Thursday 29 January 2015

Planning for Spring

View from the window… brr!
It may be snowing outside, but we are in full planning mode at Paulsson Paleo HQ. We have big plans for self-sufficiency, so we want to get it as right as possible in our first year of growing crops. So far we have surveyed our land (stomped around the field), discussed and ordered seeds. We already have quite a few seeds from prior years, but needed to add to our stash: winter squash, cucumber, beetroot, broad beans, sunflowers, kale, white cabbage, little gem lettuce, leek and corn. We are dreaming of / planning for chickens, and some of the produce will be for their winter feed as well as our own. Specifically the broad beans, sunflowers and corn should make the chickens happy.

Warm and cozy pepper seeds
There isn't too much actual doing at the moment, but we have started tentatively with peppers, as they take a long time to grow: three yellow peppers, three red peppers and three chillies are in a little greenhouse on the kitchen window sill. We also decided to test out growing some seeds in a colder environment, so three red peppers and three chillies moved out into the stables, where there is a balmy 8 degrees. Brr! 

Saturday 24 January 2015

First week in Sweden. #movetoSWE

Our first full week in Sweden is coming to an end and unfortunately for me, I return to the UK tomorrow for two weeks, to tidy up some loose ends at work.

Time has flown by but we have accomplished a lot in the few days we have been here. The house and location are far better than I remember when we came to view the property for the first time back in late September. 

#movetoSWE

Firstly, the location is really secluded, we are enclosed on all sides by a dense forest of pine trees, but due to the undulating topography we have a good vantage point. This meant for the first few days, we did not see any other beings - a bit strange coming from London and probably the hardest thing to get used to. It is incredibly peaceful and the best bit is that we can walk out of our front door and have no-end of trails to walk, run, and cycle on and lakes, streams, waterfalls to swim in (in the summer of course). Perfect!

The house is large, which it needs to be to fit us all in. Bringing everyone together means that we have a lot of stuff. The week has been boxes and paper galore, unpacking and repacking, sorting and discarding, moving up and down, and trying to understand the technical aspects of working with a heating system off-grid. We are all getting used to its peculiarities and I am sure it will become second nature very soon, still, firing up the wood burning stove in the morning so we can cook breakfast feels very liberating.

We are really looking forward to settling in further, starting to plan for the next few months ahead, meeting more of the locals and understanding what makes this place tick. For me, I think it is going to take a while for Breared to feel like home and not a holiday location, but I reckon once the hard work begins and we start to stamp our mark on the place, we are going to have so much fun seeing it evolve and having family and friends stay.

Follow my instagram feed @nomispohsib and #movetoSWE for photographic updates.

Little carnivore, big bones, endless chewing fun. ❤️ Liten köttätare, stora ben, härligt tuggmotstånd. #paulssonpaleo #paleo #primal



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Tuesday 20 January 2015

Meat on a Budget / Budgetkött

Dinner was a bit unconventional today: beef tongue. We're constantly on the lookout for cheap cuts of meat and tongue is up there with heart and liver. The flavour is reminiscent of salt beef, consistency slightly more compact. 

Leave the handling to the less squeamish family members
The recipe went something like this (my friend Anna kindly provided the base :-)):

1.3 kg beef tongue (from a grass fed, happy cow)
20-30 black peppercorns
10 bay leaves 
2-3 tablespoons of salt
Sliced carrots, onions, garlic and fresh ginger (this is where I went off on a tangent...)
Cold water to cover the tongue

Add the tongue and spices to a sauce pan, cover with water. Bring to a boil. Let simmer for 2 hours, occasionally turning the tongue if it is not wholly covered. Let cool until you can handle it with your hands and take off the skin. You may have to use a sharp knife. Cut the tongue in half (one half being the tip of the tongue). Put the two pieces in a clean sauce pan and cover with the strained fluid, plus 3 more tablespoons of salt. Let rest for 2-3 days in a cool place, preferably longer.

Slice the bigger piece thinly and serve with mash and a spicy mustard or garlic mayonnaise. 

In this format it is easier to pretend it's just salt beef

Chop the tip of the tongue into small pieces to add to soup, broth, omelette, etc (it is slightly tougher). 

Next time I think we'll try to cure the tongue for a week before boiling, to make saltier. 

***PÅ SVENSKA***

Idag blev det tunga till middag. Kändes sådär lagom udda, och gott! Vi letar ständigt efter mer förmånliga köttdetaljer och tunga är ungefär i samma prisklass som lever och hjärta. Smakar ungefär som rostbiff/ salt beef, med lite mer tuggmotstånd. 

Receptet jag använde löd på ett ungefär så här (baserat på min vän Annas recept):

1,3 kg nöttunga (helst från en glad och gräsbetande kossa)
20-30 pepparkorn
10 lagerblad
2-3 msk salt
Skivad morot, lök, vitlök och färsk ingefära (här började jag visst bli lite extra kreativ, förlåt Anna...)
Kallt vatten för att täcka tungan

Lägg tunga och övriga ingredienser i en kastrull, täck med vatten. Koka långsamt i två timmar, vänd tungan då och då. Låt tungan svalna på skärbräda tills du kan dra av/ skära av skinnet. Dela på mitten i en tjock och en tunn del (tungspetsen). Lägg bitarna i en ren kastrull och slå över det silade spadet plus 3 ytterligare matskedar med salt. Låt stå svalt i 2-3 dagar, gärna längre. 

