Cloud Nine

 This is going to be my first restaurant review. I'm just going to explain the food and my experience of the restaurant in my own way. So here's a story of my Birthday dinner, hope you enjoy reading it!

Yesterday was my 33rd  birthday and my lovely fiancee took me out to eat in a nice restaurant in Stockholm called Cloud Nine , the Dim Sum room. Click the name, to see the website. It was really cosy and nice place, quite prizy thou. The place had cool interior too, decorated little bit like hiphop style. So if you feel like eating delicious asian style food, drink tasty drinks and just chill, this is a place for you.

We started with drinks. I ordered a class of white wine and my fiancee ordered some Orange alcohol drink. Then we decided to start with a big Sashimi plate and share it together. The plate included: "Salmon Sashimi" Salmon with sesame seeds, gari, pea sprouts and warm sesame oil. "Tuna Cheviche" Tuna with avocado, yuzo, soy, nori and taro root. "Pacific Scallops" Scallops marinaded in tryffel oil and yuzo. The last set I think was Black Fish with green chili and some oil, I forgot what it was thou. The Sashimi set was Exellent! Fish tasted fresh and melted in mouth. My favourite was the Tuna and the Salmon Sashimis. The price for the Big Sashimi plate was 285,00 kr but it was all worth of the flavors!

Next we ordered some Dumplings. Both decided to take the same dish "Steamed Seafood Dumplings" which included four dumplings filled with fish, seafood, shiitake mushrooms and spring onion. They were served with two delicious dip, the other tasted like ginger & lemon and the other sweet soy & spices. Dumplings were soft and melted in the mouth. Really tasty! The price for two dumpling sets were 230, 00 kr. We also ordered some Edamame beans on the side. They had sprinkled some Togarashi on top, which make the edamames really spicy! After a while, maybe little bit too spicy! Our mouths were on fire! The Edamames cost 55,00 kr and it was a big portion, enough for two.

 

After the dumplings, we ate some Crab Salad. We were supposed to order Crab cakes, but they were out of them, so instead they had another dish, so we tried it out. The Crab salad was served with some papaya, fresh spinach, tomato sauce and spices. It was good, but i think it would have been better without the tomato sauce. Just with ginger and lime would been enough for taste. But it still was good! The price for the salad for two was 220,00 kr.

Because all the portions were quite small, we still were a bit hungry. We decided to order some sushis. We took some Nigiri with Salmon Caviar, rolled within cucumber. The Nigiris were good, but didn't neet a dipping in soy sauce. The caviar was salty enough. We also took some "Alaska Rolls" filled with salmon, avocado, cucumber and sesame mayonnaise. These were really delicious! The price for Nigiri was 100,00 kr and the Alaska rolls were 110,00 kr.

For last, we ordered some desserts. Even thou i started to be quite full already, my fiancee insisted that we get some desserts too. So i took the basic, Creme Brulee and he took Chocolate mousse with some cranberrys on top. The price for Creme burlee was 85,00 kr and the Mousse was 95,00 kr. Both were delicious!

In total we both ate gourmet food with 1361,00 kr including the drinks. Not so bad for exellent experice on different flavors! The serving was really friendly and they explained all the dishes to us what they included. I highly recommend this restaurant for all asian style food lovers. Such a great experience! Definetly going to try this out again some day!

Veggie Burger

I love burgers, well who wouldn't? I love to make different variations of vegetarian burgers. Mostly i use soy-meat ( the fake meat made from soy), tofu or variation of beans. Today i tried out a new recipe. This one, i made up in my head while cooking. That's the way i love to cook. Just use things that you like and you think might go well together! People who are not vegetarians, usually say that you cannot make a good vegetarian versions of some basic meat dishes. That is so not true! The key is to know how to use spices! No one likes a steak that tastes like cardboard, so remember to be bold and just play with the flavours! I made the fries also by myself.

