Today I made a noodle soup with Thai flavors.  A base of vegetable stock was simmered with lemongrass and lime leaves . Lightly sauteed garlic and ginger were added to the stock  after being strained of the lemongrass and leaves. Red curry paste, oyster mushrooms, lime juice and fish sauce were then added to the soup, with water chestnuts and 1 chopped tomato following. Your choice of fish (mine was cod) should be added along with sugar snap peas, and shrimp at the last minute (to avoid over-cooking). If it is too spicy, you can mellow it with a little coconut milk.  Served with rice noodles underneath. Garnished with cilantro and green onion.

This was cheaper to make than going to our local thai take-out restaurant in Malmö, and I have a feeling it was a little healthier too.  This was the first time I’d ever made anything Thai, so I may not have gotten the flavors as precisely as an authentic place, but on a budget — this will do!

I received 2 new Le Crueset mini-cocottes for my birthday, so I decided to do something unique with them. First I lined the bottom with halved cherry tomatoes. then I cut asparagus in 1″ pieces to create a little forest of asparagus. I think they’re pretty cute, don’t you?

Served with pork tenderloin, potatoes, herb salad and italian tonnato sauce (1 can of tuna, 1dl olive oil, 1 egg yolk, 2 T lemon juice, 1 clove garlic, 2 T capers + 1 t caper “juice”, basil & parsley to taste).  I know, that sauce sounds weird if you’ve never had it… but trust me, it’s good.

This was very light and refreshing.  I also noticed that every ingredient was a pure, fresh and raw ingredient.  A baby spinach salad with red beets, bulgar, sugar peas, lime juice, and a little honey. Served with wine-poached salmon and a goat cheese cream…. this was so simple. You don’t even need a recipe for this… just add the above ingredients to your liking!

Well, we had another dinner party — this time, for family. We reused some ideas from the past and were a little ambitious with others, but it all turned out in the end.

First course was Salmon Tartare, but instead of making the cones (seriously, that took like 4 hours to make 16), we bought croustades.  I didn’t get a photo of these, but I’m sure I’ll make them again soon. So easy this time, and sooo delicious.

Second course was the asparagus ribbons salad with parm-reg and prosciutto. Add a little reduced balsamic vinegar and voila.

Main course was Salmon Mousse Ravioli with a lemon-butter sauce with mushrooms and capers.  We tried to make our own pasta… I promise we did. Not sure what went wrong, but we didn’t have the eggs or time to try another batch. Store-bought fresh lasagna sheets turned out to be the answer (even after the ravioli wouldn’t stay sealed and I freaked out).  A big thank you to Henrik again, for helping me create something beautiful out of what could have been a disaster.

Sometimes, I get a day off. Lucky for me, my husband knows how to cook too!  His inspiration for this dinner? Beer.

Mmmm… Beer.

The result? A Brat-and-Chicken pasta with carrots and onions in beer-mustard sauce… Yum!  Thank you, my dear