Felicia Fredlund

Writer. Editor. Reader.

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Picture of the Month — December 2016

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Saffron Dessert
A Christmas favorite in my family

This is a dessert I sometimes bake for Christmas Eve, which is the day we celebrate Christmas in Sweden. The dessert in the picture was baked in November 2013. And I thought I’d give you the recipe. The recipe appeared in Swedish in the cookbook Lättlagad Julmat och Julgodis by Maud Onnermark. I translated the recipe.

The measures will be the Swedish ones since it is probably easier for you to change them to your preferred measures.
(dl = deciliter; cm = centimeters)

Saffron Dessert with an Almond Base

A frozen dessert with Christmasy flavors of saffron, cinnamon and cardamom.
Makes one dessert. Serves 10-12 people. (Or so the recipe says, my experience is that you don’t need that many people to finish it in one go)

Ingredients

Almond base
150 g sweet almonds
1 1/2 dl powdered sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3 egg whites

Saffron parfait
0,5 g saffron
3 dl whip cream
3 egg yolks
1 1/2 dl powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon pounded cardamom

Garnish/topping
Lightly thawed raspberries

Instructions

  1. Put the oven on 175°C. Mix finely pounded saffron with cream.
  2. Clamp in place baking paper in a pan with removable sides (springform), 24 cm in diameter. Butter the pan.
  3. Finely chop the almonds in a food processor or with a knife, and mix with sugar and cinnamon. (You could also grind the almonds in an almond grinder.) Whip the egg whites into a hard foam and fold the almond-sugar into it. Spread out the mixture in the pan.
  4. Bake on the second slot from the bottom for ca 25 minutes.
  5. Whip egg yolks and powdered sugar fluffy. Add cardamom.
  6. Whip the saffron cream and fold into the egg mixture.
  7. Spread out the mixture evenly on the cold almond base. Cover with plastic wrap and put in the freezer for at least 3 hours.
  8. To serve, remove from freezer and garnish with lightly thawed raspberries. If the dessert was in the freezer longer than 3 hours, it might have to thaw slightly before cutting.

Enjoy!

Picture of the Month — February 2016

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Street Art in the Mission San Francisco November 2014
Some Zen on the street.

When I visited the Mission area in San Francisco, California, USA in November 2014, a new friend showed me around. One of the places she took me to was an alley with a lot of street art and murals. Each piece was different and such great art.

The piece above is very captivating. So I thought I’d share it.

Picture of the Month — January 2016

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Stork Hannover Germany July 2014
Maybe this was the one that delivered me to my parents?

The stork is the one that brings babies to their parents. All in the name of not telling children what sex is and how come that creates babies. This picture was taken at the Hannover zoo in July 2014 when I visited Germany to see some of my writer friends.

I thought it would be appropriate to start the new year with a stork. I have thought about what I want to accomplish in 2016 and how 2015 went. And each year arrives blank and full of promise, just like a baby. (No, I’m not saying a baby is blank, but the parents have no idea who the baby will turn out to be, so in a way the baby’s personality is a blank until the parents can discover it.)

The stork have delivered 2016 to you, what are you going to do with it?

Picture of the Month — December 2015

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Tree in Winter Sundbyberg Stockholm February 2014
Captured early morning; the frost/snow on the branches was gone by evening.

A beautiful tree I almost walked past without photographing one morning in February 2014. But right when I was going to dismiss the thought of capturing a picture saying to myself that I could take one later, I realized there probably wouldn’t be a later.

Carpe diem! Or seize the picture!

Picture of the Month — November 2015

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Wolverines Kolmården August 2014
They’re watching us! We let them see us for once and just look at the idiots staring with their empty minds as if we are the circus.

I’ve been to zoos that claimed they had wolverines, but never have I seen them until I visited Kolmården with a friend in August 2014.

The wolverines ran around and played with each other as my friend and I watched, along with a few other zoo-goers. It was a treat. I realize there is a debate whether zoos are good or not. At Kolmården, I’ve seen the happiest animals I’ve ever seen in a zoo, so they are one of the best if you believe in zoos.