Skiva den större biten i tunna skivor och servera med rotmos och en stark senaps-/vitlöksmajonnäs. 

Hacka tungspetsen i små små bitar och ät i soppa, buljong, omelett, osv. 

Nästa gång tror jag vi testar ett tvärtomrecept och rimmar köttet i en vecka innan vi kokar det, för att få en saltare smak. 

5 grown-up cups of broth today. ❤️ Idag behöver vi fem vuxenkoppar till buljongen. #paulssonpaleo



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Monday 12 January 2015

Sunday 11 January 2015

Update on the Hippies

*ENGLISH*

To our ardent followers (that would be mamma, then...), apologies for the Instagram-riddled blog of late. Who knew that moving could drain you of all your energies? Gah, I sleep 10 hours a night, but am still a wreck. And I don't have children or pets or a day job or any other excuses. Weak, I know. Now pity the parents...

The last two months have entailed sitting in a car for an hour and a half each day, moving one carload at a time. We've had to fire up the furnace each day in the new house as well as sort out a load of things before being able to move in properly. Now that the floors are ready, we're ready to move the big stuff and start living in the new house. It's about time, too, as the London posse are getting their one-way tickets a-ready in about a week. Surreal is the word for the day! I guess you could say that the plan is starting to come together. 

Random stuff that one has to sift through when moving (imagine running with this on your hip...)
*SVENSKA*

Till alla våra fanatiska följare (mamma, dåra...), ni får ursäkta Instagram-flödet på bloggen de senaste månaderna. Jag hade aldrig kunnat tro att den här flytten skulle ta så mycket energi! Jag sover typ tio timmar varje natt, men är ändå ett vrak. Och jag som inte ens har barn, djur, ett "riktigt" jobb eller några andra ursäkter. Svagt, jag vet. Stackars mina föräldrar, då...

De senaste två månaderna har inneburit körning fram och tillbaka till Simlångsdalen för att flytta "småsaker", elda (nymodigt värre) samt fixa en massa annat inför inflyttning. Nu när golven är färdiga så kan vi köra de stora grejerna och flytta in på riktigt. Det börjar liksom brinna i knutarna, eftersom resten av klanen anländer om ca en vecka. Det känns helt surrealistiskt att det här verkligen händer! Vi ska bli storfamilj! 

Friday 9 January 2015

Wednesday 7 January 2015

Saturday 3 January 2015

Pure Taste Restaurant Visit


Where: Westbourne Grove, London, W2 4UP
When: 30.12.14 at 20.00

A while back, we got the opportunity to sponsor a Paleo-friendly restaurant in London and we jumped at the opportunity. The sponsorship package we chose gave us a starter and dessert for free, once the restaurant opened. After months of waiting, the email finally arrived announcing that Pure Taste was opening. We immediately booked ourselves a table and poured over the online menu in anticipation.

Last week, we finally ate at the Pure Taste Restaurant in West London and we were not disappointed.  Unfortunately, Cecilia is in Sweden so it was only the London contingent that could go.

We did some more soul searching over the menu and then made our choices and the waiter gave us a great recommendation for a Spanish red wine, which would go with our meaty starters and mains. Then they started us off with a complementary mise en bouche with salmon sashimi and wasabi puree. So refreshing!

Then on to the bread basket: Italian breadsticks, coconut flour flatbread with onion and cumin seeds and Rosemary plantain crackers, served with extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar and tzatziki. Our favourites were the warm Italian breadsticks, which had loads of Italian spices on them, but we were really intrigued by the plantain crackers which were extra crunchy and similar to Swedish knäckebröd.

For starters Cat had the free-range charcuterie, garlic stuffed olives, sundried tomato and rocket salad and Simon had the pan fried breast of wood pigeon, roasted baby beetroot, activated walnuts and baby watercress. Both were good (charcuterie is always good), but the wood pigeon was the more interesting choice. The meat was served cold and melted in your mouth, surprisingly similar to a pork tenderloin.




The mains came next and Cat chose a pan-seared breast of wild mallard duck, celeriac rosti, sautéed kale, spiced cranberry and Clementine sauce and Simon the canon of venison, brussel sprouts with bacon, boulangere Jerusalem artichokes in a red wine jus. We were both initially a bit disappointed that the steak was sold out, but this made us a little more adventurous with our choices. The duck was beautiful, served rare. The venison as you would expect had a strong gamey taste, but worked well with the brussels and bacon.

Dessert was a very difficult decision as all the choices sounded amazing. After much consideration and help from the waiter, we ordered the sticky toffee pudding, toffee sauce and salted caramel ice cream and the spiced pear and pecan crumble with almond milk crème anglaise. By this point, we were both stuffed (Cat more so than Simon) and we both could hardly finish. The crumble with the non-dairy custard was great. The sticky toffee pudding was nicely balanced by the salted caramel ice-cream, but as we rarely eat sweet stuff anymore, it was a little bit on the sweet side.

All in all, we had a lovely evening and it was nice to be able to order from a menu without making any modifications. We have already recommended the restaurant to our friends, who will be going very soon.