 

Here is what you need for the veggie steaks (8 pc): 

• One packet of Beans ( I used a "Zeta" ecological beans-mix)
• One packet of Red lentils ( I used ready cooked " Go Green" ecological lentils)
• 2 eggs
• 2 cloves of garlic
• Pecorino cheese
• Fresh coriander
• Half red onion
• 1 red chili (or just half if you want it to be milder)
• 1 dl flours
• 1 dl breadcrumps
• Salt & pepper
• Spices like: Ginger powder,  Santamaria Garlic & Pepper, BBQ pepper, Lime-pepper -mixes.
• Cheddar cheese ( I used one called " Red Devil" -a spicy cheddar)
• Vegan ham ( Optional, i used  Astrid och Aporna fake ham)
• Tomato, cucumber & pea sprouts
• Mayonnaise (mixed basic mayonnaise with some honey, smoke flavoured salt and paprika powder)
• Burger buns

First pour the beans and lentils in a bowl. Add the garlic, onion, fresh coriander, chili, all the spices and some grated Pecorino cheese into the mix. Mix with a hand blender (or in blender) to make it like a smooth paste. Don't mix too long, so that it still has good texture. Taste the mix, add some more spices if you think it needs more taste. Add 2 eggs and mix it with using a spoon. Add the flours and breadcrumps into the mix. The pastry should be stiff enoug to mold stakes with your hands. Mold some some flat stakes with your hands and fry them in the hot pan with some oil on it. 

Heat the buns on the pan. Pile some Cheddar cheese,  veggie stake,( fake ham), tomatoes, cucumber, mayonnaise and pea sprouts on the buns and serve with fries. Enjoy!

Delicious Fish

I have always loved Fish alot. When i was little, we used to fish with my grandpa at our summer gottage. It was him, who teached me how to fish and prepare delicious and simple food from fish. These two portions are examples of how to make fried fish tasty and good in simple ways.

Basic what you need for spice up the fish (you can use different variations):

• Salt & Pepper (Sea salt is really good with fish)
• Lemon pepper
• Garlic & pepper mix
• Dried dill
• Lemon juice

In the top picture is fish file from a fish called Pangasius. It's a genus of shark catfishes, native to Asia. You can get this frozen or fresh in your local stores mostly and it is quite cheap. The bottom fish is very common used fish in Scandinavia called Baltic Herring (Silakka in Finnish) . You can get i fresh anywhere here in Scandinavia, files or whole. 

The first step of making the fish is spice it up. Sprinkle some salt & pepper on top, use some other spices if you like, try out different things. Squeeze some fresh lemon juice on top. Lemon also starts to cook the fish with its acids so you need to do it just before you actually start frying the fish. 

You need some eggs & breadcrumps to get the crispy cover for the fish. Mixx the eggs in a bowl and either dip the fish in or smear the egg on both sides of the fish. Then pour some breadcrumps on a plate and flip the fish on both sides that it gets enough breadcrumps on it. Then fry the fish in Olive oil or butter on a hot pan until the surface looks golden brown. 

Here in these portions, i have served the fish with mashed potatoes, some peas, fried onion. On the top picture i have made a creamy wild mushroom sauce from mushrooms that i picked from a forest. On bottom picture i have made a simple sour cream sauce just by adding some lemon, honey, pepper, dill and herb salt in the mix. If you want the recipe for the mushroom sauce, just feel free to ask me. The mushrooms are called in latin: Hydnum Repandum. Just click the name to read more about the mushrooms.

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Spaghetti Soy-Bolognese

Today i made fast dinner. Spaghetti Bolognese by using Swedish product "Anamma sojafärsh". I have just recently found Anamma - vegetarian products and i really like them!  Read more about Anamma products on their webpage. Anyway, this dish is so fast and easy to make. I make it quite often, when i am tired and want to eat some simple delicious food, that i can make fast. Here is a recipe for you to make this too:

Ingredients:

• Soy "Meat" (groats) You can use the frozen one or dried one. I used one bag of frozen Anamma groats. 
• 1 Onion
• 2 Cloves of Garlic
• Tomato paste
• Pecorino cheese
• Mozzarella cheese
• Heinz ketchup
• Salt & Pepper
• Santamaria Garlic & Pepper and BBQ & pepper spice mixes
• Olive oil
• About 2 dl Cream
• About 2 dl water
• Full-grain Spaghetti

