Vegan Berry Panzanella 🌱

The brief for this month’s foodie challenge hosted by Foodblogs Schweiz is berries. On this occasion, I created a fresh and vivid bread salad. As I love berries and really couldn’t decide upon which one, I used four different kinds. Well, botanically speaking, three of them aren’t berries, actually… Arrange fresh strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and…

Vegan Ceviche 🌱

One of my favorite vegan starters has to be faux ceviche. It’s light and zingy and fruity and tangy. All at the same time. This dish really makes your taste buds pop. And best of all, it’s foolproof. Ceviche: Peel, stone and quarter 4-5 lychees per serving. If fresh lychees aren’t available, you can substitute…

Vegan Summer – Strawberries and Cream 🌱

Nothing says summer quite like strawberries with cream. That holds true in Switzerland as well. For the entire country, as a matter of fact. For the Swiss Food Discovery project, I veganized two very Swiss summery treats – vacherin aux fraises and Äpperigreeme – and married them into a new sweet indulgence. Vegan merengue: Combine…

Vegan Pistachio Custard with Cardamom, Strawberries and Golden Chlorella 🌱

Have you ever had chlorella? I hadn’t, until dear Christina from Alver asked me, if I wanted to give their Golden Chlorella a go. I’d heard a lot about its positive properties – this algae is packed with vitamins, minerals and antioxidants – and possible health benefits – among other things, this super food is…

Vegan Strawberry and Watermelon Gazpacho 🌱

Berries – that’s the brief for Lim’s summer challenge. I decided to turn sun-kissed strawberries and raspberries into a chilled soup inspired by the delicious Spanish signature dish. Gazpacho: Blend equal parts of strawberries, watermelon and cherry tomatoes, purple onion and garlic as well as lime juice, fleur de sel and chili to your liking….

Vegan Asparagus Mousse with Stewed Rhubarb and Fresh Strawberries 🌱

Parenthood is filled with sweet and salty moments: laughter, love, concern and sometime despair. This dish – in honor of Mother’s Day – is very much like that. Sweet and savory at the same time. Asparagus mousse: Peel and chop white asparagus. Taste with vanilla extract and fleur de sel. Simmer until soft. Blend until…

A Vegan Ode to Srawberries 🌱

I love strawberries. Actually, my entire family does. We can barely wait to kick off the strawberry season and start devouring these red, sun-kissed treats. Did you know, by the way, that strawberries – botanically speaking – aren’t berries but rather etaerios or aggregate fruits? Food facts are great, aren’t they? Strawberry sauce: Blend strawberries…

Poached cherry tomatoes, pan-seared watermelon and marinated strawberries on grilled halloumi 💚

Today, I was playing around in the kitchen. Experimenting with shapes and textures. I ended up with a trio of spheres, all in red but all cooked using different techniques. What do you think about the outcome? Score a shallow cross in the skin on the bottom of the cherry tomatoes. Cover the tomatoes with…

Vegan Strawberry Marbled Elderflower Kissel 🌱

My second dish for this month’s food blog challenge by Foodblogs Schweiz features strawberries and elderflower. Since I created two dishes also containing these very ingredients last month (a sweet and a savory one), I wanted to come up with something unexpected, yet familiar. Let me present: a strawberry marbled elderflower kissel reminiscent of a…

Raw strawberry and lemon balm soup with mascarpone cream

Fruit and berry soups have a strong tradition in the Nordic countries. As a child, at least once a week, I enjoyed rhubarb, red currant or gooseberry soup. And bilberry soup, of course. And rose hip soup. These soups are based on homemade fruit or berry juice thickened with potato starch. Some weeks ago, I…

Mother’s Day Pavlova

Mother’s Day is around the corner. Show your appreciation with a luscious pavlova topped with soft vanilla custard, sweet lemon balm pesto, sun-kissed strawberries and raspberries as well as spectacular spring blossom. I should work in copywriting, shouldn’t I? Pavlova: Whisk 2 egg whites and 30 g caster sugar until white. Add 70 g caster…

Strawberry and white asparagus salad with pan-seared trout and basil dressing

A new month means a new challenge by Foodblogs Schweiz. This month, the food basket contained asparagus, strawberries, morels, woodruff, romanesco and lemon balm. This selection of ingredients facilitates such a number of appealing combinations that I will be posting corresponding culinary creations throughout this and the upcoming week. First up: white asparagus and strawberries….

Summer cake

One of the perks of having children is that you make new acquaintances through your kids’ activities – acquaintances that even might develop into friendships. Today, we had a couple of befriended families over for coffee and a swim. The swim got a bit short, as we realized that a snake was joining us in…

Viili with my mother’s own grown berries

Viili is a typical Finnish fermented milk product consumed mainly at breakfast or as a snack. It has a a ropey, gelatinous texture and a velvety, yeast-like fungus surface. The taste is pleasantly mild with a subtle acid note. I like viili best with my mother’s own grown strawberries, raspberries, gooseberries, blackcurrant, redcurrant and wild…

Jordgubbstårta (Strawberry Cream Cake)

A summer without strawberry cream cake is no summer at all. We usually enjoy jordgubbstårta at our summer cottage, where the possibilities in the kitchen are limited. Therefore, we cheat and buy the sponge cake and use vanilla cream custard powder. The strawberries are own grown, though. The strawberry cream cake is assembled by generously…

Birthday number cake

Today, my big one turns six. It feels like she was a baby yesterday. I still remember holding her in my arms for the first time. She was so tiny and totally dependent on me. Now, she’s a big girl, who can cook risotto with a little help and ride the bus all by herself….

Strawberry cake

Strawberries, especially served as a cake, are an integral part of Midsummer. These portion cakes consist of crisp waffle cups, soft vanilla pudding and sun-warm strawberries. A taste of summer. Start with the vanilla pudding. Mix 4 dl milk, 50 g brown sugar, 4 tbsp corn starch, 3 egg yolks and the seeds of one…

Berries • Vanilla • Verbena • Flowers

Spongy rose water cakes with a soft creamy filling and a fresh berry topping. That sounds delicious, right? My initial plan was to combine the pudding and berries with crunchy honey meringues, though. Mini pavlovas for dessert. Meringues need a long oven time, so I started preparing them early this morning. And left them in…

Burrata on balsamic black pepper strawberries

Strawberries, black pepper and aceto balsamico – that’s a winning team. The black pepper will enhance the sweet fruitiness of the strawberries; the aceto balsamico will endorse their inherent citrusy and floral notes. Combine with a soft, creamy burrata and this dish will make your taste buds tingle. Chop ripe, organic strawberries and season them…