here are my thought for today.. some Swedish recipes and an enjoyable book/author!
I will all things in praise of the Lord, Every day say: I am living this day for the Lord
James 1: 5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. 6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.
God doesn’t us on the fence, He wants us for Him!
I Thes 5:18,21-22 18 In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. 21 Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. 22 Abstain from all appearance of evil.
I am a witness to others and an example of Christ in my life.
Lord help me to do the right thing! There are things I can’t do because even though it is not wrong – it may look wrong! How close is too close.. I will stay away from things that may enslave me!
Rom 14:19 19 Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another.
I Cor 10:31 31 Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.
James 1:17 Every good thing given and every perfect gifts from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow. 18 In the exercise of His will He brought us forth by the word of truth, so that we would be a kind of first fruits among His creatures.
I will do all things to the golory of my God – God wants you!
Here are a couple of Swedish treats… my MorMor made the first, I love to buy the second!!
A Swedish lemon cardamon sockerkaka or sugar cake
2T butter preheat 350 degrees
2 large eggs 9″ spring pan, or loaf pan, line bottom parchment paper
3/4 c sugar
1/2 c milk or water
1 1/4 c (cake) flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 t vanilla zest 1 small lemon 1 tsp ground cardamon
Melt 4 T butter, set aside to cool a little, sifted dry ingredients together- set aside. In a large bowl whisk the eggs and sugar until faomy. Add vanilla, zest and cardamon, then pour in the milk, melted butter. Beat liquid ingredients, then stir in the dry and beat my hand for 2 minutes, until smooth. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, and bake for about 30-40 minutes – until cake tester comes out clean. Cool on rack. Gently peel off parchment paper.
If you are really into adventure in baking – try these- I copied this off the internet and they are delish! Or if you are lazy like me – go to IKEA and buy them!!
“These Swedish Almond Tarts, called Mazariner (Mazarin for singular) are possibly 400 years old cousins and variations of the Italian crosata di mandorle or torta di mandorle. Their heritage is apparent in their etymology, named after the Italian-French cardinal and politician, Giulio Raimondo Mazzarino or what makes these great.. maybe 1940s tea-time traditions and the Swedish love for all things lagom made this mundane morsel such a hit. The Swedes are more than happy to share their love of Marzariner and there are many reliable recipes on the internet on how to put these almond tarts together. It isn’t a complicated process as some would have you believe, but rather, you’ll need a little patience in going through the notions of making this tart in several steps, beginning with the pastry. Here’s what you’ll need:
Pastry Dough Recipe
150 g flour
80 g granulated sugar
110 g butter
1 egg
1 tsp vodka
Water to bind all ingredients
* Aluminum foil tins for the tarts, oval or round will do.
Begin with making the pastry dough. These days, a blender would be fastest. Drop all ingredients into the blender and blend. Take out of the blender and knead the dough lightly till it comes together. Refrigerate for at least 15 minutes before use. While the dough is in the refrigerator, get to work on the almond filling…
Almond Filling
100g butter, 100g sugar, 2 eggs, 150 g ground blanched almonds (look for almond paste in a tube, almond filling in the grocery store, or make it in your Vita Mixer)
1 tsp bitter almond oil
Blanch and peel the almonds. Grind with butter, sugar, eggs and almond essence. Set aside, ready for use in the tarts.
By the time the almonds are ground and ready in the form of a paste, you can grab the pastry from the fridge and roll out the dough for cutting and placing in the aluminum tart shells. Some recommend you to simply press and pinch the dough into the aluminum tart forms but I went for rolling and cutting for a neater look. The pleasure of home cooking is that you can do whichever makes you gladest!
Fill the tart shells with the ground almond paste and then bake in the oven at 175C, for 15 minutes or till the tops turn a crisp golden brown. Wait till the tarts cool to top them with an icing glaze.
Icing
150 g icing sugar, Milk or water to melt and combine the icing sugar
I finally understood why, with the homebaked versions, these almond tarts made it to cult fika status in Sweden. these decadent fika bits are heaven in a bite, with a distinct contrast in bite between the pastry crust, the almond filled middle and the thin icing glaze! A complementing drink to the Mazarin? Going back to its roots, the equally decadent, caffè con panna.
caffè con panna:
Ingredients Espresso (# of shots ordered) Dollop Whipped Cream (standard is 2 ounces) Instructions Extract espresso directly into cup. Add dollop of whipped cream. Garnish with chocolate and/or cinnamon. Alternatively, add the dollop of whipped cream to cup and extract the espresso directly on top, then garnish and serve.
Great little mystery books – Denise Swanson’s Murder of a Royal Pain, Murder of a Small Town Honey and more, set in “Scumble River, Illinois” are enjoyable reads, and have refrences to real places in Illinois, like Merichka’s Restaurant in Crest Hill. If you are out for a drive.. check it out- I have eaten there a number of times and love their Po’boys. I like it bacause they prepare and grind all the meat themselves. Also the double baked potatoes make it worth the trip.
If you have ever been to Wilmington, IL (where we love to go fishing) you can almost think you are in Scumble River!
twigbranch 