First put the Spaghetti on boiling (add some salt & olive oil on the water). Cut the onions and garlic. Add some olive oil on pan and pour the frozen soy in. Let it come to heat so the soy melts fast. Add some more oil and the garlic & the onions into the pan. Start frying the soy. Add the spices. When soy & onions has fried a bit (starts getting more brown), add some water and then the tomato paste. Mix well all the time. Add some ketchup also in. Pour the cream into the mix, lower the heat on low level. Grate some Pecorino cheese in, mix well and taste. Add more spices if needed. Spaghetti should be ready at this point (after about 10-15 minutes). Pour the hot water out and pour little bit olive oil into mix with the spaghetti. Place the spaghetti on a plate, add some sauce on the top and sprinkle some grated Mozzarella on top. Garnish with fresh basil. Fast, simple and Delicious!

Vegetarian Loaf from Soy "meat"

This was experimental test how to make vegetarian "meat loaf" by using soybean groats. Turned out to be really good! I served it with mashed potatoes, creamy pepper sauce and a salad. So here is a recipe for how to make the Loaf;

Ingredients:

• 1 Onion
• 3 big cloves of garlic
• 3-4 dl frozen spinach
• 3 eggs
• 1 package of Halloumi cheese
• About 2 dl flour
• About 2 dl breadcrumps
• About 5-6 dl Soybean groats (this you can find in most eco stores or Asian stores, if your local store does not sell it. You can also use Quorn if you choose to)
• Olive oil
• Butter
• Salt & Pepper
• Mixed spices ( i used Santamaria's Garlic & pepper, BBQ & pepper and Jamie Oliver's Barbeque mix)

First you need a casserole which is oblong-shaped. (or you can make it in folio, but i prefer in casserole). Butter the dish well. Fry some onion, spinach and garlic in oil and add the Soybean grouts (You have to boil them first/let them stand on a hot water to make it soft, if you are using the dried ones) and the spices to the mix. Cook it for a while and then add halloumi that has been hacked into small pieces. When the cheese has melted a little bit, put the mix on a bowl to cool down for a little while. Add the eggs and the flours and mix it well. Add more flours, if the mix is not thick enough. Pour some olive oil also in the buttered casserole and pour the mix in. Smooth the top even. Cook the loaf in oven  for about 30 min (might be less or more,depends on the ovens power) in 200 ºC until the surface looks nice and brown. Take out from the oven and let it cool down for a bit. Cut nice thick slices and serve with whatever you prefer. Delicious!

I love Sushi

Sushi is one of my favorite foods. You can make so many different variations of maki-rolls / nigiris. Simply love them! I love the pickled ginger too, so that pink one is my favorite. Nowdays you can find almost all the ingredients from local food stores, but ofcourse you can find them in Asian stores too.  Here's one little recipe how i like to make Tofu-maki rolls.

You need:

• One packet of hard Tofu
• Avocado
• 1 Carrot
• Cucumber
• Iceberg lettuce
• Nori (Seaweed)
• Wasabi
• Rice vinegar
• Sesame seeds
• Soy sauce
• Heinz tartar sauce (or cream cheese, mayonnaise)
• Sushi rice or plain porridge rice
• Sesame oil, Chili oil, salt, pepper & Soya sauce for the marinade for tofu
• Cooking oil for frying the tofu. 
• Rolling mat

First cut long thick slices from the tofu and marinade them. Put the rice in a rice cooker or in a pot. I myself use rice cooker, because it's easier to cook rice in it and you don't have to watch after it. Nowdays you can find rice cookers really cheap in basic home elektronic stores. Start preparing the vegetables next. Cut long thick slices and put them a side. Prepare some big wide slices from the lettuce. Fry the tofu slices in oil on a hot pan until all the sides are nice and golden brown. Put the tofu on cooling down. Meanwhile the rice sould be ready. Pour the rice on a flat bowl/dish and let it coold down. When the rice has cooled down, pour some rice vinegar all over ther rice, but be carefull that you don't pour too much! The key of making really good sushi is to make perfect rice. It takes a long time to learn it, but practise makes perfect! Mix the rice gently. Prepare the nori on top of the rice mat. Be sure that you have the right side on top. So put the shiny side down. First add some tartar sauce with using knife (you can also use mayonnaise or cream cheese, but i like tartar in my maki)Then add the lettuce. Then add rice, make a nice little ball in your hands and put it on top and start pushing it flat on the matt. Make sure you leave about 2-3 cm free space on top of the nori. Add  a little stripe of wasabi by using your finger in the middle of the rice and sprinkle some sesame seeds on top. Then add some tofu, carrot, cucumber & avocado evenly on top. Start rolling the maki with the mat. Squeeze it tight in every roll and when you come near to end, stripe some water on the end of the nori seaweed with your finger and roll the maki to the end. Cut about 2-3 cm thick pieces with using a sharp knife. Serve with soy sauce, wasabi and pickled ginger. Enjoy!

