THE ADVENTURES OF A WAYWARD CHEF

I’ve tried sitting still. It really doesn’t work for me. I don’t even know why I fight it anymore. My feet start to itch when I get too comfortable. Then, this insatiable case of wanderlust kicks in and I have to hit the road, or the sky, or the ocean. That’s what happened a few months back, right after I started my new (and already defunct DharmaKitchen) blog with a grand announcement that I was going to stay put and start writing about healthy cooking. I went six months without getting on an airplane! That’s a record for me!

My friend, Tom, says Lady Fortuna loves it when we make “grand” announcements. HA! I have to agree…

I was actually trying really, really hard to stay in one place, in Oregon. I thought I could keep my wanderlust at bay. I’ve tried this before. It never works. I have to be able to run free, to take off, to be somewhere new: to smell the smells, hear the sounds (even cars sound different in a foreign country!), peruse the isles of the grocery stores and take in all the wonderful, weird goodies people eat in these strange, exotic places. It’s like an addiction, almost as expensive, but without the side effects (except weight-gain and the occasional sting of loneliness). It’s part of the fabric of my being. Best not to fight it.

And so that’s how it happened. How I ended up where I am now: on an island, in Stockholm, Sweden where I’ll be cooking for a family for the next six weeks!

It’s 3:30am right now. From where I sit, I can see a pale blue sky, tinged with pink as the sun works it’s way up. Birds are chirping.

(This picture was taken at 10:30pm, about as dark as it gets in Sweden. By 3am, the sun is up again!)

Sun, you are really messing with my head! My body keeps telling me that it’s 3am and I need to get some sleep. But my body thinks it’s breakfast time and is craving coffee and a bullar, the Swedish cardamom buns that my new employer taught me how to make last week. They’re made from a sweat, yeasted dough that is smeared with butter, sprinkled with sugar and cardamom (or cinnamon, or pistachio paste, or fruit – but cardamom is my favorite), cut into strips, twisted, rolled and sprinkled with parlsocker (pronounced: pearl-soaker or pearled sugar) and then baked. They’re soft and chewy, sweetly spiced, with a little crunch from the pearled sugar. And nothing, and I mean NOTHING, is better than one of those hot from the oven with a cup of tea!

Bullers: Swedish Cardamom Buns

Total time: About 1 hour, plus rising time for the dough

Servings: Makes 2 dozen rolls

Dough:

2  cups milk

2 tablespoon active-dry yeast

5 – 7 cups flour, plus additional for kneading

1/2 Cup sugar

5 oz. butter

Filling:

Cupcake liners (about 20)

4 oz. softened butter

1/3 cup sugar

2 Tablespoon cardamom or cinnamon

1 egg, lightly beaten

Pearl Sugar

1. Place butter and milk in a small pot and warm until butter is melted. In large bowl of a standing mixer (or using the dough hook attachment to a hand mixer) combine sugar and yeast. When milk is just warm to the touch (not too hot, or you’ll kill the yeast!), add to sugar-yeast mixture and combine. Add 4-5 cups of flour and begin kneading, adding more flour as necessary until dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Mix until dough is smooth. The dough should be smooth and stretchy, very soft and pliable, but not tacky. Cover the bowl with a towel and allow to rise until almost doubled in volume.
2. Once dough has risen, scrape out of the bowl onto a lightly floured surface. Kneed by hand for 2-3 minutes until all the air bubbles are worked out of the dough.
3. Cut the ball of dough in half (it’s easier to work with this way). Working with half at a time, roll dough into a large rectangle, 1/4 inch thick.
4. Smear the dough with the softened butter, then sprinkle over the cardamom sugar mixture.
5. Roll the rectangle lengthwise into a tight tube (as when rolling cinnamon rolls). Cut the tube into 24 (1-inch) slices, using thread if possible (the thread will slice more easily and cleanly than a knife). Roll the tube one-quarter turn after each slice to keep the tube round; otherwise, it will flatten from all the slicing. *If you want to follow a more Swedish tradition, fold the dough in thirds, lengthwise. Cut the dough into 1 inch wide strips. Then, slice each strip three quarters up the length of the strip (lengthwise, as if you were cutting the strip into two thinner strips – but only cutting 3/4 long). Holding the strip from the top (the uncut part), twist into a loose knot and place on cupcake liner.
6. Place each of the slices into a paper cupcake liner and place on baking sheet (with lots of space in between!). Cover loosely and let rise 10-15 minutes.
7. After rolls have risen, brush with egg wash and sprinkle with a little more sugar-cardamom mixture. Bake until the rolls are puffed and golden brown, about 9 to 11 minutes. Rotate the trays halfway through for even baking.

Cool the rolls slightly. Serve warm.