on the produce and sauces, I decided to only try it when they are homemade (which seem to be still quite rare in this country) and use good quality ingredients.

This was a satisfying meal, the Smorrebrod looks good and tasted excellent, with local shrimp, warm flat fish, local made ham, homemade sauces, pickled cucumber, onion, lots of fresh herbs etc.

Dessert comes with wild rose hip sorbet, or wild rose petal jam, made from the wild roses that are growing all over the country.

Back 200 years, Fano Island, Denmark

Fano island

A small island on the windy west coast, 15 minutes ferry from mainland. Once stepping off the ferry, you feel like going back 200 years. So quiet and peaceful, no industry, no tourist traps, only huge sandy beaches, quaint old thatch houses and farms.

Fano island

Fano island

Fano island

Fano island kite flying

 

Fresh herring, Hvide Sande, Denmark

herring

 

There may be a lot of fish in the sea, but so far in this country, the only way to have really fresh ones is to go and catch them. Hvide Sande on wild west coast is such a fisherman's favorite spot, easy to catch herring right at the edge of the town.  

herring

 

Seafood, Denmark, West coast

Along the West coast towns it is easier to find decent fish shops, selling whole fish on top of filets. The most popular among local people is smoked fish, well, tasty, can keep, no need to cook etc etc, my favorites are smoked prawn, mackerel and eel.

fish shop Denmark

fish shop Denmark

fish shop Denmark

smoked prawns

smoked cod eggs

smoked eels

smoked halibut

 

Natural energy, Denmark

wind turbine, Denmark

Being such a windy country, there are huge wind turbines everywhere to generate electricity. Together with solar panels and water heating panels, they provide 80% energy needs in some towns.  

solar, hot water panels, Denmark

 

What is even more impressive, and I noticed the visual pleasure instantly on arriving Denmark is the lack of electricity wires along the road, and from buildings to buildings, except long distance power lines, all buried underground.  

West side fjord, Denmark

Huge piece of land pierced by numerous fjords, there are a lot of grazing animals, cows, buffaloes, horses, and wild birds.

west fjord

west fjord

west fjord

 

Wild west coast, Denmark

The west coast is a continuous long strip of sandy beach, with super strong wind, and huge expanse of rough heath land. There are lots of hiking and biking trails to admire wilderness. 

Klitmoller

Agger

Agger

Klitmoller

Kiltmoller