Vegetable Stew

Warming stew with lot's of flavors and vegetables. Such a wonderful dish! Perfect on a cold winter day. I made this over a year ago, so i'm not sure if i remember the correct recipe, but i'll try. So here it comes:

Ingredients:

• About 5 Potatoes 
• 2 Carrots
• 1 big Onion
• 1 Broccoli
• 1 Sweet potato
• 1 Zucchini
• About 2 dl Meat substitute made from Soy (You can find these in most of the food stores and also in Asian stores or ecological stores.) 
• 3 cloves of Garlic
• Fresh Parsley 
• Vegetable broth
• Olive oil
• Chili
• Salt & Pepper
• Soy sauce
• Fresh Tarragon
• Santamaria Garlic & Pepper mixed spices

Peel the potatoes, onion, carrots and sweet potatoes. Chop them into small pieces and add into a pot of boiling water (about 1-1 and half liter, depends how much vegetables you are using). Add vegetable broth (cube or fresh, i used couple of cubes), chopped chili and garlic, salt and pepper and some olive oil into the stew. Let it boil for about 5 minutes. Add the meat substitute (soy meat), broccoli and Zucchini into the pot. You can add some soy sauce and other spices according to your taste. Let the stew boil until all the vegetables are soft and the broth looks nice and thick. Finally add some fresh Tarragon to the mix, and let it rest for a little while. Serve with some garlic bread and enjoy!

Breakfast

I have always loved to make different kind of sandwiches. It's easy to make delicious breakfast with simple things. I Just love to use differet type of cheese like Pecorino, Mozzarella, Smoked creamy cheese, Emmental and Brie. Add some capris, jalapeno, pepper and herb salt if you want a spicier sandwich. Fresh basil, cherrytomatoes, avocado with some Garlic & pepper goes really well together. I also love Avocado with a hint of lemon pepper on top and that vegetarian caviar which is made from seaweed. Delicious!

 Bake it in oven, eat fresh, use your imagination and use spices! Those are the keys of making delicious simple sandwiches!

Spinach-Halloumi Pie

This one is one of my favourite salty pies. Really tasty and simple! Here is a recipe for you:

Ingredients:

• 3 cloves of Garlic
• 1 Onion
• 1 dl Cream
• 1 box of frozen puff paste (or you can make fresh one yourself)
• About 2-3 dl frozen spinach or if you use fresh, i think one big bag is enough
• Half box of Philadelphia cream cheese (i used the Spring onion & Pepper one)
• 2 Eggs 
• 1 packet of Halloumi cheese
• Pepper
• Butter

First fry some onion, spinach and garlic on the pan with some butter until the onions look soft. Add pepper to the mix. Then add some chopped Halloumi to the mix ( i chopped it in small cubes) and let it cook for about 5 minutes on a low heat. Add the Philadelphia cheese and cream, mix it well. Put a side, let it cool for a little moment. Mold melted pastry on buttered casserole, that it goes all the way up on the sides. Save some pastry for use later on the top of the pie. Add the eggs on the cooled down spinach-halloumi mix and pour it on the casserole. Put the leftover pastry slides on top and cook the pie in the oven in 225 ºC for about 30 minutes, until it looks golden brown on top. Enjoy with some fresh salad !

