THE ADVENTURES OF A WAYWARD CHEF

So, it’s been about seven months since I’ve been working for a family between their homes in Stockholm, Sweden and Saint Louis. Originally, it was a two-month freelance gig – but somehow it keeps getting extended and extended… Apparently, they like my cooking. And, I’ve (unexpectedly) become quite the fan of all things Swedish.
A good [...]

Life is so %&#*ing good, I can taste it in my spit.   ~ XXXX, Layer Cake
Being a non-Swede in Sweden, and being asked to make gravlax, is a bit like being a non-Catholic in Italy, who has just been asked by the pope to perform communion. So for two days I sat on pins and [...]

There are a few things that have taken me by surprise in my study of Sweden’s culinary landscape. First: the candy. Every grocery store that I’ve visited has an isle of bulk candy bins that would put Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory to shame. The biggest grocery store, ICA MAX Stormarknad (say that 10 times fast!), [...]

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 [...]

What we call the beginning is often the end. And to make an end is to make a beginning. The end is where we start from. ~ T.S. Eliot
Did you miss me? Well, as life changes – so do blogs. Check out my new blog, a different sort of adventure – and I promise [...]

Yeah! Andrea from the great food blog HighLowFoodDrink (which seriously makes miss New York City!) has submitted a great story about how she won her man over with food! And now Andrea has won her very own copy of Forking Fantastic!
Free food and free beer – that’s how my husband and I met when he [...]

Ancient Greek philosopher Diogenes once masturbated in the Agora; when rebuked for doing so, he replied, “If only it was as easy to soothe my hunger by rubbing my belly.”
Forget Martha Stewart Living and to hell with the recession! Forking Fantastic, by Zora O’Neill and Tamara Reynolds, is the new de rigueur guide to [...]

I awoke to the smell of toasted bagels. Plates of locally made lox, capers, thickly sliced heirloom tomatoes, red onion, and cream cheese were spread across the table. Coffee brewed. The forest beckoned. I could hardly sit still while we ate.
We parked along the side of the road, another stop without a clearly marked trail [...]

Lobster Mushrooms Sautéed with Lemon-thyme and Crispy Garlic
Served on Butter Fried Sourdough
 Farro with Chanterelles, Hazelnuts and Parmesan Cheese
 Barbequed Kumomoto Oysters with Opal Basil Butter
Lemon Cucumber and Heirloom Tomato Salad
 Fresh Figs Stuffed with Truffle Tremor Goat Cheese
I’m not sure how long it has been that I have been dreaming of going hunting for edible mushrooms. A [...]

Since leaving the yachting world, I feel that my blog has been left adrift, without the wind to guide it. I just can’t write about what I cook and eat on a daily basis. Without the element of adventure, I’m feeling a bit lost. It’s not that I don’t have great fun in my kitchen [...]