Natalie's (Homesick for California) Enchiladas

 

Natalie's (Homesick for California) Enchiladas

              I am not homesick too often, but when I am I want Mexican Food. I didn't realize how much I really loved good Mexican Food until I moved where there was no taco truck in sight. Somehow making a large portion of enchiladas makes me feel closer to home. I use Emeril’s  recipe for easy Enchilada Sauce and just kind of throw together the rest of simple ingredients in a very relaxed way, so it usually turns out a little different every time.

             

             When you are outside my door it is mid fall in Sweden but to me, here in my kitchen it feels like California.

Ingredients for Enchilada Sauce

• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 1/4 cup chili powder
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 10 ounces tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions

In medium saucepan heat oil, add flour, smoothing and stirring with a wooden spoon. Cook for 1 minute. Add chili powder and cook for 30 seconds. Add stock, tomato paste, oregano, and cumin. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and cook for 15 minutes. The sauce will thicken and smooth out. Adjust the seasonings. 

 Other Essential Ingredients:

 3 Chicken Breasts

1 Onion

Grated Cheese

Vegetable Oil

Salt & Pepper

Preheat oven to 350.Shred cooked chicken breast prepared however you want. Throw an chopped onion with a little cooking oil and salt and pepper in a frying pan on medium heat until onion goes soft and smells amazing. Grate a small bowl full of your favorite cheese. Take a baking dish and spread a thin layer of enchilada sauce on the bottom of the pan. Layer a little bit of  all the prepared ingredients inside a flour tortilla and roll them up one by one next to each other. Spread the remaining enchilada sauce all over and top it off with a little more grated cheese. Put in the oven for about 30 minutes or until the cheese on top is melted and the edges on the tortillas are toasted.

            Serve with salsa, avocado and Greek yogurt or sour cream. Mums (yum)!

   

Fredag ​​Kväll Godis (Friday Night Swedish Candy)

Fredag ​​Kväll Godis (Friday Night Swedish Candy)

        

         First off, if you are an American reading this and you think you like candy, you have been enjoying some of the worst candy in the world. That’s right, American candy is all shit. I was never a candy person until I started to eat Swedish candy. I am not quite sure why, but the candy here is so far superior on every level. There are so many different types to choose from. They sell candy here in huge vats that take up an entire isle in every type of market. Sweden is a candy country.

        The bowl pictured here was a gift from my sister-in-law. It’s specific purpose is to carry all of my favorite candy and sit nicely on the coffee table in front of a movie on a cozy Friday night like this one. Mission accomplished.

Making Ikea Work for You

Making Ikea Work for You

Here's the thing, all of us all over the world have Ikea. It is a great option for most of us at one time or another. My favorite thing about Ikea is that their products are so cheap that you can easily make them your own without too much extra money or trouble. I took this Ikea light and drew with a Sharpe on the panels, then let it dry flat overnight before I put it together.

Thinking about Ikea as a blank canvas is much better then settling for living with something that has no personality. There are so many ways that you can transform most Ikea products into something that adds personality to your home (don't worry, more examples to come...)

Who cares if you screw it up.I promise no matter what it will be a cheap,fun experience, and those are hard to come by.

Swedish Proverb of the Day

"Bara döda fiskar följer strömmen."

"Only dead fish follow the stream."

In other words, when you feel the struggle from taking a different path, you know you are alive.

The Town Höör

The Town Höör

There are many words in Swedish that are very similar to words in English, just spelled a bit differently. The name of the nearest town to our village that has a Grocery store is not one of those words. This town with the Grocery store is called Höör. Because in English we do not have the letter "ö" the name of the town (that I always have to say when I tell others where I live) we pronounce with a regular old "oo", which sound just like another English word we have.

 The building pictured above is a Hospital of some kind. The woman in the neon vest was hospital security and wanted to know what I was doing. When I told her I was taking some photos of the building to show Americans what Sweden was like she looked at me so puzzled. Her reaction is strangely typical for a Swede when I comment on the design of a building or anything else in Sweden that is so wonderfully different from what I'm used to. I think it's a shame that more Swedes don't have more pride for the things that make the country like a dream to others. I think that this reaction could be because of how much Swedes value modesty in their culture. A very similar reaction is the line I get all the time from Swedes, "I am sorry, my English is so bad". To all my Swedish friends reading this: NEVER SAY THIS AGAIN because it's just not true.

These are some shots of the really old part of town. There are many house made of stone and wood. Everything is extremely clean and there many fantastic yards and parks, with absolutely nobody enjoying them. I think because I come from a place that has so many more people, to me many towns in Sweden are like this one. I feel like I am the only one there but everything is manicured and well cared for.

There is a river that runs through the center of town that makes all the old buildings even more charming. To many American's, Swedish towns like this one look like they are from the storybooks that we read as children. Sometimes it does not even seem real to me. I guess the fact that the nearest Bar or Restaurant to our house is actually a small castle would give you an idea about what kind of a place I am looking at here.