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My honey is back. Thank you guys for bearing with me as I got a little melancholy. It was a long time away , but the man has to do what he has to do in regards to his job. Certain Someone flew in last Monday and our first meal was his favorite . Harold's fried Chicken. He was going through withdrawals and I couldn't blame him. Plus I was to tired to cook. Tuesday he took me to the place where we met and fell and love. Le Sardine. This little gem of a restaurant has a prix fixe for $25 every Tuesday for 3 full size courses. I knew he was the man for me when I saw him order and devour a lamb shank 2 1/2 years ago. Last Tuesday I was more adventurous and started with blood sausage and caramelised apples. So good. Open your minds people. I then had Maigret of duck with lentils, and Grand Mariner souffle with Strawberry coulis. Certain Someone had a braised oxtails and gnocchi to start, steak,and the creme brulee. It was nice to unwind finally and relax over dinner.
With my man back I needed to get shopping. CS's starter was so small , I got to thinking of the last time I made oxtails. Its was the first meal I made for him. Slow cooked while I was work. I took Thursday off to prepare for a house guest of ours this weekend and picked up some oxtails. I slow cooked them in my Le Creuset Dutch oven with some bay leaf, canned tomatoes, mushrooms, frozen beet greens, leeks, and leftover frozen cauliflower puree I had. Just throwing in tons of produce.The cauliflower puree soaked up the liquid and made a nice thickened low carb sauce. I served this with saffron rice. Homey and good.It doesnt look like much , but it was delish.
We still have some leftovers.
Fridays fare was more American leading up to the holiday weekend. Hot wings. I used Franks Hot sauce . I was rushed and they didn't come out as crispy as I liked, but nevertheless good.
With our Swedish house guest we went out to dinner most of the time. Fogo De Chao ( I can never eat my share of meat there, its a mans place), deep dish Chicago Pizza at Lou Malnati's, drinks at Sushi Samba.
And today this late lunch/ dinner waiting for him when returned form the golf course. A summer vegetable medley I whipped up with my mandolin of yellow squash, sliced Brussels sprouts, chopped tomatoes, herbs, and a splash of rice vinegar slowly sauteed. The ribs were slow cooked after a dry rub with Penzeys BBQ 3000( a gift from a friend) my own rub of pulverized bay leaf and cumin seeds( I remember Peter writing of ground Bay Leaf and decided to try it myself), pan wrapped and sealed in foil with a little water, and slow cooked for about 3-4 hours. Then I took the foil off when I judged the meat to be tender enough and brushed with the excellent Country Bobs sauce. Meaty and tender.
Writing this I realize we ate very good this week. But its a special week. The return of Certain Someone, a long holiday weekend, and showing our friend some of Chicago. I got my mojo back.
Certain Someone and I spent an isolated 2 days and night in our new home (I like saying that).I worked on the kitchen and he hooked up his old computer. We have no Digital Box so no TV. Just the quiet of nature and some old MP 3's. I was amazed at the china and crystal collection Certain Someone had in storage. I have a well stocked kitchen for sure with weights, bowls, blenders, etc. I see a lot of baking bread and such up there.I want to plan a huge Midsommar bash for next summer. In the eerie country silence I saw a real fox looking back at me from the back yard and he jumped into the woodpile. Two country neighborhood cats came a calling. I think they thought the old owner was there with his cat. Our friends almost ran over a Moose near the house when leaving one night after the move. All this common up here. I walked to the sea as Certain Someone napped.The beach is a stark rocky patch that looks so beautiful.Finland awaits on the other side of the sea.
I finally got used to the whole Outhouse thing. It wasn't to bad and actually quite cute inside with its yellow interior, candles, etc. It never really got to dark to make me scared to walk to it. The whole Midnight Sun thing going on. I admit I jumped whenever I heard a car . It's that's isolated and who knows what or who is lurking around. One of those places you wonder if a tree fell, would you hear it?
Swedish pizza is odd yet very good. Mostly run by Iraqis immigrants, it has wild non traditional ingredients. My favorite are banana chicken, ham,curry types.
Some have kebab on top.
Kebab resembles gyro meat. Thinly shaved aromatic lamb served with peppers, sauces,etc. Delicious. Certain Someones favorite is Palmyra.I would fly over for it , it's that good!
The wedding was wonderful. Set in a beautiful old German Church in Gamla Stan(OLD TOWN).
After the dual German and Swedish language ceremony we walked the cobbled streets in our finery to an old Shipping Club called Sjöfartshuset. One of those Old Boy Clubs lined with portraits of old titans of the sea and some royalty. Swedish weddings are very long and full of toasts and speeches between courses. Also rigid seating plans with lots of careful thought. Each guest is numbered in the program with a chart pointing to where they sit and a brief description of some obscure details of the person. I was listed as , the Sambo(remember it means legal partner) of Certain Someone ,a Food Blogger and jewelery designer. Its fun to learn other tidbits from people. The food was fabulous and topped of with a marzipan tiered cake. My feet were killing me by the nights end.
The following day 
What a lovely time we had talking blogs, food, and Sweden. I know I will see them again in my returns. I gave them some cornmeal and Masa they requested and they gave me a lovely cookbook of Swedish pastry from Haga(in the west coast). We parted ways and ventured to NK where BH and I purchased fragrant teas and browsed the food halls. She surprised me with Cloudberry and Raspberry jam I had had my eye on. A true taste of Sweden.
