Crayfish party

When we had our friends Micke & Liz over from Sweden we decided to have a crayfish party. We were supposed to sit outside by the pool, but when the food was ready it was already starting to get dark, so we decided to stay inside. It was a little bit earlier than the usual crayfish season in Sweden, but we managed to find all the stuff that you need for a good crayfish party. Crayfish together with Västerbottenpaj, Janssons frestelse and snaps, of course, is a perfect combo. For dessert we had pavlova with chocolate, whipped cream and berries. If you're ever throwing a crayfish party, drinking songs are a must!

In the making

A while back we filmed a music video for one of our friends. It was a fun day and I think we got some good material. I will edit the video and make sure to post it here when it's done.

Texas no bean chili

I am a big fan of chili. I'm always keen to try out a new recipe, so when I found this recipe at a Swedish blog called Elsies päron, I knew I had to try it. Since then, I've it saved in my recipe folder (which is way to big and not organized in any way), and it's just been waiting for me to give it a go. So, I finally did it. It's a really delicious, flavorful and easy chili to make. The prep time is not more than about half an hour and after that you just let it cook, for about 4 hours. Next time I think I am going to make a bigger batch and put some in the freezer.

While it cooks you can do something else. Take a run, clean the house, or why not play some poker with your dog?

Serve with bread, salad, rice, nachos or whatever you feel like. We had the chili with warm nachos with a little cheese on top.

Guisados

Mexican food is a must here in LA, and it's always fun to try out new places. This past Saturday we found our way to Guisados, which is a little Mexican joint in Echo Park. We had a couple of tacos and ice cold beer at their patio, which was heaven on a crazy hot day like Saturday.

My favorite was Bistek en salsa roja (steak with salsa roja). 

Acai bowl

A couple of days ago I decided to finally try this recipe that I found a while back. It's been unusually hot in California these last couple of days so a refreshing and delicious Acai bowl is the perfect snack to beat the heat. We had it for breakfast, but it will also do well as a substitute for ice cream, or as an afternoon snack. Whatever you like!

So, what is Acai? It is a berry from the Amazon rainforest, and it contains a lot of good stuff, such as iron, omega fatty acids, and it has higher antioxidant levels than blueberries! 

I used this recipe and it turned out very delicious. Next time I think I will add a little lemon juice. Feel free to play around with it and use your favorite frozen fruit. We had it with sliced banana, granola and cocoa nibs, and I can really, really recommend to serve it with cocoa nibs. It gave it a bit of chocolaty taste which I like.

Wednesday night

Hi there,
it's me. I know I've been away for too long this time, but here I am. Ready for a fresh start!
It's been kind of hectic these last couple of weeks. I feel like I have tons of stuff to do, but at the same time I wouldn't want to have it any other way. The summer is coming, it's getting warmer by the day. I am really looking forward to spending my weekends at the beach.

Since we last spoke I've started running again, and I love it. It's been almost a month now, with runs every other day. I actually just got home from one.
After dinner I'm picking up Mattias at the airport. He's only been gone since Saturday but for some reason it feels a lot longer, and I've even had trouble sleeping when he's not here. Silly, isn't it?

Malibu wines

One of the best days when my parents were here was the day we spent at Malibu wines. We'd never been there before, but I had heard a lot about it and since we had a day off we decided to give it a try. We went to Whole foods and stocked up on goodies like crackers, cheeses, italian salami, marinated artichokes, strawberries etc. Then we headed up to Malibu wines for some picnic and wine tasting. It was truly an amazing place and I'm so glad that we found this hidden little gem!