A week of celebration..!

Hello all! Sorry for not being a good and frequent blog friend last week, but I was just so wrapped up in all the fantastic things that came my way...!

A week ago today,  I woke up a Swede and went to bed a 'Swedralian'! :) Yep I am now a proud dual citizen of both Sweden and Australia! Hurraaah! My citizenship ceremony was held at a stunning spot in Sydney with the most magnificent view of the harbour and was so beautifully organized. I am very proud & privileged to be able to call myself an Australian and for sure there will be posts on this in future!

On Friday it was my birthday and even though my husband gave me a brand new iPad 2 (white with orange flap) as an early birthday present a while ago, I was still spoiled with more gifts (a shopping spree), yummy breakfast in bed, dinner at my fave restaurant, and just generally lots of love & attention. My family is the best and most generous you can imagine! With this kind of treatment I really didn't mind that the day pushed me deeper into the 40s (not by much though..ahem!) and I could have gone on celebrating a little bit longer really..!  :)

Last but not least, Sunday marked Mother's Day here in Australia and my favourite part is, as usual, when my beautiful kidlets (Swedralian for 'children'..) cup their little hands around my face  and tell me how much they love me! There is nothing that makes me happier than that (!) and I could seriously write books about the magic of motherhood..!! Nothing tops it, and from the first faint flutter of life in my womb to the present day, my life glows with love, happiness, pride and gratefulness! And it's all thanks to my wonderful, amazing, cheeky, bright eyed, clever, generous and insanely loving Oscar and Isabella!

All images via Pinterest

So pretty much a whole week of excitement and wonderful celebration for me, and needless to say I find it hard impossible to wipe the smile from my face still..! :)

Hope your week was this good as well and that all of you amazing mothers
out there were showered in love and appreciation!

xx Charlotta

P.S. Was that enough exclamation marks for one post..?  I'm just so excited.. ! :)

Celebrate Spring with a 'Herbed Party'...

Hello my dears and happy Thursday! With Easter just around the corner, my Swedish mind inevitably drifts to Spring. I guess this proves that you can 'take the girl out of Sweden but not Sweden out of the girl', because really, I should be immersing myself in Autumnal glory as this is the season we're enjoying here in Sydney right now.. Oh well..

So, the other day I came a cross this suite of pretty pictures, and suddenly found myself dreaming up a 'herb themed lunch' with a buffet of foods and drinks inspired by the first harvest of herbs from the Spring garden. Why not eh?!

 I love this idea!

I was thinking baskets of freshly baked breads - perhaps some with flaky sea salt and fresh rosemary on top. Racks of 'Herb crusted Spring lamb' (click for recipe) and a large tray of Swedish 'Hasselbacks Potatis' (see here for recipe).

 Beautiful picture and recipe via 'Almost Bourdain'

There would also be bowls of beautiful ‘Salsa Verde’ (click for recipe), and scrumptious ‘Pesto Genovese’ (click for recipe). And perhaps a nice big plate of lightly steamed green asparagus with a side of sage butter, and a big salad of tender Spring time vegetables tossed with fresh Coriander leaves & a light dressing.

The hardcore ‘Scandi’ that I am, I would also add a fresh batch of ‘Skagen Röra' (see my mother's recipe below), and most definitely also a tray of home made ‘Gravlax’ (click for recipe) fringed with zingy lemon wedges. Both of these recipes use fresh dill as a core note and out of all herbs, dill is the one that is most true to my beloved Sweden. At least in my humble opinion.

I would serve up a variety of good wines (I love Lewin Estate Art Series whites, and Penfold's reds) and also set up a side table with a few jugs of flavoured water.  

 

I also love ‘lavender flavoured’, and ‘rose or tulip petal’ water. These are wonderful, and if you decide to make them please ensure you use 'pesticide free' petals only. Perhaps you grow these in the garden, but if you are relying on your local florist or flower market, please ensure you tell them what you are using the petals for so that you are given ones that are 'suitable for consumption.

 This image via

Last but not least. If you are able to get your mittens on some fresh passion fruit, I can highly recommend you make Australian chef Bill Granger's 'Passionfruit & coconut slice' for desert! Serve up with minted whipped cream and reap the rewards! Bake two - you'll need it!

This image via 'Almost Bourdain'

Hope you feel inspired to put on your own 'Herbed Party' to celebrate the unfolding Spring in the Northern hemisphere. Such a glorious time of the year and so much fun to have!

xx Charlotta