Fried Tofu with Spicy Carrots and Vegetables

This is simple and easy home-cooked meal. My mom taught me the recipe for the delicious spicy carrots and i love to make variations of it often. Here is a recipe for you:

Ingredients:

• Summer potatoes
• Carrots
• Tofu (Hard)
• Asparagus
• Cherry tomatoes
• Rocket
• Spring onions
• Sour cream
• Honey
• Salt & pepper
• Fresh Tinjam
• Santamaria Lime & pepper or lemon pepper
• Olive oil
• Butter
• For Tofu marinade: Sesame oil,  Santamaria Garlic & pepper mix, Santamaria BBQ & Grill mix

First marinade tofu with some sesame oil, salt, pepper, and variation of mixed spices listed above or you can variate your own mix. Put the potates, carrots and asparagus boiling on seperate pots. Mix some lemon pepper ( i used Santamaria Lime & Pepper mix) , honey, salt and pepper with sour cream. Put it cool in the fridge. Start frying the tofu on a hot pan. Make the salad; Add some rocket, cherrytomatoes and springonions, some salt & pepper and some olive oil. When the carrots are ready, pour the water out, add some butter, salt & pepper, garlic & pepper mix and fresh tinjam on the pot. Mix it well. Pour the water out of the asparagus, add some pepper, salt and butter. Serve the fried tofu with boiled potatoes, spicy carrots, asparagus, rocket salad and the sour Cream sauce. Enjoy!

Papaya Salad with Tofu & Edamame beans

I found Papaya couple years ago, when i first ate papaya salad in a lovely Thai restaurant in Helsinki, called Lemon Grass. It was one of the greatest and simplest salads i had ever eaten. The power of the flavors are amazing! I made my own variation of the basic Papaya salad by adding some tofu and edamame beans in. Normally you put green beans and salty peanuts on in, but this one is without them.  The Recipe goes like this:

Ingredients:

• 1 green Papaya (You can fid this in most of the Asian stores)
• 2-3 Garlic cloves
• Red Chilies ( as much as you can take the heat! In Thailand, they make it really strong!)
• 1 Carrot
• Cherry tomatoes
• 1-2 branches of Spring onion
• Ginger
• Soy sauce (Kikkoman or other light soy)
• Fish sauce
• Sesame oil
• Basic cooking oil
• 2 limes
• Tofu (hard)
• Edamame beans (You can find these frozen in some stores and most of the Asian stores)
• Lettuce (Optional, for decoration if you want)

First marinade the Tofu with Soy sauce, Fish sauce and Sesame oil.  Add little bit of Garlic, Chili and Ginger on the marinade too. Peel the Papaya with special peeler ( that one you can buy cheaply in Asian stores) Or if you don't have a special peeler, you can use normal vegetable grater. First take the green peel away. Start peeling long thin slides into a bowl from the Papaya. Peel as much as you need, but stop peeling when you reach to the hard center of the Papaya. Mean while you can start cooking the Tofu on a hot pan with some cooking oil on it. Peel some thin slides of carrot also into the bowl. Add some half cutted Cherry tomatoes and some Spring onion into the mix. Add finely chopped Garlic, Chili and Ginger into the mix. Melt some Edamame beans on microwave(about 3 minutes), peel them and add the beans into the bowl. Pour some Soy sauce & Fish sauce in and mix it well. When the Tofu is cooked golden brown, put it on side to cool down. Add the Tofu into the salad and mix again. Squeeze some lime juice on top mix and taste that it has enough spice and taste! Add more sauces if needed. Pile the salad on top of lettuce and enjoy.

Delicious Scallop Salad

I have found scallops as an ingredient a little while ago and really fell in love to the taste! Simple and Delicious! Here's a recipe for you:

Ingredients:

Portion for two

• 8 frozen scallops (or fresh ones if available) 
• Haricot vert
• Grapes
• Pine nuts
• Pecorino cheese
• 1 big avocado
• Romain lettuce 
• Cooking oil
• Butter
• Salt & pepper
• Citron pepper
• Santamaria Garlic & Pepper mix
• Special fig vinegar as a salad dressing, but you can use plain red vinegar. 

Wash the lettuce well and dry it little bit with a towel. Pile the lettuce on a circle in the plate. Cut avocado on slides and put them on the plates. Springle some citron pepper on top. Add some oil on the pan, let it come to heat and add the Haricot vert on frying. Add some salt and pepper and cook until the beans are little bit fried and soft. Put the beans on side waiting. Fry some Pine nuts on a dry pan, just until they are golden brown. Put them a side to wait. Add butter on a clean pan, and cook the melted/fresh scallops on both sides about 3-4 minutes until they are golden brown. Spoon the butter on top of the scallops while cooking and add some salt & pepper on them. Place the Haricot verts and Scallops on top of the salad, add some grapes on the plates, grate some Pecorino cheese on top and pour the pine nuts on top. Grate some Santamaria Garlic & pepper mix on the salad and pour a hint of vinegar on top.  Damn delicious!

