Spring, kind of

Spring in Sweden is moody, to say the least. Just yesterday, we had rain, strong wind, sun with clear skies, clouds, and hail! And then it was back to the rain again, only to end with clear skies and a full moon throughout the night. Just as soon as you glance away from and back toward the window again, you can expect a change to happen. For some reason, it makes me chuckle each time.

Today, some friends tell me they woke up to snow in Sarajevo. They're not happy, especially since most of the fruit trees have already bloomed.

On my most recent visit there, I bought and brought back a bottle of homemade pear molasses. It is a traditional, thick, syrup-like, sugarfree fruit product, made in late fall/early winter. When I was a child, I ate it with a side of creme fraiche and mom's warm bread. It was my favorite dessert at the time, and my winters still smell of its subtly burnt aroma. M's mormor (Swedish for 'maternal grandmother'), has a simple molasses cake recipe that everyone in the family adores. With age, it has become the only dessert she has the strength to make. But, as you would have it, I have yet to meet a person that has not asked her for the recipe. So, a fall cake in the spring? Why not, since it already snowed anyway. . .

Ovih dana svjedočim promjenjivosti proljetnog vremena u Švedskoj. Jučer smo u jednom danu imali oblake, sunce i vedro nebo, kišu, snažan vjetar i grad (tuču). I onda sve ispočetka. Noć je bila vedra, obasjana punim mjesecom.

Nešto južnije, prijatelji i porodica mi danas javljaju da ih je po budjenju u Sarajevu dočekao - snijeg (M. je veoma zabrinut jer je snijeg pao na behar). Pri nedavnoj posjeti Sarajevu kupila sam jednu bocu kruškinog pekmeza. Još od malih nogu volim ga jesti sa pavlakom i maminim vrućim hljebom. Suprugova nana ga stavlja u jednostavan kolač, jedini za koji još ima snage, a za koji joj svako ko ga proba traži recept.

I tako. . . jesenji kolač u proljeće? Pa, ako može snijeg, može i to.

Mormor's apple molasses cake

Ingredients

3 eggs
1/2 cup oil
1 cup apple or pear molasses
1/2 cup sugar or 2 mashed bananas
3 cups flour
1 cup milk
1 cup yoghurt
13 g baking powder
1 tbsp sodium bicarbonate
1/2 cup walnuts


Method

Preheat the oven to 180 C (350 F).

Whisk eggs with sugar by hand. Stir in molasses, oil, milk, and yoghurt. Combine the dry ingredients separately and carefully add them to the wet ingredients, whisking throughout. Stir in the walnuts. Bake 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out dry. Serve garnished with chopped mint, vanilla curd or whipped cream sprinkled with carob dust.

*****

Pekmeznica

Sastojci

3 jajeta
1/2 mjerice ulja
1 mjerica jabukovog ili kruškinog pekmeza
1/2 mjerice šećera ili 2 izgnječene banane
3 mjerice brašna
1 mjerica mlijeka
1 mjerica jogurta
13 g praška za pecivo
1 kašika sode bikarbone
1/2 mjerice oraha


Priprema

Zagrijati pećnicu na 180 C (350 F).

Ručno umutiti jaja sa šećerom do pjene. Dodati jogurt, mlijeko, pekmez i ulje. Pomiješati suhe sastojke (brašno, prašak za pecivo i sodu bikarbonu). Postepeno ih dodavati smjesi iznad. Na kraju dodati nasitnjene orahe. Peći 35-40 minuta. Kolač servirati ukrašen listićima mente i kremom od vanilije posutom prahom rogača.

Desserts and rainy days

Nature, apparently, waited for the Spring to start to unleash the rain on us. It's a good thing I love rain. The touch of cold that returned with it was nice also, giving us one last chance to shake hands with the cool winter.

Have you got that one recipe for cloudy days that need just a bit of warming up? Kheer is mine. There is something about its divine blend of aromas, its warmth, and its milky texture with just the right touch of crunch that makes my soul. . . whole.

I learned of it years ago from a friend's mother. She made it just the way Indian mothers do, and the way I probably never will, although this version comes close. That impossibility is what draws me to this recipe over and over again, like a search for the Holy Grail, a journey closer and closer to the unattainable perfection of the Indian lady's masterpiece. And rainy days are just perfect for it.

Cozied up under the blanket with a bowl of warm kheer in my hands, I find myself bidding goodbye to winter and gazing with yearning to the approaching spring on the horizon.

Kheer ili južnoazijski puding (ili za moje nepce savršen spoj aroma) sam prvi put jela kod prijateljeve mame, Indijke. To je jedna od ljepših strana života u Americi: upoznaš ljude iz svih krajeva svijeta koji ti dio svoje kulture najčešće ponude upravo na tanjiru. Od tada još nikad nisam uspjela ponoviti njeno remek djelo, iako strpljivo pokušavam.

U hladnim i kišnim danima, sad već tradicionalno se grijem miješajući toplo mlijeko i rižu, dok se miris kardamoma širi kućom. Tako sam ispratila i ovu zimu; iskoristila neke od posljednjih hladnih dana da se prisjetim toplote jedne Indijke koja nam nakon začinjenog jela servira po zdjelicu kremastog pudinga, nesvjesna da će joj moje nepce biti zauvijek zahvalno. Hrana ima tu magičnu moć, zar ne? Veže nas za neke ljude, dogadjaje, iskustva.

Dovoljan razlog da učim i pišem o njoj.

KHEER (South Asian rice pudding)

Ingredients

2 cups coconut milk
2 cups plain milk
3 tbsp sugar
1/2 cups Basmati rice
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon rose water (optional)
1/4 cup slivered almonds (toasted)
1/4 cup peeled, chopped pistachios
1/8 cup chopped Iranian raisins (optional)
zest of 1 lemon


Method

Mix coconut milk, regular milk, and sugar in a large saucepan, and let boil. Add rice. Reduce the heat and simmer uncovered for around 20 minutes until rice is soft and tender.

Stir in cardamom and rosewater, and remove from heat. Add almonds, half of pistachios and raisins, if using. Serve warm or chilled, sprinkled with the remainder of pistachios and lemon zest.

*****

JUŽNOAZIJSKI puding od riže

Sastojci

2 mjerice kokosovog mlijeka
2 mjerice kravljeg ili rižinog mlijeka
3 kašike šećera
1/2 mjerice Basmati riže (dugo zrno)
1/2 kašičice mljevenog kardamoma
1/2 kašičice ružine vode (po zelji)
1/4 mjerice oguljenog, narezanog badema (kratko proprženog)
1/4 mjerice oguljenih, nasitnjenih svježih pistacija
1/8 mjerice nasitnjenih iranskih groždjica (po želji)
naribana korica jednog limuna


Priprema

Pomiješajte kokosovo mlijeko, kravlje/rižino miljeko i šećer, i prokuhajte smjesu. Dodajte rižu i kuhajte nepokriveno na niskoj temperaturi, oko 20 minuta. Smjesa ce postati gušća a riža ce omekšati.

Umiješajte kardamom i ružinu vodicu, i sklonite sa toplote. Dodajte bademe i groždjice, kao i dio pistacija. Preostalim pistacijama i naribanim limunom ukrasite servirani puding. Servirajte toplo ili sasvim ohladjeno. Ako nakon hladjenja puding bude zgusnut, dodajte još mlijeka.