Det här är min favorit när en varm eller ljummen sallad behövs! Lite söt, lite syrlig och lagom mjuk och knaprig. Smakar utmärkt till köttbullar, skinka, eller lamm.
Break the bulb apart in cloves, place in boiling water and boil for 5 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water. When the cloves are cool enough to handle, peel them and roast them in the butter until golden.
Drizzle the Golden honey and sprinkle the salt over the Golden cloves.
Sweden is a small country that aims to be a big country. Most real Swedes have at least one pair of Levis’, some wear them all year round.
Instead of the American institution Taco Tuesday, Swedes have Taco Friday, and throw in chopped cucumber and radishes in the mix. There are coke and popcorn in the movie theatres, HBO and Netflix at home and the US made smartphone is gaining market shares over the Korean one. There are drive-in burger joints and Washingtonian coffee places.
Teenage girls wear T-shirts named after a NorCal town and basically Swedes may pretend they live in a US colony, sorta. But however American the Swede may feel, there is a sure way you can tell if you’re in a Swedish restaurant or one stateside: In restaurants, real restaurants, not fast-food places with golden arches like, hamburgers are eaten with a knife and a fork. The fries, too.
Finally I could find crème fraiche in my local California food store! Maybe Smetana on a good day, but the true acidophilus is a tougher nut to crack.
Buttermilk is, to a Swede, a weak substitute for the stuff Vikings are made of. Or at least what their common breakfasts are made of. Goes splendidly with my Granola (see separate post)!
Buttermilk is a soured milk that thickens a bit, the true “Fil” (short for the Swedish word for acidophilus) is full of good bacteria.
Acidophilus (Lactobacillus acidophilus), a bacterium found in the mouth, intestine and vagina, is used as a probiotic. Probiotics are good bacteria that are either the same as or very similar to the bacteria that are already in your body. Each type of probiotic supplement — and each strain of each type — can work in different ways. As a supplement, acidophilus is available as capsules, tablets, wafers, powders and a vaginal suppository. In addition to use as a supplement, acidophilus is found in some dairy products, such as yogurt, and is commercially added to many foods.
People commonly take acidophilus to treat a type of vaginal inflammation (bacterial vaginosis) and digestive disorders, as well as to promote the growth of good bacteria.
Research on acidophilus use for specific conditions shows:
Bacterial vaginosis. Oral use of acidophilus and use of vaginal acidophilus suppositories or application of yogurt containing acidophilus to the vagina has been shown to be effective in treating this type of vaginal inflammation.
Lung infections. Acidophilus might play a role in reducing the number and severity of respiratory infections children experience.
Certain types of diarrhea. When taken with antibiotics, a combination of acidophilus and other specific forms of lactobacillus might reduce diarrhea, bloating and cramps caused by a bacterium that can cause symptoms ranging from diarrhea to life-threatening inflammation of the colon (C. difficile infection). The probiotic formulation might also reduce the occurrence of antibiotic-associated diarrhea and C. difficile infection in people who are hospitalized.
Eczema. Oral use of acidophilus during pregnancy, by breast-feeding mothers and by infants appears to reduce the occurrence of eczema (atopic dermatitis) in infants and young children.
Acidophilus products might contain significant differences in composition, which could cause varying results.
There’s growing interest in probiotics such as acidophilus. A balanced diet, including fermented foods such as kefir, might provide you with sufficient “good” bacteria.
If not in Sweden, where entire walls at the grocers display varieties of yoghurts, kefir, and many other acidophilus products, a starter-kit can be bought on-line, to make your own at home.
I brought some Fil with me to San Francisco, replenished it and cared for it like my newborn. These were the days when only buttermilk was the closest I could come to finding soured milk at the time.
It works like sourdough. You save a starter from the old batch, like ½ cup, and pour it into a container with fresh whole milk. Leave it out on the counter for a couple of days – depending on how warm your kitchen is – until all milk is converted to Fil. Store in fridge.
At the time small starters were shared in the Swedish community, and given as gifts instead of a bottle of wine at dinner gatherings. The problem occurred around the time for the annual trek to the old country. Who would care for the Fil? A network of Swedish women around the San Francisco Bay Area organized to babysit each other’s Fil during vacation times. True story!
Mix flour and salt. Whisk in – a little at a time – beer and water into the flour. Mix well.
Heat enough oil in a pot, so that the flowers float freely while being fried.
Drag one flower at a time through the batter, until it is completely covered. Allow excess batter to drip back into the bowl, then place in the frying pot. Turn the flower over a few times so that it is evenly fried all around. When nice and golden, place on a paper towel covered plate to dry off, before serving.
Old man Giuseppe in Calvo, north of Ventimiglia in northern Italy, taught me this recipe for deep fried zucchini flowers. Anyone who has had even a slight success of growing zucchinis, is well aware that you still get a good harvest, even though you grab a bunch of flowers to go with your aperitif!
The Italians prefer this delicacy as is, while the people on the other side of the border, in French Menton and beyond, happily add dips and sauces.
In a large pot, place rice, cinnamon, lemon zest, cloves and water. Let soak for 1 hour.
Bring to a boil, uncovered. When it starts to boil, lower the heat and simmer for 10 – 12 minutes, or until almost all the water has been absorbed.
In a separate bowl, beat the egg and add the milk. Mix well.
Add the egg mixture, vanilla and the condensed milk to the rice. Stir continuously and let simmer on low heat until the rice thickens slightly, or until it has reached the desired consistency, maybe as long as 25 – 35 minutes, depending on whether the rice is parboiled or not.
Fold in the raisins.
Let the rice cool uncovered. Remember that the rice will swell as it cools off. The rice should be somewhat less dense than traditional rice pudding.
Blanda mjöl och salt. Vispa ner – lite i taget – öl och vatten i mjölet. Blanda väl.
Värm tillräckligt med olja i en kastrull, så att blommorna inte går på grund när de friteras.
Vänd runt en blomma i taget i smeten, tills den är helt täckt. Låt smeten rinna av en aning, och lägg blomman i frityrgrytan. Vänd blomman några gånger tills den är gyllengulbrun runtom och lägg den på en tallrik med hushållspapper.
Farbror Giuseppe i Calvo, norr om Ventimiglia i norra Italien, lärde mig det här receptet på friterade zucchiniblommor. Den som någon gång med viss framgång odlat zucchini vet att man inte blir utan skörd bara för att man sliter åt sig en bunt blommorsom tilltugg till aperitifen.
Italienarna äter denna delikatess som den är, medan de på andra sidan gränsen, i franska Menton gärna doppar den i en god sås.