Vietnamese style Vegetarian noodle soup

Today i made one of my favorite styles of food, Vietnamese. Never been in Vietnam, but sure would love to go there one day to taste the food and learn about their culture. This is a lovely comfort food for a cold rainy day! Here is a recipe for you to try out:

Ingredients:

Portion about 2-4 persons

• 1 packet of ready fried tofu (you can find this in most Asian stores frozen or fresh)
• 2-3 big cloves of Garlic
• Small piece of fresh Ginger
• Red chili ( as much as you can take, i put one big one, without the seeds)
• 3 small carrots
• 1 lime
• 1 branch of Lemon grass
• Salted peanuts
• Half eggplant
• Fresh Coriander
• Bean sprouts
• Bok Choy (you can find this in most Asian markets)
• 1 small Broccoli
• 2 fresh Shiitake mushrooms
• 1 branch of Celery
• 3 branches of fresh spring onion
• Vegetable broth (Knorr; Vegetable fond "Du Chef")
• Rice noodles ( You can find these in most Asian stores, i picked the wide ones)
• Soy sauce (Kikkoman)
• Sesame Oil ( i used special Sesame-Ginger mix oil)
• Fish sauce (optional) If you want to make a vegan version, just use soy sauce.
• Basic cooking oil

First chop the tofu into smaller pieces and marinade it with soy, sesame oil and fish sauce. Meanwhile start prepping the other stuff. Cut garlic cloves, ginger and chili into small pieces. Put them on side in a bowl. Cut vegetables (carrot, broccoli, eggplant, celery and Shiitake mushrooms) into pieces and put them a side in a bowl. Make the broth by adding about 1 liter water in a pot, one vegetable broth (i used the fresh one). Add some soy sauce & fish sauce into the mix. Cut some lemon crass (hack it with knife first) and add it into the broth. Add also some of the chilies, garlic and ginger into the mix. I also added little bit fresh spring onion. Heat up to boil, and let it be on a low heat. Taste that it's salty enough! Same time you can start cooking the tofu on a hot pan. Add some cooking oil, bring up to heat and fry the tofu nice and golden brown. Put the ready Tofu on a bowl to wait. Boil some water with water boiler, add the rice noodles in a big bowl and pour the water in. Let the noodles rest in the hot water for about 5-10 minutes, until they are soft and ready. Meanwhile start cooking the vegetables. Add some oil, garlic, ginger and chili on the pan after cooking the tofu and pour the vegetables in. Mix it well, you can let it cook under a lit if you have some, but don't cook it too long. Vegetables need to be fresh and crispy. When vegetables look to be quite ready, add the beansprouts, bok choy and the cooked tofu on the mix. Mix it well, let it cook for a little bit, until the bok choy looks soft. Pour the water out from the noodles and add a nice pile on a plate. Add the vegetable mix on top and pour some broth in. Squeeze some lime juice on top and add some fresh coriander too. Hack some salty peanuts in a mortar and pour it on the top. Enjoy!

My first blog

Welcome to my food blog! I finally started up my own blog, since my friends have been asking for me to start one. So here i go! I will start posting here the food i have been making. I am a Pesco-vegetarian, which means that I only eat vegetarian- and seafood. No read meat or chicken at all. I have been vegetarian since i was 16 and never looked back, so about 17 years without meat. I mainly started to be a vegetarian, because i loved animals so much. I love vegan food also, but simply could not start to be a vegan because i love cheese too much, hah! Seafood i started eating again about 5 years ago, mainly because health issues and also because i have always loved fish the most. In this blog, you will be seeing food that i have made mostly with my own recipes. I love to make up recipes from my head, also get inspiration from other recipes and do variations of them.  I'm also gonna post some food reviews from different restaurants i have been eating. So i hope you enjoy the ride!